All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

"Sword Art Online? In a sea of long titles, it's rare to see a title with just four characters," Kagami Ai quipped after hearing the title from Yukinoshita Haruno.

"Hopefully, it's a good one," Haruno said as she rubbed her neck, feeling a bit sore after spending an entire hour reviewing novels in front of her computer. After taking a brief break, she clicked on Sword Art Online to begin reading.

As soon as she saw the table of contents, Haruno was surprised. "Wow, the author of Sword Art Online uploaded an entire volume at once."

Unlike most other submissions, which typically started with just a chapter to gauge popularity before uploading more, Sword Art Online had the entire first volume uploaded right away. This piqued Haruno's interest in the book.

"An entire volume at once?"

Kagami Ai, intrigued by Haruno's comment, leaned over to take a look.

"Maybe it's a short story? Some authors who specialize in short stories tend to write the entire plot in advance and upload the complete manuscript during submission."

"But the title doesn't really sound like a short story... Anyway, let me take a look at the beginning."

Haruno decided not to overthink it and clicked on the prologue to start reading.

["This may be a game, but it's not something you play."]

The opening line made Haruno's eyes widen slightly. There was something almost magical about this line, as if it pulled her thoughts deeply into the story right from the start.

The more she read, the more she found herself increasingly amazed and on the edge of her seat.

New and unprecedented terms appeared in the novel as if they were being dispensed freely.

Full Dive!

NERvGear!

SAO Sword Art Online!

Aincrad!

Beater!

Monument of Life!

Just by wearing a helmet, one could enter a completely virtual online space.

What used to be a virtual game world experienced through a computer or mobile screen could now be fully immersed in, with every sensation in the game being extraordinarily realistic—as if this wasn't just a game world but a 'real world' without magic, entirely relying on swords and other cold weapons!

The protagonist of this light novel was named Kirigaya Kazuto, known as Kirito in the game. Whether he was lucky or unfortunate, he gained the privilege of participating in the closed beta.

When SAO officially launched, he immediately donned the NERvGear, fully diving into the world of Sword Art Online.

After spending several hours in the game, just as they were about to log out, the players were horrified to find that the logout button had vanished, seemingly due to a bug.

The players, who were initially waiting for the official bug fix, were all summoned to the starting area—the Town of Beginnings.

There, they were greeted by Kayaba Akihiko, the designer of SAO, who informed the fearful and agitated crowd that the disappearance of the logout button was intentional. There had never been a logout button designed into the game in the first place. To escape the game, players would have to clear all 100 floors of Aincrad and defeat the final boss in the Ruby Palace.

The most terrifying revelation was that all in-game resurrection methods were disabled, meaning that if a player's HP dropped to zero... it would result in their real death!

"Once a player dies in the game, the helmet on their head will fry their brain like a furnace... What a brutal game!"

As Haruno read this part, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Initially, she had assumed Sword Art Online was a typical competitive VRMMO light novel, but she was shocked to discover that it was a deadly game of survival.

—"This may be a game, but it's not something you play."

Reading the first line again, Haruno finally understood the true meaning behind it.

SAO wasn't just a game; it was a deadly survival challenge!

As she continued reading, page after page, Haruno found herself completely engrossed in the story.

She was amazed by the author's imagination. Although online gaming had become a well-established industry, no one had ever proposed the concept of full-dive virtual reality gaming.

It could be said that this author had introduced a groundbreaking concept to the gaming world!

She admired the author's writing ability, which seamlessly integrated this novel concept into an engaging narrative.

If the author had only focused on explaining this new concept, it might have made waves in the gaming industry, but it wouldn't have caused much of a stir in the light novel world.

After all, it's the story that captivates readers, not a bunch of technical jargon.

What made Sword Art Online so remarkable was its ability to perfectly blend this new concept with an enthralling plot. It allowed readers to become immersed in the story while gradually understanding the innovative gaming concepts, leaving them in awe.

After spending a long time reading at her computer, Haruno suddenly realized it was already three in the afternoon. When she habitually clicked the mouse, she was surprised to find no new chapters.

It was only then that Haruno realized she had finished reading Volume 1 of Sword Art Online. She was a huge book lover, and if she hadn't been, she wouldn't have chosen to become an editor at a light novel publishing house, even against her family's expectations.

The story ended with Kirito waking up in the hospital and setting out to find Asuna. It felt as if the author had deliberately designed the narrative to end with the words "Volume 1 Complete."

At that moment, Haruno was so engrossed that she wanted nothing more than to rush to Izumi Kotomi, grab her, and lock her in a room to finish writing the rest of the story.

However, Haruno quickly calmed her excitement. She exited the reading interface and looked up the author of Sword Art Online.

"Izumi Ki... She's a newcomer who's never published anything before?"

Haruno was stunned. She had expected that such a groundbreaking and captivating novel must have been written by an established and well-known author.

But it turned out that the author was a complete newcomer named Izumi Ki, who had never published a novel, not even online.

In other words... Sword Art Online was her debut work?!

"Such polished writing, such mastery of storytelling, and such well-crafted characters... It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. It seems that geniuses really do exist."

Haruno couldn't help but marvel at Sword Art Online as she sat in front of her computer.

Gurgle—

Her stomach growled, and Haruno realized she had been so absorbed in reading Sword Art Online that she had forgotten to eat.

But now wasn't the time to go out and grab a late lunch. Haruno grabbed a few cookies from Kagami Ai to tide herself over.

As Haruno nibbled on the cookies, Ai couldn't help but ask curiously:

"When I asked if you wanted to grab lunch earlier, you were so engrossed in that novel, staring at your screen, that you didn't even respond no matter how much I called you. What were you reading? Was it Sword Art Online?"

"Yes! The author, Izumi Ki, is an absolute genius!"

Hearing Haruno's high praise, Ai was shocked and nearly dropped her cookie. "This is the first time I've heard you praise someone like that."

"Because Izumi Ki-sensei truly deserves it! No more chit-chat, I'm going to see Editor-in-Chief Hiratsuka."

After a brief rest, Haruno stood up and headed straight for Hiratsuka Yuko's office.

"Editor-in-Chief Hiratsuka, I've found an incredible light novel in the competition. I believe this book has immense potential, so I wanted you to take a look at it directly."

After calming the excitement in her heart, which felt like she had discovered a treasure, Haruno pushed open the door and spoke to Hiratsuka, who was sitting at her computer.

Hiratsuka Yuko was already fifty-three years old, but she looked much younger than her age, thanks to her careful self-maintenance. Despite her age, she exuded a charm that was enhanced rather than diminished by the passage of time.

"Oh, Haruno, you're here. You've found an incredible light novel? It's rare for you to give such high praise. What's the title? Let me see."

Hiratsuka wasn't surprised that Haruno had come directly to her. At Dengeki Bunko, if an editor found a light novel with great potential, they could bring it directly to the editor-in-chief to request more resources for it.

Moreover, Hiratsuka Yuko had known Haruno's mother, Yukinoshita Maho, for a long time, so it was natural for her to help Haruno out.

More importantly, Hiratsuka was well aware of Haruno's serious and professional attitude towards her work.

The fact that Sword Art Online had impressed Haruno so much piqued Hiratsuka's interest.

"Sword Art Online. It was submitted to the website today."

"Sword Art Online? The title is intriguing. Is it an isekai light novel?"

"No, it's a game-themed light novel."

"A game-themed light novel? While this competition focuses on fantasy and isekai themes, in the end, it doesn't matter what genre it is—if it's interesting enough, it can stand out."

Hiratsuka said with a smile as she logged into the Dengeki Bunko website and began reading the Sword Art Online submission recommended by Haruno.