"Who is the guild master? Tell me everything we know about him." Rifat asked though he already guessed who the person is.
"His in-game name is Heathcliff. We have very little information about this person. From what Argo told me, it is as if he suddenly appeared in the game a few weeks ago since she couldn't find any kind of information about this person other than the recent events."
"We only know that his avatar is a knight in armor and wields a large shield and sword. He is known for his incredible strength and fighting ability. From the strength that was shown by him, it can be concluded that he is at the frontmost of players in terms of level. After revealing himself to the public, he has been trying to gather other players to join his guild."
"Argo told me that he has somehow managed to gather the loyalty of the players that joined his guild within a short period of time. So, he must have great charm as a leader. That's everything we know about this person." Rosalia listed out all the information that Argo managed to gather so far about Heathcliff.
'It seems the AI created by Akhiko is already on the work.' Rifat thought without worrying too much since he knows with the current reputation of his guild 'Dawn', it is quite an impossible task for Heathcliff to surpass as long as he doesn't resort to cheating.
'Though I am quite confident with my guild, I shouldn't take him too lightly either. Since he will be the final boss on the 100th floor, it would be best interest to me if I don't let them grow too much. Otherwise, even if I am on the stronger side, the casualty will be too great when we do fight against him.' Rifat thought.
"I want you to keep an eye on them. It would be best if you can find any kind of dirt on Heathcliff. I don't want their guild to grow too much. As a matter of fact, I don't want any guild to grow to the point where they will be a threat to us."
"So, you can inform some players to suppress them whenever possible without letting anyone suspect we are the one who is doing it," Rifat ordered.
.....
(With Heathcliff)
The day Heathcliff was created by Akihiko, he was also imparted with a mission. A mission to create the most powerful guild in the SAO and challenge the players as floor bosses when they reach the 100th floor.
So, when he was released in SAO as a player, the first thing he did was collect information about the current situation of the players. He soon managed to find out that the most powerful guild right now is 'Dawn' and it would be very hard for him to surpass it.
But he was far from being deterred. Heathcliff, as an AI knew that his thinking was far superior to normal humans since he is able to calculate things at a speed that humans can only dream of. So, without any fear, he happily took it as a challenge and started his plans to create a guild that will be able to give challenge to 'Dawn'
He began by carefully selecting a few players who he believed would be the best candidates for his guild. He sought out players who were not only strong fighters but also had good leadership skills and the ability to work well with others. Once he had assembled a small team, he started training them in secret.
Heathcliff knew that Rifat's guild, Dawn, was the most powerful in the game, and he knew that he would need to be careful not to draw too much attention to his own guild's growth. He made sure that his guild members were discreet and only took on quests that would not bring too much attention to themselves.
As his guild members became stronger and more skilled, Heathcliff began to increase the number of quests they took on. He made sure that his guild members were constantly improving their skills and working together to overcome any obstacles that they encountered.
Heathcliff also knew that he needed to gain the respect of the other players in SAO. He made sure that his guild members acted with honor and integrity at all times, and he made sure that they were always willing to help other players in need. This earned his guild a reputation for being one of the most honorable and respected in the game.
Despite his careful planning, Heathcliff still faced challenges. Rifat was always watching, and he knew that any attempt to challenge Rifat's guild's dominance would be met with fierce resistance. However, Heathcliff was determined to succeed, and he continued to work hard to build his guild's strength and reputation.
Eventually, Heathcliff's guild became the second most powerful in SAO. While it was still not as strong as Dawn, it was a formidable force that commanded respect from the other players in the game.
.....
---Time Skip---
Rifat is sitting on his chair in the main office of his guild while looking at the information presented to him by Argo.
'As expected of the AI created by Akihiko! With his careful planning, he still managed to make his guild the second most powerful in the game. Even though it is far from rivaling my guild, it was no easy feat considering how much I tried to suppress them in the dark.'
The most amazing thing Heathcliff did in the game was to gather the respect of other players by helping them out on several occasions. He even helped out some players from Rifat's guild sometimes.
And that is the sole reason, Rifat didn't attack Heathcliff's guild in the open despite their meteoric rise over the months. If he does attack his guild in the open despite the reputation he has among the players, it would most probably chill the hearts of the players especially those players who got help from him.
Since Rifat has no way of killing Heathcliff before reaching floor 100, the act of openly suppressing the knight of the blood oath would only give Heathcliff more opportunity to gather more players under his wing.
So, for now, Rifat can only grit his teeth and try his best to not let it grow too much by the time they reach floor 100.
'We are now on floor 75. There is still 25 more left. Even though I can't openly go against him, I can still play some tricks to keep them from growing too much.' Rifat fell into deep thought as he started to think of some countermeasures.
'Yes, this is it.' His eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of something.
"Rosalia, send a letter to Heathcliff saying that our guild wants to team up with him in order to hasten the process of clearing the floors." Rifat gave out a treacherous smile as he ordered her to do that.
This time, Rifat plans to use Heathcliff's reputation against him. Since he has appeared as a good guy in front of other players, Rifat plans to use that and ask him and his guild members to be the tank in future fights against any floor bosses.
That way, Rifat will be able to minimize the number of players under Heathcliff without needing to act by himself. Though he will have to share some loot from the boss by doing this, the gains far outweigh the loss.