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I watched SAO on Crunchyroll, where the subtitles for episode 2 have Kirito
saying:

> I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew
> the bosses skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors
> far above us.

At the time, I just accepted this as "Kirito is just that good," which was
born out by his skills and abilities later on in the series. After all,
_someone_ had to be the best.

However, [this question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/13233/2139) claims
he lied during that speech, and I've since checked the dubbed version, where
he says

> During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other
> testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss 'cause I fought tons of
> monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors.

The implication of word choice and tone in the dub does sound like the kind of
exaggerated bragging that gamers do when they're claiming preposterous things,
but the subs don't convey that to me at all.

Is there any information showing whether he was _actually_ lying? Was he just
a good beta tester (possibly in the lead group), or was he really
significantly above everyone else?


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Did Kirito lie about being the *best* beta tester?


He was a Beta Tester. Klein identified Kirito as one in the first episode
before Kayaba trapped all the players. The [Sword Art Online
Wiki](http://swordartonline.wikia.com/wiki/Klein#Aincrad_Arc) also confirms
this:

> Early in the official version of the game, he noticed and identified Kirito
> as a beta tester, and asked to be taught the basics of fighting.

However, what Kirito was lying about was **how far he got** during the Beta
testing phase. In fact, he only got to the 10th floor during the Beta, which
was about as far any of the Beta Players got:

> One of the lucky 1000 players accepted into the closed-beta, Kirito logged
> hundreds of hours of playtime. He, along with the other top players, were
> able to reach the 10th Floor before the beta had ended.

Source: [Kirito: Sword Art Online Closed
Beta](http://swordartonline.wikia.com/wiki/Kirito#Sword_Art_Online_Closed_Beta)

Also, the article on [Beta
Tester](http://swordartonline.wikia.com/wiki/Beta_Tester) says

> The beta period lasted until the August 31, 2022 and the beta testers
> managed to reach the 10th Floor by the end of the beta.

In both instances, it says that they _reached_ the 10th floor, not cleared it.

* * *

However, as cited in my question that you link to, during the scene, Kirito
claimed that (emphasis mine):

> **Kirito:** **I** made it to floors **not even the other Beta players**
> could reach.

What he claimed contradicts with the information from the Wiki, so I think
Kirito is lying about his progress.

Also Kirito seemed to be out of character when he acted stuck up and looked
down at the other Beta Players as he compared himself to them and accepted the
term Beater. So while Kirito is one of the top Beta Players, I believe he was
lying about his own progress during this scene1.

1 This is based on watching the anime. I have not read the light novels.


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You can think that's a lie, but not totally.

> I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew
> the bosses skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors
> far above us.

There are two possible interpretations of his claim:

  1. _Kirito made it to higher floors than anyone else._

This is incorrect, because you cannot go to higher floor without defeating the
boss first. And, after you defeat it, everyone else can go to the next floor
through the teleport door.

  2. _Kirito have more experience than others._

This is probably correct, because from Light Novel Volume 1 - Chapter 2:

> The two months of beta testing were like a dream. At school I thought
> endlessly of my skill set, equipment, and items. I ran all the way home as
> soon as school ended and dived till dawn. The beta test ended in the blink
> of an eye. On the day my character was reset, I felt a sense of loss as if
> half of my actual self had been cut away.

Because of this, you can assume that Kirito had spent a lot of time on the
game, maybe more than others. Maybe he compiled more floor map information
than other players... maybe, he knew more mobs, but he couldn't know mobs or
bosses from upper floors. All information which Kirito knew was also available
for other beta players if they tried to view it (maybe, but unique quests were
unlikely to be made public).

There's no info about boss defeat in beta, but there probably wasn't any boss
defeated by Kirito only (but that's my opinion).


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I think that he lied in that scene because he wanted to get all the hate
towards him. He must've did that to make betas not receive so much hate. But,
he could have meant he leveled up wayyyy higher then other betas. Though I
still think he did that to make the betas receive less hate and not to brag.


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Yes, Kirito did lie. Before Klein tried to log out, he said that he reached
till floor 8 in 2 months. About the term "beater" in the extra edition of SAO,
the guy said that he accepted his fate just to keep other beta testers from
being hated.


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Ok, I have an idea. This was the beta, right? So wouldn't there be bugs? What
if he wasn't lying about advancing past other beta testers? What if he found a
glitch a way to pass floors with nothing stopping him?

Also what if he fought the bosses, but merely got them low and claimed he beat
them. But just before killing the boss he would leave, but not without reward.
Because that reward would be knowing how to fight and beat the bosses. The
boss would live to continue keeping the gate closed for other testers. So
perhaps he did go to other floors farther above. And since it's the beta, the
bosses may be easier to fight. They may have the same abilities in the alpha
but their attack damage and maybe attack speed had increased. Or maybe more HP
and less damage but maybe the room itself worked against you. Like hidden
traps for the boss to push or somehow get you into.

So, in conclusion, I believe that he _did_ make it way higher than other beta
testers but in a way that made it impossible for them to progress without
finding that glitch. Being able to advance levels just before killing the
boss. Maybe even acquiring new items. I don't believe that you'd get a
plethora of items at the start of the game. But seeing as he said previously
that he was imagining item builds means that he may have more items then just
beginner items.


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I believe he made this statement to try and remove the hate towards other Beta
testers and direct it at himself.


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Maybe he did actually get higher than the other beta testers. In the anime
when Kirito claims that he made it to higher floors than any other beta tester
it shows a map of Aincrad flying by in the background. As the map pans by you
can count the floor levels highlighted in red. If you count the floors it ends
up at the 29th floor. This appears that if he was saying he went to higher
floors than any other beta tester he wound up on the 29th floor without
passing it. Although this does not confirm if he really did end up on the 29th
floor or not, I think it can be assumed that he is claiming he went to the
29th floor.

This also maybe just a cool background that the anime chose to show to
represent the idea that he has made it to high levels.


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