That was simply insane.
But maybe, in this broken version of Aincrad, that was the only way out.
The inns in the town of beginnings were in the same spots as before, so I didn't have a hard time finding one. It made me wonder how they were going to keep going without the players…
When I got inside, the innkeeper couldn't help but show a lot of surprise in her face. She was a middle aged woman wearing clothes of an ordinary woman in the middle ages with the apron and the leather hat and everything. Still, she didn't seem averse in receiving me, so perhaps this was a good chance to ask some questions.
"Good evening. How can I help you?"
"I would like to rent a room."
"Very well, the room for the night alone is twenty cols, with more twenty, you can have dinner and lunch served."
"I will take on that, then."
Just by thinking of taking the coins from my inventory, I was able to summon them and then passed the coins. She smiled and then began to guide me to my room.
"Excuse me, I just arrived here. What can you tell me about the history of this place? My memories are a bit hazy, so I am wondering if that can help me recover them."
"We don't have much of a history. Nothing happens here. The only thing that happened one hundred years ago was the creation of Aincrad by an unknown being. That being also ruled the entire flying Castle and forbade the travel of people between the floors. However, adventurers appeared out of nowhere and then eventually defeated that being. They disappeared soon after, though."
I found that hard to believe.
One hundred years? That didn't make any sense.
It had to be a mistake, some generic backstory programmed into an NPC to give this world a sense of depth, a false history to make Aincrad feel bigger and older than it really was. After all, why would the game need to fabricate such a distant past?
There was no way I had spent one hundred years anywhere—lost in some limbo or stuck in an endless loop—before respawning back in the Town of Beginnings.
That much time would have changed everything. Players, guilds, alliances—all gone without a trace. The world itself would have evolved, decayed, or collapsed.
And yet here I was, back at square one, with all the familiar sights, sounds, and even the same old boars wandering the fields.
No, this story was just a convenient lie, an attempt to mask something deeper and more complicated.
Something I hadn't figured out yet.
And maybe, if I wanted to survive this strange second chance—or curse—I'd have to dig past the surface and find the truth hidden beneath the illusions.
"This is your room, I will bring your dinner immediately."
"I see… thanks."
"Are you alright? You look a bit pale."
"Just a bit tired."
My forced smile didn't convince her that much, but she didn't insist on asking given that I didn't want to talk about it. Regardless, I got inside the room and sat down on the bed. Eventually, I saw my hands trembling… It has been a while since I saw that, but it happened a lot in the beginning of the game. The feeling that I could pass out at any moment, like my heart was about to be smashed by something and the endless cold at the pit of my stomach. My anxiety was back and at full power as well…
I covered my face with both of my hands and then rubbed it strongly until I could feel my skin burning. I was forced to stop before I could hurt myself. This was a mess… at least before I wasn't alone in this mess, but now? This was truly hard to accept.
"I just have to keep moving until I can find a viable solution to this… let's focus on what I can do and worry about other things later."
Not everything was bad news.
Sure, I was alone—but I still had something no one else here did: my knowledge and experience.
I knew the mechanics of the game inside and out. I remembered the patterns of every monster on this floor, the safest spots to avoid damage, and the quickest ways to take down even the toughest creatures without risking death. That gave me a kind of quiet confidence, a shield against fear that many new players wouldn't have.
The real threats, though, were clear.
There was the hidden boss I'd heard whispers about—some monstrous creature lurking in the shadows, impossible to kill by myself, especially at this stage. Taking that on alone was a death sentence.
And then there was the floor boss.
Even the first-floor boss was no joke. I'd seen groups struggle and wipe against it back in the day. Facing it solo would be a brutal, dangerous challenge.
But at least, for now, I could monopolize all the drops and money on this floor. Without other players around, every kill was mine to claim. Every bit of loot, every Col, every experience point, all going directly to me.
That was a small but crucial advantage. It meant I could steadily grow stronger without competition, preparing myself for whatever lay ahead.
In this lonely world, that was my edge. And I was going to use it.