Chapter 817 Fermenting Opinion
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Not long after Emilia and her team's 'conquest' of the [Goblin's Den], the day within the game came to an end, and most players rushed to various social media and forums to 'share' their excitement and anger.
Sylvia's 'friend', Dolly, was also one of them.
Unlike everyone else, though, she cared more about who it was that ended up conquering the dungeon than any of its effects.
She almost smashed her keyboard in a rage when she thought about it again. 'How could that stupid little bitch be so lucky?!'
It was hard to believe that it had only been a few days since she'd last seen Sylvia and her moronic bunch of 'new friends', and they'd already become the 'talk of the town'. Even the stupid client that her 'employer' had been dealing with seemed to be unable to stop gushing over just how 'amazing' they were.
"Just because they somehow managed to complete that stupid dungeon doesn't mean they're the best!"
With no other way to vent, Dolly had 'logged out' before the servers even went down, and made one of the first few 'posts' discussing the event.
Although the [Arcadian Times] was a new forum, it was one of the most popular channels dedicated to discussions related to the game. And Dolly believed that as long as she could make everyone see what she did, the 'Crimson Witches' would soon realize that not all fame was good.
[A certain team of players completed the dungeon before everyone else and is now touting themselves as 'the best'. Am I the only one who thinks it's disgraceful how they just hogged all the rewards as fast as they could, not even caring how everyone else would suffer?]
As everyone had been kicked out of the dungeon shortly after the announcement of its conquest, it was natural for many to be upset about it, and it wasn't hard for Dolly to get them to support her argument.
Since this was the first 'dungeon conquest', and the 'champions' themselves hadn't shared any details, most people couldn't help but wonder if the 'Crimson Witches' might have 'deliberately' caused everyone to be kicked out of the dungeon prematurely.
"What kind of selfish behavior is this? If this is true, they're really malicious!"
"I understand wanting to trip your competition, but ruining the hard work of so many people is just going too far."
By the time most players were forced out of the game and joined the discussion, the speculations had already become 'facts', and it was easy for their frustrations to turn to rage.
"My team was almost done clearing the first floor, now all our progress is lost!"
Of course, such a statement was a joke to those who managed to get to the second floor, but it was a sentiment shared by a vast majority of the playerbase nonetheless.
Much to Dolly's delight, not only was everyone agreeing with her, but some even brought 'additional ammo' with them.
"It seems like after the reset, we can't even form a temporary alliance with other teams to help each other clear the dungeon. Every 'instance' is now separated."
"Can confirm."
"It's true!"
The lost progress and added restrictions were maddening enough, but what really pissed everyone off even more was the fact that the drops within the 'new' dungeon were also greatly nerfed.
The same [Inferior Goblin] that used to give them 2000 points of experience now only gave twenty, and also only dropped a measly four copper coins.
Aside from wondering if it was even 'worth it' to kill such 'cheap' monsters, most players could only regret that they hadn't been able to kill more while the droprate was still high. And when they were told that someone might have ruined it for them intentionally, that regret quickly turned to rage.
Even those who had previously favored Emilia or some of her teammates didn't hesitate to criticize them.
"It's okay to want to get ahead, but it's not okay to do so while tripping others!"
"I used to be Emilia's fan and always thought she was adorable, but this is a bit too greedy, isn't it? Not cute at all."
"It's not surprising. She always seemed extremely entitled and selfish to me, but some others couldn't look past her pretty face to see the truth."
Emilia's popularity wasn't low, and it became apparent just how effective her 'beauty filter' was when some people quickly came to defend her, despite the common opinion being completely against her team.
"How is everyone so sure that our Emilia caused everyone to be kicked out? This is just pure speculation, isn't it?"
"I will only believe it when she says it herself. Don't worry, darling, mama believes you!"
"Emilia, baby, come out and clarify it for Daddy!"
Watching their 'brain-dead' chatter, some 'regular people' couldn't help but ridicule them.
"So no matter what she does, you will only believe it if she confesses it herself?"
"Well, don't be so quick to blame her. I've never liked her, but with how stupid Emilia is, I won't be surprised if her teammates don't even consult her before making the decision."
"Even her 'fans' call her an airhead, so I can only wonder how stupid she must be."
Dolly didn't like how the conversation was being led on a complete tangent. 'If I don't do anything, these idiots will soon just start arguing about whether or not Emilia is cute, won't they?'
Regardless of the results of their discussion, won't all her hard work go to waste then?
However, Dolly soon realized that this was actually also a 'great opportunity' for her. Since the firepower of Emilia's fanbase was so strong, if she could use their strength for herself, this 'battle' was as good as won.
"That's true, I don't think Emilia would, or could, do something like this."
'First, bring them all on the same side, and then…' Dolly sneered.
"Compared to an airhead like her, I think it's much more likely that someone more malicious like that tall and dark girl instigated the rest of her team to make that decision."
As the author of the post, both her name and statements were highlighted, and easily caught everyone's attention.
With the popularity of Emilia's team, they quickly figured out that the girl in question must be 'Sylvia', as that description fit her best. Although she'd been able to stay relatively hidden until then thanks to a certain crimson-haired girl catching most of the limelight, it didn't take long before people to dig out some of her images from their previous streams.
On her own, Sylvia would definitely be considered an exotic and stunning beauty. But with the people actively looking for a 'bad girl', all her charm points seemed to become negative.
"Yikes. With those malicious yellow eyes and weed-like hair framing her dark face, she looks pretty much like a villain. How come I never noticed her before?"
"Now that I saw them all again, suddenly, it seems like only two or three of them can be considered likable."
"That could also be an illusion, though, right?"
"Maybe they're all bad, after all."
"Emilia is still young, and it's easy to be misled by bad examples. We shouldn't let them get away with this!"
Dolly sneered while watching everyone rage against the 'Crimson Witches', and Sylvia in particular.
Their opinions were still quite mixed, but most of them seemed to agree that Emilia's team must be punished and taught a lesson. After all, Arcadia had stopped being 'just a game', and most people were starting to believe that 'bad behavior' within the game should also be considered a crime.
Dolly chuckled. 'So what if they managed to get a little ahead and make themselves famous? Even if everyone knows who they are, it's not necessarily a good thing.'
Sometimes, when not punished by law, the 'criminals' only had everything to lose in the hands of a mob intent on carrying out their own 'justice'.
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This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶