Chapter 76

Hearing that the cost of his defeat was so trivial, Shengzai felt even less psychological pressure.

So now he nodded without hesitation: “Then I won’t hide anything—I’ll make you a condition: if I win, you must promise me one thing.”

“That is, all the trapped SAO players must return to the real world.”

Though he had access to a shareable cheat, the feeling of being trapped in this SAO world, where life and death were controlled by others, made Shengzai deeply uneasy.

So from the very beginning, the condition he wanted Maochangjingyan to agree to had always been this one.

“No problem. I am originally the Floor Boss of Aincrad’s 100th floor; even if you hadn’t made this demand, once players reach the 100th floor and defeat me, I would still honor my initial promise.”

Maochangjingyan accepted Shengzai’s condition without the slightest hesitation.

As Shengzai had previously said, Maochangjingyan was cold and heartless, yet he possessed strong contractual integrity.

Even if Shengzai hadn’t exposed him here, once players reached the 100th floor, he would still release everyone.

“Besides, since this is a PVP duel, even as the game’s GM, you can’t openly use cheats, can you?”

“You should also remove the immortality attribute tied to your admin account—otherwise, in this world, even a god couldn’t kill you.”

As the game’s GM, Maochangjingyan ’s admin account was programmed with an immortality attribute.

As long as this setting remained active, Maochangjingyan was invincible within SAO.

As Shengzai spoke these words, he deliberately glanced around at the Gonglvezu players surrounding Maochangjingyan , as if to tell them plainly that numbers meant nothing against Maochangjingyan .

As long as his immortality remained unremoved, even ten times as many players here would be utterly powerless—there was no point in such a futile group assault.

“Of course, since this is a PVP duel, I won’t shamelessly use such things.”

“But aside from that, I will retain my level and stats as the 100th-floor Floor Boss—still willing to duel me under these conditions?”

Hearing Maochangjingyan ’s words, Shengzai, who had just moments ago admired his contractual integrity, now felt his lips twitch involuntarily.

Fuck, this guy doesn’t follow the script at all—this isn’t anything like the original plot I knew!

If Shengzai remembered correctly, after Kirigaya exposed Maochangjingyan ’s true identity, Maochangjingyan gave Kirigaya a one-on-one duel and removed his immortality.

But at that time, Maochangjingyan didn’t fight using his 100th-floor Floor Boss level and stats—he fought using his own level and stats as Heilich.

Otherwise, even if Kirigaya’s “Two-Sword Style” was incredibly powerful, at level 75, how could he possibly defeat a 100th-floor Floor Boss in a solo duel? Even if he’d taken Viagra, it’d still be impossible!

So what you’re saying is, when Kirigaya fights you, Maochangjingyan uses his Heilich alt account.

But when I fight you, you’re going to use your full 100th-floor Floor Boss main account, right?

Is this because you think I’m easy to bully—or because you think I’m not easy to bully?

“If you want to refuse, that’s fine—I’ll wait for you in the 100th-floor chamber.”

To be honest, even Maochangjingyan himself felt slightly embarrassed when he made this condition.

After all, given Shengzai’s current level and stats, using a 100th-floor Floor Boss’s stats to duel him was genuinely unfair.

Maochangjingyan had briefly considered using Heilich’s current level and stats to duel Shengzai, but honestly, he had no confidence he could win under such conditions.

Kirigaya’s “Two-Sword Style” might be strong, but at least it was a power he understood well.

But Shengzai’s so-called “Spirit Sword”— Maochangjingyan knew nothing about it, so he dared not be overconfident.

“As the final boss of the game, I am naturally the ultimate obstacle you must overcome.”

“Of course, as compensation for you fighting alone, I can seal away some of my final boss skills and abilities.”

“These include abilities such as ‘Revival,’ ‘Regeneration,’ and ‘Instant Death.’”

As the original 100th-floor final boss of Aincrad, Maochangjingyan ’s other alias was the Death God figure who appeared during the public test.

Under this Death God boss alias, he possessed not only the highest level in SAO, but also a series of cheating-like status effects and skills.

The regeneration ability alone was enough—so long as the damage dealt wasn’t sufficient, Maochangjingyan ’s HP would auto-recover at an extremely rapid rate.

As the Death God, all his attacks carried a certain probability of applying an “Instant Death” buff; once triggered, no matter how high the defense or how much HP remained, the target would die instantly.

Even more absurdly, when killed in his Death God boss state, Maochangjingyan possessed a one-time full-state revival mechanism.

Meaning, instead of needing to defeat the Floor Boss once, players now had to defeat it twice!

And combined with “Regeneration” and “Instant Death,” if too many players died during the first attempt and the DPS couldn’t keep up, the revived Maochangjingyan would become virtually unkillable.

All the Gonglvezu players present were high-level players; merely hearing Maochangjingyan ’s revelation now, they understood just how difficult clearing the 100th floor would be.

Such terrifying skills and mechanics were enough to shatter their morale and fill them with dread just by hearing about them—let alone actually attempting to clear such a lethal difficulty.

“I accept your terms—let the PVP duel begin!”

Though events hadn’t unfolded as expected—in fact, they’d become worse than the original plot Shengzai knew—Shengzai had no choice now.

Challenging a max-level Floor Boss was difficult, but with Maochangjingyan having sealed away most of his skills, Shengzai felt he wasn’t entirely without a chance.

Worst case, even if he died here, nothing serious would happen—he could even gather valuable intel on the final boss ahead of time—so he had no reason to refuse.

The instant Shengzai accepted the duel, both he and Maochangjingyan vanished from everyone’s sight in a flash of white light.

When the two reappeared, they stood inside the largest open-air palace.

The hall was empty, its simple, ancient architecture resembling not a palace but a vast dueling arena; above it, the ceiling was completely open, revealing a sky full of stars.

“This is the 100th floor of Aincrad—the peak of the Aincrad Floating Tower, the place closest to the heavens.”

“Is this not the perfect place for a final duel?”

As Maochangjingyan finished speaking, his human form began to swell and expand; thick blood enveloped his body, quickly transforming him into a towering Death God clad in a red robe, wielding a scythe.

(They all say it’s too watered down, so here’s another chapter—I’ve done my best. Maybe I’m just born with a water-text body; whenever I start writing, it turns into water. What can I do? (ToT)/~~~)

(End of Chapter)