The forest path that extended to the maze area was surrounded by warm air. The terrifying atmosphere from last night seemed to be a lie and completely disappeared. The morning light that shone in from the treetops formed several light pillars, and butterflies fluttered in the gaps between the light pillars. Unfortunately, this was just a visual effect without a physical body. Even if he chased after it, he would not be able to catch a real butterfly.
Our footsteps made a comfortable rustling sound as we stepped on the soft and lush grass. At this moment, Asuna teased me,"
"By the way, why do you always wear the same clothes?」
I couldn't reply and could only look at my own body. He could see that he was wearing a dirty and old black leather coat, a shirt and trousers of the same color, and almost no metal armor.
[What, what does it matter?] If I have money to buy clothes, I'd rather eat something good…"
"Is there any reasonable reason why you're dressed in black? Or is it just for styling?"
" You, you still dare to criticize me? You always wear red and white as if you're celebrating a festival…"
I replied as I habitually scanned my surroundings. There was no reaction from the monsters. However…
" What can I do? This is the guild's uniform... Hmm? "What's wrong?"
[No…]
I quickly raised my right hand and interrupted Asuna. A player's reaction appeared almost outside the enemy search range. He focused his gaze on the back and saw several green arrows that indicated the existence of players flashing continuously.
This couldn't be a criminal organization formed by players. Those guys would only find players who were lower in level than them, so they rarely appeared at the front line where the strongest players gathered. Moreover, once a player committed a crime, there would be a long period of time where the arrow's color would change from green to orange. But what I care about now is the number of people in this group and the way they line up.
He called out the map from the main menu and set it to visible mode so that Asuna could see it too. On the map that showed the surrounding forest terrain, a green light that showed the player's location appeared because of the effect of the enemy search skill. There were a total of twelve players.
[So many…]
I nodded in agreement. If there were too many people in a team, it would be difficult for them to cooperate with each other. Therefore, they usually formed a team of five or six people.
"And look at the way they line up.」
The light spots that were rapidly approaching us from the edge of the map were moving in two neat rows. It would be fine if they were in a dangerous maze, but in this training area where there were no powerful monsters, it was quite rare for them to form such an orderly formation.
If he could know the level of the members of this group, he would be able to roughly infer their origins. However, players who did not know each other would not easily show their names on the arrow, let alone their levels. All of this was to prevent random " PK ", which was the default mode set to prevent players from killing. At times like this, they could only use their naked eyes to inspect their equipment and deduce their levels.
I closed the map and glanced at Asuna.
[I want to confirm. Let's just hide to the side and let them walk past.」
[Alright.]
Asuna nodded nervously. The two of us left the road and climbed up the slope. After finding a bush that was about as tall as our height, we hid under the shade of the trees there. This was the best position to observe the road below from above.
[Ah…]
Asuna suddenly noticed what she was wearing. The red and white uniforms were very eye-catching in the green bushes.
[What should I do? I didn't bring a change of clothes...]
The light dots on the map were already quite close to them, and they were about to enter the visible range of the naked eye.
[Sorry…]
I opened the front of my leather coat and wrapped it around Asuna who was squatting beside me. Although she glared at me, she still obediently hid her body under her coat. Although the black tattered coat was not pretty, its concealment function was quite strong. If we hide so carefully, as long as the other party doesn't use a high-level enemy search skill to search, they shouldn't be able to find us.
"You see, my clothes come in handy occasionally.」
"Really! Shh…they're coming!"
After Asuna finished speaking in a low voice, she put her finger in front of her lips. We immediately crouched down even lower. At this moment, we could hear some rather rhythmic footsteps.
Not long after, the figure of the group appeared on the winding road ahead.
Everyone was a Swordsman. They were all wearing bronze metal armor and dark green combat suits. The equipment was all quite practical. However, the large shields held by the six people in front of them were engraved with a rather obvious castle pattern.
The weapons of the six avant-garde players were single-handed swords. The six defenders held huge axes and spears. Because everyone had pressed the edge of their helmets quite low, there was no way to see their expressions. Looking at their orderly march, it felt as if these twelve people were all NPCs controlled by the system.
From this, it could be confirmed that they were members of the super large guild " Army ", which was based on the bottom floor. Asuna, who was beside me, seemed to have noticed their origins. I could feel that she was nervously holding her breath.
To normal players, they were definitely not enemies. It could even be said that they were the most enthusiastic group to promote crime prevention. However, the method they adopted was too extreme. Once they found a player with the criminal symbol-because of the color of the arrow, they were also known as the " orange player "-they immediately launched an attack indiscriminately. Those who surrendered were disarmed and sent to the prison area of the Black Iron Palace. As for the treatment of those who did not surrender and failed to escape, all kinds of terrifying rumors had already spread through the streets.
In addition, because they often moved in large teams and occupied the training area for a long time, there was a common understanding among ordinary players that they should not approach the 'army' easily. Originally, this group of people was mainly in the lower areas below the 50th floor to maintain law and order and expand the territory. They were rarely seen at the front line. But now…
As we held our breath and watched, the 12 heavily armed soldiers let out the sound of metal scraping against each other and the sound of heavy boots. They walked past us in unison and finally disappeared into the dense forest.
The thousands of players imprisoned in SAO were probably super gamers who had bought the game on the day of its release. And these gaming maniacs were probably the group that had the least connection with the word " discipline." Although it had been two years, it was really amazing that they could move so uniformly now. They should be the most elite troops in the 'army'.
After confirming on the map that they had left the enemy's search range, Asuna and I squatted down and heaved a sigh of relief.
[... It seems that the rumor is true...]
Asuna, who was wrapped in my coat, whispered,"
[Rumors?]
[Yes.] I heard about it at the guild's regular meeting. I heard that the 'army' has changed its policy and is preparing to move to the upper area for activities. Originally, they had been aiming for a complete raid. However, they had suffered a great loss when they raided the 25th checkpoint. That was why they had changed their strategy from raiding the game to strengthening their organization instead of coming to the frontlines. In the end, he heard that there had been some dissatisfaction within the department recently. That was why they changed their strategy. It was said that instead of sending a lot of people into the maze like last time, which resulted in chaos, it was better to send a small number of elite troops and rely on the results they obtained to show the guild's will to completely conquer the game. At that time, the report also said that their first batch of troops should be about to appear.」
[Using actual actions to promote your guild? However, was it really okay to go to a floor that he had never been to before…? Although his level seems to be quite high…"
[Maybe…he's here to attack the leader…]
In the maze area of each floor, there would definitely be a leader monster guarding the stairs that connected to the upper floor. Although there was only one of these Boss monsters, it had terrifying strength, so defeating it could indeed cause a lot of discussion. This must be a very effective publicity campaign.
"Is that why so many people came... but no matter what, it's still too reckless. No one had ever seen the leader of the 74th level. Usually, after continuous investigation and confirmation of the leader's combat strength and inclination, they would recruit a large team to attack.」
[The guilds only need to help each other when they are attacking the boss. I wonder if those people have this intention…?」
" It's hard to say... but those guys should know that they shouldn't casually challenge the leader. Let's hurry up and leave. I hope we don't meet them inside..."
Even though I felt that it would be a pity to end my relationship with Asuna, I still managed to stand up. Asuna, who had crawled out of her coat, might have felt a little cold and shrunk her body.
" It's almost winter... It's better for me to buy a coat too. Where did you buy this?"
" Hmm…I remember that I bought it from a shop opened by a player in the West District of Argert…"
"Take me there after the adventure.」
After saying that, Asuna nimbly jumped down the path three meters below. Of course, I jumped down with her. With the help of the parameters, this height was nothing.
It was almost noon. Asuna and I kept an eye on the map while moving forward as fast as we could.
Fortunately, they did not encounter any monsters on the way through the forest. After passing through the forest, a grassland with many light blue flowers appeared in front of us. The road extended westward through the entire grassland. At the bottom, we could see the maze area of the 74th level, which stood before us as if it was showing off its might.
There was usually a particularly large room at the top of the maze area, and there would be a ferocious leader guarding the stairs leading to the next floor. Currently, it was the stairs leading to the 75th floor. After breaking through the leader's blockade and reaching the main street area on the upper floor, he would be considered to have successfully cleared a floor after the teleportation door started to operate.
During the " Town Development ", many players would come up from the lower levels to explore the new town's style and cultural relics. At that time, the entire town would be enveloped in a festive atmosphere like a festival. It had already been nine days since they started to raid the 74th floor of the frontline. The leader's room should be discovered soon.
The giant tower on the other side of the grassland was a circular building made of reddish-brown sandstones. Although Asuna and I had visited the interior many times, as we got closer and closer, the huge building that almost covered the entire sky still gave us a considerable sense of oppression. And this was only one percent of the height of Aingrunt. Although I knew that it was impossible, I still secretly harbored the hope that one day, I would be able to see the entire floating castle from the outside.
He couldn't see the figures of the army. They should have already entered the maze. The two of us couldn't help but quicken our pace, heading towards the entrance of the maze area that was getting closer and closer to us.
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