SAO: I replaced him?

Ding! Main Mission 1: The Villain's Dream!

Mission Description: As a villain who has an eye on the heroine and even resorts to... special means (cough shady cough) to win Asuna's heart, you must carry on your predecessor's... well, dream!

Mission Objective: Win over Yuuki Asuna's heart within three years!

Mission Reward: Revealed upon completion.

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Ding! Main Mission 2: Defeat Kayaba Akihiko!

Mission Description: You were once classmates with Kayaba Akihiko. But compared to his brilliance, you were always the underdog, the footnote, the guy nobody remembers. However, as a villain, you refuse to be a stepping stone! Defeating Kayaba Akihiko has become your lifelong goal, and you've worked hard for it… yet you're still trailing behind him.

Mission Objective: Defeat Kayaba Akihiko at least once—whether through strength, intelligence, or outplaying him in his own game!

Mission Reward: Revealed upon completion.

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Ding! Bonus Information!

Completing at least one of the above will count as your first villain trial. Completing both will earn you a higher rating!

Additional Note: You have now been inserted into the world of Sword Art Online as a replacement for Nobuyuki Sugou. Everyone connected to him will still recognize you, but by your real name. You also inherit all of Sugou's memories, assets, and relationships.

Friendly Reminder: Failing to complete any of the main missions will have very, very serious consequences!!!

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"…You've gotta be freaking kidding me."

Sitting in a slightly messy study, Morin pressed a hand to his forehead, staring at the glowing translucent screen floating in front of him—the only thing visible to him alone. His gaze darted around the unfamiliar room. This wasn't his apartment. The neatly arranged bookshelves filled with Japanese and English textbooks were a dead giveaway.

And the fact that he could actually read them? Yeah, this was bad.

Really, really bad.

How the hell did this happen?!

Morin tried to piece it all together, but his last memory before waking up here was him scrolling through a forum thread. It was a casual discussion—"If you could time-travel, what would you do?"—and, naturally, people were all about becoming overpowered protagonists, rewriting destinies, yada yada.

Feeling a bit rebellious, Morin had typed a response:

"Pfft, boring. If I time-travel, I'd rather be a villain. Protagonists get all the plot armor. Villains get screwed over for no reason. I'd rather be the guy that steps on the 'chosen one' for once."

A reply came almost instantly.

"Are you sure you want to be a villain?"

It was in golden text, standing out among the normal white replies. Morin thought it was some bot or a weird moderator gimmick and answered without hesitation:

"Of course! Everyone wants to be the main character, but villains are the ones who get to be ruthless and actually think. I'd pick the second dimension too! No dumb side character nonsense—if I go, I'm going all in!"

Then, the golden text appeared again.

"As you wish."

And everything went black.

Next thing he knew, he woke up here… in the body of Nobuyuki Sugou.

"...This is a disaster."

Morin groaned, rubbing his temples. It wasn't just that he had been isekai'd (which, let's be real, should have been cool). No, he had been thrown into Sword Art Online as the future creep of the century. The villain who kidnaps Asuna in ALO. The guy that everyone wanted to punch in the face!

And worse—he now had to either make Asuna fall for him (good luck with that) or outsmart one of the most legendary geniuses in gaming history, Kayaba Akihiko (equally impossible).

Was it too late to file for a protagonist reassignment?

But reality hit hard when Morin tested himself. He could now read and speak fluent Japanese, English, and a bunch of other languages. His brain was also filled with technical knowledge about VR technology—something he definitely didn't have before. No way this was a dream.

But after figuring out the current situation, Morin tried many methods, but he could not see any attribute panel, nor any Spirit to help him. He could only look at the task on the virtual light screen in front of him and smiled bitterly.

He was stuck here.

Morin let out a deep sigh. "Alright, think. Think, think, think…"

So, November 5, 2022. That meant the SAO death game launched tomorrow.

And Kayaba would unleash hell.

Morin frowned. He had two options—either prepare for a long con to win over Asuna (not likely), or find a way to beat Kayaba at his own game. Either way, he needed to start moving.

He turned on the sleek computer in front of him, quickly verifying the SAO launch date. Yep. Tomorrow. Which meant today was his last chance to prepare.

His fingers tapped against the desk. If Sugou was rich (and based on the room, he definitely was), then he probably had access to some early SAO hardware.

That was something he could work with.

Without wasting another second, Morin grabbed the phone on the desk and dialed a number from Sugou's contacts.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Sawamura?" His tone was smooth, professional—Sugou's confidence seemed to be bleeding into him. "Yes, it's Morin… That's right, about the SAO launch tomorrow. I heard there are some prototype headsets floating around. Any chance I could get my hands on one?"

A short pause.

Then, a response.

Morin grinned. "Perfect. I'll be right over."

Step one: Get into the game.

Step two: ???

Step three: Survive.

This wasn't how he imagined his isekai debut, but hey—at least he wasn't a random NPC.

Right?