At the same time, I traveled through time and space, I dominated the heavens and the worlds

Among these players is Lin Bei.

Lin Bei is different from most players. He will not stay in the safe zone, but embark on a road full of adventure.

The resources in the game are limited. If you want to become stronger, you must be one step ahead.

It was during this process that Lin Bei met the male protagonist Kirito and the female protagonist Asuna.

Needless to say, Kirito is a leveling maniac. He and Kirito met in the wild. They were both killing monsters and leveling up in the area. When there was only one left, it didn't take long for the two of them to go from almost fighting to teaming up and becoming friends.

After that, Kirito and Lin Bei acted together, and met Asuna who had already joined the Blood Alliance Knights. At Asuna's suggestion, Kirito and Lin Bei agreed to join the strategy group and follow Asuna to conquer the boss on each floor.

Because in SAO, everyone has a goal, and it is also a promise made by the game developer Akihiko Kayaba that after the boss on the 100th floor is defeated, he will let all the survivors return to the real world.

At this moment, they were in the boss room on the 51st floor and had been locked in a tough battle for some time.

The reason why they were in a difficult battle was that the front-line members collected information incorrectly, which resulted in the strategy team finding that the boss was completely different from the situation they investigated.

But now that Lin Bei had arrived, he immediately noticed something was wrong.

It's not that the members collected the information incorrectly, but that the correct information was tampered with using props.

The only ones who can do it are the members of the strategy team.

As for why he did this and why he wanted to harm his teammates, the only way to know the answer is to find the traitor.

When Lin Bei came back to his senses, Kirito was already fighting with the boss. After Asuna's health bar recovered with the help of the healer, she ran to Lin Bei and looked at him with concern.

"Lin Bei, are you okay? Did that attack just now cause any damage to you? You must not hold on. If your health is in danger, you must use red potion in time."

Lin Bei shook his head slightly. The boss's attack just now didn't even trigger his fire shield, which showed how low the damage was.

He didn't elaborate, just looked around and his eyes fell on a figure in the distance.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately figured out that this person was the one who wanted to harm his teammates in the strategy team.

But he knew that this person didn't want to kill everyone, he just wanted to kill a few of them, including Kirito.

Lin Bei's eyes were slightly cold, and he looked at Kirito who was fighting with the boss in the distance. Asuna beside him was about to go up and exchange with Kirito, but Lin Bei raised his hand to stop her and warned in a low voice.

"There is a traitor in the strategy team. This boss is a little different from the previous investigation. When the health line is below 50%, the boss will be furious, switch from melee to ranged, and instantly kill all players within ten meters of the melee range. Immediately lead everyone to retreat to the edge of the room. This is no longer a boss that the strategy team can conquer. It is important to save your life."

After hearing what Lin Bei said, Asuna's face showed surprise, but Asuna was a person who took the overall situation into consideration. She did not question Lin Bei, but immediately gave an order, took command, and ordered all members of the strategy team to retreat.

Everyone was puzzled, but they still followed orders.

Only Kirito remained in front of the boss, wanting to reduce the boss's health faster.

Seeing this, Asuna looked worried and drew her sword to help, but Lin Bei was one step faster than her and immediately stood in front of her.

Seeing that the boss's health had reached 50.5%, Asuna became anxious: "Lin Bei, what are you doing? Get out of the way! Kirito is in danger. I want to help him!"

Lin Bei narrowed his eyes and glanced at the man in the crowd, his eyes slightly cold, and spoke lightly.

"If you go to help, Kirito will be in danger. The traitor wants to kill Kirito. If you go, Kirito will have to worry about you. If he loses his focus, won't something happen to both of you? You wait here, I'll go."

After saying that, Lin Bei didn't give Asuna time to react. He turned around and leaped towards the boss.

Just when Lin Bei arrived behind Kirito, the attack Kirito inflicted on the boss reduced his health by 50%.

At this moment, the boss's eyes burst into red light, it roared to the sky, and the entire room and the ground began to tremble.

Kirito finally realized something was wrong. He looked horrified and took two steps back with his sword in hand. "It's different from what we found out. How could the boss's second stage be violent? No, no, no, this isn't violent anymore. This is... a change in the way he attacks?"

Kirito's face turned pale. He watched the boss put down the axe in his hand, hugged him with both hands, and then a pair of black wings grew out from behind the boss. The boss's hands also changed shape, turning into black claws with two black light balls floating in the claws.

This is actually a boss that changes from melee to ranged!

A feeling of despair rose in Kirito's heart. As someone who knew this game very well, he naturally knew what this meant.

When melee combat turns into ranged combat, it is often accompanied by a fatal blow. Generally, the boss will use a skill that can kill everything in a small range, and then use ranged combat to attack the player.

But now he is just within the range of the boss's instant kill skill. If he retreats now, it is too late!

Seeing the boss's scarlet eyes falling and locking onto Kirito, despair appeared on Kirito's face. At this moment, many things flashed through his mind, and the last image was Asuna's smiling face.

He had promised Asuna to protect her, but now he was breaking that promise.

Just as the boss grinned and the black ball of light in his hand was about to explode, a calm voice sounded in Kirito's ears.

"Kirito, this is not like you. Are you giving up so easily? Isn't Asuna still waiting for you? Besides, don't you want to find the traitor who changed the boss's investigation information?"

Kirito was slightly stunned, then turned his head to look to his side and found that his good friend Lin Bei had actually come to his side without him noticing.

Kirito immediately looked serious and pushed Lin Bei back: "Why are you coming here! It's not impossible to sacrifice me in exchange for the correct information of the boss. If you come here, then the goal of conquering the 100th floor boss will not be achieved at all, right?"

Lin Bei ignored Kirito. He shook his head helplessly, blocked Kirito behind him, and faced the boss in front of him and used a one-kill move.

With two loud bangs, the black light ball in the boss's hand suddenly exploded. In the terrifying black light, Lin Bei raised his hand slightly and used the power of the Shadow King.

Black light instantly covered the entire boss room. Just as Lin Bei said, all the players standing in front of him would be eliminated, and all the players on the outermost edge would survive.

Black light diffused in the room, blocking everyone's vision. Asuna looked at the scene with despair on her face, her legs went limp and she sat on the ground.

Her eyes were misty as she stared ahead in disbelief. In the black light, that was where Kirito and Lin Bei should have been standing.

But now, there is nothing but darkness.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Asuna covered her face in despair and bit her lips tightly to prevent herself from crying out.

She knew that now was not the time to give up, as all of them were in danger. As the deputy leader of the Scarlet Knights, she had to be the first to step forward and stabilize everyone.

She likes Kirito and regards him as more important than her own life, but after that, she is the shining Asuna, the vice-leader of the Scarlet Knights, and she is also responsible for the missions and lives of countless people.

At this moment, Asuna was forcing herself to stay calm. Around her, countless players had actually seen Kirito and Lin Bei being engulfed by the skill, and they all fell into panic.

They didn't understand. The investigation intelligence didn't mention at all that the boss would change his attack method. Why did this happen suddenly?

That means the following information is wrong, and they have to figure it out on their own? If they figure it out on their own, there will definitely be casualties. You have to know that in the game of SAO, death means real death, including the body in reality.

Their strategy team fought so many levels of bosses, and there were indeed casualties, but there had never been a large-scale casualty situation.

This time, I'm afraid no more than ten people will survive.

Just as everyone was panicking, a man walked up to Asuna, put his hand on her shoulder, and whispered comforting words.

"Lady Asuna, please cheer up. Everyone needs you now. You must not fall down. Please, lead us to defeat the boss and conquer this floor."

Asuna slowly raised her head and saw the person who was trying to comfort her, the swordsman Krader who was protecting her.

Although he was a little neurotic at times, he generally completed the tasks assigned to him very well.

Asuna took a deep breath and stood up with the help of Kradir. Kradir was right. If they wanted to ensure the survival of the vast majority of people, they must not lose their composure at this time.

Even when facing the unknown second stage of the boss, their strategy team will never admit defeat and must send all the players back to the real world.

Thinking of this, Asuna suppressed the grief in her heart and rekindled her fighting spirit. She drew the long sword from her waist, pointed in the direction of the boss, and shouted orders.

"Don't panic, reposition according to your respective groups. Groups with missing members, including the odd-numbered ones, will be replaced by the even-numbered ones. Everyone, listen to me..."

Before he could finish his words, the surrounding players suddenly exclaimed.

Asuna was startled, thinking that the boss had made another move. She quickly looked in the boss' direction, only to find that the boss had flown into the air but did not attack them.

The boss's hatred seemed to be attracted by something, and he kept looking down at the black light.

what is that?
Asuna was both surprised and confused. Her brows gradually furrowed, and she raised her hand to ask all the players to prepare for defense. Then she slowly stepped forward and tried to get closer to the black light.

Seeing this, Kradir became a little worried about Asuna, so he also held the sword and followed Asuna's steps.

Just as they were about to approach the boss' melee range, a calm voice suddenly came from the front.

"Asuna, don't move any closer. Just stay here and watch how this boss dies."

Asuna suddenly covered her mouth and tears of joy flowed down. That was Lin Bei's voice!

Since Lin Bei is alive, that means Kirito must be alive too!

Just as Asuna guessed, the next second, the black light in front exploded and turned into black liquid and disappeared. The black liquid slowly fell to the ground and all gathered back at the feet of one person.

That person is Lin Bei.

Moreover, next to Lin Bei, Kirito was also unharmed. He was looking up at Lin Bei with astonishment.

Kirito didn't understand. He had already judged in his heart that he was doomed to die, and according to the game mechanism, the boss's skill was an instant kill skill, and no other skill could resist it.

But why can Lin Bei block it?

Not only did he block it, he didn't even lose any blood, which means that the boss's instant kill skill didn't cause him any damage at all.

Kirito was extremely shocked. He didn't understand what skill Lin Bei had just used.
In SAO, this is a sword game, and players are not allowed to use magic, but what Lin Bei just used was clearly a magic skill, right?

Is he a cheater?
The so-called cheaters are those who use cheats, but the problem is that this game has been blocked by Kayaba Akihiko as a death game, so it is impossible to use cheats.

So how did Lin Bei do this?
Asuna and the players in the distance were equally shocked.

Everyone present was an experienced player, so they naturally understood the value of this boss's instant kill skill.

But why did Lin Bei not only survive, but also Kirito survive?

What skill or prop was the black liquid he just used?
After nearly a year and a half in SAO, they had never heard of such skills and props.

At once, everyone thought of the cheater.

The way they looked at Lin Bei also became strange.

Lin Bei didn't have time to pay attention to the players' discussions. He just raised his head and looked at the boss above him. He smiled coldly and raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Amid the crowd's exclamations, a fireball appeared out of thin air. As Lin Bei moved his fingers, the fireball suddenly became brighter and then flew towards the boss.

The boss wasn't very smart after all. He had no intention of dodging at all and was even arrogantly provoking Lin Bei.

But when the fireball hit the boss heavily, flames instantly spread all over his body. The boss screamed in pain, but the fire on his body could not be put out at all.

As the flames burned, the health bar above the boss's head dropped at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before anyone could react, the boss's health bar was completely empty.

When the boss fell down and turned into a chip and disappeared in the room, the words "Strategy Successful" appeared in front of everyone.

As the person who delivered the final blow to kill the boss, Lin Bei checked the reward and found it was quite generous. However, he had no use for it, so he transferred it to Kirito.

After Kirito received the reward, he took a few deep breaths and looked at Lin Bei in disbelief.

Kirito got up from the ground and stumbled to Lin Bei. He grabbed Lin Bei's arm with both hands and asked in a low voice in shock.

"Lin Bei, who are you? What happened to that move just now? There's no magic in this game! What did you do? Also, you used that magic move in front of so many people. Have you ever thought about what other players will say about you? They will say you are a cheater, exclude you, isolate you, and make it impossible for you to survive in this game!"

The reason why Kirito said this was because these were things he had experienced. Just because he showed some moves that were slightly different from ordinary people, he was labeled a cheater. If he hadn't met Lin Bei later, he would have continued to walk alone.

Lin Bei looked down at Kirito. He saw worry and concern in Kirito's eyes, but no disgust.

He knew that Kirito truly regarded him as a friend and partner.

Lin Bei curled his lips slightly and patted Kirito's shoulder as if to comfort him.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here, and I can let you go home early."

He didn't make his words clear, but Kirito understood what he meant.

There was confusion in Kirito's eyes. The Lin Bei in front of him seemed a little different. He became more mysterious than before, yet more reliable than before.

Why is that?
Did something happen to Lin Bei when he was fighting the boss just now? (End of this chapter)