Aincrad, Floor 27, Lombarde. The members of The Moonlit Black Cats were fully equipped and had been waiting by the teleport gate for a while.
Sasumaru, a thief with blond hair, looked at the time and then turned to Sachi, a girl with shoulder-length dark blue hair, who was wearing a light blue dress and armor. "Sachi, is Kirito here yet?"
Sachi opened a message window and replied, "Kirito-kun said that because Keita-san, our guild leader, went to buy a guild base, they were one person short. He's going to get a reliable friend to help."
"Seriously, Kirito is a good guy, but he's too cautious. I think with our current strength, we can totally explore the next floor. We can handle it even without Keita, our frontline fighter," the blond thief said, patting his chest to show that Kirito was overreacting. The other two members, Tetsuo and Ducker, didn't say anything, but they agreed with him.
Since Kirito joined The Moonlit Black Cats, he had been helping them behind the scenes, and they had been making steady progress. They had even managed to defeat an elite monster in the wild, which made them a bit too confident. The members of The Moonlit Black Cats were all from the same club and were young, so they were feeling very proud of themselves. That's why they decided to take on this adventure. Kirito and Sachi were against it, but the three of them outvoted them.
"I thought Kirito would join a very impressive guild, but it seems I had too high expectations from the start."
A bright light flashed, and Seiya and Kirito appeared in front of The Moonlit Black Cats. The words had come from Seiya.
The Moonlit Black Cats wasn't a very famous or powerful guild. They only had six members, but they were very close. When they heard what Seiya said, even though he was Kirito's friend, they got angry.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying our guild isn't good enough for Kirito?"
Since they had been trapped in this death game, the members of The Moonlit Black Cats had been helping each other and had survived until now. This guild was more than just a game guild to them. Sasumaru and the others didn't hold back their anger.
Kirito, who was about to introduce Seiya, facepalmed. He had forgotten that his childhood friend had a venomous tongue.
"Sasumaru, calm down. He didn't mean it. He's just..."
"I'm sorry, but I did. Before I came here, I was wondering why a loner like Kirito would join a guild. I was curious to see what kind of charismatic people would make him change his mind. After hearing what you just said, I think you're just a bunch of fools who are overconfident."
Seiya interrupted Kirito, who was trying to be a peacemaker. Sasumaru was so angry that he wanted to punch Seiya, but Sachi stopped him.
"Sasumaru-kun, calm down. We're in a safe zone. We'll be flagged for malicious killing if we attack him first."
"Sachi, isn't it upsetting that this arrogant guy is looking down on us?" Sasumaru asked. Seiya pushed Kirito away and said, "You should be glad we're in a safe zone. If we were in a wild or a dungeon, you would all be dead even if you all came at me at once. You guys will die at the hands of monsters with that mentality, so you might as well die by my hands first."
Seiya's gaze was so intense that Sasumaru and the others flinched. They realized that he wasn't joking.
"You're angry that I'm insulting your guild, which means you care about your guild and your friends. But have you ever thought that your actions are putting them in danger? You think you're strong enough to explore the upper floors? That's ridiculous. Can you take responsibility if you guys get into a life-threatening situation? This isn't a game, kid. If you die because of your stupidity, that's fine. But what about your friends?"
Seiya's words left Sasumaru and the others speechless. Kirito, who was trying to stop him, realized what Seiya was doing and let him continue.
"Kirito is not a social person, but his strength is undeniable. He's been invited to join many top guilds but has refused all of them. But he joined your guild. I was curious about what kind of guild you were. I'm disappointed. The strength of a guild isn't just about their level. Levels and strength can grow, but a person who puts their friends in danger because of their arrogance is trash!"
Seiya didn't have a good impression of the members of The Moonlit Black Cats, except for Sachi, Kirito's first love, and Keita, who jumped off the tower after his friends were killed out of guilt.