-426- How should I address you?

Inside the massive egg-shaped room, the Skull Reaper's roars echoed like a raging storm as players fought desperately against this terrifying monster.

Heathcliff had completely withdrawn from the front lines, disregarding the confusion and urgency of the players on the front, coldly observing the scene.

Rozen stood beside Heathcliff, maintaining his command with a relaxed tone even in this urgent and dynamic situation. He casually spoke,

"Impressed?"

Rozen spoke as if he didn't care.

"Why do you say that?"

Heathcliff, despite the circumstances, marveled at Rozen's ability to command over seven hundred players efficiently.

Even though he was commanding a group of over seven hundred people, and the battle was constantly changing every second, Rozen maintained his high-level thinking and leadership skills in this situation.

He provided clear instructions, and even managed to engage in conversation with some minor adjustments, showcasing his exceptional abilities.

Heathcliff observed Rozen in awe, displaying genuine admiration and respect for him. Surprisingly, a faint smile appeared on Heathcliff's otherwise cold face.

Then, Heathcliff spoke.

"As you've said, the 75th-floor boss should have been the most formidable obstacle before reaching the 100th floor. According to the plan, many players were expected to die here, leaving only a few elites."

Heathcliff said in a calm tone.

"Yet, you've altered that outcome with your abilities. I am truely impressed."

Heathcliff spoke with an air of calm detachment and transcendence, saying.

"In the capacity of a 'game developer'."

This sentence resounded clearly in Rozen's ears and also reached the ears of the players who had been anxiously observing Heathcliff's unexpected withdrawal from the front lines.

"What!?" Kirito's expression froze.

"A game developer!?" Klein's face turned pale.

"---!" Agil could hardly believe his ears.

"Guild Leader?" Even Asuna widened her eyes in disbelief.

As for the other players, they all fell into turmoil.

"A game developer?"

"What does this mean?"

"What's going on!?"

Players began shouting one after another. Especially the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath found themselves unavoidably shaken.

The front line descended into chaos, allowing the nearly depleted Skull Reaper to rampage once more, charging and striking.

If it weren't for Rozen's command in this state of mental disarray, countless players would have undoubtedly died in this deadly chaos.

Rozen paid no heed to the players' confusion and continued to command.

Perhaps due to the long-standing trust he had earned, even in their panicked state, the players instinctively followed Rozen's orders.

Catastrophe was averted, and the worst outcome was prevented.

Rozen didn't blame Heathcliff for deliberately uttering words that would sow chaos in the battle lines.

Instead, he had only one thought.

"Is this really okay?" Rozen said casually. "To reveal your own identity like this."

In response, Heathcliff chuckled wryly. "Well, you've already figured it out, haven't you?"

Indeed, Rozen had already figured it out.

No, it would be more accurate to say he had suspected.

"The starting point was the incident with Kuradeel, right?"

Heathcliff voiced the source of Rozen's suspicions.

Indeed, at that time, Rozen had already begun to suspect Heathcliff's identity.

It was all because, just before Kuradeel shattered into polygonal fragments at the Transfer Gate plaza in Kamdet, Rozen, using his Mind's Eye skill, sensed an anomaly.

At that moment, Rozen perceived a change in the world.

What kind of change?

Gravity disappeared.

Time stopped.

The air froze.

Heaven and Earth solidified.

It was a change akin to the fundamental laws of the world being distorted and altered, and Rozen's Mind's Eye caught a glimpse of it.

This seemed like an incredibly unbelievable event.

However, upon closer examination, it was not at all surprising that such things could occur in this world.

Because this world was virtual, composed entirely of data. It could change due to the input of a program, it could differ due to the emergence of a setting. And the person with the authority to do this was referred to as a game master, or "GM."

However, this world had no GMs; there was only one developer with management permissions.

That was Kayaba Akihiko, meaning that on that day, Kayaba Akihiko had used his GM privileges to execute Kuradeel on the spot.

So, Rozen could sense the world's changes through his Mind's Eye ability.

This was because it was caused by the commotion Kayaba Akihiko had created when manipulating SAO player characters using his GM privileges.

Clearly, on that day, Kuradeel's arrogant boasting had incurred Kayaba Akihiko's displeasure, prompting him to use his privileges to break the game's rules and remove Kuradeel from this world.

Coincidentally, on that day, Rozen also heard a sound.

"Ding."

It was a pleasant sound effect.

Undoubtedly, players should be very familiar with this sound effect. It was the sound of opening the main menu. This sound effect was subtle, drowned out by Kuradeel's maniacal laughter, and hardly anyone heard it.

But Rozen heard it and saw clearly the player who had called up the main menu at that moment.

Subsequently, the world began to change, and Kuradeel's game character was erased, completely exiting the game.

It was such a remarkable coincidence, timing, and abnormality that Rozen couldn't help but become suspicious.

Given this, Rozen couldn't help but fix his gaze on the person who had summoned the main menu at that critical moment. And that person was Heathcliff.

In other words,

"How should I address you?"

Rozen calmly stated these words.

"Should I continue calling you Heathcliff? Or should I call you Kayaba Akihiko?"

Rozen's voice was devoid of emotion. In response, Heathcliff made no statement, only murmuring softly

"I guess I've been found out, after all."

It seemed that Heathcliff had known all along that Rozen was suspicious of him.

Although Heathcliff didn't know how Rozen had come to suspect him, he knew Rozen well enough to understand that the leader of this miraculously skilled clearing group would not have low-level reasoning.

Furthermore, Rozen's reactions at that time had already alerted Heathcliff to the fact that he had been discovered.

So, Heathcliff chose to reveal himself willingly at this moment.

"You can call me whatever you like, Guildmaster Rozen."

Heathcliff responded in this manner, acknowledging his true identity.