Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

After receiving everyone's affirmation and recognition, she nodded, stepped forward and gently touched the thin film. In the next instant, a bright blue light burst forth, and the entire archway slowly expanded outward.

As the archway expanded to a width of about five meters, an even stronger beam of light emanated from its inner side, and the NPCs in the corner of the plaza began to sound the [Town Development Horn].

In the next instant, a colorful torrent of countless players overflowed from the blue-glowing archway, quickly filling the entire plaza.

At this moment, all the players noticed the strategy group players who were neatly lined up in the square and quickly realized their identities.

then--

"Crack, snap, snap"

"Clap clap clap clap clap!" ×n

Someone started clapping, but gradually, more and more players followed suit, and the sporadic clapping gradually evolved into thunderous cheers!

The entire strategy team, led by Fujimaru Ritsuka, stood tall and beamed as they accepted the congratulations from countless players.

At this point, the first level has been completely cleared!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 167. The First Things to Do After Arriving on the Second Floor

167.

2023-12-10

After defeating the BOSS and reaching the second level of the main city, it was already 5:13 PM.

Generally speaking, after finally defeating the first boss, you should relax and celebrate, perhaps with a meal or something.

In reality, after briefly receiving applause and praise from ordinary players, the strategy team quickly disbanded, with most members immediately going their separate ways to continue leveling up.

At this stage, players like Fujimaru Ritsuka are still in the minority, willing to slow down and enjoy life within the game.

However, before the players in the strategy group completely dispersed, Fujimaru Ritsuka added the other team leaders as friends so that they could contact each other for the next strategy.

Having just added her as a friend, Diabel suddenly smiled and asked her:

"Miss Ritsuka, I'd like to ask if you have any plans to form a guild?"

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

Given Fujimaru Ritsuka's current reputation, if she were to simply nod and announce the establishment of the guild now, most of the players present would probably eagerly join, thus creating the strongest guild in SAO.

But when faced with this question, Fujimaru Ritsuka pondered for a moment and then smiled somewhat sheepishly:

"I'm sorry, I haven't thought about this question before, so I can't answer it right now."

"Is that so?"

Diabel nodded slightly and smiled:

"It's alright. This is indeed a question worth considering carefully. I will patiently wait for your reply."

After saying this, the other party turned and left with his squad members. Seeing this, the other players also dispersed amidst farewells, leaving only Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna standing there.

And then Kirito disappeared again.

Meanwhile, as more and more players gathered through the portal, the two girls decided to leave the area first.

After turning into a secluded and quiet street, Asuna asked Fujimaru Ritsuka with some curiosity:

"Why do you think Diabel asked you about forming a guild?"

"Um"

"Perhaps it's because he wants to join Fujimaru Ritsuka's guild, or maybe he's planning to start his own guild."

Kirito, who had suddenly disappeared and then reappeared, jumped down from the rooftop above, landing a short distance in front of the two of them, and said:

"After all, given Ritsuka's current influence among SAO and strategy players, whether or not she chooses to form a guild, she will have a significant impact on the player community, right?"

"Even if Ritsuka doesn't establish her own guild, she will inevitably become a target of competition among major guilds."

Hearing Kirito's explanation and analysis, the two girls nodded thoughtfully.

Then, seeing Kirito's sudden appearance, Asuna raised an eyebrow slightly and said:

"By the way, didn't you decide to go back to being a solo player? Why are you here again?"

"Um, this."

Kirito, who had initially thought he had made a rather cool entrance, suddenly scratched the back of his head somewhat awkwardly and chuckled sheepishly:

"I was just thinking there would probably be a celebration after the boss fight, right? So..."

He originally intended to continue his activities on the second level as a solo player.

But perhaps he had developed a habit during this period, and even though it was still a great time to level up, he now thought he should rest and wanted to find a restaurant to treat himself.

At that moment, upon seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna, he inexplicably followed them.

In all the MMO games he has played, he has always played as a solo player, though he occasionally needs to team up.

However, it must be said that this time spent teaming up with Asuna and Fujimaru Ritsuka allowed him to experience the joy of team games for the first time.

More importantly, even in terms of improving strength, the monster-killing efficiency of the three of them as a team is no less than that of him alone, and sometimes even higher.

This was, of course, thanks to the two players' excellent skills and Fujimaru Ritsuka's superb command.

In addition, the relaxed and comfortable team atmosphere is also quite captivating.

If it's just the two of them, continuing as a team seems like a pretty good idea.

Kirito unconsciously thought this to himself.

Of course, the exception is the possibility of being in mortal danger if exposed.

Hearing his clumsy speech, Asuna and Fujimaru Ritsuka exchanged a glance and chuckled in unison, making Kirito blush slightly.

However, the two quickly regained their composure, and then Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and said:

"Kirito-kun is right. Everyone has worked hard today. We should definitely celebrate properly at a time like this."

"So."

As if guessing what Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to say, Asuna and Kirito smiled in unison:

"Let's eat first!"

Although we were supposed to eat first, we still needed to sort out the accommodation problem before that.

Fortunately, Kirito, a closed beta tester, provided information, and the three of them rented two excellent guesthouses before arriving at a secluded restaurant recommended by Kirito.

After ordering a lavish spread without a second thought, Kirito and Asuna couldn't help but start discussing their strategy for defeating the boss while waiting for their food.

"That mechanism has appeared again, and it's still with the BOSS."

Kirito couldn't help but frown. Although he thought it was just a game mechanic, it was indeed a bit strange that it had happened to Fujimaru Ritsuka twice in a row.

Why was Fujimaru Ritsuka targeted in both of these extremely rare instances?

After pondering for a moment, Asuna speculated:

"Based on the current conditions, we can only assume that after the mechanism was implemented, the monsters are now targeting the player leader, right?"

The first time they appeared together, Fujimaru Ritsuka was the captain of their three-person squad, and the second time she was the captain of the combined forces. This was the only similarity she could think of.

"Ritsuka, what do you think?"

"Um, uh, what?"

Asuna handed the question to Fujimaru Ritsuka, only to find him looking up blankly, seemingly unconcerned about the crisis that was befalling him.

Seeing Asuna raise her eyebrows in slight anger, as if she was about to give her a good lecture, she quickly changed the subject:

"Actually, I'm still thinking about the guild issue. Kirito-kun, what role do guilds play in SAO?"

The biggest role of a guild is, of course, to unite players, enhance their sense of belonging and cohesion, and encourage mutual help among guild members.

Players from the same guild often have better teamwork and coordination skills, which is helpful for navigating the game.

At the same time, guild leaders are naturally responsible for guild members, establishing rules and regulations, distributing guild benefits, allocating resources, and so on, which requires a considerable amount of effort.

To be honest, she wasn't good at this kind of thing, and wasn't sure if it was worth doing.

Upon hearing her question, Kirito pondered for a moment before giving an answer that was similar to her understanding.

Finally, he suddenly remembered something and added:

"According to the information I know from the closed beta period, a rare item called [Guild Flag] will drop from the fifth floor BOSS."

"When the flag is planted in the ground, all guild members within the flag's range will receive a certain degree of bonus to all attributes. This should be the greatest benefit that guild members can currently obtain in battle."

"An all-attribute bonus?!"

Asuna couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Gradually shedding her naivety, she naturally understood just how powerful this effect was.

"That's it"

After hearing all this, Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded and finally decided to give up on forming a guild.

Establishing a guild would be a bad deal for her, even though guild members could enjoy the bonus from the [Guild Flag].

But in reality, for her and the game as a whole, the fifth floor was already the end.

At this moment, Asuna asked with some curiosity:

"Speaking of which, I wonder which player got the loot dropped by the first-floor boss?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 168. LA Rewards

168.

2023-12-10

Because the rule that "the items dropped by the BOSS belong to the person who obtains them" was established before the strategy was implemented, the players tacitly refrained from asking about the dropped treasures after the BOSS died.

"But it does make one curious about which lucky player got the dropped treasure."

Kirito smiled and echoed.