The Meeting / The Trap

"Qiong stayed behind to observe whether the second BOSS was different from the first. And the result was obvious: she couldn't provide enough help. After all, she couldn't give you incorrect information. In this respect, Beta Tester and regular players are no different; both face the unknown. For a considerable period, Beta Tester were criticized. However, if they couldn't withstand the pressure and passed on their closed beta experience verbatim, those who ultimately caused the deaths of their teammates would probably hate them even more, wouldn't they?"

Yaoh gritted his teeth and simply said, "Damn it."

"I'm the weakest among them." Qiong pondered for a moment, then picked up where Kurisu Makise. "I gave the BOSS kill reward to the Beast Tamer because our team has always believed that it's enough to have a small group of elites at the front. Most players don't need to live in the shadow of death. Everyone knows how long their real bodies will last, so they might as well enjoy themselves. And you guys who were able to be at the front, the first to fight the BOSS, are undoubtedly that small group of elites. You're fighting here, while most players are enjoying themselves in the back. You haven't complained, have you?"

Qiong's words prompted more reflection among those present.

"Without a doubt, our ideologies are different." Agil shook his head.

Yaoh's selfishness is disguised with a high-sounding hat. He uses the contradiction of "not providing help to Beta Tester and killing ordinary players" to cover up his purpose of wanting more resources.

Those Beta Tester who deliberately hoard resources and don't share them with regular players are actually quite similar to Yaoh, except they're a bit stronger. But without a doubt, this group is the core of the game's strategy.

That's fine, but the real problem is that in the end, the ones standing here fighting the BOSS won't be the Beta Tester who had the most resources. That would be ridiculous.

Among player groups, the number of guilds and solo players who actually participate in the strategy is only about six or seven hundred. Less than one-tenth of them will become the very few people who Strategy Group.

By the mid-game, the Strategy Group had already far surpassed most players.

Among the remaining players, not all enjoyed the results of the Strategy Group's efforts. A considerable number of them became selfish and took advantage of loopholes in the rules to "kill and steal treasures," showing contempt for life.

But this... is undoubtedly just a game; everything you gain will disappear when you leave it.

"Well then, I won't disturb you all going to the next floor. If there's any boss you can't beat, you can hire members of our guild, but there will be a labor fee." Kurisu Makise walked up, put her arm around Sora's shoulder, smiled at everyone, and then led her up to the second floor.

All the clones went up, and only then did the silent players come to their senses.

Kirito then went up the stairs.

"Wait..." Asuna suddenly caught up, asking very seriously, "Why do you know my name? And do you know each other's names too?"

Kirito paused for a moment. "Look at what's written on the HP bar."

Asuna immediately looked closely and found her teammate's name on it.

"Kirito, Asuna, Haruhi Kasugano... Oh, I see. It's written here. Pfft." She suddenly realized.

"Hmm." Kirito nodded, then suddenly remembered Sister Doma's previous skills and the strength of the God of Games Guild, and couldn't help but say, "You will become stronger. If someone trustworthy invites you to join a guild in the future, don't refuse. There are absolute limits to soloing."

"And what about you?"

Kirito didn't answer, but instead disbanded the party without permission, then quickened his pace and entered the second floor completely.

He wants to solo it.

Two weeks later.

"So, we're going to go up to the second floor today, but with our abilities, is it really possible for us to do it?"

The girl with short black hair looked at the boy in front of her in disbelief. No matter how good he was, he couldn't possibly lead her noob team to be the first to kill the BOSS. That was something only true elite players could do.

"It's alright, I've already borrowed people from other places. As long as they level up in high-level areas, they can gain a lot of experience, which will allow everyone to get ahead of all other players."

Su Lin lay on the grass, telling the unfamiliar girl beside him about his plan.

Although he'd been mostly grinding levels and completing guides lately, Kirito and Asuna were both currently in a phase where they preferred solo play, so associating with the main characters wouldn't be very beneficial. Therefore, he proactively reached out to smaller teams, essentially integrating himself into the general player community.

At this time, there were no guilds other than the God of Games in the game, and even the God of Games himself had not been recognized by the system (this feature had not yet been enabled).

But early frontline players were indeed affected.

The idea that "most players should provide support to help elite squads quickly conquer the game" and the opposing concept of "equal distribution of resources" have sparked repeated debates among frontline players.

Undoubtedly, the former represents the philosophy of the God of Games Guild, while the latter represents the philosophy of individuals like Yaoh.

However, the members of the God of Games Guild who had raised the issue never participated in the debate. Some players understood that when Sister Doma said those words, it wasn't actually to gain benefits from the majority of players, but simply to refute Yaoh.

I just don't like him.

Chapter 323 Meeting

"Su Lin, Yue, we're all ready. We can set off now."

While Su Lin and the black-haired girl were joking around, a Sword and Shield Warrior and a One-Handed Swordsman ran over from a distance.

They were the other two members of the team.

The group consisted of three men and one woman, including Su Lin. Except for Su Lin, who joined later, the others were all people they knew in real life.

"Then let's go."

Su Lin spat out the grass stem from his mouth and stood up.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor, but suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange.

The players on the street seemed to be having a great time.

"Great! We've finally defeated the level 3 boss, now we can move on to the next level."

Hearing that sound, he realized what was going on.

"Sure enough, the clones had been leveling up in the high-level area and never expected that these players would actually go up there."

The group participating in this strategy is still the same one from the beginning. Perhaps stimulated by the first-floor boss battle, the members are starting to focus on building an efficient organization.

If I remember correctly, the guild function is unlocked on the third level.

"Su Lin, you said you found help?"

"Okay." Nodding, Su Lin led everyone to the edge of the second-floor town, where they discovered that a black-haired girl was already waiting there.

"That's her, Captain. Please invite her to join the team."

Upon seeing the cute black-haired girl in front of him, the team leader was momentarily stunned. However, he quickly recovered and sent her a team invitation.

"Kurotama?"

"I came here to help out at the invitation of the authorities."

Because it's a game, Kurotama didn't use Yatsufusa as a weapon. There's nothing that can be done about it; even the most powerful weapons are limited by the game's stats.

"Such a cute girl..." Yue thought to herself subconsciously when she saw Kurotama. Of course, she didn't voice her admiration; she was simply amazed by Kurotama.

When Yue noticed that all the boys' eyes were on the new girl, she naturally felt a little jealous.

"Everyone's here, let's go."

Northwest of the town, the area where the Minotaur levels up.

The monsters here are all rare Minotaur, and their combat power is a level higher than the monsters on the first floor. However, with teamwork, several people attacking one at a time makes it relatively easy to kill them.

In this battle, Su Lin demonstrated his level advantage over the monsters. Kurotama was even more outrageous, easily taking away most of a monster's health with a single strike.

This situation made those present question the girl's social standing.

The team practiced until the afternoon, Su Lin himself was only a few hundred experience points away from leveling up to 20. Only then did everyone happily head to the tavern, ready to enjoy a long-awaited meal.

"I never imagined these monsters would be so productive! The daily income is enough for at least a dozen big meals. We can eat like this every day!" The captain excitedly picked up a beef leg and began gnawing on it without any regard for appearances.

Yue quickly shook her head. "It's too wasteful to eat big meals every day. We should use this money to buy more blood-boosting medicine and tools. Improving our strength is the most important thing."

"What's there to be afraid of? Anyway, there are strong ones ahead to hold the line, so we don't need to worry about the strategy."

At that moment, Kurotama, who was eating mutton, suddenly noticed other people's gazes.

She looked in that direction and saw a familiar figure walking towards her.

Diabel!

"We have a Strategy Conference today about the future, so please be sure to send a representative to accept our invitation."

"Strategy Conference?" Several question marks appeared above Kurotama's head.

"Regarding the newly launched guild feature, I believe the Gods of God of Games should be the most qualified to speak on this, right?"

"Okay, we'll send someone over." Kurotama shrugged.

"Thank you. Please go to the tavern on the third floor tomorrow night." Diabel breathed a sigh of relief. He had no ill will towards the God of Games Guild. After all, it was Sister Doma who saved his life back then.

Since the BOSS battle, all players have become more cautious, and the number of casualties has decreased significantly. The story of the God of Games," the first guild to be established, is still widely discussed, especially among ordinary players who feel it's becoming an "urban legend."

Correspondingly, the legend of the Beast Tamer is equally famous.

"Kurotama, are you a frontline player?"

Yue felt both pressure and an indescribable sense of honor. She hadn't expected Su Lin to bring in such a top-tier player. Ordinary players like them often felt uncomfortable facing such elite individuals and teams. Just as the rich and the poor rarely mingle, a player who is too skilled also finds it difficult to integrate into an average team.

"Yes, just treat me like one of your own, since Su Lin invited me here."

All eyes were on Su Lin.

He shrugged and smiled, "Kurotama is my girlfriend."

"Pfft." The captain spat out a mouthful of wine.

He truly hadn't expected that his unknown teammate would actually...

The moon next to him turned pale instantly, and Kurotama keenly noticed this.

Judging from her expression, it seems like Yue has fallen for him.

Although she's just a background character... no, even less than a background character (she never appeared in the anime), there's no denying that this girl is quite cute.

"Well, it seems I won't have much time to level up with everyone. Tomorrow, Kurotama is going to a strategy meeting, and I'll go with her, since we're both members of the God of Games Guild."

"You're from the same guild?" the captain asked incredulously. "I never expected that players of your skill level would join a team like mine that's just playing around."

"There's no need to look down on yourself; it's just a game. Those who are capable may be at the forefront, but they also bear the pressure of saving everyone," Su Lin said matter-of-factly.

Today was indeed the last time I had a meal with this team.

In fact, Su Lin said goodbye to these people the next morning after the meal.

Yue looked somewhat sad. Although their time together was short, it was clear that she liked Su Lin.

Well, although Su Lin looks like a very ordinary guy, it turns out that different people have different aesthetic standards. You may think you look ordinary, but in some corner of the world, there are still people who might fall in love with you.

That afternoon, on the third floor, in the plaza occupied by players.

When Kurotama and Su Lin arrived at the scene, the players who had fought alongside them against the first-floor boss came forward to welcome them.

"Hello, I am Linde, and I have just established a guild called the Dragon Knight Order. This is Yaoh, you should know him."

One player came up and introduced himself, also mentioning that he had met the Yaoh before.

"I have established a guild called the Aincrad Liberation Force."

"Aincrad Liberation Force..."

Although I haven't read the novel, this seems to be the famous organization established by Yaoh, known as the army? Because there are just too many people, it is said that at its peak there were 3,000 people?

Chapter 324 Trap

"After two attempts to defeat the BOSS, we believe that failing to concentrate our forces can indeed cause significant losses. Perhaps the God of Games Guild's philosophy is correct; even weak players can face fatal danger when facing slightly stronger elite monsters. It seems somewhat unrealistic to expect them to defend the floor BOSS." Diabel sat down, gesturing for Kurotama and Su Lin to sit down as he spoke.

The entire tavern was almost entirely booked by players; there wasn't a single NPC present.

Everyone was very focused, as this discussion concerned the future. What started as a discussion gradually evolved into recruitment, with the two newly formed guilds extending invitations to the players present.

It's clear that Yaoh is very ambitious. Sometimes his unreliable suggestions hit the nail on the head for some people. With all sorts of promises, at least half of the people present had the idea of joining his Eingrand Liberation Army.

Many people actually wanted to join the God of Games Guild, but Su Lin never intended to recruit anyone when he created it; it was his backyard. It was established by his main body and his clones to gain more influence over the game players in the future.

If the guild manages to defeat more bosses in the future, few players will dare to underestimate him. Naturally, when it comes to important decisions, Su Lin, as the guild leader of the God of Games Guild, cannot ignore his opinions.

"Kirito, aren't you going to join our guild?"

"No, I'm used to being alone," Kirito refused.

Once the label of "Beast Tamer" was attached to him, everyone was more or less hostile towards him. However, Qiong's defense of the beta testers that day wasn't entirely meaningless; at least many people's attitude towards him wasn't too bad.

"By the way, I heard that any player can hire members of your guild. So, would you be willing to accept them when we're clearing higher levels in the future?" Klein walked over from the table next to him and asked somewhat shyly.

"No problem." Kurotama nodded. "Anyone in the guild will be hired unconditionally. There's no charge for hiring, just normal loot from the game. Don't blame us for stealing your monsters later."

"Oh, is that so? Does that mean you're free combatants?"

"Yes, we're all in the same boat... Pshaw, I should say we're all facing the same danger. We won't rob other people's property for a few resources. Being hired is based on merit."

"In that case, please be sure to accept our invitation when facing the floor-guarding BOSS in the future," Diabel said excitedly.

All the players gathered for dinner, and many noticed that Kurotama and Su Lin seemed to be getting a little too close, sticking together the whole time.