A month's time is enough to change many things.
For example, it was enough to make the names of nearly two thousand players permanently gray in the system list.
Aincrad's First Floor, Tolbana.
This town, famous for its windmills, was now shrouded in an atmosphere so heavy it was almost solidified.
Chen Mo walked into the amphitheater in the town center with light steps.
His gaze swept casually across the scene.
The dozens of players gathered there had faces that mixed tension, anticipation, and a hint of ferocity honed by the shadow of death.
They were survivors.
They were the small group of people who had survived the bloody elimination round in the first month after the game launched.
In the eyes of these people, guilds and large teams were safer choices, and this kind of meeting, spontaneously organized by solo players, was nothing more than a laughable farce.
But Chen Mo knew.
Turning points in history are often born from such unpromising farces.
His blade of fortitude +6, at his waist, was faintly visible beneath his clothes.
The Heart of the Giant Ape, taken from the giant ape, not only fulfilled the old blacksmith's long-cherished wish, but also made the sharpness of this sword reach a level that current players could not comprehend.
"Over here."
In the shadows of the corner, a petite figure waved to him.
It was Argo.
Chen Mo naturally sat down beside her; a month of intelligence trading had forged a subtle understanding between them.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the ke'er was in place.
"To help you track down that black-clad guy, the money you've paid me this month is enough for me to buy a top-tier set of equipment."
Argo lowered her voice, her tone carrying the unique teasing of a merchant.
"Has he come?"
Chen Mo ignored her teasing and asked calmly.
"Who knows?" Argo snorted and turned her head away.
Just then, the clamor below gradually subsided.
A man in blue armor, holding a longsword and a kite shield, walked onto the central platform.
He wore a gentle and infectious smile on his face, and vigorously tapped his breastplate.
"Thank you all for coming! I am Diabel! My profession, well, I consider myself a Knight!"
As soon as his words fell, a suppressed chuckle arose from the crowd.
"Hey, there's no profession system in SAO!"
Chen Mo's gaze fell on Diabel, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion deep within.
Diabel.
A poor wretch who fancied himself a savior, but was actually consumed by greed.
He remembered very clearly that this so-called Knight, too, was a Closed Beta Tester, yet he concealed his identity from other players in order to monopolize intelligence.
His impassioned speech at this moment was merely to gather a group of cannon fodder, so that he could safely land the final blow on the BOSS and seize that unique LA reward.
"Today, our team discovered the BOSS room on the top floor of the Labyrinth Tower!"
Diabel's voice rose, successfully seizing everyone's attention.
"We must defeat it and proceed to the second floor!"
"We must tell those who are still waiting in despair in the Town of Beginning that this death game can ultimately be cleared! This is the duty of every one of us gathered here!"
"Everyone, am I right?!"
His inflammatory words precisely struck the most vulnerable parts of the players' hearts.
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and applause echoed throughout the entire amphitheater.
Chen Mo watched all of this quietly, as if observing a play whose ending he already knew.
He watched Diabel bathed in the cheers of the crowd, a fulfilled smile on his face.
He also saw, at the back of the crowd, a lone figure in a black cloak.
Kirito.
He had arrived.
"Excellent, now, please form teams of two to six people!" Diabel announced the team-up command.
Chen Mo stood up.
He was not here out of kindness, nor to respond to this hypocritical call.
The First Floor's guardian BOSS, Illfang the Kobold Lord, and the dozens of Ruin Kobold Sentinels it would summon, with their attack patterns and aggro linkage mechanisms, made solo clearing extremely risky.
Even with his current stats, once he was continuously attacked and stunned, it would be a dead end.
He needed one, or several, trustworthy teammates.
His gaze swept over the noisy crowd, precisely locking onto two targets.
One was Kirito, who looked a bit awkward for not having a team yet.
The other was Asuna, standing not far away, with firm eyes and a tight grip on her rapier.
She had come too.
A month later, Asuna had shed her novice awkwardness; her demeanor was as sharp as a sword, a completely different person from the girl who used to cry because of monsters.
Mito, beside her, was also well-equipped, indicating that they had made significant gains this past month.
Just as Chen Mo was about to move, a crude voice, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, rudely interrupted Diabel's words.
Everyone looked up in astonishment.
A short, stout figure leaped down from the upper stands, landing heavily in the center of the platform.
The newcomer had spiky hair like a morning star, and a pair of sinister, rat-like eyes scanned the entire venue, finally pointing a thumb at himself arrogantly.
"I'm Yabashi!"
Diabel's smile froze on his face, clearly not expecting such a turn of events in the meeting he was leading.
Yabashi ignored him, instead turning wildly to face all the players.
Speaking in a heavy Kansai accent, he abruptly raised his arm, his index finger pointing directly at the crowd!
That direction, intentionally or unintentionally, was precisely where Chen Mo was located!
"Before we fight the BOSS, I have something to say!"
"Someone here must apologize to the two thousand players who died earlier!"
Apologize?
The crowd stirred, looking at each other, but some quick-witted individuals immediately understood Yabashi's intention, and gazes, some curious, some scrutinizing, began to converge on Chen Mo.
Chen Mo watched the solo act on stage expressionlessly, without even changing his sitting posture.
Only in the depths of his dark eyes did a hint of mockery, like watching a clown show, flash by.
Beside him, Argo's fingertips unconsciously tightened.
Not far away, Kirito's face beneath his hood instantly tensed, his knuckles gripping the sword hilt slightly white.
And on stage, Diabel's eyes also flashed with an extremely unnatural expression, but it was immediately covered by his perfect Knight's smile.
"Mr. Yabashi," Diabel spoke at just the right moment, "the people you are referring to, could they be... those Closed Beta Players from before?"