Standing in front of Kibaou, the girl with long hair looked at him without flinching.
Lan Zi usually seems to be a gentle and good sister type, but as long as things related to her sister are involved, she can't 'calm down' properly.
Although Suguha had just tried his best to persuade him not to pay attention to this guy, Aiko really couldn't tolerate the other person to continue to "talk nonsense".
Because her sister is also one of the closed beta players he calls.
"Woman...? No, is it a kid?"
With a click of his tongue, Kibaou glared sullenly at the girl in front of him who dared to stand up and question him.
"Ha, tell me, then, what can you say about those cheaters who disappeared without a trace after the start of this bastard game and selfishly abandoned the novice players?"
With a look of disdain on his face, Kibaou arrogantly called for everyone to respond.
And his words have certainly resonated with some novice players.
"call……"
After taking a deep breath to calm down his mood, Lan Zi took out a brown booklet from the toolbar.
"Uncle, you should also have gotten this strategy book, right?"
"Uncle——?!"
His expression twitched, Kibaou turned his attention to the thing in Aiko's hand.
"...!"
There was a slight change on his face, and he naturally recognized that thing.
It is the first-level survival strategy guide that is distributed free of charge to all novice players in the prop house.
Most players can survive, and this booklet can be said to be indispensable.
"The person who published this guide is the closed beta player who you said should kneel down!"
Lanzi's words fell like a bomb on the crowd, causing most people to start talking loudly.
Many people just know that this thing is distributed for free, but they have not learned in detail who made it.
"And please read the line on the first page of the cover."
Without giving Kibaou time to 'breathe', Aiko opened the cover and pointed at the words someone left on the first page.
"The author of this pamphlet told us at the very beginning, 'It is up to us to decide whether we want to take up the sword and chase.'"
"And the fact is that if we don't pick up the sword, we can still survive on the first level, but now that we have picked up the sword, we should have made the corresponding awareness!"
Looking at that sentence with a somewhat relaxed expression, Lanzi always had a feeling that this booklet must have been made by her sister.
Whether it's the playful beginning of the title or the suspenseful multiple-choice question on the first page, it's all very much like Yuuki's style.
(As for Xiaoyu, he must be struggling somewhere in this world now...)
(So, I absolutely cannot allow anyone to hold her back!)
She was obviously just a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old, but at this moment she exuded a strength that Kibaou, an adult, could not ignore no matter what.
"...You're just a little kid, what do you know! Even if what you say is true, you're just a closed beta player, and it doesn't mean anything at all!"
"Get out of here!"
Some shouted angrily, and Kibaou rushed forward as if he wanted to push Aiko out of the round platform.
"——!"
Because he didn't expect Kibaou to make a sudden move, Aizi, who happened to be facing him sideways, didn't react for a moment.
Just as he was about to succeed, and when the people around him had no time to stop him, a one-handed sword suddenly flew from a distance and stuck between the two of them, blocking Kibaou's steps.
"who is it?!"
"...If you dare to try to attack her, I will make sure that you never leave this town."
It was obviously a very peaceful voice, but it instantly covered up the noise in the entire square.
Silica tilted her head slightly and smiled, and Silica next to her was sure.
That was the scariest smile she had ever seen in her twelve years of life.
"Yu-chan——!" "Yuuki!"
Amidst the shouts of Lanzi and another girl in a cloak, the black-haired girl jumped down from the stands and walked to the round stage.
(Did Xiao Zhi also come with this voice...)
Hearing another person's voice, Yuuki sighed inaudibly, there were really too many 'surprises' today.
But let’s talk about these later.
He looked at Kibaou with a very dangerous look, making the latter swallow his saliva involuntarily.
"Um, can I say a word?"
Just as the atmosphere was getting more solid, a bald man suddenly stood up from the stands and walked to the side of several people.
"My name is 'Agil', Mr. Kibaou, you just said that the beta testers abandoned the novice players, is that right?"
"Ah! So what!?"
Finally regaining some momentum, Kibaou raised his voice and replied.
"I don't know if anyone else knows, but according to the news I got in the prop house, most of the closed beta players on the front line seem to have been inspired and are working on the second level strategy. I believe there will be results soon.
.”
"——!?"
"And even for closed beta players, the website also said that they had not conquered very high floors at that time, and most players were only slightly better than novice players."
"Perhaps as Mr. Kibao said, there are indeed some beta testers who are grabbing resources and props, but it would be too one-sided to deny all beta testers like this."
"What's more, now, the most important thing should be to defeat the floor boss, instead of blaming each other here."
"That's all."
"..."
After summing up the argument very maturely, the bald man fell silent and looked at Kibaou.
"That's it, Mr. Kibaou, I also think that we should focus on strategy now."
Seeing that the situation was almost under control, Diaberu stepped forward in time to dissuade him.
"cut."
"I see!"
Throwing these words away with dissatisfaction, Kibaou seemed to want to find a way out for himself.
But just when he was about to leave the round platform, the one-handed sword just now was inserted in front of him again.
"——!"
"Uncle, are you ready to 'end' like this?"
Looking at Kibaou with a smile, Yuuki is holding a lot of unknown anger in his stomach right now, and it's impossible not to let it out.
Isn't this guy in front of me a good choice?
Giving Aiko a reassuring look, Yuuki walked up to Kibaou and pulled out the one-handed sword stuck on the ground.
"Since you want to make beta testers kneel down, why not let us see your strength first."
"If you can't beat a 'little girl' like me, then you don't have to embarrass yourself in front of the closed beta players, right?"
Saying provocative words that made Kibaou's veins almost burst, Yuuki asked him for a "Duel".
"Some people will never understand some things if we don't fight them properly."
"...Very good! Come on, you bastard!"
Since this is a fantasy world of swords, we still have to use swords to resolve grudges, right? (To be continued)