There's a difference between illogical behaviour from fear and being downright stupid. And people die on his watch.... literally because he won't reveal his level. That's the cause of the deaths, but it's a really dumb plot device which only exists to nerf his absurd power and force idiotic drama.
Exactly. Then why does everyone, with the exception of Asuna, fucking suck at the game 2 years later?
Dude, he hacks into the game within under a minute to prevent the AI kid from being deleted. That's not competent. It's retarded.