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By the ti they were done with their 'shopping trip' and 'sightseeing tour' around the city of Vermillion, there hadn't been much ti left before they were forcefully logged out. But fortunately, everyone had been careful enough, and comfortably managed to squeeze into Emilia's room in 'Inari's Inn' before then.
Initially, Emilia intended to just rest well and lay out their 'ga plan' a few hours before the next session, but unfortunately, that plan couldn't keep up with the changes.
The controversies that surrounded Arcadia since its launch might have made many quit, but they also made a lot of people curious enough to give it a try. And despite its rather 'uninteresting' gaplay, the unbelievably realistic 'graphics' and its extre dedication to 'realism' were enough to make many stay.
Of course, its inherent 'flaws' were still there, and as many feared, it didn't take long for the 'bad apples' in the society to start doing in the ga what they did everywhere else.
Normally, people turned a blind eye to harassnt and bullying unless it was happening to soone they cared about, but Arcadia was already a hot topic in both forums and dia, and everyone had a soul for gossip.
"There's already been over forty cases of sexual harassnt filed by people who claid that it happened within Arcadia, and seven have been arrested thanks to the videos recorded by the victims."
"It would be so easy to avoid this kind of thing. The developers should just make it so every female player can instantly shock anyone making unwanted contact with them. Or even better, just make it automatic. We only need to kill monsters in the ga, so there's no need for a chanic that allows two people to touch each other."
"Right? I used to think Darryl was a genius, but turns out even he can be so short-sighted."
Of course, many people opposed this type of opinion, and ca out to defend against it.
"If you ask , Darryl's move was truly the mark of a genius. Only those who already have that kind of uncontrollable tendency would commit such a cri. Instead of waiting for them to do it in real life and possibly get away with it, isn't it a good thing for them to do it in a ga and get caught for sure?"
People naturally realized that the victim could always record and share the incident in Arcadia, and might even be able to escape by logging out in ti, unlike reality. Moreover, it was impossible for the criminals to silence a victim or witness within the ga, unless they also targeted them in real life before their dirty deeds could be exposed.
From that point of view, Arcadia was indeed helping 'flush out' such criminals, and this kind of argunt was echoed by many. But a lot more scoffed at such thoughts.
"Calling this kind of heinous cri a 'good thing'… did your head get kicked by a donkey?"
"This ga is really a cesspool. I hate it."
Despite all the controversy, however, a lot of people had already beco 'dedicated' players, logging in and grinding diligently every ti that the server was online.
The fact that even office workers could ga just as much as anyone else simply by adjusting their schedule slightly made them very eager to give it their all.
Two sessions of four hours every day was really not much, especially considering that their bodies would be 'well rested' once they were done gaming.
Of course, everyone was very curious about how the 'developers' planned to monetize the ga, and many were already eagerly anticipating the launch of the in-ga shop.
anwhile, with future opportunities in mind, a multitude of enthusiastic player communities and guides also started surfacing one after another.
From the most efficient way to farm copper coins to a complete guide on how to survive the [Boar King] raid, many 'experts' keenly analyzed and explained every little detail, and those who were eager to learn more about Arcadia eagerly gobbled it up.
Under such circumstances, when Danielle and the others escaped from the beginner's town, it was obviously impossible to go completely unnoticed.
And once soone realized who they were, it didn't take long for Emilia's na to catch on fire.
"Fuck! Do these people have nothing better to do than to snoop around?!" Danielle paced back and forth furiously in the strategy room as she groaned. "I can't believe soone found your na on the official governnt site!"
She couldn't help but curse the person who first ca up with the idea of issuing a public notice whenever new 'identity' docunts were issued to soone.
Emilia could only smile helplessly. "Well… it's not really that surprising. Even if they didn't go actively looking for it, maybe I would have been exposed by a simple reverse image search."
She actually didn't mind her identity being exposed so much, since with her real face exposed to all, she never expected it to remain a secret for long anyway. If anything, she was surprised that they hadn't figured it out way earlier.
After all, even if they'd only been relatively minor events, her face had already been exposed to hundreds of people as a mber of the Crimson Witches.
But Danielle clearly wasn't of the sa mind. "Do you even have any idea what kind of harassnt you're going to face?!"
Sylvia and the other two girls in the team also nodded grimly.
"Don't take this matter lightly, Emilia."
Danielle sighed. "Since no one can find and question you within Arcadia, at least for now, it will definitely make them extrely eager to find out exactly how you managed to get out of the beginner village so quickly."
Of course, their enthusiasm might quickly die down once everyone else started hitting level ten, but the question was… how do they keep Emilia safe until then?
Sensing an opportunity, Robin coughed. "I can escort you back to your ho from now on to make sure nothing happens. How about it?"
Before Emilia could respond, however, Danielle shook her head in denial. "I don't think it's safe for her to take public transport anymore. In fact… how about you just stay here for the next few days, until the situation cools down?"
Sylvia also nodded in agreent. "I hate to admit it, but Danielle is right. Going out at this ti would just be asking to run into perverts."
The crimson-haired girl barely managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation. 'For supposedly hating each other so much, these two sure have been on the sa page way too often.'
But while she didn't really care about running into 'perverts', Emilia didn't want to upset her teammates by appearing too nonchalant, so she obediently scrunched up her face while pretending to be worried. "I-I'll just stay in the office, then?"
With no other better idea, everyone soon agreed to just stay in the 'office' for the next few days as much as possible. But just as Danielle feared, soone soon ca knocking on their door.
"Go check."
Nico nervously nodded and left to check who it was, only to co rushing back in panic. "T-There's like dozens of people with caras trying to break in!"
Fortunately, Robin and Sylvia had followed her out of both caution and curiosity. But even with the three of them together, they'd barely managed to block the crowd and slam the door shut in ti.
Danielle's face imdiately turned gloomy. "I see… let call the police to get rid of them, then."
Their office was supposed to be relatively private, with only a few past sponsors knowing its exact location, so the drill-haired girl wasn't sure how everyone managed to discover it. 'Anyway, it doesn't matter! Since they're technically trespassing, I just have to get them kicked out!'
Just as she was about to leave, however…
"Wait!"
The drill-haired girl paused, not expecting Emilia to interrupt her, and she couldn't help but be a little confused. "What?"
Suddenly having a strange thought, she frowned. "Don't tell you actually plan to throw yourselves to the wolves!"
Obviously, everyone just wanted to know about the secret that the crimson-haired elf had discovered, but she was under no obligation to share it.
Even if she magnanimously decided to let everyone know, Danielle knew that Emilia would only attract more jealousy instead of gratitude. And the more she gave in, the worse everyone's attitude will beco.
But the crimson-haired girl just smiled. "Throwing myself to the wolves? Please, whether I am a lamb waiting for slaughter or a wolf myself… I'm sure they'll soon find out."
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