"So that's how it is..." Hearing that Asagiri had considered her talent "Flash" when he said he wanted to choose the dungeon with the keyword "Zombie," Asuna's pretty face couldn't help but blush. She tucked her long hair behind her ear and turned her head, not daring to look directly into his eyes. She just suppressed her shyness and said softly, "Um... thank you."
"Waaah, it's not fair, it's not fair!" Seeing Asagiri with a smile and Asuna looking a little shy, Kotoko was like a little girl who had lost her beloved toy. She immediately threw herself on the floor and started rolling around, complaining nonstop. "Why wasn't I in the same novice dungeon as Asagiri? Why didn't I meet him first? It's not fair, it's not fair! I demand a rematch!"
Seeing this, Megumi suddenly asked a question that made Asuna's pretty face turn completely red, and she didn't even know how to respond. "Asuna, are you and Asagiri a couple?"
"No, no, no, we're not... Um... Kotoko is just messing around, Megumi, don't mind her."
"Oh, I see." Megumi seemed to have seen through everything. She nodded calmly, then took out her smartphone and started playing with it, entering the legendary Saint Megumi mode, having the demeanor of a transcendent person who is uninvolved.
"Alright, let's stop here." Hearing Asagiri's words, Kotoko quickly scrambled up from the floor. The wronged and pitiful expression disappeared, and she immediately became serious. The speed of her facial change was so fast that Asuna even suspected that her awakened unique talent was acting.
"Besides the point I just made, there are other reasons for choosing to enter the dungeon with the keyword 'Zombie'." Asagiri looked at Asuna, Kotoko, and Megumi in front of him and said in a calm tone. "With our current team strength, which completely overwhelms most Players, we can achieve a high-level clearance evaluation in any type of first-stage dungeon. I want to enter the dungeon corresponding to the 'Zombie' keyword mainly to explore the world view of the dungeon and the essence of this game."
"World view... essence?"
"Exactly." Asagiri nodded slightly and patiently explained. "What we currently know about the world view of the dungeon includes the world where Mount Massive Asylum and the Hotel are located. Let's temporarily call it the 'Abnormal World'. The biggest mystery in that world is the information we learned in the Hotel dungeon last time about 'the people in black clothes'. This time, since the keyword is 'Zombie', if it's really a zombie apocalypse-type dungeon as I suspect, then three questions arise."
"First, are the world of the zombie apocalypse and the Abnormal World the same world?"
"Second, if they are not the same world, then is the 'dungeon' of this 'game' ultimately about transporting us to one world after another filled with different types of dangers?"
"Third, all current dungeons are PVE-type survival or escape. Since the main goal of the 'game' is not to make Players kill each other, who is the real enemy for setting up so many tests and giving so many rewards to 'Players'? Is it the 'people in black clothes' that Alice mentioned in the last dungeon, who clearly entered the Hotel, could have dealt with the floating corpse that was the source of the abnormality in the water tank, but ultimately did nothing?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna, Kotoko, and Megumi were all stunned. "Uh..."
"Of course, you don't need to consider these things for now." Seeing the three teammates looking bewildered, seemingly a little overwhelmed, Asagiri just waved his hand and smiled. "I just think that as 'Players', exploring the world view and the truth of the 'game', even if we don't get obvious rewards for now, is an exciting and fun thing to do."
"You really are playing this 'game' as a real game, huh?" Asuna chuckled speechlessly and shook her head, her tone gentle. "Suit yourself. Actually, I'm also quite curious about the truth hidden behind this APP, but the most important thing right now is to ensure that we can survive in the dungeon. Only Players with enough strength to easily clear the dungeon have the leisure to explore the truth, right?"
"Then it's settled. We'll choose the dungeon corresponding to the 'Zombie' keyword." Hearing that Asagiri had made his decision, Kotoko's eyes flickered, as if another wonderful idea had emerged. She said with a smile, "Oh, right, Megumi said she would tell her parents that she's going to a friend's house on Tuesday night. In that case, why don't we all gather at my place on Tuesday night, and then on Wednesday, we can enter the dungeon together from the same location?"
"Go to your place?" Asuna stared at the smiling Kotoko, saying dubiously, "Why do I always feel like you have some ulterior motive? You're not planning to do something like a night attack while Asagiri is sleeping at your place, are you?"
Kotoko shook her head seriously. "How could that be? I'm not that kind of person."
Asuna rolled her eyes, saying irritably. "Coming from you, that has no credibility at all, but if Asagiri agrees, I don't mind."
Asagiri looked at Kotoko and asked with a light chuckle. "If we enter the instance at your place, can we ensure absolute safety?"
"Don't worry, absolutely no problem." Kotoko patted her chest, guaranteeing with certainty.
"Besides, my bed is big and soft, and sleeping alone feels empty and lonely~"
Asagiri nodded slightly and replied without hesitation. "Alright, then the four of us will sleep together."
Kotoko and Asuna were both dumbfounded upon hearing this. "Huh?"
Megumi didn't even lift her head, just played with her phone, saying in a flat tone. "If there's a proper reason, I don't mind."
"Megumi, don't just calmly agree with this guy!" Asuna lightly bit her silver teeth, crossed her arms over her chest, assuming a defensive posture, and glared hatefully at Asagiri. "Sleeping all four together... Don't talk nonsense here, Kotoko doesn't have only one room at her place!"
"Look at what you're saying, I'm not doing this for my own personal selfish desires." Asagiri explained seriously "Sleeping separately is fine, of course, but what if someone secretly runs to my room at night and is discovered by someone else among you? Wouldn't that easily cause a Shura scene? I am making this Sacrifice as the Leader to prevent the team from having conflicts and ultimately falling apart."
"You're even making a Sacrifice now?" Asuna sighed speechlessly, covering her forehead in helplessness.
"Besides, who would do something like secretly running into your room at night..."
Just as she was halfway through her sentence, Kotoko interrupted with a serious expression. "Hard to say."
"I beg you two, can you please be serious?" Asuna was almost angered into laughter, and she looked towards Megumi, requesting assistance from this newly joined team member.
"Megumi, you also think sleeping separately is the normal choice, right?"
Hearing Asuna call her name, Megumi put down her phone, looked up, and said thoughtfully. "Hmm... I'm fine with anything."
"Fine with what..." Looking at the overly calm Megumi, Kotoko, who always said ridiculous and strange things, and Asagiri, who, although trustworthy as the Leader, whose personality and style of action were always unexpectedly somewhat abstract, Asuna felt very heavy.
In this four-person team... It seems only she is considered normal...
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On Tuesday evening, in the living room of the magnificent mansion where Kotoko resided, which resembled a castle.
"Before officially entering the instance, let's reiterate the precautions." Asagiri looked at Megumi, Kotoko, and Asuna in front of him, and slowly began speaking. "Based on the information we currently have, the difficulty of the first phase instance will definitely not be too high. After all, most Players are currently only at the level of ordinary people. Therefore, the instance we are entering this time, just like the Hotel last time, must have also undergone difficulty balancing. It's the kind of instance that even Players who have only cleared the novice dungeon have a hope of completing."
"If that's the case, there are three possible types of zombies in the instance. The first type is one that will be infected with a virus and die if scratched or bitten, then be converted into a zombie, but moves slowly and can't even run."
"The second type moves quickly, and there might even be special infected ones, but they won't be infected with a virus and die from being injured by them."
"The third type moves slowly, and being scratched or bitten won't spread the virus. Given the current instance difficulty, this is the most likely type to appear, and the least threatening."
"Of course, there are also differences like sensitive hearing, sensitive vision, sensitive smell, etc., but the most fundamental and important difference is whether or not one will be infected with a virus from being scratched or bitten by a zombie."
Kotoko nodded, saying thoughtfully.
"Hmm... Although the first type seems relatively easy to deal with, there is no room for error. If possible, I still hope it's the second or third type, and... I've collected some information about zombies online these past two days. Strictly speaking, this kind of fictional thing should just be moving corpses, right? It's hard to say whether my 'Curse Gaze' will have any effect on them..."
"In short, clearing the instance is definitely not a problem for us. The key is how to obtain a high-level clearance evaluation."
Asagiri looked at Megumi and said with a smile. "If the zombies in this instance are the type with perception levels similar to normal humans, or even less sensitive, then Megumi, your exclusive talent can come into play."