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I once heard that this place we live in now is reality.
Even if it happens to be a virtual world.
The one who said that was my soft-hearted friend—though maybe I'm the only one who thinks of him that way—but I do agree with it, at least to some extent.
If your HP hits 0, you disappear. I still can't say for sure whether that really means death, but I have no desire to prove it by dying myself.
That damned GM—Akihiko Kayaba—didn't look like the kind of man who'd spout nonsense like that. In that case, it's only reasonable to assume people really do die.
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"Yeah, right."
I heard a pretty good game had come out, so I gave it a shot, and this is what I get... What kind of disaster is that?
Letting out a light sigh of resentment, I sorted out my thoughts and looked straight at the monster before me—Gleam Eyes, the boss of the seventy-fourth floor.
Maybe it was modeled after a minotaur. It had a gigantic body, a serpent for a tail, and the overall form of a chimera.
And as if that massive frame wasn't enough, the huge greatsword in its hand radiated enough force to make it seem like it could crush a player's body in a single blow.
"Ha... Seriously, how the hell did this happen?"
Grumbling to myself, fully aware of how ridiculous I sounded, I walked over to my soft-hearted friend, who was currently half-dead.
After desperately fighting the boss, the idiot had managed to shave off thirty percent of its HP by himself before collapsing with only 1 HP left.
Unbelievable. There's going all-in on damage, and then there's this. The corners of my mouth started to lift, but I forced them back down. Given the situation, laughing probably wasn't the right move.
First things first, getting him out of the boss's attack range would be safer. I rushed over, grabbed him around the waist, and moved us to the edge of the boss room in an instant.
"Hey, Kirito. What did I tell you? Being soft gets you into situations like this. Though, well... this isn't really the time to complain."
"Should I... say I'm sorry?"
"Nah. That's just how you are. Think of it as listening to one annoying complaint."
"That's... definitely annoying."
"You really had to say it that fast? You're too much, you know that?"
As we traded a few short words, Asuna and Klein came running toward us with shocked expressions.
Well then, I'll leave Kirito to them.
"Get some rest. You've got battle healing, so you probably won't die in one hit."
"Sorry."
Kirito spoke through clenched teeth, practically spitting the word out. Makes sense. I'm a solo player by nature too, just like him.
A fight in a reckless situation like this was basically suicide. Normally, I wouldn't have come here in the first place.
He was blaming Asuna or himself for all this, which was why he said that, but...
"You don't need to say that. I got swept up in the mood and came along too, so this is my responsibility as well."
As I turned my back on Kirito and started walking slowly toward the boss, he called out to stop me, his voice full of worry.
"Y-you... can do this?"
What he meant was simple. He was asking if I could defeat Gleam Eyes on my own.
Taken one way, it sounded like he was underestimating me. But objectively speaking, it was a perfectly valid concern.
Obviously. Anyone would think you were insane if you tried to take down a boss monster within a five-level margin by yourself.
Even Kirito had only managed to deal that kind of massive damage because of the strange skill he'd just used—probably a Unique Skill.
And that was proof enough. By normal standards, what I was about to do was obviously reckless.
Of course, that logic only works if you assume I'm one of those "normal" players too.
"...Don't worry. I'm not in the habit of dying for no reason."
"...Even so."
I looked at Kirito, who seemed half-convinced and half-resigned, then turned my gaze back to the boss.
"I've got a way to handle this, so don't worry."
I brushed him off lightly and, this time for real, stepped right up in front of the boss. Gleam Eyes had stopped attacking, as if waiting for its next challenger.
What, was it trying to be polite? Or was everyone just far enough away that it couldn't decide who had aggro?
Not that it mattered right now. Put simply, all I had to do was kill the thing in front of me.
"You're Gleam Eyes, right? Nice to meet you."
"Obviously, you're not going to answer."
Muttering a small complaint, I sheathed my sword. Both my hands were now completely defenseless.
"What...?"
"H-hey!!!"
In Sword Art Online, where the sword ruled all and the sword represented everything, putting away your weapon in front of a monster looked like nothing but suicide. That was the game's fundamental premise.
That was why Kirito and Klein, who had been watching, cried out in shock at my sudden action. Asuna even let out a small scream.
The boss took a step forward, seemingly delighted by the sight of a single, defenseless offering. It had no doubt at all that what stood before it was a perfectly prepared meal.
"Now then..."
Looking at the thing, I curled my lips upward instead, answering its confidence with a mocking sneer of my own.
"Elia, let's start herding the cattle."
'Preparations complete, Kazuma.'
No one else would have heard me muttering to myself in the middle of that chaos, but despite that, I could clearly hear the voice answering from somewhere in the back of my mind.
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