Start with delicious food

……

Boom ~ boom ~ boom ~

A dull bell sound spread throughout the first floor of Aincrad.

Except for Qin Hao and the others who hacked into the game, all players were forcibly teleported back to the square of the starting town.

After hearing the bell, Qin Hao touched his chin. Then he let everyone continue to grind monsters and level up, while he returned to the starting town to watch Kayaba Akihiko's death game declaration.

As blue light beams lit up in the square, players who were leveling and exploring the map near the Novice Village were teleported back here one after another.

The sudden change caused a group of confused players to start talking about it.

Looking at the square that had been blocked by a transparent barrier, Qin Hao decisively used his highest GM authority to open a door for himself and sneak in.

At this moment, a hexagonal red grid suddenly appeared in the sky.

The outstanding scene also attracted the attention of all players.

At this moment, the red grid suddenly began to replicate rapidly, and soon the sky was completely covered in blood red.

Immediately afterwards, a red liquid that looked like blood seeped out from the gaps between these grids. These liquids gather in mid-air. Following several flashes of lightning, it finally transformed into a huge figure wearing a hood.

"Dear players, welcome to my world."

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I am the only human being who can control this world now."

"Players must have noticed that the logout button on the main menu page is missing."

"But it's not a problem with the game."

"I repeat, this is not a problem with the game. It's the original gameplay of the SAO game."

"You cannot log out voluntarily, and outsiders cannot stop or cancel your game process."

"If you try to exit the game by forcibly removing the helmet, the signal unit in the game helmet will emit high-power microwaves and destroy your brain."

"Until you stop life activities."

Hearing this, the square below was completely boiling.

All the players looked in disbelief. They couldn't imagine how a phenomenally popular game could turn into a death game.

Some people even still think that this is just a farce made by the game officials to hype up the game.

However, when these people wanted to leave, they found that the entire square was wrapped in a transparent barrier. There was no way to leave.

Only then did some players finally realize the seriousness of the problem.

However, most people still hope that this is just a farce. Unwilling to accept the reality that I am trapped in the game.

Kayaba Akihiko's voice continued.

Constantly using language to stimulate the player's already fragile nerves.

"Unfortunately, 213 relatives and friends of players have ignored the warnings and tried to forcibly remove their gaming helmets so far."

"As a result of this act, 213 players have permanently withdrawn from Aincrad and the real world. I am very sorry for the meaningless sacrifice of these players."

After saying that, countless pop-up windows quickly appeared next to Kayaba Akihiko. All of these pop-up windows were news about players dying due to taking off their gaming helmets.

"But thankfully, their deaths were not completely meaningless."

"As you can see, the fact that taking off a gaming helmet can lead to the death of a player has been repeatedly reported by major media outlets."

"So everyone who is still alive now no longer has to worry about meaningless deaths caused by people forcibly removing their helmets in the outside world."

"I hope you can enjoy the game with peace of mind."

"By the way, I would like to remind everyone that from now on, all resurrection methods in the game will be invalid. The moment the HP value drops to 0, it means that your character will disappear forever."

"It also means that your brains will be destroyed by electromagnetic waves. You will usher in death in the real world."

"If players want to quit the game, they must meet one condition. That is to clear the game."

"You are now on the lowest level of Aincrad. The first level."

"Snap through the maze areas on each floor and defeat the boss on the first floor to enter the next floor."

"As long as we can defeat the final boss on the 100th floor, this game can be cleared."

Hearing this, some players who didn't know why were relieved.

"Clearing the level...what, it turns out it's still active."

"It's just a game. With so many of us playing together, it can take at least half a month to complete the game."

"I'm scared to death. Isn't it just a matter of one life to clear the level? It's not like I haven't done it in other games."

However, unlike these naive new players, those who had only a slight understanding of the game SAO had their eyes widened.

Especially the faces of those players who had experienced the closed beta had expressions of disbelief.

"Are you kidding me! How can this game be cleared? Even during the closed beta test period of the previous month, I only added a few layers!"

"Passing... the 100th floor? With only one life!? How is this possible! Even if you pile up your lives, you may not be able to reach the 100th floor even if you pile up 10,000 players!"

"Old thief Akihiko! Just tell me what you want! No need to beat around the bush!"

"One hundred floors! You didn't even think about letting us pass the level, did you?"

Ignoring the complaints from the players, Kayaba Akihiko continued.

"Finally, I have given you some small gifts in your storage, please confirm."

As Kayaba Akihiko's words fell, players soon opened their own operation interfaces. An item called a hand mirror was found in the storage compartment.

After a while, all the players who looked into the hand mirrors lit up with blue light.

As the light dissipated, all players returned to their true appearance.

"You must be curious to know why SAO developer Kayaba Akihiko would do such a thing."

"Actually, my purpose is very simple. I just wanted to create this world that only exists in fantasy for viewing, so I created SAO."

"But those NPCs controlled by AI are just unconscious programs after all. That's why you joined."

"Now, everything has been accomplished. SAO's operational tutorial will officially end from now on."

"I wish all players good luck."