Chapter 7: Shengzai, Are You Cheating?!

Klein, still clutching his crotch, stared at the pig’s body dissolving into fragments, then gave Shengzai an annoyed look: “Alright, Shengzai, I thought of you as a trusted younger brother, but you and Kirigaya teamed up to fool me, didn’t you?”

You’re an alpha tester too, just like Kirigaya!”

No wonder Klein thought this— if Shengzai was truly a new player, then what did that make him?

Everyone else was still struggling to learn the game’s sword techniques, but this guy Shengzai? He’s already one-shotting monsters at the same level.

That move that nearly blinded me just now—you call that a new player? Kirigaya doesn’t even come close to your acting skills!

“Klein, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m just like you—a public beta player, playing this game for the first time.”

“If you don’t believe me, ask this guy.”

Seeing Klein’s expression of “you’re messing with me,” Shengzai shrugged and nodded toward Kirigaya beside him.

Though clearly reluctant, Kirigaya had his integrity—he reluctantly nodded: “This guy really is playing SAO for the first time.”

“The alpha tester slots were extremely limited. If he’d been one of them, I’d have known.”

Seeing Kirigaya’s expression wasn’t fake, and realizing it made no sense for two gaming elites to conspire to trick an ordinary office worker like him, Klein’s disbelief quickly turned to excitement as he grabbed Shengzai’s shoulders: “I get it—you must’ve used some cheat software, right?”

“We’re brothers, so share the good stuff! Sure, it ruins the game experience, but let me try that one-shot kill thrill first—it’ll boost my confidence, and that’s a fair trade.”

Clearly, Shengzai wasn’t an alpha tester, yet he could one-shot monsters. Klein figured Shengzai must’ve used some third-party illegal software.

Otherwise, how could he explain it? Everyone was a new player—why was he this overpowered?

Hearing Klein’s words, Shengzai looked utterly speechless. Just as he opened his mouth to explain, a nearby gaming nerd shook his head firmly, as if his faith had been betrayed: “That’s impossible.”

“SAO is the first game using NERvGear. ARGUS, the most advanced hardware manufacturer, wouldn’t allow cheat software—or even bugs—into this game.”

“And this was already proven during the alpha test.”

Any hardcore gamer would go to extreme lengths to exploit game loopholes.

The alpha testers of SAO were no exception.

Yet sadly, even these top-tier domestic gamers found no fatal bugs in SAO—cheat software? Pure nonsense.

Yet unfortunately, even these veteran domestic players could find no fatal loopholes in SAO, and the idea of using cheat software was pure nonsense.

“Shengzai one-shotted the enraged boar using only his own skill.”

“I already said it: SAO allows combo sword techniques beyond system skills, through personal technique.”

“This guy is the champion of the national kendo tournament. The move he just used is a real-world kendo technique he learned in life.”

“And because he struck the exact vital point of the enraged boar, it triggered critical damage multiplier—so even at equal level and stats, he one-shot it.”

After hearing Kirigaya’s explanation, Klein’s relieved expression froze again.

He stared at Shengzai with even greater disbelief: “Shengzai—you’re the national kendo champion?!”

“It’s just a minor achievement—after all, it was only a junior high competition.”

Hearing this, both Klein and Kirigaya were speechless. Kirigaya, who knew Shengzai better, bluntly added: “But I recall you crushed second place by an enormous margin.”

“Even the judges said your current kendo skill would earn you a strong ranking in high school—or even adult-level tournaments.”

“More importantly, kendo tournaments are divided by age group primarily for fairness.”

“Adults have clear physical advantages over half-grown kids.”

“But in SAO, that difference doesn’t exist. Aside from level and gear, everyone’s base stats are identical.”

In other words, in SAO, even a lazy shut-in with no physical training can defeat a gym-obsessed bodybuilder using pure technique.

As Kirigaya explained the difference between SAO and reality, he slowly drew his one-handed sword and fixed Shengzai with a serious gaze.

“Shengzai, let’s do a PVP. I’ve already explained the difference between SAO and reality.”

“In this world, our physical stats are equal, and our level and gear are both near-initial.”

“Though I have alpha tester experience, you have real-world kendo mastery—this duel should be perfectly fair.”

PVP meant player-versus-player combat—in simple terms, it was “PK.”

Kirigaya hadn’t wanted to challenge Shengzai so soon—he’d still thought of him as a new player.

But after seeing Shengzai’s one-shot kill on the enraged boar, Kirigaya couldn’t sit still anymore.

He’d known Shengzai would adapt quickly to SAO, a sword-heavy game—but he never imagined he’d adapt this fast.

Based on what Shengzai just showed, Kirigaya feared that if he didn’t challenge him now, while Shengzai was still unaccustomed, he’d lose his chance at revenge entirely.

No… judging by this guy’s growth rate, in ten or twenty days, he might be the one getting crushed.

“So all that stuff about SAO helping me train kendo, and friends should play games together—was just bullshit, right?”

“Your real goal was to beat me, wasn’t it, Kirigaya?” Shengzai grinned, seeing through Kirigaya’s true intent.

“So, Kendo Champion, will you accept my challenge?”

“So your real goal is clearly to torment me, right, Kirito?” Seeing Kirito’s true intent laid bare, Shengzai grinned.

"Then, Master Sword Champion, will you accept my challenge?"

(End of Chapter)