Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The leader of the red players
Kotton, Kirito, and Asuna were watching Phantom's disappearing data fragments with blank looks.
"Nothing?" (Kirito)
"Nothing… Not even XP…" (Kotton)
"Seriously?" (Asuna)
…
Kirito and Asuna wanted to go and rage at Kayaba for creating such a shitty NPC that goes around hunting players but drops nothing (dimensional players don't drop anything aside from points).
The three of them sat on the ground and sighed. Even Kotton did not know that he would not get anything other than points for killing dimensional players, which made him pissed.
"At least I got a title, sigh" (Kotton)
"Did you say something, captain?" (Kirito)
"Nothing, don't mind" (Kotton)
After a few minutes of sulking, Kotton stood up and said.
"Asuna, can you help me pass the message to the other guild masters about killer NPCs capable of reviving once?" (Kotton)
"Sure, captain, leave it to me" (Asuna)
"Kirito, we should split up for now and continue grinding while looking for the boss room. If you ever found killer NPCs alone, it's up to you whether you want to take them down, but if they are on a group, avoid them and tell me via message, and we will talk about it by then." (Kotton)
Kirito nodded. Thus the three of them decided to split up and continue their tasks.
After parting with Kirito and Asuna, Kotton sat on a boulder and decided to review his notifications.
Player 8760002 received 1320 points for killing Player 8760059.
Player 8760002 received 1571 points for killing Player 8760008.
Player 8760002 received 1123 points for killing Player 8760016.
Player 8760002 received 1469 points for killing Player 8760095.
Player 8760002 received 7987 points for killing Player 8760077.
Player 8760002 received the title Elite Swordsman.
"No wonder the four goons were so weak. It has been over two months and only over a thousand points? What have they been doing with their time." (Kotton)
Kotton then summoned his dimensional character panel.
Name: Kotton Hansen
Title: Elite Swordsman
Player ID 8760002
Level: 5
Strength: 12 (+6)
Vitality: 11 (+3)
Speed: 24 (+3)
Spirit: 20 (+3)
Mana: 0 (+3) (LOCKED)
Potential Points: 0
Dimensional Points: 27,197
Skills: Sword Mastery (E), Transcendent Body (C)
-Elite Swordsman
Strength +3, 30% Additional damage when using a sword
"That is one juicy title. Only 15 players and three solo boss kills left." (Kotton)
Kotton was quite pleased with his progress and decided to view the rankings next.
Current Ranking:
First: Player 8760002 - 29,197 Points.
Second: Player 8760001 - 20,135 Points.
Third: Player 8760033 - 18,975 Points.
73/100 players left.
"WHAT?!" (Kotton)
Kotton was shocked. It hasn't even been a week since he last viewed the rankings, but the surviving players dropped from 93 to 73. But before he could think about a possible reason why players drop out of the game like flies, he heard someone call out to him.
"Yo! It has been a while, Kotton." (Rolando)
Kotton gazed at where the call came from and saw someone he did not want to see.
"What do you need, Rolando?" (Kotton)
"Haha! Still as unfriendly as usual, I see. Anyways, I'll head straight to the point as I am also busy." (Rolando)
If the readers forgot, Rolando was the pale-skinned man Kotton met at the plaza. After that meeting, from time to time, Kotton will occasionally see Rolando as he grinds outside the safe zones. They might have small talks, but Kotton generally avoids him if there is nothing important to talk about.
"I know you are a dimensional player." (Rolando)
As Kotton was about to play dumb, Rolando said something he could not refute.
"Stop with your acting. It does not work on me. And I also saw your spinning Vorpal Strike before. I might say it was an ingenious move." (Rolando)
"As expected of a stalker, sigh. You even have time to stalk me on the fields, huh?" (Kotton)
Kotton gave Rolando a hostile gaze and stood up, ready for a fight.
"Yo yo yo chill my man, haha I am not here for a fight. I know I can't win anyways. Even if you received help at the end that 1 v 5 was sick man" (Rolando)
Rolando sat on a boulder in front of him while removing his equipment showing his sincerity for a talk.
Kotton decided to hear out what this stalker wanted from him.
"Alright, so hear me out. I am 100% sure that you are player 8760002 as I was looking at your points skyrocket after killing those five, so I will re-introduce myself." (Rolando)
Kotton did not give any confirmation and just decided to shut up while staring at Rolando's eyes.
"I am Player 8760033, the current third on the rankings, and I am also the leader of the red players." (Rolando)
Kotton's gaze turned sharp, and he decided to hold his weapons again after that introduction.
"Haha, don't be so vigilant, my man, chill. Phantom and his group's actions are on their own I took no part with that." (Rolando)
Kotton looked straight into Rolando's eyes as if wanting to read what was on his mind before sighing.
"So? What do you want?" (Kotton)
"How about we team up?" (Rolando)
"What do you mean? Elaborate" (Kotton)
"Blue players have title quests, too, yes? We Reds are the same, but it is only focused on killing. To finish all my title quests, I need to kill 20 more blue players and one front-line guild master.
I am already done with my main quest and can return to our world anytime. This is also why I am confident to stand in front of you alone and unarmed.
For your information, I am not aiming for the ranking quest, as I believe you are aiming for that. Let us say that this is my sincerity in working with you, as I am not planning to be your enemy since I know we will meet again in the next world. I will also promise you that after I finish my title quest, I will immediately head back to the main world so you can do whatever you want after all the players are out." (Rolando)
"What will I get if I help you with your title quest? And how do we cooperate?" (Kotton)
Rolando made an evil smile and answered.
"I will send the red players to you individually or in groups, depending on how you want to wipe them out. With my help, you can finish your title quest faster and secure the number one rank. While I only need 20 blue players and a front-line guild master. You will be the one to choose the blue player you want me to kill. You can pretend to be the perfect leader while I remove your obstacles. It's a win-win scenario for both of us." (Rolando)"
Rolando smiled at Kotton.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Zentrexia
Zentrexia Just to be clear, Kotton is not a Japanese undecisive MC.
Kotton has a Chaotic Neutral Alignment.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone