SAO: I replaced him?

A Few Hours Later – The Town of Beginnings

For the first time since the launch of Sword Art Online, the Town of Beginnings wasn't a place of fear and despair. Instead, the massive square was alive with cheers, celebration, and the kind of relief that could only come from seeing a genuine way forward. The moment news broke that the first-floor boss had been defeated, the players who had been too afraid to leave the safety of the town were filled with hope.

And now, standing at the center of it all, Morin had the spotlight.

"Everyone! We did it! The first floor is conquered, and the path to the second floor is open!"

He raised a fist high, his voice carrying across the square like a war cry.

"We will keep moving forward, clear all 100 floors, and escape this death game! We will see our families again!"

For a second, there was silence—just a collective moment of realization.

Then, the square exploded into cheers.

"Long live the strategy team!"

"We're gonna get out of here!"

"The boss is dead! We can really win this thing!"

"The one who landed the final hit was Asuna from Star Flame!"

As Morin scanned the excited faces around him, he saw the shift in the players' eyes. It wasn't just relief—it was hope. Hope that they weren't doomed to rot away in a virtual prison. Hope that victory was possible.

But Morin had no intention of turning this into a long-winded speech. He had done what needed to be done. With a final wave, he signaled to the others and slipped away from the center of the square.

---

"Asuna!"

Morin barely had time to react before Asuna, who had been chatting with a few female players from Star Flame, turned and waved at him with an expression he hadn't seen before—pure joy.

She was different now. The [Black Midnight Coat] she wore after the boss fight gave her an almost mysterious allure, accentuating her graceful figure. She wasn't just another player anymore. She was the hero of the first-floor raid.

And judging by the glances from the male players nearby, Morin wasn't the only one who had noticed.

But he didn't care.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Asuna's waist, and lifted her into a spin.

"Wha—?! Morin! Put me down!" Asuna squeaked, her face instantly turning red.

After a few spins, he set her down, and Asuna, still flustered, quickly pulled him away from the crowd, muttering something about "too many people staring" under her breath.

Moments later, they found themselves outside town, sitting on a grassy hill overlooking the fields. The fresh air, the gentle rustling of the wind—it felt like an entirely different world from the chaos they had just left.

"We actually did it…" Asuna murmured, gazing up at the sky. Her legs were tucked neatly to one side, her fingers brushing over the blades of grass absentmindedly. "The first boss… It still doesn't feel real."

Morin smirked and stretched out beside her. "Of course we did. The raid was well-prepared, and with me leading, was there ever a doubt?"

Asuna gave him a playful shove. "Just a little full of yourself, aren't you?"

He chuckled but didn't argue. The truth was, things had gone about as smoothly as they could have—except for Kibaou's death, of course. But even that had been more of an ironic twist of fate rather than a true failure.

In the original timeline, Diavel had been the one to die due to greed. This time, he had survived, and Kibaou had taken his place.

The realization left an odd feeling in Morin's chest. The future here wasn't set in stone. The original story had already begun to shift.

"I guess I should stop assuming everything will play out like before," he muttered to himself.

"Hm?" Asuna tilted her head toward him.

"Nothing," he said, brushing the thought aside. Instead, he glanced at her and grinned. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Asuna sighed, but her soft smile gave her away. "Everyone is happy. It's like… for the first time, they believe they can win." She glanced at him. "And that's because of you."

He chuckled. "Oh? Not because of a certain Black Sword Princess landing the final hit?"

Asuna blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." Morin smirked. "Black Sword Princess."

Her face turned crimson. "D-Don't just give me weird nicknames!"

"But it fits, doesn't it? You're wearing all black, and you did finish off the boss."

Asuna groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I am not calling myself that."

Morin just chuckled to himself.

---

Not far away, standing on the edge of the square, another figure observed the scene in silence.

A man with sharp eyes and an enigmatic presence.

Heathcliff.

Or rather—the true mastermind behind Sword Art Online, Akihiko Kayaba.

As he watched Morin rally the crowd, his expression remained unreadable. His interest wasn't in the celebration. It was in Morin himself.

"…So, my old classmate is in here as well."

Kayaba's lips curled slightly, though whether in amusement or curiosity was unclear.

"This could be interesting."

Unlike the other players, Kayaba had no sentimental ties to the past. The only thing that mattered to him was the realization of his ultimate vision. This world. This game.

Morin's unexpected presence? That was just another variable in his grand experiment.

Kayaba observed for a moment longer, then turned and disappeared into the crowd, his mind already moving onto other matters.

---

Elsewhere in the Square

Asuna and Morin weren't the only notable players in SAO.

Kirito, who had performed admirably in the boss fight but hadn't quite become the legendary Black Swordsman just yet, stood on the sidelines, deep in thought.

Nearby, Klein clapped a hand on Kirito's back. "C'mon, buddy! You should be celebrating!"

Kirito sighed. "I'm thinking about joining a guild."

Klein's eyes widened. "Whoa. Who are you and what have you done with my lone-wolf pal?"

Kirito rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Diavel, who had somehow managed to avoid his original fate, was already working on forming his own guild, clearly seeing himself as the next big leader.

As for the rest of the players?

Well, they were all still caught up in the excitement, drunk on the rare feeling of victory in a world designed to kill them.

For now, at least, there was hope.

And for Morin, Asuna, and the others—it was just the beginning.

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