everyone was fighting to get their hands on a copy even though it’s the first online game. It’s sorta meaningless if they screw up like this on their first day.” “I agree, and SAO is the first VRMMORPG. If something goes wrong now they might put down regulations for the genre itself.” Cline and I looked at each other’s virtual faces and sighed. Aincrad’s seasons were based on reality, so it was early fall here as well. I looked up, sucking in the virtual air, taking a deep, cold breath. 100 meters away, I could just about see the light purple bottom of the 2nd floor. As I followed the uneven surface, I saw the huge tower— the «labyrinth» that was the path to the upper floor—and saw that it was connected to the outer entrance. It was just past 5:30 and the small strip of sky that could be seen was red with the light of the sunset. Despite the situation I was in, seeing the endless plains painted gold with the light of the evening sun, I found myself speechless in front of the beauty of this virtual world. Right after that. The world changed forever.