Kain now had a rough estimate of how strong he was in the world of Aincrad—SAO.
He was probably at the upper limit this world could withstand. If he were any stronger, the server would not be able to handle his consciousness data.
This was most likely an adjustment made for him by the Superdimensional Channel. Otherwise, this virtual world would not have been able to contain his consciousness at all.
That meant if his level could be displayed, he should be at this world's maximum level.
Simply put, he was a max-level character.
The only issue was that this character had no skills whatsoever. If he wanted to fight, he had to rely on his real-world combat techniques. All he could do was use basic attacks.
From the looks of it, any combat technique that could theoretically be performed in reality could also be performed in this game. Its freedom of movement was almost the same as the real world.
From what Kain knew about the Aincrad world in Sword Art Online, it had that kind of setting. If certain players had special abilities in reality—such as skill in martial arts, swimming, and so on—then they would indeed have a head start over other players in this world.
Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, that effect really did exist.
However, no matter how closely the game imitated real-world physical laws, it still could not perfectly reproduce them.
Take the bow he was using now, for example. After he nocked an arrow and shot it, the trajectory in reality would differ from the trajectory in this world, given the bow's parameters.
In reality, environmental factors, along with the slight angle of rotation when the arrow was released, would cause subtle changes in its flight path.
In this world, however, the trajectory was somewhat fixed. As long as he aimed properly, the arrow would almost always follow that path.
That meant fighting other players in this game was actually easier when it came to aiming. All he needed to do was predict the enemy's movements. He did not have to consider things like airflow too carefully.
The same applied to swords and other weapons. They were also easier to use than in reality.
"Um… dinner is ready."
A slightly reserved, delicate voice sounded nearby. It was Asuna, telling him that dinner was finished.
That made Kain somewhat curious.
What effect would eating food from a virtual world have on him?
For players, it restored stamina and eliminated hunger. Some special ingredients could even grant buffs.
After entering the house and sitting at the dining table, he picked up a piece of golden fried cutlet and took a bite.
The flavor did feel somewhat like real-world food.
But only somewhat.
When he bit into it, what was transmitted to him was an electronic signal carrying information about the taste of fried cutlet. That signal then triggered the stored memories in his brain of foods he had eaten before, creating a sense of realism.
As for replenishing his stamina, the effect was negligible.
It was like a max-level character with millions of HP drinking a potion that restored only a few hundred points.
No.
It did not restore anything at all.
He had no so-called stamina loss in the first place. His state was already full, so there was nothing to replenish.
It was like a hard drive that was already filled with data. Even if someone tried to store one more kilobyte on it, there would be nowhere for it to go.
Earlier, he had conducted another test as well. He had cut off one of his own fingers.
In the end, it had restored itself.
He was like a slime. If a physical attack cut him apart, he would simply merge back together.
Or perhaps he was like oil and water. When oil was poured into water, no matter how much it was stirred, it would eventually float back up and gather together again.
In this state, he was effectively the equivalent of someone using an HP-lock cheat. No matter how he was attacked, his HP would not drop.
And yet, everything should follow some form of energy conservation.
His actions should consume at least some mental energy. It should not be possible to lock his HP completely.
The reason this worked was that if his entire will descended into this world, the server would not be able to withstand it.
So even if he truly consumed a little mental energy, new mental energy would immediately replenish it.
Simply put, it was like a hard drive that was already full losing a bit of data, only for another larger hard drive connected to it to immediately feed in new data and fill the gap, keeping the smaller hard drive in a constantly full state.
And that so-called large hard drive was his body.
Of course, all of this was only Kain's own sensory-based speculation.
But he felt that it was probably not far from the truth.
"Mm. It really is delicious."
After he said that, the slightly tense look on Asuna's face finally relaxed, and a faint smile appeared.
In the blink of an eye—
"D-Did it work?"
Asuna asked nervously.
She had given him a skill book to test whether he could use it.
The result was that the skill book shattered into points of light in his hand, just as it would disappear after being used for learning a skill.
"No."
Just like water and oil could not mix, he could not learn Aincrad's skills at all.
In that case, there was no need to waste effort on learning skills. He would focus instead on mastering the feel of different weapons and understanding their attack trajectories.
Since he could not see a weapon's durability or attack power, those values had to be provided by Asuna. Afterward, by observing the effects of his attacks on monsters, he could judge how best to use each weapon.
Next, he moved into a combat-testing environment.
He had Asuna treat him as a boss and attack him.
He would not attack Asuna in return. His main goal was to sense what kind of effects Asuna's skills had on him.
Effects, not damage.
After all, he was effectively locked at full HP.
He wanted to understand these skills through direct testing so he could prepare for the special abilities of later bosses, as well as his eventual battle with the final boss, Kayaba Akihiko.
Even if the skills were different, he could still understand some of the underlying patterns.
"All right. Use that move."
"Okay."
Asuna relaxed her body, which had been tense from battle, and drank a stamina recovery potion.
From what she could see, Mr. Kain really was extremely powerful. He also seemed impossible to kill.
He had allowed her to attack him several times, yet he had shown no sign of injury at all.
The wounds she had cut into him quickly restored themselves like memory metal.
"Log in for a moment."
His sudden words made Asuna pause.
Then she immediately understood.
She entered the Superdimensional Channel. There were some things they could not say in this world because they might be monitored.
When Asuna saw what Mr. Kain had told her, she could not help freezing in shock.
She took out the sword she had put away, drew a slight breath, and in the next second, launched a skill at Mr. Kain.
It was a skill with a shockwave, released at full power.
Boom!
Kain seemed to be caught completely off guard and was instantly sent flying toward the forest.
Bang!
With a heavy crash, Kain, who had been launched into the woods, stomped through a massive tree.
At the same time, he used the reaction force to propel himself forward, closing in on a dark shadow behind another tree trunk at even greater speed.
The other party seemed as if they were about to turn transparent, preparing to hide. But before they could fully vanish, Kain's hand had already touched them.
His hand, which should have slammed down hard, suddenly withdrew most of its force.
Because the limb beneath his hand was very slender and small.
Judging from the body type, the other party looked no older than a ten-year-old child.
And in addition, a young, frightened cry came from them.
(End of Chapter)
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