Failure.

While my fingers were a little sluggishly fingering the keyboard buttons displayed on the smartphone screen one by one, my eyes were running back and forth in search of at least a single clue. During the last week of light physical therapy, I studied all the new posts about SAO. Several players who made a name for themselves on the Internet before the incident returned to their jobs or hobbies of entertainment and constant gameplay. It is not surprising that they wanted to move away from VR technologies in principle.

The decline in the rating of MMORPG-type games turned out to be quite mediocre, mainly due to the pressure of the media and people with old orders. In the current situation, even the government, surprisingly, remains on the sidelines. Full immersion technologies have suffered much more. Now their production and the flow of players in them have been strongly questioned. Especially after all the interviews with the stars of SAO.

But I only know a few of them. No more than simple low-level players who did not rise above the fortieth floor, and did not particularly climb into fights. There are also those who are unfamiliar to me, but this only shows how far they are from me and my information network. In any case, there is not a single sinker among them, which is to be expected. Hardly anyone from the ranks of people I know at the front would agree to such TV nonsense.

Failure.

Anyway, I have more important things to do right now. I'm only trying to find one person. I've already corresponded with several of his acquaintances that I know about, but no one has given me anything at all yet. Some of them saw him for the last time a long time ago, someone before going to the 75th floor. Therefore, we have to scroll further. One by one, over and over again.

Failure.

Damn Ki-boo, as always, is causing me problems. Did you have to be so antisocial? Was it really so difficult for you to imagine that upon returning to the real world, a pretty girl would want to find you?!

Failure.

– Ha... Although

Failure.

Damn it..! Okay, phew, there's another option now. He was always eager to talk, so...

Hm... By the way, a new MMO-Tomorrow website or, more precisely, its updated version of MMO-Today has been looming in front of my eyes in the last couple of days. I am glad that this area is not completely dead. Although, of course, gaming journalism has clearly been in decline in recent years. But maybe the incident with Sword Art Online will give some kind of impetus in one direction or another? Hmm, who knows...

– Thank you for your concern.

I couldn't resist making an effort to bow to the hospital's medical staff. The doctor, the nurse and a couple of nurses just smiled back at me. Although most of the smiles dedicated to me seemed a little painful, but there is nothing strange about it. I could have concocted such a facial expression myself if I had seen myself from the outside.

– It's just our job. Do you want to relax a little?

– Yes, that would be nice.

With a powerful exhale, I sat down on a nearby chair. Well, this is far from my soft home mattress, but it will do. In any case, physical therapy takes time. I still can't eat or drink anything that I didn't even have to think about a couple of years ago. Back then, pizza was almost a weekly or even semi-weekly treat for the evening after a hard day's work. And a cup of coffee or strong tea always helped to cheer up at least a little. But now I'm here, sitting in a separate spacious physiotherapy room under the supervision of medical staff. At the same time, my own body leaves much to be desired.

Well, anyway, my hands are feeling a little better now. I might even be able to pull simple dumbbells, like in the good old days. But the legs are more and more problematic. Building muscles in this area is both more difficult and takes longer. It is quite difficult to walk, it is generally impossible without support from outside.

Yeah... I don't want to admit it, but I felt much better in SAO. And there was always a beautiful, interesting and diverse fantasy landscape, instead of this monotonous hospital. I think my guys would say the same thing if I asked them. Well, at least I am glad that the care of patients here is shown at the proper level, so I have no complaints.

– Are you ready to come back? Tsuboi-san?

– Yes, I think so.

After waiting for support from a nurse and one of the nurses, I was able to leave the area of my constant daily stay. Although, of course, it would be wonderful if this turned out to be my last moment visiting such a place, but there is still a lot of work left to do on myself.

And when I was returned to the ward, I received a message on my phone. To be honest, I had to wait for a response from my former workplace for some time, but so far there has been no responsiveness from them. I hope they didn't suddenly decide that I was dead, although there was such a possibility.

The people from the State Commission for Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation, as they call themselves, promised that they would deal with various difficult moments on the way to my normal life. Well, it would be cool if I got my job back at the snap of my fingers, but for now it remains to wait.

– Oh... Really..?

Although I was not disappointed that I received the wrong message that I expected, I still felt a good surprise. I didn't think that any of my acquaintances in SAO would really try to establish contacts. Well, except, of course, my own guild members. Although, if anyone can do it besides them, then this is clearly the most famous info broker.

That's just her request in this one message is not at all intoxicating, like the effect of the letter itself. It looks like she's looking for Kirito... Ha, damn it...

– Damn it..! Aah!

Out of frustration, I hit the wooden nightstand next to the bed with my clenched fist. And it hurt enough that I immediately thought I had overdone it. In any case, my disappointment quickly returned and made itself felt, becoming an unpleasant feeling in the lower abdomen. I feel like I'm going to throw up, but... No, probably even worse.

If I remember correctly, Argo and Kirito were often seen on joint assignments. I think they could at least have been good acquaintances, if not more. Well, even considering that he had Asuna-cha...n... In any case, yes, it doesn't change anything in this situation.

I can't just write back to her that he is... Died... right?

I don't know if Argo was friends with Asuna, so maybe there's no point in reporting it, considering we're not in Aincrad anymore, but Kirito...

He's dead, and there's nothing we can do about it.