Aincrad, 35th Floor.
The main street area here consisted of houses with white walls and red roofs, creating a rustic and rural atmosphere in the town of Mishe.
In Mishear, players were active almost every day. Since the current frontline was the 55th Floor, which had already been cleared, top-tier players were generally not interested in anything beyond clearing the Labyrinth areas. Thus, floors that had been cleared became the main activity spots for mid-tier players.
However, mid-tier players are different from top-tier playersl
Mid-tier players had three main reasons for going on adventures:
1. To acquire the money needed for daily life, such as staying in inns and eating.
2. To gather the minimum required experience points for staying in the mid-tier.
3. To combat boredom that had become unbearable.
After all, in the game world, even if players were afraid of death, it was sometimes more agonizing to be stuck in one place without being able to stay in inns, eat, or do anything other than wander around.
While around a thousand players who were extremely fearful or overly cautious remained in the starting town of the 1st Floor, everyone else began to venture outside the town. They did so in order to avoid hunger, sleep in inns, receive regular income, and ultimately venture outside the safety zone, picking up weapons to fight.
Of course, players took adequate precautions to avoid unnecessary risks before embarking on their adventures.
In the world of SAO, the main stage was the floating castle Aincrad, with a total of one hundred floors.
In a typical role-playing game, the correlation between a player's level and the suitable floor for activities should be straightforward. For example, the 1st Floor is suitable for level 1 players, the 2nd Floor for level 2 players, and so on, up to the 100th Floor, which should be suitable for level 100 players.
However, Sword Art Online (SAO) was different. Due to safety concerns, players needed to be at a level about 10 levels higher than the current floor to be considered "reasonably safe" – the so-called safety level.
Considering this, mid-tier players active on the 35th Floor were at least around level 45.
As for the frontline 55th Floor, players needed to be around level 65 to achieve a safety level.
As a result, top-tier players from the clearing group were all around level 65, while game enthusiasts like Rozen and Kirito had achieved levels as high as 78 and 82 respectively, which was quite extraordinary.
On this day, Rozen moved to the 35th Floor and observed the mid-tier players bustling around.
"It really feels like adventurers from another world," Rozen remarked, watching players dressed in various equipment chatting and laughing as they passed by.
Upon closer inspection, even though Rozen had arrived on the 35th Floor, there was no sign of Saichou and Hanachou.
That was only natural.
Nowadays, Saichou and Hanachou had become synonymous with Rozen's identity. Just the sight of these two butterflies could identify him, even if people didn't know him personally. Therefore, whenever he was in a crowd of players on lower floors, Rozen had to keep his familiars inside his crystal items, or it would surely cause a commotion.
"Who would have thought the conditions to tame Rainbow flower butterflies would be so strict that no one else has managed to tame one yet?"
With only seven of these ultra-rare familiars in the entire server, they were anything but common. Not to mention taming one, even encountering one was a rarity.
However...
"Besides Rainbow butterfly, there are other familiars available as well."
After almost a year, players finally realized that familiars were meant to assist rather than engage in direct combat. Familiars weren't simple monsters; they were virtual creatures with their own thoughts. If not treated properly, they might die in battle, run away, or even attack their masters.
This realization led to an influx of players attempting to tame familiars, earning them a shared title known as "Beast Tamer."
However, the abilities of these Beast Tamers were worlds apart from Rozen's, causing hundreds of top-tier players from the clearing group to not have a single Beast Tamer among them.
"I wonder when the clearing group will produce its own Beast Tamer?"
As Rozen pondered these thoughts with boredom, he walked toward a building.
It was a two-story structure larger than the others, located on the right side of the road.
This building was an inn run by NPCs.
"This should be the place."
Rozen raised his head, looking at the building before him.
According to Argo's intel, the orange guild Rozen was targeting had been active on the 35th Floor recently.
"If they're active on this floor, they should have their targets for hunting here."
That's what Rozen thought.
If it were other players, they would surely suspect that the orange guild was ambushing players outside the safe zone, engaging in activities such as robbery. However, in reality, the orange guild was not only skilled in ambushes but also infiltration.
"They first send green-named members into the safe zone to gather information, identify wealthy teams, and then find ways to lure them outside the safe zone for ambush. That's the modus operandi of the orange-named guild."
If they were merely ambushing, there was no guarantee of encountering a well-off team to ambush.
Hence, this was the most effective criminal method.
And this was why Rozen had come here.
Word had it that a well-known player had been staying in a place called the "Wind Rooster Pavilion" inn, receiving much popularity and attention from players. As a result, many player teams were inviting them to join.
"In that case, it should be easier to find members of the orange-named guild sent here for infiltration."
Rozen had come here for this reason.
As a result, he extended his hand, pushed open the door of the inn in front of him, and walked inside.
Upon entering the inn, he was met with a lively scene.
Many players were gathered inside, chatting and eating various dishes.
"If we were at the frontline, there's no way we'd see a scene like this during the day."
At the frontline, top players would be in the training zone or Labyrinth areas during the day and only return at night. Even players leveling up during the night would stay in inns during the day, not engaging in activities outside. Thus, this lively atmosphere could only be witnessed at night. Due to the fewer players at the frontline, it never got overwhelmingly crowded. If it weren't for NPCs in the town, it might even be considered quite deserted.
Only in the mid-tier or lower tiers would players not be so desperate. As long as they earned enough money for their livelihoods, they would indulge themselves in town until their funds ran out.
"So, where is that player who's rumored to be so popular?"
Rozen surveyed his surroundings.
In the next moment, he found them.
In a corner of the Wind Rooster Pavilion, many players were gathered, surrounding a particular player.
Watching this scene and seeing the player, Rozen raised an eyebrow before expressing a mix of surprise and amusement.
"It looks like things are about to get very interesting."