Ignoring the splattered juice on his body, Kirigaya Naoki thrust his sword straight down.
A flash of cold light, and the sword pierced right through the opponent.
Even so, it continued to struggle. The man-eating plant's HP was still quite high. Kirigaya Naoki applied a little pressure with his feet, and its struggles lessened.
He delivered three sword thrusts with a blank expression, finally defeating his opponent.
At the same time, a strong feeling of dizziness washed over me.
Naoki Kiritani frowned, rubbing his slightly throbbing temples. He was a person with strong mental power, so he wouldn't faint on the spot.
He glanced at the blue bar, which was now completely empty, and the violent power receded like the tide.
Your level has increased to level seven.
[System notification: You have grasped the meaning ???]
[???]
[Active Skill: Increases all attributes based on the amount of magic injected; the degree of increase depends on the total amount of magic injected.]
After thinking for a moment, Kirigaya Naoki named the skill Berserk.
After resting for five minutes, a beam of blue light suddenly enveloped Kirigaya Naoki.
Forced teleportation.
A slight smile played on Kirigaya Naoki's lips as he murmured, "Has it finally begun?"
It was the same familiar square, and players appeared one by one in the wide square.
This is the town where things begin.
Before the crowds gathered, Kirigaya Naoki quickly searched around for Asuna and Kirigaya Kazuto.
As the blue light increased, a large number of players appeared in the plaza.
The game's melodious background music, accompanied by a gentle breeze, reached the player's ears.
It turns out that having background music in real life can significantly improve a person's mood.
Naoki Kiritani searched around and finally spotted a black-haired man in a secluded corner.
He stepped forward and grabbed the other person, glanced at their ID, and laughed, "You haven't changed at all, still using this name."
Kiritani Kazuto was wondering who had grabbed him when he turned around and saw his older brother.
He ignored his older brother's teasing words and asked directly, "Brother, haven't you noticed anything unusual yet?"
Naoki Kiritani suppressed his smile, thinking to himself that he had already transformed from a pile of data into a flesh and blood body.
Seeing Kirigaya Naoki's appearance, Kirigaya Kazuto said, "As you probably know, the logout button has disappeared."
Naoki Kiritani comforted him, saying, "It's probably a bug."
Kirito sighed and said, "If it's a bug, this game might face some negative reviews, especially considering how high our expectations were for it."
Looking at the boy in front of him, Kirigaya Naoki realized that Kirigaya Kazuto had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.
After casually chatting with the boy for a few moments, Kirigaya Naoki glanced at the silent, giant skeleton holding a scythe beside him, gave a meaningful smile, patted Kirigaya Kazuto on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I'm going to find Asuna, you two chat."
As the square became more crowded, it became somewhat difficult for Kirigaya Naoki to find someone.
However, wherever he went, many players focused their attention on him.
With a handsome face and almost perfect facial features, a high nose bridge, and a pair of sword-like eyebrows that added to the boy's heroic spirit, his bright and spirited golden eyes, and the fact that he had been practicing swordsmanship for a long time, Kirigaya Naoki always had a sharp and fierce aura about him.
The boy was dressed in coarse linen clothes, just the equipment given to newbies. Although everyone wore the same clothes, it looked quite different on him. He had a head of dazzling short hair with his bangs parted in the middle, which revealed his handsome features. He was an extremely handsome young man.
In Japanese society, values are often influenced by physical appearance. Even a game can make a boy like that incredibly attractive to girls. His charisma is especially captivating to naive girls.
Many male players approached him, asking Naoki Kiritani to reveal his character creation secrets.
Naoki Kiritani looked around indifferently and said calmly, "I'm looking for someone, please make way."
The girl blushed slightly, aroused by the boy's aloof demeanor. Meanwhile, the male players whispered amongst themselves. Kirigaya Naoki, with his keen ears, overheard most of what they were saying.
"What's the use of a game character being good-looking if they're just a fat otaku in real life?"
"That's right, that's right."
"Ha," Kirigaya Naoki shook his head, ignoring the sour-faced players, and finally found Asuna looking bewildered in a corner.
She just stood there, stunned.
Seeing Kirigaya Naoki was like seeing a savior, and he grabbed the boy.
Asuna said with a serious face, "Naoki, I've noticed that the logout button has disappeared."
Naoki Kiritani nodded.
Seeing the boy so calm, Asuna became a little anxious. She whispered, "It's almost seven o'clock now. My mother will definitely scold me when she gets back."
Naoki Kiritani shook his head, lamenting that even as an adult, Asuna still feared her mother.
Although Asuna hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem, Kirigaya Naoki didn't want to discourage her, so he comforted her, saying, "It's okay, it's probably just a bug."
Asuna, however, still wore a pained expression.
She was led to Kirito's side, and as more players arrived, the plaza gradually became noisy.
After all, quite a few players noticed the anomaly, with many discovering that the logout button had disappeared.
Noisy sounds began to emanate from various places, and the volume gradually increased. I kept hearing things like, "What's going on?", "Can I log out now?", and "Let me log out quickly!"
After a while, the noise from the crowd began to carry an atmosphere of anxiety, and angry shouts such as "Stop joking!" and "GM, come out here!" could be heard.
Suddenly, someone's shout drowned out the noise.
"Ah...look up!"
Naoki Kiritani subconsciously looked up and saw a strange sight.
One hundred meters above the ground, at the bottom of the second layer, a bright red checkerboard pattern appeared.
Upon closer inspection, one can see that the pattern is formed by two English words arranged in an alternating pattern. The two words written in bright red are "warning" and "systemannou".
'Is this the GM?' Kirigaya Naoki fell into deep thought. This was the first time he had ever seen a GM in real life.
The red pattern covering the entire sky resembled a huge, rather thick drop of blood slowly dripping downwards. However, the blood didn't fall to the ground; instead, it suddenly changed shape in mid-air.
What appeared there was a giant who was nearly twenty meters tall and wore a dark red cloak.
He revealed his face through his hat, pulled very low—but there was no face there, just an empty space, the inside of the hat and the seams along the edges clearly visible. And within the long, drooping hem, there was only a faint darkness.