powers in this world, enabling him to change the world at will, but why was he pointing that out now? Cline and I looked at each other dumbfounded. The anonymous red robe lowered its two arms and continued talking. 'My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.' "What...!?" My avatar became rigid with shock, and its throat, and perhaps my neck back in the real world as well, stopped working for a second. Kayaba—Akihiko!! I knew that name. There was no way I didn't. This person, who was both a game designer and a genius in the field of quantum physics, was the one responsible for raising Agas, which even a few years ago was just one of many small companies, into one of the leading companies in the field. He was also the development director of SAO and, at the same time, the designer of the Nerve Gear. As a hardcore gamer, I respected Kayaba deeply. I bought all the mags that featured him and had read his few interviews until I almost knew them all by heart. I could almost see him in the white overalls he always wore by just hearing his voice. But he had always stood behind the scenes, refusing to be exposed to the media; he had never even been a GM—so why was he doing