Unlike the invitations used by the others, Asuna was worried that something might go wrong with hers.
The others' Cross-World Invitations had all happened under normal conditions—that is, while they were conscious in the real world.
But her situation was different. Her consciousness was trapped inside the false world of SAO.
Because of that, she was afraid the invitation might fail.
Asuna took a deep breath, closed her eyes to calm herself, then exhaled and opened them again.
In truth, thanks to Miss Kuroneko helping rebroadcast the livestream from her side and sharing the revenue, Asuna herself already had enough to pay the cost of activating Cross-World Invitation.
But if she went to someone else's world, her own time would be effectively frozen. When she returned, everything would still be the same, and she might not necessarily wake up.
If she invited someone else over to help, then failure might not be limited to the other person being unable to arrive. There was also the possibility that, after arriving, their consciousness would become trapped in the SAO world too.
That could put the other person's life in danger.
And this possibility was not something Asuna had thought of herself. It was a hypothesis Dr. Yuuko Kouzuki had raised earlier while everyone was chatting in the channel.
In other words, if Mr. Kain accepted the invitation, there might be danger involved.
Still, Mr. Kain had faced so many terrifying beings before. He had survived injuries like that, even having his head blown apart. Surely her world could not threaten him too badly.
So the person most suited to coming over and helping her was still Mr. Kain.
Even so, Asuna felt too embarrassed to ask for help on her own initiative. She was still afraid something might go wrong by accident.
This time, however, Mr. Kain had been the one to make the request. She had told him that this possible danger existed, yet he had still said it was fine.
Then she would send the invitation.
Once he accepted, he would descend here. She wanted him to appear beside her.
Because she had no way of knowing the condition of her real body, that was the only thought she could form in her mind.
It really was strange. Even her livestream could not show her condition in reality. It could only livestream her virtual self inside this world.
Asuna's pupils shrank, and her face filled with astonishment.
Right in front of her, about one meter away, something abnormal appeared.
When monsters were killed, did they not turn into data fragments?
A scene like that was now unfolding before her eyes. It looked almost like a spatial collapse had opened in the virtual world.
The next second, as if a slain monster had refreshed and spawned back in, a figure appeared.
However, the surface of that figure still showed some data fragments, like faint static interference.
To be honest, the figure now looked similar to a holographic projection seen in the real world.
But as the projection became increasingly real, Asuna came back to herself—and her face grew redder and redder.
She had accidentally seen something rather specific. It was the same thing she had seen during Dr. Yuuko Kouzuki's special livestream: that frightening-looking part of him, which had somehow even been able to enter from there.
"Are you all right, Mr. Kain?"
He was frowning, clearly surprised by his own condition.
He did not answer. Instead, he moved around a little. More accurately, he seemed to be warming up before exercise, checking the condition of his body.
The next second, he suddenly disappeared.
Asuna's face turned slightly pale, and panic rose in her chest.
She immediately entered the Superdimensional Channel and happened to see Mr. Kain's message there. That left her stunned.
Mr. Kain had returned to his own world.
Sure enough, something about coming to her side had gone wrong. Had it failed?
But that thought was immediately dispelled by his next message. Mr. Kain had returned on his own initiative.
He wanted to confirm something.
So she sent the invitation again. He had also transferred the fee to her side. Although she had enough herself, he had still sent it over.
She invited him again.
Just like before, he first appeared like a mass of mosaic-like distortion, then gradually became more real.
"Attack me."
"Huh?"
That request left Asuna unable to react for a moment. Or rather, she could not understand it.
"Stab my palm. It's fine."
"O-okay."
Still a little dazed, Asuna drew the rapier at her waist and aimed it at the hand he extended. But just before the blade touched him, she hesitated.
However, he took the initiative and pressed his hand down onto the sword's tip, pushing farther in. Asuna felt force travel through the sword in her hand and saw the point pierce slightly into his palm.
Then he stepped closer, grabbed the blade with his other hand, and drove it in deeper until it pierced through his palm.
"I'm going back once more."
As soon as he said that, he vanished.
Asuna immediately entered the channel again and soon saw another message asking her to invite him once more.
She sent another invitation, and he appeared the same way as before.
"Could you help me find some clothes?"
"O-okay."
Asuna pulled her sword back, then went to her wardrobe.
She opened it, only to find that everything inside was her own clothing. There were even a few rather delicate pieces of underwear.
After freezing for a moment, she blushed and immediately shut it.
How had she suddenly done something so stupid? Why would there be men's clothing in her room?
"Please wait a moment. I'll go out and come back right away."
"Mm."
After watching the slightly flustered girl disappear, Kain immediately began studying the girl's bedroom more closely.
It really did look real. Almost exactly like reality. The objects were not fixed in place either. He could pick them up and move them around freely, and there was a genuine tactile quality to them.
However, if he looked carefully, he could still discover that this world was not real.
The reason he had gone back and forth through several invitations was to confirm his own state.
When he was invited over, his consciousness entered the SAO world. His body had not come with him.
The wound Asuna had inflicted earlier was not a real wound. It was more like a data-based injury. After he returned to his side, there was no wound on his hand.
In addition, he had tried taking something out of his personal space. The item had indeed been taken out, but it had not entered this virtual world. Instead, it had vanished in a strange way.
When he returned to his own side, he had not seen it there either.
Right now, his situation was essentially the same as Asuna's. His consciousness had logged into the virtual world.
Therefore, in this virtual world, he could not display his real-world abilities.
But after testing his physical condition, he felt that he did not seem to be at the level of a beginner LV 1 either.
If he remembered correctly, the gesture to summon this world's control panel in SAO was something like this.
He made the motion, but nothing happened.
That meant he could not confirm his personal status or ability values.
Hm?
Kain frowned slightly. He had the sudden feeling that he was being watched, as if there were a surveillance camera above his head.
Without warning, he punched upward.
It seemed as if his fist struck something. Tiny data blocks appeared in the air, then evaporated and disappeared.
Vaguely, he thought those blocks looked like they were composed of various codes.
After that punch, the sensation of being watched disappeared.
Then how would the other side deal with him next?
Akihiko Kayaba.
(End of Chapter)
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