A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

Page 145

"Understood."

Hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's confident reply, Asagiri tentatively inquired.

"Excuse me, what level of understanding do you mean by 'some knowledge'?"

"Humph."

Kotoko Iwanaga crossed her arms over her chest, raised her fair chin, and said arrogantly.

"I know what a kitchen knife looks like!"

"What!?"

Asagiri looked incredulous and exclaimed in shock.

"A kitchen knife?! That's a legendary weapon that only Michelin three-star chefs have a slim chance of ever seeing! You actually know what that thing looks like?! That's unbelievable!"

"Hmph, this is the wisdom and knowledge of my god of wisdom!"

"Truly worthy of being called the god of wisdom! So wise!"

Seeing Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko's exaggerated back-and-forth singing and talking, Yuuki Asuna sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Can you two stop acting out a stage play here? Seriously, you two are such chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferers."

After making that comment, Asuna Yuuki picked up her phone and entered her desired reward type in the eye icon app.

[Reward selection confirmed]

[Gained: Significantly enhanced physical attributes]

After receiving the reward for clearing the level, Asuna Yuuki's physical attributes finally changed. She went from "Excellent (average scores at professional athlete level; speed, reflexes, and agility are close to human limits)" to "Outstanding (average scores close to human limits; speed, reflexes, and agility have surpassed human limits)."

Although that's how the stats are displayed on the panel, during battle, as long as Asuna Yuuki is in a high-speed movement state, she can gain various enhancements through the passive effect of "Flash Blade," and can even be on par with Asagiri in her Shura buff state.

"Okay, I'm going to help Hui cook."

After Asuna Yuuki stood up and left, Kotoko Iwanaga also entered the custom reward content.

[The reward selection has been confirmed. Would you like to add the "Warlock's Ring" trinket to the reward pool to increase the quality of obtainable equipment?]

"Oh? This is the first time I've seen this kind of hint."

Kotoko Iwanaga first showed the pop-up notification in the app to Asagiri, and then clicked the confirmation button.

The Warlock's Ring is a purple-quality accessory that creates a pale green cursed shield around the wearer by consuming their spirit power. The shield continuously consumes the user's spirit power while it is active, and its strength depends on the user's spirit power level.

When Kotoko Iwanaga first acquired this equipment, she really needed it, since she had no means of defense at the time. But things are different now.

She now possesses the ability to create a barrier of jet-black particles. In addition to being effective against attacks of the supernatural attribute, the jet-black particles are more effective at defending against damage from other attributes than the shield created by the Sorcerer's Ring. Furthermore, Kotoko Iwanaga, who possesses the exclusive talent "Goddess of Wisdom of the Supernatural," is already unlikely to be actively attacked by supernatural beings. Moreover, with Asuna Yuuki, Asagiri, and Megumi Kato present, it is even less likely that she will be attacked by supernatural beings.

Therefore, the purple-quality Warlock's Ring is no longer of much use to her.

[Obtained: Phantom Robe (Red Epic Quality)]

【Phantom Robe: Armor type equipment that can transform into any shape desired by the wearer. While wearing this equipment, resistance to curse-type damage and resistance to mental attacks are greatly increased. Every 24 hours, the wearer can use "Phantom" once, entering a "Phantom" state for one minute. In the "Phantom" state, the wearer is immune to all types of attacks and can move, but cannot use any skills or attack enemies. The "Phantom" state can end prematurely.】

"Oh... a red epic quality item..."

Kotoko Iwanaga first muttered something to herself, then her dark purple eyes suddenly widened, her face showing shock.

"Red epic quality equipment!?"

Kotoko Iwanaga was so excited that she jumped up from the sofa, ran to Asagiri, cupped his cheeks in her hands, and gave him a big kiss. Then she grabbed her phone and ran toward the kitchen, shouting excitedly as she ran.

"Asuna, Megumi! I got a red buff! I got a red buff!"

Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga's jubilant expression, Asagiri shook her head and smiled as she reminded her.

"Just as Fan Jin passed the imperial examination in ancient times, Qin Zi has become famous today. Don't get so excited, or you'll faint from happiness later."

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri took out her phone, opened the app with the eye icon, and entered the reward she wanted.

[Reward type and amount confirmed]

[Obtained: Blood Burst, Holy Cross]

[Blood Burst: Burns the user's blood, greatly enhancing various bodily functions, lasting for five minutes]

[Note: After the blood burst ends, the user will be in a weakened state with reduced bodily functions. The recovery time depends on the user's own recovery ability.]

【Holy Cross: Consumes spiritual energy to create a burning Holy Cross, dealing Holy and Fire damage to enemies. Damage is doubled when used on enemies of the Uncanny type.】

"Body enhancement skills and attack skills with holy attributes... Not bad, considering it's only an S-level rating, this is about right..."

Just as Asagiri was speaking, a new notification popped up on her phone.

[Because you led the operation to eliminate the enemy "Blackwatch" in this instance, you are hereby awarded a special reward: you may choose to upgrade any active skill you already possess.]

"Upgrade skills...?"

Asagiri muttered something to herself before making a decision without hesitation.

Among the active skills he currently possesses are offensive skills like Frost Spear and Holy Cross, and enhancement skills like Blood Burst. However, these skills are not that important. Having these skills at most only affects the means of combat. The skill that can truly bring about key changes to the squad's tactics is the strategic skill that has been with him the longest.

[The upgraded skill "Casting" has been confirmed]

93

Chapter 93: The Daily Life of Shuchiin.

After confirming the upgrade, Asagiri noticed that the text describing the "castling" effect in the eye icon app was covered with a layer of viscous red mist. As the red mist dissipated, the text began to change.

【Transposition (Skill): With the consent of a target, you can bind to that target (unlimited number of bindings). You can instantly swap positions with a bound target at any time. Casting this skill requires no cost.】

[Skill Limitation: Maximum effective range is fifty meters]

The original effect of "castling" is to consume a certain amount of mental energy to instantly swap positions with the bound player, and the maximum effective range is only fifteen meters, and it is also necessary to ensure that the target of the swapped player is within his field of vision.

After the upgrade, there is no longer any consumption of mental energy, nor is there any restriction that "must be within sight," and the maximum effective range has increased to an astonishing fifty meters.

Most importantly, the original skill description, "obtain a player's consent," has now been changed to "obtain a target's consent."

“Is that so… Persona, Mita.”

"Ta-da! The hat makes its reappearance!"

The energetic hat-wearing Mita appeared in front of Asagiri, making her habitual upper body shaking motion, her cute face bearing a sweet yet slightly mischievous little devil smile.

She stuck her tongue out at Asagiri, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Mr. Player, are you asking me to come out and help with the cooking? Not to brag, but as for cooking, I can easily handle a hat!"

"I have some doubts."

Asagiri looked at the blue gloves Mita was wearing, then at the hat she was wearing, and asked with some doubt.

"I find it hard to believe that you, dressed like this, can actually cook."

"Heh heh, don't underestimate me~ Looks like I really need to show you what I'm capable of~"

"Do business first."

Asagiri stood up, rubbed Hat Mita's head, and said with a smile.

"Bind me first."

"Bind? Okay~"

Seeing Hat Mita take out that mysterious purple object, Asagiri couldn't help but look speechless.

"I was referring to the binding of the skill 'Casting,' so why are you bringing up your purple mood again?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant! Sorry, I misunderstood~"

Seeing Hat Mita's cute face with her tongue sticking out, Asagiri wondered if the other party had really misunderstood.

"Then let's bind."

After completing the binding, Asagiri walked to the other side of the living room, turned around without looking at Hat Mita standing there, and just said softly.

"Castling."

The next second, Hat Mita and Asagiri instantly switched places.

"Knew it."

After confirming her guess, Asagiri nodded in satisfaction.

This is the most important upgrade in the castling.

After the upgrade, he can use this skill to swap positions with his Persona, which creates many more ingenious tactical combinations.

"Are you done? Are you done? Can I go cook now?"

Seeing Hat Mita's eager expression, Asagiri nodded.

"Well, let's go."

"Wuhu~"

Hat-wearing Mita looked very happy. She leaned over and kissed Asagiri before running straight into the kitchen.

After hearing the whole story, Asuna Yuuki, the head chef, looked at Mita in the hat, who was excited and eager to try, and didn't want to spoil her fun. So, to make it easier to cook later, she tied her long flaxen hair into a high ponytail with a hair tie and smiled gently.

"Then, you can take charge of chopping vegetables, okay?"

"Okay~"

Hat-wearing Mita took the kitchen knife from Asuna Yuuki, then looked at the cabbage on the cutting board, her eyes filled with determination, like a warrior about to go into battle. She took a deep breath, and then…

"Dong-dong-dong-dong!"

"Eh! Eh!"

Seeing Hat Mita's cleaver fall swiftly and start chopping wildly, scattering vegetable leaves everywhere, Yuuki Asuna quickly stopped her.

"How can you cut vegetables like that?"

"Huh...that's strange..."

Hat-wearing Mita looked down at the cabbage she had chopped into a mess, a look of confusion appearing on her cute face as she muttered to herself.

"How could this happen...? Wasn't it supposed to just be cut twice and then straighten out on its own...?"

Asagiri, who was leaning against the kitchen door, spoke with a light laugh.

"It's probably because the rules of the two worlds are different. The world where Hat lives is, after all, a dating game. Things like chopping vegetables and cooking can be done by just pretending to move a little. But in the real world, we have to consider a lot more."

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki sighed helplessly.

"You already knew, yet you still let the hat in to cause trouble?"

"So you mean you want her to come out and play Purple Mood with me?"

"Forehead……"

Asuna Yuuki paused for a moment, then looked at Hat Mita, who was still swaying her upper body with a smile on her face, and said in a solemn tone.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely teach you how to cook in this world today!"

At that moment, Kato Megumi poured the tattered, mangled vegetable leaves that Hat Mita had chopped into pieces on the cutting board into a basket beside her, and said in a gentle tone.

"Although it's not cut very nicely, it can still be added to the stew later. Oh, by the way..."

Kato Megumi turned to look at Asagiri, who was standing at the kitchen door, and said calmly.

"Do we still have to go to class today? If we hurry, we should still make it in time."

Kotoko Iwanaga sat on the empty marble countertop, swinging her two legs clad in white stockings, and rested her chin on her hand.

"Let's skip it then. We've already taken time off to get into the dungeon, so let's have a good rest after dinner, and then go out and have some fun together this afternoon~"

Hat Mita raised her right hand and bounced around.

I agree!

"What do you agree with? You don't attend classes anyway."

Asagiri said this first, then smiled and said...

"Then you should rest at home first. I have to go to Xiuzhiyuan this morning, and I'll come to find you again this afternoon."

"it is good."

……