RE;Sword Art Online

Ding, ding—

A sharp chime rang out, clear and insistent—almost like a warning bell. The sudden noise made both Klein and me jump in surprise.

"Ah—!"

"What the—!?"

We shouted at the same time, eyes wide as we exchanged confused looks.

A pillar of blue light engulfed us both, the glowing veil shimmering around our bodies. Beyond the blue haze, the plains blurred, as if reality itself was being pulled away.

I had experienced this before in the beta test. This was a [Teleport]—but I hadn't used an item, nor spoken the proper command.

Did the developers force a teleportation? But why? And why didn't they warn us?

Before I could process it further, the blue light pulsed—growing brighter, stronger—and then, everything went dark.

When the light faded, my vision cleared again.

And the endless golden plains were gone.

This was somewhere else entirely.

A large medieval-style plaza with tall, ornate pillars and archways in the background. A large road paved with stone, streets surrounded by street-lamps and the huge palace radiating a dark light a fair distance away up ahead, the area is filled with people.

The clock tower has a golden dome on top and a visible clock face showing a time close to 7:00. The crowd consists of numerous individuals, dressed in dark-colored outfits. The sheer scale of the gathering.

This was the starting point, the central plaza of the Starting City, Renteia.

A massive gathering of people filled the circular plaza, all centered around an imposing clock tower that loomed above.

I glanced at Klein, who stood beside me, his mouth hanging open in awe. Then, I turned my attention to the bustling crowd surrounding us.

Looking at the bunch of stunningly beautiful people, bright blue flashes flickered endlessly, marking the constant new arrivals, they appeared one after another wearing backpacks, armor, and casual fantasy-style clothing, with a variety of equipment and different hair colors, they were no doubt other players like me.

There were about a few hundred thousand and thousands, still more kept pouring in, their forms materializing in the plaza as the teleportation effects shimmered around them.

It was likely that everyone who was logged on right now had been forcefully transported to the central plaza.

For a few seconds, everyone just looked around without speaking.

Then a few mumbles and mutters could be heard here and there; it started to get louder.

"What's happening?"

"Can we log out now?"

"What's going on?"

"Can't they take care of it quickly!"

Scattered murmurs and complaints echoed through the plaza.

The bell chimes stopped.

As frustration grew, the murmurs turned to shouts—

"Is this some kind of joke?!"

"Get the hell out here, Devs!"

The crowd stirred restlessly, agitation rising.