Because hunting elite bosses wasn't as dangerous as facing a floor boss or the dragon Kanna, and for efficiency, everyone had split up to hunt elite field monsters separately.
Asuna left first, as she still needed to inform the Knights of the Blood Oath's leader, Heathcliff, via email.
Kaguya, unusually, followed Kiriko for a distance. Kiriko was curious but didn't stop her.
As everyone split up, and Yusei and Shiro were finally out of sight, Kaguya called out to Kiriko.
Kiriko stopped, puzzled, and said something to the girl Sachi next to her, asking her to wait a moment, then came over to Kaguya.
"What's up?"
Kaguya's expression was somewhat complex. She bit her lip and asked, "Could there be bugs in this game? For example, errors in the friend location display?"
"Bugs?" Kiriko was puzzled, tidying the hair by her ear. She shook her head decisively.
"Bugs should be quite unlikely. This game does have some unreasonable mechanics, like the leveling system. But errors in the friend location display should be impossible."
"Impossible?" Kaguya murmured these words, seeming somewhat distracted, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.
Kiriko waved a hand in front of her face, "Kaguya-san? Kaguya-san? What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Kaguya snapped back to reality, and then forced a smile, "It's nothing. I was just asking casually. Alright, let's hurry and go grind those elite field monsters."
"Ah, okay. Then I'll take Sachi to a slightly lower-level area."
"Okay, I'll go that way."
Kaguya smiled and waved goodbye to Kiriko, heading off alone.
After walking some distance, her quickly moving footsteps slowed. She leaned against a large tree nearby, looking up at the sky with a complex expression.
The sky was still that sky blue, making one's heart feel clear and extremely comfortable. But Kaguya's heart at this moment was filled with mixed feelings.
"Kazami Yusei... just what are you hiding?"
From the dense forest came the occasional roar of field monsters and the curses of players. There were also many players frightened by Kanna earlier, running around in panic.
For a time, the forest around the Dragon's Lake was constantly noisy, the atmosphere incredibly tense.
Silica was panting heavily, running towards the outskirts with her familiar, Pina.
Suddenly, her feet caught, and she fell forward.
"Ah!"
She had tripped over a vine at her feet. Although it didn't hurt, falling so suddenly still startled her.
Silica was one of those players terrified by Kanna. She no longer thought about defeating it, only wanting to leave this place quickly.
Who could blame her? The destructive power Kanna had just displayed was far beyond their imagination.
Staying here meant certain death. Leaving meant there might still be a chance to clear the quest later. They didn't think they had the strength to get that reward alone, nor were they frontline Capture Group's members, so they chose to retreat.
And this choice was indeed very reasonable.
However, some players weren't like that. As the game progressed to this stage, there were already players who robbed and killed.
Those orange and red players usually targeted solo players in the wilderness. And now, amidst this chaotic fleeing...
Weren't those fleeing all rookies? Targeting these people was undoubtedly the best choice.
Silica pushed herself up from the ground. Just as she was about to stand, she heard someone snickering nearby.
"Hehehe... finally caught a little fish."
"Hope this little girl has some money on her..."
Silica froze and quickly looked around. Several people emerged from the trees nearby, both men and women, all wearing mocking smiles.
"Y-you... what do you want?" Silica asked nervously, backing away.
The leading woman looked Silica up and down with a mocking tone, "Quite cute. Pity you're about to vanish."
"Alright, enough talk. Hand over your money and equipment."
Hearing this, Silica immediately recalled the warnings on the town bulletin board recently about being careful of orange and red players.
'To think I actually ran into them... How unlucky can I get?'
Despair filled Silica's heart, but she still asked, clinging to a sliver of hope, "If... if I give you my money and equipment... will you let me go?"
The leading woman, hearing Silica's words, showed an amused smile.
"Of course."
"Hand over the money and equipment, and we'll let you go."
Her accomplices burst into laughter.
"Ha, tricking a girl like that, you should be ashamed! Haha!"
"Well, it will at least give her a little hope."
Their conversation showed no regard for Silica. Clearly, they never intended to let her leave from the start. Silica's last hope vanished. She wasn't stupid, she understood things couldn't end peacefully today.
She drew her short sword, adopting a ready stance.
Seeing this, the orange-named players stopped laughing. They drew their weapons one after another, preparing to quickly deal with Silica and then look for the next target.
However, at that moment, a figure swiftly streaked over from a distance. Its speed was so fast it reached them in the blink of an eye.
"Who's there?!"
Before this group of red players could react, they saw a flash of blade light. Instantly, all of them turned into fragments and vanished into the air.
From start to finish, they didn't even manage to utter a complete sentence.
The newcomer was none other than Yusei and Shiro. He glanced at the cute girl slumped on the ground.
"Don't walk alone in remote places like this. Stick with the crowd."
With that, Yusei and Shiro prepared to continue on their way, heading quickly towards the center of the Dragon's Lake.
Silica, reacting, quickly called out to Yusei.
"Um... excuse me! Could you please protect me and help me leave this place? I... I'll pay you!"
Yusei's footsteps halted. He paused for a few seconds, then continued running towards the direction of the Dragon's Lake.
However, he left behind a sentence:
"Go find the Vice-Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Asuna. Tell her 'Yusei' sent you to her. Then discuss the terms of protection with her."