Chapter 725: Heathcliff's qualm
Chapter 725: Heathcliff's qualm
Inside the meeting room, nobody uttered a single word. Heathcliff's last line echoed in the room, deeply engraving itself in the minds of the audience present.
Kirito sighed. He thought carefully about his decision and he finally voiced his thoughts.
"I am a solo player, but, I am also a member of the raid group..."
Kirito looked at Heathcliff and he nodded with a grim look still lurking on his face.
"I will participate in the floor boss raid!"
Heathcliff lightly nodded his head. He turned towards Wu Yan with eyes that couldn't hide his true intentions, he was gunning for Wu Yan from the start.
Wu Yan grinned.
"I am not a part of the clearing squad, but, I gave my word and I intend to keep it. I will help out, considering that you guys compromised by letting Asuna quit from the frontlines..."
"But..."
Wu Yan had an ambiguous smile on his face when he faced Heathcliff.
"I am not a part of the raid group, when I kill the floor boss, don't expect me to share my loot with you lot!"
The other lieutenants started exchanging looks while Kirito looked a bit helpless. Heathcliff also couldn't hold back his chuckle.
"Of course, you're not in the raid group. If you kill the boss then the reward is yours to keep!"
The others excluding Wu Yan gasped when they heard this. The final hit loot is a major reason why the other guilds risked their lives to participate in boss fights, isn't that so?
Ultimately, the players fought to liberate themselves from Aincrad. Even if it's for the benefit of many, without the loot, this will surely breed an emotional tumor in the hearts of many players, it wouldn't end well...
Worse comes to worst, Wu Yan will become the target of hatred by all the players in the raid group!
What is going on through Heathcliff's mind? He must be aware of how bad the other players wanted the loot too. Doing this will only result in further acrimony in an already sour relationship between Wu Yan and the raid group.
Also, Wu Yan isn't helping with his words, why did he say something that will attract hatred?
Granted, the others weren't aware of Wu Yan's true motivation.
He's broke af.
He needed the dough! This is a man who wanted to quickly refill his coffers.
After the lavish wedding, accounting for the two, no, three voracious and picky eaters at home. Asuna's money was insufficient to cover the shortfall. It didn't take them long to use up most of their funds on rare food materials.
To add fuel to the fire, Wu Yan didn't grind for quite some time. That stopped Cors from flowing into his pockets. It wasn't strange that his wallet became as empty as a ghost town.
If Heathcliff didn't invite Wu Yan over, he would have gone to the labyrinth to farm up some Cors and levels. He had a lot of precious items in his inventory which he could liquidate for Cors if he needed. But, Wu Yan wasn't ready to part with his items even if it meant he can refill his Cor pouch quicker than if he went to farm mobs.
These items are precious and that's why they are pricey. Wu Yan wasn't ready to liquidate rare assets when he can easily make the money from hunting monsters. It's not like he will starve to death with his current financial position anyway.
Wu Yan proposed that to Heathcliff because floor bosses are like walking piggy-banks.
With the boss loot, Wu Yan is sure he can live off the money without needing to farm mobs. When he does hunt monsters, it will be to level up to keep ahead of the competition.
As for his bad terms with the raid group, well, after marrying Asuna, he succeeded in building up immunity to haters, who cares what they think, right? Not even an army of haters can stop him, what is a mere raid group in comparison?...
Meanwhile, nobody caught on to Heathcliff's real intention.
After wrapping up the meeting, Wu Yan and Kirito left the meeting room. Heathcliff remained with his four lieutenants. The room was awkwardly silent for a short while before...
"Captain..."
One of the lieutenants spoke up.
"The boss fight is going to be a pivotal one, we need all the top players to work closely together to maximize our chances of winning..."
"Yeah, captain..."
Another lieutenant chimed in.
"We should get vice-captain Asuna back, shouldn't we?"
Heathcliff continued looking at the only door to this room.
"Asuna has already quit the Knights of the Blood Oath. I issued that memo and I am not going to rescind it. Even if we need her, we are definitely not going to get her back in the guild, that would tarnish our reputation."
"We can always invite her back..."
Another lieutenant suggested.
"We can invite her over just like we invited the Fae Swordsman and the Black Swordsman. Given my understanding of Asuna's personality, the Flash will most likely agree if we ask her nicely!"
Asuna glanced at the person who said that and he resumed staring at the door.
"Indeed, Asuna is very passionate about clearing the game. I am sure if we said it's for the greater good, she will surely participate. But, did you forget about the Fae Swordsman, Wu Yan?"
Heathcliff didn't stop for the lieutenants to reply.
"He came here without Asuna, which means he doesn't want Asuna to participate. What do you think will happen if we invited Asuna? I wouldn't be surprised if Wu Yan reneged on his deal."
"I-I don't think it's that serious.."
Heathcliff closed his eyes and he continued.
"He is very strong, even when he wasn't using Dual Blades, I wasn't sure if I can hold my own in a duel against him..."
One year ago, the two of them dueled, that fight is still vivid within the memories of every lieutenant here. His superb technique, his lightning-fast speed, and reaction, his monstrous strength, his well-honed battle experience, and skills. A year after the fact, it still sent shivers down their spines whenever they thought about it.
A year later, the average levels of players have risen a lot. The frontliners are all at least level 80 and above. They also had better equipment. They are now experiencing a level hell where leveling gets harder and harder. Equipment enhancement is also nearing the limit.
One year ago, Wu Yan's strength could be excused by his immensely high level, uber-tier equipment. But, with most top players more or less the same in equipment and levels, the Fae swordsman still wiped the floor with 20 guild members who are technically frontliners.
He's still as terrifying as before!
"That man, his moral alignment is dubious at best, he's also acting without much thought of the consequences. He's the type of man who is very hard to manipulate. You would do well to stay clear of his fuse. When he's lit, I can't imagine the frenzy he will unleash upon his foes."
Heathcliff's tense face loosened up with a bit of frustration.
"That's why don't do anything he wouldn't like. When anything bad happens, keep in mind, we might be a raid group and he's a solo player who can bury us. I, for one, do not want to take that chance..."
Heathcliff stood up and he left the meeting room, his words reverberated in the mind of the four lieutenants who thought long and hard about what they are going to do from now on.