-248- What will happen?

+8.

If other players were to find out about this, it would surely cause a huge uproar, right?

Having such a weapon on the 1st Floor isn't just about luck; it requires a considerable amount of determination and patience.

Because, in order to enhance a weapon to +8, there are numerous conditions that need to be met.

Firstly, you need a weapon that can be enhanced eight times. Such weapons of that level are quite rare; there might not even be more than five in the entire 1st Floor. This is also why the "Anneal Blade" is considered a necessary mission for one-handed sword users.

Secondly, enhancement carries a risk of failure, and once it fails, you lose a chance at enhancement. To increase the chances of successful enhancement, you need to spend a lot of time gathering materials and increasing the success rate. Even so, there's no guarantee of 100% success in enhancement. The success rate can be raised up to 95%, leaving a 5% chance of failure.

Lastly, during the early stages of SAO when it is a death game, there probably weren't many players who would have focused on blacksmith skills that didn't directly affect survival.

Players relied on NPC blacksmiths for weapon maintenance and enhancement. But the proficiency of the 1st Floor's NPC blacksmiths wasn't generally high. At the beginning, enhancement wasn't too difficult, but after a certain number of enhancements, like +3 and beyond, the failure rate would increase.

For these reasons, the appearance of a +8 weapon would be enough to make any player envious. If a player skilled in other weapon abilities obtained this weapon, they might even consider abandoning their previously developed skills in favor of becoming a one-handed sword user.

Frankly, in the current SAO, there might not be another weapon enhanced to +8.

Even Kirigaya Kazuto had only enhanced his "Anneal Blade" to +6. You can imagine how bold and dedicated Rozen must be.

Rozen's +8 "Anneal Blade " isn't just any casually enhanced weapon. It has the parameters of 4S ,2Q, 2D, which means +4 Sharpness, +2 Quickness, and +2 Durability. The attack power, attack speed, and endurance have all been significantly enhanced.

If such a weapon were sold, it could fetch a market price of around 40,000 to 50,000 Col.

Of course, Rozen isn't foolish enough to sell it.

The "Anneal Blade" +8 is a high-performance weapon that can be used effectively up to the 4th Floor. Rozen didn't intend to sell it before reaching the 4th Floor.

For this weapon, Rozen spent nights in high-level monster areas that dropped enhancement materials, aiming to maximize his success rate. He aimed for a 95% success rate every time. He even found a hidden NPC blacksmith in a remote area and completed several quests for him, finally receiving assistance from this NPC blacksmith with the highest proficiency on the entire 1st Floor. This help allowed him to successfully enhance the "Anneal Blade" to +8.

This sword has been of great help to Rozen, allowing him to be the first to enter the mid-level monster-inhabited training area, obtaining many chests and items that no one had accessed before, gaining a lot of experience, and even obtaining a high-performance armor, the "Thousand-Layer Robe," which has a drop rate of only 0.01%, from a small boss in the maze area. This armor boosted Rozen's defense.

Now, Rozen not only possesses high attack power but also considerable defense. Even if hit by a level 5 monster's full-force attack, his HP wouldn't decrease by much. Among current players, he undoubtedly belongs in the top.

In addition, Rozen has the unique familiar, the Rainbow Butterfly, and can occasionally use the Mind's Eye for battle. There are probably very few players in SAO who could rival him.

However, it's precisely because of this that Rozen didn't overlook a particular phenomenon.

When these players blocking his path looked at his weapons, armor, and even the Rainbow Butterfly perched on his shoulder, a momentary expression of greed and desire flickered across their faces.

Seeing this scene, Rozen could basically anticipate what these players were about to say.

As expected...

"Isn't it true that you beta testers forcefully monopolized all the resources from the beta testing period, including your weapons, armor, and familiar?"

One player began shouting like this.

"We're players too, why should these resources be exclusively claimed by you beta testers?"

This player's argument caused the others to join in.

"Yeah!"

"Why?"

"Just because you're beta testers!?"

"Do you know how many of us are longing for better weapons and armor?"

"This is practically a kind of domination!"

"Hand them over!"

"Give up your weapons and armor!"

"And that familiar, too!"

"That's right!"

One after another, the players started to accuse loudly, causing the leader among them to chuckle coldly.

Unfortunately...

"Are you done with your nonsense?"

Rozen's impatience remained on his face, evident that he wasn't even willing to entertain their excuses.

"If you're done talking, make way. If you don't, be prepared for the consequences."

Rozen's words make the group of players held their breath.

Only the leader, continued to chuckle.

"Are you planning to fight? Aren't you afraid of becoming an Orange Player and being unable to enter safe zones?"

When committing crimes outside safe zones, players' nametags would turn orange.

At that point, if players got close to the main street area, incredibly strong guards would approach and take them down in no time.

For players who needed supplies and equipment repairs, this wasn't something to be taken lightly.

More importantly, once a player became an "Orange Player," how they would be perceived by the rest of the SAO players was predictable.

However...

"Don't you guys know?"

Rozen suddenly laughed.

"As long as you don't personally initiate an attack, you won't become an Orange Player."

As his words dropped...

"Gu!"

The Rainbow Butterfly, which had been perched on Rozen's shoulder all along, suddenly spread its wings and took flight. It flew above the group of players, and from the airborne Rainbow Butterfly, a burst of glowing phosphorescent powder rained down, enveloping all the players.

"This!?"

"Ah!?"

"What!?"

Each player was taken aback, and right after that, before they could react with panic, they stiffened one by one and collapsed.

Symbols representing paralysis appeared on their HP bars.

This was the effect of the Rainbow Butterfly's paralysis powder skill.

"You!?"

The leader, now lying on the ground too, wore an astonished expression, his eyes twitching.

In response, Rozen said just a few words.

"Don't worry, given your levels, the paralysis won't last very long. You'll recover in a bit. I won't attack you either. After all, I don't want to become a orange player."

Rozen grinned at the leader.

"Just know that next time if a situation like this arises, even if I don't attack you, it doesn't mean you'll be fine. Even though familiars generally aren't strong in battle and can't harm players, imagine what will happen if you're paralyzed for a few seconds while surrounded by monsters."

One sentence not only made the leader pale, but also every other player there.

"Be more sensible."

Leaving behind those words, Rozen departed.

He really didn't have the time to play around with these guys.

After all, he had an appointment with someone.