Miracle Summoner

The words spoken by Yuuki indeed surprised the surrounding players.

"Is she planning to continue accepting challenges?"

"She already lost, though."

"She even handed over her Skill Tome."

"But Skill Tomes can still be recreated, right? Continuing to accept challenges isn't out of the question."

"That's true."

"Still, why is she doing this?"

"Yeah, what's the reason?"

The players began discussing amongst themselves, their chatter filled with curiosity.

Even Asuna, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Silica looked astonished. Clearly, they hadn't expected Yuuki to continue accepting challenges from the surrounding players.

Only Rozen and Kirito exchanged a glance, as if silently sharing a mutual understanding, both remaining quiet.

In such a situation, Yuuki seemed oblivious to the discussions around her, speaking to herself.

"Is there no one else who wants to challenge me? The wager is still my Skill Tome, you know?"

Yuuki extended her invitation in this manner.

Seeing her like this, everyone realized that she truly intended to keep accepting challenges and wasn't planning to stop anytime soon.

Such persistence made it clear that Yuuki must have a specific goal in mind for dueling others.

At this moment, Liz, who was never one to keep things to herself, was the first to voice her thoughts.

"I mean, you already lost. Why are you still planning to accept challenges? What's your reason?"

Lis asked the question that was on everyone's mind, her tone direct.

In response, Yuuki blinked.

"Because I have a goal I haven't achieved yet. Until I achieve it, I plan to keep dueling like this."

Yuuki spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Everyone exchanged glances.

"Um…" Leafa tentatively asked, "May I ask what your goal is for dueling here, Yuuki-san?"

It was a straightforward and direct question.

The crowd turned to Yuuki, waiting curiously for her answer.

Yuuki fell silent for a brief moment before breaking into a big smile.

"Sorry, I don't intend to explain the specifics, but the main reason I'm dueling here is that I want to find someone who is either as strong as me or stronger. That's my goal."

Her words left everyone stunned.

Someone as strong as her, or even stronger?

Setting aside why she wanted to find such a player, wasn't her goal already accomplished?

"Doesn't Rozen-nii fit your criteria?" Silica voiced her confusion.

In the earlier duel, Rozen had decisively defeated Yuuki. No matter how one looked at it, he should fit her criteria perfectly, right?

If that was the case, why was Yuuki still accepting challenges?

The crowd couldn't figure it out.

Under their gazes, Yuuki scratched her head, her movements boyish and carefree.

Then...

"Rozen doesn't qualify."

Yuuki uttered such words.

This immediately made the players of Crimson Wing indignant.

Not qualify?

How could he not?

Wasn't their leader strong enough?

A defeated challenger had the audacity to say this? What arrogance!

Just as Crimson Wing's members were about to speak up, Rozen stopped them with a glance.

Yuuki gave a helpless smile and explained further.

"Indeed, Rozen is very strong—much stronger than me. He should meet my criteria. But after thinking about it carefully, I realized he still doesn't qualify."

Why?

The reason was simple.

"I plan to invite this person to join my guild and work with us on something."

Yuuki declared this boldly.

"Your guild?"

The crowd froze in surprise.

It was only now that everyone began closely examining the small colored marker floating above Yuuki's HP bar.

The colored marker indicated the player's affiliations. Aside from showing HP and MP bars, it displayed a small icon that represented the player's guild.

For Crimson Wing members, the Crimson Wing emblem was clearly displayed, allowing others to immediately recognize their affiliation.

Looking closely, Yuuki also had a guild emblem—an unfamiliar design of a pink heart flanked by white wings.

This meant that Yuuki was already part of a guild.

Moreover…

"What guild is that? Never seen it before."

The players began discussing again.

Yuuki's guild emblem was unrecognizable, indicating it wasn't a well-known guild.

Yuuki, however, didn't seem to care and spoke plainly.

"Although it's only a temporary arrangement, and you wouldn't need to formally join my guild, Rozen is the leader of the strongest guild in this virtual world. Asking him to leave such a guild—even temporarily—or step down as its leader would cause a lot of complications. I knew from the beginning that even if I dueled him, I wouldn't be able to achieve my goal. I just couldn't resist testing myself against someone hailed as the strongest player."

Yuuki looked at Rozen, her amethyst eyes glowing with a profound light, as she revealed a meaningful smile.

"Besides, the thing we're planning to do is incredibly important to us—something worth giving everything we've got. If someone as overwhelmingly strong as Rozen joined us, it would become too easy and lose the meaning we're striving for. That's why I can't invite him to my guild."

This was the reason Yuuki thought Rozen didn't qualify.

Hearing this, the crowd finally understood.

As for Rozen, he shrugged, as if he had anticipated this outcome from the beginning, and remained silent.

Yuuki smiled with satisfaction and looked around.

"That's how it is. If anyone thinks they can meet my criteria, temporarily join my guild, or believes they can match my skills, feel free to challenge me. Even if you lose, as long as you're capable, I'll still offer Mother's Rosario as a reward and invite you to help me."

"No need to worry about the guild issue. It's only temporary."

"So, if you're part of a guild and want to challenge me, you'll need to temporarily leave your current guild. Please consider that carefully."

Yuuki's words left the players deep in thought.

The members of Crimson Wing, however, unanimously decided to back out.

"I was thinking of challenging her."

"But I'd have to leave the guild?"

"Even temporarily, I don't want to quit the guild."

"Exactly."

This sentiment was shared by all, leading to their collective withdrawal.

Even Asuna gave up.

Asuna had been curious about Absolute Sword and had wanted to challenge her, but now, it was impossible.

As vice-leader of Crimson Wing, Asuna wouldn't cause major issues by temporarily leaving the guild. However, she had developed a sense of belonging to Crimson Wing, which housed her lover and friends. There was no way she'd leave.

Thus, Asuna chose to give up.

However...

"Asuna."

Rozen looked at Yuuki and suddenly spoke.

"You should go."