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Being a diligent team of 'pro' players, Danielle and the others didn't leave the game until they were forced to log out along with everyone else.
When the four full-dive pods in the 'Crimson Witches' game room popped open at the same time, everyone was a little exhausted from their endless slaughter of 'pigs' and 'rabbits'.
"Ugh, didn't the marketing say Arcadia will only remain online four hours at a time, and the servers will go 'down' for eight hours after every session?" Nico groaned. "It felt like I was hitting those stupid pigs all day!"
Robin also nodded. "It seems like the time inside the game passed at a much slower rate, somehow… as expected of the genius, huh?"
Looking at the clock on the game room's wall, the two of them couldn't help but sigh.
Unlike Robin and Nico, however, Danielle and Sylvia didn't miss the fact that Emilia had already been waiting for them when they exited the pods.
The villainess frowned. "Since you were the one to suggest that we invest in this game, shouldn't you take it a little more seriously?"
Sylvia was also a little curious at first, but listening to Danielle's tone, she couldn't help but sneer. "Are you the type of boss who is bothered by an employee clocking out early, regardless of how productive they have actually been throughout the day?"
Nico and Robin stared at each other helplessly, guessing that another long and pointless argument was about to start between the two incompatible girls.
Of course, they knew better than to mediate at this point, but a certain crimson-haired girl clearly wasn't on the same wavelength.
"Actually, I only came out a few minutes before the rest, mostly because there was no point in staying inside anymore." Emilia giggled. "After all, I couldn't make any further progress inside the beginner's village, and was too exhausted to try venturing out."
The four other members of the crimson witches were obviously stunned.
What did it mean to not be able to make further progress within the beginner's village? Just what level did Emilia hit, and how?!
Could it be that she discovered some amazing new way to gain experience?
While the rest of the team was excited, Sylvia frowned. "Emilia… don't tell me you used an exploit to your advantage?"
Danielle felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head as she also realized the same thing, and she couldn't help but groan. "N-No way, right? Please tell me you didn't."
Although it might be fine for some regular players to take advantage of day-one bugs and exploits, 'pro' players like them definitely couldn't afford to take that risk.
In a game where the time invested and experience gained mattered a lot, even a single member getting banned and losing progress would definitely be a disaster for the entire team!
Not to mention, such a thing could also be used for negative PR by their rivals.
Emilia found the furious look quite funny on the usually confident and condescending face of the 'villainess', and she couldn't help but giggle. "Do you think I'm so stupid as to risk using exploits in a game where anyone else could peep at me while streaming?"
Listening to her confident tone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The crimson-haired girl grinned. "I hit level ten fair and square, obviously. If you're curious how I did it… hehe, I might tell you if I'm in a good mood, you know?"
Looking at their teammate's smug little face turned up so proudly, Robin couldn't help but go over to squeeze her cheeks angrily. "We were just worried about you, and you dare tease us like this!"
Obviously, Emilia could have easily dodged the tomboy's molesting hands, but considering how the heroine's expression turned so interesting every time Robin did it, she just let it happen.
Anyway, it didn't really hurt, so it wasn't like she cared too much.
Before Sylvia's dark gaze could kill her teammate, however, Danielle interrupted them with a cough. "Alright, enough playing around. Let's head to the hall to have a proper discussion, shall we?"
Emilia also understood that the villainess wasn't in the mood to play around anymore, so she smiled and weaved out of Robin's 'claws' before following her.
"Aww, how does she do that every time?!" The tomboy groaned.
Nico giggled. "Maybe because she's tiny and soft, it's easy for her to slip out of your gangly arms."
Emilia almost rolled her eyes in exasperation. 'If I'm considered short, aren't you no better?'
But thinking about the already lacking harmony in their team, she decided to let it be.
'Anyway, it looks like Sylvia is warming up to them a little.' Emilia smiled.
Cynthia had her doubts, considering the murderous gaze of the yellow-eyed heroine being directed at a certain tomboy, but she didn't burst her partner's bubble.
After the five of them started sharing their respective experiences within the game, it soon became clear that none of them had spawned in the same beginner's zone.
It may not be as much of a problem for everyone else, but Nico had picked the 'Healer' class, and barely managed to hit level two after desperately grinding all day.
Based on Emilia's words, they all guessed that level ten must be some sort of requirement to leave the beginner's zone, given how she stopped gaining experience.
But if they couldn't find a way to get together, who knew how long it would take for a lone healer to get to that point on her own?
Even if she started with the same base stats as everyone else, beating up [Wild Boars] with a staff was definitely not a very efficient way of farming.
"A-A few people did offer to team up with me, s-so maybe I can try taking someone up on the offer next time?" Nico coughed awkwardly.
Danielle frowned and shook her head in denial. "Unless we have no better option, we can't rely on strangers."
Emilia nodded. "Right."
Cynthia couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "Are you forgetting about the wonderful 'new' friend you made 'online' just now? I can almost imagine how funny this girl's expression would be if she knew about it."
The crimson-haired girl coughed. 'I-It's not the right time to tell them that, yet.'
Cynthia wondered how long her partner's 'secret' could actually be kept, considering how many obsessed gazes she'd seen being directed her way in the beginner's town. 'Maybe she got used to it in the last world, but… I'm not sure if that's a good thing.'
Of course, even if her partner didn't pay attention to such things, she was still aware that they might have been recorded by some 'streamers' while in the 'town' area. But with so much going on, she didn't believe her actions would be 'exposed' to her team in a short period of time.
'Anyway, even if they do somehow figure it out, it's not like Danielle can really beat me up.' The crimson-haired girl nodded to herself confidently.
Fortunately, Emilia was able to keep her expression in control, so no one discovered her abnormality, and continued focusing on finding a way to unite their team within Arcadia's world.
Looking it up online, they realized that this was a problem encountered by many, as friends and family alike got separated.
Of course, it also exposed them to some of Arcadia's serious issues.
Danielle couldn't help but furrow her brows in worry. "I was too busy grinding to notice, but… just how are they going to handle this kind of outrage?"
They hadn't even actively tried to look it up, but the negative press about the 'game' was already all over the internet, and they couldn't avoid it even if they wanted to.
Sylvia just leaned back on the sofa without a care in the world, but Nico and Robin couldn't help but turn to Emilia.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ "Don't worry, although our boss is a worrywart, since she agreed to your idea, she definitely won't go back on her word, or blame you for things you have no control over!"
"Right, we're in it as a team now, and share weal and woe alike!"
Knowing that they were trying to help her, Emilia giggled, not caring about Danielle's increasingly gloomy expression. "Okay, let's not care about things we can't do anything about, shall we? Wasn't everyone curious about how I hit level ten so soon? Well, let me tell you."
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel