"Let me tell you, they're all my wives, so don't even think about hitting on them."
"What do you mean, 'your wives'? They're clearly my wives."
"How bold! You have some nerve, daring to hit on my wives—you must be tired of living!"
"Enough talk! Draw your sword!"
"So many Tao Bao Wang members!"
"To be honest, if you had to choose one of these three beautiful girls to be your wife, which one would you pick? I choose the blue-haired beauty. Look at that hair color; it's full of the light of wisdom, like the ocean containing all things. She's truly a leader of the Clearer Group."
"I prefer the chestnut-haired beauty. Her smile is exactly my type. AWSL."
"The blue-haired and chestnut-haired beauties are just average in development. If you like them, go ahead! I prefer the silver-haired girl. Look at that chest, look at those hips, look at those beautiful legs, and finally, look at that face that could topple nations! Tsk tsk, she's absolutely perfect from head to toe!"
"Master! I see the light now; you're the one with real vision."
"If I could choose the silver-haired beauty as my wife, I'd be willing to give up ten years of my life!"
"Only ten years? You should be ashamed to say that out loud. If she could be my wife for just one day, I'd give up my life entirely."
"These three women look like little sluts at first glance! Look at those hair colors; no normal person has hair like that! It must be dyed. They don't learn anything good at a young age, hanging around punks and dyeing their hair. I bet they hang out with those punks all day; their bodies are probably already dirty."
"Holy crap! Where did this idiot come from? Can't people dye their hair? Are you their mother? If not, what business is it of yours! I think you're just jealous!"
"This person must be a woman, and definitely ugly as hell in real life. Otherwise, why would she insult those three beauties for no reason?"
"She's not as pretty as them, so her brain must be fried! I hate women with such strong jealousy; it's disgusting!"
The people online continued to send bullet comments, criticizing the low-level hater and defending the reputation of the three beauties.
Here, they used their keyboards to make a huge contribution to the three beauties, not seeking their favor, but only hoping they could continue to be themselves and grow up healthily.
Alice stabbed a blue longsword into the ground and said in a very serious voice, "Everyone, today we are going to subjugate the Boss Kobold!"
"In this world now, monsters are running rampant everywhere, and people are living in misery. In just one month, one-fifth of East Capital has been destroyed. In another half a year, East Capital will definitely become a ruin! This is my home; can you bear to see your families broken and homes lost?"
"No!" the Rulers in the square shouted.
Alice said very happily, "Very good, there are no cowards here. I truly didn't misjudge you."
"As Rulers, we possess powerful abilities to fight monsters. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Since we have the ability to protect humanity and maintain world peace, we should contribute our strength to this world."
"Kill all monsters, restore peace!" the Rulers in the square shouted again.
Seeing that everyone had no objections, Alice said with satisfaction, "This is not just for the world, but also for ourselves. You should know that monsters prefer to attack us more than humans. I believe everyone here has been attacked by monsters, at least twice a day."
"Sometimes we're even attacked while using the toilet. Such frequent attacks keep us in constant fear every day. I believe it won't be long before these monsters drive us insane. Since the monsters won't let us live in peace, we won't let them have a good life either."
"Currently, the Boss Kobold is at East Capital High School, two kilometers away from us. According to Organization's intelligence, there is a seventy percent probability that if we kill the Boss Kobold, all the small monsters belonging to it will disappear. By then, half of East Capital's land can return to peace, and we will become the heroes of East Capital."
"The East Capital Boss Kobold is not my only goal. My goal is to kill one hundred BOSS-level Monsters worldwide; only then can the world truly achieve peace."
"But killing one hundred BOSS-level Monsters worldwide is no simple task. Although I am strong, an individual's power is limited after all. So, for the sake of this world, are you willing to join me in killing one hundred BOSS-level Monsters?"
"We are willing!" The fifty-one Rulers in the square were infected by Alice's hot-blooded declaration and shouted their willingness one after another.
Asuna shouted the loudest of all; she was already Alice's little fangirl. Illustrious didn't find it strange at all, as Asuna was someone who wanted to be a partner of justice.
Alice looked around at everyone and said, "Excellent! As long as we kill the BOSSes worldwide, we will become heroes of the world and be revered by all! Every one of you is a fantastic partner! I am very happy to have a group of partners like you! Now, everyone please form teams of ten. The Boss Kobold is a Guardian BOSS, not something an ordinary team can handle."
"Everyone, assemble your teams and form a Clearer Group to deal with the Boss Kobold together."
Speaking of teaming up, Kirito panicked. Yes, he panicked. As a solo player, he really disliked teaming up with others. This definitely wasn't because he was introverted or suffered from social anxiety; it was just that he didn't like communicating with people too much.
He looked left and right and found that the people around him had already formed groups, leaving him all alone. This made him even more flustered, and he couldn't help but think: 'How did this happen? Am I left out again? Speaking of which, why "again"! Oh right, back when I played other games, everyone else would form teams early, leaving only me.'
"Damn it! Why do you have to team up to fight a BOSS? I know it's because the BOSS is hard to beat, but you should at least consider the feelings of us solo players!"
"Eh! That team over there only has two people! Aren't those Illustrious and Asuna? They're acquaintances, great! I'll go team up with them!"
Kirito moved toward Illustrious and Asuna. As he walked over, the surrounding Rulers looked at him with displeasure. They also wanted to step forward and team up with the two goddesses, but they were afraid their strength wasn't high enough to meet the goddesses' requirements.
After all, Illustrious and Asuna were both ranked in the top ten of the Ruler Rankings. If they were rejected, wouldn't that be a huge loss of face? So everyone just stood there, and no one approached the team where Illustrious and Asuna were.
"Hey! Who is that kid? How dare he go and team up with the two goddesses? He's completely ignoring us!"
"That kid looks sneaky, hiding in the corner. I knew he wasn't a good person. What should we do? If the two goddesses agree to team up with him, won't they fall victim to his schemes?"
"I know this guy. The information broker Argo mentioned him. His name is Kirito, and he's ranked second on the Ruler Rankings."
Hiss! "Then isn't he super strong? It's over; there's a high probability the two goddesses will agree to his request."
The people in the various Ruler teams discussed animatedly, occasionally casting their gazes toward Illustrious and Asuna.
"Illustrious, what should we do? We're left out. You need ten people to fight a BOSS. At this rate, won't Alice kick us out of the Clearer Group?" Asuna said anxiously, shaking Illustrious's shoulder.
"Don't panic! There are fifty-two people. If ten people form a team, the extra two will definitely be assigned to five of those teams," Illustrious comforted Asuna.
Illustrious looked at the people around them. Clearly, she and Asuna were two great beauties, and her strength was ranked first on the Ruler Rankings, while Asuna wasn't far behind at fourth.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't be lacking teams! How did it turn into them being left out?
Wait! It seemed like there was one more person left out just like them. Wasn't that Kirito? It was normal for Kirito to be left out; that guy had severe social anxiety. He would definitely come running to join their team in a moment.
Look, he's moving and heading this way. This guy is so predictable!
"Hello! Illustrious and Asuna, are you left out? Do you want to team up with me? You need a team to fight the BOSS, otherwise it will be very difficult," Kirito said, sitting down next to Illustrious.
"First of all, we are NOT left out! I just felt that they weren't qualified to team up with us," Illustrious said, feeling annoyed at the term 'left out.' Why would a great beauty like her be left out? It must be that they have no vision and can't recognize greatness when they see it.
"You should be very clear about my strength! I won't hold you back," Kirito said with a grin.
"You're okay, I guess! Although you're far behind me, you barely pass," Illustrious said condescendingly.
Kirito said indignantly, "Give you an inch and you take a mile! Last time in our match, you clearly cheated, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have lost."
Illustrious crossed her arms and said, "Oho! Still not admitting defeat? A loss is a loss, yet you're still brooding over last time and being so petty. Are you even a man?"
"Whether I'm a man or not, do you want me to pull it out and show you my big treasure!" Kirito said with a face full of anger.
"You're not ashamed to show off a little toothpick? Fine! If you're a man, then pull it out and let's see!" Illustrious said dominantly.
"Calling me a toothpick, huh! I'll pull it out!" Kirito shifted his pants as if to pull out his 'big treasure,' originally intending to scare Illustrious. But he didn't expect Illustrious not to even blink. Finally, Kirito gave in. "Fine! You win! I've never seen a girl as fierce as you."
"Hmph!" Illustrious snorted disdainfully. Did he really think she'd be embarrassed? What a joke; it's not like she hadn't seen a 'big treasure' before—she even used to have one in her past life.
"Hmph!" Kirito snorted along with her.
The two of them snorted at each other and turned away, refusing to look at one another.
"Here you two go again. I'm tired of talking to you," Asuna said, facepalming.
Asuna didn't understand why Illustrious and Kirito argued every time they met. Clearly, Kirito had taught Illustrious how to use sword art online sword skills before; they were technically in a master-disciple relationship, so they should logically get along well!
Illustrious was, of course, very grateful for Kirito's teaching. But having seen sword art online in her past life, she knew the following plot was that Kirito and Asuna would meet, get to know each other, and fall in love.
Fortunately, the plot had changed now. It wasn't in the game world of sword art online but in real life. Kirito and Asuna wouldn't meet, get to know each other, and fall in love, so Illustrious didn't have to worry about Asuna giving her a green hat to wear.
But some things just happen even if you don't want them to; eventually, Kirito and Asuna did meet.
That was half a month ago. At the time, Illustrious and Asuna were killing monsters when they heard a cry for help. When they rushed to the scene, they found it was Silica.
At that time, Silica was being attacked by the Boss Kobold Illfang. In her moment of peril, Illustrious rushed forward and saved Silica from the Boss Kobold. However, saving Silica did not mean she could deal with the Boss Kobold at that time; the difference in power between them was too great. In addition to attacking the Boss Kobold, she also had to watch out for sudden attacks from the three Kobold Sentinels from time to time.
After holding out for only three minutes, Illustrious and Asuna were soon showing signs of defeat. The BOSS used its battle-axe to try and strike Asuna, and seeing that Asuna was about to be hit, Illustrious immediately pushed Asuna away and blocked the blow with her back.
At the critical moment, Kirito and Agil appeared. Illustrious told Asuna to take Silica and leave first. Agil blocked the mobs, while Illustrious and Kirito fought the Boss Kobold together. Once they saw Asuna and Silica disappear from their sight, Illustrious, Kirito, and Agil glanced at each other and immediately retreated.
Afterward, Asuna and Kirito became acquainted. Asuna was very grateful to Kirito for saving Illustrious, so the very next day, she made a bento and gave it to Kirito. Illustrious, looking excited, thought Asuna had made the bento for her and was happy for a while.
In the end, the prepared bento was not given to Illustrious to eat but was instead packed into another box. Not only that, but Asuna also dressed herself up beautifully, left Illustrious at home, and went out with the bento.
Illustrious felt something was wrong, so she followed Asuna all the way. In a park square, Illustrious discovered Asuna meeting with Kirito and handing the bento over to him.
At that moment, Illustrious's jealousy exploded. Feeling as if she were being cuckolded, Illustrious suddenly jumped out from the bushes and cursed Kirito for being shameless, saying that he was clearly her friend yet he was stealing her love, which was simply inhuman.
Asuna knew Illustrious had misunderstood and hurriedly explained that she only made the bento for Kirito to thank him for saving Illustrious; she and Kirito were not in the kind of relationship Illustrious imagined.
But Illustrious did not listen to Asuna's explanation; she only believed what her eyes saw.
So Illustrious issued a challenge to Kirito! Kirito naturally accepted; he had long been dissatisfied with Illustrious being ranked first on the Ruler Rankings. As the one ranked second, he did not believe he was weaker than Illustrious.
So the two held a match. Illustrious set the winning requirement: if she won, Kirito would have to leave Asuna, have no further relationship with her, and even give them his blessing.
Kirito agreed. He wasn't in that kind of romantic relationship with Asuna anyway; it was all just something Illustrious had imagined.
Kirito asked Illustrious what would happen if she lost. Illustrious confidently said she wouldn't lose, but for the sake of fairness, she stated that if she failed, she would leave Asuna, have no further relationship with her, and even give them her blessing.
However, in the end, Illustrious shook her head and said she was canceling that consequence for losing, because if she accidentally lost, wouldn't Asuna run off with Kirito? That was unacceptable. She changed the consequence of losing to giving the sword in her hand to Kirito.
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