By six o’clock in the afternoon, with all preparations complete, Akimi and the other two were ready to enter the water.
At this time, the sun hanging in the sky had already sunk more than halfway below the horizon.
The slanting red rays of the setting sun reflected on the sea surface, broken into countless fragments by the waves, swaying with the motion of the water.
If one looked closely, they could spot a faint, dim orange-red glow hidden beneath the sea, barely noticeable against the evening sunlight, easily masked by the fading sunset.
To avoid any accidents, the final plan was for Akimi to dive first, lay down a guiding rope, and check whether there were any troublesome monsters or other issues underwater.
If there were, they would need to decide whether to fight, find a way to avoid them, or rethink the plan entirely.
…
After a casual stretch by the shoreline as a warm-up, Akimi grabbed the rope coiled at his feet and slowly waded into the water.
Perhaps because of the residual warmth from the daytime sun, or due to the temperature anomaly of the “Sunken Sea,” the seawater felt unusually warm—around thirty degrees Celsius—giving Akimi the illusion that he was soaking in a hot spring.
When his lower body was already submerged, Asuna suddenly called out to him: “Be careful! If anything goes wrong, use the Transfer Crystal.”
Akimi waved his hand and laughed: “You can’t really rely on Transfer Crystals in a pinch. Don’t worry—if anything happens, all my inheritance is yours.”
“At a time like this, don’t say such morbid things!” Asuna said, puffing up with anger.
“Say that again, and you won’t be allowed in the house!”
Akimi chuckled helplessly at her words, then performed a French-style military salute: “Just joking… alright, I promise—I won’t die before marrying my dear Asuna.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he plunged into the water, disappearing from sight, leaving a flustered Asuna and the stunned Kirito on the shore.
Nirrnir, sitting under the parasol nearby, couldn’t help but smile faintly.
She gently swirled the wine in her glass and said cheerfully: “Asuna, make sure to invite me to your wedding—I wouldn’t mind being part of the bridesmaid group.”
“…Please don’t joke, Nirrnir,” Asuna stammered, lowering her head.
“It’s not a joke,” Nirrnir replied.
Asuna’s face turned nearly crimson with embarrassment.
…
It turned out that even without external programmers updating it, SAO was performing self-updates and optimizations.
Water, which was initially impossible to fully simulate and produced inconsistent visual effects while flowing, had gradually become much closer to real water thanks to the ongoing Cardinal system optimizations.
Though hard to believe, the water in SAO now gave players a tangible sense of “wetness,” a feeling difficult to describe.
One could imagine that if the Cardinal system were given enough time, Aincrad might indeed become the AnINcarnatingRADius—a world “materialized from the ideal of both the creator and the players,” as Kayaba Akihiko described it.
But for now, such far-reaching thoughts weren’t necessary.
Akimi shook his head, clearing the chaotic thoughts that involuntarily surged through his mind upon entering the water.
Gripping the guiding rope, he continued to dive deeper.
Although the sky had darkened, and visibility underwater was extremely low, the light emitted by the “sun” submerged beneath the sea allowed Akimi to easily determine the direction.
Soon, he reached a point about ten meters from the “sun.”
Contrary to earlier expectations, the surrounding water temperature remained around thirty degrees Celsius, far from boiling hot.
Judging by this, the terrifying heat on the surface probably wasn’t caused by this “sun”—but Akimi refrained from drawing any conclusions.
After all, there was no telling if the “sun” might have other unusual effects.
He pulled a Bubble Fruit from his quick-access bar, detached the stem, and inhaled the air contained within.
Once it deflated and displayed the “durability depleted” warning, he casually tossed it aside.
After checking his inventory, Akimi eyed the “sun” before him, tentatively touching it with a finger.
Feeling nothing unusual, he boldly plunged his entire hand inside.
The sensation within the “sun” was… strange, yet oddly pleasant.
If one had to describe it, it was like this: after being blasted by the freezing northwestern wind for two and a half hours in winter, you dip your hand into cold water, then sneakily thrust a merciless iron hand into your buddy’s warm neck, greedily drawing heat while secretly enjoying their contorted expression.
It was a dual pleasure—both physical and mental—albeit somewhat perverse.
After a moment of thought, Akimi decided to explore the “sun” alone first.
If it turned out to harbor a monster or dangerous phenomenon comparable to Kayaba Akihiko himself, going in with Asuna and the others would only risk more lives.
If it was something else merely tricky, he was confident in his ability to escape.
With his mind made up, Akimi stopped hesitating.
Holding his Nichirin Blade in one hand and the Transfer Crystal in the other, he dove into the “sun.”
The instant he fully left the surrounding seawater, the wet sensation vanished, replaced by an even stranger feeling—this time, not so pleasant.
It reminded him of the sweet potato he had roasted on a natural gas stove at home a few years back—charred on the outside, raw in the center.
His verdict had been: better to spend the gas money to buy two baked sweet potatoes instead.
Unfortunately, now he was that sweet potato.
His skin felt scorching hot, yet internally his body shivered as if in a freezing gale.
Sensing imminent danger, Akimi immediately tried to use the Transfer Crystal to escape.
But, as expected, the crystal remained stubbornly stable, refusing to work in this emergency.
“This is such a rip-off!”
Grimacing, Akimi cursed, though he still refrained from tossing the Transfer Crystal to the ground—it was quite valuable, after all.
After stowing away the useless Transfer Crystal, Akimi cautiously observed his surroundings, slowly retracing his steps along the path he had taken in.
But when he reached the boundary between the “sun” and the seawater, his expression worsened—what had just been a smooth transition now felt as hard as stone.
The sensation was almost like this: a young man spends a fortune, excitedly thinking he’s about to experience his first intimate encounter with a fair-skinned, beautiful girl at a small inn, only to discover she’s actually a futanari—and to make matters worse, the only way out is blocked by a burly man.
The helplessness was palpable.
At that moment, a tall figure suddenly appeared not far from Akimi, making his already tense nerves spike.
“Damn it! My life is over!”
Though he verbally admitted defeat, a surge of determination welled up inside him—he decided to strike first.
Estimating the distance, Akimi took a deep breath and suddenly drew his sword.
“Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!”
— The end of the Chapter–
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