Chapter 042- Forced Mission!

A week has passed since the reveal of Heathcliff's true identity, and the news of his betrayal has spread throughout the SAO community.

Heathcliff has become the most hated NPC in the game, and players have united in their hatred of him.

That day, after Heathcliff's true identity was revealed, both his guild members and his red player allies turned against him.

Despite their animosity towards Rifat, their hatred for the creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba, exceeded all other emotions.

They knew that defeating Heathcliff was the only way to clear the game and escape back to the real world.

After Heathcliff's true identity as the final boss was revealed, the players present there felt betrayed by him.

They had already been through so much in this game and now, to find out that the person they had been working with and trusting was actually their final enemy, was too much for them to handle.

Their anger and hatred towards Heathcliff reached a boiling point and they were ready to attack him, regardless of the consequences.

After the failed attempts to attack and kill Heathcliff, the players realized that they couldn't harm him since he was protected by the system.

They knew that they needed to come up with a plan if they wanted to defeat him. They were filled with a burning desire for revenge and wanted to make Heathcliff pay for his deception.

But they also knew that rushing into a battle without proper planning could lead to their demise. So, they decided to take some time to formulate a strategy and gather resources before facing Heathcliff in the boss room on the 100th floor.

But before they could even do anything, the players from Knight of Blood Oaths received a notification from the game stating that any player who is under the guild of Heathcliff will be given a special status called "Soldier of the Last".

This status requires them to defend Heathcliff against other players on the 100th floor. As a reward for their loyalty, they will be given a one-time resurrection ticket in the game.

However, failure to comply with any of Heathcliff's instructions will result in instant death.

After seeing the notification, all the players from 'Knights of the Blood Oath' were crestfallen.

They realized that they had been tricked by Heathcliff and were now bound to serve him in defending against the other players in floor 100.

Despite their displeasure, they had no choice but to comply with the mission given by the game and became soldiers of the last.

The players couldn't help but blame themselves for failing to recognize Heathcliff's true intentions from the beginning and believing in his false promises of getting them out of the game.

This kind of notification was also presented in front of players from the red players alliance, but their notification was slightly different.

It stated that any player that was allied with Heathcliff is given the special status of 'Soldier of the Last'. They were also required to help Heathcliff in defending against the other players on the 100th floor.

In return, all of their past and future crimes inside the game would be pardoned, and their health bar would be permanently turned green.

However, the consequence of failing to comply with any of Heathcliff's instruction remained the same and would result in instant death.

While both the red players and Heathcliff's former guildmates received similar missions, their rewards were vastly different.

The players of 'Knights of the Blood Oath' were given an extra life, which they could use if they died while defending the 100th floor against other players.

On the other hand, the red players were offered a permanent pardon for all their past and future crimes in the game, and their health bars would turn green, indicating that they will no longer have to be a target for other players and can get way committing any kind of crime.

However, if they failed to comply with Heathcliff's instructions and were killed by other players, they would truly be killed, with no chance of revival unlike the former guildmates of Heathcliff.

...

---Dawn Meeting Room---

Rifat addressed the Argo as they all gathered in the meeting room. "Argo, could you please give me the latest scouting reports?"

Argo nodded and began to share the gathered intel. "After conducting some probes on the 100th floor, we have gathered the following information."

Argo presented her scouting report to Rifat and the other Knights of the Blood Oath gathered in the meeting room.

She began, "To begin with, I have some bad news. There is no safe zone on the 100th floor. The towns and cities there are controlled by Heathcliff's players, and they are free to attack and kill other players without any consequences from the game's systems. We've already lost several spies due to this situation."

"Secondly, we found no traces of monster NPCs on the 100th floor. Our scouts have extensively searched the area, but there was no sign of them, unlike the other floors where we usually encounter them."

"Thirdly, we have also confirmed that the players allied with Heathcliff have been assigned as guardians to replace the usual monster NPCs found on other floors. This means that the players on Heathcliff's side will be the ones initiating attacks against intruders in the 100th floor."

"Additionally, as for the rewards for participating in the defense of the 100th floor, those who were formerly part of Heathcliff's guild will have the ability to be respawned once after death."

"On the other hand, the red players who joined Heathcliff's side will have all of their past and future crimes within the game pardoned and will have their health bars permanently turned green. However, they will still only have one life and cannot be respawned if they die."

"Lastly, we were able to identify some loopholes in the mission assigned by the system to those players."

"Although the players are compelled to battle against other players who invade the 100th floor, there are no restrictions on their communication. Therefore, we have been able to extract valuable information from them, such as the location of the boss room and Heathcliff's current whereabouts."

"We have also confirmed that the game's system cannot determine if a player is fighting to their fullest potential or not. Therefore, as long as Heathcliff's allies engage in combat with us, even if they do not put in their best effort, the game's system will not consider it a violation of their mission."

"That is all the intel we have gathered thus far," Argo finished.

Rifat expressed his satisfaction with Argo's report and praised her for gathering such valuable information in just a week.

He then turned to the other members in the room and addressed them, "As you just heard from Argo's report, there is no other option for us but to fight our fellow players to clear the last floor. However, if we are careful and have a good strategy, we can minimize the casualties."

"If any of you have any ideas on how we should proceed in this battle, please speak up. Your input is valuable."