-1659- The rise of a sensation

The somber atmosphere gradually dissipated from the sky.

Under Eugene's guidance, the surviving Salamanders flew away in flocks, leaving this place for good.

Rozen watched them depart.

Sakuya, Alicia, and the others also watched the departing Salamanders in silence.

As for Leafa, while watching the departing group of Salamanders and glancing at Rozen, who floated high in the sky, she felt a mix of relief, pride, and joy.

This was an operation that could have brought disaster to two races, yet Rozen had resolved it with ease. How could Leafa not feel proud?

"As expected, nii-san is the strongest..."

Leafa's gaze toward Rozen was filled with admiration.

In the past, Leafa only knew Rozen in the real world and had no idea what he was like in the game world.

Now, she finally understood—regardless of the world, Rozen was always the best.

In the real world, he was a young genius capable of earning a PhD, nearly omnipotent.

In the game, he was an invincible swordsman and a leader among players. Even in this unfamiliar world, he managed to dominate the battlefield among the three great races in less than a day, forcing the elite Salamander troops, reputed to be the strongest force, to retreat.

After today, Rozen's name would undoubtedly spread among the three races.

Even other races would become aware of Rozen's existence.

To defeat Eugene, reputed to be the strongest player, and slay almost one-third of the sixty-eight elite players—this achievement would make Rozen a sensation in ALfheim Online.

Thinking of this, Leafa couldn't stop feeling happy and delighted.

Others also shifted their gaze to Rozen, looking at the person who had repelled the Salamanders' large force with feelings of awe.

At that moment, Sakuya and Alicia exchanged glances and, with everyone else, approached Rozen.

Rozen noticed the movement behind him and, while sheathing his sword, turned to face the approaching leaders.

"Thank you very much."

Sakuya bowed to Rozen as she spoke.

"If it weren't for you, today, the future of the Sylphs would have been ruined by my hand."

At this, Sakuya looked somewhat shaken.

If that had happened, Sakuya would never be able to continue as a leader, and the Sylphs would have faced irreversible decline—an outcome she could not bear.

"Our Cait Sith owe you as well," Alicia said gratefully to Rozen. "Thank you for your help."

Alicia, unlike Sakuya's respectful manner, winked playfully at Rozen, almost flirtatiously.

The other Sylphs and Cait Sith also bowed in thanks to Rozen, their eyes full of gratitude.

Rozen simply shrugged in response to the gratitude he received.

"Don't thank me; if you must thank someone, thank Leafa," Rozen deflected. "She was the one who asked me to come."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Leafa.

"So, it was your doing, Leafa," Sakuya said, sighing. "We really owe it all to you this time."

It seemed Sakuya hadn't anticipated this outcome.

After all, though Leafa was well-known among the Sylphs, she disliked being restrained. Sakuya had previously invited Leafa to join the Sylphs' ruling council, but she refused, so Sakuya never expected that the person who would come to their aid and turn the tide in such a crucial moment would be the one who least wanted to involve herself in troublesome matters.

"Good job, Leafa!"

Alicia gave her a thumbs-up, looking friendly and familiar.

"I... I didn't do anything!" Leafa quickly waved her hands, shaking her head. "This was all Rozen's doing. I was just watching from the sidelines."

Before Sakuya or Alicia could respond, Rozen interrupted.

"You're really pushing away all the credit, huh?" Rozen said with a faint smile. "You did discover that there was a spy among the Sylphs, and you warned them. Don't brush it all off, alright?"

Rozen's words made Sakuya's face change.

"A spy?" Sakuya frowned, her face turning serious. "What's going on?"

Leafa hesitated for a moment, then raised her head to look at Sakuya.

"Actually..."

Leafa then recounted everything that had happened.

Everyone listened quietly as Leafa explained, finally learning the whole story.

...

"Sigurd..."

Sakuya lowered her eyes and sighed after a long pause.

"So that's why the Salamanders came here—."

Alicia also understood at last.

Everyone grew angry.

Especially the Sylphs, who voiced their outrage.

"I can't believe he turned out to be a traitor!"

"I said it before, that guy may have some skills, but he has a lot of character flaws. He shouldn't have been allowed into the ruling council!"

"How did that guy manage to get so much support in the monthly votes?"

"Unbelievable."

The Sylphs expressed their indignation one by one.

Like Sigurd, these people were all high-ranking Sylphs with positions in the ruling council, so they were quite familiar with him.

Now, learning that they had been betrayed by Sigurd, they were naturally both furious and in disbelief.

In the ever-competitive world of ALO, spies were not uncommon.

Since players could log in with different accounts, using an alternate account for espionage was a frequent tactic.

In the Sylph base of Swilvane, there were likely a few players disguised as Sylphs from other races.

Because of this, players with low skill levels, low contributions, or low activity were generally suspected of being spies and weren't allowed near the core of the ruling council. Even Leafa had only recently been granted access to the Sylphs' Tower of the Wind.

However, Sigurd was a character who had actively participated in council affairs since ALO's early days. In the four elections for leader so far, he had always been second or third. Although Sakuya usually won about 80% of the votes, Sigurd consistently garnered around 30-40% support, and despite losing each election, he willingly took on supporting roles. He had now become a key figure in the ruling council.

The fact that someone like him was actually a Salamander spy was truly hard to believe.

Only Rozen had somewhat anticipated Sigurd's actions.