Pitter-patter—
A fine rain fell from the sky, adding an irritating rhythm to the night. Lillian sat quietly inside a small tavern, holding a cup of hot water in both hands, listening to the sound of the rain.
"Almost got soaked through."
He took a sip. He was currently in Horunka Village, having arrived in just a little over an hour. It had started raining the moment he reached the village outskirts, so he'd quickly ducked into the nearest tavern.
He sat at a round table near the door, sipping his 20-Col cup of hot water, while observing the interior.
Aside from him, there were five other players inside. They weren't here to escape the rain, though—they were seated together, talking animatedly. Clearly, they were party members.
Their equipment was no longer beginner gear. They were most likely beta testers. Players who had known each other during beta banding together after launch to level efficiently was perfectly normal. In fact, these were the kinds of players who would form guilds the fastest. By the late game, the core members of most top-tier guilds were beta testers.
As for people like PoH—those who entered the game only after learning that dying in-game meant dying in real life—they were extremely rare. Probably just him. What sane person would knowingly dive into such a death game? Only thrill-seeking lunatics or outright madmen.
The members of Laughing Coffin, on the other hand, had been brainwashed by PoH's ideology. He claimed that while killing in-game caused real deaths, the killer wasn't the player—but Kayaba Akihiko. Therefore, any murder committed in a game with a PK system was "legally justified."
Many deranged players accepted this twisted logic, using it to justify their violence. What Lillian truly wondered, though, was this: once the game was cleared, would those red-name murderers be punished under real-world law—or would they truly walk free, just as they claimed?
"…Whatever. Not my problem."
Lillian drained his cup and noticed the rain outside had eased slightly. He was about to find an inn for the night and continue his journey the next day when the tavern door suddenly opened.
A petite female player walked in.
Lillian was seated near the entrance, so she naturally noticed him first. A hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes, but she said nothing and walked straight toward the group of five in the back.
She looks… kind of familiar.
Lillian's gaze followed her. She looked young, wearing a hooded cloak, but when she entered he'd clearly seen her short, light-brown hair and a slightly youthful face.
"You're finally here—we've been waiting ages," one of the five said. "Now you can tell us, right?"
"Same rules as always. Pay first," the girl replied.
"Ugh, you're impossible." One of them reluctantly initiated a trade. "We've been friends since beta. Can't you give us a discount, Rat…?"
Rat?!
Lillian froze for a split second—then it clicked.
That's her.
Argo the Rat.
She was a beta tester and had already been operating as an information broker back then. She knew almost every beta player.
After the official launch, she'd naturally returned to her old profession. With her beta-era knowledge and a massive network of a thousand beta testers, she quickly rose to become the most famous information dealer in all of Aincrad.
As for her nickname, "Rat," it came from beta testing as well. She had once accepted a special "Combat" quest but failed it, resulting in whisker-like markings appearing on her cheeks as a penalty. The look earned her the nickname "Rat," which eventually became her trademark.
During the official launch, she even used cosmetic items to recreate those whiskers so that former beta players could recognize her more easily and continue working with her.
The reason Lillian hadn't recognized her earlier was simple—
She didn't have whiskers right now.
It was only the first day after launch. She probably hadn't managed to get cosmetic items yet. Still… selling information on day one already? As expected of the sharpest information broker.
Lost in thought, Lillian realized he'd been staring unconsciously. This caught the attention of the group.
"Hey! Are you trying to eavesdrop on the info we paid for?!" one of them snapped.
"…No," Lillian replied, snapping back to himself.
"Then why are you staring over here?"
"Enough, Kart." The apparent leader smiled at Lillian. "It's only day one. No one could have unlocked advanced eavesdropping skills yet, right?"
"Yeah… guess so."
At that moment, Argo the Rat turned and glanced at Lillian. The curiosity in her eyes hadn't completely faded. In the next instant, she turned back, quickly finished delivering the information to the group, then walked straight over to Lillian.
"Hey." She sat down across from him without hesitation. Her sharp eyes darted around, her entire demeanor radiating shrewdness. "Are you a beta tester? I don't think I've seen you before."
"No," Lillian replied. "I'm not."
"Huh?" Argo looked genuinely surprised. "That's impressive, then. Not a beta tester, yet you made it to Horunka on the first day? Did someone give you information? Did you buy it? How much did it cost?"
"..."
Lillian stared at her speechlessly. Argo quickly realized she'd gone too far and cleared her throat.
"Anyway—let's introduce ourselves." She smiled. "I'm Argo. You can just call me Rat. I'm the most well-informed intelligence dealer in SAO. Whatever information you want, I can provide it." She added with a seemingly shy grin, "You just need to pay a tiny service fee. Just a little."
"Hey! Don't fall for it, man!" One of the players from the other table suddenly shouted. "She's the most ruthless information broker there is!"
Argo's smile darkened. She turned her head and said sweetly, "Oh? So you don't want to work with me anymore?"
"No, no! Of course we do! We do!"
Argo might charge heavily, but her information was always accurate. Unlike other brokers who sold cheap—but mostly fake—intel, her data was reliable. And in this game, reliability was worth every Col.
"Good, then."
Argo turned back around and flicked her finger in the air, performing a virtual operation. Lillian immediately received a friend request. "Add me as a friend. Makes it easier to stay in touch."
Maybe he has information I don't, Argo thought to herself. If I can squeeze it out of him, I can sell it for a high price. Hehehe.
In her mind, a launch-day player who could leave the Starting Town on day one and cross monster-infested plains to reach this place had to be fairly strong. And Argo liked adding players like that. Only players like this could provide valuable information—and only players like this were willing to pay good money for it.
Those who stayed in villages, scraping by and waiting to die, never bought information. Naturally, they were not her target customers.
"Sure," Lillian replied.
He didn't refuse. Having an information broker as a friend wasn't a bad thing. There were many details about SAO he didn't know, and someone like her could be extremely useful at critical moments.
Once the friend registration was complete, Argo's predatory instincts immediately kicked in. She put on an exaggerated look of surprise.
"Wow—you're already level 6! That's really fast. For a launch player, that's impressive. Hmm… do you have some kind of special leveling method?"
"..."
Lillian thought to himself that she'd started digging for information the instant they became friends. Truly an occupational hazard.
"Nothing special," he said calmly. "Just grinding monsters and doing quests."
Then, after a brief pause, he decided he might as well ask what he wanted to know. "Argo, I actually have something I want to ask you about too."
"Oh?" Argo's eyes instantly lit up, her lips curling into a smile. "What is it? I know everything, you know~ And the price is negotiable."