Bab 268: -264- That's all there is to it
"Clang!"
The collision, louder than any previous clash, reverberated like an echo as it dispersed along with the force of impact. Asuna's sword skill was deflected by a heavy-looking, yet faintly glowing, one-handed sword wielded by Rozen.
"Ugh..."
Asuna felt a strong force propel her, causing her to stumble back.
At that moment, Asuna finally saw the appearance of the intervening party.
Other than Rozen, who else could it be?
"Take a good look."
Without waiting for Asuna's questions, Rozen pointed behind him.
"If you had landed that attack and triggered a critical hit, it would have caused quite the trouble, wouldn't it?"
At his words, Asuna subconsciously followed Rozen's gesture and looked behind him.
There, the rapier user with the orange tag had collapsed.
"Gu!"
Rainbow Butterflies had flown to the head of the rapier user at some point, sprinkling layer upon layer of paralysis powder, making him moan in misery while slumping to the ground, unable to stand up.
Of course, Rozen wasn't referring to the rapier user himself, but to his HP gauge.
Perhaps due to not recovering from the damage sustained in his battle with Rozen, or maybe as a result of counterattacks while attacking other players, the rapier user's HP gauge was in a yellow state, decreased by more than half.
"Seems like he forgot to bring healing potions? He really doesn't value his life."
Rozen commented on the player's behavior with a fairly objective tone, which made Asuna shudder.
If her previous sword skill had really connected and triggered a critical hit, what would have happened to this poorly-equipped rapier user with more than half his HP gauge already depleted?
Thinking about it, Asuna felt a pain in her abdomen, an impulse that made her want to retch.
Observing Asuna's reaction, Rozen remained silent, merely turning to look at the players who were still frozen in place.
"Those of you over there, do you still have plans for the rest of the day?"
Rozen's sudden question prompted the players to respond almost reflexively.
"N-No... no plans..."
"Because of the presence of the player with the orange tag, we were planning to return to the safe zone earlier today..."
"Y-Yeah..."
Player after player answered.
"Is that so?" Rozen nodded and continued, "Well then, I leave this orange player to all of you. Escort him back to the town."
Once the orange player appeared in the town, the NPC guards would immediately arrest him and confine him in the town's prison, rendering him unable to move freely.
Wasn't this the best way to deal with criminals?
"U-Understood."
The players then stepped forward one by one, escorting the paralyzed rapier user away and taking him with them.
Presumably, when these players realized what they had done, they would feel extremely ashamed and angry, right?
To actually obediently follow the orders of the self-serving Beta Tester, it was beyond embarrassing.
However, that had nothing to do with Rozen.
Naturally, it also had nothing to do with Asuna.
Asuna just stared at the departing rapier user, lost in thought.
"Gu!"
Rainbow Butterflies also flew back to Rozen's shoulder, landing there.
Rozen then sheathed his weapon, putting the "Anneal Blade +8" into the red scabbard. He then turned his gaze towards Asuna.
"Too bad, it seems that the orange rapier user wasn't able to finish you off." Rozen said nonchalantly, "But that's alright. You can continue venturing into the labyrinth, fighting monsters until you're completely exhausted."
Rozen seemed completely uninterested in stopping Asuna and looked at her with an expression that seemed to peer into her innermost feelings, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
If it were before, wouldn't Asuna have already left without looking back by now?
But now, after witnessing the fate of the rapier user, Asuna felt like she was plunged into confusion, her steps heavy, unable to move forward.
This made Asuna look at Rozen.
Seeing this person, who, like herself, was trapped in this world but didn't seem discouraged at all, who had a demeanor that was both lazy and unconventional, Asuna had one question.
"Why?"
Asuna couldn't help but ask.
"Why can you still be so carefree?"
Could it be that this person wasn't worried about never returning?
Could it be that this person wasn't afraid of dying?
That's what Asuna thought.
To this, Rozen had only one response.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Rozen shrugged his shoulders.
"Compared to what I went through before, this is already extremely gentle."
At his words, Asuna finally remembered.
"That's right..."
This person had mentioned it before, how he, just like her now, couldn't see hope or a future, struggling with all his might but had already accepted his end.
In the end, the reason he managed to survive was because...
"A miracle."
Rozen beat Asuna to the answer.
And he continued.
"If you still believe in it, then your approach shouldn't be recklessly charging forward until you're completely exhausted. Instead, you should consider how to continue surviving."
"As long as you can survive, someday, you'll undoubtedly achieve your desires."
"That's all there is to it."
With these words left behind, Rozen turned around and walked toward the exit of the 17th floor labyrinth.
Seeing this, Asuna opened her mouth, seeming like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
In this moment, Asuna was truly lost, not knowing what to do next.
This was Asuna's weakness.
The seemingly strong and cold-hearted girl had her past life planned out by others. She had followed the path set by her parents, never making her own decisions.
How could such a girl not feel lost?
Fortunately, someone showed her a clear path.
"I almost forgot to tell you."
Rozen turned his head as if remembering something and spoke to Asuna.
"In three days, a group of top players will hold a meeting in Tolbana Square to discuss strategies for the first-floor boss."
A strategic meeting...for the first-floor boss!?
Asuna immediately lifted her head.
Seeing her reaction, Rozen spoke with a slight smile.
"There are still many people who haven't given up hope and the future. So, they're gathering players everywhere, hoping to gather a sufficient number and quality of players to defeat the first-floor boss of Aincrad."
This was the information Argo had told Rozen, and it was also the reason she asked Rozen to help find Asuna.
"Whether you want to go or not is up to you."
With that, Rozen waved his hand and left.
Leaving Asuna standing there alone.
"Three days..."
Asuna murmured, tightening her grip on her weapon. Finally, she started walking again.
However, this time, Asuna wasn't acting to exhaust herself. She was preparing to rest for the upcoming boss battle in three days.
By the way, before this, Asuna had already spent nearly two days exploring the labyrinth.
During this time, she hadn't returned to safe zone even once.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone