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âGreat, youâre finally here! Weâve been waiting forever!â A dark-skinned youth rushed forward to shake hands with a somewhat rugged yet handsome middle-aged man who exited the âportalâ in front of them.
Behind him, a group of twenty young men and women neatly followed one by one, clearly well-trained and disciplined.
To be able to afford the teleportation fee of such a large group when none of them were above level ten, their background was naturally not simple.
âI believe youâre already clear on our agenda for todayâ
The dark-skinned youth grinned. âOf course, of course! My team here will make sure to guide you through the process of killing that annoying little bugger!â
While the two of them were talking, a certain âwarriorâ girl by the side couldnât help but frown.
She had only just joined this team temporarily because she heard them boast about being able to take down a [Minor Tentacled Plant Demon] with âeaseâ, and apparently theyâd even contracted some wealthy ânoviceâ team that needed âboostingâ. But since theyâd âsplitâ into two teams to make more money, there was âluckilyâ a requirement for some skilled players who would be compensated handsomely.
Dollyâs level and equipment were far from being the best, but her skills were quite good. Sheâd been a âproâ vanguard for a decent team for years, after all, and had also practiced mixed martial arts for years. She had no trouble passing the dark-skinned youthâs trivial test, which only made her look down on him more.
Including her, there were already five âwarriorsâ in this small team, and they definitely wouldnât be able to take the [Minor Tentacled Plant Demon] down in a short amount of time.
âMy skills have clearly gotten so much smoother since yesterday.â She thought. âI shouldnât be wasting my time with the likes of themâŠâ
Obviously, while the pillarâs descent changed the world only a âlittleâ, it didnât have a uniform effect on everyone. Since their âsynchronizationâ at the moment was quite low, most players only received a small part of their âstatsâ, while some lucky few might be able to directly obtain a passive or skill. And Dolly was one of them.
Sheâd murdered one of the natives of this world out of sheer frustration, and somehow ended up triggering a quest that awarded her with a âsneakâ passive skill for disposing of the body flawlessly. At first, she didnât think it was very useful, being only able to lower the sound of her footsteps and stuff. But who knew it would so greatly improve her martial arts skills after passing on to reality?
With such luck, Dolly was no longer so envious of Sylvia, and even saw the faint hope of one day surpassing her so far that the other girl would only be able to endlessly regret slighting her before.
Just as she was about to leave, something suddenly caught her eye. âThat is⊠no wayâ!â
Despite no longer streaming to the public, Emiliaâs appearance was absolutely unmistakable for anyone else. And as one of the girls she hated so much, Dolly obviously wouldnât fail to recognize her, even from such a distance.
Since her voice was so loud, her other teammates also ended up discovering the party of six girls heading their way.
Or, more precisely, they were heading for the city gate.
âAhh, isnât that the Emilia girlâŠ?â
âThen⊠that must be the âCrimson Witchesâ team?!â
Even the previously âdisciplinedâ team seemed to bubble with excitement, and their âhushedâ discussions fell into Dollyâs ears like annoying little croaks of an ugly frog, making her frown in disgust.
Aside from her skin and face, what was so good about a girl like Emilia?
NaĂŻve, stupid, and far too arrogant for her own good, she was the type of girl who could only last long in this world by leeching off of someone else. In comparison, even if she sometimes shared Sylviaâs limelight, Dolly had never lowered herself to fully ârelyâ on the other girl for anything.
Even if she had to steal something, she had to do it with her own hands.
Of course, she didnât mind if others took the blame for it, as Sylvia unknowingly had. To Dolly, being so incompetent that one was not even able to avoid being blamed for something they didnât even do just meant that they either deserved it, or were actively asking for it. In that case, why should she be the one to feel bad?
Dollyâs disgusted expression wasnât hidden from anyone else, and as Sylvia got closer, she couldnât help but frown.
The differences brought forth by the âbloodlinesâ were negligible at this stage of the game, and everyoneâs real face was clearly exposed in Arcadia. The only way to hide their identity was to cover their face with something, so there was no way the yellow-eyed girl wouldnât recognize her âbest friendâ.
All her enthusiasm for greeting the girl was gone, however, when she looked at the way Dolly was looking at Emilia.
âDolly!â
Even if she was a hundred times more apologetic for not being able to make Dolly join her team, Sylvia couldnât stand someone giving Emilia such a venomous look without reason. But facing her âbest friendâ, she still didnât know what to say.
Dolly just sneered. âWhat, Sylvia, do you still recognize me? I thought you already forgot we used to be best friends.â
Sylvia obviously didnât expect such a harsh comeback from the other girl, and almost took a step back in shock.
Danielle and the others frowned, having never liked Dolly, but Emilia didnât want them to create a scene in front of the city gate. âWhy donât we head someplace quieter to talkâŠ?â
Luckily, Dolly wasnât interested in airing their âdirty laundryâ in front of everyone, either, so she also begrudgingly agreed. âFine.â
As they walked away, however, the âteammatesâ that Dolly had left behind could only stare at each other in surprise.
âWho knew that the seemingly unassuming girl actually knew the Crimson Witches?â
âTheir relationship doesnât seem to be particularly good, though.â
âHey, who knowsâŠ?â
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