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“There’s so many people!”

Those were Crim’s immediate thoughts when arriving at that area on a hill with lush greenery, after a long trip where she crossed through many varied areas at full speed.

Everyone wore similar equipment, and they all ran in random directions. It was a common sight for the first days of an MMORPG before players had more choice in equipment.

“We’ve finally arrived.”
“This is it then? We’re here..?!”
“Yes…this is the Starting Hill: Evergreen, the land where Wyndham is located. This is where everyone is supposed to start the game.”

After going through a large detour, Crim was finally at the starting point of the game.

“Is it just me or are there a bunch of enemies around here?” Crim noticed something, and asked that as they walked.

She had been in Schwarzwald until now, and enemy encounters there were rather sparse unless someone was careless and went deep into the forest. But the plain they were in was filled with enemies, which were locked in combat with players everywhere.

“Ahh, yeah. Apparently the number of enemies that spawn increases depending on how many were defeated.”
“Ohh…”

Crim resisted the urge to swing her scythe at the many enemies there, just continuing to walk while looking around curiously.

“Anyway, Wyndham shouldn’t be too…shh come here…” Ryunosuke moved right next to her and lowered his voice. Crim knew why, replying in a barely audible voice so no one else could hear.

“They’ve been following us…since the previous area.”
“So you saw them too. There’s a bridge crossing the river ahead, if they’re gonna jump us, that’ll be where.”
“What do you think they want?”
“Just look at yourself. Your equipment would stand out anywhere.”
“That’s fair…”

Crim looked down at her body and sighed. Her scarlet coat looked like a rare item, no matter how one looked at it.

Surely enough, once they got closer to that bridge, they saw a group of players wearing the same emblem as the ones tailing them, showing they were all part of the same guild.

The group following them also got closer, encircling Crim and Ryunosuke. Though this was still the starting area meant for beginners, where PK was forbidden. So the group did not attack them right away.

“So, what do you think?”

Crim asked Ryunosuke, though he lost interest the instant he saw how the players surrounding them looked.

“All the best guilds probably already left for better areas, so they’re probably just bottom of the barrel degenerates.”
“…I see, so you also think that.”

Usually people who no-lifed games would not really pick fights with other players, or cause some sort of trouble. Those players would prefer to hang out with those who shared their passion for a game, forming tight circles that seldom involved others.

There were a few who still relished in causing trouble for beginners, and usually would do it in the most obnoxious ways possible, but luckily those were rare and far in between.

At least the group surrounding them did not seem to be that bad though.

That also made individual players a lot more dangerous, as opposed to a half a̲s̲s̲e̲d̲ group of players that only stepped forward when they were all gathered. That was the evaluation Crim and Ryunosuke had of the players surrounding them, so they just tried to keep walking without caring.

“Wait!”
“If you want to cross this bridge, you’ll have to duel us while wagering that coat!”
“You wouldn’t refuse a proper and fair invitation to a duel, would you?!”

Just in case, the other players cheered loudly after that, forcing the decision onto them. Maybe they thought it was a fair invitation, but Crim felt like throwing up seeing their attitude.

“…You really have the guts to say that when you’re pretty much forcing us.”

Someone without a strong will would likely falter being pressured into it like that. On top of that, once the fight started, it would be hard to focus with so much noise coming from the enemy’s friends. Overall, it was a very cowardly tactic, Crim thought.

But for her, getting across them would be easy. If she left, they would likely keep following her though, and maybe eventually end up getting Hijiri and Subaru caught in it too.

That sounds like too much trouble. I’ll just kick their a̲s̲s̲ here.

That was her decision.

“Sure, let’s do it.”
“Hey, Crim?!”
“I’m sure I could get through them, but then they’ll just keep following us and get annoying…and also…”

Her eyes filled with strong determination. There was only one thing she could not allow to happen no matter what.

“I’d hate it if they end up finding Hijiri and Subaru, so… I’ll just make sure they can’t do that.”
“Crim, are you…”

Ryunosuke turned to look at Crim, but seeing she was already in fighting mode, he just gulped and stepped back.

“So we’ll bet on the price, right?”
“Sure. But I’ll only fight one, and the rest will have to swear on their lives that they won’t interfere.”
“…Sure, let’s go with that.”
“You swear? Everyone who’s looking here will be a witness then, got it?”

Some voices came from the gallery of onlookers, claiming they had heard the terms.

It seemed like other people were also fed up with that group of players, and while they were annoyed that the way was blocked, they still sympathized with Crim, which was a relief for her.

“Anyway…I don’t mind wagering the coat, but can you even offer something of equal value yourselves?”

Saying that, she dragged the Cloak of the Young Red Lion Emperor into the betting items section of the PvP request prompt.