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Emilia was naturally pleased to see that Danielle and Sylvia were no longer as tit for tat against each other as before, and were even starting to show signs of getting along.
Of course, it was impossible to call them 'friends', but no great empire was built overnight.
As long as she kept pushing them in the right direction, Emilia could already see a future where they could be a great team, one that could help her directly confront the hero when needed.
When she got back to the 'game room' the next day, however, the 'cheerful' atmosphere that she expected was completely gone.
Not to mention Danielle or Sylvia, even Nico and Robin were slumped dispiritedly on the sofa, as if someone had kicked their pet puppies to death.
Emilia couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded. "What happened?"
"Some idiot seems to have leaked how to complete the first main quest properly." Danielle sighed. "So now everyone's rushing to team up and fight the [Boar King]."
The crimson-haired girl frowned as she checked the forum post on Danielle's phone, only to burst into giggles shortly after.
"What are you all so sad for? This method only gives fifty thousand experience, and it's not like they can do it over and over to catch up with you." She grinned. "Not to mention, the additional rewards are also incomparable."
'For a moment, I'd really been scared into thinking that the world will might have alerted the hero about it, and he decided to make it public as a countermeasure.' Emilia giggled.
Cynthia hummed thoughtfully. "As it is now, you only appear to be a relatively skilled and extremely lucky girl, so even if the world will takes note of you somehow, it shouldn't be too alarmed."
Emilia nodded. 'You're right. Plus, with how it handled things last time… even if it discovers me, I'll only be treated as a whetting stone to sharpen its champion's sword.'
Despite her relief, however, the crimson-haired girl still made a mental note to be more cautious. Unlike the last time, the hero in this world was both cunning and insidious, and she didn't dare to take him lightly.
That was why she was sticking with the 'Crimson Witches' despite all the troubles in the beginning, after all.
Relying on just random strangers that wouldn't necessarily listen to her, she had no confidence in being able to exceed the hero's dungeon-clearing speed.
Looking at the crimson-haired beauty nodding to herself in satisfaction, Sylvia couldn't help but sigh. "I have the feeling that she doesn't get our feelings at all."
For once, Danielle couldn't disagree. "A really unique combination of stupid and smart, isn't she?"
Robin and Nico also giggled in agreement.
"I heard that!"
"Oops."
"Sorry!"
Once they realized that Emilia couldn't really understand their complicated feelings, it didn't take long for them to get out of their gloomy mood, a little embarrassed at their previous childish thoughts.
The monster they'd spent hours fighting desperately just before was now going to be swarmed by a huge crowd not even a day later, true, but didn't they already reap so many benefits thanks to Emilia?
There was no need to be so sad when nothing of theirs was being taken away.
Danielle coughed. "We weren't badmouthing you, darling."
Emilia couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Sure. Anyway, instead of sulking, I think you should all focus on how to get to the capital as quickly as possible, right?"
Danielle flicked one of her intricate blonde drills with a smug smile. "Who do you think I am? Obviously, we've already discussed and made plans, and were just waiting for you to get here."
The crimson-haired girl couldn't help but blink curiously. "Oh…?"
Danielle hummed. "There's a lot more information about the game out there now that players have had two 'days' of experience, and some conclusions have already been verified."
Emilia wasn't surprised to hear about the fact that the mechanic of being able to prevent random teleportation through resting at an inn was discovered, though she didn't expect that some people had already managed to pry a few 'secrets' out of the game characters.
Although technically there was no way for the characters in the beginner towns to move to the mainland, they somehow still possessed all the 'base' knowledge as a 'native' of that world.
"The 'dungeons' and 'pillars' that the NPCs talked about are sure to be critical mechanics of Arcadia, and based on that, many big guilds and teams have already started planning their team layouts." Danielle's expression was grim. "Even though we're far ahead of them now, don't forget, in the endgame, even a single monster might be worth more than a quarter million experience!"
Emilia nodded. "I understand. Although we might be the number one team in the world right now, we'll have to work hard to keep that spot."
While the rest of her teammates were nodding in her support, Sylvia frowned.
Although she'd already put away most of her prejudice against the 'Crimson Witches', associating their name with the top rank in anything was really too strange for her.
After all, she only recalled them ever being mediocre at best, and that was with their 'star player' still alive.
'With Emilia on their side, however, it doesn't really seem completely impossible…'
The thought brought even more discomfort to Sylvia's mind, though.
It was a fact that Emilia seemed to have an inherent natural 'talent' that was far beyond anything she'd witnessed before.
Even when she managed to completely outsmart the girl in their 'demo' match and got an almost perfect shot in on the back of her head, Emilia had been able to react the moment the arrow left her bow's string.
To call it terrifying would still be an understatement.
At the same time, however, the girl was both young and na?ve, and incredibly easy to take advantage of.
Otherwise, there was no way she would have stayed with the 'Crimson Witches' after getting all those offers.
Danielle and the others might be grateful, but the dark-haired heroine didn't feel it was right for them to continue taking advantage of someone like that.
Sylvia couldn't help but sigh. 'But… I'm not really any better than them. Maybe… I can only talk to her about it, and let her decide for herself.'
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Meanwhile, far from the base of the Crimson Witches, the hero was also having a similar discussion with his teammates.
"There is no need to be alarmed by the small moves of certain impatient fellows." Darryl smiled. "We must remain focused on our own goals, and continue improving!"
The five boys and six girls in the room nodded furiously, their eyes full of trust and admiration for the man in front of them.
None of them were real 'gamers', and no matter how realistic Arcadia was, it didn't really appeal to them that much.
In any other circumstance, they would just scoff at the thought of 'escaping' from reality using such inferior means, but when Darryl asked them to accompany him to 'play', they didn't even think twice about it.
To be able to assist the genius in any way at all was their greatest honor, after all.
Of course, their lack of enthusiasm for the actual 'game' no longer mattered. For the sake of Darryl, the energy they put into even something they hated could not be any less than a hundred percent.
After observing their expressions carefully, Darryl smiled. "To reward you for your patience, let me share with you… my latest invention."
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Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om