bookbashuk Page 17
Page 17
"As the saying goes, make the most of everything. If we don't address the root cause, you're all going to die. In that case, you two will become cannon fodder to scout ahead."
"Of course, if you don't want to, that's fine too. You only have two choices: either follow my plan and become cannon fodder for us to explore unknown areas, or you might be able to survive."
"Either I kill you all right here and now to prevent future troubles."
"The choice is in your own hands."
Both the man in the suit and the woman in heavy makeup were dumbfounded upon hearing Asagiri's words.
Goodness, there's another expert?
This guy is practically a living Yama.
When Kotoko Iwanaga heard Asagiri's proposal, she was taken aback for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that's right. Since death is inevitable, we might as well make the most of our remaining value and use us as cannon fodder in our exploration of this hotel. Indeed, your plan is more reliable."
"You flatter me. After all, I have a very strong sense of morality, and I still feel a little reluctant to kill someone directly."
Watching Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko talk, Yuuki Asuna's lips parted slightly, unsure of what to say.
How does it feel...
These two are meeting for the first time, yet they have such great chemistry!
034 Kotoko Iwanaga's desire to achieve cooperation
"Used as cannon fodder? But...but..."
The man in the suit and the woman in heavy makeup exchanged a glance. Recalling the public notification given by the system before entering the instance, both of their expressions turned extremely ugly.
Never attempt to fight evil spirits. If you encounter one, run away immediately; this might give you a chance to survive.
The hints given by the eye icon app in this dungeon will vary depending on the player's specific strength. For example, the hint that Yuuki Asuna received is to try to avoid fighting evil spirits, because she cannot truly eliminate evil spirits with her ordinary rapier before obtaining a weapon specifically for fighting evil spirits.
The advice given to Asagiri was to act quickly and avoid being surrounded by evil spirits. Conversely, this also reflects the APP's assessment that, in a one-on-one situation, his current strength is enough to completely overwhelm the ordinary evil spirits in the hotel.
"I'm begging you..."
"Shut up, stop begging and pleading, are you a giant baby?"
Faced with the heavily made-up woman's tearful plea for help, Asagiri merely frowned slightly and said without any politeness.
"You're not thinking you can hide in a safe place and let us deal with the source of this hotel's strangeness so you can survive, are you? I've already said it, you only have two paths in front of you: either fight to the death and become cannon fodder to scout ahead, or you die right now."
..........
In the end, the man in the suit and the woman in heavy makeup made their choice and agreed to become cannon fodder for scouting.
Before venturing into the lower levels of the hotel to begin their exploration, Asuna Yuuki suggested resting for an hour. She was in good spirits, but Asagiri had summoned his Persona while capturing the red-clad female ghost, resulting in a depletion of both his physical and mental strength. Although the depletion wasn't significant, it was best to be cautious and recover to his peak condition before continuing the exploration.
During their break, the man in the suit and the woman in heavy makeup were locked in the innermost bedroom of the suite.
These two people drank the hotel's water, and their bodies could explode at any time like the woman in red. To prevent this, this measure was taken.
Considering that Kotoko Iwanaga had taken the initiative to share such a valuable item as the staff handbook, Asuna Yuuki didn't hold back either. After consulting with Asagiri, she told Kotoko Iwanaga about everything that had happened between her and Asagiri.
Of course, Asagiri wouldn't reveal her unique talent, the Persona Mask, and simply glossed over how she captured the red-clad female ghost.
After hearing about their experiences, Kotoko Iwanaga began to analyze the situation.
"Hmm... Now that you mention it, you came into contact with the hotel's water when you filled the bathtub, right? But I didn't sense any signs of you being attacked by anything strange. Therefore, we can infer that just coming into contact with water is fine, but you absolutely cannot let water enter your body."
Asuna Yuuki nodded, seemingly lost in thought.
"So... as long as I don't come into contact with the water in the hotel, I can safely get through twelve hours... isn't that a bit too easy?"
"This is not simple at all."
Asagiri sat on the sofa and spoke in a calm tone.
"Didn't you feel it? The temperature inside this hotel has been rising ever since we arrived."
"Hey, now that you mention it...it does seem to be true."
Asuna Yuuki murmured to herself, lost in thought.
"And it was alright on the seventh floor, but it seems to have gotten even hotter after we got back to the twenty-second floor... Does the temperature increase with the floor? Could it be that the temperature inside the hotel keeps rising over time, forcing players to move to lower floors?"
Asagiri replied casually.
"Yes, the normal process should be like this: the player searches the floor, finds a room that can be opened, and there will be clues about water inside. The temperature rises, the player is forced to move down, encounters evil spirits, escapes, and then, during the escape, they become dehydrated due to the high temperature and strenuous exercise, and finally have to find a way to survive."
"After all, we already had information that there was a problem with the water, and the earthbound spirit on the seventh floor had already been eliminated..."
Asuna Yuuki had already realized that although they had entered the same instance, the man in the suit who had drunk water and the woman in heavy makeup were not players of the same level as her and Asagiri. No, in the end, she and Asagiri could not be considered players of the same level.
Regular players: Playing hide-and-seek with evil spirits, you have to endure the physical loss and mental torment caused by dehydration. Once caught by the evil spirit, you die. In despair, you seek a glimmer of hope.
Advanced players: Although they cannot eliminate evil spirits, they can forcefully break through their obstacles. As long as they are not completely incapacitated, they are unlikely to be blocked by a single evil spirit and can come and go freely.
Cheater: Are you done crying? If you're done crying, then I'm about to start interrogating you.
"By the way, you were able to tell that those two people had been affected by the strange things in this hotel... It seems you have quite a few abilities."
Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's meaningful words, Kotoko Iwanaga simply smiled faintly and said in a relaxed tone.
"To be honest, my talent is indeed best suited for dungeons involving the bizarre. To be honest, if I just wanted to clear this dungeon, it wouldn't be difficult for me at all. But I want to confirm something now."
At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri, who was sitting there, and asked with a smile.
"What is your objective in entering this instance? It seems you're not content with simply clearing it. Could you tell me your goal? If we align, we can cooperate. What do you say?"
Asagiri replied with a smile, "I think it's a good idea, Kotoko Iwanaga."
"Then... eh?"
Halfway through the conversation, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly froze, and the usually calm and collected woman suddenly became somewhat flustered.
"Huh? You actually know me? Could it be... we've met before?"
"never seen it."
"Too."
Although the box had been opened, Kotoko Iwanaga did not show any panic or nervousness on her face. She just smiled sweetly, placed the white beret on her lap, looked at Asagiri's face, and spoke in a soft voice.
"If we had met someone with your looks and temperament before, I would have fallen in love with you at first sight and would never have forgotten you."
"Ok?"
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki was stunned.
love at first sight?
What do you mean?
Kotoko Iwanaga... actually fell in love with Asagiri at first sight?
035 Kotoko Iwanaga's Unique Talent
Don't try that.
Faced with Kotoko Iwanaga's words, which sounded like a confession, Asagiri remained unmoved.
"Don't even mention love at first sight. Even if you put on a sexy bunny girl outfit right now and did a pole dance in front of me, I still wouldn't trust you so easily and reach any so-called cooperation with you."
"How heartless."
Kotoko Iwanaga pursed her lips, then rested her cheek on her hand and smiled sweetly.
"However, I also quite like your ruthless, slightly sadistic, and condescending attitude~"
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's expression became somewhat complicated.
She never expected that in this dungeon with a total of five players, first two brainless idiots who were courting death appeared, and then two geniuses appeared.
This Kotoko Iwanaga looks like a lady from a wealthy family, but when she opens her mouth, she carries an abstract quality that rivals that of Asagiri.
"Um... Iwanaga-kun."
Asuna Yuuki coughed twice, bringing the topic back on track.
"To be honest with you, neither he nor I can trust you. Conversely, you can't completely trust either of us, right? To put it bluntly, even if we were to establish some kind of so-called cooperative relationship, it would just be empty talk in this situation where we can't absolutely trust each other. It would be better to act separately to avoid having to be wary of each other."
"I see... Well, now that things have come to this, I won't hide it anymore."
Kotoko Iwanaga smiled, then looked at Asagiri and slowly spoke.
"I'd like to team up with you... oh right, and the person next to you, not just for this dungeon, but to build a long-term team relationship, what do you say?"
Seeing that Kotoko Iwanaga described her as if she were a dispensable bonus, Asuna Yuuki felt somewhat displeased, her brows furrowed slightly, and she asked with some skepticism.
"You wouldn't be thinking of teaming up with us just because of some childish reason like liking him, would you?"
"How could that be? While that is a factor, it's not the decisive reason."
Kotoko Iwanaga said this first, and then patiently explained.
"You were able to solve the most important mystery of the dungeon within an hour, and the two players in the room just said that the dungeon hint they received was 'Never try to fight the evil spirits.' Not only were you able to fight the evil spirits, but you even had the strength to capture and interrogate them. This is enough to prove that your strength far exceeds that of ordinary players."
"More importantly, when I suggested killing those two players who were possessed by the monster, you didn't object. You even suggested using them as scouts. This shows that you're not the kind of indecisive, soft-hearted saints. If you were, I would never have considered teaming up with you."
"Of course, you might think that it's strange and suspicious that a player like me, who dares to enter a dungeon alone, would be so eager to team up. But actually, I have my reasons, and you'll understand once you read this."
At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly took out her phone, opened the app with the eye icon, and then placed the phone directly on the table without any attempt to conceal it.
"this..."
Yuuki Asuna was a little confused. After all, the personal panel in the app is the most private thing for each player. It not only contains the player's real name and age, but also displays all the information the player currently has, such as skills, equipment, items, talents, and profession.
Kotoko Iwanaga thus deliberately exposed her player profile.
As Yuuki Asuna pondered this, she glanced at her phone screen.
Player Name: Kotoko Iwanaga
[Physical fitness level: Weak (Physical fitness is above average, but the left leg is a prosthesis, preventing normal performance)]
[Player Level: Official]
[Exclusive Talent: The Eccentric God of Wisdom]
[The Strange God of Wisdom: All strange enemies with rational thinking abilities (evil spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, monsters, and yokai) will not attack this player unless there are a few special cases. The player can detect the aura and traces of the "strange". The player is immune to any mental attacks from strange beings. The player's "strange" skills are enhanced.]
[Negative effects: Unable to master any skills or passive skills except for the "Weird" type; unable to activate any skills when stamina is low; unable to equip most weapons and armor; unable to unlock any classes except for the "Weird" type]
[Occupation: Not yet unlocked]
[Equipment: Masquerade Mask, Princess's Staff]
【Masquerade Mask: A mask made of ordinary material, but with an extremely ornate appearance】
[Princess's Staff: A staff specially crafted by the monsters for their princess, Kotoko Iwanaga. The material is unknown, but it is exceptionally tough and difficult to damage. When the staff is equipped, the speed of mental energy recovery is increased.]
"this..."
Noticing the surprised look on Yuuki Asuna's face after seeing her player panel, Iwanaga Kotoko smiled and said softly.
"Now you should understand, right? Without unlocking a class, I have absolutely no combat ability, and I can't even master skills other than those of the weird type."
"Even if I mastered it, due to the negative effects of my unique talent, such as the inability to equip most weapons and armor, as well as my physical disability, I am not suitable for frontline combat."
"In this dungeon, my exclusive talent was indeed very powerful, but if the next dungeon I'm assigned doesn't involve any so-called weirdness, then the advantages of my exclusive talent will be useless, and only its disadvantages will remain."
"Therefore, I need teammates."
At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri sitting there. She clearly knew that Asagiri was the one who held the power of decision, rather than Asuna Yuuki.
"So, what do you think? A player like me, with a huge talent deficiency who has to rely on teammates but has good personal abilities, a similar work style to you, and can be very useful in strange types of dungeons, and who has no reason to betray you, is the best teammate candidate, right?"
"It really is."
Asagiri nodded first, then looked at Yuuki Asuna and said with a smile.
"I see that this Kotoko Iwanaga is quite a heroine. Why don't we recruit her into our strategy team? We can conquer the dungeon together and plot our grand plan. What do you think, my beloved?"
"Who...who is your beloved concubine! Don't shout like that."
Asuna Yuuki first retorted with a blush on her pretty face, then said with a hint of helplessness.
"Although what you said sounds like something out of Water Margin, I won't criticize it this time. Since you've made your decision, I won't object, after all, you're the leader."