Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

After handing over yet another job, Tsugumi invited Kayaba Akihiko to go see the 'star' he had created.

Of course, it wasn't Kasumigaoka Utaha, but Kiritani Kazuto—

Like more than nine thousand other players, he was someone who had signed a demonic pact with him in the user agreement.

With Kayaba Akihiko trapped by him, he had already made a small, insignificant tamper with the user agreement, turning it into a devilish contract for all players.

However, he was not a cruel demon after all, and the contents of the contract were extremely generous to them—it was simply that Tsurugi would revive them before they were about to become roasted brains, and the price was that he would take away a part of their souls and memories.

Of course, Tsurugi doesn't really need these souls. He's not one of those perverts in Hell who uses souls as toys, nor does he like to eat them. These souls are bargaining chips in his hands, and also tools for experimenting with his abilities.

Just like... now

When Kayaba Akihiko and Tsugumi logged in again, it was already the end of the second raid by Kirito's team.

This time, the strategy still didn't go so smoothly.

It's an improvement, to say the least. They reduced Gundyr's health to the last 10%, so maybe with a little more effort, they can beat him next time.

But this time, they may still have no hope.

There is only one player left on the field.

This person is naturally Kirito.

"So, he's the one you chose." Kayaba Akihiko, using his GM privileges, transformed into a ghost and observed from the side, his gaze lingering curiously on Kirito, as if trying to discern something special about the boy.

"I only valued him because he was indeed the most 'capable' among the very few people I knew out of these ten thousand."

Tsugumi's face projected onto the screen stared at Kirito, appearing as if she were reading something... and above his soul, which he transmitted to the virtual world, was covered a layer of power belonging to him.

"But for me, he was the first 'hero' I tried to create with my power."

Media Power (LV3): Climbing to the third level of power grants Tsurugi the power of focus, which can make a person the center of attention and at the same time give him the power to unleash his potential.

Or, to simply explain this ability using one of Mei Liangxin's skills.

hero made

P.S.: Tomorrow, the next chapter will end the daily crossover anime and then move on to Type-Moon—the prison warden is indeed a CS (Counter-Strike) game, but with this going on, I do have to change some of my outlines. Anyway, the next world is Fate!

Having transmigrated, my only purpose is to kill, kill, kill! : 32. The hero has been made, the demon has temporarily departed.

Character Card: Demon Noble

Inscribed Profession: [Goetia Noble (Count)]

Skill Status: [Goetia Spellbook (lv2)], [Media Authority (lv3)], [I am Hell (lv4)], [Both legs were broken by the butler (lv MAX)] [General skills omitted]

【Goetia Grimoire: Lv2】

No changes, omitted.

【I am hell: Lv4】

No changes, omitted.

[His legs were broken by the butler (LvMAX)]

No changes, omitted.

[Media Power (Lv3)]

Born from the concept of media, this demonic noble's ability allows you to manipulate and broadcast anything within your power's range that can be called media. It allows you to traverse within media within your power's coverage area. You have mastered the power of the "Focus" domain, enabling you to designate a target and grant them unparalleled presence! Activating this power requires magic power; the more magic power you have, the wider the range you can control.

Current items held: Blank Astartes Card, Veil of Desire

The third level of media power granted Tsugumi the ability called 'Focus,' and after using and experimenting with Kiritani Kazuto, he was able to confirm its effectiveness.

Similar to the ability of the Desire Contract to gradually transform the contractor into a succubus-like being, the power of focus is to make a person the center and focus of attention in a crowd!

Emperors, kings, and generals—those who created miracles and became prominent figures in human history possessed an unparalleled sense of presence.

Those who become the center of attention demonstrate their abilities, thereby gaining followers and ultimately the power to govern.

This power is what gives a person the foundation to become a leader, and then unleashes their potential.

At first glance, this seems to be a very positive force.

Indeed, the power of the devil is such that any intertwined original sin has its positive aspects, and naturally, all virtues also have their negative aspects.

This power, of course, has the most malicious uses for demons.

"For those who are virtuous but lack talent, making them leaders is the greatest disaster and malice. Many of the sins in this world have nothing to do with the person's own thoughts, and countless souls tumbling in hell are these ambitious but incompetent people."

Tsugumi recounted the 'malice' of this ability.

If this power is used on a useless person, even if he becomes the focus and center of attention, his limited talent will not be enough for him to control this charm.

The result was that he would become a leader, but a flawed one, much like Yuan Shao. He possessed strong personal charisma and sufficient talent, but his talent was insufficient to support the power his charisma garnered, allowing him to almost control the entire country, yet ultimately failing miserably and losing completely.

Asmodeus, as the demon king of desire, also had his craving for power within his sphere of influence. However, strictly speaking, the evil ultimately born from the desire for power belongs to the circle of pride.

Hmmmm~~~ Is there any chance I could change bosses?

Just as Tsugumi's thoughts were spiraling out of control, Kirito's side had undoubtedly fallen into a desperate situation.

Gundyr stood like Nioh, poised to deliver a punch. The silent Ashen Judge resembled a deity, while Kirito had just been forced to witness too much horror in battle.

One by one, the Ashen Judge brought them into his dueling arena to face them one-on-one, fairly yet cruelly.

He was fair; the halberd he had abandoned remained stuck in the ground and was never pulled out. If he were to retrieve his weapon, he could easily slaughter them with a single swing in the arena, which was now half the size of the battle area.

He's being unfair. Even though he only activated the second phase when he was almost dead, his speed, damage, and most importantly, his margin for error were still far superior to the player's!

Especially the latter, even though he only has one-tenth of his health left, even for a top-tier player like Kirito, it would take at least eight hits of the highest-damage sword skill to wipe him out.

This is almost impossible—not to mention that his SP value is not enough to support the consumption of releasing eight sword skills in a row, even if it were enough, Gundyr would never give himself the opportunity to repeat the sword skill eight times in a row!

This boss isn't a boss with a fixed timeline! Or rather, the strategies he displayed in the second phase were almost like those of a real person!

The release of skills is no longer fixed, but rather judged based on the player's behavior. In other words, there is no fast or slow attack, otherwise a BOSS that reads commands like this could be identified as a pure defense.

Hiss~~~~

Kirito tried in vain to adjust his breathing. It was somewhat ridiculous to do such a thing in the virtual world, but he just wanted to get himself into the best possible state.

His best form... seems to have been back when he was still practicing kendo a long time ago, right?

Gudari moved!

Before Kirito could have much time to reminisce about the past, Kodak threw a punch at him with such speed that the heat from the friction with the air seemed to be burning his skin!

Kirito narrowly dodged the punch, instinctively wanting to retaliate, but a strong sense of danger prompted him to roll and avoid the falling kick.

With a single thrust, Gundyr's health dropped by a barely perceptible fraction, and his onslaught only intensified.

Eeya!!

Kirito was accidentally kicked, and his health bar was almost instantly depleted, leaving only a barely perceptible sliver of health.

At this moment, Guddar still has at least six percent left.

No, I can't win, I'm no match for them!

Looking at his depleted SP, Kirito felt as if he were looking at Koda, an insurmountable mountain.

He's done his best, hasn't he? That's how pioneering is; only through constant trial and error can you achieve results. At least now it only has six percent of its health left. Next time, maybe next time we can get through it—

Defeatist thoughts raced through his mind, yet at this moment he rejected such an outcome!

An unprecedented surge of emotion and desire erupted within him. He roared and lunged into Gundyr's arms, thrusting his sword one last time. Then, abandoning his sword-wielding stance, he grabbed the spiral sword embedded in Gundyr's chest.

No matter how passionate or exciting it is, what changes can it bring to a fixed, programmed world?

But such 'miracles' do exist in this world.

Mind Technique—to be precise, this should be a skill existing in another game within this world, but in reality, it's a 'special skill' applicable to all games built within The Seed framework.

To put it simply, it's about pushing the limits of the program through intense personal emotions to do incredible things. Or, to put it another way, it's about the power of my imagination.

The game framework established by The Seed is essentially based on the individual's spirit. Each player's thoughts are a local server, and they enter the same game through interaction.

Therefore, the burst of mental skill is equivalent to uploading a large amount of erroneous data that the system cannot understand from the local server, and then letting the server cause damage beyond the data according to your intention.

Emmm~ This explanation is indeed devoid of any romantic elements, but undeniably, it is a rare intellectual talent.

Tsugumi's bestowal of the 'focus' power on Kirito successfully brought out this innate talent.

And so, under the watchful eyes of all the losers, a miracle that transcended the program occurred.

He drew the spiral sword and, with a roar, swung it out amidst the raging flames!

The attack landed, and in an instant, Gundyr's last health bar was emptied.

The raging flames instantly entangled Kirito's body, and at the same time, all the dead were instantly resurrected.

Experience, rewards—everything transformed into data and flooded into Kirito's body. And the reward he received for delivering the final blow as the floor master seemed to be the spiral sword in his hand.

"The first floor has been breached! Floor breakthrough reward: all players -1 resurrection cost!"

After a moment of silence, those who saw the message hugged, cheered, and roared. They had won! They had defeated this seemingly invincible BOSS!

Then, a wave of joy gathered around their leader who had led them through the building. Everyone gathered together, picked up Kirito, and cheered as they tossed him into the air.

This left him no time to check the attributes of the LA drop in his hand.

He didn't even notice that, as a reward, Tsurugi had created a professional skill from the data of his breakthrough moment and given it to him!

"His original dual-wielding skills weren't enough for him to continue clearing the game. Tsk tsk tsk, as my first experimental target, he does need a little help."

Tsurugi had a happy smile on his face. He had gained all the power he could from the crowd, the power of being the center of attention, and it belonged to him!

"Hmm... he is indeed a very suitable candidate."

Kayaba Akihiko looked at Kirito thoughtfully and said that if it weren't for the trouble caused by the demon next to him, he guessed that this player might have been the 'warrior' he had chosen.

"You should know what to do next."

Tsugumi looked at Kayaba Akihiko, his warden, and instructed him...

"Redesign the second-level boss. You can totally 'borrow' classic examples from other games. Stop messing around with your crap design! In short, give them a level of difficulty that will get them stuck, but not too hard. Focus on mechanics and skills, not just numerical values!"

Kayaba Akihiko nodded silently, but it was clear that he seemed quite interested in experimenting with something.

Having handed over all her work, Tsurugi also left without hesitation to start the next round of the game.