Shoujo Grand Summoning

The word "Duel" echoed inside the inn. The other patrons are shocked but they quickly grew ecstatic when they heard this.

That beta tester is in for it now…

In the end, nobody believed Wu Yan's claim.

"Duel?"

Wu Yan chuckled. He couldn't hide his amusement from leaking through his mouth. He felt it beneath himself to be forced to treat players like him seriously.

"You…"

He used a pair of frosty eyes on the macho man.

"Are you sure about that?"

The macho man stepped back in reflex. Sweat started flowing down his cheeks.

Wu Yan shook his head in disappointment, he also made sure the macho man could see his disdain for him. He walked towards the exit.

"Good equipment didn't mean the player is skilled. What does that make you? One who can't even get equipment as good as me…"

His words continued reverberating inside everyone's mind even though he already disappeared through the entrance of the inn.

A portion of the patrons here felt bad and they quietly left the inn as they all went about their business…

For Wu Yan, this is just a small issue. After walking some distance, he already forgot about this event. Unbeknownst to him, a rumor spread among the populace about the appearance of a certain beta tester.

Beta testers all distanced themselves from the other players. They wanted to make use of the limited time and resources available to them to quickly get ahead of the curve.

It's very hard to find a beta tester because they knew how to cover their tracks or they are already very far ahead of the other players for them to notice.

Now that a beta tester has been spotted, many players started sharing the same sentiment.

In a way, beta testers are treasures troves on feet. They monetized their knowledge to gather tons of resources. If they can get even a piece of that pie, they will be able to live large for quite some time, not to mention increasing the likelihood of their survival inside this death game.

Granted, only dumb mooks would think about offending people like beta testers. The cunning player would adopt a wait-and-see approach than directly antagonizing beta players.

What is a beta player, really? Why are they called beta testers?

They are beta players because they were in the beta stage of this game, they had tons of useful game knowledge on them.

That's the real gold mine!

Moreover, beta players are also more experienced than novice players. Even if they aren't, with their higher levels, they can easily destroy or carry a player depending on their whims, getting on their good side would pay off better in the long-run than short-term profit!

In order to increase the chances of survival, smart players began gathering players to start guilds. The guild masters started moving…

Black cloak and huge-ass sword became a buzzword in the town.

Wu Yan didn't leave in time and so he got blocked by a bunch of individuals…

"Hello, I am from XXXX guild, we would like to extend a formal invitation for your entry into our guild. Should you choose to join us, you will get these benefits…"

"Good day, I am from XXX guild. We stand at the top 1% of all guilds, if you join us then we can directly give you a high-ranking position, you will also be able to enjoy other protective…"

"Hi there, I'm…"

The players literally swarmed him. They talked so fast they started spraying saliva on his face. He's too stunned to figure out what to do with them, he wasn't sure if he should be crying or laughing from all the attention he's getting.

His attire brought him more trouble than he had anticipated…

He tried to filter out their voices and guild names. He shook his head as he tried to recall the top guilds inside the original SAO. There were four notable guilds, the Knights of the Blood Oath (KoB), the Divine Dragon Alliance, the Fuurinkazan, and the Aincrad Liberation Force (the Army).

He wasn't sure if there's any other clan other than those mentioned here or whether they were comparable in strength to the original Big 4. He does, however, know that the main frontline force was composed of these 4 factions. In terms of influence, the mentioned 4 guilds should be the ones who are the top guilds.

So far, he didn't hear any familiar names. This means that they either got surpassed by others or they won't be noteworthy enough for a mention in the future. Why the heck would he join a crappy guild?

"Okay…"

All the guild masters stopped clamoring around him. It took just one word from him to do that.

"Listen up, I don't want to repeat myself…"

He scanned them and he continued.

"I am not a beta player…"

Wu Yan left the astonished guild masters who didn't know how to react to his declaration and he walked away.

"Hmph, these beta testers are all selfish assholes. They care for nobody but themselves!"

The other guild masters started dissing the moment he disappeared from view. There are also guild masters who just couldn't give him up. They ran after Wu Yan while leaving the sour guild masters behind.

These guild masters failed to track Wu Yan down. The nasty players who were gunning for his stuff also went back in disappointment.

Wu Yan looked back at the busy town and he shrugged. He is already outside the town at this point. He continued walking until he suddenly stopped. He sighed as he called out to a figure who was trailing him.

"Come out…"

A figure shrunk back in shock. After hesitating for a short while, the figure walked out from a hiding corner.

He turned around to look at his follower and he was temporarily stunned.

"A girl?…"

Wu Yan gasped.

The young girl took a sneaky glance at him and then she retreated away like Wu Yan's a wolf in sheep clothing. Wu Yan didn't know where to begin with this girl.

"Miss, are you here to invite me to your guild?"

Wu Yan tried to shake her off with a wave of his hand.

"I already said I am not a beta tester, it would serve you well if you just turned around and leave…"

"Erm…"

The lady was flustered, she yelled out loud in panic.

"I am not here to invite you into a guild…"

"Then why are you here?"

Wu Yan is a bit fed up with this conversation already.

The girl blushed and she started fidgeting while she lowered her head. She's like a frightened animal that brought out the pity in people's hearts. She used a mosquito-like volume with him.

"Ca-can I follow you?"

"Harh?"

Wu Yan was sure he heard wrong.

What the hell is going on here?

"Follow me?"

He pointed at his own nose. The girl, still red with bashfulness, nodded vigorously.

She's not a country-destroying beauty but she's certainly cute in her own way. This is coming from someone who is very familiar with beauty. In his standards, she counts as an okay girl.

Why would a dainty cutie like her offer herself up to him, saying stuff like following him?

His first thought was how absurd this situation was.

"Why do you want to follow me?…"

Wu Yan bitterly laughed. If she told him that it's because of his handsome look then he would have to treat her words with doubt. Maybe if the sky turned upside down, that would be true.

The girl's expression dimmed down.

"Because… I want to live…"

Wu Yan's expression also turned serious.

What a sad sentence if there was ever one…

There are not as many female players as male players in SAO. They made up about 30 - 40% of the player population here.

Out of these players, there are probably around 10% that can fend for themselves without anyone's help.

The rest of them are either too afraid to move beyond the Town of Beginning or they relied on another strong player for safety.

This girl probably belonged to the latter.

Wu Yan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you not afraid that I might be a very bad person?"

The young girl shook her head. She blushed even harder.

"A meanie wouldn't have eyes as pretty as you…"

Wu Yan almost fell limply to the ground.

What the hell is up with that logic?