For a Girl, You Actually Stabbed Me in the Back?!

Speaking of which, among the players currently in Sword Art Online, the ones who had contributed the most to the overall game-clearing progress—

Rat and Saint definitely ranked among them.

Rat Argo was also a Closed Beta Tester, and she specialized in selling information.

Aside from exclusive intel, she had compiled various in-game precautions and information from the closed beta into a beginner's guide, which she distributed to every player for free.

Because Argo dealt in information and moved so mysteriously that no one even knew what she looked like, she was called Rat.

As for the so-called Saint, he was another player mentioned in Rat's beginner's guide.

Rat stated in the guide that any new player could borrow a certain amount of money from Saint.

Although the loans came with an exorbitant interest rate of over thirty percent, they could be repaid later.

As for why Seiya charged such high interest yet was called Saint, the reason was quite simple.

Seiya offered extremely long repayment periods and never turned anyone away. The interest might seem steep, but the risks Seiya himself took were equally great.

After all, if someone who borrowed from him died, he would lose everything.

And even if the person who borrowed money from him eventually paid it back, Seiya only earned a thirty percent profit.

When others gambled, they either won or lost an equal amount. Seiya, on the other hand, either lost everything or earned only thirty percent interest.

With such disproportionate returns, many people thought Seiya was running a losing business.

Moreover, for most new players who had no resources in the early stages, Seiya's loans had indeed greatly improved their odds of survival.

That was why Seiya had gained the nickname Saint.

But since they were still on Aincrad's First Floor and players did not yet qualify to open shops, Seiya's so-called Wenren Merchant Guild was still entirely in its infancy.

Even if players wanted to borrow from Seiya, they could only rely on luck to see whether they ran into him. As a result, many people knew of Saint but had no idea what he looked like.

However, Rat's beginner's guide said that Saint was an Open Beta Tester rather than a Closed Beta Tester.

So most people guessed that Saint had to be an exceptionally capable entrepreneur. Otherwise, how could he have acquired enough money to lend to others in such a short time?

Whether it was Rat or Saint, they certainly had their own motives for helping other players.

But there was no denying that their contributions had greatly reduced the game's death rate.

If not for Rat's beginner's guide and Saint's loans, perhaps the number of players who had died over the past month would not have been one thousand, but two thousand—or even more...

At that moment, Ya Wang, who stood beside Diabel, felt as though his face had been slapped raw.

He had just mocked Seiya as another selfish "Closed Beta Tester," yet he never could have imagined that Seiya was the famous Saint!

And according to the information, Saint was also an Open Beta Tester, not the so-called Beater Ya Wang had accused him of being.

"Alright, everyone. You've all seen it now. Even the renowned Saint has joined this Strategy Group. I'm sure you all have more confidence in this clearing operation now, right?

"Without further delay, form teams with people you know, as we agreed earlier."

Blue-haired Diabel was clearly quite calculating. After realizing that Seiya was a player with considerable prestige, he immediately spoke up to reinforce his position as leader.

Kirito, who was already socially anxious, hurriedly looked toward his only close friend when he heard that anyone wishing to join the raid needed to team up with others first.

"Mr. Seiya, join our team. We'll definitely work well together."

"Seiya, come join our team. My sister and I happen to need a captain who's good at commanding."

"..."

Seeing Seiya surrounded by so many people, Kirito felt like cursing out loud.

He had always thought Seiya was only popular in real life, but damn it, he never expected that even in the game, the bastard would still be in such high demand.

He was obviously a veteran gamer, while Seiya only had a tiny bit more money, was a tiny bit better-looking, and had a tiny bit stronger Learning ability. What else did he have that could compare to him?

Why was some newbie being fawned over by everyone while he, a top-tier expert, was being completely ignored?

But Kirito quickly noticed that he was not the only one being left on the bench.

Not far from him stood someone wrapped head to toe in a ragged cloak, radiating the same keep-away-from-me aura. The figure soon caught Kirito's attention.

Thinking that since they were both socially anxious, they might as well make do and form a team, Kirito finally gathered his courage and tried approaching the other person.

Ding. Player Kirito has sent you a party invitation. Accept?
Ding. Player Asuna has joined the party.

Seeing that the other person had not declined his party invitation, Kirito breathed a sigh of relief.

When he saw the name in the party list, he guessed that the other player might be female. Just as he was organizing his words to make small talk with his new teammate, he did not expect her to speak first.

"Was what they said just now true?"

Kirito: (_???

"I mean what they said just now. Any new player can borrow money from that Saint?"

The voice coming from beneath the cloak was indeed female, and she sounded quite young.

And from what she had asked, Kirito could immediately tell that his temporary teammate was also an Open Beta Tester. Like Seiya, she was probably a gaming newbie who knew nothing.

"You want to borrow from Seiya? There's definitely no issue with whether it's real. That guy does have some integrity.

"But from what I know of his personality, he never does anything without profit. Unless you really need it, don't borrow money from him. It's definitely a trap."

Having known him for so many years, Kirito understood his lousy friend's personality quite well.

Seiya was not exactly a heinous villain, but he was absolutely nowhere near being a "Saint." He had always been the one taking advantage of others. Would he really lend money to people so generously and selflessly?

Others might think Seiya was running a losing business, but Kirito, who knew him well, knew that bastard had definitely made a killing behind the scenes.

"Hey, hey, hey, we're beloved friends and brothers-in-arms. I turned down so many party invitations to come find you.

"And for the sake of picking up girls, you actually stabbed me in the back like this. That's a little too much, don't you think, Kirito?"