Of course, most people have a generally admiring attitude towards these four people.
The reason why Kirito is labeled as a "cheater" is largely because top-tier players affect the progress of lower-tier players.
However, if a player clears the first level on the third day alone, overcoming all obstacles and almost conquering the entire Aincrad, then such a player will be admired and respected by most players.
When the gap is large enough that it is impossible to catch up, the desire to compare and hate naturally fades away.
SAO players seem to be in a relaxed state now. To be precise, the number of low-level players has increased, while the number of high-level players is still the same group, but the tense atmosphere has decreased a lot.
Naturally, there is less motivation. Also, with the opening of new floors, high-level players will not occupy the resource areas of low-level players, and conflicts will not occur. Furthermore, information about dangerous monsters will be compiled into corresponding data by players in higher floors and distributed to all new players.
There will still be some conflict, but it will be much less than in the original work.
However, as the campaign progresses, the higher the floor master, the more difficult they become to deal with.
The strength of the BOSS at this specific level will increase significantly, and each BOSS has strange and unusual abilities. It is not always possible to suppress the BOSS when it changes form and then use Fire to kill it instantly.
Some bosses only reduce a specific amount of health, and damage exceeding a fixed value will not result in HP loss. Some bosses are so fast that they don't give the four players any time to coordinate.
Finally, the four formed a formation with Kirigaya Naoki as the main attacker, Kirigaya Kazuto as the backup, Asuna responsible for connecting the gaps and creating suitable opportunities for the two to switch sword techniques, and Usazawa Fukasumi responsible for handling unexpected situations.
The four of them had a fixed and complementary team, which is why they were able to overcome all obstacles.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong the four were, they still didn't have enough manpower.
Defeating a boss is never an easy task; often, a whole strategy team is deployed to do it, and this trend becomes more and more obvious as you get closer to the end.
However, in order to avoid having his kills stolen by others, Kirigaya Naoki has been constantly improving his skills.
In fact, despite his high attack power, the final blow to the BOSS was always delivered by Kirigaya Naoki.
In reality, the difference between closed beta testers and regular players is only a few months of game time. The main source of strength is the information gap. As the game progresses, this information gap will become smaller and smaller. If closed beta testers cannot shake off the catching-up regular players, they will also be surpassed.
While the four members of the Kiritani Naoki group are formidable, it's not like the players did nothing.
The strategy team for the original work has been formed.
The Knights of the Blood Oath appeared out of nowhere, and its founder was Heathcliff, who was none other than Kayaba Akihiko.
Known as the "Holy Sword," he has never been defeated in one-on-one combat, and no one has ever seen his HP drop below 40% (due to system protection).
His outstanding combat skills (GM privileges) and leadership abilities have led some to bestow upon him the title of the strongest player in SAO.
And now, Naoki Kiritani is facing just such a problem.
"Hello, Roya, I've heard of you, and I'm sure you know me too." Heathcliff spoke to a tall, square-faced, and dignified man who carried a large, heavy, silver-white cross shield, exuding a sharp and imposing aura.
Just as Kirigaya Naoki was about to say something, he was interrupted by the other party in a calm tone.
"Then, I suppose you know what I want to do by coming here."
Heathcliff pointed to the three people behind the boy and said in a deep voice, "You are all powerful players. To be honest, I doubt anyone could have cleared the thirtieth floor in just half a year like you."
Before anyone could respond, he continued, "You are all very powerful, that's for sure. At first, I was curious about who cleared the first level on the third day of the game. Then you all fought your way through, clearing the second level on the sixth day and the third level boss on the ninth day. Your achievements really surprised me. To be honest, if there are no cheats in this game, I even suspect that you used them."
Hearing Heathcliff's words, Kirigaya Naoki's lips twitched. He subtly glanced at the three people beside him. In fact, Heathcliff wasn't wrong; he had indeed cheated, but with an invincibility cheat. With the GM right in front of him, Kirigaya Naoki only felt a thrill.
It's a fact that Kirigaya Naoki rewrote the HP codes of the three characters. He was genuinely worried that they would notice something. Although the anomaly was minor, and the abnormal code wouldn't have taken effect unless they were at their last drop of health, he still felt like a mouse seeing a cat.
What kind of nonsense is it to cheat in front of the authorities?
But it seems that GM hasn't noticed anything unusual yet?
While secretly relieved, I silently gave the other person the middle finger.
You are the GM, you are only allowed to use cheats yourself, and you are not allowed to use cheats by others.
Heathcliff's deep voice rang out again, interrupting Kirigaya Naoki's thoughts: "Now, on behalf of the Knights of the Blood Oath, I sincerely invite you to join us."
Kirigaya Naoki focused his gaze on the meticulous man before him and fell silent.
To accept or to refuse?
Naoki Kiritani's choice actually leaned towards rejection, regardless of how you looked at it.
First of all, he is abnormal. He needs to hunt BOSSes and devour the souls of the floor masters to complete the system tasks in order to light up his golden eyes. Therefore, it was impossible for him to choose to join a large guild from the beginning.
But if he refused, Kirigaya Naoki's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the other person's face. He asked, "What if I refuse your invitation?"
Heathcliff sighed, feeling a little regretful. He said frankly, "You are all top players. I didn't expect to be able to persuade you all in one go. But you can also feel it, right? As the floors get higher, the four of you alone won't be enough. Never mind, as long as you've figured it out, you can come find me anytime."
Ahem, I need to catch up on the anime, and I also need to reread the Mushoku Tensei manga. I have exams this week, and I also need to study civil engineering. So, well, I'll try my best to maintain the quality.