"Thank you!"
After taking the box from the delivery person sent by the Hero Association, Sato expressed his thanks.
"You're welcome."
The man was taciturn. After replying with a single sentence, he immediately turned and left without any hesitation, as if he had undergone professional training.
Closing the door, Sato carried the box and turned back into the room.
In the living room, Kanna, whom he had just brought back from Tohru, was sitting obediently on the sofa watching TV.
"Sato, what is this?"
Kanna glanced at the box Sato placed on the low table. Her bright, sapphire-like eyes looked up at him with curiosity.
"A game device."
Sato gave a brief answer. Soon, he realized Kanna might not understand what that meant, so he added, "Once you put this on, you can enter a virtual world. When I'm not home during the day, you can go there and play."
"Oh! That sounds amazing!"
Kanna cupped her cheeks and let out a small exclamation, her gaze fixed on Sato as he took out the SAO login device from the box.
"There are two devices here. Tomorrow, give one to Tohru as well."
"Okay!"
"Here, put it on. I'll take you in first so you can get familiar with it."
…
Aincrad, Starting Plaza.
"Sato, is this the neighbor's child you mentioned? Th… this is way too young, isn't it?!"
Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito) stared in shock at Kanna standing beside Sato.
From what he knew, this game seemed to have age restrictions for players. Most were under thirty, and even the youngest were at least middle school students.
But no matter how one looked at Kanna, she was just a little child of six or seven.
"I wouldn't know. This company is so mysterious, who knows what they're trying to do."
Sato said it against his conscience.
"That's true."
Kirito scratched his head. He had never expected Sato to know the inside details of the game.
"But is it really okay? After all, she's such a young child…"
He glanced at the adorable little girl and spoke hesitantly.
The realism of this game was frighteningly high. Whether it was the sense of impact or immersion, it was intense. Even many adults could not get past the first stage after leaving the city.
The bloodiness after killing monsters was not something everyone could handle.
"Well…"
Sato turned to look at Kanna. After a moment of thought, he slowly said, "It should be fine. Actually, Kanna's father is a… butcher!"
"Yes, a butcher! So Kanna is quite used to seeing things like this."
Sato repeated himself, as if doing so would make it more convincing.
"Really?"
Kirito looked at Sato suspiciously. Somehow, Sato's eyes had seemed to drift just now, and his tone had hesitated.
This guy ain't lying, is he?
"Forget it, let's go out and give it a try first."
"Alright!"
Sato nodded, then silently gave Kanna a look.
Kanna nodded seriously, recalling what Sato had told her before entering.
FLASHBACK TIME > >
["Kanna, remember this. Humans are very timid creatures, so what they fear most are things beyond their understanding."]
["So after entering the game, you must hide your strength and not act too excessively. Otherwise, you'll scare them. Of course, if you encounter something that cannot be resolved, you can act freely."]
>>
The initial stats of characters in this game were modeled after the player's real physical condition, adjusted by a certain proportion. Although Sato was powerful, he mostly relied on energy-based attacks, and his physical strength was not particularly outstanding.
But Kanna… she was a dragon.
…
The plains outside the starting town.
At this moment, there were still quite a number of players scattered across the vast plains. Many who had initially retreated had, after calming down, ultimately been unable to resist their curiosity and returned to the game.
Along the way, players constantly cast curious and astonished glances at Kanna.
Ignoring them, Sato and Kirito brought Kanna to an area without other players.
"Should I explain?"
Kirito looked at Sato and asked.
"Well…"
Sato glanced at Kanna. Honestly, he did not think so-called techniques would be of much use to her. After all, dragons had always relied on overwhelming strength and magical bombardment.
"Go ahead and explain."
"Alright."
Kirito nodded, then crouched beside Kanna and pointed at a black wolf in the distance.
"That monster is called a Black Wolf. It's very fast. What you need to avoid are its claws and its mouth. When attacking, focus mainly on its eyes and waist."
After speaking, he hesitated and glanced at Sato.
"Do you want me to demonstrate?"
"Go ahead."
"Will there be any problem?"
"No."
Seeing Sato's confident expression, Kirito hesitated for a moment before drawing the iron sword from his back and walking toward the Black Wolf.
He stopped not far from it, then used a stone to draw its aggro, leading the Black Wolf toward where Sato and Kanna were standing.
"Watch carefully!"
When he was about twenty to thirty meters away, Kirito suddenly called out before turning and charging at the Black Wolf.
At this point, his level was close to twenty. His stats had risen considerably, and his speed had become extremely fast.
With a steel sword in hand, his sharp gaze locked onto the ferocious Black Wolf as the two rushed toward each other at high speed.
"Roar!"
The Black Wolf suddenly leaped into the air, lunging at Kirito. The ferocity in its eyes and its cold, sharp claws were clearly visible.
Shhk…
Kirito suddenly leaned back, dropping to his knees. Using inertia, he slid beneath the Black Wolf at a very low angle. His steel sword cut from its chest down toward its abdomen, the sharp blade slicing through its soft belly like tofu without resistance.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment. In the next instant, the Black Wolf's abdomen split open, and a torrent of blood and organs spilled onto the ground.
"Haa…"
Kirito let out a breath and silently looked at the corpse of the Black Wolf.
Then he walked back and said to Sato with some embarrassment, "That might have been a bit of a wrong demonstration. With her stats, she should focus more on prolonged fighting."
After speaking, he looked at Kanna.
Kanna stared somewhat blankly at the fallen Black Wolf, but she did not seem afraid at all.
"The attack point is roughly there. The Black Wolf's abdomen is very soft and has low defense. Do you understand?"
Kanna nodded seriously.
"Then let her try?"
Kirito looked at Sato again. In the game, Sato could be considered Kanna's guardian.
"Do you want to try?"
Sato lowered his head and asked with a smile.
"Mm!"
Kanna nodded, her face showing eagerness.
Kirito turned to look across the plains. The next moment, he pointed at another wandering Black Wolf in the distance.
"Then—"
"Boom!"
Before he could finish speaking, a powerful sonic boom suddenly erupted beside him, causing his ears to ring violently as his mind went blank.
Wh… what just happened?