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Halfway through the second day of Arcadia going online, and the third one within the 'game' itself, the 'Crimson Witches' were finally able to reunite.
When they finally saw the crimson-haired elf in person, their first reaction was…
"What the hell are you wearing?!"
"That skirt doesn't even fully cover your butt, and it's not even that big!"
Although it was only Robin screaming hysterically by herself, from the expressions on the rest of their faces, Emilia could tell that they very much agreed.
Before she could respond, however, they finally noticed a certain blonde ranger by her side.
Although she'd already known that the girl 'accompanying' Emilia within Arcadia had the same 'profession' as herself, Sylvia still couldn't help but suddenly feel a sense of crisis.
She wasn't sure if it was the sharp look in the girl's eyes or her unexpectedly beautiful face, but for the first time in a long time, Sylvia found someone even more annoying than Danielle.
And as if aware of her thoughts, the blonde girl chuckled. "Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Crystal, let's get along well."
Although not as alarmed as Sylvia, Danielle and the others were a bit wary of this 'stranger' at first, but after they learned that the girl was a casual 'solo' player and wouldn't 'poach' Emilia away, they didn't mind her presence so much.
Unfortunately, once their attention shifted away from Crystal, it once again returned to Emilia's skirt.
The crimson-haired elf couldn't help but roll her eyes. "It gives me a three percent attack speed bonus, and I don't think I look bad in it, so why not?"
She twirled around playfully on the spot, and Robin almost shot back with a nosebleed.
"T-That's a crime, a crime!"
Nico also coughed. "Are you really not afraid that someone will take a photo and post it all over the internet?"
Emilia smirked. "So? As long as they don't edit it to make me look bad, I don't mind."
When Robin immediately used the full-dive pod's recording function to snap a few dozen photos, Danielle couldn't help but let out a tired sigh. "You better delete those, Robin."
Looking at the taller girl's reluctant expression, Emilia giggled. "Anyway, forget about that. Everyone should have got those random boxes from the quest, right? Why are you all in beginner attire, then?"
Based on her understanding, the item obtained from the boxes couldn't be lower in quality than the color of the box itself. No matter how bad their luck was, their rewards couldn't be worse than the starter items.
"Isn't it because you were too high profile before?" Danielle sighed. "A lot of players in most beginner towns are already guarding the teleportation formation."
Obviously, their intentions weren't hard to guess.
Many people went around grilling different NPCs in search for clues, and since the 'unknown' crimson-haired elf had discovered it on day one, they didn't believe it would be long before someone else did the same.
To prevent the lucky ones from slipping by without revealing the secret, of course the teleportation formations had to be guarded at all times.
Danielle and the others had only managed to slip by thanks to their quick thinking, and the fact that they rushed out almost the moment the game went online. But even so, they were almost certain that some of their faces must have been photographed.
Emilia hummed thoughtfully. "Well, don't worry about it too much. Pretty soon, people will start getting to level ten themselves, and they won't care about our 'secret' too much at the time."
Of course, unlike the rest of her team, this 'news' bothered her for a different reason.
'If everyone is making such a fuss… probably the hero must have also discovered it, right?' Emilia frowned.
Players from Welkin would naturally spawn in the neighboring 'Water Kingdom', but the crimson-haired girl wasn't sure if her 'news' would be enough for the hero to make a move.
And even if he did… she had no idea what it could be.
"Don't worry so much about things you can't control." Cynthia chuckled. "Anyway, even if he knows… you can only keep getting stronger, right?"
Emilia's thoughts soon cleared up, and she nodded with a smile. 'You're right.'
No matter what Darryl was planning, it wouldn't hurt to get stronger before she had to face it.
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Under Emilia's guidance, the 'Crimson Witches', plus Crystal, soon formed a team and started hunting for monsters outside the capital.
"Behind you!"
"Careful—!"
Danielle cursed. "Fuck… it almost got me!"
The tentacled plant beasts in the area were definitely not easy to deal with, especially with their ability to burrow and hide their 'appendages' into the ground, but the team soon learned how to deal with them.
"Nico focus on buffing and healing me whenever you can, and the rest of you just protect her!" Emilia furrowed her brows as she felt another slimy tentacle wrap around her thigh, only to be swiftly severed by her sword. "Danielle… keep the fireballs raining!"
The [Minor Tentacle Plant Demon] had hundreds of 'appendages', but not all of them were dangerous. Emilia could naturally tell which ones were only meant to 'distract' her, and swiftly ignored them to focus on what mattered, but not everyone could do the same.
Although the difference between her casual clothes and the ones she currently had on was significant, the combination of Emilia's face and the realistic environment naturally made it difficult for everyone to ignore her 'distress'.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't too dire, and the team was soon able to 'adapt' and assist Emilia properly. Of course, the fact that they were only dealing with a single monster helped a lot as well.
Its immunity to poison and the ability to regenerate would have made it quite a tricky opponent had Emilia been dealing with it alone, but fortunately, she wasn't.
The damage output of a mage like Danielle, who'd invested every point she had into intelligence, wasn't to be underestimated. And the fact that the tentacled plant was weak to the fire element only made things worse.
Its regeneration could obviously not keep up with being continuously set on fire, and the 'mighty' beast soon fell under the combined assault of the level ten team.
If it could, it would definitely have cried in its last moments, wondering what it did wrong to be humiliated to death by beginner fireball spells and basic arrows.
Everyone couldn't help but cheer.
"YES!!!"
"We did it!"
Sylvia was a bit worried that the crimson-haired elf would be traumatized by the slimy tentacles harassing her for so long, but she soon realized that Emilia didn't seem to care at all.
Everyone received two thousand experience points and two silver coins, and Emilia pocketed the 'Earthen Demonic Core' that dropped with a grin. "It was annoying, but the rewards are good. I'm sure there must be more… or even better monsters deeper into the forest. Let's go!"
Crystal smiled and followed after her helplessly, and the rest could only hurriedly follow.
"She's not scared at all, is she?" Danielle sighed. "What a monster."
Of course, even if she didn't realize the doting and pride in her tone, everyone else could still hear it.
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