The bell of the starting town rang out, echoing throughout all of SAO. All players, those curiously exploring the game world or professional gamers diligently leveling up, looked towards the tall, towering clock tower at the town's center.
Players close enough could see the large bell swinging on its own, with no one striking it.
"Is this... a forced teleport?"
Kirito looked puzzled towards the town. Since he had no intention of logging out yet, he hadn't discovered the inability to log out.
Yusei smiled and explained, "Maybe the game admin is about to make some announcement."
It sounded reasonable, but Kirito suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, a feeling born from his many years of gaming experience.
Logically, if the game needed to announce something, it could just send an email to every player. There was no need for such an elaborate, forced mass teleport.
"Things might not be that simple," Kirito said, his expression growing serious.
"Who knows? Maybe there's some launch celebration," Yusei replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, their bodies began to dissolve into points of light. In the next moment, the scene before them shifted as they were teleported to the town square.
By now, many players had already been teleported here, and the number was constantly increasing.
Yusei's appearance immediately caused many people in the vicinity to pause, followed by hushed whispers.
"Doesn't that guy look like the one who won the National Youth's Kendo Tournament?"
"Eh? No way, probably just used the character creation to make it look like him."
"Uh, guess you're right. Why would a Kendo Champion come play games?"
"Haha, that guy's probably a fan of the champion and deliberately made his avatar look like his idol."
It couldn't be helped. On one hand, the National Youth's Kendo Tournament was broadcast nationwide and so many people had seen it.
On the other hand, among those who liked playing games, especially ones with a sword and blade theme, there were quite a few who were powerless in the real world but very fond of Kendo.
So, it was normal for them to follow each Kendo Tournament.
In Japan, these traditional martial arts tournaments were treated almost like entertainment shows, their ratings no worse than TV Dramas.
Shiro gently tugged on Yusei's sleeve, her cute face showing a bit of admiration, "Nii is admired by many people."
Yusei gently patted his little sister's head and smiled, "Shiro will be too. With Shiro's talent, you'll probably become the number one player in SAO very soon."
Kirito was still lost in thought about the game's anomaly, so he didn't notice that their little area was already drawing attention from many.
Just then, red hexagonal windows suddenly appeared in the sky, filled with what looked like lines of error code in English Letters.
This bizarre sight made the players look up. Then, a bloody hue spread across the entire starting town.
Above the clock tower, red liquid began to flow from the sky, slowly coalescing into form. Mid-air, a figure clad in a blood-red cloak gradually took shape.
The figure was tall and humanoid in shape, but the face beneath the hood was completely unseen, just a patch of darkness.
So, what exactly this was became a question mark in everyone's mind.
But indisputably, the eerie sky and the blood-red, sanguine atmosphere ratcheted the tension to its peak.
"What is that?"
"Is it a celebration? The entrance ceremony looks quite spectacular."
"Are you an idiot? This is an adventure game, not a horror game. Why would they use this kind of atmosphere for a celebration?"
"So it is a game error? I told you this technology isn't mature yet. Having problems on the first day is to be expected."
"I hope the admins fix it quickly..."
The players' reactions varied. Almost everyone felt an inexplicable unease, with only a few remaining calm.
Among them were Yusei and Shiro.
Yusei hadn't told Shiro about the death game. He wanted her to enjoy the game properly. Knowing everything in advance would spoil the fun for her.
The massive, cloak-clad red figure spoke, its oppressive voice ringing in the ears of every anxious player.
"Players, welcome to my world."