In a daze, Morin only felt a flash and then a burst of light before his eyes. When he regained his senses, he found himself standing in a vast, empty space shrouded in clouds and mist.
"Where is this..."
Looking around, even Morin, with all his experience in SAO, was momentarily stunned.
He was clearly standing on solid ground, yet he had never seen ground like this before. It was a pristine white, and when he stepped down with a little force, it gave a soft, cottony sensation, almost like stepping onto a cloud.
The space around him felt endless, stretching far beyond where the eye could see. Yet, paradoxically, it also gave him the illusion of being in a small, confined area. When he tried to focus on the swirling clouds and mist in the distance, he found he could not see anything clearly, as though there was an infinite distance between him and them. It was a bizarre sensation, as if space itself was both minuscule and boundless at once, enough to make him feel dizzy if he stared too long.
"Congratulations, esteemed guest, on successfully completing the trial mission. You have obtained the qualification for basic permissions."
Morin's confusion lasted only a few seconds before he heard a voice he had only heard a handful of times in his mind.
Cold. Indifferent. Completely devoid of emotional fluctuations. It did not evoke any warmth or comfort, only the harsh chill of steel scraping against steel. Hearing it made one's hair stand on end and sent shivers through the body.
Hearing that voice, Morin instinctively jolted and immediately calmed down.
"I want to know the details of the trial mission," he said steadily.
"Also, what exactly are the basic permissions I have obtained by completing the trial? Where am I right now? Can I return to the Sword Art Online world? Or return to my own real world?"
"Finally, what does the god who threw me here actually want me to do?"
Without wasting any time, Morin asked the questions that had been weighing heavily on his mind.
Back in the virtual world of SAO, Morin had often pondered during rare moments of peace why he had been chosen by that so-called god and hurled into a two-dimensional world simply for replying to a post on an online forum. No answers had come to him then, and no amount of guessing had ever gotten him closer to the truth. Now that he had seemingly left the Sword Art Online world and gained this mysterious "basic permission," Morin felt he had to ask while he had the chance.
The term "basic permission" alone made him frown, and questions about where he was, whether he could return to his real world, or even re-enter Sword Art Online, pressed urgently against his mind. Back in SAO, he had tried countless times to find answers, whether in the game world or in what little remained of the real world connection, but no voice had ever responded. Now that he finally had a chance, he could not afford to miss it.
Even if the attempt failed, it was better than doing nothing.
"The trial mission is a test granted by the Lord God to fortunate individuals. Only those who pass the trial mission and gain permissions may enter here. Those who fail, whether through intent or incompetence, will have all their character statuses revoked at the moment of failure, becoming non-registered entities in the trial world."
"Permissions define the limits within which the permission holder may consult, exchange, and act. Basic permission holders possess a limited right to knowledge and inquiry. They may access a certain amount of rest time within this space, spend a cost to undergo comprehensive treatment, cultivation, and item exchange, and they may obtain certain permissions to exchange resources in other dimensional worlds. Further content must be explored independently by the permission holder."
"The current location of the esteemed permission holder is the Space Between Dimensions."
"The Space Between Dimensions exists in the gaps between worlds, wavering between the real and the illusory. It is a boundless, empty land. The specific location where you are now has been fixed by the Lord God. Please do not casually step off the grounded area, or you may be lost forever into the void."
"In addition, if the permission holder wishes to return to the Sword Art Online world or to the real world, they must first complete the settlement of the trial mission and then check their permissions to determine the details."
The voice was so flat, so devoid of life, that it sounded mechanical. Yet it answered Morin's questions completely and without hesitation.
Finally, it said, "The Supreme Lord God has only given a fortunate individual an opportunity. Whether the permission holder lives or dies will not cause the Lord God to act. If the permission holder is able, they may spend a cost to discard their permission status and either remain in a dimensional world or return to the real world."
"This..."
Hearing this information, Morin did not feel joy. Instead, he frowned deeply.
The voice had given a great deal of information, but rather than resolving his doubts, it only made Morin feel an even greater headache the more he thought about it.
Summarizing it briefly, he was just a lucky individual chosen at random by a bored god. Just like when he had jokingly said he wanted to enter a two-dimensional world as a villain, he had actually been thrown into the two-dimensional world by that god. His trial world had been the timeline of Sword Art Online during the SAO arc. If he had failed either of the two trial missions to replace Sugou Nobuyuki, Morin would have met a terrible end.
Even after entering SAO with a desperate, live-or-die mentality and completing the two trial missions, Morin had not even been able to enjoy a peaceful life alongside Yuuki Asuna before being pulled out of the Sword Art Online world. He was only told that he had completed the initial trial mission.
Now, it seemed he had the chance to heal, become stronger, and possibly return to either Sword Art Online or his real world.
Yet Morin could not shake the strange feeling that the so-called permissions and benefits dangled before him would not be so easy to claim.
"Excuse me," Morin said at last after some minutes of careful thought, sitting cross-legged. "What should I call you? And what are my personal permissions?"
"Please complete the trial mission settlement first. Only after obtaining the status of a formal permission holder may you inquire and operate," the emotionless voice responded without any change in tone.
Morin's face twitched slightly, but he quickly composed himself. He knew there was no point in arguing with a voice that lacked even the concept of emotion.
"Then I will proceed with the settlement first," Morin said decisively.
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Try Other Fics I Have
•SAO: I replaced him?
•Anime: I Want Harem
•DxD: I am Kanda Sorata
•Anime: Curse Of Immortality
•Genshin Impact: I have Broken System