Yui's revelation about controlling time itself made Hozuki Nozomi's eyes gleam with satisfaction. He'd been pondering how to handle Kayaba Akihiko's inevitable troublesome interventions, and now the solution had landed in his lap—literally, in the form of an adorable elf loli.
With Yui's abilities, he could adjust the temporal flow however he wished. Everyone could play and enjoy the game to their hearts' content while only minutes passed in the outside world. Perfect.
"Oh, Daddy, there's something else." Yui tugged at his sleeve, her expression turning serious. "A man named Kayaba Akihiko tried to merge his soul into Yui's core. He still thinks he's the master of this world—he's already abandoned his physical body outside."
Hozuki Nozomi's expression hardened. So Kayaba had already made his move.
"Not only that," Yui continued, "he manipulated the world's permissions and deleted the player logout option. And he tampered with the physical game equipment—if anyone forcibly removes their helmet, components inside will burn the player's brain."
The little loli laid out everything Kayaba had done in clear, precise detail. Then she smiled confidently.
"But Daddy, Yui can stop all of it! I can even deceive him into thinking he succeeded!"
The situation was simple: Yui had become the true master of this world. As a special artificial virtual elf, she possessed absolute control within these digital realms—invincible, omnipotent, effectively a god. With her watching over things, Hozuki Nozomi could play without any worries.
More importantly, Kayaba's deadly tampering would have resulted in mass casualties among players. Hozuki Nozomi owned more than half the game company's shares, and the Yukinoshita family had major investments tied to the project. A lethal game wasn't just morally wrong—it was bad business.
He immediately instructed Yui to use her authority.
Deceive Kayaba Akihiko's soul. Make him believe his logout button removal had succeeded. Feed him false data suggesting players had already died when families disconnected their devices.
Let the mad genius think he'd won.
And so, the "real" game began.
...
Ten thousand players logged in simultaneously from across the globe. The allure of a fully immersive virtual reality world proved irresistible to gamers everywhere.
Hozuki Nozomi strolled through this new world, Yui floating beside him as his guide. Under her direction, he began mastering the combat system.
They arrived at a field outside the starter town. A wild boar wandered aimlessly in the distance, oblivious to its fate.
Hozuki Nozomi raised the Elven Holy Sword, assuming a thrusting stance. He held the position for one heartbeat—
The sword glowed.
His figure flickered, vanishing from his original position and reappearing directly before the boar.
SHINK!
The blade passed clean through the monster, bisecting it in a single stroke. The boar dissolved into polygons and vanished, leaving behind floating experience orbs.
[Level Up!]
"Interesting." Hozuki Nozomi examined his sword with renewed appreciation.
Yui clapped her hands. "Isn't it fun, Daddy? In this world, if you assume the proper stance for a sword skill, the system reads it and activates automatically. As long as your neural reflexes keep up, your speed is sufficient, and your form is correct, skills become easier to execute."
She continued, "Skill power depends on equipment and player level. But that's not all—players can create exclusive skills after meeting certain conditions!"
Hozuki Nozomi nodded, stroking her hair absently. He remembered this from the original work. Asuna's "Flash" and Kirigaya Kazuto's "Starburst Stream" were both unique skills earned through mastery and special circumstances.
In this world, sword proficiency mattered enormously. Those with actual martial arts training held a significant advantage.
Beta testers also had an edge, having already learned the mechanics.
But Hozuki Nozomi had something better: an elf god cheating on his behalf.
He quickly absorbed the fundamentals of sword skill activation, then had Yui teleport him to optimal farming locations. To create exclusive skills, level mattered. Higher stats meant access to more powerful techniques.
This old fox wasn't just having Yui feed false information to Kayaba—he was having her transform into the Elven Holy Sword and unleash its true power during farming sessions.
Minutes later:
[Level 30 achieved!]
[Exclusive skill acquired: God-Demon Annihilation Slash.]
The name was a bit chuunibyou, he admitted. But the skill itself was extraordinary. It could be used both here and in the real world—the system had already added it to his real-world skill list.
The technique worked by channeling the conflict between holy power and demonic power within his body, condensing that energy onto his blade. The resulting force scaled with his magic output.
And with Yui transformed into the Elven Holy Sword, every strike carried the "ignore defense" property—essentially true damage.
Hozuki Nozomi could now theoretically challenge gods and demons.
Not that he expected many opportunities in what was supposed to be a slice-of-life world. Still, having power and not using it was preferable to lacking power when needed. If he could grow stronger, why wouldn't he?
He continued farming.
[Level 40 achieved!]
Progress stalled. He needed a job change quest to advance further.
The world offered various professions beyond the basic swordsman class: blacksmith, chef, herbalist, and more. The knight class existed for those who preferred tanking roles. After all, dungeon crawling required balanced parties—you couldn't have everyone dealing damage with no one to take hits.
Although this was a game, it wasn't a joke. Kayaba's vision demanded players treat their digital lives with respect.
Hozuki Nozomi had no intention of switching professions. Swordsman suited him fine. But he was curious about dual-wielding, which required careful job change quest selection. Different NPCs offered different rewards upon completion—some even granted unique skills.
If he could cheat, he would cheat. Kayaba was cheating too, wasn't he? The invincibility cheat existed for a reason.
....
Light flickered across the world. All ten thousand players found themselves teleported to the beginner town's central plaza.
Panic rippled through the crowd. People checked their menus frantically.
The logout button was gone.
Asuna Yuuki stood amidst the chaos, her heart racing. Then she spotted a familiar figure and relief flooded through her.
"Hozuki Nozomi!" She hurried over, keeping her voice low. "What a coincidence—are you playing too?"
He smiled at her. "Asuna. Good to see you."
She bit her lip nervously. "I just logged in out of curiosity, but... the logout button is missing. Do you know what's happening?"
"Don't worry. I suspect Kayaba Akihiko will explain shortly." He scanned the crowd. "Let's gather the others first. I wonder if they're using their real appearances."
Soon, all the girls Hozuki Nozomi knew converged on their position.
Kosaka Kirino and Aragaki Ayase were unexpected additions. Both had created significantly enhanced avatars—taller, more developed, clearly indulging in wish fulfillment.
But Yukino Yukinoshita's avatar made him do a double-take.
Her figure rivaled Sanshokuin Sumireko's. The chest area, in particular, was dramatically... augmented.
Hozuki Nozomi stared. "Yukino... what did you do?"
His fiancée sniffed proudly, puffing out her enhanced chest. "Isn't this what you like?"
He rubbed his forehead, suppressing a sigh. "I like Yukino as she is. Your natural figure suits you perfectly—overdoing it doesn't suit you at all."
Yukino's confident expression flickered. "Oh. Can I still change it?"
"No need." He smiled and patted her head. "There might be surprises later. Let's see how things develop."
He surveyed the gathered girls—his unofficial party, his family, his loves. Playing games together was an excellent opportunity to deepen their bonds.
And with Yui secretly controlling everything behind the scenes, they'd have all the time in the world.