Accel World: Floating Bridge in Starlight Read online

  “Err…how about the space center on Tanega Island?”

  However, that guess he made was turned down by a single shake of black hair.

  “No, 99% of Burst Linkers are in Tokyo. Therefore, a portal should also be prepared in Tokyo.”

  “B-But, there’s nothing like a rocket launching pad in Tokyo!”

  In response to his protest, Kuroyukihime looked at him with a grin.

  “If our avatars were made of real substance, then a rocket might be necessary. However, that’s not how it is, right? Our avatars are pure «information» constituted as proxy bodies in virtual space. And the information transmission facility with the highest output in Japan should be in Tokyo.”

  “Ah……”

  After widening his eyes in shock, Haruyuki continued as if struggling to breathe.

  “T-The Tokyo…Sky Tree…”

  “Yes. If Hermes Cord really does become a new duel stage, I think it isn’t possible for a portal there to appear anywhere besides the Sky Tree. And the timing of its activation…would be the instant the Hermes Cord comes the closest to Japan for the first time after having the social cameras installed in it…”

  Erasing the window with the diagram, Kuroyukihime opened a browser and quickly operated it. A fully English-text screen that seemed to be the official site for the Hermes Cord was then displayed on it. However, Kuroyukihime followed the links one after another without wavering.

  Finally, Kuroyukihime traced a wavy line on a global map that appeared with her finger, and then spoke in an affirmative tone.

  “It’s sooner than I thought, the day after tomorrow…it will be on Wednesday June 5, at 5:35 PM.”

  Chapter 4

  As if the seasonal rain front was taking a brief recess at last, Tuesday was the first clear and pleasant day in a long while.

  With only a few fleecy clouds floating in the sky when 6 o’clock classes ended, Haruyuki hurried to Kouenji Station at a quick pace as the rays of the setting sun hit his back.

  His destination was, of course, on the opposite side of Tokyo—the New Tokyo Tower in Oshiage, Sumida Ward, whose official name was the «Tokyo Sky Tree». In about two hours, a door to the space elevator «Hermes Cord» would open up at the special viewing platform there…maybe.

  It had all started from Haruyuki’s almost dream-like idea. In reality, even when he went among the duel galleries in Suginami and Shinjuku, there hadn’t been any other Burst Linkers talking about the Hermes Cord either. At the end of their Dive Call two days ago, even Kuroyukihime, who had guessed the time and place of the portal opening, had added ‘Well, we shouldn’t be too disappointed even if it’s a hit-and-miss’.

  Therefore, at the very least, he would have liked to incorporate the sub-theme of «an expedition to the East Tokyo Area» that they didn’t normally visit, but unfortunately Takumu and Chiyuri were busy with club practice, and Kuroyukihime had a busy schedule in the student council in order to prepare for the upcoming cultural festival. And so, Haruyuki had to pluck up the courage to risk being challenged to a solo duel in an unfamiliar territory.

  “…If it really is a hit-and-miss, it’ll be fine if I go to the retro game store in Akihabara as well.”

  Comforting himself in that lonesome manner, Haruyuki got on the Chuo Line.

  Haruyuki changed over to the Hanzomon Line and got off at Oshiage Station, where the rows of buildings were increasingly dyed in the color of sunset.

  Haruyuki circled around on the sidewalk, and after finally finding it in the sky, he let out a breath of relief.

  Despite living in Tokyo, he didn’t often get the chance to go to «famous Tokyo sites», and so this was only his second time visiting the Sky Tree. Shining golden on its west side, the huge truss-structured tower rose up high sharply like a ladder reaching up to the heavens.

  A length of 634 meters, and a base of 70 meters. Although 35 years had passed since it had been built, this communications tower was still the highest building in Japan even now. After standing there and staring up at its majestic appearance for a little while, Haruyuki hurriedly headed towards the tower.

  He paid the middle-schooler fee at the entrance gate, and then got on the high-speed elevator. As the elevator lift began to go up with a feeling of acceleration, he was gripped by a sensation of lift different from taking off vertically in Accel World, and he unconsciously stuck himself to the glass wall just like when he ascended the Tokyo Government Office the day before yesterday. If Chiyuri were next to him, she would undoubtedly say “You really love high places don’t you!” in an amazed voice.

  A few dozen seconds later, the elevator reached the viewing platform, and Haruyuki stepped out along with several tourists.

  He restrained himself from immediately running up to the window, and first gave a look at his surroundings. It was a weekday evening, so there were very few non-adult figures on this floor. There were only college students who seemed to be in the middle of a date, and small children accompanied by their parents. From what he could currently see, there wasn’t any middle or high school students wandering around here by themselves with no apparent objective—in other words, there weren’t any «people who seemed like Burst Linkers».

  Of course, he could also connect his Neuro Linker to the local network here, accelerate and check the matching list directly, but doing that in such a closed network would bring on the slight danger of his real identity being exposed. Besides, if he found the name of other Burst Linkers here, he would have no choice but to «duel», and that wasn’t his objective today.

  Therefore, Haruyuki stopped scanning around the large viewing platform and stepped towards the window on the western side once again.

  Although it was no match for the viewing platform of the Government Office in Shinjuku in terms of pure height, the view of the capital spread out under the clear evening sky was, in a single word, breathtaking. The way large laminated buildings struck upwards here and there on the ground among smaller grain-sized buildings looked like an outdated electronic board.

  When he turned his gaze straight forward, the magnificent figure of Mt. Fuji lay stretched out there just beyond the demonic city[18].

  To its upper left was the sun, currently sinking down towards the horizon. It was followed by a belt of deep black clouds, so it would probably rain again tomorrow.

  He raised his head further up. The sky filled his field of vision as its color changed from dark red to light purple. A jet flew above with lights on its wing-tips blinking. A sightseeing craft floated leisurely in the sky.

  —At this instant, a 4000 km-long artificial object was approaching far above in that sky at the hypersonic speed of Mach 10.

  The instant he thought that, Haruyuki let out a sigh.

  —The world is vast. It’s big. It’s way too macroscopic in scale.

  The reason I like to look up at the sky is surely because I want to experience this sensation. This feeling where my chubby, menial and tiny self seems truly microscopic in comparison. In other words, it’s a way of temporarily escaping.

  The times when I become Silver Crow and fly are also surely like that. At that instant, I feel the absurd scale of Accel World with my whole body. Compared to the «infinity» of space and time there, even the mountain-sized troubles I have are just momentary sparks that burst meagerly on the ground. I believe that only when I’m touching the sky.

  ……But.

  In that case, why did you aim, no, why do you continue to aim even now for the sky? Just like me, you should want to taste that ephemeral release. If that’s your goal, you can fulfill it plenty with your current abilities as well. Why…? Is there something you want there in the sky…?

  The question that Haruyuki whispered in his heart was of course directed to his other «teacher», Sky Raker.

  And Haruyuki could also vaguely guess the answer. Of course, he didn’t know if it was correct or not. No, the problem wasn't whether it was correct. When the time came when Raker would once again fla
pped her wings and dashed through the sky, the answer would appear then.

  That’s why, visiting the Sky Tree and waiting for a portal to appear might be a completely useless action on Haruyuki’s part right now. If Raker-san simply gave her usual gentle smile and shook her head to say she wouldn’t go, that would be the end of it.

  ‘But’, thought Haruyuki. No matter how deep the scars she held were, Sky Raker was also a Burst Linker. Therefore, if a new field and moreover a 4000 km-long bridge to the sky appeared in Accel World, she will surely feel excited.

  Like how Haruyuki’s own chest was swelling unbidden at this instant.

  As he continued staring at the evening landscape of the heart of Tokyo, the time display reached 5:30 without him noticing it. The predicted time of the portal’s appearance that Kuroyukihime had accurately deduced was 5:34:42[19]. At that instant, the Hermes Cord, which was flying on a wave-like trail along the equator, would be at its closest to Tokyo.

  After waiting for several minutes while continuing to fret, he connected his Neuro Linker to the Global Net five seconds before the designated time.

  Three seconds before, he took a deep breath. Two seconds before, he shut his eyes tight. And then one second before, Haruyuki cried out in a voice only he could hear.

  “Burst Link!!”

  *BASHIIIIH!*

  The sound of acceleration struck his entire body.

  When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw that he was in the frozen blue «Initial Acceleration Space». The metropolis spread out outside the window, the floor and pillars of the viewing platform, the sparse number of tourists, everything had become like transparent crystal and remained stock still.

  Haruyuki quietly separated from his real world body in the form of a peach-colored pig avatar. After taking one or two steps backwards, he turned around resolutely.

  The central area of the viewing platform should, originally, be a space filled with coffee and goods shops. But now, those shops had completely disappeared, and only a deserted floor was left there.

  No matter how hard he looked, there wasn’t even a switch there, let alone a portal. After standing there stock still for almost ten seconds, Haruyuki let out a sigh.

  —As I thought, the idea that a «Space Stage» would appear was just a childish fantasy.

  He whispered that within his heart, and tried to sit down on the very spacious floor, but at that instant.

  An intense light and vibrating sound suddenly struck Haruyuki’s entire avatar’s body, making him jump up. When he raised his face up with a start, there was a huge object gushing out now in the center of the wide empty floor.

  A staircase gradually rose up from the floor step by step in a wide arc through the air. A circular stage appeared at its tip while spinning, and furthermore six thin pillars rose up at its sides in a hexagonal arrangement.

  The transparent pillars contained a blue light inside them. As if synchronizing with the pulsation of those lights, shining particles rose up perpendicular to the center of the pillars, and glittered beautifully as they extended almost all the way up to the ceiling.

  “…This is…the Hermes Cord’s portal…”

  Whispering in a hoarse voice, Haruyuki stood up. He completely forgot about his disappointment from a moment ago, and tightly gripped his pig avatar’s right hand. His guess was not wrong after all. Who was it that said it was just a childish fantasy?

  He rushed up to the stairs in that state, and without feeling any fear or hesitation, he ran up the stairs with his hooved feet.

  He passed through the gap between the six pillars, which were emitting a low vibrating sound, and went to the center of the circle.

  On his last step, he gathered his feet together and jumped forward. However, his legs did not touch the floor again.

  “Uwah…!?”

  Haruyuki shouted as he saw his pig avatar start decomposing into countless light particles. No, rather than decomposing, it was returning to its original form. All the white particles were composed of detailed digital code that served as proof that his virtual proxy body was being returned to its essence as information.

  The instant after he realized that.

  Haruyuki’s consciousness felt as if he were rising vertically at a violent speed. But there was none of the Gs that accompanied takeoff. Having merely become light without mass, he shot through the Sky Tree’s superstructure, flew up to the sky—

  And then his vision whited out completely.

  The sensation of stopping came just a few seconds later.

  First, Haruyuki felt his feet touch on a level surface, and heard a hard ‘GATSUN’ sound. Weight suddenly returned to his body, and he involuntarily struck out one knee.

  While in a crouched posture, he timidly opened his eyes.

  The first thing he saw was a HP gauge at the upper left corner of his vision. Thinking ‘Eh?’, he held out his hands and looked at them. They each had five sharp fingers that shined silver. Without a doubt, these were the familiar arms of «Silver Crow».

  Since he had transformed into his duel avatar form without having started a duel, he panicked over whether this was the rule-less «Unlimited Neutral Field», but he quickly noticed something. The English word [LOCKED] was displayed in the center of the green HP gauge.

  Unable to immediately grasp its meaning, he tilted his puzzlement for a while, before pushing it aside for the time being. After sucking in a deep breath, Haruyuki finally raised his head and looked straight in front of him.

  And then, he shouted.

  “Uu…uwaaaaaah!?”

  He bent backwards and fell on his backside from the momentum. Without being conscious of his awkward pose, he stared at the spectacle before his eyes.

  The metal floor that Haruyuki sat on cut off just one meter in front of him. Beyond that was—the sky. And clouds. And beneath that, the surface of the Earth.

  For Haruyuki with his flight ability, it was a familiar spectacle. However, the scale was completely different. It was way too high. Just how many times…no, how many tens of times higher was this higher than the 1500 meters altitude that was Silver Crow’s flight limit? The sky was dyed a deep ultramarine, the clouds were shaped in thin streaks and huge swirls far below, the sea was an indigo blue, and the land was a blurry brown and green. If he fell from such a height, he would probably burn out from air friction in the atmosphere before receiving damage from the fall.

  He unconsciously drew back, and when he was about three meters away from the edge without handrails or anything else, he finally let out the breath he’d been holding in. He stood up with weak knees, and then finally looked to either side of him.

  The grey metal terrace seemed to be shaped in a wide circle. While following the line of its edge, he automatically turned around. And then—

  A curved wall stood in the center of the ring-like terrace.

  No, it wasn’t a wall. It was a pillar. An absurdly thick pillar, probably 100 meters in diameter, extended up vertically. Haruyuki was standing on a floor surface that spread out in the shape of a flange up to the base of the pillar.

  “This is…the Hermes Cord……?”

  Murmuring that in a whisper, Haruyuki dumfoundedly looked up at the structure that was like a huge tower where gods lived. Shining dully like stainless steel, the metal tower stretched up infinitely towards the sky which changed from ultramarine to deep indigo, and its tip wasn’t visible at all as it faded away into the vanishing point.

  The space elevator in the real world should have been built by tying together several cables that were also twisted together from CNT fibers. Its diameter was two meters at most, so it was more accurate to describe it as a rope than a pillar.

  But, the thing that had been reproduced from it in Accel World and rose high above before Haruyuki’s eyes right now could no longer be called a mere pillar. Floating at a high altitude, it was an incredibly large-scale tower of 100 meters in diameter and several thousand kilometers in height. Just why on earth had it bee
n enlarged to such a size?

  He probably wouldn’t find the answer no matter how much he thought about it, but he thought it was a trifling question. The important thing was that the «space elevator» actually existed. No, the place he was standing on right now should perhaps still be called a «Super-High Altitude Stage». In that case, was real space waiting just beyond where this huge tower ascended…?

  “It’s way bigger than I expected.”

  Haruyuki nodded in response to the voice that spoke to his right.

  “Yeah…Compared to this, even the Sky Tree is a toothpick…”

  “On the other hand, there is also no detail on its surface. Is there an internal structure inside it?”

  “But, I can’t see anything like an entrance either…—Wait.”

  *BIKUUN*

  His whole body stiffened, and after skillfully jumping up like that, Haruyuki cried out while rotating 90 degrees to the right.

  “Waah!? Wh, w-w-w-w-whowhowho, w-w-w-w-whenwhenwhen.”

  Who’s that, when did you!

  He tried to sharply ask the other person’s identity, but only a strange series of sounds came out from his mouth. The silhouette that expressionlessly looked down on Haruyuki from right next to him was—

  A thin dark red body. Robust thighs and forearms. Hands with sharp claws. A tail that flexibly swayed around. And with mask that projected triangular ears from the backside of the head and shining golden eyes, it was, without a doubt, the strongest class close range-type duel avatar that Haruyuki personally knew.

  “Pa…P-P-P-P-Pard-san!? W-W-Why are you h-h-here!?”

  «Pard-san», the Level 6 Burst Linker «Blood Leopard» that belonged to the Red Legion «Prominence», answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “The same reason why you’re here.”

  “Heh…”

  Finally settling down since the other party was much too calm and composed, Haruyuki belatedly realized.