Chapter 0117: He Offed Himself
Upon learning he'd have to wait half a year for the next update—no, to leave this world for another—Kayaba Akihiko left the lounge.
Though Hayashi heard him complain about not being able to stand this mediocre world for another second, he didn't take it to heart. Instead, he enthusiastically discussed Sword Art Online with Erina and the others—after all, they'd be staying in this world for six months. Treating it as experience-building for YGGDRASIL, he decided to personally experience SAO with Erina, Hisako, and Yunyun.
But he never expected that Kayaba truly lived by the principle of "actions speak louder than words"! When he said he couldn't stay another second, he meant it literally—after leaving the lounge, he found a way to off himself.
To be precise, he disposed of his physical body and uploaded his consciousness to a server, becoming something akin to an "artificial intelligence."
"...This way, I'm just a program now. Your Interdimensional Gate shouldn't classify me as a living being anymore, right?" On the computer screen, Kayaba—still wearing glasses and a white lab coat—adjusted his glasses and said, "So, can we set off now?"
"No..."
Hayashi rubbed his temples, his lips twitching. "Dude, isn't this a bit impulsive? We haven't even tried yet. What if the Interdimensional Gate still won't let you cross over like this?"
"Not a problem." Kayaba's expression was indifferent. "I already had plans to discard my body. I'm just moving up the timeline a bit."
That was a lie! Killing his own body and uploading his consciousness to the digital world was, in Kayaba's original plans, a last resort—something to do only if he was cornered and captured. The reason he made this choice now was because...
"Moreover, according to what you said, if I create an account in that game called YGGDRASIL and stay logged in until the servers shut down, I can take my in-game body with me when crossing over, right?" Kayaba's tone was ice-cold. "So all I have to do is wait until then, and I'll have a body again. Isn't that correct?"
"Y-yeah, that's true..." Hayashi stammered. "But have you considered that if the Interdimensional Gate still recognizes you as a living entity like this, wouldn't you have wasted your body for nothing? You'd be stuck like this for half a year."
"..."
Kayaba fell silent for a few seconds before replying, "Not a problem! In my current state, I can forcibly put myself into hibernation. Just wake me up when you're ready to take people across."
Just how desperate are you to get to another world?! You're even talking about forced hibernation now!
"Fine, fine." Hayashi scratched his head helplessly. "But after you leave, what about SAO and The Seed? How are you handling those?"
'So he even knows about those...' Kayaba glanced at Hayashi before calmly answering, "Before uploading my consciousness, I entrusted Rinko with managing SAO. As for The Seed... I'll decide what to do with it if I ever make it back."
"Will SAO still be a death game this time?"
"No. Because I'm about to witness a real otherworld!" A faint smirk tugged at Kayaba's lips. "There's no need to resort to a death game to fulfill my dream anymore."
...
...
Hayashi never imagined that Kayaba would actually manage to exploit a "loophole" in the Interdimensional Gate's rules!
He successfully passed through the Interdimensional Gate as an "artificial intelligence" and arrived in the world of Food Wars.
Hayashi speculated that the Interdimensional Gate's judgment of a "lifeform" might be based on whether it constitutes a "significant component" of that world—for example, if Hayashi traveled to a "machine intelligence" world where all inhabitants were AI robots, then an "AI robot" might be deemed a "lifeform."
But clearly, in the Sword Art Online world, AI was a unique existence at this time, so the Interdimensional Gate classified it as "a piece of code," allowing it to bypass the six-month restriction—as for how Kayaba obtained a body in the Overlord world?
Well, hadn't half a year already passed by then?
"It seems we succeeded." After searching for "Sword Art Online" online and finding no results, Kayaba confirmed he had arrived in a new world. Eagerly, he asked, "So when are we heading to the world you mentioned?"
"Uh, tomorrow?" Hayashi twitched his lips. Why the hell is Kayaba more impatient than me? "It's pretty late today. Let's rest first, okay?"
"?"
Kayaba displayed a question mark on the screen, then said disdainfully, "Fine, I'll shut down and hibernate. Wake me when you reach the new world."
Damn, you don't even want to stay a second longer, huh?
Hayashi glanced helplessly at Erina beside him and couldn't help but say, "Why do I feel like Kayaba Akihiko is some kind of workaholic overachiever? If I slack off, would he curse me in his heart?"
Hisako stifled a laugh and added, "Not only would he curse you in his heart, but he might also draw circles to hex you, complaining that you're wasting time and delaying his isekai experience!"
"God damn it." Hayashi glared at the server on the ground and grumbled, "Once you get a body, I'll have Gin-san drag you into workouts immediately! Heh, a frail programmer would suffer terribly, right?"
Erina covered her face and said, "Hayashi, have you considered—just a thought—that the body he might get is a max-level game character? Physically, he might even surpass Uncle Gin?"
"..."
Hayashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully and muttered, "Well, shit. So I'm the one getting played here?"
...
...
World Name: Overlord World
Time Point: One year before the game's shutdown
Location: An abandoned, uninhabited house
"Pfft—cough, cough—"
As soon as they entered this world, Hayashi coughed painfully a few times, waving his hand while complaining, "What the hell? The air quality here is terrible!"
Hisako also coughed uncomfortably and said, "Ac—cough—according to the novel's setting, Momonga has to wear goggles and a gas mask whenever he goes outside. That shows how awful this world's environment is."
Erina kept coughing and wailed, "Hayashi, think of something quick!"
Hayashi grimaced and said, "Uh, Sylveon! Use Misty Terrain to clear the surrounding air."
"Sylveon... cough cough cough—"
Sylveon, who had just appeared with a cute squeaky voice, nearly coughed up her lungs—good heavens, for a Pokémon, the air pollution of the ordinary world was already terrifying enough, let alone this extremely harsh dystopian future world?
If it weren't for Hayashi's presence, Sylveon would probably be cursing up a storm—but precisely because she was in front of Hayashi, she could only flush red in frustration before quickly unleashing a pink Misty Terrain!
"Whew, saved—"
As soon as the pink Misty Terrain appeared, everyone could clearly feel a hemispherical energy field enveloping them, repelling the nauseating toxic fumes and leaving only fresh air.
"So, protecting the environment is really important—" Hayashi clicked his tongue, then pressed the button on Kayaba's mainframe and said, "Wake up, we've arrived."
A few seconds later, the external display screen lit up, and Kayaba's image appeared before Hayashi again. He said, "Wait a moment—I'll gather some data on this world first—"
"Hey, hey, be careful!" Hayashi couldn't help but warn him. "Just so you know, I'm not sure about this world's technological level. If things look bad, we're retreating immediately!"
He hadn't even put away the Interdimensional Gate yet—better safe than sorry. After all, as long as the photo remained, there was no fear of losing the wife.
"Don't worry, I'm no reckless fool."
"Hah—"
Oh, for crying out loud—this guy who offed himself without hesitation and uploaded his consciousness to a server is telling me he's not reckless?
I don't believe that for a single centimeter! No, not even a millimeter!
After becoming an artificial intelligence, Kayaba's ability to process information had clearly improved significantly. Before Hayashi and the others could even finish one episode of Street Corner Demons, Kayaba spoke again: "The situation is favorable. This world's technological level isn't as advanced as I imagined. Many of our preparations weren't necessary."
"Is that so?" Hayashi tilted his head and muttered, "I guess that makes sense?"
From what the anime showed, YGGDRASIL's AI sophistication really couldn't compare to SAO.
Forget about Ainz in the first episode having to explicitly command NPCs to kneel instead of using vague instructions—just his surprised remark upon seeing Albedo speak, "Her mouth is actually moving," was enough to show that this game lacked even basic features like facial interactions, NPC dialogue, or scent simulation.
"I've skimmed through this world's history, and it's just... tragically disappointing. This world is completely divided into two—those with money and those without. The wealthy live in the inner city, with clean air, greenery, and delicious meals, while the poor are stuck in the outer city, drowning in pollution, chaos, filth, and liquid food rations."
"If it weren't for the lack of zombies, I'd have thought this was a post-apocalyptic setting!"
"I've already started drafting your backstories—barring any surprises, you'll be the illegitimate child of a wealthy man who inherited his fortune after his death. Erina will be your wife, Hisako will be your head maid, and Yunyun will be Hisako's distant cousin. Any issues with that?"
"No problem." Hayashi naturally had no objections. "Just make sure it's airtight—nothing that can be questioned."
"Don't worry. I'll trace your family lineage back at least twelve generations, with a history spanning over two hundred years—" Kayaba's lips curled slightly as he said, "All you need to do now is prepare to enjoy the life of the wealthy in this world… and hurry up and log into the game!"
That last part is your real demand, isn't it!?