-1701- Changed my mind

"Szzt... Szzt..."

When Rozen opened the message sent by Kikuoka Seijirou and played the attached audio file, the first thing that came through was a cacophony of static-like noise.

Amid the noise, the chatter of many people could be heard, and the heavy atmosphere could almost be felt.

"What are they talking about?"

"I can't hear a thing!"

"Let me listen!"

"Hey! Don't push!"

Asuna, Leafa, Lis, Silica, Kirito, Klein, Agil, and Sachi all crowded around Rozen, eager to hear clearly. Rozen found himself surrounded on his left by fragrant, soft femininity and on his right by rough and burly men, leaving him in a state of mixed feelings.

"That's just background noise, not the main content," came a voice from above.

Yui had flown up without anyone noticing and landed on Rozen's head.

"Listen carefully. The important part is coming up next."

At Yui's reminder, everyone quieted down and focused intently.

Even the surrounding guild members, noticing the commotion, realized something significant was happening and fell silent.

Then, a sharp voice broke through the tense silence, ringing out clearly.

"This is true power! True might!"

A voice filled with anger, joy, madness, and desire echoed powerfully.

"Foolish people! Engrave my name into your hearts with terror!"

The voice, metallic and far from human, resounded in everyone's ears.

"My name and this gun's name are — Death Gun!"

That was the entirety of the audio file.

At the end of the file, everyone heard a voice emanating raw bloodlust and a primal thirst for slaughter.

Death Gun.

As Kikuoka Seijirou had mentioned, the sender introduced themselves with this name.

Listening to the audio, everyone shivered, some crossing their arms as if warding off a chill.

"This feels... so unsettling..." Leafa commented, her face pale.

Her words echoed what everyone else felt.

The entire group felt discomfort, or perhaps it was more accurate to say the voice carried an ominous quality that sent shivers down their spines.

"Someone like this must be cold, ruthless, and downright repulsive in real life," Klein remarked with a sour expression.

Even the typically fearless Klein felt uneasy, not to mention the others.

The timid Sachi clung to one of Kirito's arms without realizing it, much to Lis' irritation.

Leafa and Silica each latched onto one of Rozen's arms, genuinely seeming frightened.

Agil, however, stayed calm, merely patting Klein on the shoulder without a word.

As for Asuna, she furrowed her brows and looked at Rozen.

Among everyone present, Rozen was the only one who maintained an indifferent expression.

Seeing this, Asuna felt a sense of relief.

Whenever others were unsettled, panicked, or scared, this man remained calm and composed.

It was this demeanor that had allowed him to lead so many people through countless challenges. His ability was undeniable, but so was the reassurance his attitude brought to those around him, earning their unconscious trust.

And so...

"What do you plan to do, Rozen?" Asuna asked.

Rozen turned his gaze toward her.

"What?" Rozen smirked. "Are you asking me to meddle in this?"

"That's not what I mean," Asuna shook her head. "It's just, if it's you, you should be able to figure out if this Death Gun can really kill people from within the game."

Whether the player calling themselves Death Gun truly had such abilities, others might not be able to discern, but Rozen's intellect was another matter.

Rozen indeed had some thoughts on the matter.

"It's certain that even if they have some mysterious power, it's impossible for them to affect the physical bodies of players in the real world."

Rozen explained confidently.

"With all the advancements and optimizations over time, the AmuSphere now guarantees absolute safety. The kind of incidents we saw during SAO, where a player's brain was fried upon character death, or any influence on real-world bodies through neural transmissions or electronic signals, is completely impossible now."

The AmuSphere's safety was so well-established that even Rozen, with his vast knowledge, could vouch for it. Even if someone like Kayaba Akihiko or Sugo Nobuyuki attempted to remove logout options, the AmuSphere would automatically disconnect after a set period, ensuring players could wake up safely.

Given this, the only real-world impacts from in-game events would be limited to certain mild effects, such as the ear ringing and dizziness caused by explosion magic in ALO or physical exhaustion from prolonged play. These might cause discomfort but posed no danger to life.

"Of course, if players neglect themselves—failing to eat or overextending playtime, leading to exhaustion or sudden death—that's on them, not the game."

Thus, unless someone possessed a miraculous ability to bridge the gap between virtual and real worlds, affecting reality from within the game was simply impossible.

"If there's some unimaginably advanced technology at play, I won't argue," Rozen shrugged, "but I doubt anyone's developed such technology."

As someone who possessed knowledge of technologies far beyond this era, Rozen was confident in his assertion.

The conclusion was clear:

"It's currently impossible to interfere with the real world from a virtual one," Rozen stated. "However, it's certain the perpetrator is using some means to achieve this."

At the very least, Rozen didn't believe Death Gun's actions were mere rumors or coincidences.

The alleged incidents, where a shot in the game led to a player's real-world death, were too implausible to dismiss as chance.

Especially since it happened twice, with the same shooter.

There was no way it was mere coincidence.

"However, unless I personally investigate and confront them, there's no way to uncover their methods."

Rozen concluded his explanation.

"So, you're not going to accept Kikuoka-san's request, right?" Asuna asked, seemingly understanding.

Unfortunately...

"I've changed my mind," Rozen suddenly declared.

Before anyone could react, he began composing a message.

The message read:

"I've accepted the request. I'll enter GGO to investigate later. Don't forget you owe me a favor."

After finishing, Rozen sent the message.

"Wha—!"

The group finally reacted but was too late to stop him.

Watching Rozen send the message, everyone was left speechless.

After a long pause...

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!?"

Their cries echoed across the sky.