Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

During the battle against Theore, you will gain 4 stacks of the Infect debuff every 30 seconds, and every 30 seconds a previously defeated monster will randomly revive.

"Explosive DPS! We're going to wipe as soon as the 12-minute countdown ends!" Solin shouted as soon as he saw these two notifications. "Attack Eleon first! MT team, pull Theorell away! Yuna, hurry up and buff her!"

Sorin's reason for deciding to target Elena first was simple: although the existence of Theoretical was essentially adding a countdown to the entire campaign, the biggest threat right now was Elena, who had two stacks of the Hymn Effect. As long as she didn't die, the entire team's damage output wouldn't be able to increase, which was a fatal thing in a campaign.

Of course, there's another reason: all the NPCs on our side are currently focusing their attacks on Elena. That's right, even Vanser, who had been playing a minor role in the previous battles, has now joined the fray. The magical energy surrounding him is becoming increasingly dense, and the [Magnetic Legion Soldiers] summoned as Elena's health decreases are often immediately dispersed back to their original positions by Vanser as soon as they appear, and they are not pulled back onto the battlefield by Theore's resurrection effect.

"Any of the ones left that can taunt? Pull the mobs coming down from above, and Ivyxin, go and take down the Overseer!" Solin kept a close eye on Eleon's health bar and gave timely instructions when it reached 72%. "Everyone else, keep attacking Eleon and avoid the Overseer's self-destruct range!"

He had anticipated some of Ai Zipei's damage output, and after everyone heard the command and took their positions, Ai Zipei delivered another powerful sword strike to Eleon, reducing her health to 70%.

"We are a single entity, and those who disobey must be sewn back to the mechanical path with needle and thread!" Eleon stopped in place, and after a moment, the door above the annex suddenly opened, and a creature that looked like an angel flew out. It was said to look like because the "angel" was completely naked, stained with blood and molten oil, and where there should have been wings, only a broken skeleton remained, making it look extremely frightening.

Your next sword technique will be ineffective.

[While the Occupation Commander is alive, all your sword skills will be disabled upon first use.]

"That's why I hate the dead tax! This isn't some kind of magic tithe, it's the Void Grail!" Sorin yelled, then quickly unleashed a set of skills to ensure he could deal normal damage in the next round. "Everyone, use all your small skills! Quick!"

For a moment, the battlefield was filled with the light of various sword techniques, but it was all just light; not a single sword technique was successfully unleashed under the Occupation Commander's blockade, not even the NPCs Vanser and Aizipei. Without Vanser's anti-summoning magic, the Dark Cellar Sk Demons and Magnetic Legion soldiers, which normally couldn't appear normally, suddenly descended from the sky and joined the battle, causing considerable trouble for the players who were attacking Eleon.

With a powerful flap of her wings, Aivisin charged towards the governor of the annex, thrusting her spear straight into the governor's back. The governor cried out in pain, turning and using her hands, now hardened into sharp spikes by the molten oil, to stab Aivisin in the neck.

Seeing this, Ivy immediately dodged the attack with a lateral maneuver, while swinging her spear and delivering a sweeping blow to the waist of the annex commander. Then she raised her double-pointed spear.

"Ivy, stop casting your ultimate! You can't unleash it!" Solin quickly stopped Ivy, who seemed about to unleash her ultimate again, and then rapidly directed the others, "Teams D and E, clear out the little devils and legionary soldiers! Hurry up!"

He glanced at the situation in the sky. Ivy was still in control, using her mobility advantage (she had many more feathers on her wings than the Occupation Commander) to make the Occupation Commander helpless. However, due to the reverse hymn effect of Eleon, her output was not as high as expected.

"Kirito, can I borrow your head for a bit? Use it as a cushion for me." Sorin suddenly stopped Kirito, who was about to rush up to clear out the minions, and pulled him back to his original position, saying this.

"Just a quick step... wait, what are you going to do?" Kirito asked instinctively, then looked at the fierce battle between the two angels in the sky, and said incredulously, "Wait, you're not going to...

Before Kirito could answer, Sorin switched his attack mode to "Allow teammates to damage," used his battle staff to brace himself for a small jump, and then forcefully stabbed Kirito on the head with the staff, using the force to fly even higher.

"Ivy! I'm here to help you!"

168. The Familiar Roaring Celestial Venerable

"You're really messing around, aren't you?"

Kirito rubbed his head. Although he didn't feel any pain, the attack from Sorin that hit him, including the critical hit to his weakness, had taken away more than 20% of his health. Luckily, the bosses in this area generally didn't have skills that could drain his health, otherwise he might have been in serious trouble.

He shook his head helplessly, then assumed a dual-wielding attack stance and charged towards the lesser demons and mechanical legion soldiers.

Outside of everyone's view, Aivixin was also somewhat surprised by Solin's sudden flight.

"Dad?" She tilted her head and asked first, then watched as the annex supervisor abandoned Ivy and rushed towards Solin, shouting, "Dad, be careful!"

"I saw it!" Sorin naturally saw the Occupation Commander's movements. Taking advantage of the brief moment of airtime, he first interrupted the Occupation Commander's charge with a preemptive thrust, then jabbed her knee with his war club, sending himself flying slightly upwards. "Let me show you what a toxic, joyful flying club looks like!"

He dared not relax for a moment. Such a difficult move was quite challenging even for a professional athlete like him, especially with almost no room for error. If he made even one mistake, he would suffer massive fall damage and be finished off by the Otaka Governor; he would be crippled if not killed.

Of course, he could have Ivy Xin pick him up, but if that were the case, the governor of the villa wouldn't be someone who could be eliminated in a short time.

Sorin held his breath and focused, finding his position once again in mid-air. He thrust his staff into the governor of the annex, increasing his relative height and creating an opening for Aivisin to attack. Seeing Sorin change direction, Aivisin flapped her wings and lunged forward again, stabbing the governor of the annex in the chest.

"Finish her off! Finish her off! Finish her off! Finish her off! Finish her off!" Sorin shouted frantically as he saw the Betsukan Chieftain's health was approaching 50%. Forgetting about increasing his relative height, he switched to his katana mid-air, using a parry to block one of the Chieftain's thrusts, followed by a rising dragon attack. Ivy's strategy was equally clear at this moment. She closed in on the Chieftain, delivering a four-hit combo that brought her to half health before she self-destructed, then flew downwards, her free left hand grabbing Sorin's collar.

“Ivy threw me down, then aimed at Elena and blasted her to smithereens!”

In his excitement, Solin subconsciously adopted a commanding tone, even forgetting his role as a good father. Many of the members present had experienced the first-level boss battle back then, and hearing Solin's hoarse shouts, they were suddenly reminded of that thrilling battle.

"Damn it! Focus everyone on Elena! Charge in and unleash your ultimate attacks! Polearm users, control her! Greatsword users, fuck her! Hit Elena! Hit Elena! Hit Elena! Yuna, give me a heal!"

Fortunately, Yuna finally heard Sorin's last words clearly, withdrew from the chaotic battle, drew her flute from her waist, and gave Sorin a single-target healing and physical resistance buff. After landing, Sorin immediately rolled to cushion the fall damage, grabbed a health potion and an antidote, drank them down, and charged forward with her katana, her shouts still going strong.

"Starburst Stream Slash followed by Eclipse! Kirito, get one! Everyone else, unleash your ultimate attacks! Follow up, everyone! Main tank, don't move, pull the black one away!"

Relying on the fact that Eleonon's aggro was locked at 100% on Ezipei, Solin ordered everyone to unleash their ultimate skills immediately—a strategy that could easily lead to aggro loss in a regular boss fight. After everyone had used their ultimate skills, Eleonon's health was approaching 40%, the critical point for her second ultimate skill.

"Everyone stop firing! Ivyxin, open fire!"

Hearing Solin's command and roaring, Ivy finally lowered the light cannon. The golden and red light instantly engulfed Eleon, reducing her health to 5% and skipping two phases. Due to her mechanics, Eleon needed to stand still for a while, summoning the Occupation Commander twice before she could unleash her final wipe-out skill. The time required for these two summons was enough for the team to deplete Eleon's last 5% health.

She didn't even get to utter her last line before collapsing to the ground and vanishing into light. The two Occupation Commanders she summoned in her final moments also dissipated with Eleon's death, leaving not even the molten oil that would have spewed out after her demise.

[Elena's halo effect has disappeared]

The influence of the annex governor has disappeared.

"Well done! MT, retreat and use your antidote, switch targets to Theo!"

Sorin felt his condition improve significantly, likely due to the disappearance of Eleanor's death aura. After Eleanor's death, the remaining Siorie, like the previous demon judges, could be dealt with using relatively conventional methods.

Of course, time was still of the essence, but after the battle had been going on for a while, Vanser began to use another skill. He would occasionally make a player temporarily disappear from their spot, and when they reappeared in the boss fight, they would no longer have any of the infection buffs. Although this skill wouldn't be used on all players, it still provided an opportunity to switch positions and use an antidote.

"Don't stop! The countdown is still on!" Solin quickly reminded him. Although he had just shouted himself hoarse, he was clearly still in a highly motivated state. It could be said that he was the most prominent banner on the battlefield, and his presence was the reason why everyone could continue to fight with the same morale and fighting spirit as at the beginning of the battle.

After another minute or so of battle, the last remaining judge, the Whisperer Sioure, had only 15% health left. The corrupted vampire she summoned, [Chief of Manfinswamp], was even stronger individually than the previous Chief of the Annex, but it didn't have the ability to seal skills like the Chief of the Annex. Therefore, it couldn't last long against the all-out attack of Ivysin.

"Everyone, split into teams and get ready to step into the pits! Eleon didn't use her ultimate skill just now!" Solin noticed that the battle might be progressing a bit too quickly and worried that everyone might have forgotten the mechanics of the Demon Judge Bosses, so he quickly reminded them, "They're falling, they're falling, get ready to step into the pits!"

“The Philexians will lament the changes to their precious land; if they live to see it,” Theore said, stopping in place and flailing her scythe-like feet wildly. However, the molten oil pipes in mid-air did not explode as they had during the other judges' attacks; they didn't even react in the slightest.

"Stop dawdling, go and chop her! This is the villa! She can't control the villa's oil pipes!" Solin immediately understood what was going on, and after everyone chopped at Xiorui for about half a minute, the last remaining demon judge finally fell to the ground.

169. Yura, you with thick eyebrows and big eyes... (Bonus Chapter 47/75)

"The host you follow, [Elegant Mr. Suolin], has started broadcasting."

[Heading to the destination. You're not broadcasting live right now, are you?]

"No, I wouldn't do something that stupid," Sorin replied calmly, coldly watching the cutscene in front of him. That's right, the final boss of the 50th floor, the crazed Cain, was defeated with just a cutscene. The real boss of this floor was merely the five demon judges blocking Azpetiri and Vanser's path.

This CG is naturally the part of the original Magic: The Gathering storyline where Vanser sacrifices himself to transfer his immunity to corruption to Cain, restoring his sanity.

“I am remorseful for my dereliction of duty, Ai Zipei. I have no reason to remain in Mirodi.” The tall silver golem’s voice boomed, tinged with regret and self-reproach. “You have done well, warriors of Mirodi. You have saved me. Thank you.”

As he spoke, the spark on his chest flickered violently before vanishing instantly. And with his disappearance, the stairwell doors leading to the fifty-first floor opened.

"Let's go, friends. I'm so glad that we didn't lose any men in this fierce and brutal battle."

Yura once again stepped in front of the entire player group, proclaiming their victory in his usual rousing tone, "We've been through a lot since the first floor. It's thanks to you all that we were able to get here and continue our slow but steady ascent upwards."

"And now, let us cheer, for our victory!"

As he finished speaking, all the members who had participated in the raid breathed a sigh of relief, and the enthusiastic cheers and applause almost pierced the sky. They had been under pressure for quite some time. Although the raid on the fiftieth floor did not truly defeat the final boss, each of the previous demon judges was almost at the level of the higher-ups, and the appearance of Eleon and Theoret together at the end put them under even greater pressure.

Under such circumstances, it's normal for them to cheer after the battle. However, among these cheers, there was something missing—the voice of someone who shouted themselves hoarse during the battle.

[Arrived at designated location, ready for assault operation]

"Let me think back to what Ya Wang said back then... Oh right, everyone, hold on! Now is not the time to relax and celebrate our victory!"

Sorin suddenly stepped forward, walked slowly to Yura, and, mimicking the Kansai dialect that Ya-Wang had used when questioning him on the first floor, shouted at Yura, "I've heard that this Yura is a closed beta player among closed beta players!"

The room fell silent for a moment, then burst into even more laughter.

"My god... Sorin, are you trying to imitate the way Ya-Oh acted back then? You've just finished halfway through the raid." Kirito chuckled from the side. "The resemblance is really high!"

Similar laughter and comments about Solin were everywhere, but everyone assumed Solin was just joking to ease the tension. This included Yuna, who already knew about Solin's plan, and Aivixin, who looked completely bewildered.

However, Sorin remained unmoved. He stared intently at Yura, then drew his katana and pointed it straight at the shield warrior in front of him.

“I’m not joking. The closed beta player among closed beta players is naturally you, Yura… or rather, Mr. Kayaba Akihiko.”

This statement caused a huge uproar. Everyone looked at Sorin and Yura, who were standing in the center of the field, with disbelief, not daring to even breathe.

“This is something that’s easy to figure out. Many people probably have this question: where exactly is that person—Kayaba Akihiko—observing us and making adjustments to this world?” Sorin continued after seeing that everyone had quieted down. “But you’ve all forgotten a very simple truth that even a child knows.”

“A game designer is often the most enthusiastic player of that game. Just like Magic: The Gathering is Richard Garfield, Dota 2 is IceFrog, and... Sword Art Online is Kayaba Akihiko.”

"That argument is completely untenable, Suolin. Instead of making this joke now, tell me how you actually discovered me, or where I slipped up."

Yura readily admitted that she was Kayaba Akihiko. At first, some people thought Sorin was joking, but it was only at this moment that they learned the truth.

"You can't be kidding me..." Kirito muttered to himself, his eyes wide. "How could this be..."

“It’s simple. You might even have forgotten you said that.” Sorin sheathed his katana and stood there, continuing to explain, “When you were helping me remove the orange names from PoH, do you remember saying something like this: [Actually, Sorin can speak Japanese very quickly and clearly. Yesterday was roughly like that, anyway, I didn’t notice anything wrong with it.]”

"Is that all? I just felt that your command during that raid on the red-named guilds wasn't as difficult to hear as it was on the first floor. Is there a problem?" Yura shrugged. He had thought that Sorin might have noticed something was wrong with him elsewhere, but he still couldn't think of any problem with this statement.

"However, at that time, my Japanese was still in a stumbling, beginner stage. It might be audible, but it was definitely not at the level of being 'quick and clear'." Sorin said, pointing his index finger at Yura, as if to say, "There's only one truth!"

"At that time, the only Japanese I could speak quickly and clearly was one sentence, or rather, a repetitive phrase. When I played against you at the Kyoto Grand Prix in 2016, I used the [Iron Factory] combo. So the only repetitive phrase I could clearly explain was [Sacrifice Pyrite Spell Shot 2 Activate Iron Factory Sacrifice Protein Magnus Sacrifice Scrap Metal Salvage Trigger Scrap Metal Salvage Salvage Recycle Secret Salvage Protein Magnus... Okay, you're dead]. And what I learned from the live stream was that none of the Japanese players I had played against had been trapped in SAO, so the answer is obvious."

The other members present did indeed notice the difference. That fluent, storytelling-style Japanese was completely different from Sorin's usual way of speaking, just as Yura had described it: "very fast and very clear."

170. True tacticians never duel (Bonus Chapter 48/75)

He nodded slightly, a wry smile playing on his lips.

"I originally planned to announce this when I reached the 95th floor—indeed, I am Kayaba Akihiko. To put it another way, I was waiting for everyone's final boss at the top. It's a perfect scenario, like Vasca, who was following Nico Bolas, suddenly turning against him and running off with Jess."

"Your example is poorly chosen, and... should I call it a twisted sense of humor? Going from a high-level player to suddenly switching sides and attacking, and all that." Solin shrugged, still looking relaxed even in this situation.

“I had predicted that you would be the last person to stand in front of me. In fact, it was your encouragement that made me truly determined to fulfill my dream that made me decide to do so. Before that, no one thought I would succeed, whether it was virtual reality or creating a world as magnificent as Ravnica. I never imagined that a complete stranger could give me such recognition and encouragement.”

Yura suddenly sighed, still smiling, and said something extraordinary.

"I set up a total of ten unique skills. Dual Wielding was given to Kirito, who has the fastest reaction speed; Bard was given to Yuna, who is good at music—this is my teacher's child, I still know him; ... and finally, Weapon Master was given to the truly strongest person, which is you, Sorin, or it would be more appropriate to call you Mo-jun now."

(Here I need to explain that although Solin is a professional gamer, the reaction speed of a 24-year-old is definitely not comparable to that of a 14-year-old. This is one of the reasons why professional players like Faker or Sumail, who debuted at a young age, were able to achieve success.)

"What! You... what right do you have to lead us in place of Mr. Sorin! You bastard... you have betrayed our loyalty and hope!"

Swata burst from the crowd, wielding his greatsword and charging towards Yura. However, Yura reacted faster, manipulating the viewport with his left hand, causing Swata's body to stop abruptly and fall to the ground with a loud thud. Sorin glanced at the party list and saw a green border flashing on Swata's health bar, with a lightning bolt-shaped marker below indicating the [Paralysis] status effect.

Kirito was the second to rush forward, but he too was paralyzed and collapsed to the side. Perhaps Yura found operating one by one too slow, so he simply selected everyone and applied a paralysis effect to them all.

“Do you know, Mo Jun, this layer is a world I wrote out just for you. A world and memories that belong only to the two of us—the self-sacrificing Vanser, the freed Kahn, the Mirodi people who fought desperately, and the mysterious New Philexia… No card player dislikes Mirodi. You said that if I created such a world, you would definitely come to visit it, and this is the best gift I can give you.”

Yura noticed that Sorin was also paralyzed on the ground, realizing her oversight, and quickly removed the paralysis from Sorin. Yuna and Ivy, who were unable to move, looked at Sorin worriedly, but even now, Sorin still looked relaxed and confident.

"Alright then, since things have come to this, there's nothing we can do. We'll have to move the appointment forward and go to the Crimson Jade Palace on the top floor to wait for you all. Although abandoning you halfway wasn't my intention, I think Mo Jun should be able to lead you to the top floor. But before that..."