-270- Disappointing

"Hmph!"

With all the players present, Kibaou let out a cold snort while still holding his hand up as if to speak. Then, he walked towards the direction of the fountain.

The players' gazes followed Kibaou's movements, watching until he reached Diabel.

Diabel also looked at Kibaou, neither stopping him nor expressing any dissatisfaction, simply accepting him in a very gracious manner.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Diabel humbly asked.

Kibaou's response was anything but polite.

"No, I also want to conquer this damned game. I have no objections to that."

Kibaou's tone was unfriendly and completely different from Diabel's cheerful demeanor. It was as if he was hurling insults as he spoke.

"However, if we're going to fight together, shouldn't we be more careful in choosing our team members?"

With this, Kibaou's gaze turned extremely fierce as he scanned each player in the area.

And his gaze lingered the longest on Rozen and Kirito.

Then, Kibaou spoke loudly.

"To be blunt, I don't trust some of the players here. I have no confidence in fighting alongside those selfish bastards to defeat bosses!"

Kibaou's words caused a shift in the entire atmosphere of the plaza. From the previous enthusiasm and excitement, it seemed to drop to the freezing point. It cooled down rapidly and even grew heavy.

Selfish bastards.

This kind of phrase could only make players associate it with them.

The players all turned to look in one direction.

Besides Rozen's position, where else could it be?

That's right...

"Beta testers!"

Kibaou stared at Rozen with an intensity as if he wanted to pounce on him and bite him. He spoke with such hostility.

"These damned beta testers abandoned over nine thousand ordinary players who didn't understand the situation from the beginning of this game. They monopolized the efficient hunting grounds and lucrative quests, focused only on becoming stronger, then had the audacity to flaunt their gains and strength in front of us in the town. They acted like they were showing off, showcasing their spoils and power, but they never considered just how hard we've worked, and how much we've suffered, to survive in this world!"

Kibaou seemed to want to vent his anger. In stark contrast to Diabel's eloquent speech, he spoke in an almost inciting manner, pointing at the players present, his words full of anger.

"Can you fight shoulder to shoulder with these kinds of people? Can you conquer this game alongside these selfish bastards? Who knows if after we've painstakingly defeated the boss, they'll rush ahead of us in the 2nd floor again? I absolutely won't accept it!"

These words caused the players to whisper to each other, and eventually, the gazes focused on Rozen began to fill with hostility.

In this situation, disregarding Rozen for a moment, Kirito had already lowered his head, his face appearing somewhat pale.

Not only Kirito, even Argo, who was hiding in a corner of the plaza, seemed to be breathing more rapidly.

Both of them were beta testers as well.

It's just that others didn't know.

But Rozen was different.

Facing the hostile gazes of all the players, as well as Kibaou's furious words, Rozen remained utterly unfazed. He crossed his arms and watched quietly.

Seeing Rozen's calm demeanor, Kibaou couldn't possibly stop there.

"You all should know how many players have died in one month, right?"

Kibaou raised his voice.

"Two thousand people!"

"A whole fifth of the player population!"

"Because so many people have died in just one month, players feel hopeless and though it's impossible to conquer this game!"

"Out of these two thousand, even if you don't know anyone, how can you be sure that among the future casualties, there won't be anyone you know, or even yourselves?"

Kibaou's words changed the expressions of the players, and some even trembled, appearing extremely fearful.

Kibaou's reasons for bringing up this matter were simple as well.

"If the beta testers had shared the information and knowledge about this world's conditions from the beta period, maybe these two thousand people wouldn't have died!"

"If the beta testers hadn't monopolized resources and had shared with everyone, surely more people could have effectively leveled up. Then there will be more top players who will gather here to conquer the floor boss."

"In other words, the reason so many people died in this game, the reason the progress is so slow, even if beta testers aren't the main culprits, they are definitely responsible!"

At this point, before other players could even get worked up, Kibaou himself was already grinding his teeth in anger.

"Hearing all this, can you still stand calmly in the crowd without even planning to step forward?"

"Beta testers!"

Kibaou finally pointed his finger at Rozen.

Simultaneously, most of the players on the scene glared angrily at Rozen, shouting in succession.

"Step forward! Beta tester!"

"Step forward!"

"Do you plan to keep hiding like a coward!?"

"You had the guts to do that, but do you lack the guts to admit it!?"

"It's all your fault that so many people have died!"

"Step forward!"

"Step forward!"

At that moment, each player was caught in a whirlwind of fury.

"Step forward! Step forward! Step forward! Step forward!"

As if chanting a slogan, their rhythmic shouts echoed as they raised their hands, one after another.

In that instant, Rozen became the target of everyone's hatred, a scapegoat for all the players' resentment toward the beta testers.

Among these players, some might not truly want to do anything, and some might just be incited. But being trapped in SAO for an entire month had long accumulated a significant amount of negative emotions in these once-ordinary players.

Within those negative emotions lay fear, sadness, anger, pain. With ten thousand players, there were ten thousand worth of negativity.

Now, taking advantage of this opportunity, these individuals fully vented their emotions.

This is what it means to be human.

Faced with this torrent of negative emotions, Kirito's form was already swaying unsteadily. He appear as if he was in a nightmare, sweat trickling down his forehead.

Watching Rozen become the outlet for players' frustration and the scapegoat for all beta testers, the young man's face twisted as if he had been punched in the chest.

Just when Kirito couldn't bear it any longer and was about to step forward...

"Are you done talking?"

Rozen's response seemed to have just occurred to him as he surveyed everyone present.

His voice wasn't loud.

However, it spread throughout the entire scene.

"I was wondering what you all were going to say. It's truly disappointing."

Rozen's tone was as if he were addressing a group of fools, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well then, let me tell you."

"How you were all able to survive until now, you bunch of idiots."