Meanwhile, as Shido became the talk of the Sylph Territory, the same commontion spread throughout the Salamander Territory. Everyone spoke of his deeds with enthusiasm, recalling how a powerful Imp fairy had single-handedly defeated a high-level Field Boss and wiped out the combined forces of both the Sylphs and Salamanders.
Although, it was a bit embarrassing for them to lose to an unknown player especially since they won in number. They were also not that petty to hide and deny that fact and it shouldn't be that embarrassing if the one that defeated them was the strongest player.
In the end, Shido's feats in ALO quickly spread across every territory, even reaching YGGDRASIL City on the very same day. He became the talk of nearly every player, both in the game and on the community forums.
Because of his overwhelming strength, exceptional swordsmanship and the feats he had done, he earned the epithet "Sword Demon."
...
While Shido became the talk of the players in ALO, he wasn't aware of that since he was currently flying toward the Imp Territory.
Along the way, he occasionally stopped when he detected rare materials or a Field Boss. That said, it wasn't as if he had defeated a large number of Field Bosses, after all, they were a rarity in the game.
Still, he managed to defeat three of them which is incredibly astonishing for many players, as they would normally need to prepare equipment, stock up on items, and gather a group before challenging even a single boss.
However, Shido denied that logic as he would charge and defeat the Field Boss whenever he saw one.
Nevertheless, as he was flying, he suddenly receive a message notification from someone.
Shido directly opened the message and saw that it was from Lisbeth. Seeing that it was her that message him, a small smile appeared on his face and read her message.
Yet, when he read her message, his mouth formed a shape of 'O' as if in understanding. However, that was to be expected since his action would really cause a huge commotion.
Lisbeth's message read as "I didn't expect that our Setsuna would become so famous in such a short period of time." followed by a smirking emoji. Attached to her message was a screenshot of a forum discussion about a powerful Imp player.
Seeing her trying to tease him, Shido could only smile wryly and decided to visit this mischievous girl later. After sending a brief reply, he continued his journey toward the Imp Territory.
...
"…So this is the Imp Territory."
Shido stood in the middle of the Imp City for the first time. While the exterior couldn't exactly be called beautiful, being located in a mountainous region and riddled with caves, the interior was surprisingly vibrant. Much like the city in the Legrue Corridor, it was bustling with colorful lights and crowded with Imp players wandering around, either alone or in groups.
Shido glanced around and activated his <
As Shido walked along the bustling street, he could hear players talking about his recent deeds of how he soloed a Field Boss and wiped out both the Sylphs and Salamanders.
"...Amazing. He actually took down two entire armies of fairy races."
"Looks like things are going to get a lot more interesting in the coming days."
"That's true. But how come we've never heard of a player like that before?"
"Well, Maybe he's just been keeping a low profile?"
As Shido listened to the surrounding players, though he was a little surprised that the news had spread so quickly, but it was still within his expectations. In fact, it worked in his favor; gaining the Imps' good impression would make his rise to Imp Leader much easier.
It would've been ideal to challenge the current Imp Leader right away, but Shido decided to wait for Sakuya first to fulfull their deal. Of course it was the deal of supporting him, not the other kind of deal they made.
So for now, Shido decided to stay in the city within the Imp Territory. He found an inn where he could stay and be the spawn point when he logged in again before decideding to logged out.
...
The next day, Shido was wearing a black formal suit, adjusting his necktie as he looked at himself in the mirror. The reason he was dressed formally was because he have a meeting with Yuuki Kyouka, the current CEO of RECT Progress Inc and also Asuna's mother.
The meeting had been arranged rather suddenly, but Shido wasn't surprised when Rinko told him it would take place the very next day as he knew that RECT Progress Inc couldn't afford to delay the divestment for too long.
Shido didn't really mind, in fact, he was even a little expectant about his first meeting with Asuna's mother. As for his goal of becoming the Imp Leader, he decided to set it aside for now since he had something more important to do.
Acquiring RECT Progress Inc might be important, but he was more interested on meeting Yuuki Kyouko.
When he came downstairs, a BMW 7 Series was already waiting for him, with the driver standing outside.
Upon seeing Shido approach, the driver immediately straightened his posture and greeted him respectfully.
"Good morning, Itsuka-sama. Your car is ready."
"Un. Good work."
Shido smiled at the driver and nodded before entering the car as the driver opened the door for him. The car had been arranged by Rinko, so the driver was already aware of their destination and began driving as soon as Shido got in.
While the car wasn't one of those luxurious, attention-grabbing sedans, it was still an excellent vehicle, and that suited Shido just fine. He didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself, so the car Rinko had chosen was perfect. If he wanted to, he could have used a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, or Mercedes, but that would only make him the center of attention.
Still, while they weren't in sight, Shido knew that his guards were following closely behind to ensure his safety. He didn't really need bodyguards, given his own strength, but Rinko had insisted that he take some along with him.
Shido could understand her worries, given his status as a big shot. However, he felt it was too troublesome to have people constantly following him around. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to Rinko's proposal and let her assign him bodyguards.