After the public beta of SAO, Yuuki came to this world again with her original appearance and interacted with the NPCs in "Starting Town" with great interest.
Compared with the fixed words and actions in the first closed beta, although the NPCs this time are still those characters, their answers and actions during dialogue have become more natural, and even Yuuki has developed AI.
The illusion of his own consciousness, and even his emotions are fully reflected.
According to the information she collected, although the answers of these NPCs would change during the closed beta test, the pattern was quite fixed.
(Has Kayaba Akihiko completed the "evolution" of his world in just a few months...)
…
This is good!
He snapped his fingers with great satisfaction. The more real this "world" is, the more "hopeful" it is for Yuuki.
Her decision to enter this game was indeed the right one!
Biting into the tasteless apples she bargained for with the fruit stall owner, the black-haired girl walked toward the outer plain area of the town.
She can probably relax for a while before the official 'open beta'.
After all, she has been paralyzed in the hospital bed recently. It feels so good to be able to walk freely in the sunshine like this.
Speaking of which, she really missed those 'old friends' with fangs.
It's a pity that if the 'old friends' had memories, they might have dispersed as soon as they saw her...
——The first level of "Aincrad", on the grassland outside the "Starting Town".
Focusing her energy on the weapon, Yuuki calmly dodged, leaving a red scratch on the boar monster's body.
The health bar immediately returns to zero, and the victory sound effect and dialog box appear in front of you.
Holding a sword and holding the weapon at her waist, the black-haired girl looked at the sky that was gradually darkening.
After several hours of fighting against wild boars, she had almost regained the feel she had during the closed beta period.
It's just that because I stayed in this area for a long time, the experience points gained from killing monsters did not continue to increase.
The reason why she did not go to deeper areas was because she knew that the world was about to undergo huge changes.
(The time is almost here.)
The afterglow of the setting sun dyes the grassland golden, and the lake ripples and dances with the breeze.
With her hands behind her back, she found a tree to lean against. Yuuki closed her eyes and realized the last beauty.
…
——Ding dong. Ding dong.
As dusk fell, bells like an alarm began to echo throughout "Aincrad".
(This voice...)
An unexpected blue beam of light appeared beneath her feet, as if she had expected it. The girl who opened her eyes did not panic, but calmly waited for the transfer to end.
A few seconds later, all online players were teleported to the game starting square in front of this huge black palace.
The constantly flashing 'Warning' and the bloody sky exaggerate the ominous atmosphere to the extreme.
Just when everyone was still thinking that this was an officially organized special event, a giant in a red cloak appeared above the main square, bringing a desperate reality to the players who were still in the game.
"Welcome to my world, fellow players."
The moment the giant said these words, the death game called "Sord Art Online" officially began.
——"Starting Town", the prop house on the right block.
After SAO died, Yuuki did not immediately go to the leveling location based on the information from the closed beta test. Instead, she came to a store that sold basic supplies in every town, as if she was waiting for someone.
After all, as long as a certain "guess" is realized, the level no longer means that much to her.
After staying for about half an hour, the doorbell rang again, and a female grappler dressed in a familiar attire that she remembered walked in.
"Too slow, Argo."
"——?!"
Reflexively jumping away, the female hook user was obviously startled by this sudden greeting.
"...You know my name and my habit of staying in the item house. Are you a closed beta player?"
She looked at the girl in front of her with caution. Among the closed beta players she knew, there was probably no such person.
"hey-hey."
Knowing that the person she was now was completely different from the person she was then, Yuuki smiled brightly and made a 'ten' sign towards her.
"Hmm...? Ah...ah!!! Ahhhh——"
Transitioning from doubt to surprise, her ability as an intelligence agent allowed her to quickly remember something, and her tone of voice gradually changed and she yelled.
"Are you—!"
"No, no, no, this is too weird!"
Shaking his head in denial, Argo's eyes widened as he guessed a certain identity with a strange tone at the end of the sentence.
In her mind, that stinking old guy must be an adult. How could it be impossible for the girl in front of her who looked only twelve or thirteen years old?
"...Okay, then let's introduce ourselves again."
“My name is ‘Yuki’, and my name during the closed beta period was ‘Yu’!”
"Please give me more advice in the future! "Argo"!"
Under the disbelieving gaze of the mouse merchant, the black-haired girl smiled and said her name.
"Yeah, it's really surprising. The real identity of one of the best strategy masters during the closed beta period is..."
Sitting on the edge for the guests to rest, Argo looked at Yuuki up and down again.
She still can't believe that "Yu" is actually this young girl.
"So, little brother... Oh, I should be young lady now. What do you want to do with me? As for strategies, you, a former frontline player, should be better than me."
Fiddled with the edge of the teacup, Argo asked strangely.
If you want information, it's even more impossible. When it comes to strategy information, no one should have more detailed information than her in the early stage.
Without saying anything else, Yuuki opened her inventory, took out a booklet and threw it over.
With doubtful eyes, Argo took it in his hand and looked at the two rows of words on the cover of the booklet.
——[Tips for even idiots to survive, detailed explanation of the first level missions and monsters of "Aincrad" (for reference only)]
"That's it, I'll leave the message processing of this thing to you."
She believed that the mouse merchant, who had this intention in the first place, would not refuse.
"This is--!?"
After looking at it twice, Argo was surprised again.
It records almost all the contents of the first floor of Aincrad in detail, and even includes ways to survive through cycle missions even without completing the floor strategy.
For novice players in this world now, is there any more important prop than this?!
But she remembered that the opponent should have conquered the area close to the tenth floor during the beta test. Why not also release the subsequent strategies?
After expressing his thoughts, Argo received a laughing reply.
"...Argo, please read carefully the words on the first page of this booklet."
"Um?"
Turn the brochure in your hand to the front, it says this.
——[The "key" has been handed over to you. It's up to you to decide whether you want to pick up the sword and chase after me or not.】
This ‘gift’ given to me as a closed beta player is already substantial enough.
She is not here to be a 'savior', that's all. (To be continued)