Bab 1718: -1699- Nothing special...
After a round of banter, everyone finally turned their attention to the matter at hand.
Rozen cleared his throat and addressed the group before him.
"As you all know, this time, our target isn't in Aincrad but in ALfheim."
Indeed.
This time, their planned raid wasn't in Aincrad but within ALfheim.
To be more precise...
"Our next destination isn't ALfheim itself, but rather Jotunheim."
Yui flew onto Rozen's shoulder, standing upright with her small hands on his cheek, a serious yet adorable expression on her face.
"Jotunheim?"
Kirito tried to recall any information he had about this map.
"I've heard it's another zone beneath the fairy realm of ALfheim, right?"
Asuna softly chimed in.
"Exactly," Leafa, who seemed quite knowledgeable, added. "It's a new training ground introduced before Aincrad was implemented, referred to as the Land of Eternal Night. It's a realm of darkness and ice ruled by evil deities, teeming with god-tier monsters. It was the most challenging training area in ALO before Aincrad appeared."
"Because of that, very few players venture into Jotunheim, and even fewer player groups hunt there regularly," Agil supplemented, clearly informed. "Even now, only a small number of players can hunt in Jotunheim. The evil deity-class monsters there are incredibly powerful—each one rivals a high-level training ground boss. Without a top-tier team of ten or more, most players face certain death."
"That dangerous?" Klein exclaimed in shock. "But we only have nine people here!"
Excluding Yui, their group did indeed consist of only nine members.
Moreover, several of them couldn't even be considered top-tier players.
"I... I'll do my best not to hold everyone back!" Silica hurriedly declared.
"Even though I'm a blacksmith, I've been improving my weapon and combat skills!" Liz retorted with a defiant stance.
"I... I'll focus on supporting from the back!" Sachi added earnestly.
Among the group, these three girls were the weakest—one was a former mid-level player, one was a blacksmith, and the last one didn't even dare engage in much combat. They were far from being top-tier players.
On the other hand, Leafa, Klein, and Agil were undeniably strong. The first was ranked among the top five Sylph players, and the latter two were seasoned veterans of the clearing group. They were undoubtedly top-tier players.
"Don't worry, everyone." Leafa comforted the three, saying, "While we might be short on numbers, our team has members far stronger than the average top-tier player."
"Exactly!" Klein thumped his chest. "You can count on me to protect you! Watch me!"
"...I don't think she was talking about you," Agil said, face-palming. "She obviously meant Rozen, Kirito, and Asuna, didn't she?"
As Agil stated, even if their team lacked numbers and some members weren't particularly strong, the presence of Rozen, Kirito, and Asuna was more than enough to compensate.
All three possessed strength that far exceeded top-tier players. They had consecutively defeated players hailed as the strongest, like Eugene, filling in for the gaps left by Silica, Liz, and Sachi.
In fact...
"Even without us, wouldn't it still be fine with just Rozen?" Kirito crossed his arms and laughed.
"Exactly," Asuna also smiled. "Rozen is the best at leading. With him around, Silica, Liz, and Sachi could perform better than most top-tier players."
Hearing this, the initially worried Silica, Liz, and Sachi finally relaxed.
That was true.
With Rozen present, even the weakest players could become formidable under his command.
This was evident during the recent Crimson Wing martial arts tournament. With just a few words of advice from Rozen, a player on the verge of losing turned the tide, overwhelming their opponent. The scene had been remarkably entertaining.
"Papa's commanding ability is practically cheating. Even the best computers couldn't replicate it," Yui commented with a nod of agreement.
"Well, it's nothing special," Rozen replied nonchalantly.
His nonchalant tone earned a round of glares from everyone, leaving Rozen looking somewhat abashed.
Without wasting more time, Rozen moved things along.
"In any case, our target this time is Jotunheim. We'll gather gold and items there and hopefully acquire some high-level equipment," Rozen explained. "That way, we'll be better prepared for the opening of the upcoming new floors."
This was the group's real objective.
The raid on Jotunheim aimed to prepare them for the challenges ahead.
The integration of the original SAO and the old ALO into the newly launched ALfheim Online had occurred eight months ago when the new Aincrad map was introduced.
Now, it was December 2025. Eight months ago would place the launch in May 2025.
Back in May, while the new Aincrad had appeared, it wasn't as straightforward as the SAO days, where defeating a floor boss would allow players to ascend to the next floor.
As mentioned before, adjustments were made to increase difficulty and ensure players couldn't clear Aincrad too quickly. Thus, certain floors were still undergoing revisions and hadn't been unlocked yet. The operators would gradually open higher floors based on time and player progression to preserve the excitement of clearing.
Due to this, only Floors 1-10 were available in May. By September, Floors 11-20 had been unlocked, leaving Rozen and his group stuck on Floor 20 for now. The staircase to Floor 21 remained closed.
However, this was about to change.
According to the operators' announcement, the gate to Floor 21 would open on Christmas Eve, December 24.
This update would unlock Floors 21-30, giving players the opportunity to compete for first clears in what was essentially a Christmas event.
Everyone, including Rozen, Asuna, and Yui, eagerly anticipated this development.
"Once this update goes live, clearing Floor 21 will allow us to reach Floor 22 and return to the Forest Cottage," Asuna said with longing.
"Yeah!" Yui nodded excitedly.
When the new floors opened, Floor 22 would finally become accessible.
That was where Rozen, Asuna, and Yui had once lived together in a small cabin in the forest.
Those days were cherished memories for all three of them.
Thus, they were eager to repurchase the cabin and relive those idyllic times.
This raid was also meant to raise the funds needed for the cabin.
Rozen had spent most of his previous wealth on building the guild and funding various activities, leaving him less financially stable.
The group was prepared to earn what they needed.
"Once everyone is ready, we'll—"
Rozen's words were interrupted by a notification icon for an incoming message.
Without even looking, Rozen knew who it was.
"Is it that Kikuoka Seijirou again?" Rozen muttered irritably.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone