Tolbana.
This was the closest town to the labyrinth area on the first floor of Aincrad.
In this vast first floor, the southernmost point was the Town of Beginnings, which had a diameter of one kilometer. Heading northwest through the grassland was a lush forest, and continuing northeast would lead to the swamp area. After passing through these terrains, there would be mountains, valleys, ruins, and monster hordes that inhabited these terrains.
These monsters were, in theory, the highest level monsters in the entire first floor's wilderness training area.
If one continued to advance, they would arrive at the northernmost point of the first floor, which was like a tower that pierced through the clouds. It had a diameter of 300 meters and a height of 100 meters. This was the staircase that led to the second floor – the labyrinth area.
For players who only wanted to improve themselves in this game, the labyrinth area was extremely important.
Not only was it a staircase that led to a higher level, but the monsters in the labyrinth area were also of a higher level than the monsters in the wilderness. There were also many treasure chests that contained rare items. For players, it was definitely a treasure trove.
And the closest town to the labyrinth area was Tolbana, a city in a valley that was no more than 200 meters long.
After a month of chaos, many players had arrived in Tolbana. Every day, they would use the labyrinth area as their goal to level up and earn more.
Of course, those who could reach this place and use it as a stronghold to continue raiding the maze area were the current era's top players. The low-level players had settled down in safer towns and villages. Some had even stayed in the Town of Beginnings. It was impossible for them to come to this place, which was closest to the frontline.
Since that was the case, Rozen naturally used this place as a stronghold.
"Inner."
"Area."
When Rozen returned to the town with the Rainbow Butterfly and saw the huge windmill towers that lined up in the town, purple words immediately appeared in front of him.
This was the proof that the player had entered the circle and was protected by the No Crime Order.
However, the area's protection could only protect players from direct attacks. It could not protect players from indirect attacks.
For example, the sharp gazes and words of others.
"Hey, look at that guy …"
"There's a Rainbow Butterfly on his shoulder …"
"Is he the rumored beta tester …?"
"How dare he show up on the street …"
The heavily armed players looked at Rozen with the Rainbow Butterfly, not only whispered, but also looked at him with hostility.
This was the treatment that Rozen often received since the ordinary players discovered the advantages of beta testers and recognized Rozen.
It couldn't be helped. there were 10,000 players who participated in the official operation of SAO. Even if about 10% of them were beta testers, there were still many ordinary players who were hostile to beta testers.
Some of them really suffered losses because of the selfish actions of the beta testers, some were just incited by them, and some even blamed the beta testers to vent their fear, terror, and panic in this game of death. Because of various reasons, the beta testers were hostile to the beta testers, which led to such a large amount of discrimination in just a month.
And as the only beta tester whose identity was confirmed, Rozen naturally suffered from all the ordinary players' resentment.
In fact, the players here were pretty good. They were just looking at Rozen with hostility and gossiping behind his back. For example, the players he encountered earlier blocked Rozen's path outside the safe zone. One could imagine how helpless Rozen was right now.
Rozen, who was carrying the Rainbow Butterfly, yawned while ignoring everyone's reaction and walked lazily on the street.
"What should I eat later?"
Rozen was worried about this.
As for the opinions of the ordinary players, Rozen didn't care at all.
When he was in Chaldea, Rozen suffered a lot of disdain from other people. When he was in the Akabane Clan, he was also criticized by his family because the gap between him and Akabane Tenzen was getting bigger and bigger.
Compared to those people, the ordinary players who could only do all kinds of things to Rozen in the game were really weak.
So Rozen didn't care about these people's disdain. He suddenly turned into an alley, which surprised a few players who were quietly following behind Rozen. They immediately rushed forward, but they couldn't find any trace of Rozen. They stood in the alley and gritted their teeth.
Under such circumstances, Rozen turned into an alley at an astonishing speed and arrived in front of a door that looked like a hidden location. He pushed the door open and walked in.
What appeared in front of him was a shabby and small bar.
"Hmph."
The NPC who was the owner of the bar stood in front of the counter. When he saw Rozen walk in, he didn't greet him. Instead, he coldly snorted and turned his head away.
It was precisely because the NPC owner's character was quite bad, and the bar was located in a very remote and dilapidated area. The players who would come here were either very antisocial or the type who had other secrets. It was quite deserted.
And now, there was a guy who wasn't usually seen in front of others.
"Oh, it's been hard on you, really, really."
The person who used such a shameful nickname to call Rozen was a petite player. She was so petite that it made people wonder if she was even an adult.
The other party was equipped with cloth and leather armors. His weapons were a small grappling hook hanging from his left waist and a flying needle hanging from his right waist. He also wore a cloak that only reached his waist. His smiling face had a very conspicuous feature. Three lines that looked like animal whiskers were drawn on both sides of his cheeks.
This appearance, coupled with his short, curly golden-brown hair, always made people think of a kind of animal — a rat.
In fact, this person was indeed given the nickname "rat" by the players who knew of his existence.
The player named "Argo", or "Argo", was actually an information peddler. For example, places with high EXP gain efficiency, the location of quest NPCs, and even the player's personal information, this peddler would sell them all. For this reason, he added all his Ability Points to Dexterity. He also ran side businesses such as passing messages, persuasion, and leading the way, although these were all somewhat shameful.
Incidentally, Argo was also a beta tester.
Although she had never admitted it, Rozen had met her during the closed beta. However, at that time, both Rozen and Argo were using the appearance of their characters. In real life, neither of them knew each other. Therefore, when they met again in this world, neither of them pointed it out. They just got along as usual.
Also, it was worth mentioning that Argo was a female player who was even rarer than rare monsters in online games.
She was the one who invited Rozen to this bar.
Rozen immediately walked into the bar with Rainbow Butterfly, sat in front of Argo, and asked bluntly.
"So, what is it that made you come to me this time?"
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