Aincrad, 55th Floor.
It was a snow-covered area.
The training area was a dry wilderness with very few plants.
Below them was a beautiful cone-shaped snowy mountain.
There was a small village a little further away.
On the other side of the vast snowfield and deep forest, the pointy roofs of the houses in the main street area were lined up side by side, looking like chimneys. It was quite a unique sight.
Rozen came out of the labyrinth area in the distance, teasing the two tamed monsters as he slowly walked toward the 55th Floor's main street, Granzam.
Granzam was also known as the Iron City.
Unlike other towns that were mostly built of stone, this town's main buildings were gigantic spires made of steel that flickered with a black luster. Smelting and carving were flourishing here, which led to many players who trained in crafting skills to settle here. However, the streets were devoid of trees, and in this season of late autumn, it gave off the impression that a gust of wind would make one feel especially cold.
Rozen walked on the street of this city under the gaze of pedestrians while reading the latest news report with a newspaper in his hand.
"Knights of the Blood, which belongs to the Clearers, will set up a base on the newly arrived 55th Floor and use the 55th Floor as their guild headquarters?"
Rozen couldn't help but scratch his head and shrug as he read the latest news.
"They actually chose this place as their headquarters? Are they really going to give the impression of cold steel?"
After nearly a year, the number of Clearers had increased by a lot. If the Clearers who didn't usually attend the meeting were included, there were at most a hundred people in total.
Knights of the Blood, on the other hand, also recruited a lot of powerful Players in the past year, and replaced a lot of eliminated Players. In the end, the number of Clearers was maintained at dozens of members.
Although there were only dozens of members, Knights of the Blood's strength was undeniable. Not only were their members extremely powerful, but their vice leader, Yasna, also had a famous title like "Flash," not to mention Holy Sword's Heathcliff. Even though the game had been running for nearly a year and a half, he was the only one who had a Unique Skill. Naturally, Players wouldn't think that Knights of the Blood was weak.
Due to the existence of Knights of the Blood, some Players gradually compared Red Wings and Knights of the Blood, believing that Knights of the Blood was stronger and should be the strongest guild in SAO.
In fact, in terms of strength, there was no difference between the two guilds.
In terms of members, whether it was Red Wings or Knights of the Blood, both only had dozens of members. Both of them took the elite route, and one of them only accepted beta testers, while the other was particularly picky. Therefore, every member of the guild was very powerful, and they were at the top of the Clearers.
In terms of high-level Players, Red Wings had Kirito, and Knights of the Blood had Yasna. Both of them were strong enough to rank among the top five Clearers. Maybe Kirito was stronger, but Yasna wasn't any weaker than Kirito.
In terms of guild leader, both Rozen and Heathcliff were legendary figures.
One of them had two Tamed Monsters, and he could even control the Floor Boss, turning it into a target. He also had very high leadership skills, and so far, he had maintained the record of clearing the Floor Boss without losing a single member.
One of them had a unique skill. Whether it was defense or attack, it was extremely high, far above all other Players. Even in the terrifying 50th Floor, he single-handedly fought the Floor Boss for a full ten minutes. He was known as the strongest Player, Holy Sword.
Both of them had their own strengths, and they were often compared by Players.
In view of this, there were often rumors that Red Wings and Knights of the Blood were competing for the title of the strongest guild.
Especially Rozen and Yasna. One was the guild leader of Red Wings, and the other was the vice-leader of Knights of the Blood. Both of them represented two guilds, and they often had disputes during the Clearers' Strategy Meetings. It was normal for people to have such thoughts.
Because of this, Divine Dragon Alliance, who had been eyeing the title of the strongest guild, became more and more hostile toward Knights of the Blood. Recently, Zahad also often picked a fight with Yasna during the Clearers' Strategy Meetings.
In other words …
"It's been an eventful time recently."
Rozen put away the newspaper in his hand and stepped into Granzam's Teleportation Gate Square while the players on the side of the road were pointing at him and gossiping about him.
"Teleport! Panareze! "
With the appearance of the Teleportation Light, Rozen returned to the 24th Floor from the 55th Floor and headed to his guild's base.
Of course, the voices around Rozen were getting louder and louder, and it was getting more and more noisy.
"After nearly a year, this Floor is no longer only two Floors away from the frontline, but it's not even considered as a Middle Floor anymore."
Rozen thought to himself as he looked at the crowd around him, which was much more lively than the 55th Floor.
"Should I move to a new base?"
Otherwise, if he kept bringing Saichou and Hanachou out on the street, he would be recognized, and there would be so many people pointing and gossiping about him, it would be too annoying.
Not to mention, setting the base on the lower Floors would also cause a lot of trouble.
Not to mention, there were countless Players who wanted to join the guild, and it would be too troublesome to reject them one by one. It was better to move the base to a higher Floor.
"I remember that there's still a lot of working capital left in the guild. The loot from the last Field Boss hunt hasn't been distributed yet. I should find a time to settle it."
With such thoughts in mind, Rozen returned to the bar.
Ding Ling!
Amidst the melodious sound of the bell, Rozen pushed open the door of the bar and walked in.
At this time, the members of the guild should be hunting in the Labyrinth area, so the bar should be empty.
"Goo!"
"Woo!"
Saichou and Hanachou flew into the bar and occupied the counter with ease.
However, just when Rozen thought that there was no one in the Guild, someone called out to Rozen.
"You … you're back …!?"
The panicked voice came from a player sitting in front of the bar counter.
He saw Kirito sitting at the bar, holding a drink in his hand, looking a little flustered.
"Huo huo …"
Rozen was stunned at first, but then revealed a sly smile.
Because in the Guild, Kirito wasn't the only one.
"Ro … Guild Leader Rozen …"
The person who greeted Rozen was a young girl.
There was no way Rozen didn't know this girl.
She was a member of Moonlit Night Black Cats, Saichou.
At this time, Kirito and Saichou were sitting at the bar counter, and they were very close to each other as if they could touch each other at any time.
How could Rozen not know what was going on at this moment?
"Sorry to bother you."
At that moment, Rozen immediately replied and turned around, ready to leave the bar.
"Wait!"
Kirito rushed out.
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