"Have they posted my vassal's group yet?"
Mortimer, Lord of the Salamanders, sat regally upon his throne. His voice was low and resonant, every bit as grand as his appearance.
"Group A. The qualifiers start in two minutes."
Souji Yae swiped through the tournament schedule floating beside him.
"Wow. That's a lot of entrants."
"It matters not. My vassal shall carve a path through them all, claim the title of strongest, and dedicate that glory to me. Shadow Song, lock onto Yurnero. Once the matches begin, raise a scrying mirror here in the Hall of Inferno. Let us witness the Sword Saint in all his glory."
Mortimer gave a satisfied chuckle.
"They're only qualifiers. What's there to watch? We can wait until he reaches the finals."
Ichiro Narita stood on Mortimer's other side.
"And why was the tournament moved up by three months?"
"Grannis Darkhammer, this is the first time in years that the Sword Saint has entered a competition. Naturally, we must witness every step."
"Just a reminder: your little brother Eugene is competing too."
"Oh, Eugene? He's in Group F."
Souji flicked through the schedule and found his name.
"Forget him. We need only concern ourselves with Yurnero's matches."
Mortimer dismissed the matter with a wave.
Narita stared at him.
"He's your brother. He treats you like family, and you're treating him like some distant cousin."
"Who gives a damn? I want to watch Yurnero stomp noobs, steamroll his way into the finals, crush whoever's waiting there, and take the championship."
So much for Mortimer's usual dignity.
Narita stared.
Souji stared.
Elsewhere, General Eugene was warming up while he waited to be teleported into the arena. A sudden pain stabbed through his chest, and he glanced uneasily around him.
...
Deep in the sprawling forest of New Aincrad's Twenty-Second Floor stood a small but elegant woodland home. Several friends had gathered around a tree-shaped table growing directly from the living room floor.
Silica sat to Asuna's right. The Cait Sith beast tamer stared at the equations on her homework window, her triangular ears twitching as she groaned under her breath.
To Asuna's left, Leafa was fighting her way through an English assignment, her yellow-green hair tied in a ponytail. Across the table, Lisbeth leaned back with one foot propped up, a light novel in one hand and a glass of woodberry liqueur in the other. The Leprechaun blacksmith was the only one who looked remotely relaxed.
It was around four in the afternoon in the real world. Logs crackled in the fireplace while a large pot of stew simmered above the flames.
Asuna had her own window open and was browsing the outside network. A moment later, Silica's head dropped onto her shoulder, one pointed ear brushing her cheek.
"Silica, if you fall asleep now, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
"I can't help it... The moment I get buried in equations, I start falling asleep."
Silica let out a tremendous yawn.
"You're almost finished," Asuna encouraged her.
"Spending a perfectly good day off studying is depressing," Leafa complained.
She was not as exhausted as Silica, but the sea of English on her screen was clearly winning.
"Isn't there anything fun to do? Asuna-nee, you and my brother were so motivated before we reached the Twenty-Second Floor."
"Ha... ha ha."
Asuna laughed awkwardly. Ever since Aincrad had been added to ALO, she and Kirito had thrown themselves into clearing it. Their goal, however, had been very simple: reach this floor and buy back their old home.
Once they succeeded, most of their ambition disappeared. Now they were far more interested in enjoying a quiet life.
Leafa suddenly sat up.
"Oh, right! The swordsmanship tournament. Why don't we watch that?"
"They're still in the qualifiers, aren't they?" Lisbeth shrugged. "Those are never very exciting. It'll be the same familiar faces advancing, like Lady Sakuya and General Eugene. I don't think anyone from our group entered this time."
"Which means you should keep studying," Asuna said. "Finish your assignments now, and you'll be free to watch the interesting matches in a few days."
She gave them a strained smile.
"I think the tournament is just an excuse. You two only want to slack off."
Leafa propped her chin on one hand.
"If my brother had entered, we'd have a perfectly good reason to stop studying and cheer for him."
"How did this somehow become my fault?"
Kirito was sunk deep into a large wooden rocking chair beside the glowing stove, enjoying the peaceful afternoon until his sister dragged him into the conversation.
"But why didn't you enter?" Leafa asked. "You're usually enthusiastic about these tournaments."
"Honestly? I've been so out of it lately that I didn't realize they moved it up by three months. By the time I noticed, registration had already closed."
Kirito scratched his head.
"That does sound like you. Your brain short-circuits sometimes."
"Hey, Suguha... none of you noticed either. Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Leafa collapsed across the table.
"I just need one respectable excuse to escape this English assignment. Then I can waste time without feeling guilty about it."
"That's terrible."
At that moment, the door slammed open. A man in a bright red headband charged into the house, sweeping away the lazy atmosphere in an instant.
Kirito looked over.
"Klein, what happened? Are your creditors spawn-camping you? If so, lead them somewhere else before they drag us into it."
"Like I'd sell out my friends! Wait, no, that's not it. I don't even owe anyone money!"
Klein stopped to catch his breath.
"Forget that. The tournament!"
"The tournament? Yes, we know. It started three months early without any warning. Thanks for the breaking news."
"That stopped being news ages ago! I mean there's someone we know in the bracket!"
Kirito gave him a puzzled look.
"Agil actually signed up?"
"I wouldn't have sprinted all the way here for Agil!"
Klein shook his head.
"It's Yuyu! I was checking the qualifier roster because I was bored, and I saw the name Yurnero!"
The room went silent.
The former SAO players understood at once. Leafa had never been trapped in that world, so the name meant far less to her. She might not even have known who Yurnero was.
Kirito sprang out of his chair.
"Yui! Check the roster!"
"Yes, Daddy!"
The tiny girl on his shoulder flew into the air, glossy black hair streaming behind her pale pink dress. Windows of every size unfolded in front of her.
"Found him, Daddy. Yurnero is in Group A. The qualifiers have already begun."
"Pull up his match."
"I can't..."
"Why not?"
Yui scratched her head, looking faintly embarrassed.
"Because he isn't fighting."
Kirito checked the time.
"Didn't the qualifiers just start?"
"Yes, but his match is already over. He won within the first minute and advanced to the next round. No one else in Group A has finished yet, so he's waiting for his next opponent."
Silence fell again.
"You're kidding," Leafa said. "He finished in under a minute?"
"Forty-eight seconds, to be exact."
Klein's expression stiffened.
"I thought it might be someone using the same name, but after hearing that... it really could be him. Who was the poor bastard on the other side?"
"Lady Sakuya, Lord of the Sylphs."
Leafa shot upright.
"Our lord? You're kidding! He beat Lady Sakuya in forty-eight seconds?!"
"Now this is getting interesting."
Kirito looked far more excited than the situation seemed to warrant.
"Yui, the moment his next match starts, bring it up."
"Yes, Daddy!"
Yui saluted, then opened another window.
"I found something else. Someone in Group C has already won and is waiting too. She took fifty-nine seconds, so she was a little slower than Yurnero."
"Fifty-nine seconds is slow?"
Klein sagged.
"What does that make the rest of us...?"
"Who is she?" Kirito asked.
"A player named Yuuki."
...
Satoru leaned against a massive tree somewhere in the wilderness of the Thirteenth Floor.
The swordsmanship tournament did not require competitors to gather at a particular venue. When a player's turn arrived, the system automatically transported them to an arena, then returned them once the match ended. It was an efficient format, perfectly suited to the qualifiers.
The tournament bracket floated before him. He had paid no attention to his own Group A. During his first match, he had not even bothered to remember his opponent's face. He had simply overwhelmed her with brute force.
"Group C..."
Satoru studied the player name beneath his fingertip.
"Not bad. You've grown much stronger since we last met. Neither of us has time to waste, so let's reach each other quickly."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"I'll humor you for now. I've got another problem on my hands."
A large countdown appeared above his head.
Satoru dismissed the bracket and pushed away from the tree. Ten seconds later, blue teleportation light swallowed him.
Two figures materialized inside an arena assembled from temporary data.
Neither spoke. A five-second countdown appeared in the air between them.
Three.
Two.
One.
The player named Seventh Severance settled into a flawless stance, focused on the rising activation tone of a Sword Skill he had honed nearly to perfection. He had cleared his first qualifier quickly and was no amateur.
Before the system could launch him forward, a muted flash of gold crossed his vision.
Red damage light burst from his body.
His Sword Skill died before it could begin.
His eyes widened in confusion. Slashes tore through the air around him, and he raised his sword on instinct. The next impact ripped the weapon from his hands.
[You Lose]
The safety system ejected him from the arena. All he could do was stare at the message.
"What just happened...?"
His voice came out weak.
"Was that a bug...?"