During days of relentless exploration by countless players, the majority of the 25th floor was turned completely inside out in just about a week.
What was even more shocking was that the field boss blocking the way had been taken down by a 24-person scouting team made up of members from ALS, DDA (Divine Dragon Alliance), and KoB.
(Upon checking, there doesn't seem to be clear info on DDA; it seems to have formed from a reorganization after DKB disbanded. For now, let's assume Lind is still the guild leader.)
Unsurprisingly, this outcome led most players to believe that Aincrad's floor bosses no longer posed any real threat.
All they had to do was casually discuss a strategy, assign roles, and head in.
The consistent ease of past battles had slowly inflated their confidence.
Even the deaths of two KoB members days earlier hadn't shaken them.
Most saw it as nothing more than a minor accident.
Among the 500+ members of the clearing group, the most arrogant and dismissive of those deaths was ALS's guildmaster, Kibaou.
Whether it was just his nature, or he'd been corrupted by too much praise over time, his current behavior had strayed far from his original ideals when founding ALS.
He who once wished to liberate all players trapped in Aincrad now increasingly resembled a delusional braggart who only talked strategy on paper.
As for this inexplicable confidence from the clearing group, Akimi had no intention of trying to warn them—because he knew: unless there was a truly devastating, painful battle to wake them up, no one would listen to a word he said.
To put it bluntly: you can't talk sense into someone determined to die.
In fact, if the players had paid just a little more attention to their recent battles, they would've noticed they no longer cut down enemies as effortlessly as they once had.
Some were even occasionally caught in dangerous situations.
On the afternoon of March 30, the players completed their exploration of the labyrinth tower and discovered the 25th floor's boss chamber.
Once the news spread, several guild leaders immediately scheduled a strategy meeting for 6 a.m. the next day.
Afterward, they planned to set out before 8 a.m., reach the boss chamber, rest for ten minutes, and start the fight—ideally finishing the boss by noon.
When Akimi heard about this ridiculous plan, he was stunned.
He knew the players were getting overconfident, but he never imagined it had gone this far.
This schedule basically left no time to rest.
The so-called ten-minute break before the battle was a joke—it was barely enough for players to check their potions, gear, and buffs.
There was practically no room to actually recover.
Only a handful of players like Kirito and Agil questioned the plan, but Kibaou and Lind completely ignored their concerns.
Even Heathcliff, the strongest guild leader, remained silent.
When arguments over command later broke out, he simply watched from the sidelines.
All signs pointed to one thing: the clearing group was heading straight toward its worst catastrophe since its formation.
On the night of the 30th, Kibaou and Lind hosted a party in the final town of the 25th floor—Kalisaier—inviting the entire clearing group.
The event, naturally, was dressed up in grand language: it was to thank everyone for their hard work, celebrate reaching one-fourth of the way through Aincrad, and to wish for a victorious raid the next day.
"Cheers!!!"
"Haha! So you've been flirting with girls even in the game, huh!"
"Look at Binbin over here, what a lightweight! Can't even handle his drink in a game! Haha!"
"Wah—! That's slander! I'll sue you!"
The clearing group players laughed and joked loudly around the banquet tables, while Kibaou , Lind, and the other guild higher-ups gathered in another corner, bragging and chatting away—boasting about how amazing they were in real life, how strong they were in other games, and now, how unstoppable they were here.
The whole tavern sounded like a bustling marketplace, noisy enough to make your head throb.
Akimi sat alone at the bar counter, leaning lazily against it, his entire body radiating a salted-fish aura of boredom.
He sipped an unknown type of alcohol and casually picked up a weird broad bean-like snack from a dish in front of him, tossing it into his mouth — though he had no clue how many different ways its name could be written.
"Hmm? Why are you alone? Where's Asuna?"
Just as Salted-Fish Akimi was about to roll over and eavesdrop on the ridiculous boasting from across the room, a figure dressed in black — Kirito — walked over and asked.
Without even turning his head, Akimi replied, "Asuna dragged Argo out shopping — we passed by a women's boutique on the way here... and I think there was also a hot spring. You know how she is with her little preferences."
Kirito shrugged without saying much — anyone even slightly close to Akimi's circle knew about Asuna's strange obsession with soaking in baths.
Pulling out a stool beside Akimi, Kirito leaned against the counter just like him.
After randomly ordering a drink from the NPC bartender, Kirito silently watched the clearing group members reveling in celebration.
After a long pause, with a dazed expression, Kirito finally said to Akimi:
"You ever wonder…"
Thud.
Before Kirito could finish, Akimi gently tapped his wooden mug on the bar counter, cutting him off.
"I know what you're trying to say—but the problems within the clearing group aren't ones we can solve. First, in the eyes of the group members, there are two labels we can never peel off — and because of that, they'll never truly trust us. Second, even if we speak up, they won't listen."
Yeah—one's a cheater, and the other's a beta tester.
No matter how close Akimi and Kirito were to a few members of the clearing group, to the majority, those two titles alone were enough reason to never give them the time of day.
It was like a fishbone stuck in your throat—every time you swallowed, it stung.
What's more, the current mindset of the clearing group was already dangerously flawed.
Reasoning with them wouldn't do any good.
No matter how logically Akimi tried to explain things, it wouldn't matter—just like if you were about to make a fortune, and two people you hate suddenly jump out to say, "Don't do it. You'll lose everything"—be honest, would you believe them?
Kirito gripped his mug tightly, unable to say anything.
But the struggle in his eyes betrayed his unwillingness to accept it.
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