Asuna gritted her silver teeth tightly, as if forcing the words out with all her strength:
"It's just… incomprehensible!"
Liten murmured in confusion as well:
"But… if they keep doing this, it only delays their chances of escaping SAO…"
This was a question none of them could answer definitively.
PoH and his PK group didn't follow any logical rules—their actions were completely unpredictable.
That very unpredictability might have been their greatest advantage.
"I have a theory,"
Argo said as she rested her chin on her hand.
"Have you ever heard of the Bartle Test?"
Akimi, who was leaning against the wall, replied:
"The Bartle Test? That one that classifies game players into four types, right?"
The others didn't recognize the term Argo had suddenly brought up.
Only Akimi had encountered it before in a book about game design philosophy.
"That's right," Argo nodded, raising a finger.
"The first type is Achievers—they're collectors. These players strive to accomplish all in-game objectives, reach the highest level, gather the best equipment, complete all quests, and collect every achievement."
"The second type is Explorers. They try to uncover every bit of information on the game map, combing through the game world again and again. They're passionate about discovering new areas and love uncovering small, maybe even useless tricks hidden on the map."
"The third type is Socializers. Their goal isn't the game itself, but to fulfill the social needs they can't satisfy in real life. Their favorite activities are cooperating with others to defeat monsters or managing guilds."
"And the final type is Killers—players who kill other players. What brings them joy is slaying others. You could say… they find happiness through violence.
PoH and his group might fall into this category."
Argo laid out all the categories from the Bartle Test.
Akimi shrugged and slowly added:
"The reason Killers exist is pretty simple—either they're losers in real life trying to dominate in-game… or they're cowards who can only take out their frustrations in a virtual world…
Or maybe they're just plain psychos who enjoy the thrill of making others feel afraid."
"It's just… unforgivable!" Asuna snapped, her brows sharply rising in anger.
"To build their joy on the suffering of others… what even is that supposed to be?!"
Akimi stood off to the side with his arms crossed, eyelids slightly lowered, saying nothing—though in truth, people like that were everywhere in real life.
The so-called "keyboard warriors" were the perfect example.
They never cared about what the truth of the matter was.
All they wanted was to vent their anger—anger they didn't dare express in real life—on the internet, without ever considering the consequences.
In a way, they could be considered real-life Killers.
Just thinking about it made it obvious: among the 8,000 surviving players in SAO, there were bound to be plenty of such people.
They probably didn't have much of a problem with PK behavior to begin with, and with just a bit of provocation, they might easily cross that dangerous line.
And that was exactly what Akimi and the others were worried about.
While the group remained silent, a noisy clamor suddenly echoed from below—the final match of the night seemed to have begun.
Akimi curled his lips into a strange smile, then slung his right arm around Kirito's neck and loudly teased:
"Say, if ALS or DKB actually wins 100,000 chips and walks away with that ridiculously flashy sword, do you think our Mister Moody here will get so jealous he'll cry?"
His words broke the heavy atmosphere—but completely froze the expression on Kirito's face.
"I… I would never!" Kirito growled through gritted teeth.
After thinking for a moment, a sly grin tugged at his lips.
Fine, he thought, two can play at that game.
With a cold chuckle and mocking tone, he shot back:
"Yeah, and maybe they'll take that sword to the beach, bask in the sun, and watch the guild girls walk around in swimsuits—achieving the dream our dear rich boy here's been pining for, just like that!"
Now it was Akimi's turn for his expression to darken.
Sure, he didn't mind not going to the beach—but seriously, was it okay to say out loud that he wanted to see girls in swimsuits?
Unable to hide his discomfort, he stiffly turned his head toward Asuna, who was sitting on the bench smiling sweetly.
And then, Yu Wenjun, clueless about the tension, added fuel to the fire:
"Huh? So that's what you're into?
Well, I guess it is a pretty normal thing for a guy to want, after all."
Well, Akimi was now completely speechless.
He looked at Kirito, who had a mischievous grin on his face, and Yu Wenjun, who was just innocently blurting things out, and could only mumble in frustration—God, someone help me.
I've just been wrecked by two hopeless guys today.
Asuna was chatting and laughing with Argo and Liten, seemingly paying no attention to what the boys had said.
But the moment she noticed Akimi's gaze, she turned her head slightly and gave him a gentle smile.
But that gentle smile brought no warmth to Tomioka at all.
Instead, he felt a chill run straight down his spine.
It was the same feeling as when your girlfriend somehow finds out you've been secretly fantasizing about seeing pretty girls in swimsuits.
He swallowed hard and cursed Kirito a hundred times in his heart before quickly trying to change the subject.
"Uh… why don't we go check out the final match between the two major guilds?
I bet it'll be really interesting."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and started walking toward the Monster Arena—though his pace made it look more like he was fleeing the scene.
About twenty minutes later, the match ended, and just as they had guessed, both guilds had followed the predictions from that so-called Sure-win secret manual, and they both went all-in.
But that also meant they lost all the chips they had accumulated so far—
A combined total of 100,000 chips between the two major guilds.
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