At this point, Eugene had no choice but to admit it, even if he didn't want to.
"This person... is stronger than me!"
And this strength wasn't due to a difference in equipment; it was purely a matter of overwhelming skill.
In terms of equipment alone, Eugene was clearly superior to Rozen, with an invincible demon sword. Even though Rozen's weapon wasn't ordinary, it should still be outmatched by Eugene's gear.
Yet, the reality was that Eugene was being overpowered by Rozen, which showed that Rozen's skill level far surpassed his own.
But…
"How can this be...!?"
As the strongest player in ALO, Eugene knew that while his strength was partly due to the top-tier gear provided by his brother, the Lord, his skill level alone still put him ahead of most others.
To put it bluntly, just in terms of pure skill, Eugene had confidence that he could rank in the top three in ALO, maybe even claim the title of the strongest.
Under such circumstances, he couldn't accept being utterly overpowered in skill.
Even the surrounding Sylphs and Cait Sith couldn't believe their eyes.
"General Eugene is being pushed back!"
"And… he can't even fight back!"
"Who is that Sylph?!"
"How can he be so strong…?!"
One by one, the Sylphs and Cait Sith started to murmur in disbelief.
"General Eugene!"
"General Eugene!"
The remaining Salamanders had finally gathered their bearings and, seeing Eugene being overpowered by Rozen, began shouting in shock.
They wanted to help, but didn't know how to intervene.
The reason was simple: Rozen and Eugene's movements were too fast, and they were too close. Even if they rushed forward, it would be difficult to join in a battle of such a high level.
These were top-tier players, after all.
Yet, they couldn't even see a way to step into the fight, which showed just how intense the duel between Rozen and Eugene had become.
This caused Sakuya and Alicia Rue to shout out in excitement.
"Go!"
"Finish him!"
Both Sakuya and Alicia Rue were thrilled, a glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes.
"Rozen!"
Leafa clasped her hands together, her heart pounding out of control.
Under everyone's gaze, Rozen demonstrated astounding strength.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
The sound of cuts echoed repeatedly as the Demon Sword transformed into streaks of light, slicing Eugene's body again and again, leaving countless wounds across him.
Finally, Eugene's HP bar dropped into the yellow danger zone, with less than half remaining.
This shook Eugene to the core; he knew he couldn't go on like this.
If he continued, he would end up completely defeated.
"Guh… Arghhh…!"
Eugene roared in fury.
"Boom!"
A flame suddenly burst from his body, forming a fiery barrier around him.
This wasn't magic but a special effect from one of Eugene's pieces of equipment.
The activated effect produced a flaming shield around Eugene, burning with relentless intensity.
"Oh?"
Rozen raised an eyebrow but did not engage. He took a step back into the air, dodging the waves of flame.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Eugene, having narrowly escaped, lifted his demon sword but was clearly out of breath.
"General Eugene!"
"General Eugene!"
With Rozen and Eugene separated, the main Salamander forces quickly spread their wings, flying over to surround Eugene.
However, with the loss of twenty-two comrades, they were down to forty-six members, a loss of nearly a third of their strength.
The remaining Salamanders glared at Rozen in both anger and fear, clearly shaken by his display of strength.
Looking at the Salamanders, Rozen spoke in a mocking tone.
"It looks like you've lasted longer than I expected. You still have forty-six members left. You truly are the Salamanders' elite unit."
Such taunting words were like a slap to the face of the Salamanders, making them feel a burning shame.
Who could have imagined?
The elite unit of sixty-eight Salamanders had lost nearly a third of their number in a single clash with one player, and their strongest warrior, Eugene, had nearly been killed.
The result felt like a dream.
Now, no one doubted who would hold out in this battle; it would be the Salamanders who would struggle to endure.
"Who… who are you…?!"
Eugene stared intensely at Rozen, a mix of shock and fear in his eyes.
"How could a player like you appear among the Sylphs? Why haven't we heard anything about you?"
Eugene truly couldn't understand this.
But…
"Of course, you wouldn't have heard of me." Rozen shrugged. "As my friend just said, I created this character less than twenty-four hours ago. How could you have heard of me?"
At this, Eugene became furious.
"At this point, you're still trying to deceive us?" Eugene shouted. "A player like you couldn't possibly be a beginner! Forget about skill proficiency or equipment—your level of skill couldn't have been achieved without long-term full-dive experience!"
It was true.
Even the strongest players needed time to adjust to a new game's system, combat mechanics, and undergo a learning period before they could truly showcase their abilities.
Take Leafa, for example. She was a swordsmanship expert in the real world, but even she had to train to master flying, casting magic, and familiarizing herself with the virtual body and combat system. It would take any gaming expert two to three days of adaptation.
And Rozen claimed he'd created his character less than twenty-four hours ago?
It was simply absurd.
Unless…
"Even if not in this game, I've undergone extensive full-dive experience in other games."
Rozen looked at Eugene with a calm expression.
"Sword Art Online — you should've heard of that game, right?"
Rozen's words were clear, echoing in everyone's ears.
Everyone took a sharp breath.
"What did he say?"
Sakuya was stunned.
"Sword Art Online…?!"
Alicia Rue was equally shocked.
"You… you're one of the survivors of that death game?"
Eugene's expression completely changed.
"Correct."
Rozen glanced at him and smirked.
"Let me reintroduce myself."
"I am Rozen, one of the survivors of SAO, the commander of the clearing group, and the founder of the beta tester guild 'Crimson Wing.' People usually call me 'Magus.'"
"Pleased to meet you, strongest player of this world."