Lone Supporter

As the man spoke, the girl opposite also shifted her gaze. Yimo finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the man who had approached them.

He was a man in his twenties, weighing over 200 pounds, wearing a T-shirt with a blue twin-tailed loli on it and sweatpants. His curly hair was messy, like a bird's nest, and a transparent font of "Lone Supporter" floated above his head.

Despite his less-than-ideal appearance, he seemed friendly and approachable.

"Hey, Kirito, I found a comrade this round. Shall we form a temporary alliance?"

Kirito?

Oh, Yimo remembered. Before the game started, there was a nickname setting, and he had entered "Kazuto Kirigaya." And indeed, that semi-transparent text was floating above his head.

So, it was just a nickname.

Understanding this, Yimo glanced again at the girl who had left an impression on him. Her nickname was "Twilight," which sounded a bit artistic.

"Kirito, stop staring. Anyone that pretty must have spent points on it. There are no beautiful girls like that in real life."

"Only 2D has infinite possibilities!"

"By the way, brother, what game number is this for you?"

"I drew an SR card this round, I'll carry you to victory!"

Yimo heard this and, after thinking about the card he had drawn, became interested. "Oh? What does it do? Lone Supporter brother, let me broaden my horizons."

"Right, this is only my second game, please guide me, older brother!"

As he said the second sentence, Yimo leaned in a bit, lowering his voice.

Lone Supporter heard this, gave a thumbs-up, and said loudly, "No problem, this is my 13th game, I'll carry you!"

As he spoke, the people around them couldn't help but size him up, their expressions varying.

In contrast, the blonde couple had quieted down considerably. The blonde boy was currently trying to persuade the delinquent girl, seeming to have suddenly become interested.

After Lone Supporter finished speaking, he seemed a bit intimidated by the gazes of others, but he still puffed out his chest and said, "Clearly, there are more survivors in this game. Why don't we all discuss it together?"

"We can deal with the murderer together and try to end the game quickly. That way, everyone gets their points, wouldn't that be the best?"

After speaking, Lone Supporter patted Yimo's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Actually, this is only my third game, so we're in the same boat. But try not to appear too incompetent, or you'll be targeted and it'll be dangerous."

Yimo nodded upon hearing this, remaining silent as he observed the reactions of others.

In fact, Yimo was already starting to take the game seriously.

After all, this could no longer be explained away as a dream.

Among the remaining people, only two responded to Lone Supporter: one looked like a high school student, and the other was a woman in her thirties. Both of them moved closer.

Excluding the delinquent boy and girl couple, there were two others.

One was a muscular man with the nickname "Horse Hunter." He wore shorts and a black tank top, and had a scar on his bald head. He was currently baring his teeth and sneering at Lone Supporter, "Tch, just a bunch of kids."

The other was Twilight. She was indifferent to Lone Supporter's words, instead carefully observing something in the corner of the room, completely ignoring everyone else.

The Horse Hunter, however, moved closer and asked with great interest, "Hey, beautiful, want to team up?"

"Follow me, and I'll guarantee you survive this game and kill all those brats playing house!"

Twilight heard this, rolled her eyes, and looked up at him impatiently, saying, "Scram."

Her tone was chilling, causing the Horse Hunter to freeze for a moment. He then clenched his fists tightly and raised his hand as if to hit Twilight.

But Twilight didn't even look at him, waiting for the game to start.

"You little brat, you're really asking for death!"

"Apologize to me now, and it's not too late!"

"Otherwise, if I catch you!"

"Hmph hmph..."

Upon hearing this, Twilight suddenly stood up. Although the Horse Hunter was more than a head taller than her, her aura was no weaker. She calmly said, "Are you so sure you didn't get the survivor, and I didn't get the murderer?"

At Twilight's words, the Horse Hunter suddenly fell silent. "Damn it...!"

Twilight ignored him and moved to a different spot, leaving the Horse Hunter to fume by himself.

Just then, the delinquent boy had finished pacifying the delinquent girl and walked over to the Horse Hunter, holding her hand. "Big brother, I can tell you're no ordinary person. We'll follow you!"

"What are these people? All trash?"

"Right, big brother, what's going on here? Can you explain it to us?"

The Horse Hunter hadn't gotten any advantage from Twilight, so he turned to look at the delinquent boy and girl. Although they didn't look like fighters, they were still better than the others. He decided to let them follow him for now, as they might be useful.

But before he could speak, the system prompt sounded.

『Faction assignment complete. Game start.』

『Murderer's actions restricted for 10 minutes.』

As these words sounded, everyone else remained unchanged, except for the Horse Hunter, who suddenly became excited. A bloodthirsty red light flashed in his eyes, and he looked at a spot in front of him with excitement. He made a few gestures in the air, as if trying to perform some operation, but then paused and said to the two people in front of him, "You two follow me. Once we clear the game, we can leave."

"Hehehe, I'll keep you safe."

After saying this, he intended to turn and look at Twilight, but she had already opened the room door and left alone first.

As the game began, Lone Supporter quickly urged everyone to leave: "Time is precious, let's get out of here first and talk as we go."

Then, he took the lead and hurried outside.

Despite being fat, his physical fitness was surprisingly good.

Yimo followed closely, with the young woman and the student trailing behind.

However, the high school student, seeing the delinquent boy and girl, couldn't help but warn them: "It's your first time playing this game, you should run too. That guy is a murderer!"

"If you fail the game, you'll really die!"

The high school student meant well, but the delinquent boy didn't see it that way. He cupped his hands towards Horse Hunter and then arrogantly shouted at the high school student: "Damn, who the hell do you think you are?"

"Giving orders around here, I'll kill you first!"

After speaking, he coolly winked at Horse Hunter and said: "Brother, you agree, right?"

Horse Hunter laughed heartily, "Right, I'll help you kill them all!"

Seeing this, the high school student pursed his lips, and under the urging of the young woman in front, he quickly followed her out of the room.

Yimo was the third to leave the room. Outside was a dim mine tunnel. The ground was uneven and difficult to walk on. There was a set of tracks, and wooden crates filled with ore were piled around. Through the thick dust, it was clear that these had not been moved for a very long time.

There was a safety light at regular intervals in the mine tunnel, but the light was dim, flickering off occasionally, and visibility was poor.

The first thing Yimo wanted to do upon exiting was to find Twilight. He thought it was too dangerous for a girl to be acting alone in this environment.

But when he looked to the sides of the mine tunnel, where was her figure?

Instead, Lone Supporter grabbed Yimo and said, "Brother Kirito, stop looking and let's go."

"Time is tight. Maybe that woman can wield a knife fiercer than anyone!"

"Your own life is more important!"