-1646- A bit dense...

In the Legrue Corridor, a brutal skirmish quietly came to an end, the flames extinguishing as darkness returned, restoring tranquility.

The scattered flames on the ground disappeared within a minute, returning to their domain to revive.

However, with each death, not only did skill proficiency decrease, but 30% of unequipped items also dropped and ended up in Rozen and Leafa's pockets.

In front of Rozen and Leafa, windows appeared, informing them of their rewards from the recent battle.

This fight, though risky, yielded substantial gains.

At least for Rozen, who alone gained 30% of the items from 19 players, it was a substantial profit.

Even Leafa received 30% of that squad leader's assets, which made even her, who wasn't particularly fixated on items, relax her expression.

"No wonder different races fight to the death upon meeting each other. With such rewards, there's no room for negotiation. They'd be motivated to fight even just for the items, right?" Rozen remarked.

"That's why racial battles occur frequently, especially with the Salamanders, who have focused on plundering other players' resources to strengthen themselves from the start. That's why they're currently the strongest among the nine races," Leafa replied, clearly not very enthusiastic about such practices.

Rozen, on the other hand, was indifferent.

"A game is just a game; just enjoy it without overthinking," Rozen said as he calmly accepted all his gains.

"True enough," Leafa agreed, as she wasn't one to overthink things and quickly closed her main menu.

The two exchanged glances, neither moving forward immediately, instead falling into thought.

"What do you think?" Leafa tentatively asked.

The reason she asked was simple.

"This obviously feels like a planned attack. I don't think they attacked us by mere chance," Leafa said directly.

Rozen naturally thought the same.

"From the start, these guys were specifically targeting me with their tactics. If there's no ulterior motive here, I'd find it hard to believe," Rozen shared his thoughts.

"So, who do you think would know so much about you and leak your information?" Leafa asked, though she already had an answer in mind.

After all...

"I created this character not long ago and have stayed in the Sylph capital, the Emerald Capital, ever since. Besides you, I only fought publicly once. Only the Sylphs in Swilvane, who saw my fight with Sigurd, know my speed and my restriction to basic magic. Who else could it be?" Rozen said with a smile.

Leafa fell silent.

Just as Rozen said, the only ones who had seen him in action and witnessed his abilities were the Sylphs in the Tower of the Wind, where he had dueled with Sigurd.

Thus, the one who leaked Rozen's information was undoubtedly a Sylph.

Among these Sylphs, there was only one person who had a grudge against Rozen and might deliberately leak his information, leading to this ambush in the wild.

"Sigurd…?" Leafa murmured.

After all, Sigurd had a motive.

"Because he lost to you and was humiliated, he likely leaked your information, leading the Salamanders to ambush us," Leafa sighed.

It was indeed something Sigurd might do.

Holding a grudge, Sigurd might not act directly but would scheme to reveal Rozen's information, allowing hostile races to target him.

One could not deny that Sigurd truly appeared to be the petty, arrogant person they had perceived before—someone one could hardly like.

But…

"If this ambush was merely due to a personal grudge, it would be easier," Rozen said with an indifferent tone.

Leafa froze at Rozen's words.

"A personal grudge isn't the only reason?" Leafa seemed to not understand.

"Think about it, silly girl," Rozen laughed, looking at Leafa. "There's actually another reason a Sylph might intentionally reveal my information and even disclose our location to the Salamanders."

And that reason was?

"There could be a Salamander spy among the Sylphs," Rozen calmly suggested.

"Wh-what!?" Leafa's eyes widened.

But…

"Is that so surprising?" Rozen scoffed. "Since this game encourages racial warfare, it's only natural to have spies infiltrating enemy races and gathering intelligence."

Although Swilvane had extensive defenses against the Salamanders—such as powerful NPC guards who would attack any Salamander on sight and mobilize the entire Sylph faction if they entered the territory—this was strictly for Salamanders.

Given the brutal nature of racial warfare, it wouldn't be shocking if some Sylphs were bribed by the Salamanders to betray their race.

Such people willing to betray others for gain are common in real life. In a game without legal or moral constraints, even more might be inclined to do so.

Thus, someone leaking information about Rozen and Leafa, leading to a Salamander ambush, was not out of the question.

"Remember, you're one of the top five players among the Sylphs. To hunt you down would be quite tempting for the Salamanders. As for me, I effortlessly defeated that troublesome Sigurd, the former runner-up of the Martial Arts Tournament. As an opponent, they would naturally want to target a rising threat like me," Rozen explained.

"So… who among the Sylphs has betrayed us to the Salamanders?" Leafa asked, a bit anxious.

In response, Rozen offered this answer.

"I think it's probably Sigurd."

Rozen confirmed.

"Why him?" Leafa asked.

"There's likely a personal grudge involved," Rozen replied straightforwardly. "Moreover, that guy's character is exactly that of a petty traitor. Who else but him, who fought me firsthand, would have such detailed information to pass to the Salamanders?"

Of course, this was just a hypothesis.

However…

"Your friend named Rekon mentioned something he had to look into when we left, didn't he? So much so that he stayed behind with Sigurd's team, even letting you go with me, his biggest rival," Rozen casually remarked.

"It's not like that at all!" Leafa hit Rozen in annoyance.

But she already understood Rozen's point.

"I think that kid Rekon might have noticed something strange about Sigurd."

Rozen asserted.

"You'd better contact him quickly. Otherwise, he might do something reckless. After all, he's a bit dense…"

Before he could finish, a flashing icon appeared in front of Leafa.

It was...

"A message from Rekon…?"

A foreboding feeling settled in Leafa's heart.