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Page 18
036 The Mysterious Hotel: The Three Sworn Brothers
Hearing this, Asagiri nodded with satisfaction and chuckled.
"Yes, I am very pleased with your words, my dear minister."
Asuna Yuuki was slightly speechless: "Isn't this supposed to be Water Margin? How did it turn into an emperor story?"
Asagiri replied confidently, "This is an alternate version of Water Margin, the Oath of the Peach Garden, and a super-enhanced version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms Gundam."
"What on earth are you talking about? How did you go from Water Margin to Romance of the Three Kingdoms again...?"
Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes, then looked at Kotoko Iwanaga, who was sitting there, looking as dignified and elegant as a lady from a wealthy family, and handed her her phone.
"Iwanaga-kun, since we've decided to team up, let's add each other as friends."
"Okay."
Kotoko Iwanaga didn't say much, but simply opened the app with the eye icon, turned on the add friend function, and then lightly touched Asuna Yuuki's phone.
You have successfully added "player" Yuuki Asuna as a friend.
You have successfully added "player" Kotoko Iwanaga as a friend.
"So that's your name..."
Kotoko Iwanaga glanced at the notification that the app had successfully added her as a friend, then handed her phone to Asagiri and smiled.
"Shall we add each other as friends, Leader?"
"walk slowly."
You have successfully added "player" Kotoko Iwanaga as a friend.
You have successfully added "player" Utsunomiya Asagiri as a friend.
"So these are your real names? Then Leader and Violet are the code names you used during the dungeon?"
"Yes."
Asuna Yuuki tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear and said calmly.
"To avoid revealing your real name in the dungeon, you should also choose a code name."
"A code name... Hmm, that sounds quite interesting... In that case, I'll call myself..."
Kotoko Iwanaga looked like she was thinking very seriously. After a few seconds, she lightly tapped her chin with her fair index finger and smiled playfully.
"Then my codename will be Leader's girlfriend~"
Yuuki Asuna was stunned by what she heard. After a few seconds, she finally reacted and frowned slightly.
"Hey, let's get serious about code names, don't try to sneak in your own agenda here."
"I think it's pretty good."
Seeing that Kotoko Iwanaga was unrepentant and seemed to really want to use that codename, Asuna Yuuki sighed and looked to Asagiri for help.
"Leader, what do you think of her? How could she..."
"Yeah, how could you use such a code name?"
Asagiri shook her head with a serious expression and spoke earnestly.
"Okay, I'll be the Butter Shooter, and you'll definitely be a warlock or something similar, so I'll call you the Sausage Warlock. And Violet will be the Bread Swordsman!"
Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes and retorted irritably.
"What kind of ridiculous code name is this? Are we some kind of Western fantasy sandwich duo? Besides, I am indeed a swordsman, and she may indeed be a mage, but your profession and talent have absolutely nothing to do with archers, right?"
"Hehe, it's okay? Do you know which game is the best shooting game of the year?"
"I don't know, I don't play games."
"It's okay, because the award wasn't for a game, but for a piece of software called JM Paradise."
"Huh? What does that have to do with shooting?"
"So you don't understand why I'm a Butter Shooter. I'll explain it to you slowly in the future."
"Okay... wait, no, what's okay? You two, be serious!"
Yuuki Asuna suddenly realized that the topic had been steered off course again without her noticing, and said with a helpless expression.
"I'm begging you two, please come up with a proper code name, okay?"
"A proper code name... then..."
Asuna Yuuki looked worried, fearing that Kotoko Iwanaga, that amazing person, would come up with some outrageous code name again. Fortunately, this time, the other party did not try anything funny and gave a serious answer instead.
"Necro, how are you?"
“Necro…”
Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, thought about it carefully, and asked in confusion.
Does this word exist...?
While Asuna Yuuki was still pondering, Asagiri spoke up with a smile.
"Necro, is it taken from the first five letters of the English word for the fictional book in the Cthulhu Mythos called the Necronomicon? It does suit you quite well, and it matches your talent."
Kotoko Iwanaga, intrigued, asked, "Oh? Leader, you know something about Cthulhu?"
Asagiri waved her hand, her tone humble, but she was clearly showing off.
"I understand a little bit, I understand a little bit."
Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga talking to Asagiri, Asuna Yuuki suddenly felt a pang of sadness and couldn't help but interrupt.
"In that case, your codename will be Necro. But I'm still very curious, since you and the Leader have both awakened your unique talents, what exactly does that app base its judgment on to determine the most suitable talent for a player?"
"I'm not too clear about the Leader's situation, but as for me... actually, the 'Strange God of Wisdom' talent wasn't something I awakened after entering the dungeon."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Kotoko Iwanaga smiled and uttered a surprising sentence that made Asuna Yuuki's expression change.
"'The Strange God of Wisdom' is not just my unique talent, but also my identity in the real world."
Before Asuna Yuuki could even ask a question, Kotoko Iwanaga took the initiative to recount her own experience.
She did indeed disappear when she was eleven years old, but the perpetrators were not kidnappers demanding ransom, but a group of monsters, which is why the police were unable to find any clues.
The reason why the monster took Kotoko Iwanaga away from her home is very simple: most monsters are not very bright, so they need a wise god who can help them, mediate various conflicts and disputes, resolve various incidents, and maintain the balance and order between monsters and human society.
The price of becoming a god of wisdom is losing an eye and a leg.
It is important to emphasize that the monsters did not force Kotoko Iwanaga.
Paying the price of an eye and a leg to become a bizarre god of wisdom was Kotoko Iwanaga's own choice.
From that time on, she possessed the ability to "observe" the supernatural and has remained the goddess of wisdom for the supernatural and the princess of the monsters ever since.
"No, wait a minute..."
Yuuki Asuna looked incredulous and spoke cautiously.
"You mean... there really are so-called monsters in the real world?"
"Yes, but you can rest assured."
Kotoko Iwanaga stood up, straightened her skirt, put her white beret back on, and smiled.
"Most monsters do not harm humans or interfere with the normal operation of society. They just want to live quietly. Moreover, monsters are not allowed to appear in front of humans at will, so there is no need to worry."
037 A teenage girl in the throes of first love won't dream of an abstract male protagonist.
Asuna Yuuki was speechless; her entire worldview had been turned upside down at that moment.
The fact that evil spirits exist in dungeons is already terrifying enough.
Now Kotoko Iwanaga is saying that there are strange things like monsters, spirits, and other supernatural beings in the real world, but ordinary people can't see them.
Asuna Yuuki took a few deep breaths before she could compose herself.
She glanced at the time displayed on her phone and sensed that the temperature in the room was starting to rise, so she looked at Asagiri, who was sitting there, and asked her a question.
"Leader, have you recovered?"
"It's no problem anymore."
"Then let's get ready to take action. Two hours have passed since we entered the instance. To avoid any unforeseen complications, let's deal with the source of the strangeness as soon as possible."
Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's words, Kotoko Iwanaga spoke up.
"When I went to the fifth floor, I found that the door to the stairwell was locked and I couldn't open it. I tried to sense it, but there was no strange aura on that floor. If there really is a weapon in this hotel that can completely eliminate evil spirits, then it must be on the fifth floor. I suggest that before we go to eliminate the source of the strangeness, we should go and get that weapon first."
...........
After agreeing on the plan, Asagiri left the room with Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga.
Of course, the three of them did not forget the two players who had already been infected by the strange phenomenon.
With the man in the suit and the woman in heavy makeup leading the way, Asuna Yuuki, Asagiri, and Kotoko Iwanaga kept a distance of one floor from the two people at the corner of the stairs, ensuring that they could hear each other's voices at any time without being affected by the sudden expansion and explosion of the two players' bodies.
"Leader, can I ask you for a favor?"
Hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's question, Asagiri replied with a smile.
"What's wrong, Necro?"
"My physical strength isn't very good, and going down stairs isn't very convenient for me, so..."
Kotoko Iwanaga smiled sweetly and spoke in a well-behaved tone.
"Could you carry me on your back?"
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly. She thought to herself that Kotoko Iwanaga's physical strength was indeed not very good, and because her left leg was a prosthetic, it was indeed not very convenient for her to go down the stairs. However, it was obvious that she had ulterior motives and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a bad move on Asagiri.
The thought of Asagiri carrying Kotoko Iwanaga made Asuna Yuuki feel uneasy, so she spoke up.
"Let me carry you."
"Hey? Violet, are you coming? But you're a girl, you probably can't compare to the Leader in terms of physical strength, right? If carrying me affects your condition and then there's an emergency, that would be troublesome."
Faced with the reasons given by Kotoko Iwanaga, Asuna Yuuki was completely unable to refute them.
Although her profession is a combat-type swordsman, while Asagiri's profession is a support-type diplomat, her physical fitness is far inferior to Asagiri's. It's not that Yuuki Asuna is weak; her physical fitness is outstanding among female high school students.
But Asagiri is a complete monster.
Originally possessing athlete-level physical qualities, he was a once-in-a-century sports genius. After receiving passive enhancements from the Human Asura, his strength, speed, endurance, explosiveness, and so on were approaching the human ceiling.
“Yes, Necro is right, I’ll do it.”
Hearing that Asagiri had agreed to her request, Kotoko Iwanaga's smile became even brighter. She was thinking about how she would pretend to be shy, gently jump onto Asagiri's back, press her cheek against his neck, and occasionally sway back and forth to get close to him, using this combination of techniques to try and win him over before the end of this dungeon, when she suddenly felt her body lighten.
"Huh? Huh... huh..."
Asagiri simply picked up the petite Kotoko Iwanaga with one hand, then hoisted her onto his shoulder in a manner reminiscent of carrying a rocket launcher, while waving his other hand in the air.
"Okay, let's go."
"Pfft."
Seeing Asagiri carrying Iwanaga Kotoko in this way, and seeing Iwanaga Kotoko's helpless expression, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Haha, trying to take advantage of me?
Necro, you still don't understand just how abstract our Leader really is.
"Um... Leader, can I carry you in a princess carry?"
When Yuuki Asuna heard Iwanaga Kotoko actually ask such a question, she was taken aback.
This guy looks petite and cute, but I never expected him to be a carnivore?
Such a straightforward approach?
"No."