Diabel arranges a meeting later that day for anyone who's willing to help us defeat Illfang. He sets it for tomorrow afternoon in the amphitheater, then insists on paying for my lodging. I politely refuse, saying that I could never ask him to do that.
"Oh, don't worry about it," he says. "I've been around the block a few times." Then, with a mischievous grin, he goes off to get himself a room.
I lie awake that night thinking about what he meant. He's been around the block? We've only been in the game for a few weeks. Has he learned that much about the game already? If so, that's commitment. But if he'd been that intent on clearing the floors, wouldn't he have spent more time searching for the Boss Room? Unless he was developing skills... but then why would he need an entourage to defeat Illfang? Then it hits me.
He's a Beta Tester.
Before they released Sword Art Online, about a thousand kids got to pre-test the game, to make sure it was in working order. Almost all of them returned to the game for the opening, and they have more knowledge about how to get money, where to get quests, and how to defeat the Bosses. Diabel must have been one of them.
I get up out of anxiety and sharpen my sword. After that I sleep soundly through the night, waiting for what is surely to come tomorrow.
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Reaching 100: A Sword Art Online Fanfiction
FanfictionHaruko Kurosawa is not exactly noticeable. Her father was a drug addict who left Tokyo to deal with his problems, then came back and divorced her mother when she was eight. Her friends at school seem preoccupied, and once people see the real her, it...
