"You actually challenged me?!"
Kibaou suddenly raised his head to look at Sato, his face filled with shock.
A stir broke out among the surrounding players as countless voices rose in discussion.
"Haha, impressive, he actually challenged him directly!"
"This guy's interesting!"
"Who would've thought he's actually a tough one!"
[Kirito: Hey! Sato, are you serious?]
[Asuna: Is this okay?]
Kibaou suddenly slammed his hand against the virtual panel in front of him and glared at Sato with a ferocious look. "If you want this, then come!"
Sato smiled at him and suddenly said, "A simple spar isn't very interesting. How about we add a wager?"
"What wager?"
Kibaou frowned slightly.
"We'll use our raid slots. If you win, you take mine. If I win, I take yours."
"How about it?"
Sato looked at Kibaou with a smile.
Kibaou did not hesitate for long before agreeing, sneering, "Since you insist, I won't hold back."
"Everyone, please give us some space!"
Sato turned to the surrounding crowd. At this point, he and Kibaou had already entered sparring mode.
The onlookers were naturally more than willing. The crowd quickly retreated, clearing an open space for the two.
Watching a spectacle was human nature.
"Sato, be careful!"
Sato was still organizing the space when Kirito's shout suddenly rang out.
Whoosh!
A cold, steel sword slashed toward Sato's back. Kibaou gripped it tightly, a ferocious and smug smile on his face.
Since the spar had already begun, there was no such thing as a sneak attack!
Kid, you're still too green!
"Watch out!"
Many players cried out anxiously. Most of the players in this game were under thirty, young people who tended to be passionate and had a strong sense of justice. They looked down on sneak attacks.
But shameless as Kibaou was, he was still among the top-tier players. His movement speed was astonishing, and it seemed Sato had no time to react.
But "seemed" only applied to their understanding. For the strong, there were countless possibilities.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound suddenly rang out in the dim space.
The steel sword aimed at Sato's back was blocked, and what stopped its tip was a blade less than three fingers wide.
The players who had been warning Sato froze. So did Kibaou, who held the sword.
The blade was pressed tightly against Sato's back. The steel sword was only a sword's breadth away from his heart, yet that thin gap was like an unbridgeable abyss.
What was even more shocking was that Sato was still facing away from Kibaou, with no line of sight at all.
Sato's expression remained calm. With a slight push of his sword, he deflected Kibaou's blade to the side, then shifted his body lightly in the opposite direction. Losing his footing, Kibaou stumbled, staring at Sato in disbelief.
"How… how is this possible!"
Kirito was also stunned by the scene. That extreme defense from Sato had shaken him as well.
What kind of confidence and judgment did it take to pull that off?
Sato smiled at Kibaou. "Looks like you're not much of an expert. Even with a sneak attack, you couldn't land a hit."
"Damn it!"
Kibaou's expression darkened as he raised his sword and charged again.
The steel blade cut through the air, but Sato did not meet it head-on. With his lower level, his strength attribute was inferior to Kibaou's, so he chose to evade first and wait for an opening.
Kibaou's attacks surged like waves, relentless and rapid.
It looked like Sato had no chance to fight back, but the experts watching him had serious expressions.
Although Kibaou seemed to have the upper hand, he had not landed a single hit. Sato moved like a butterfly among the flurry of blades, stepping left, stepping right… almost every movement anticipated Kibaou's attacks.
"This is basically cheating…"
Someone muttered, voicing what many were thinking.
Predicting once was one thing, but who could do it every time?
This… this was completely toying with the opponent!
And this game had a stamina system. Once Kibaou's stamina dropped to a certain level, Sato could defeat him effortlessly.
Kibaou clearly knew this as well. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at Sato, "All you do is—"
Before he could finish, his pupils suddenly shrank. Cold sweat broke out across his back as he stared in shock at the streak of silver light before him.
"No…"
Slash!
The swift sword struck like a venomous snake that had been waiting for the perfect moment, delivering a fatal blow.
The blade flashed past, one strike to the throat!
Kibaou, who had seemed to hold the advantage, lost everything in an instant.
He stared blankly at the wound on his throat. Illusory light spread from it, dissipating like drifting ash.
Sato withdrew his sword and said calmly, "Why waste words? Don't you know villains die from talking too much?"
The intense battle ended abruptly, as sudden as the streak of sword light, leaving the players stunned and amazed.
"So… this is how the game is played?!"
"That's insanely strong!"
"Look at the stats, he's probably six or seven levels behind Kibaou, but his combat skill and awareness are terrifying!"
"Boss, I want to have your babies!"
The players' gazes toward Sato suddenly turned fervent. Thinking back, the fight had been unbelievably cool.
Sato waved at the surrounding players with a smile. "I'll give Kibaou's slot to everyone. With how strong the raid group is, you should be able to get some experience in there."
The surrounding players froze. The raid group members also froze.
Then cheers erupted.
"Boss, you're amazing!"
"Boss! Now I want to have your babies too!"
"Boss, do you need a boyfriend?!"
Sato's expression stiffened slightly, and he ignored the crowd.
He turned to Kirito, who looked as if he was seeing him for the first time. "Later, just give that slot to anyone. As for mine, give it to Asuna. Let her go in and gain some experience."
"Huh?"
Kirito and Asuna both froze.
"You're not going in?!"
"T-That's not right!"
Both of them looked at Sato anxiously.
"Me?"
"I just remembered I forgot to feed my cat at home. The raid will probably take a while, right?"
"So I won't waste time. That's it, I'm logging off. Bye!"
"Hey! Hey!"
Kirito watched with a dark expression as Sato, smiling and waving goodbye, disappeared before his eyes.
…
Sato's Apartment.
Sato opened his eyes on the bed, got up, and stretched. A faint smile appeared on his lips. Today had been quite enjoyable.
Then he glanced at the two cats on the floor meowing at him. Squatting down, he patted their heads.
"Sorry, I accidentally forgot today. Wait a moment, I need to make a call."
Sato picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello! This is the Hero Association Japan Headquarters!"
"Experimental platform, ID named Kibaou, unawakened individual, not suitable for awakening. Please handle it."
"Understood, this has been recorded. Is there anything else?"
"No, thank you."
After hanging up, Sato lowered his head and continued petting the cats.
Although Kibaou posed no threat to him, someone with that kind of personality would be a destabilizing factor in society if they became an ability user.
And as one of the only sixty-three S-class individuals in the world, it was his responsibility to contribute to society.