Admittedly, Rozen was not proficient at using his own body. In the real world, unless he used the divine protection of the War God through incantations, he could only rely on telekinesis to replace system assistance, using it to manipulate his body according to his will and thereby achieve close-combat abilities.
However, in the virtual world, Rozen didn't need to worry about this issue.
Since the nerve signals emitted from the brain were entirely converted by the NerveGear into signals for controlling the virtual character, Rozen didn't need to control his physical body. The nerve signals in his brain directly translated into movements in the virtual character, as if enhanced by telekinesis, with the system providing assistance.
As a result, controlling a virtual body became incredibly simple for Rozen, given his athletic reflexes and sharp mind.
What's more, Rozen had his trump card: Mind's Eye. It allowed him to perceive the flow of bodily data clearly and even observe the activities of the electronic world, like a fish swimming in water. How could he not excel in such an environment?
Moreover, Rozen was no longer the person he used to be. With the Virtual Ether enhancing his brain functions, his nerve signal processing and feedback speeds were drastically improved. This enhancement was reflected in the NerveGear's responses, which further boosted his virtual body's abilities to unimaginable levels.
In this world, where levels didn't matter and stats weren't relevant, the only factor determining the character's movement speed was the brain's reaction to the fully immersive system's electronic signals.
The brain received the electrical impulses from NerveGear or AmuSphere, processed them, and sent movement commands back. The faster the response, the faster the character's speed.
Thus, apart from innate reflexes, reaction speed could be improved through long-term practice.
As for Rozen, his reflexes were already superhuman. With the Virtual Ether strengthening his brain, his nerves became more developed, making the entire process—from receiving electrical impulses, processing them, and sending out movement commands—extremely fast.
With this, Rozen was in his element within this world. He not only mastered the Free Flight technique in an instant but also displayed perfect flying skills. His enhanced virtual body achieved unparalleled speed and agility, earning him two major strengths in this world—invincible in aerial combat and unmatched in speed.
With these two strengths, along with Rozen's combat abilities, gaming skills, and the precision granted by Mind's Eye, all he lacked was a good set of equipment to become truly unbeatable.
Of course, even without ideal equipment, Rozen was almost invincible in one-on-one situations.
Since ALO's attack calculation system was simple—merely combining weapon power, hit location, attack speed, and the target's defense—Rozen could still achieve maximum attack power with his terrifying accuracy and speed, even if he didn't have a suitable weapon or his opponent wore top-tier armor.
Because of this, even though Rozen was a beginner, his only disadvantage was being a bit more fragile than others, with no other weaknesses.
What Leafa had just witnessed was merely basic maneuvering.
At this thought, Rozen's excitement began to stir.
"Hey, Leafa, wait here for a moment. I'm going to look around."
Leaving those words behind, Rozen flapped his wings and shot forward like an arrow, speeding out of Sylvain.
"Wait...!"
Seeing Rozen take off, Leafa called out in surprise.
But it was too late to stop him.
With the added speed, Rozen's figure had almost vanished beyond the horizon.
"That idiot!"
Leafa stomped her foot in frustration and quickly took off as well, accelerating to her maximum speed.
Her speed was already faster than a bullet, causing fierce winds to whip around her.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare to fly at such speeds.
It was like driving at top speed—just because one could do it didn't mean they would.
However, Leafa was an exception. One of the reasons she loved this game was the freedom to fly. The faster she flew, the more exhilarated she felt.
According to her friends, Leafa was a speed addict, the kind who would cheer excitedly even on a roller coaster.
Among the Sylphs, Leafa's flying speed and technique were top-notch.
But who would have thought...
"I can't catch up...!?"
Leafa was shaken.
If not for the maximum speed limits imposed by the flight engine, Rozen's reflexes and brain processing speed would have left her far behind by now.
Though Leafa could also reach the maximum speed, she still couldn't catch up to Rozen.
And this was with him flying in a straight line.
If Rozen started to make sharp turns, Leafa would have lost sight of him long ago.
"Amazing...!"
Leafa looked at Rozen flying far ahead, her eyes filled with both awe and admiration.
As expected, he was still the same—nearly omnipotent.
While Leafa was lost in thought, the landscape ahead quietly turned into a canyon.
Within the canyon...
"Gah!"
"Gah!"
Pterodactyl-like creatures suddenly shot out from the cliffs, swooping toward Rozen.
Those were...
"Devourer Wyverns...!"
Devourer Wyverns—monsters so powerful that it typically required three expert players who had mastered Free Flight to take one down. They were also resistant to magic, able to devour mana and rapidly drain a player's MP. This made them one of the top ten most difficult monsters to defeat.
While the rewards for slaying them were lucrative, only large parties of at least thirty high-level players dared to raid their lair.
For Rozen to charge in alone was practically suicidal.
"Get back here!"
Leafa shouted anxiously.
But Rozen paid no attention. Instead, he delved deeper into the nest, drawing more wyverns toward him.
In his eyes, there was no fear or hesitation—only excitement and joy.
The next moment, Rozen summoned his main menu, materialized a simple one-handed sword, and equipped it in his hand.
"Gah!"
A wyvern lunged at Rozen, its jaws wide open, aiming to swallow him whole.
What greeted it, however, was a flash of light.
A flash of sword light.
Clang—!
The sword light sliced through the wyvern's body like a stream of silk.
"Splat!"
With a ripping sound, the wyvern was cut in half.
"Boom!"
Its body, split into two, began to glow before shattering into polygonal fragments and disappearing on the spot.
Rozen, who had slain a wyvern in an instant, then swiftly turned, streaking like a comet toward the other wyverns.
"Splat!" "Splat!" "Splat!"
One by one, the wyverns were bisected by the flashing sword, leaving none unscathed.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
The wyverns' bodies shattered into polygonal fragments, vanishing into thin air.
Rozen, who faced these notoriously difficult monsters, cut through them as if they were nothing. His ordinary one-handed sword seemed like a legendary blade, slaying dragons with every strike.
"Wh...!?"
Leafa gasped at the sight, sucking in a cold breath.