Comprehensive Manga: The Master is not here today

[Torbana] The square in the center of the town is a semicircular sunken square. On the edge of the square are circles of semicircular steps, which can serve as seats for gatherings.

It was 9:50 in the morning, ten minutes before the agreed start time of the strategy meeting, and many players were already sitting on the stairs.

For the sake of life safety, Kirito chose to leave the team of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna last night and returned to his identity as a solo player.

At this moment, he was sitting alone in the corner, observing the players who came to attend the meeting.

Forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight. The number of players arriving so far has exceeded the number of a joint force. There are currently fifty-five people and it is expected that there will be no more than sixty people.

Although as far as he knew, the best way to defeat the BOSS without casualties was to have two groups of joint forces attack alternately, which meant ninety-six players were needed, but the current number was obviously far from that.

However, he was a little surprised to be able to gather a full joint force.

As for how to allocate the quotas later, let Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna have the headache.

Most of the players present were gathered together in twos and threes and seemed to be members of a team. There were very few lone players like him.

Among them, there are five or six people he knows each other, and there are more than 20 familiar faces he has seen before. The others are all unfamiliar faces he has never seen before, and most of them are male players.

To be more precise, the only female players present were Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna in the center of the square, and Argo sitting on the high wall on the other side of the square.

The meeting hadn't started yet, and the players were all whispering and making little noises.

He listened with his ears slightly perked up. Half of the content was discussing the problem of defeating the BOSS, and the other half was discussing Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna.

From this we can see how wise his choice to leave the team temporarily was.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Suddenly, clear applause suppressed the rustling discussion at the scene, and Asuna, standing in the center of the square, said loudly:

"It's almost time now. Since there is no amplification equipment, before the meeting officially begins, I hope everyone can sit a little further forward. Thank you!"

"She is a real female gamer!"

“Cuteer than it looks from a distance!”

"The sound is so nice!"

Amid such discussions, the players obediently sat forward and gathered more compactly, looking more like a serious raiding team.

At this time, Fujimaru Ritsuka next to Asuna smiled and said:

"Thank you all for answering the call and coming here. Let me introduce myself first. My name is [Ritsuka], and the person next to me is [Asuna]. Please give me your advice."

The two girls are undoubtedly the most famous star players in SAO today. Even if everyone present has never seen them before, they have at least heard of their deeds.

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a commotion immediately, and someone immediately shouted:

"It's too much to introduce yourself! Is there anyone who doesn't recognize you, two super rare beautiful girl players!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a warm echo.

"Hahaha, that's right!"

"After all, they are the twin stars of Aincrad!"

"Ritsuka-sama! Asuna-sama!"

"I'm your fan!"

It was like a topic bomb detonating among the players in an instant, and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became quite lively.

Although the two of them had already learned about their current popularity from Kirito, they were still quite surprised to feel the warm atmosphere at such a close distance in an offline party.

But if this continues, the meeting will not be able to continue.

Just as Asuna was thinking of a solution, Ritsuka Fujimaru pulled out the spear from behind and started swinging it regularly.

Although the movement was not large, this move gradually attracted the attention of many players, causing the scene to gradually become quiet.

Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled generously and said:

"I didn't expect everyone to be so enthusiastic. It really shocked us."

"However, the purpose of inviting everyone here this time is not to hold a fan support party for me and Asuna, so please show some restraint."

"Ha ha ha ha.!"

Her speech once again caused a burst of laughter, but this time after the laughter, everyone calmed down in cooperation.

Kirito, who was sitting on the stage, felt relieved after seeing this and continued to listen.

Asuna glanced at Fujimaru Ritsuka in surprise. Although the other party said before that she was not very good at speaking, now it seems that she is very good at it. At least she is very good at handling emergencies.

Fujimaru Ritsuka continued:

"I think everyone already understands the reason why all the players who are fighting on the front line are gathered here."

"Just yesterday, our team climbed to the twentieth level of the maze area and successfully discovered the BOSS's room on the first floor!"

There was another commotion among the players, but they tacitly kept it under control.

"Since everyone gathered here voluntarily, it means that everyone here should have the same goal as us -"

"Clear SAO and be liberated from the game!"

"Destroying the first level BOSS and advancing to the second level is the first step we need to complete, even the most important step."

"Because we need to use this initiative to tell other players that this death game is indeed possible to be completely conquered! This is the responsibility that we, the players who are fighting on the front line, need to shoulder!"

"You're right!"

As a result, cheers and applause rang out one after another, actively responding to Fujimaru Ritsuka's appeal, so there was absolutely nothing to criticize in what she said.

Kirito also clapped his hands, feeling pleased that the current meeting was going smoothly. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna on the stage couldn't help but smile at each other when they saw this.

However, at this moment, a deep voice suddenly came from the audience——

"Wait a moment, Miss Ritsuka."

The cheers suddenly stopped, the wall of people in front split into two halves, and a small but strong man stood out from the crowd.

The spiky brown hair that looked like some kind of cactus immediately impressed everyone on him.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ritsuka, for interrupting your speech."

Although the other party's expression looked a bit ferocious, his attitude towards Fujimaru Ritsuka was very polite.

After saying hello politely, he said in a low voice with his thick voice:

"But before we continue to discuss the issue of defeating the BOSS, I think there are some things that must be made clear first."

Although the other party had not reported their name yet, Fujimaru Ritsuka still recognized the other party. Unexpectedly, after the meeting was changed to them, the famous scene in the plot would still appear.

Thoughts flashed through his mind quickly, Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and said to the other party:

"Of course, everyone is welcome to express their opinions, but before that, please introduce yourself."

"I see."

The other party nodded, then turned to face the players and said in a low and hoarse voice:

"My name is [Kibaou]."

"Before the meeting continues, I think someone among the players present must first apologize to the more than 2,000 players who have died so far!"