-310- Extra skill

"————"

A highly tense atmosphere pervaded the entire raid meeting venue.

Seeing Rozen leading the members of Crimson Wing arriving late, and being over half an hour late at that, some of the players present had rather unpleasant expressions, making the atmosphere grow more tense.

In this situation, only a few showed friendliness.

"You're late again, Rozen."

The one who said this while carrying a heavy two-handed battle axe was a giant with healthy black skin, followed by a group of sturdy players.

It was Agil.

"Oh?" Rozen only just noticed this familiar face and said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to be here too."

Since clearing the 1st Floor, Agil had never left the ranks of top players. He had fought alongside his teammates in every boss raid on each floor, working hard alongside Rozen's group.

However, Agil and his companions hadn't joined any guild or created one. Instead, they continued to participate in raids as a small team.

The reason, in his own words, was this: "I actually prefer doing business over raiding."

That's right.

Agil wasn't just a top player in the raid group; he was also a merchant specializing in buying and selling items. He would buy items from other players at low prices and then sell them at high prices. Though he was well-known in the industry, his methods were a bit shady. He often used his intimidating appearance and size to his advantage, buying items cheaply and then selling them at a premium. Despite his reputation, he was quite infamous.

Because of his business, Agil rarely attended boss raids in the training areas, even though he frequently participated in boss raids on the main floors. This time, his presence at the meeting was a bit surprising to Rozen.

After all...

"After what happened on the 25th Floor, and with uncertainty about what this floor might hold, along with the withdrawal of the 'Aincrad libration squad' guild, our raid force has been greatly reduced. I'm worried too," Agil said with a heavy tone, causing his teammates to nod in agreement.

Although Rozen had asked Argo to convey the message that this floor wouldn't be as absurdly difficult as the 25th Floor, it was still normal for Agil to feel uneasy, given the hardships they had faced on the previous floor.

Apart from Agil, another person engaged Rozen in conversation.

"Even though we're all so nervous, it's amazing how relaxed you can be when you're late."

The voice sounded quite casual and even a bit irreverent.

The owner of the voice was a man wearing samurai armor and a headband, with bright red hair. He appeared to be a downtrodden swordsman, but his facial expression was unexpectedly refreshing and straightforward.

Upon seeing this man, Rozen hadn't even reacted yet, but Kirito's gaze had already shifted away.

The man naturally noticed Kirito and immediately raised his hand, greeting Kirito with great enthusiasm.

"Hey, Kirito, you seem to have been put through quite a lot by your guild leader."

At these words, Kirito forced a wry smile and responded with a somewhat complicated tone.

"You're still the same, Klein."

Klein.

That was the name of this seemingly destitute swordsman player.

Despite his appearance, he was quite capable. He was a member of the raid group and also the leader of the guild "Fuurin Kazan."

Unlike the other guilds in the raid group, Fuurin Kazan had been formed first before gradually expanded by recruiting members, and all the members were Klein's real-life friends.

Not in-game friends, but real-life friends.

It was said that Klein had known a closed beta player before SAO became a death game and had learned sword techniques under that player's guidance.

After SAO became a death game, the closed beta player invited Klein to leave the Starting Town together, away from other players, to secure advantageous resources. However, Klein didn't agree and chose to stay in the town for the sake of his friends. After reuniting with his friends and guild members, he gradually formed the "Fuurin Kazan" guild. With his effort and that of his friends, Klein climbed the ranks and eventually became a top player, joining the clearing group.

In other words, Klein, using his own strength, protected all his companions and guided them to grow until they were capable of being part of the clearing group. This was just one manifestation of his abilities.

Apart from his leadership in the guild, Klein himself was also a powerful and unique player.

———"Katana user."

Yes, "Katana."

On the 1st Floor, when the Floor Boss Kobold Lord Illfang's HP entered the final red zone, he used a "Nodachi" a long katana.

This was the same weapon used by the humanoid samurai monster that blocked the closed beta players from ascending through the 10th Floor, a monster-specific weapon.

After nearly half a year since clearing the 10th Floor, the "Katana" was no longer a monster-specific weapon. It had become a special skill that players could obtain.

Special skills were skills that only appeared under specific conditions or choices, making them hidden skills.

These hidden skills were very rare and seldom seen. Unlike other weapon skills, they couldn't be obtained without fulfilling certain conditions.

Rozen had obtained a hidden skill, "Martial Arts," from a hidden NPC master on the 2nd Floor after clearing the 1st Floor. It allowed him to fight unarmed when without a weapon. Similar to other weapon skills, it had its own sword techniques and was quite popular among high-level players.

Similar to "Martial Arts," the "Katana" used by the samurai monsters on the 10th Floor and the Kobold Lord on the 1st Floor was also a special skill. Currently, it was known that there was a high probability of obtaining it for players who continuously trained in the "Curved Blade" skill.

Klein had obtained this special skill and became a well-known "Katana user" in the raid group. In terms of strength, he was likely within the top five in the entire raid group.

By the way, the closed beta player Klein encountered in the Starting Town was none other than Kirito.

Kirito himself had mentioned this, right? "I've already abandoned my friend. There's no turning back."

This person was Klein.

In other words, when Klein wanted to help his friends, Kirito didn't stay back. Instead, for the sake of securing advantageous resources and survival, he left Klein and the Starting Town on his own.

Due to this, seeing Klein joining with his friends in the raid group, Kirito felt both surprised and guilty. He had been avoiding Klein all this time.

Rozen could tell that Klein didn't mind, but it seemed Kirito hadn't yet reconciled with his own feelings.

(I'll leave it to the parties involved to sort it out.)

Rozen thought so.

In general, both Klein and Agil in the raid group were allies and not enemies of Rozen.

But others were different.

"It's truly fitting for the leader of the strongest guild. Are you intentionally making everyone wait for you to showcase your authority?" Such a sarcastic voice resounded from the crowd.