Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies

"Unable to log out, brain destruction—what kind of joke is this!?"

Someone shouted loudly.

Almost no one could accept this outcome.

As a professional gamer who made a living from playing games, Argo had extensive knowledge about SAO.

That included information about the FullDive helmet.

She knew very well that if the restrictions on the FullDive helmet were lifted,the internal microwave emitter could absolutely destroy the brain.

Moreover, the helmet had a built-in battery—unless it was dismantled, there was no way to cut the power.

The more you knew, the more despair you felt.

"The only way to log out is to clear the game."

As Kayaba Akihiko spoke, a virtual tower appeared.

It was Aincrad.

One hundred floors in total. In each floor's labyrinth, players had to find the boss room, defeat the boss, and move on to the next floor.

Killing the final boss on the top floor—the 100th floor—would clear the game.

"But during the game, if your HP reaches zero, it's game over."

"All in-game revival methods have been disabled. If you die in the game, you die in real life."

"And with that, the basic tutorial of SAO is complete. Good luck, players."

"By the way, I've left you all a gift in your inventory. Please check it out."

After saying these despair-filled words, Kayaba Akihiko's figure began to crumble and turn into data fragments.

Panic completely overtook the plaza.

In their panic, players instinctively opened their menu to check the item in their inventory.

Unfortunately, it wasn't something that would help them clear the game.

It was a special item called a "Hand Mirror."

Once taken out, a small hand mirror appeared in each player's hand.

In the next moment, a white light enveloped them.

Many avatars began to change—regardless of appearance or physique, everything was altered except for their clothes.

Looking at the face restored in the mirror, Haruto gave a cold sneer.

What a twisted sense of humor.

Using your real appearance for the game did make things feel more immersive, though. Of course, for players using cross-gender avatars...

The white light also appeared around Argo, who was in Haruto's arms.

Her figure didn't change much, but her facial features did shift slightly.

Like Haruto, Argo had used her real face as a base, only tweaking it a little before entering the game.

In truth, the girl herself looked even cuter than her avatar.

And because her mustache had been applied with makeup, it wasn't removed—it remained on her face.

The declaration of a death game threw the plaza into chaos.

Haruto scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

He quickly located Shiro and Gabriel.

The two little ones were sneaking off, clearly unbothered by the death game since they already knew the truth—they were eager to go fight monsters.

In another corner, Haruto also spotted Asuna.

Asuna was curled up into a ball, obviously overwhelmed with fear.

Haruto didn't approach her—he just quietly watched the girl.

From earlier interactions, he'd noticed that Asuna still had some immaturity to her.

If she truly wanted to grow, she needed to overcome fear on her own and become stronger.

If he stepped in to help now, it would only hurt her in the long run.

Asuna might initially cower in the town for a whole day due to fear. But she would not be completely crushed by it.

That resilient girl would pick up her sword.

As Haruto thought this...

A flash of white light engulfed him.

The next moment, he and Argo were back in the grassy town.

Haruto's mouth twitched.

It seemed their progress had been so fast, Kayaba Akihiko took notice.

But Haruto hadn't done anything suspicious—no signs of cheating.

So, to maintain fairness, Kayaba didn't keep them in the plaza but returned them to where they were.

Argo clung to Haruto, trembling slightly.

"A death game... What kind of crazy situation is this... Why do I have to go through this!?"

Haruto gently stroked the short, golden-brown hair of the girl.

He didn't say anything.

There was nothing to be said right now.

After a bout of stifled sobbing and intermittent complaints...

Argo's emotions gradually calmed down.

"Ahem... Thanks, really. Having you here makes it much better. So even if you have some... strange preferences, I can... barely accept it..."

As Argo spoke, she lifted her head.

For someone who quietly stayed by her side during such a time, she felt genuinely grateful.

Even though they'd only known each other for half a day, Argo felt like they could be besties for life.

However...

The moment she lifted her head, Argo froze in shock.

"Who are you!?"

She instantly pulled away from Haruto, staring in disbelief.

Haruto's mouth twitched.

"Objectively speaking, the only thing that changed about me is my hair length, right?"

Argo pointed at him, stunned.

"You're saying... your previous avatar... was a guy!? No way! Absolutely not!"

Argo couldn't accept it.

That had clearly been a big sister-type character who looked better than her!

But now, looking closely, she had to admit...

The boy in front of her looked nearly identical to that avatar—same facial features, only slightly shorter hair.

And then she remembered that she had just been crying her heart out in this boy's arms.

Her cheeks turned bright red.

It took a while for the information dealer to process the truth.

She shot Haruto a fierce glare, then stomped off in the direction she had previously pointed.

"Wow, you even took the initiative to hold my hand earlier... now you're ditching me right after getting what you wanted. Argo, you're so coldhearted! And you haven't even finished your guide job."

Haruto muttered to the side.

Argo was so flustered she almost wanted to bite him.

Just then, the two arrived at a certain NPC's house.

Argo looked at the house with a cunning smile.

"By the way, didn't you ask about my mustache earlier? That's confidential information. But... hmph, I'll give it to you for free. Be grateful. This house's NPC gives a special quest—it's a trial. If you pass the trial, you get tons of EXP and the 'Martial Arts' skill. That skill is a godsend in the early game, it boosts combat power significantly!"

Argo encouraged Haruto to take the quest.

Haruto stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Soon, a middle-aged man dressed like a hunter came out of the house.

Following Argo's instructions, Haruto said the keyword during their conversation. Then the man said he had a skill he had developed and wanted to pass it on.

To earn it, Haruto had to either dodge his attacks for three minutes without getting hit, or land three hits on the man during the test.

Argo watched gleefully from the side, excited to see Haruto fail.

There was one thing she hadn't told him—

This hidden quest had a failure penalty.

If you failed, your face would be permanently adorned with a mustache. It couldn't be removed.

During the beta, Argo had been the first to discover this hidden quest.

Back then, she'd eagerly taken the trial.

But it was incredibly difficult, and without experience, she quickly failed.

That's how she ended up with the iconic mustache.

Hence the nickname "Argo the Rat" during the beta.

The penalty wasn't severe—it was even kind of cute.

Argo was looking forward to seeing what Haruto would look like with a mustache.

However, before she could enjoy her show...

She saw Haruto dodge and weave nimbly—his finger had already tapped the NPC three times.

The trial ended.

Haruto's level shot up to 5, and a new passive skill appeared: Martial Arts.

Upon seeing this, Argo couldn't enjoy her popcorn anymore.

Even though the trial had two conditions, during the beta, everyone who succeeded had only done so by surviving three minutes.

Landing three hits while avoiding all damage was nightmare-level difficulty.

Only someone with late-game stats could manage it.

But only the first 20 players to complete the trial could get the Martial Arts skill.

So it was impossible to wait until later in the game.

Argo realized she'd made a huge mistake.

Haruto wasn't normal—what she thought was difficult was effortless for this monster.

"Thanks for the intel, Argo."

Haruto added another jab after finishing the quest.

Argo nearly spat blood.

The info dealer girl staggered toward the edge of town to do beginner quests.

"Aren't you going to do the Martial Arts quest, Argo?" Haruto asked curiously.

Argo gritted her teeth.

"I'm not a freak like you! No way I can clear it at level 3—I'll need to be at least level 7. I'm not about to end up with even more permanent mustaches after already putting on makeup!"