November 6, 2022, Sunday.
Japan, Saitama Prefecture, Kawagoe City.
Inside a quaint and spacious traditional Japanese dojo, the air was filled with the scent of pine mixed with sweat.
"Crack!"
A crisp, explosive sound.
The shinai sliced through the air at a speed nearly impossible for the naked eye to catch, stopping precisely an inch before the dummy's mask. Zanshin, sheathing the sword, the dust stirred up by the air current danced wildly in the columns of sunlight.
Ye You exhaled a long breath, took off his face guard, and casually flicked the stray hair on his forehead.
Sweat slid down his well-defined jawline, dripping onto the floor and blooming into a small, dark flower.
He looked at himself in the mirror—sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a height of 1.82 meters paired with streamlined muscles honed from years of practicing kendo; he was practically a walking hormone dispenser.
"Tsk, with this face at this exact moment, it's basically just here to deal tons of critical damage to those 2D otaku."
Ye You silently gave his looks a perfect score in his heart, while tossing in a sarcastic remark.
As a transmigrator, he knew very well what day it was today.
Sword Art Online （SAO）, official open beta day.
It was also the start of ten thousand players being locked in a cage by that mad scientist named Akihiko Kayaba, playing a survival game where they "only have one life."
What should a normal person do at a time like this?
Call the police? Useless.
Smash the helmet? That's too much of a waste of money.
Ye You's choice was—wash his neck... wait, no, wipe off the sweat and get ready to log in.
No other reason—riches are sought amidst danger.
If he was afraid of dying, what was the point of transmigrating? He was a beast of burden in his last life, and in this life, he finally got a "Desperate Rescue" talent system. If he didn't go to that Aincrad filled with death and opportunity to make a killing, was he supposed to just be some unremarkable high school kendo champion in the real world?
That would be way too embarrassing for the army of transmigrators.
"Onii-chan..."
A soft, sweet voice interrupted Ye You's wandering thoughts.
At the dojo entrance, Kirigaya Suguha was wearing a slightly tight tracksuit, holding a neatly folded towel and a chilled sports drink in her hands.
The girl's big eyes held a hint of caution; her gaze flicked over Ye You's martial arts uniform, which was sticking to his body from sweat, and then immediately pulled away as a suspicious blush stained her cheeks.
Ye You thought to himself, this little brat—ever since she found out they were actually cousins instead of siblings, the way she looked at him had been getting more and more off.
It's just that he's got good self-control; swap him for any other orthopedist, and they'd probably be writing up a medical chart by now.
"Thanks, Suguha."
Ye You took the towel, unceremoniously wiped his face with it, then twisted off the bottle cap and tilted his head back to chug more than half the bottle of water.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and sweat slid over his collarbone.
Suguha stood to the side, hands behind her back twisting her shirt hem, her eyes a bit glazed over until Ye You put the bottle down and she finally snapped out of it.
"Th-that... Onii-chan, today is the day that game goes on sale, right?"
Suguha asked tentatively, her toe scuffing the floor, "I don't really get VRMMOs, but the news says it looks pretty incredible..."
"Yeah, SAO."
Ye You handed her the empty bottle, a half-smile on his face. "What, does our family's kendo girl want to go take a few swings in the virtual world too?"
"I-I do not!"
Suguha was like a kitten having a stress reaction, but her voice immediately dropped again as she muttered, "It's just... if Onii-chan goes out to play, I also want to..."
Want what?
Want to follow you and keep an eye on you, so you don't get tricked by those bad women out there!
Of course, Suguha could never actually say those words.
Ye You looked at his sister's awkward expression, unable to resist reaching out and rubbing her head, turning her meticulously combed short hair into a bird's nest.
"Ugh! Onii-chan!" Suguha protested.
"Even if you want to play, you have to wait your turn."
Ye You withdrew his hand, his tone turning a bit more serious, "Don't you have the qualifiers for the National Middle School Kendo Tournament next week? Mom is watching, you know. If you dare touch the game console now, believe it or not, she'll confiscate your shinai?"
It was the truth, but also an excuse.
As a man who knew the script, Ye You would never allow Suguha to get involved in this death game.
Although Suguha was quite capable, in a world where your brain would be fried by microwaves the moment your HP hit zero, one more person meant one more uncontrollable risk.
This girl, it was better for her to stay in the real world as his mental anchor.
"But..." Suguha still wanted to struggle.
"No buts."
Ye You interrupted her, speaking decisively yet dotingly, "I'll go scout the way first. If it's a boring grinding game, I'll quit immediately. If it's fun... once your tournament is over and you've won the championship, I'll bring you in, how about that?"
This was a typical scumbag-style empty promise.
By then, SAO's login ports would have long been blocked; there would be no way to enter even if she wanted to.
Suguha stared into Ye You's eyes for a few seconds before finally admitting defeat.
She sighed, clutching the towel to her chest, and said with some reluctance, "Then... it's a promise. Onii-chan, if you dare to... mess around in the game, I'll..."
"You'll what?" Ye You raised an eyebrow.
"I'll tell Mom you were peeking at her yoga magazines!" Suguha finished this completely non-threatening threat with a red face, then turned and ran off holding the empty bottle.
Watching the girl flee in panic, Ye You shook his head helplessly.
This silly girl.
Do I really need to tell you to peek at that? It was right there on the living room coffee table, okay?
...
Returning to the room on the second floor.
Ye You locked the door, pulled the curtains, and shut out the slightly glaring afternoon sunlight.
The room was furnished very simply: a bed, a desk, and a dark blue helmet with a futuristic high—tech design sitting on the desk—the NERvGear.
This was the key to that world, and also the shackle that was about to be put around his neck.
Ye You walked over, his fingers gently stroking the helmet's cool shell.
If it were an ordinary person, their hands would probably be shaking right now.
After all, this was a matter of life and death.
But Ye You was different; at this moment, he even felt like laughing, and he even had a craving for the fried chicken cutlet from the convenience store downstairs.
Because he had an ace up his sleeve.
That passive talent named "Desperate Rescue" was the trump card he had hidden in his sleeve.
As long as he saved a target in a desperate situation, he could obtain high rewards and favorability.
This was practically a cheat code tailor-made for SAO.
In this game with a mortality rate as high as tens of percent, what was there the most of?
Desperate situations.
What was the easiest thing to farm?
Favorability was the easiest to farm—after all, the suspension bridge effect is exponentially magnified at the brink of life and death.
"Asuna, Silica, Lisbeth..."
Familiar names and faces flashed through Ye You's mind, and the smile on his lips gradually became somewhat meaningful.
"Sorry about that, my fellow brothers."
"This time, not only am I going to clear the game, I'm also going to save all your waifus while I'm at it."
This isn't about stealing them.
Since I have the ability, I'll just take on a bit more responsibility.
What a selfless idea.
Ye You picked up the helmet, lay down comfortably on the bed, and found the most pleasant position.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly put on the helmet.
His vision fell into darkness.
The faint hum of the system starting up came from his ears, and a hint of numbness and weightlessness filled his perception.
Time ticked away.
12:59:55.
56 seconds.
57 seconds.
Ye You had no hesitation, no fear, his heartbeat was steady.
He just moved his lips, uttering the command that was about to change the fate of countless people—
"Link Start!"
Boom—!
Colorful data streams instantly swallowed his consciousness, countless points of light streaked across his vision like meteors, the sense of gravity from the real world was stripped away, leaving only a sensation of rapid travel.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had already changed its appearance.
The massive floating castle, Aincrad.