Kayaba Akihiko was feeling a bit awkward.
To begin with, why was this guy still so calm even after he showed up?
Seeing Kayaba stunned, Haruto rolled his eyes.
"Let's skip the pleasantries. Trying to force small talk is just laughable."
Saying this, he waved his hand, gesturing for Kayaba to get lost. Kayaba was silent for a moment, then his figure distorted and disappeared.
Haruto snorted lightly, indifferent.
He genuinely had nothing to say to this lunatic.
Having dreams is fine, but dragging ten thousand beta testers into his madness—that's just pure idiocy.
Just as Haruto was about to step into the teleportation portal again...
Outside the boss room, chaotic footsteps could be heard approaching.
Haruto's mouth twitched.
He thought, "That maniac Kayaba Akihiko, could this be his idea of revenge?"
It turned out other players had discovered that the floor teleport point had been activated and rushed over.
When the crowd saw the terrifying battle traces inside the boss room and Haruto standing in the center, they all fell silent.
The facts were right before them.
The first-floor boss, which they believed to be unbeatable, had already been defeated—by the man standing in front of them.
In SAO, floor bosses don't respawn. They can only be defeated once.
Also, the battle traces inside a boss room don't disappear—they remain forever as a sort of historical record. A reminder for the players who fought, and something for others to admire.
At this moment, among the silent crowd, two cloaked girls suddenly ran toward Haruto.
"Haruto!"
They called out in unison.
Haruto smiled helplessly as he watched the two girls run up to him.
They were, of course, Asuna and Argo.
Both of them initially intended to throw themselves into Haruto's arms. The former was obviously overjoyed to see Haruto in-game again. The latter, ever since their last parting, had worried about him every day.
And when she saw that the first floor had been cleared, realizing it was Haruto's doing, she was equally thrilled.
But now—with both of them here—the situation got a little awkward.
In front of Haruto, the two girls stopped, sizing each other up, their eyes sparking with invisible flames.
"Who are you, and how do you know Haruto-senpai?" Asuna asked warily.
"You should be the one answering that! I'm teamed up with Haru. From the way you speak, you knew each other in real life?" Argo retorted with a sneer, even laying a verbal trap.
"Of course! Haruto-senpai and I are close friends in real life!"
Inexperienced with mind games, Asuna walked right into the trap.
"Oh? If you're such good friends in real life, why haven't you met in-game since launch?" Argo asked with interest.
Asuna was suddenly speechless.
It really did sound like she was lying.
And the fact that real-life friends weren't together in a death game hinted at a lack of trust.
But she couldn't exactly explain that she had sneaked into the game using her brother's NerveGear without Haruto knowing.
Falling into a disadvantage, Asuna's brain kicked into high gear.
"Hmph. What about you? You formed a team with Haruto-senpai but didn't help fight the boss!"
She found a weak spot to counterattack.
Although less experienced socially than the informant Argo, Asuna was a clever girl.
Argo was instantly left speechless.
Back then, she had held Haruto back, preventing him from bringing her into the boss battle. But that was something she could never admit.
If she did, she would lose for sure!
Watching the two girls verbally spar, Haruto felt a headache coming on.
Their argument was obviously over him, and if he stepped in now, it might seem like he was siding with one of them.
Right now, it was just a cold war between the two. If he stepped in, it could escalate into a full-blown love triangle, and he'd be in trouble.
Just then…
"Hey! You bastard!"
A voice interrupted—the player Kibaou stepped out.
Seeing someone ready to stir up trouble, Haruto wasn't angry—he was actually relieved.
What a good guy!
Coming in to break the tension at the perfect moment!
Haruto took two steps forward and shook Kibaou's hand.
With Kibaou now a common enemy, Asuna and Argo naturally paused their bickering. Kibaou, however, had intended to provoke a fight.
He had even come prepared to battle Haruto, bringing a group along just in case. Even if Haruto was high-level, they wouldn't lose in a group fight.
But Haruto's friendly attitude left him stunned.
Wait, wasn't I here to pick a fight?
Wasn't that tone earlier clearly aggressive?
He forcefully shook off Haruto's hand and snorted coldly.
"Sucking up to me won't work! You must be a beta tester, right?! You hogged all the resources—that's the only reason you beat the boss ahead of everyone else! Do you have any idea? Two thousand players have died already! People like you are the real culprits!"
"Hand over the boss loot and all the intel you've got! If you're a beta tester, you owe everyone for the blood on your hands!"
Using moral blackmail and twisted logic, Kibaou went on a rant.
Behind Haruto, Asuna and Argo immediately stopped arguing and glared at Kibaou.
They even reached for their swords.
But before Kibaou could finish, Haruto said,
"I'm not."
Kibaou froze, confused.
"Not what?"
Haruto shrugged.
"I'm not a beta tester."
His words stunned not only Kibaou but the surrounding players too. Because in their eyes—
Only a beta tester could have cleared the boss this quickly.
"No way. Don't try to fool us—you think we're stupid..."
Haruto hadn't even finished when he was interrupted again.
"He's really not a beta tester. When I first met him, he was a total noob who didn't know anything."
Argo spoke up, confirming Haruto's identity.
Kibaou was dumbfounded.
He was about to accuse the two of collusion. But Argo beat him to the punch with an even stronger statement,
"I'm Argo, Argo the Rat, the most well-known informant from the beta test. As an informant, I take responsibility for the information I share. I never lie."
With this, she completely shut down Kibaou's argument.
Kibaou pointed at Argo in frustration.
But before he could say more, Haruto smacked his hand away. Even barehanded, the blow took off a chunk of Kibaou's HP.
That was due to passive skills from martial arts—still effective even without a weapon.
Not that anyone would normally fight barehanded against monsters. The damage is too low.
"I don't care what you say about me," Haruto said calmly. "But point fingers at anyone behind me again, and I'll cut off your hand next time."
Kibaou stumbled back, completely shaken.
After a long silence, he shouted angrily,
"What are you so arrogant about?! If you're not a beta tester, then you must've hired a bunch of them! They probably killed the boss while you just stood there acting like the hero! You're nothing but the public enemy of all players—we should boycott people like you—!"
Yet again, he was interrupted—for the third time.
"There were only three of us who fought the first floor boss. Including me. And honestly, I could've done it alone."
The moment he said that, the players gasped.
Even public players knew a bit about the first-floor boss.
In the beta test, it took over twenty players to barely beat it.
And beta testers weren't afraid of dying—they could just respawn with a slight EXP loss. Nothing like now.
Three players… against the boss… in a death game.
Unbelievable.
"Impossible! That's ridiculous! There's no way three people could have done it!"
Kibaou finally managed to finish a full sentence.
Haruto looked at him quietly.
Thinking he struck a nerve, Kibaou was about to go on.
Then Haruto stepped up and slapped him hard. The damage wasn't high, but the insult was massive.
Because of the level difference, Kibaou got smacked straight off his feet.
Haruto clapped his hands and didn't even glance at the man on the ground.
"Honestly, whether you believe me or not doesn't matter. Whether two thousand people died doesn't matter. Beta test or public launch doesn't matter either. All of you can just stay huddled in the safe zones of the Starting Town. Even without you, I'll clear this game. What you think means nothing to me."
With that, he turned and stepped onto the stairs to the second floor.
Asuna and Argo exchanged glances, then quickly followed him.
Even though being by Haruto's side might make them targets too, neither of them cared.
Only after the three had disappeared did the crowd begin to come back to their senses, looking around at each other in silence.
Kibaou lay miserably on the ground, completely dazed.
Even though pain didn't exist in SAO…
He still felt utterly humiliated.