"Does the temple have an automatic repair function?"
When using Explosion Magic, Shiraishi Kawa truly couldn't stop it; he could only continuously provide magic power to maintain the skill's current state.
He looked at the Taurus King, which had been erased.
In its place, stood Kayaba Akihiko on the steps, an ordinary man with short hair, wearing a white lab coat, dressed like a researcher.
As the developer of the SAO game,
Shiraishi Kawa really had to ask if the temple could be repaired.
"No!"
How could he not understand Shiraishi Kawa's meaning? Kayaba Akihiko looked up at the turbulent, preparing magic.
Vast energy was continuously pouring in.
He didn't even bother with a detailed explanation, directly using GM privileges to transport Shiraishi Kawa to the rooftop of Aincrad.
And losing the magic power supply,
the fully charged Explosion Magic instantly detonated. The powerful impact completely sealed the slowly closing, heavy stone door.
The intense sound of the explosion caused the ground in the outer area of the temple to tremble violently.
It even made many players feel as if Aincrad was about to be blown through. Although it was an Explosion Magic driven by only part of his magic power,
the damage caused still completely shattered the heavy stone door.
Confirming that no secondary disasters had occurred, Mito actively walked over, but what appeared before her was a black hole area of game program corruption.
The strong ringing in her ears from the explosion
did not subside after waiting for a moment. She looked at the scene far ahead, unable to find Shiraishi Kawa's figure. It couldn't be that
he cast a skill that included himself, could it?
Mito tried to find Shiraishi Kawa but ultimately found nothing. That left only one possibility: he had already left this temple.
"So..."
"Is he really a player of the SAO game?"
Doubt arose in her heart. If he wasn't a player, then... possessing this level of strength, she didn't even dare to think too deeply...
The truth was exactly as Mito guessed. Leaving was actually very simple. With the speed of a burst of stats, he could leave the temple directly before the explosion.
Shiraishi Kawa looked at the open view ahead. Standing atop Aincrad, he simply glanced around, able to take in the entire SAO World.
Occasionally, a cool breeze swept past.
Kayaba Akihiko didn't look far ahead, but rather turned his incredulous gaze to Shiraishi Kawa, whose expression was calm and unruffled.
"You are an outsider..."
"Are all these magic spells your doing?"
"More or less."
Shiraishi Kawa didn't deny him. If it weren't for Explosion Magic, it would have been much harder to meet Kayaba Akihiko.
After all, speedrunning to the 100th floor still required some time. After clearing it, there would be no room for Asuna to train. He turned his gaze to the ordinary man in front of him.
Having created the SAO game world, his abilities were beyond doubt.
"Magic... is it real?"
Using GM privileges, when the Strategy group killed the first-floor Boss, Ilfang the Kobold Lord, the game system's prompt had already caught Kayaba Akihiko's attention.
Especially the magic used later, which made him conclude that the outsider who invaded the SAO World was Shiraishi Kawa, and he was teaming up with players.
High-profile use of magic skills... hmm.
In a game world without magic settings, Shiraishi Kawa's intention was definitely to find him, the producer.
"Of course."
Shiraishi Kawa's tone was relaxed. Currently, he only possessed the God Panel. To increase his strength, he still needed to bring out the Chaos Evil God's trump card, the Subspace.
As a pure researcher and idealist, Kayaba Akihiko had no interest in beating around the bush. He said calmly, "I came to the SAO World specifically to find you, Dr. Kayaba."
"You want... my research results?"
Kayaba Akihiko thought carefully. It seemed that besides the final product, the virtual reality game SAO, there was nothing else he possessed that was worth coveting.
Seeing Shiraishi Kawa's lack of denial, he could basically confirm his inner thoughts.
To be honest, he mainly couldn't understand why a human with such magical energy would be interested in a game world. If he truly wanted to clear it, it would be extremely easy.
"I don't understand."
"You can probably understand it as the SAO game having a purpose for me: to transform a virtual game world into... a truly existing world."
The concept of Subspace was too abstract.
Shiraishi Kawa didn't explain his thoughts. His tone was very direct: "I want the SAO game world, and also the... virtual world seed on you."
"In exchange,"
"I will have a goddess help you reincarnate into a real otherworld, one that aligns with your inner desires, a truly existing otherworld."
This was the bargaining chip.
As for reincarnating Kayaba Akihiko's soul into an otherworld, he would have to trouble the goddess Eris from the Konosuba World, who controlled the reincarnation of souls in Japan.
She should possess such authority.
Shiraishi Kawa didn't rush him, but patiently waited for Kayaba Akihiko's reply. Although it differed from the world he imagined in his mind...
The key was that the otherworld wasn't a game, but a real existence. This would definitely have a strong appeal to Kayaba Akihiko, and the result proved it.
"Are you sure the otherworld exists and isn't just a hypothesis?"
Kayaba Akihiko still looked doubtful, but from the depths of his eyes, a hint of anticipation could be seen. The allure of a real otherworld was strong.
The magic Shiraishi Kawa used, the Adventurer life he fantasized about as a child... "I don't have time to waste deceiving you. To be precise, I have some connection with the goddess responsible for reincarnating Japanese souls."
"As for the world, you can choose it yourself."
"Alright."
When Shiraishi Kawa finished his brief explanation, Kayaba Akihiko quickly agreed. Such a decisive attitude surprised him a little.
He turned his head and saw Kayaba Akihiko's figure in a white lab coat. His gaze was fixed on the SAO Sword Art Online game he had created.
"A game world is ultimately false..."
"Pursuing a sense of reality in a false world, and now having the opportunity to cross over to an otherworld, I know how to choose."
Kayaba Akihiko's tone sounded more like a sense of relief. After saying this, he turned to Shiraishi Kawa: "You can register an administrator account now."
"All permissions for the SAO World will be given to you, including control over the real-world terminals."
"..."
Kayaba Akihiko didn't mind that Shiraishi Kawa knew what he possessed. His intuition told him that the otherworld theory was real.
He even worried a little that he might back out.
What interest could his self-created SAO World hold compared to a truly immersive otherworld?
He took out an amber emitting a yellow glow, with streams of light constantly flashing through it. He explained in a relaxed tone: "This is the virtual world seed."
"May I presume to ask what your purpose is for wanting the world seed?"
"..."
He didn't reply to Kayaba Akihiko's words. As Shiraishi Kawa carefully examined the virtual world seed in his hand, the proficiency panel... reappeared!
"Current profession [God] detected, new function available for activation. Activate?"