SwordArtOnline.tv SwordArtOnline.tv Color Illustrations 1 SwordArtOnline.tv 2 SwordArtOnline.tv 3 SwordArtOnline.tv 4 SwordArtOnline.tv 5 SwordArtOnline.tv 6 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area A Murder Case in the Area 7 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area Chapter 1 Just what’s with her, this girl? Well, sure, the one who said “The weather’s so nice, so why don’t you go take a nap” was indeed me, the one who laid down on the grass to demonstrate those words was also me, and of course the one who carelessly fell asleep was me yet again. But to think that just by taking a short nap of slightly less than thirty minutes, I would open my eyes to find her soundly asleep right next to me. There should be a limit to how much someone can exceed my expectations. I don’t know whether to think this as boldness, stubbornness, or maybe —— it was simply a lack of sleep? Just what is with this. Shaking my head left and right with that thought of utter helplessness expressed on my face, I stared at the beautifully dignified face of the rapier user Asuna «The Flash» —— the sub-leader of the guild “Knights of the Blood”, lightly breathing as she slept. The story started when I, having lost my mood to go into the gloomy labyrinth area with how good the weather was, planned to spend the whole day counting butterflies at the small knolls surrounding the teleport gate in the main town. The weather was truly splendid. The virtual floating city Aincrad’s four seasons is synchronized with reality, but the degree of 8 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area accuracy in the replication is really overly rigorous, with the summers hot without fail daily, and the winters cold as they are supposed to be. In addition to temperature, there are also rain and wind, moisture, dust level, and even swarms of insects included as parameters for the climate. Usually, if one of the parameters was good, you can expect another to be horrible. But today was different. The temperature was mildly warm, genial rays of sunlight permeated through the air, the gentle breeze blew constantly, yet not overly so, and to top it all off, no weird insects appeared. Even if it was spring, having this many parameters for the climate set at good values is an event that occurs no more than five times a year. The digital god was probably rewarding me for the hardships I endured whilst clearing the front lines, and wanted me to lie down for a nice nap. Understanding this, I was about to follow his will but —— When I laid down against the lush gentle hill and began to fall asleep, a pair of white leather shoes crunched down right beside my head. At the same time, a familiar voice strictly came from above. Saying thus: ——The clearing group is in the labyrinth zone doing their best, so why are you here leisurely taking a nap? With my eyes virtually closed, I replied. Saying thus: ——’Tis weather is most fullsome from that of the year. We canst do naught but enjoy it to its end. The strict voice then rebutted yet again: ——The weather hath changed naught from day to day. 9 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area To this, I answered thus: ——Rest hither by my side and thou shalt soon understand. Of course, the exchange proceeded in modern tongue in reality, but anyway, as a result, she really laid down beside me for reasons unknown to me, and actually managed to fall into a deep slumber. Now then. It was currently before noon, some of the players going to and leaving from the teleport gate plaza were staring without restraint at Asuna and I neatly lying side by side on the lush field. Some of them stared wide-eyed in shock, some giggled and there were even a few impolite ones flooding the area with flashes coming from recording crystals. Then again, they can’t really be blamed. When speaking of the sub-leader of the KoB, Asuna, a conquest monster that could make crying kids quiet down, or a turbo engine that continues to push down the front line at a surging quick pace is what comes to mind. And as for this solo player, Kirito —— although not quite to my liking —— the top delinquent of the clearing group, who always hung out with a bunch of frivolous guys, and played stupid games with them. With that particular combination taking a nap together, even I, one of the people involved, felt like laughing. Even though I say that, I would be the one suffering if she were to get angry after I wake her up, so leaving her there was probably my only choice. ——The desire to do so was great, but I couldn’t actually do it. Because if «The Flash» had continued to sleep soundly like this, she may be targeted by all sorts of harassment —— and not to mention —— at worst, she may even be PKed. 10 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area It’s true that where we are at now, the central plaza of the main street area of the 59th floor was still within the «area». More accurately, it should be said to be the «Anti-Criminal Code Effective Area». Inside this area, players are definitely unable to hurt other players. Even if they used weapons to hack at each other, there would only be a purple system effect, and the other player’s HP bar wouldn’t drop by even one millimeter, with the various poison-causing items having no effect as well. Of course, theft of items and such is also impossible. In other words, the area was just like what the term “Anti- Criminal” meant; with no way to carry out criminal acts directly. This is an absolute rule in this death game called «SAO», on the same level with the rule that «Once the HP becomes zero, it means death». But unfortunately, there were still some loopholes around this rule. One of them is when the player’s sleeping. There are times when players, with their energy exhausted through long durations of battle, are basically unconscious when they go into a deep sleep, and unable to wake up even with some stimulations. With that opportunity, one could raise a request to duel in «Complete Decisive Mode» and moved the sleeping opponent’s finger to press on the OK button. All that was left was to literally make the opponent sleep like the dead. Another method, that’s even more daring, was to drag the opponent’s body out of the area. The player lying on the ground couldn’t be forcefully moved through the protection of the «Code», but they can be moved about freely if placed on the «Stretcher» item. 11 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area These two methods were actually used by people in the past. The «Red»s’ evil passion can be said to be completely out of our imagination. Right now, all the players were taking such tragedies as a lesson, and would definitely sleep in player homes with doors that can be locked, or inns. Even for me, I’d use the «Searching Skill» before I sleep to set up an alarm nearby and wouldn’t dare to sleep soundly before that. ——However. At this moment, «The Flash», fast asleep beside me, was doubtlessly letting out delta waves recklessly. She probably wouldn’t wake up even if I took out a make-up item to draw graffiti on that face of hers. Seriously now, I don’t know whether she’s really daring or stubborn or—— “Maybe...she’s really tired.” I muttered. In SAO, even though it depends on the build as well, solo play will be the most effective for those who are aiming to level up. However, this girl was not only spending time intently watching the leveling progress of the other members in her guild, but also leveling up at almost the same rate as me. I guessed she must have sacrificed lots of sleep to train on mobs even late at night. I too, have memories of the difficulty of doing that. The me from 4 to 5 months ago was similarly immersed in such hardcore experience gaining, and I would sleep for several hours, during which I felt like I was dead, completely unable to be woken up. I swallowed a sigh, took out a drink from my storage to get ready for the long battle, and sat back down on the grass. 12 Sword Art Online Volume 8 – EarlySwordArtOnline.tv and Late A Murder Case in the Area I was the one who told her to sleep. In that case, I should have the obligation to stay here until she woke up. As the orange sun revealed its face from the outside of the floating city, Asuna «The Flash» finally woke up with a soft sneeze. I believe that she’d been sleeping for well over 8 hours. It wasn’t a simple problem of her taking a nap anymore. Having accompanied her without getting to eat lunch, I looked forward to seeing this cold and cool sub-leader-sama’s interesting reaction upon understanding the situation at the very least, as I stared at her fixedly.