Three Realms Time Difference, First Raid!

The first guild in SAO has appeared.

Although the name is somewhat unusual, it still has representative significance.

Many real-world companies and conglomerates have begun collecting information about the founding members of this "Second Protagonist Group" guild in the real world.

Unfortunately, they only found Kirito and Yuki Asuna.

The other members of the guild seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of their existence. Even if one or two similarities were found, they were quickly disproven.

And that intriguing name...

The second Protagonist Group.

Since there is a number two, there must also be a number one, right?

Does the phrase "Protagonist Group" carry any other hidden meaning?

Regardless of what outsiders think, after Xiao Yan treated Lu Mingze, Kirito, and Asuna to a big meal in the game, the four of them quickly began preparing for the 40th floor of the Stuart Floating City.

"... Based on the information I have gathered so far, this is the current situation."

Xiao Yan is a formidable player who soloed the 40th floor. Listening to him share information, Kirito and Asuna also felt refreshed.

Although Kirito was a closed beta player, after the SAO open beta, the map expanded countless times. For example, the map of the third floating castle, Stuart, did not exist during the closed beta, and Kirito knew nothing about the related boss information.

Name, size, characteristics, skills, what drops?

I'm completely baffled.

"I've never encountered a dragon boss of this level before."

Kirito sighed, feeling that his past experience was no longer sufficient.

However, a faint light flickered in his dark pupils.

It's the challenges that make things interesting.

Thinking about it carefully, the members of this team are all very unique individuals...

Lu Mingze with a dual personality, Xiao Yan like a hermit, this lone wolf, plus Asuna...

I feel like I've forgotten someone?

Kirito suddenly slapped his forehead, his gaze falling on Lu Mingze: "Where are Lu Mingfei and Erii?"

What he wanted to ask was certainly not the former.

If you do the math, Kamijou Eriy hasn't logged into the game for over a month.

Furthermore, Lu Mingze's personality hasn't switched for a month.

Lu Mingze didn't explain, but simply waved to him. "I'm logging off now, see you tonight."

"Huh? Why are we logging off now? Didn't we agree to go to the 40th floor first to clear the map?"

Xiao Yan was getting a little anxious.

The tasks assigned by the Main God have time limits!

If you fail to clear the 40th floor of the Stuart Floating City within three days, not only will you not receive any rewards, but your reputation rating will also drop, and the level of missions you receive in the future will be much lower.

However, Lu Mingze only swayed slightly and did not actually log off.

His facial expression and demeanor changed in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, a quiet and elegant girl with no words appeared beside him.

"Kirito, did you try any Sichuan food after you got home yesterday?"

Lu Mingze casually put his arm around Kirito's shoulder.

Upon hearing this, Kirito looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Lu Mingfei?"

"Of course it's me."

The other party seemed to only then notice Xiao Yan's presence. "Hey, are you Kirito and Asuna's temporary teammate? Need us to help you through the map?"

Xiao Yan's eyes were dark, his lips twitched slightly, and he remained silent. "..."

Is this guy in front of me a schizophrenic?

However, seeing Asuna's nonchalant expression, he quickly realized that Kirito's surprise wasn't about the girl's personality switch, but something else entirely...

Some phenomena that will completely shatter your worldview!

"Yesterday?"

Asuna blinked. "You guys haven't been online for over a month... I remember clearly, on the night of March 28th, when you logged off, you suggested that Kirito and I try some Sichuan food..."

Kirito nodded slightly and became the co-certifier.

After a moment of stunned silence, Lu Mingfei burst into laughter. "Who are you kidding? Your levels haven't changed at all!"

The other person must be playing a prank on him, right?

Given Kirito and Asuna's personalities, they should have leveled up at least twenty times by now, after a whole month.

As he laughed, Lu Mingfei's expression gradually stiffened.

Are you serious?

Kamijou Eriy, standing next to Lu Mingfei, pinched the corner of his clothes. "Open the map and take a look."

Lu Mingfei good advice.

He quickly realized the difference.

The entire SAO game map has been expanded countless times compared to before.

When he logged into the game yesterday, there should have only been one floating city!

Now, there are not only seven floating cities, but also countless giant bunkers and military-like bases.

"The closed beta test for the game ended a long time ago. Now it's in the open beta phase, so we're all leveling up from scratch."

"After the open beta, leveling up became much harder than before, and various bosses and elite monsters have also been strengthened to varying degrees."

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Erii's equipment and level are exactly the same as during the closed beta. I remember that the [Extinguishing Ember Set] was nerfed once during the last online update because its stats were too overpowered... and your set of equipment has the stats from before the nerf!"

He had long suspected that Lu Mingfei and Kamijou Eriy were hiding a secret!

Now it seems that it was indeed true!

However, after thinking it over carefully for a while, Kirito decided not to delve any further and to keep some secrets for his two friends.

So he changed the subject, "Xiao Yan just established the number one guild in the entire SAO, and as the vice president, I would like to invite you to join."

Guild, Vice President?

Lu Mingfei was taken aback.

Did I really miss out on so much?

Xiao Yan silently sent him a membership invitation, and said with certainty, "You two are probably not from the same world."

Why is it that one day for Lu Mingfei and Kamijou Eriy is more than a month passing here?

Why is the personality Lu Mingze able to keep playing in the game?

There are many problems here, but that doesn't prevent Xiao Yan from drawing conclusions through intuition.

Lu Mingfei was amused by Xiao Yan.

He grabbed Kamijou Eriy's hand and said, "How could that be? She and I are students at Panda University. You've probably heard of it, right? The world's number one academy! Speaking of which, isn't Sword Art Online a LAN game exclusively for Panda University's Esports Department students? You guys managing to get a spot is quite impressive!"

Having been a student at Panda University for quite some time, Lu Mingfei quickly became a top figure in the e-sports academy thanks to the Q-version of the legendary Wang Yan who was parasitizing his vision, and his relationship with Kamijou Eriy also progressed extremely rapidly.

No one paid much attention to the name "Sword Art Online," assuming it was just Lu Mingfei.

Xiao Yan's lips twitched as he listened, and he couldn't help but complain, "Panda University, what an embarrassing name..."

Before today, he never imagined that a university would use such a name...

Kirito and Asuna looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that they had never heard of it before.

"..."

Lu Mingfei felt his throat was a little dry.

He still chatted with a few friends about the details of their respective worlds.

SAO, closed beta/open beta, global rumors.

Panda University, Word Spirit Controller, Dragon Bloodline.

The group soon discovered something interesting—they came from three different worlds!

Even so, Lu Mingfei and Xiao Yan both consider themselves to be Chinese, descendants of Yanhuang, while Kamijou Eriy, Asuna, and Kirito are Japanese.

The names are different, but the countries are roughly the same.

"A similar world?"

Kirito nodded slightly, taking the game SAO even more seriously. "No wonder governments around the world can't find you..."

After a conversation, their relationship quickly warmed up, and the internal positions of the No. 2 Protagonist Group guild were also finalized.

The guild members of [Protagonist Group #2] are as follows:

President Xiao Yan, Vice President Lu Mingze (Lu Mingfei), Vice President Kirito, Combat Department Head Asuna, Logistics Department Head Kamijou Eriy.

The title sounds good, but everyone here is just a lone commander...

"Let's head to the Stuart Floating City now!"

Xiao Yan, despite having a group of free henchmen, was still somewhat uneasy.

That legendary dragon boss named Fenrir is just too overpowered...