\"I see, big brother, have you heard rumors about the Prime Minister? \"

"No, I haven't heard, is something going on?"

"Miss Prime Minister's task is to have someone escort, but only to give a cor task. Because of this, players seem to have a bad reputation among NPCs, making them take on some useless quests. ”

Sure enough, Kirito thought. Advanced missions should usually be store-bought, high-end gear that can give you a four-figure COR but only one COR reward.

It's not an unworthy story, so it's a matter of course to be criticized, even if the prime minister himself has no ill intentions. Silica looked at the Prime Minister with a sad expression.

"It seems that because of the circulation of such stories, there are very few people with the prime minister, and the only people who do the task are those who look for the hidden elements. \"

"However, I am afraid that the number of people doing this kind of thing is decreasing. In fact, the chief mission has not changed much. ”

"Yes, maybe because of this, the prime minister wanders around the city, no one takes the task, although there is a task, but he is attacked at will."

Kirito squinted at Lizbet, who was just as sad as Sirika, and then turned his attention to the prime minister beside him again. Prime is of course an NPC that exists in this world, and there are quests for players to complete.

However, the mission was not accepted, and he ended up wandering around the city, which was no longer his original role. Moreover, he didn't seem to notice this at all, just listening to Kirito from a distance.

I thought it was a nameless NPC when I first found out, but this time I felt even more pity.

（... ）

We'd love to find a way out of this, but all we can do as a player is accept, complete, and complete the Prime Minister's mission. All I can do is buy a cor.

In the end, when Lifa shouted to Lilan as if she remembered something, I could only conclude that way.

"Hey, Lilan, don't you know anything? Isn't it possible to scan the Prime Sauce, or find some errors in the Prime Sauce? ”

Lilan crossed her arms with a difficult expression on her face. It's as if he's trying to report what he's already done.

"It's a pity we can't. Even if we had scanning capabilities, it would be difficult to apply to Prime on the servers of the company that runs this game. Maybe there will be some anomalies, but "our hands." It seems impossible to know. ”

Immediately after, Lilan reacted as if she remembered something.

Kirito wonders what is going on and listens to what happened, and Kirito and his friends are constantly receiving the task of the prime minister when they are at school, and it seems that something has changed, and they are gradually protecting the prime minister. The distance is getting farther and farther away.

"Is the distance getting farther away? Does this mean that the chief task is underway? ”

"As usual, he only gave me a colonel, and it seems that this man's task is progressing."

"So, does that mean you're going to understand something eventually?"

Lizbet's question, Lilan shook her head.

"I don't know that. I don't think we know what the future will happen until it actually happens. Until then, the Premier League's pursuit may really be a mistake on the part of the management. ”

Ever since letting Yui browse the premiere, Kirito has been thinking about the same thing. All the states of the prime minister are considered initial, as if the name has not yet been decided. Despite this, Premier exists as a quest NPC and can indeed complete quests, but he can only receive one cor.

I can't help but think that there is some kind of development mistake on the part of the Prime Minister.

"Yes, weirdly, all states are 'empty', and oddly enough, you can only receive one cor. Here's one thing to do

Just as he was about to say this, a window appeared in front of Kirito. It looks similar to a smartphone call screen, with a start and decline button at the bottom and the name of the person you're calling at the top. When he saw the name of the person on the other end of the phone, Kirito was surprised and happy.

The sirens from there must have reached their ears, and the five girls reacted at once, looking at Kirito, and it didn't take long for Lizzebet to speak.

"What's that sound?" I mean, Kirito, what's that? \"

"Ah, it looks like you've all received a call from an acquaintance, so let's go back to the hotel first. \"

After confirming that everyone tilted their heads but nodded in response to the sudden instructions, Kirito returned to the hotel room with the five of them. By the time he walked into his room, the call had already been hung up, but when Kirito pulled out a window and operated, the content changed to the call screen just now, and the call finally began.

\"Private of the 1st class, Kirito-kun! \"

"Seven, I'm sorry I didn't come out sooner."

Hearing the sound coming from the window, everyone except the prime minister was surprised, and everyone gathered around Kirito again. Next to speak was Liz Bet.

\"Kirito, do you mean that? Or rather, the voice just now\"

\"Oh, didn't you know that voice was Liz-chan? \"

Hearing the sound of the window, Lifa raised her voice in surprise.

"After all, it's Xiao Qi! Can you call Xiao Qi? ”

"Is that voice Lifa-chan?" Maybe Kirito-kun is not such a person as Yui.

"Ah, Liz, Celica, Lifa, Lilan, and one other guest. \"

\"Kirito-san, what is this function? Does this game have such a feature? \"

Hearing Sirika's inquiry, Kirito began to explain.

This feature was not added to the game, but rather an app developed by Seven that allows for voice conversations between the VR world and the real world. There are various limitations in the prototyping phase. However, if you use it, you will be able to connect with people in the real world in the virtual reality world.

Its purpose and development intent are mainly to be able to get in touch with the real world in an emergency, but it can be used even in non-emergency situations, as evidenced by the conversation with Seven just now.

When Kirito explained the existence of such an application, it could change the situation in many ways if it had existed at the time of the [SAo] incident.

"Xiao Qi is still very good at developing such an app."

"Also, thank you, thanks to you, we were able to participate in the closed beta of this competitive game."

When Lilan said this behind Lifa, Xiao Qi laughed.

Originally, tickets for the closed beta of SA:o were distributed nationwide, and only players selected by lottery could participate.

Originally, Kirito and they had to be one of the lottery winners to participate, but since Seven was involved in the development of SA:o, Kirito and his friends were able to receive the draw directly from Seven. Receive a ticket to the SA:o Closed Beta and be able to log in to SA:o.

In short, you are popular as the heroine in "ALo" and are now developing "SA:o". That's why you're giving us tickets to beta testing, but isn't that an abuse of power in a sense? ”

"That's not true. I just borrowed my name, but I wasn't actually allowed to do anything. It looks like we managed to get the tickets to invite everyone.

Virtual roles can be taken over because SA:o" reuses the "SAo" server and data, as well as the "seeds". This is really a bold move. Poke the data of that game from above. ”

Hearing Kirito's words, Seven smiled wryly.

Although they were able to take over their avatars and log in to the world of SA:o, the important Seven themselves were not able to make it to this world. The reason is that Xiao Qi, who is a thirteen-year-old but a world-famous scientist, is busy with research and development.

It feels somewhat ironic that while he's working on a game, he can't play it. Xiao Qi himself seemed to be very dissatisfied with the current situation, and complaining words came from the window.

"Actually, I'd love to hang out with everyone right now, but I have an urgent research project to do, so I can't. However, we need to clean up before the official service starts and catch up with the launch of the "ground mission" in time

"\"Ground Mission\"? ”

"Ground Exploration".

The classification of quests is different from other quests, and by completing them, the world and story of the game itself will be revealed, unlocking various elements. I've also heard the name of the stand-in in "SAo". , "ALo" and "ALo".

Because the world of "SAo" is "SA:o", I expected such a thing to exist, but I was shocked when this phrase came out of the developer's mouth. Kirito was also a little surprised.

"Is there such a thing as a 'ground mission' in this world?"

"Yes. This is a large-scale event mission for the official server, and the story will unfold according to the setting of this Andi. I don't think I should have said that. Sorry, please keep it a secret.

Just after everyone laughed at Xiao Qi's carelessness, Kirito noticed the girl sitting next to him and asked Xiao Qi.

"By the way, speaking of missions, Seven, there's something I'm curious about. \"

\"Oh, something happened\"

Kirito saw Plimir sitting next to him—more precisely, on the bed between him and Lilan.

Even though Preel Merley only reacted inorganically, she seemed to respond appropriately to her gaze and stared into Kirito's black eyes with light blue eyes. With this in mind, Kirito explained the strange story about the prime minister and the prime minister's mission to Seven as clearly as possible.

Seven made a sound of tilting his head at the beginning, but he kept listening to me, and after the story was over, Seven finally gave me an answer.

''It's a very strange story. Apparently weird, everything is set to "empty" and you only get a cor as a quest reward.

"I guess. Then we thought it was a mistake on the part of the developers"

"It's not true"

At the heart of this "SA:o" is the "seed". "The Seed" is achieved by a minor revision of the core program "Cardinal System" used in "SAo", so that the VRmmo made in "the Seed" works properly.

However, in this "SA:o", despite the use of "seeds", the "cardinality system" is the same as the full spec version in "SAo".

The "Cardinal System", which was originally designed to require no human intervention, is also capable of self-healing errors, while the "SA:o" running on its full-spec version is said to notice bugs and errors that manual would never have noticed, so if there are any errors or errors, they can be corrected immediately.

But it's still weird. In fact, that NPC is moving normally.

"Ah, actually, that weird NPC is right next to me right now."

"Ugh. Does that mean you've heard about it too? \"

At the same time as Xiao Qi's voice carried a hint of impatience, Kirito suddenly looked to the side.

We are talking about something related to the Prime Minister himself, and anyone here will surely understand, but the Prime Minister just sat there and watched blankly.

There was no sign of understanding what the other party was saying, which made Kirito feel relieved.

"Yes, but they don't seem to understand what we're talking about."

"Well, from an NPC perspective, it's a meta-story, so there's no way they can understand.

However, if this is a design error, then it can't exist, and the cardinal should fix it first. So at the end of the day, there's something strange about that NPC's behavior. ”

Does this mean that the cardinal has not yet realized that this is a mistake? However, the behavior of this person is clearly strange. If you're going to report this to management"

"Deletion will be carried out immediately"

Everyone was surprised by Lilan's interaction with Seven, but Kirito thought about it and shrugged his shoulders.

So far, I've been watching the premiere casually, but the premiere doesn't have a name at all, and the tasks it offers are meaningless.

From the point of view of management and cardinals, it is nothing more than an entity with bugs and bugs, and it will also be judged that the Premier is at risk of causing major problems in the future.

Xiao Qi said it very cruelly, but I can only say that it is in his interests.

"It's not true..."

\"Prime Minister, are you going to be deleted!? \"

Lifa and Sirika said with sad faces, while Lizbet and Lilan had similar expressions, and the person in front of them was the Prime Minister. It's as if the person concerned simply didn't think about what would happen to him, which makes things even more tragic.

- It's pathetic, though, so I want you to leave it at that. \"That's right, Kirito-kun.

“”

\"Kind Kirito-kun, you don't want that NPC to be erased, do you? So I'm not going to say anything about it. Because I have a goddess-like heart.

Hearing this, everyone except the Prime Minister breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Although Seven has a close relationship with them and gets along well, Kirito thinks that they will do their best as a development team.

In the end, I couldn't help but feel relieved that the number seven on their side won.

"I—I see. I'll be grateful to you, Seven. \"

''It doesn't matter. However, be careful. That NPC might get into big trouble.

At the moment, Premier doesn't have any settings for the time being, but that doesn't mean there won't be major issues in the future. If something happens, Premiere may be deleted. As I took this to heart, Lilan shouted out the window.

"Ah, we'll take care of you while you're away, so don't worry."

\"Yes, please, Leland-chan\"

"Also, you have an older sister, and as your younger sister, you should contact her from time to time."

"Of course. Still, I kept in touch with him from time to time, so he understood. However, the words of an older sister who has a younger brother and three younger sisters are very convincing.

After the ALo turmoil ended, Relan and Lilan became friends, probably because of their sister, and the two hit it off and began to chat more often. Nowadays, whenever Relan and Lilan meet, their conversation tends to focus on their sister and brother. As a younger sister, Lilan's words must have been deeply touched, because she and her sister hit it off.

\"Well, Kirito them, please play hard. "Closed beta also includes debugging.

"Hey, are you going to let us look for bugs?"

"Jokes. There may be some truly unexpected mistakes, though, so be as careful as possible, huh? Ahh

Everyone was taken aback, and Seven suddenly shouted loudly, and Lizbet raised her voice slightly and said into the window.

"W-What's wrong, Seven? Something went wrong. \"

"No, I almost missed it." Kirito-kun, I have something to ask you.

"Uh, what's wrong, Xiao Qi?"

"Kirito-kun, did you meet Miss Alice in SA:o"? \"

Iris. He was one of the people who developed SAo in the world where "SA:o" was located, and created the super-advanced artificial intelligence here, including Relan, his younger brother Jupiter, his sister Yui and Strea. Kirito's collaborator and psychiatrist who is also Shino's personal physician.

After surviving from the "SAo" together, he joined the "ALo" and exerted his strength as a member of the strategy team, often being consulted by Kirita and Shino.

Recently, however, Alice has been seen less and less, and one day she suddenly asks Kirito to let her retrieve Lilan and Jupiter's sister Quenella, and she takes Quinnera somewhere. Ah.

Since then, he hasn't received any phone calls, not even appeared on the \"ALo\", so to speak, and disappeared. And in the last three days, I haven't met Alice or anyone like her, and I haven't heard from her.

"No, I haven't seen you. Is there anything wrong with Alice? ”

"Oh, I haven't seen you yet. \"I thought I had met you. \"

\"Hey, Little Seven, you've been worried about Teacher Alice for a while, but what's wrong? \"

As soon as Lifa asked, Seven shut up. Just as Kirito wanted to ask aloud what was going on, Seven spoke again.

"Kirito-kun, you know. When I looked at the data from the development team, I saw as if Alice was there.

Everyone except for Premier was surprised and shouted loudly, if not?? Yes, the soundproofing system is in place and will definitely cause complaints in the next room. Alice's de facto daughter, Lilan, immediately asks Seven.

"You're saying Alice is working on the game?"

"Nope. It's not clear. However, it seems that Dr. Serizawa's name is in Alice-San's development team. So I think maybe Alice Sand is also using this permission to SA:o

Indeed, Alice was originally a developer of "SAo", so it is not surprising that her name was included in the development team of "SA:o".

However, if that's the case, they'll definitely come and talk about it, and most importantly, they'll give us closed beta tickets sooner than Seven. And he must have logged in and greeted us before anyone else.

However, I haven't been able to reach Alice so far, and even my exclusive patient, Shino, hasn't said anything.

"No, I didn't see him. Shino didn't seem to see him either. \"

"Is that so? I think I'll try to ask the Japanese dev team. I'm curious to see if Alice was involved in the development.

\"Ah, try it. We'll go to Alice Sand, too. You can do the same, so don't overdo it. \"

After Kirito said this, Seven said the usual greeting "Darth Vidania" and hung up.

The country of Seven is the United States, and there is a big time difference with Japan, so if it is evening in Japan, then it is morning in the United States. Work on the seventh is about to begin.

When will Seven, who has grown with their friendship, come to SA:o?

So is there Alice in this "SA:o"? What will happen to Premier in the future? Kirito's mind was full of troubles. Just then, Sirika shouted at me with a worried look.

\"Kirito-san, is the Prime Minister okay? \"

"I don't know either, but let's see what's going on now. Maybe we'll learn something from it. ”

If you look next door, you'll see the premiere that people have been talking about for a long time.

Sure enough, the expression on her face was almost expressionless, but there must be something hidden in this premiere.

And, if what the Seven says is true, it's likely that Alice knows something about the Prime Minister.

In any case, the important thing is to find what Premier and Alice might have. Kirito thought as he continued to stare at the inorganic girl.

Five days have passed since the start of the closed beta of "SA:o", but nothing has changed.

SA:o is still in closed beta, which is a trial version where you can go into the deep version if you have a certain skill level. The official service has not yet been launched, and the only logged-in users are winners. Even after three or five days, there has been almost no change in the number and appearance of the players seen in the city.

If there's one thing the world has changed since five days ago, it's that I've made some progress in my quests and maps, and I've managed to go deep into the first realm, the Great Plains of Loustoria.

Recently, perhaps due to the influence of other players' strategies, the number of event missions set by the Rustria Plains has increased, and the number of player discussions has also increased.

However, few people talk about the tasks related to the prime minister, and the tasks of the prime minister are already only Kirito. However, the first task is also the escort mission, and as before, the reward is only 1 core, which is not particularly different.

To be honest, the destination set by Premiere is getting farther and farther away, and I feel that the story of the mission is not progressing.

There is no doubt that something will happen to the first task, where there are too few anomalous events or changes, but Kirito fears that they may give up before they reach that point.

After logging in to SA:o, Kirito immediately leaves the hotel and heads to the city. I usually have to go to school, so I can't log in during the day, but today is Saturday. You can log in and play SA:o in the morning, so Kirito dives into the water after breakfast.

"So, how far do you want to go today?"

"It's okay to go out to fight, but do you have consumables? Recently, there have been a lot of quests, and I guess I rarely go to the item shop. ”

The person who answered Kirito was none other than Lilan, who was walking beside Kirito at the moment. In the city, Lilan is forced to transform into a werewolf form, with a pair of wolf ears and a wolf tail appearing on her head.

In ALo, this is something that only the cait Sith tribe can see, so from the moment they log in to SA:o, the players around them are asking "Where did you get those beast ears and tails!?" Something like that. Sent to us by us.

And until now, the players around her still look at Lilan with strange eyes. Perhaps because of this, Kirito, who walked side by side with Lilan in the form of a werewolf, had a somewhat complicated mood.

"Think about it, but the strategy is not that difficult, as long as there are a certain number of items, you can do anything. Looks like you've got quite a few recovery skills. "Well."

"Still, you have to be prepared just in case. That's right, in case of an emergency"

Ever since we met in that SAo Death Game world, Lilan has taught me how to survive in the Death Game, but even after SAo ended I went to ALo, even after I came to "SA:o", it continued.

Although the end of the game means that the world of death ended two years ago, the habits and feelings of that time are still there. Lilan's shoulders continued to maintain their strength as he felt like he was still in the world of the Death Game.

Kirito easily guessed this and interrupted Lilan's words.

"Lilan, I've said it many times, but the game of death is over, and you don't need that much force on your shoulders anymore."

“！”

The blonde wolf-eared girl, a SAo survivor, pricked up her ears in shock. Perhaps remembering what she had said in ALo, Lilan's ears slowly drooped, and her face drooped.

“... Yes. ”

Didn't you say it when you were ALo? The world we live in is completely safe Amusphere. We're no longer a game-over-and-death environment. \"

\"yes. But since I came into this world, it hasn't been of much use. Especially this city. Since I landed in the city again, it hasn't been of much use. \"

It's not that I don't understand Lilan's feelings. In fact, this 'City of Initiation' is where the SAo Death Game kick-off ceremony takes place, and where the 10,000 trapped players are flooded with negative emotions such as grief and despair.

Even though he was sealed as MHHP Unit 01, he watched the scene as if hell was open, and he was the one who caused the situation, and Akihiko Kayaba, the de facto creator of SAo, was his father. Lilan.

Although it is a different world now, a different "City of Origin", the "SA:o" has exactly the same scenery as the world where my father took the lives of 4,000 players.

No wonder my memories of that time are like a relapse of a long illness. Kirito noticed this again and gently placed his hand on Lilan's head, who had lowered her head. I opened my mouth and looked at Lilan's red eyes, and Lilan looked up, a little surprised.

"Lilan, I'll repeat what I said before. The game of death is over, and your quest has been renewed. Your task now is to enjoy the world with me, as it is. ”

With that, Lilan's eyes with wolf characteristics opened. Eventually, as if remembering his mission, his face lit up, and his ears, which had been asleep, were pricked up.

\"That's right. My mission is to play with you in this world as your 'acquaintance'. Being with you has become so obvious that I may have forgotten about it. ”

"yes, I'm glad you protected me, but don't put too much pressure on your shoulders."

As he slowly let go of his hand, Lilan smiled and said, "Let me do it." ”

As it stands, Lilan is an being of the same nature as the NPCs that exist in this world, and is generally referred to as an AI. While other NPCs are just fulfilling their roles, and even expressing their emotions are just doing what they were designed to do, and don't have any will of their own.

However, Lilan – or more accurately, his younger siblings – sometimes thinks about or forgets about her role, let alone enjoying things with humans, and even acts like this.

I don't think the term AI is for Lilan and his younger siblings, who have an intelligence and heart that is incomparable to the AI developed by ordinary companies. Kirito often wonders if he should give it a different name and see it as his own entity.

However, Kirito knew that if he got into a state of thought now, he might cause unnecessary worry to Lilan, so he put his thoughts behind him and turned forward.

"So, what do we do now?"

At that moment, the door to the building on Kirito's right hand opened. If you look at the signboard, you can tell that this is an accessory store. Seeing two players walking out of it, Kiririto and Lilan were a little surprised.

A petite girl with long black hair and a white-pink dress. The entourage was dressed in a revealing green combat uniform, with a blue scarf wrapped around it, and black semi-long hair, tied to the sideburns, girl. It is Yui and Shino who can now be called the Kiriren family.

"Mom, are you okay?"

\"yes. There are a lot of things that are a little bit different. I'm thinking about changing stores, but can you still go to Yui? \"

"I agree. I can stay with you until I find something that Mom thinks is good. ”

"I hope that next time there will be someone who doesn't know if it's better to do a mission or do something after walking so far."

Kirito and Lilan approached the two and clearly saw that they were a pair of parents and children who were shopping. Soon, Yui noticed the two of them, waved her hand lightly, and called out.

"Ah, dad and sister!"

\"Ah, Kirito. And Lilan. \"

\"Hey, you two. Shi Nai came early today. What are you doing? \"

"yes, Mom"

Yui was about to say something, but Shino interrupted her with a surprised expression. It came so suddenly, and Yui was surprised.

\"Hey, Yui. You don't have to tell Kirito. \"

"I see. But I feel like I should tell my dad about it."

"yes, but that's not true. It's just my personal business, so I don't need to involve my dad. ”

If I find something, it could be something bad, or maybe I'm trying to hide something from Kirito. Hearing Shino's words, Kirito's eyes were half-open, this was definitely some ulterior motives.

\"Hmm. Shino-san, are you doing something to me behind my back? \"

Shino appears clumsy when persecuted. He must have been hiding something after all. What's that, exactly? Just as I approached him with a sense of mischief, Lilan suddenly spoke.

"Well, this shop"

"What's wrong, what's wrong, Lilan?"

When Kirito stops approaching Shino and turns around, Lilan begins to speak.

It is said that the jewelry store where Yui and Shino work did not exist five days ago and is undergoing some kind of change.

The change is the replacement of employee NPCs. Five days ago, the jewelry store was assigned a female NPC employee, but since yesterday or so, a male NPC employee has been assigned.

"NPC replaced? Is it true? ”

\"Ahh From the beginning of the closed beta to the day before yesterday, there were indeed female NPCs as employees in the store. However, since yesterday, it has become a male NPC. Isn't it, Shino? \"”

Shino was sprayed, a little surprised, and then turned back to the direction of the store as if she was remembering something.

"Come to think of it, yes, there is a male NPC working in this jewelry store, but the last time I visited, it was a female NPC working"

In the case of a real store, the number of employees varies according to the shifts of employees and part-timers. However, in this world, NPCs who are store employees do not change unless there is a special event. There is no point in doing such a thing in the absence of events.

If what Lilan said is true, then something strange must have happened to this store. Kirito understood, and immediately put his finger on his chin.

"What's going on with NPCs changing? Is something happening? ”

"No, Baba, we haven't confirmed if there has been such an incident recently, it seems that the NPC of this store has been replaced for no reason."

She is Riran's sister, and since she is an AI, she is not responsible for events and other events. What Yui said, who can investigate TA, is always true. Since Yui said the same thing in addition to Lilan, then something must have happened to the NPCs of this store. However, Kirito is now unable to find out his true identity.

"I can't figure it out. I'm sure something happened."

"Even when I think about it, I don't seem to understand anything. And I don't know if this phenomenon is the only one that happens here. ”

Hearing Shino's words, Kirito thought further. Indeed, if this NPC change only happened to the clerk of this jewelry store, then it is very likely that it was some kind of coincidence, or it was just that the NPC of the clerk of this jewelry store had some kind of malfunction.

First of all, the game itself is still in closed beta, and even Seven, who participated as one of the developers, was worried that some problems might arise. It would not be surprising if there was an error.

"That's the problem, I haven't heard of anything like this happening anywhere else but this place. I guess that's only the case with NPCs who work in this trinket store"

"Welcome to Liz Bess Arms Shop! If you're using this service, line up here! This is the last time! ”

Just as I was about to say this, a familiar voice came into my ears again. If you listen closely, you can also hear a lot of people making noise.

As I looked around for the source, I saw players lining up in front of a booth not far from Kirito and them. At the same time, a girl with brown hair tied into a double ponytail, holding something like a placard, shouted loudly, as if blending into the serpentine procession.

When we saw this girl clearly, everyone was slightly surprised, and Lilan blinked her eyes and said:

"Isn't that silica? What does it do? ”

"I mean, where is that line? It looks like they're all players. ”

As everyone looked at Celica and the players in line, Kirito was surprised to notice something.

A queue that can be seen in the real world when a new product is released. The weavers' destination is Liz Beth and Liland's Liz Beth Munitions Shop, which opened just five days ago.

Lizzebet, who has been running a blacksmith shop since SAo, has mastered expertise in weapon manufacturing and maintenance, and has also opened a blacksmith shop at "SA:o". They use their blacksmith skills to help maintain their players' weapons, as well as develop and produce new ones.

However, among those who were selected as SA:o beta beta testers, there seemed to be almost no SAo survivors, and there were many users of the new Liz Beth weapon shop that was born in SA:o, and in the end most of the players were Kirito. and others who were already friends with Lizzebet, and the other players rarely came.

Seeing the long queue at the "Reborn Lizbet Armory Shop", even Kirito couldn't hide his surprise, and if Kirito and the others didn't use it, they would chirp like abandoned birds. Eventually, Yui must have realized this and pointed to the front of the line, making a surprised noise.

"That's Liz's shop. There's a queue at Liz's shop! ”

Shino was taken aback, as if to confirm whether this was true or not, and stared at the front of the group. I couldn't help but be surprised that there was a long queue at Liz Bes's store.

"That's true. There was a long queue at Liz's shop. But why? ”

Immediately after, Sirika, who was holding a placard and shouting, met Kirito's gaze. Perhaps she didn't expect Kirito and them to come, Sirika looked a little impatient, and then hurriedly ran towards Kirito and them.

\"Kirito-san! \"

"Sirika, there seems to be a queue at Liz's shop, what's going on?"

"There's nothing I can do about it!"

Celica recounted the situation to me, looking unusually angry and impatient.

Originally, in this 'City of Origins', there was a blacksmith shop run by female NPCs. It is mainly used by players who don't know Liz Bess skills, and the store is quite popular, perhaps because the female NPCs who run the store are cute.

But yesterday, something strange happened. The girl NPC who was supposed to run the shop suddenly disappears from the shop, and it seems that a male NPC is going to replace her in running the shop.

"Is there a change in the Forge NPC? Has something similar happened here? ”

"I don't know, because I haven't used it, but the male NPCs at the blacksmith always seem to be very domineering, and even if the forging fails, not only is he not distressed, but he seems to have been framed." As someone who irritates me. Yes"

"It was very uncomfortable to use, and people started going to Liz's store."

Shino added when she said this in shock.

At first, there were only enough people for Lizbet to manage herself, but as time went on, the lines became longer and longer.

Feeling helpless, Lizbet calls out to Sirika and Lilan to help her and Sirika guide her.

Now that Lizzebet and Lilan are maintaining and producing weapons for players in long queues, and both are improving their forging skills with each passing day, this seems to be the case.

It's good for Lizbet and Liland to have customers coming, and they can also improve their blacksmith skills by maintaining and producing weapons. It's a way to kill two birds with one stone, but players who line up in long lines aren't necessarily happy.

While imagining the hardships of the two of them being unable to participate in the raid and being forced to deal with weapons and equipment in the store, Kirito constantly pondered the events that led to the current situation.

“...... I can't believe something like this is happening here. ”

The reason why Lizbet's shop has become so busy is because the NPCs of the Blacksmith Shop in the City of Ancestors have been replaced, and the image and atmosphere have deteriorated, but this phenomenon is an example of an employee of the jewelry store where Yui and Knot are located. Shino has visited. and

So far, I think it's a local bug or glitch, but if something like this happens at the blacksmith, I won't be able to rule it out.

There's no doubt that strange things are happening to this city - no, all the NPCs of this world.

Presumably, Shino also got the same answer as Kirito, and shouted at me with a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Kirito, this is it"

\"Ah, there seems to be something wrong with the NPCs in this world, let Argo investigate it. \"

Next, Lilan turned to Kirito and said to him.

"I think it's a good idea to check if there's anything going on with the NPCs in the field."

"yes, let's go out and conquer the battlefield first and see if there are any strange things about the NPCs there."

Kirito opens the message window, designates Argo as the recipient, and manipulates the holographic keyboard. At the same time, more and more players are visiting the Lizbet Shop, and the "New Lizbet Weapon Shop" has become extremely prosperous. After witnessing the commotion in the 'City of Initiation', Kirito headed to his current strategic territory, the Lyustia Grassland.

Originally, Kirito was going to go out with Shino and Lilan, but after seeing the new Lizbet Armory Shop so bustling, he stopped at the portal square and met someone.

A blue-haired young man, dressed in a blue and white uniform and light armor. In battle, the knight acts as a tank, blocks enemy attacks with a shield, and attacks with a powerful sword technique with a one-handed sword.

Diabel is a friend of many monsters in "SAo", and was the boss of the Grand Guild known as the Holy Dragon Alliance during the "SAo" period.

I found it when I stopped at Portal Square, and when I called for it, I heard that Diaberu was also going to the battlefield. Kirito thinks it's a good idea to have the exact same destination, so he invites Diaberu to join him at the party.

Diabel, who was originally a friend, did not refuse, so Kirito, Shino, Lilan, and Diabel decided to go to the Rustian grassland.

Swald Yalfheim in "ALo" is a vast grassland that is even bigger than the first one. The constant warm breeze blows through the plants, causing the plants to sway, creating a musical-like effect. If you look a little further away, you can see the forest and the forest made up of many trees, as well as the lush mountains. After the tour, this is probably the best place for a picnic.

As I walked through the fields, Diabel looked around and shouted to me.

"In short, the world is really similar to that world, and it reminds me of a lot of things."

From the first layer of Al Grant to the hundredth floor of Diaberu, there was a clear look of nostalgia in his eyes.

Everyone says so, but the world does bear a lot of resemblance to that SAo, and in fact, the structure of the City of Origin has barely changed.

Therefore, there are times when Kirito feels like he is really back in that world, but after understanding the difference that Diabel said, he realizes that this is not the case and gives an answer.

"That's true. But you know, not everything is in that world. ”

"Ah, Lilan's appearance is different, the structure of the map is different, this world is a different world, very similar to that world."

"Yes. That's why this field is different. Let's play it as if we were playing different games. ”

Dilberu chuckled "ahh

"Kirito, when you say that, doesn't Lilan be able to fly? With Lilan's wings, it's as if he can fly in the sky and go directly to the boss area. ”

After the SA:o closed beta began, Kirito's thought the same thing, but it wasn't the case.

The concept of "Beast Tamer" also exists in "SA:o", and not only Kirito, but also Silika and other players can use "Demon". This "Magic Pet" can also be converted from the standard game of The Seed, so if you are a "Dragon Trainer" player in "ALo" and the like, you can use the powerful "Demon Pet" to bring the dragon to "SA:o".

Because of this, Lilan – which is actually adapted, because of the werewolf data in it – can become a werewolf with great power even in the land of SA:o, but he can't fly in the sky. You can only move to areas that the player has already traversed and activated.

If the player tries to enter an area that they haven't visited before, they will be blocked by the system wall and taken down, and will not be able to fly in an inactive area.

It's been about five days since the beta began, and it's still far from the starting area, so we've probably flown about half of this savannah, but this is where Lilan can fly, so it's limited.

This is not a restriction for Yuichi. When you enter the big boss fight, something will appear below the Dragon Trainer's HP bar and SP bar.

Yes, this is a type of meter that Kirito got after meeting Lilan in SAo, called the Human Dragon Meter, officially known as the Beast Meter.

Originally only owned by Kirito, but now available to all SA:o dragon trainers as well as animal tamers with powerful magic pets, and until this existing gauge is filled, it will apply to all SA:o dragon trainers: o.] will take on a different look.

By filling the meter and shouting the name of the "Demon", the "Demon" will revert to its original form and be able to exert its powers, but only until it reaches zero again. In this "SA:o", the "Beast Tamers" who use the "Dragon Trainer" and the large "Demon Maker" have special skills other than sword skills that can restore the "Demon Maker" to its original appearance. Form and fight. It's like a skill, a nirvana.

When I said this in my own retrospective way, both Diabel's and Shina's expressions became complicated.

"Is that so? I thought I could fly anywhere if I had Lilan's powers, but wholesaler Tonya doesn't wholesale anymore? ”

"I don't really know if it's going to be an inconvenience. In ALo, Lilan can always be a dragon, and even in boss fights, he is always a dragon. ”

"It's very different then. Besides, if a 'messenger' like me can fly freely, wouldn't there be an unreasonable distinction between 'dragon tamers' and non-dragon trainer players?

The voice that sounded like an old woman had come to my mind from Lilan in the form of a wolf dragon, and although her face had the outline of a wolf, she had a complex expression that I could understand.

It is true that anyone can get a 'demon maker' and anyone can become a 'beast tamer', but not everyone can use a dragon for the first time, and it is too expensive to become a dragon that makes a demon. If it's convenient, there's a decisive difference between those who can get it and those who can't.

In order to maintain the balance between these players, various restrictions were imposed on Lilan and his powerful "dependents". Although Diabel was sure that he understood the developer's intentions, he looked at Lilan with envy.

"That's true. However, if I can transform into a "demon", I should become an "animal trainer" of "ALo" No, I should become a "dragon trainer".

"No, no, it's not all demons in the game. Lilan's power is just a nirvana. We have sword fighting experience and sword skills, so we will continue to use it from now on. Let's fight. \"

Even as they were engaged in such a trivial conversation, Kirito still kept an eye on Lilan closely.

Unlike "ALo", where he can also form a human-dragon combination in boss fights, he is now a special move to combine with Lilan's human-dragon combination. Although the situation is not as harsh as "SAo", it is important to be careful when to launch.

Undoubtedly, if you travel to the deepest part of the Rustria steppe that you are conquering, you will encounter what are called regional bosses or raid bosses.

Until then, we must understand the power of regeneration in this world and the appropriate time to use it, and be able to make the most of it.

Even though Kirito tells everyone that they don't need to remember their time at SAo, Kirito still thinks back to the time when he first became an animal trainer in SAo, while moving forward with his friends.

Soon after, Kirito and the others walked out of the grassland and found a dark, cave-like place waiting for them.

However, it is not completely dark like a typical cave, and if you look up, you will see a crack in the ceiling, and a small amount of sunlight shines through to the passage inside. Tunnels made of natural rock.

Although it is rarely seen in the real world, it is a sight that is easy to see and visit in the world of VRmmo. With a sense of gratitude, and a sense of superiority to be able to step into such a place so easily, I moved forward with some of the monsters that inhabited it.

After a few minutes, Kirito and the others noticed the situation ahead and stopped. In front of us, probably near the exit of the rock tunnel, there was a building that looked like an obstacle or a checkpoint.

As I turned my attention to the building passage leading to the next section, I saw that there was a monster there.

Many patterned stones come together to form a slightly humanoid shape. Giant monsters known as "golems", which often appear in fantasy works and role-playing games, stand in their way.

In the real world, if you show your passport or ID, you will be allowed to pass through checkpoints such as borders, but the golem doesn't seem to accept such a thing or let you through.

Not only does it appear in the first one, but in many places the scene that appears is a mid-boss battle, where you fight monsters that aren't even big bosses. As soon as the time came, Kirito and the others drew their weapons and prepared for battle. At the same time, two 'health bars' appeared above the puppet's head.

Perhaps the golem realized this and took the initiative. It made a dull sound like the friction of stone and iron all over its body, approaching Kirito and the others, and when the distance narrowed to straight ahead, it violently waved its thick arms.

There was a roar, the earth rolled up, and large chunks of dirt and stones flew like bullets.

However, for Kirito, who had once defeated similar monsters, such an attack was nothing at all. I quickly backed away, keeping a distance from the golem, avoiding the golem's arms and the flying dirt projectiles.

When the golem attacked and found a gap, Lilan walked up to Kirito and attacked the golem about her size with her front legs.

Lilan's claws, each the size of a two-handed sword, but as sharp as a sword, slashed through the golem's body. With a loud bang, the effect of the stone that makes up the golem's body collapsing appears, and the attack location has a red damage effect.

But the golem showed no signs of flinching, instead moving slowly, recovering from its stiffness after the attack. Although the amount of the 'health bar' floating above his head is decreasing, it is not enough to deal effective damage.

And it's no wonder. Lilan's claws and horns, as well as the attacks of the one-handed sword they carry, are all 'slash attributes', and the golem in front of them is resistant to this 'slash attribute'. of monsters.

Kirito, Diabel, and Lilan are only equipped with one-handed swords and two-handed swords that can only produce slashing attributes, and the rest of Shino are also equipped with spears with piercing attributes. All of these are the properties of the Golem type that are resistant.

If Lizzebet were to be here wielding an 'Attack Attribute' stick in one hand, the tide of battle would change dramatically. Things may have gotten better, but the important Lizbet is at her best, facing a large number of players in the City of the Ancestors and simply not being able to come out and attack. Kirito somewhat regretted that he should have forced himself to take Lizzeate out instead of going to the boss like this.

However, now that we've come this far, we can't afford to back down, and most importantly, we haven't been trapped by such a mid-boss. Diabel must have had the same idea as Kirito, as he shouted. As I rushed, the distance between me and the golem suddenly narrowed. If you move sideways, the golem will turn around and attack you by slashing it down with its arms.

Diabel used to be the boss of a large guild called the Holy Dragon Alliance, and even taught quite a few Andina players how to fight in ALo. Diabel's maneuvering on the battlefield attracts the attention of the enemy and is able to thwart their attacks. Having the same status as Heathcliff, he is the former head of the Grand Guild known as the Knights of the Blood Pact in SAo, and is good at blocking attacks with shields and launching counterattacks.

As if inheriting his appearance at the time, Diabel immediately defended the arm of the approaching golem with his shield. The unique sound effect sounds, Diabel backs a bit, but doesn't take much damage, and the golem also exposes the gap behind the attack.

"Tia!!"

Diaberu did not miss this opportunity, roared, wrapped the blade of the one-handed sword in his right hand in the blue light, closed the distance between him and the golem again, surrounded the golem in a rectangle, and slashed four times. It unleashed and tore the puppet's body horizontally.

A one-handed sword technique "Yokokata" with four consecutive attacks.

It's an explosive sword technique that has existed since the era of "SAo", but probably because it's a one-handed sword attack, it can only produce slash attributes, and although it can cause a certain amount of damage to the enemy, the body of the golem has no "hp bar", so it can't be effectively reduced.

Even so, the damage was already done, and Kirito Shino ran out at the same time, while Diabel, who returned to the backline, took turns attacking.

Although it depends on the skill itself, after using the sword technique, you will be forcibly frozen for a certain amount of time. At this point, when Kirito and Shino swap, that is, exchange offensive moves with other players to counteract the attack, Kirito and Shino split into two groups.

When Kirito stands in front of the puppet and Shino stands behind him, the puppet looks confused for a moment, revealing a gap.

"This is it!!"

As if to say that he had been waiting for that moment, Kirito wrapped the sword in his hand in a pale blue light and rushed towards the golem, slashing and slashing six times in a row, slicing its body open, and finally cutting it off. Moves outwards in a crossover motion, causing the golem to lose its posture.

A dual-wielding sword technique "Double Revelation" with six consecutive attacks.

Hearing the explosion and seeing the puppet lose its balance, Shino took aim as if given a hint and rushed forward.

"Eat this too!!"

As she ran, Shino stabbed with all her strength as the tip of the spear she held in both hands shrouded in golden light. Normally, any weapon would be repelled by the stone golem's body, but the tip of the blade plunges deep into it, causing physical damage.

High output single attack spear sword skill "Sonic Charge".

Although they are both attribute attacks with resistance, it must be unbearable to receive two consecutive blows from different directions, and the golem that was hit by Kirito Shino's sword skills is about to lose its posture. Again..

However, at this moment, the golem stood up again as if resurrected, and its upper body spun at high speed, wrapping its arms with centrifugal force to attack, sweeping the surrounding area and Kirita and Shino over. Over there.