-419- Deal with that guy later

The 75th floor, Collinia.

This was a town filled with buildings in the style of ancient Rome. The streets of the town were constructed with square-cut white limestone, symbolizing Collinia alongside temple-style buildings and wide waterways.

In front of the town's teleport gate stood a massive arena. This arena was also a symbol of Collinia and was available for players to use. If duels or competitions occurred, this place could be utilized as a venue.

Now, the members of the clearing groups who had arrived in Corinia through the teleport gates gathered in the arena, forming groups and taking seats in the spectator stands.

Due to the spaciousness of the venue, each guild occupied a different corner, and even some individual player teams found their own spots, making the spectator stands feel lively with players chatting and discussing.

However, despite the liveliness, the atmosphere was quite serious.

Faced with the boss raid on the 75th floor, players in the clearing group were filled with unease and apprehension.

"I heard that there have been casualties."

"You mean the members of the scouting party, right?"

"A total of twelve people."

"Isn't this the first time we've had casualties in a boss raid on the upper floors since the 25th floor?"

"Even though it was just scouting, it's not a proper raid."

"Sigh..."

Players continued to discuss these topics, and a slight sense of heaviness lingered in the air.

The unexpected appearance of casualties after such a long time reminded everyone that this was ultimately a death game. With three-quarters of the floors already cleared and the top floor, the 100th floor, approaching, the difficulty of clearing would only increase, and more casualties might occur.

At that time, how many players would be left here?

These thoughts weighed on everyone's minds, contributing to the persistent heavy atmosphere.

Adding to this,

"I heard that 'Magus' has returned."

"It's about time."

"We can't take it much longer if he doesn't come back."

"Only he can prevent further losses."

"I don't know what 'Crimson Wing' was thinking, letting their guild leader take a vacation on such a critical floor."

"If 'Magus' hadn't left the front lines, maybe the scouting team members wouldn't have died."

"Yeah."

Players began venting their anxiety and apprehension in this manner.

Clearly, some players viewed Rozen's vacation as a sign of irresponsibility.

It was only natural that there were players who held this viewpoint, and there were also many players who argued against it.

"Magus doesn't have an obligation to protect everyone."

"He's already done a good job leading the clearing group for boss raids. Do you want him to be a babysitter too?"

"If you're from Crimson Wing, that's a different story, but why should you demand others to protect you?"

"Exactly."

There were many players who reasoned like this. The clearing group had originally come together as a loose alliance for the sake of clearing, and it was not reasonable to expect someone to go out of their way to protect others, especially if they were from different guilds or teams.

Furthermore, becoming the leader of the clearing group might bring fame, but it came with no other benefits.

Therefore, pushing the responsibility onto Rozen was undoubtedly a form of misplaced blame and slander.

In this way, players in the arena expressed various opinions. Among them were the players of the Knights of the Blood Oath.

"It's quite chaotic here."

Asuna stood among the players of the Knights of the Blood Oath, leading her guild members who occupied a corner of the arena.

Behind her, the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath were also engaged in discussions similar to those of other players, adding to the noise.

Asuna sighed quietly.

"Rozen has been working so hard."

Asuna felt indignant on Rozen's behalf.

From the very beginning, that man had been at the forefront of the players, leading everyone through every floor until here. He maintained an incredible unblemished record, directly or indirectly saving countless lives.

Although he usually appeared lazy, he had never been negligent in his clearing duties over the past two years.

With all that in mind, if he wanted to take a short break, was there anything wrong with that?

"Don't take reliance for granted."

Asuna muttered these words softly.

Her words immediately garnered agreement from the players who had gathered around.

"You're absolutely right."

"Some of these people have really closed minds."

With these remarks, a samurai and a burly Axe-wielder appeared together.

"Long time no see, Miss Asuna."

Klein raised his hand, offering a somewhat lighthearted greeting.

"It's been about two weeks, right? The last time we met was during the Kuradeel incident."

Agil similarly crossed his arms, wearing a generous smile.

"Mr. Klein, Mr. Agil."

Asuna recognized them and smiled warmly at her two comrades. Her beautiful smile made both Klein and Agil feel slightly dazzled, causing them to squint their eyes.

Immediately,

"I feel relieved seeing you back," Agil nodded earnestly and said with a smile, "It looks like that guy Rozen has indeed returned."

"That darn guy!" Klein grumbled irritably, "Living together with Miss Asuna, he's so lucky, that bastard!"

With one sentence, the voices of the Knights of the Blood Oath players behind Asuna quieted down as they looked over.

There was no surprise on their faces, just pure annoyance and displeasure. This indicated one thing - everyone knew.

They knew about Rozen and Asuna living together.

"Ho... how did you guys find out about this!?" Asuna's pretty face turned red, her voice involuntarily raised, and she became flustered.

Asuna naturally didn't know that while she was immersed in her happy life, a certain mouse had already leaked this information, just as it had said before. Although she didn't reveal the exact address, the fact that they were living together was no secret and had spread everywhere.

Asuna, who was unaware of this matter, could only feel flustered. However, her blushing and embarrassed appearance seemed to stimulate the others.

"It looks like this is true."

Agil sighed regretfully.

"We'll deal with that guy later!"

Klein ground his teeth in frustration.

Then, the two finally got to the point.

"By the way, Miss Asuna," Klein scanned their surroundings strangely and asked, "Has Heathcliff not come along?"

At his words, Asuna, who had eased her embarrassment slightly, cleared her throat and said, "The Guild Leader seems to be busy with something lately, I haven't seen him around."

With that statement, Klein and Agil exchanged glances.