Hearing Asagiri's words, and catching the smile in his eyes, Asuna's face instantly flushed. She stamred, completely thrown off balance.
"S so suddenly… what are you saying…"
A beat later, she forced herself to be brave. She still couldn't bring herself to et his gaze, but she extended her slender, fair left hand anyway, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper.
"There aren't any infected in sight right now… and there aren't any other Players either, so… do you want to hold hands…"
She didn't even get to finish.
Asagiri had already taken her hand, just like in the very first newcor Dungeon, weaving their fingers together in that unmistakably intimate way.
"Of course we should hold hands."
Warmth spread from his palm into hers. Asuna's blush deepened, but her long fingers tightened around his, unwilling to let go.
Even with infected corpses scattered everywhere, even under a dim sky that made the hospital buildings feel eerier, heavier, suffocating, the fear sohow dulled. Her heart was in bloom, and that alone made the darkness feel less sharp.
…
anwhile, in the real world.
"Woohoo! A new skill! And equipnt too!"
Kotoko cheered like she'd just won a festival raffle, bouncing on the sofa with endless energy. Her legs in white sheer stockings and garters swung lazily as she practically sparkled with excitent.
gumi lay on the sofa, eyes half lidded, looking like she might fall asleep mid sentence. She let out a quiet sigh.
"Iwanaga san… you have way too much energy. I'm so tired I barely have the strength to talk…"
Kotoko grinned and leaned back, utterly pleased with herself.
"My skill burns ntal power, not much physical strength. Your talent drains both, and you also killed a bunch of zombies. Of course you're exhausted."
This ti, Kotoko earned an S rank evaluation after clearing the Dungeon. gumi received an A . They were on the sa team, moving together, but what the system counted as "contribution" was completely different.
Kotoko's evaluation noted she "collected information and deduced part of the truth behind the disaster in the City of the Apocalypse."
gumi's evaluation noted she "cleared so ordinary infected within the hospital."
In the system's eyes, even without personally killing zombies, Kotoko's performance ranked higher because she extracted information from the ghost doctor and pieced together part of the truth.
After the Dungeon ended, Kotoko received physical enhancents like gumi. On top of that, she also obtained equipnt suited for her, and a new "Anomaly" type skill.
[Strange Brooch (Equipnt, Blue Excellent Quality)]
[While wearing this brooch, the Player's ntal power recovery increases slightly. The brooch can also shift to different colors according to the Player's thoughts.]
Objectively, it was only average. A blue quality accessory wasn't going to do anything outrageous.
But to Kotoko, the best part was the color shifting.
No clashing colors. No fashion cris. Truly, a blessing.
Still, the real prize wasn't the brooch.
It was the Anomaly skill.
[Netherworld Grip: Consus a large amount of ntal power. After about two seconds of charging, summons a giant Pale Ghost Hand from the void to unleash a terrifying attack on the target, carrying both curse and physical attributes. The charging ti shortens as the Player's ntal power grows.]
A direct damage skill was exactly what Kotoko needed.
Yes, it had a two second charge ti. Yes, it consud a lot of ntal power and would affect her condition afterward.
But she wasn't a lone wolf.
With Asagiri and Asuna on the team, soone could always buy her the two seconds she needed. And she wouldn't be left helpless after the drain.
Put simply, the team had gained a powerful new output option.
As for gumi, her A evaluation rewarded her with physical enhancent as well, plus a special profession and an exclusive skill tied to her talent.
[Special Profession: Shadow Dancer]
[Shadow Dancer: An assassin type special profession that lurks in shadows, conceals presence, and delivers fatal blows]
[Passive Effect: Delivering a fatal blow to an enemy without being discovered restores ntal power and stamina]
[Player Exclusive Skill: Ethereal Touch]
[Ethereal Touch: Can be activated while touching other Players. By consuming the user's ntal and physical strength, the target temporarily gains the "Weak Presence" effect. Duration depends on how much strength the user chooses to consu]
[Note: Similar to the user's own talent, the slower the target moves, the longer the effect lasts. The faster and more noticeable the movent, the shorter the duration. Maximum duration: 30 seconds]
The mont gumi read the skill, possibilities rushed in.
Before a fight, she could apply Ethereal Touch to Kotoko, who wasn't suited for frontal combat. That would reduce the chance Kotoko got targeted, and it could also buy her the two seconds needed to charge Netherworld Grip.
Or, when passing through an area that felt dangerous, she could apply it to Asagiri, Kotoko, and Asuna, letting the team approach with initiative instead of being forced into a reaction.
Kotoko flopped back onto the sofa, cupping her cheeks in her hands, suddenly looking bored again.
"Ugh, this is so boring…"
She sighed dramatically.
"What are Asagiri and Asuna doing in the Dungeon right now… I knew I should've stayed. Sigh. I still couldn't refuse when he told to leave."
gumi hesitated, then spoke carefully.
"Iwanaga san… can I ask you sothing?"
Kotoko smiled, cheerful again in an instant.
"No need to be so careful. Ask away."
"Do you… really like Utsunomiya san?"
Kotoko blinked, genuinely confused.
"Obviously?"
"But… why?"
Kotoko tilted her head.
"Why what?"
gumi tried to arrange her thoughts, voice soft.
"I an… why did you fall for Utsunomiya?"
"Hm…"
Kotoko sat up, picked up the tray and teacup from the coffee table, and took a small sip of black tea. Then she smiled, speaking slowly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"I don't think liking soone needs so grand reason, but if we're using normal standards, Asagiri is handso, has a good body, excels in academics and sports, and his personality…"
She paused, amusent in her eyes.
"It's eccentric, sure, but you'd never be bored around him. No matter how you slice it, it's pretty normal for to like him, right?"
"Is that so…"
gumi nodded faintly, noncommittal. She had never been in love, and she'd never truly liked a boy.
Kotoko stretched languidly, rubbing her eyes, yawning.
"Instead of stressing about that, why don't you go sleep in your room?"
She waved a hand.
"Looking at this, those two won't be leaving the Dungeon anyti soon. And we cleared fast this ti. You can sleep, wake up, and still go to school."
gumi nodded.
"Yeah. That sounds better."
She'd already filed leave in advance, but if she could show up rested, it was naturally better.
…
Several hours later.
Eight in the morning in the real world.
Inside the Dungeon, in the administrative building of rcy Hospital.
"There's less than two hours left until the Dungeon ends…"
Asuna's right hand trembled slightly around the Exorcist Longsword. She stared at the Special Infected whose head she had pierced clean through.
Its body was swollen with pustules. From its mouth hung a dark red tongue that stretched several ters, like sothing that should not exist in a human shape.
She looked at Asagiri beside her, voice low.
"This is a Smoker… right? Out of the eight types of Special Infected, the only one we haven't encountered is the Tank, the one described as the strongest."
Asagiri studied the corpse, thoughtful.
"Hm. Maybe Tank types won't appear within this Dungeon's difficulty settings."
Asuna's expression turned complicated. She exhaled softly.
"Even so… besides us, only those two Players cleared it. The other Players… they were all filtered out, weren't they…"
Asagiri glanced through the corridor window at the night sky. It was completely dark now, so dark it swallowed detail and left only vague outlines.
He spoke quietly.
"There's less than two hours left. If the system arranged a way to eliminate the slackers, it should trigger around now, and…"
He trailed off, then walked to the Smoker's corpse.
With practiced ease, he extracted a black implantable locator from near the infected's neck tailbone area and dropped it into a transparent plastic bag in his left hand.
Inside the bag were nearly twenty locators already, all stained with blood.
Then he smiled, voice carrying a faint, satisfied edge.
"The owners of these locators… if they see that many coordinates for Special Infected clustered in one place, they'll definitely co investigate."
He lifted the bag slightly, as if weighing it.
"I hope they show up."
He looked out at the darkness again.
"And then…"
His smile sharpened.
"Things will get interesting."
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