Unlimited Anime Works

Chapter 169: The invulnerable

After half an hour, Feng Yu Chen and Heathcliff who held the Skull Reaper at bay allowed the other members to chip away at the boss' HP. When Feng Yu Chen landed the final hit, the floor boss exploded in a burst of data polygons.

We won, huh?

The players were relieved. They lost about 8 elite fighters this time, the greatest loss they have suffered so far. They did so well up until this point with little to no casualties.

The players are already feeling the heat. This is especially the case when the players can no longer use Escape crystals to run away. This means they won't have access to intel before players face the boss as any players wandering into the boss room will either die or win, this changed the playbook for many raid members.

Kirito looked at Heathcliff. He noticed something about Heathcliff, the guy kept boosting his HP to make sure he never falls below the 50% gauge on his HP.

Kirito didn't think he did this because he fear the act itself, falling below 50% isn't life-threatening. No, he is doing it for another reason.

Then, he recalled how Heathcliff watched the players like a scientist studying white mice.

Kirito pieced together the info to arrive at a shocking conclusion. He leaped towards Heathcliff in a blue blur. He swung down at Heathcliff's chest using his sword.

Everyone, including Feng Yu Chen were shocked by Kirito's sudden aggression.

Feng Yu Chen sighed. Kirito's observational powers exceeded other players, he must have surmised Heathcliff's weird ability. He must have guessed that Heathcliff is actually the GM, Kayaba Akihiko.

Heathcliff also didn't see this coming. But, he blocked just in time.

Kirito is still faster than Heathcliff thought possible, he managed to land a hit on Heathcliff.

An invisible wall blocked the slash and sent Kirito back with its recoil.

A purple flash changed Heathcliff's title. An invulnerable notification floated above his head.

It is impossible for a player to generate this status. It is a foreign element, one that only the GM should be able to grant and use.

Kirito understood why Heathcliff tried so hard to keep his health above 50%. He didn't want this status to become known.

Now that everyone saw Heathcliff's invulnerable attribute... Their jaws fell.

"How..."

"Guild master, what is the meaning of this?"

The raid members slowly caught on.

"The legendary attribute that kept this guy from going into the yellow health territory, the reason behind his apparent immortality... This status is something only the game admins can invoke. There are no game admins here except for one..."

Kirito deduced.

The players became enraged. They were played by Heathcliff?

"Haha, I didn't think you would figure me out so soon. That is correct, I am Kayaba Akihiko. I was planning on making this revelation when we got on the 95th floor but..."

Heathcliff started laughing out loud. It is almost as if he planned for this.

"Looks like we have to bring forward our duel. Kirito, back down, I will handle this guy..."

Feng Yu Chen patted Kirito on his shoulder. Now that it has come to this, Feng Yu Chen reckons it is time to delete Heathcliff. It is a pity he couldn't get the Sovereign of Destruction title. Can't be helped now that the cat's out of the bag.

Kirito nodded before stepping back. If there is anyone who can beat Heathcliff then it's Feng Yu Chen. As the leader of the Wings of Freedom, Feng Yu Chen never went serious in his fights, Kirito knows Feng Yu Chen is still hiding his true powers. If Heathcliff got his nickname from the System's protection then Feng Yu Chen got his nickname from his absolute power.

Asuna wanted to help Feng Yu Chen but Saeko stopped her. This is the time to place their trust in Feng Yu Chen's ability.

"Yo, it is finally the time to duel, huh? I wanted to defer this duel because if we fight then my true identity would be revealed. I wanted to observe longer and experience this game for myself. This is why I participated...

I wanted our duel to be the final epic fight of this game. Very well, let us fight. However, I am not confident I can survive in a fight where I disabled by invulnerability. You're the only player who somehow exceeded the predetermined limits of SAO. Let us change the terms of the duel, if you can keep your health above 50% for 10 minutes in our final duel, it will be your win. Nobody has to die and all the surviving players can go home. Then, we will have another duel at the top floor of SAO where I will disable my invulnerability."

"Hmph, you just want 10 minutes to analyze my fighting style and the use the System to design counter-measures, right?"

Feng Yu Chen guessed Heathcliff's true intention.