Breathing Techniques in SAO

The boss room gradually dimmed, and a reward screen appeared in front of all the players.

They burst into cheers and gave a round of applause to Akimi and the other two.

"That was amazing!"

"A battle like this is truly rare!"

Both Kirito and Akimi smiled.

Akimi leaned closer to Kirito and whispered, "Hey, Kirito, you got the LA (Last Attack), didn't you?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Damn, I couldn't beat you to it," Akimi said with a mock complaint.

"Haha… ha, it was just luck… just luck," Kirito replied awkwardly.

Just as everyone was cheering and celebrating, a discordant voice suddenly cut through the air—

"Why?! Why did you let Diavel die without helping?!" Kibaou, sitting cross-legged on the ground with tears in his eyes, shouted out.

"Let… let him die?" Kirito asked, confused.

Kibaou shouted loudly, "Didn't you?! Didn't you know the boss's moves?"

He stared intensely at Kirito, speaking with rising emotion, "If you had shared that information from the start, Diavel wouldn't have died!"

The surrounding players began to murmur among themselves:

"Well, he's got a point…"

"How did he know?"

"What's going on?"

Suddenly, a man with yellow-brown hair shouted, "That guy must be a former beta tester! That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns, but he purposely kept them to himself!"

He paused for a moment, then raised his voice even more: "There are others too, right?! Beta testers! Come out!"

He looked around, scanning the crowd.

Then he raised his hand and pointed at Akimi.

"Like you! What was that sword skill just now? It had to be a reward from a hidden quest! A quest only beta testers would know!"

Akimi stared coldly at him and said nothing.

Everyone looked at each other, doubt beginning to spread among them.

A chain of suspicion had already taken root.

Kirito thought to himself, This is bad… If this keeps up…

He swallowed hard, as if he had made some kind of decision.

Agil, trying to play peacemaker, spoke to Kibaou: "Hey, you…"

"Ha… Hahaha… Hahahaha…"

At that moment, Kirito let out a maniacal laugh.

Half-smirking, he said, "Saying I'm just a former beta tester?"

"Haha… Don't lump me in with those amateurs!" he mocked.

Gasps of disbelief echoed through the crowd. "W-What…?"

Kirito's gaze darkened. "Among the 1,000 chosen for the SAO beta test, most were noobs who didn't even know how to level up. You guys are a bit better now."

Everyone froze, stunned by his words.

Kirito continued, speaking to no one in particular, "But I'm not like those guys… During the beta…"

"I reached floors no one else could even dream of! The reason I knew the boss's sword skill is because I fought countless monsters with blades on much higher floors."

The grin on Kirito's face grew increasingly arrogant. "And I know a lot more than that! Those so-called info brokers? They're nothing compared to me!"

Next to him, Akimi glanced sideways and smirked, knowing exactly what Kirito was trying to do.

He thought silently: Heh, show-off… You only made it to the 8th floor during the beta.

"Th-Then what do you call that?"

Kibaou muttered, before shouting furiously, "That's not just being a beta tester! That's cheating! You're a cheater!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"He's a cheater!"

The surrounding players all joined in.

Then the tan-haired player from earlier added loudly, "A cheating beta tester… so that makes him a beater!"

Kirito let out a soft chuckle. "Beater, huh? Nice name."

"That's right—I'm a Beater. So don't lump me in with the rest of the beta testers."

As he spoke, he equipped the LA reward—Midnight Coat.

The hem of the black coat fluttered despite the still air.

Akimi looked at Kirito, who was acting wildly dramatic, and sighed internally: What a clumsy performance, Kirito.

You're trying to redirect all the hatred toward beta testers onto yourself, aren't you?

He walked up beside Kirito, gave his shoulder a light pat, and whispered, "Let me throw on some more fuel. You're just 14—no need to carry it all alone."

Kirito was momentarily taken aback.

Akimi then turned to face the crowd and spoke loudly, "Beta testers aren't anything special, and info brokers are just players too. But me? I'm backed by real power. I've got the entire SAO figured out."

"I don't just know about hidden quests… I know the boss's exact stats, its attack patterns—I even know its name."

"W-What... how is that possible?"

"Does having money mean you can do whatever you want?"

Hearing that, Akimi's expression twisted strangely.

"Sorry, but yeah—having money does mean I can do whatever I want."

After Kirito and Akimi's back-to-back 'confessions,' what little reason the crowd had left shattered into pieces.

They were utterly furious now.

"You... you're even more—" someone said through gritted teeth.

"More despicable? More outrageous? Or... more deserving to die?"

Akimi smiled and finished the sentence for him.

"Too bad. I don't care. Whether you live or die—what does that have to do with me in the slightest?"

"To put it bluntly, the intel you all worked so hard to gather means nothing to me. All your efforts are just a joke in my eyes."

His words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"Utterly… completely insane!"

"Cheating like this—do you have no shame?!"

"F*** you! What, you triggered the 'Outnumbered and Alone' debuff in your own house, huh?!"

"You fer! F you and your whole bloodline! Hope your kids are born without—!"

Akimi stared coldly at the players cursing him, scoffing disdainfully.

Then he turned to Kirito and said, "Come on. Let's go open the teleport gate to the second floor for them."

Then he turned his head and shouted to the crowd, "Wouldn't want a bunch of cowards too scared to even step onto the second floor!"

With that, he walked side by side with Kirito toward the second floor.

The crowd gritted their teeth in anger, but there was nothing they could do.

Asuna glanced at the players, her expression cold, and followed after them.

When they reached the gate to the second floor, Asuna couldn't hold back and asked, "Why did you do all that?"

Akimi and Kirito exchanged a look.

Then Akimi said, "Kirito wanted to keep new players from turning their hatred toward all beta testers, so he decided to draw all their fire onto himself."

"As for me…" he smiled.

"Maybe I just didn't want to see such a heavy burden fall entirely on the shoulders of a 14-year-old boy."

As he spoke, he ruffled Kirito's hair.

"After all, this kid's more or less like a little brother to me."

Kirito helplessly brushed his hand away and said, "I'm not a kid, don't pat my head like that."

"Not a kid? What did I tell you before? Try not to reveal you're a beta tester. And you? You went and pulled all the attention onto yourself without a second thought."

"And what was that line—'Don't lump me in with those amateurs'? You think that sounded cool? Your acting was stiff and awkward as hell. Anyone with half a brain could see right through it."

"Good thing those guys were dumb enough to fall for it. Otherwise, your little performance would've been completely pointless!" Akimi scolded Kirito.

"I… I pulled it off, didn't I? The result's what matters…" Kirito mumbled while rubbing his nose, looking a bit sheepish.

Watching the two of them bicker, Asuna suddenly let out a snort—and then burst into laughter.

"Pfft… hahaha."

Hearing Asuna's crisp laughter, the two boys were momentarily stunned—then smiled as well.

"Alright, let's open the door to the second floor. Let me see what the so-called 'Bull Floor' from the beta test looks like."

With that, Akimi gently pushed on the door, which looked incredibly heavy and was engraved with a minotaur pattern.

Yet the massive door seemed to open on its own, as if welcoming them.

A beam of light streamed into the dim labyrinth tower.

The second floor opened up into a wide plain, dotted with small hills.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the scenery had a charm all its own.

"Hey, Kirito, want to keep partying with us? It's still kinda dangerous to go solo," Akimi suddenly asked.

Kirito paused for a moment, then gave a soft chuckle.

"Nah, two annoying guys sticking together just make for an easier target. Besides, I'm more used to going it alone," he said, with a hint of self-mockery in his tone.

"And besides..." Kirito paused, his gaze shifting between Akimi and Asuna, "if I played the third wheel, you'd probably kill me."

Asuna's face flushed bright red.

"Wh-What third wheel?! I-I don't have anything going on with him..."

Akimi gave a sly chuckle and secretly gave Kirito a thumbs-up.

"Alright then," Akimi said, turning serious, "if anything comes up, send a message. Don't go forcing yourself alone."

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, I will."

"Then let's go—before other players arrive, let's have the second floor to ourselves for a bit."

With that, Akimi and Asuna walked off together.

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