Money Can Buy Everything

053: Aftermath

After questioning Asuna and Kirito, Momo finally understood what had happened.

In the chaotic battle just now, the Kobold Lord Illfang, with only a sliver of health left, had jumped into the crowd where there were more players. The enraged players directly used sword skills to take down the boss, including Kibaou. Several players with one-handed swords were the fastest to reach the boss.

Kibaou had become the lucky one who secured the final kill, which left all the players momentarily bewildered. However, they soon gathered around Kibaou to celebrate.

Despite Kibaou's earlier actions being somewhat questionable, they were considered minor and unethical. Moreover, they had not succeeded, and his extraordinary luck momentarily made everyone forget about it.

"Oh my, oh my, this is really interesting, so interesting."

Momo chuckled, covering his chin and clutching his stomach while laughing. However, few people understood why Momo found it so funny, and they gave him strange looks as if he were acting like a lunatic.

Well, Momo didn't bother explaining to them. He viewed this whole situation as an unexpected and comical event.

"Kibaou the Black Swordsman! Haha! Kirito, this isn't my fault; it's your misfortune!"

Kirito pointed at himself with a puzzled expression, full of question marks.

Momo's laughter was quite loud, which naturally reached Kibaou, who was being celebrated by the other players. Hearing this, the players celebrating also paused and looked at Momo, then at Kibaou.

Kibaou's eyelid twitched, and he silently separated from the crowd, walking toward Momo.

Seeing Kibaou's expression, Momo suddenly went from surprise to understanding and finally to amusement.

Kirito instinctively reached for his sword hilt, and Momo sat up, shaking his head, and said, "Don't worry, Kirito, everything is fine."

Kibaou approached, first looking at Diavel. When he saw Diavel was unharmed, he was slightly surprised and asked, "Are you okay, Diavel?"

At this point, Diavel's health had recovered to yellow, no longer in the critical state. He leaned against the wall, and with a serious expression, he replied, "I was very lucky, I didn't die."

Kibaou nodded. The relationship between him and Diavel was destined to be irreconcilable. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the two were almost like mortal enemies.

However, at this moment, Kibaou made a surprising move. He stopped in front of Momo, then knelt on both knees, performing a traditional bow. He said, "Momo, today's battle has made me realize how despicable my previous behavior was. Now I understand that only by uniting can we defeat these monsters and clear the game. Without all of you, this strategy wouldn't have gone so smoothly, Diavel might have died, and there might have been even more losses."

"Kibaou here solemnly apologizes to you, Momo, and on behalf of everyone, we want to express our gratitude to you!"

With these words, Kibaou bowed his head, and the entire scene fell into silence.

A cold chuckle came from Diavel, who chose a rather inappropriate moment to speak up.

"As for my part, you don't have to thank me. It's Momo we should thank. And as for everyone else, they're expressing their gratitude to Momo. Your gratitude isn't necessary," Diavel said.

While some might not fully grasp Kibaou's actions, Diavel understood. He believed that Momo also understood.

This stroke of luck had suddenly changed Kibaou's mindset. If his previous approach was akin to chasing small gains and personal interests among the common people, now he realized that pretending to be a virtuous and just leader could bring even greater benefits.

In simple terms, Kibaou had an epiphany and decided not to be... Well, he decided not to be the Kibaou he used to be and wanted to learn from the previous Diavel!

Diavel was currently enjoying a surge in reputation and prestige, making it a great opportunity for Kibaou to fill that void.

However, only a few people could discern this. Apart from a few players who coldly observed Kibaou, most had expressions of surprise and admiration.

"Nonsense!" Momo acted as if he was deeply moved, standing up and helping Kibaou to his feet with a kind smile. He said, "What happened earlier was just a minor incident. Now, Kibaou, you've grown into a capable warrior and leader. So, Kibaou, let's work together and lead the players out of this death game!"

Kibaou's eyelids twitched, and he was left speechless, his mouth hanging open. It was he who had used this strategy to raise his reputation and gain popularity. How did he end up having to share the credit now?

Shouldn't the one leading the people be me?

Why have I become just like you now, Momo?

Nevertheless, Kibaou was unaware of how to divert the players' attention away from Momo at this point.

Well, if I've lost my chance, I might as well accept it.

"You're absolutely right, Momo!" Kibaou squeezed out a smile, grabbed Momo's hand, and stood up. He said, "Yes, I will continue to work hard in the future!"

Let's just end this topic quickly!

That was Kibaou's only hope now.

"Disgusting," Argo whispered to Asuna's ear.

"Yeah, really disgusting," Asuna responded with a laugh.

The two girls were close enough to see Kibaou's expressions clearly and had grasped his intentions. Only Kirito looked around in bewilderment, not understanding why everyone seemed to be reacting as if they had just eaten a bug.

The first-floor raid had ended like this, and it undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout Aincrad.

This proved that even in a death game where players couldn't die, it was possible to strategize and even achieve a no-death clear with proper preparation.

Players instinctively concealed the details of Diavel's near-death experience. One reason was that it could potentially diminish the impact of the news, and the other was to preserve Diavel's dignity. After all, Diavel had performed exceptionally well in the previous leadership role.

With the successful completion of the first-floor raid, in the eyes of players who hadn't participated in the strategy, there were two key figures: Diavel, who provided skilled leadership, and Kibaou, who had defeated the boss.

However, the internal details of the raid weren't widely spread to avoid spreading rumors and gossip.

In reality, within the raiding groups, there were only a few players willing to follow Diavel, while the majority, around ten players, chose to follow Kibaou. They believed that Kibaou had genuinely repented and had a lucky aura around him.

The successful raid on the first floor triggered a wave of players leaving the Starting City. This time, Momo didn't allow these players to act without guidance. Instead, he had Diavel gather a group of players to provide live demonstrations to newbies on how to fight outside the Starting City.

This further elevated Diavel's reputation, and Kibaou was not one to be outdone. He also sent out a group of players to perform similar activities. Observers could sense a subtle rivalry developing between the two groups. Were there some hidden motives behind these actions?

Indeed, a few days later, Diavel announced the formation of guilds, with two distinct ones:

1. The "Rose Garden," exclusively for female players. It aimed to provide shelter and support to female players, with its leader being Asuna, one of the strongest and renowned female players.

Asuna and Argo were the only female players to participate in the first-floor raid. As self-reliant role models, many female players were drawn to this guild.

Following this announcement, the information that Argo, the Rat Merchant, and Lisbeth, the Master Blacksmith, had joined the Rose Garden spread like wildfire, further enhancing the guild's reputation. The number of female players choosing to join this guild continued to grow.

However, Aincrad had fewer than 500 female players, so the Rose Garden was destined to be a support-oriented guild rather than a combat-focused one. Asuna, Argo, and the others suddenly found themselves busier, teaching these sheltered girls basic combat skills to avoid becoming the stars of "Beauty vs. Boar.avi."

1. The "Watchful Knights" guild, which recruited players with considerable strength and the ability to stand on the front lines of the strategy. Even if they couldn't join the boss raiding team, they should at least be in the vanguard of advancing parties.

Initially, Asuna worried that no one would respond, but when Diavel announced that the Watchful Knights would form a strategic partnership with the Rose Garden, countless male players were ignited with enthusiasm and rushed to the registration point.

Especially when Diavel revealed that the guild's leader was not himself but an unknown player, Momo, the number of registrations skyrocketed.

Why? Because Momo was known as Asuna's partner, and their relationship was well-known!

Two guild leaders in a romantic relationship must mean that their guild would often do activities together, which mean, their chance of dating a girl would be higher should they be in the Watchful Knight Guild.

The scarcity of female players led to unprecedented popularity of the Watchful Knight guild, leaving Diavel feeling ignored, and even making Kibaou furious and helpless.

He had initially planned to leverage the fame of Black Swordsman Kibaou to compete with Momo and Diavel, but Momo sent female players flying into his arms, and Kibaou was outcompeted by Momo.

Well, if he lost, he lost. After all, not all top players agreed with Momo's method of forming a guild, and many high-level players chose Kibaou's guild.

Furthermore, Momo's Watchful Knights, like the Rose Garden, had a membership limit of 500 people, ensuring that more players would gravitate toward Kibaou's guild. Realizing this, Kibaou chose not to compete further with Momo.