-249- [ Argo ]

Tolbana.

This is the nearest town to the 1st Floor's labyrinth area in Aincrad.

In this large 1st Floor, the southernmost part holds the Town of beginnings. To the northwest lies a vast forest after crossing the grasslands. Moving northeast leads to a wetland area, followed by mountain ranges, canyons, ruins, and monsters inhabiting these terrains.

Theoretically, these monsters in the labyrinth area are the highest-level creatures in the 1st Floor's wilderness.

Because, if players advance further, they'll reach the staircase labyrinth area at the far north end of the 1st Floor. It stands like a towering cloud-piercing tower, with a diameter of 300 meters and a height of 100 meters, providing access to the 2nd Floor.

For players seeking to conquer the game or just improve themselves, the significance of the labyrinth area is undeniable.

It's not just a staircase to the upper levels, but the monsters inside are also higher-level than those in the wilderness. Plus, it contains numerous chests with rare items. For players, it's an absolute treasure trove.

And the town closest to the labyrinth area is Tolbana, a mountainous city spanning just 200 meters.

After a month of chaos and exploration, quite a few players have arrived here in Tolbana. They make the labyrinth area their target every day to level up and gain resources.

Naturally, those who have reached this place and continue to conquer the labyrinth area are the top players. The lower-level players are scattered across safer towns and villages or still stationed in the Town of beginnings, unable to come to this frontline place.

Given the situation, Rozen naturally chose this place as his base.

"Inner area."

As Rozen arrived in this town with the Rainbow Butterfly, he immediately saw purple text indicating that he had entered the safezone and was protected.

However, the protection inside the safezone only prevented direct attacks, not indirect ones.

For instance, the sharp glances and words from bystanders.

"Hey, look at that guy."

"There's a rainbow-like butterfly on his shoulder."

"He's the rumored closed beta player, right?"

"To think he'd dare to show up on the streets."

Fully-equipped players watched Rozen with the Rainbow Butterfly and started whispering. Their hostile gazes were directed at him.

This was the treatment Rozen frequently received since regular players discovered the advantages of closed beta players and recognized Rozen's identity.

There were a full ten thousand players participating in the official SAO launch. Even if about ten percent were closed beta players, many regular players held hostility towards them.

Some had genuinely suffered losses due to the selfish actions of closed beta players, some were incited, and others were just seeking an outlet for their fear, terror, and panic of being trapped in this death game. This, combined with various reasons, led to the discrimination against closed beta players in just a month's time.

As the only confirmed closed beta player, Rozen naturally bore the brunt of all regular players' resentment.

The players here were still relatively mild, merely showing hostility and gossiping behind his back. Like those individuals who just confronted him, it was clear how Rozen's situation was now.

Despite this, Rozen yawned lazily, ignoring everyone's reactions, and strolled down the street.

"What should I eat later?"

Rozen pondered such things.

As for what these players thought of him, Rozen couldn't have cared less.

Back in Chaldea, he had received his fair share of sneers. Similarly, during his time with the Akabane clan, he faced the whispers and finger-pointing due to the increasing gap between him and Akabane Tenzen.

Compared to those people, the players who could only sneak around and do various things to Rozen within the game were truly weak.

Rozen didn't mind these people's scorn and casually turned into an alleyway, causing a few players who had been discreetly trailing him to startle. They hurriedly advanced but couldn't find any trace of Rozen, standing in the alley gritting their teeth in frustration.

In such a scenario, Rozen, at an astonishing speed, turned into a small alley and arrived at a door that seemed like a hidden spot. He pushed open the door and entered.

Before him appeared a shabby and small-scale tavern.

"Hmph."

The NPC tavern owner stood at the counter, looking at Rozen entering the door. Instead of greeting him, the owner snorted and turned away.

This NPC tavern owner had been designed with a nasty personality. The tavern's location was quite remote, and it was also run-down. Only very reclusive players or those with hidden motives would come here. As a result, the tavern was often quite empty.

And now, there was a person who wasn't usually seen much in this place.

"Hey there, ZenZen. You've been working hard, huh?"

Using such a embarrassing nickname to address Rozen was a player of petite stature, small enough to make people wonder if she was even an adult.

The individual was equipped with cloth and leather armor, had a small hook on her left waist, a dart on her right waist, and wore a half-cloak that only reached her waist. Her smiling face bore a very distinctive feature—three lines on each cheek resembling animal whiskers.

This appearance, combined with the person's golden-brown short curls, often reminded people of a rat-like creature.

In fact, this player, whose character name was Argo, was indeed nicknamed "Rat" by players who knew about her existence.

Argo, known for being an information dealer, sold various information like locations with high experience efficiency, the positions and triggers of quest NPCs, and even players' personal details. For this reason, she allocated all she points to agility and also engaged in side businesses like relaying messages, persuasion, and as a guide. All of these activities were a bit secretive.

By the way, Argo was also a closed beta player.

Even though Argo never admitted it personally, Rozen had met her during the closed beta period. However, both Rozen and Argo were using their character appearances back then. They didn't recognize each other's real-life appearances, so when they met again in this world, they never acknowledged this fact and simply continued to interact as they always had.

As a side note, Argo was a female player, even rarer than rare monsters in the world of online games.

The person who had called Rozen to this place was her.

Rozen promptly entered the tavern with the Rainbow Butterfly and casually sat down in front of Argo. He didn't beat around the bush and directly asked.

"So, what kind of request has brought you here to find me this time?"

Rozen got straight to the point.