298 -294- [ Magus ]

Floating city, Aincrad.

Within this city, which is suspended in the sky and constructed from a hundred stacked floors, there are also four seasons.

However, the four seasons in Aincrad are fundamentally different from the real world. This is because the seasons in Aincrad are not related to climate, but rather to the environment of each floor.

In Aincrad, there are scorching hot regions with high temperatures, snowy areas with low temperatures, ever-changing variable regions, and comfortable temperate regions. It has it all.

Of course, besides temperature, Aincrad also has other climate parameters.

Such as wind.

Such as rain.

Such as humidity.

Such as mist.

Even swarms of small creatures and other natural background climate parameters exist, allowing players to experience various different environments in this world.

And within these environments, some are extremely harsh and treacherous for players, while others are pleasant and visually striking.

The 24th floor of Aincrad is one such place.

It's a floor mostly covered by water bodies like lakes and swamps.

The main settlement on this floor is a town called "Panareze."

It's an artificial island constructed in the center of a massive lake.

Around the artificial island, there are thin and elongated floating bridges extending in all directions.

These bridges connect countless small islands around Panareze. A bit further north, there's even a tourist attraction with a huge tree, which is well-received among players.

Naturally, not all of these small islands are safe. Some areas are filled with monsters and serve as training grounds. Only players above level 30 can venture into these areas; otherwise, it would be dangerous.

Fortunately, at this point, there's no shortage of players above level 30.

In fact, there are even players above level 40 who are currently exploring higher floors.

These players are the most elite players in the entire SAO. Each one belongs to a prestigious major guild and is a member of the frontline player group. They are earnestly battling powerful monsters.

For ordinary players, the members of these groups are unattainable individuals, representing the hope to escape this world.

As a result, many players admire these groups, but there are also many who fear, dread, and even despise them.

After all, skills doesn't equate to character.

Among these groups, there are guilds and players with mixed reputations.

In this guild, there's a group of beta testers.

Some of them abandoned other players at the start of the game to focus on growing stronger, eventually gaining formidable strength.

Some of them concealed their identities and mingled among regular players, only to later reveal their true selves for various reasons and join this guild.

The mixed reputation of this guild among players mainly stems from two aspects.

The positive side is that this guild is currently the strongest in SAO, despite having only a few dozen members. Each member was a beta tester, and they can't possibly be weak. They are the most active members on the frontline, always at the forefront during boss clearing battles. The guild leader is even considered the most outstanding commander in SAO, recommended as the leader for every boss clearing battle. To this day, they've never suffered a defeat, known for ensuring that every boss is cleared, without taking any casualties.

The negative side naturally comes from their identity as "beta testers." Even now, some people still see them as a group of selfish individuals who only cared about getting ahead in the game, creating an unfavorable impression.

However, compared to the times when beta testers were widely criticized, the reputation and treatment of beta players have undoubtedly improved significantly.

At least, the beta testers did indeed step up, continuously participating in the frontline battles to liberate all players. They would occasionally provide the latest information to players on lower floors, allowing them to know the distribution of monsters, dangerous areas, and the locations of quest NPCs on different floors. Gradually, this fostered a group of brave mid-level players who ventured outside towns, wielded weapons, and fought in battles.

Given this, although this guild hasn't gained unanimous support, it has managed to eliminate much of the negative sentiment and impression players had towards beta testers.

Some admire them.

Some despise them.

And there are also those who objectively evaluate them.

This is a significant improvement compared to the past.

Players know that one person is responsible for bringing about this situation.

During the most difficult times for beta testers, this person consistently stood up, using a lazy and carefree demeanor to expose and counteract everyone's malice, scheming, and plots. Ultimately, this allowed the Beta Testers Guild to establish itself and gained recognition from most people.

His name, to be honest, is unknown to many.

Players only know that he always has a beautiful butterfly as his familiar. Despite being the commander of the clearing group, he himself is not to be underestimated. He possesses remarkable sword skills and his familiar can use various special abilities, especially debuffs that induce negative effects. It's said that even debuff resistant floor bosses find it difficult to escape its control.

Curious individuals have given him various nicknames for convenience, such as "Master of the Butterfly," "Beta General," "Tactician Extraordinaire," "King of Clearing," and more, both respectful and disrespectful.

However, the most commonly used nickname is just one.

——— "Magus."

Leading with his familiar and his guild, he's a player who fights at the frontline.

That's the "Magus."

In this moment, this legendary figure is on the 24th floor of Aincrad.

Because the guild he leads, "Crimson Wing," is currently situated in Panareze.

"Ding-ling!"

A pleasant bell chime sounds.

It's the sound of a bar's door being pushed open.

Rozen yawns as he enters the bar, moving in as if just waking up.

Inside the bar, there are already players.

"Guild Master!"

"Morning, Guild Master!"

"Good morning, Guild Master!"

Players greet Rozen with raised hands one after another.

"Good morning."

Rozen responds with a lazy tone.

"Gu..."

The rainbow butterfly perched on his shoulder appears just as sleepy.

Upon closer inspection, all players present, including Rozen, have a crest in the upper-left corner of their HP bars.

It's the guild crest.

Once joining a guild, that guild's crest appears in the upper-left corner of the HP bar.

And the guild crest of "Crimson Wing" is a pair of unfolded red wings.

All the players here are members of "Crimson Wing."

They are also top players with levels all surpassing level 40.

As for Rozen, his level is higher than everyone else's.

——— "48."

That's Rozen's current level.

//// Short explanation about Rozen's title...again. His original title does not mean magus, it's pronounced Moshi. The 'Mo' means demonic/Magic and the 'Shi' means master. It makes more sense in Chinese and the direct translation will be like demonic master or Magic master which doesn't sound so impressive in English. So I'll just sit with 'Magus' which is somewhat close to Magic master? ig? I mean Magus is technically user of magic, so it's master of magic? and he is a magus too so... Well I hope it works ////