Sword Art Online Volume 17 – Alicization Awakening Chapter 20 - Each of their Battles 15 Forcing her eyes open and wiping away her tears, Lisbeth began her speech: “… Yes, I brought some real world stuff here. And, as you said, those who emerge from SAO may find it very easy to mix up reality and virtual reality. However, I’m very certain that we’ve never thought of ourselves as heroes.” Gripping Silica’s hand, who stood teary-eyed to her right, she continued: “She and I currently attend a special school for the survivors you mentioned. We have no choice, since our previous schools had already dismissed us in the middle of the year. — All of the students in the survivors’ school have to attend counseling sessions every month. They monitor our brain waves with AmuSpheres, and we’re asked lots of uncomfortable questions like, ‘Have you lost your sense of reality’, or, ‘Do you want to harm other people’. There are children who have been forced to drink medicines they hate. To the government, we’re a reserve army of criminals that needs constant supervision.” Sometime during her speech, the waves of fury had calmed, and a tense silence took over the dome. Even the Salamander had widened his eyes in surprise. Lisbeth had no idea where the flow of her speech should terminate. She was only desperately converting her unstoppable emotions and thoughts into words: “But… to be honest, the old SAO players aren’t the only ones who are treated like this. All VRMMO players are viewed this way, more or less. Some say we’re just a heavy load on society who contribute nothing, some say we’re escapists who don’t pay taxes and pensions… There have even been calls for a return to conscription, just to force us to serve society!” Lisbeth could feel the surging anxiety of the thousands of players. If only she poked it with a needle, rage twice as intense than before would erupt.