"Then..." Megumi walked to the apartment door, took a deep breath, and tried to maintain a calm tone. "I'll open the door now?"
"Yes, open it."
"Okay..." Megumi reached out, her hand trembling slightly as she gently pressed the doorknob down. With a soft click, the apartment's security door slowly opened outwards. She had never imagined feeling such profound nervousness and unease about the simple act of stepping outside. But despite it all, Megumi mustered her courage and walked towards the doorway.
Her reason for joining the team was straightforward: she didn't want to die, especially not inside a dungeon. If she perished within, her body would likely never return to the real world. Such a fate would not only devastate her parents but leave them clinging to a slim, agonizing hope that their daughter was merely missing, alive somewhere, tormenting them for the rest of their lives. So, Megumi had vowed: no matter how dangerous or terrifying the dungeon, she would absolutely not give up.
Roar!!!
The moment Megumi stepped out, a zombie immediately met her gaze in the corridor, less than ten meters away. Ragged, blood-stained, and missing half its neck, it paced, emitting an incomprehensible, beast-like growl. Her heart seized for a beat, but the next second, Megumi raised her right hand, signaling Asagiri and the others inside to hold back. Then, she activated her exclusive talent: "Weak Presence."
Immediately, she began to walk, actively approaching the creature.
Roar! Roar!
Five meters, three meters, one meter...
Finally, Megumi stood within touching distance of the zombie. Yet, its lifeless eyes scanned right over her without a pause, as if she weren't there. It made no aggressive moves.
My talent... Is it really this powerful? I'm this close and still haven't been discovered? Or is it that zombies' perception is inherently weak, and they can't detect me even at this range with my talent active? Megumi thought, silently backing away. Only when she was safely inside the apartment again, beside Asagiri and the others, did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
To avoid drawing the corridor zombie's attention, she deliberately lowered her voice. "It seems there's only one zombie outside. I just tested it. Even at a very close distance, as long as I activate my talent, it can't detect my presence."
Asuna couldn't help but exclaim, "Phantom's talent is really amazing..."
Megumi's exclusive talent, "Weak Presence," continuously consumed stamina and mental energy when she moved while it was active; with her current physical fitness, one minute was the absolute limit. However, if used while remaining perfectly still, there was no consumption, and the effect of reducing presence was even enhanced. This meant that if Megumi had entered this dungeon alone, she could likely have found a safe hiding spot, activated her talent, and simply lasted the ten-hour time limit, achieving the first clearance objective of survival, just like in her last dungeon. However, clearing a dungeon that way would result in a very low clearance rating and minimal rewards. If she truly relied on her exclusive talent alone, she would eventually encounter a Banshee or a monster with extremely high perception, leaving her utterly defenseless and leading directly to a Game Over.
"They placed a zombie right outside the Player's teleportation point...?" Asagiri smiled with satisfaction, uttering something Megumi struggled to comprehend at first. "As expected, it's a first-stage dungeon; the difficulty is too low."
Immediately after, Asagiri walked to the living room sofa, picked up a cushion, and tossed it to Asuna. Without a word, Asuna caught the cushion with her left hand, her understanding instantaneous. She then walked straight out the door.
"Roar..."
As predicted, the zombie wandering in the corridor, less than ten meters away, immediately noticed Asuna. With a beast-like roar, it shambled towards her, mouth agape, moving at a speed similar to a normal person walking. But before it could slowly approach, Asuna had already stepped forward. A flash of cold light accompanied her movement as she cleanly severed the zombie's limbs with the Exorcist Longsword in her right hand. Almost simultaneously, she used the sofa cushion in her left hand to cover its mouth.
"Mumble mumble mumble..."
With its mouth completely covered, the zombie's intended roar dissolved into muffled whimpers, squeezed from its throat like a wronged animal.
"Done."
Hearing Asuna's calm pronouncement and seeing Asagiri and Kotoko, who had already stepped out and stood beside her, both looking entirely unfazed, Megumi was dumbfounded. She had only one thought: Why? Why are you guys so skilled? Have you reached a level of tacit understanding where you can reach a consensus just by exchanging glances, without needing verbal communication?
"Okay, next..." While Megumi was still reeling, Asagiri had already joined Asuna. He squatted on one knee before the zombie, now a mere torso with limbs severed and mouth muffled by the cushion. Watching it still struggle despite its injuries, he shook his head. "Ah, how pitiful. Don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery soon."
Hearing this, Megumi thought that although Asagiri-san was a bit eccentric, he was still very empathetic and kind... Wait a minute. What was Asagiri holding? It looked like a Rope Dart, a weapon combining a sharp blade and a metal chain. Wait a minute, why are you putting the pointed end towards the zombie's wide-open eye?
Meanwhile, Asagiri slowly inserted the tip of the Rope Dart into the zombie's left eyeball. He showed no sign of disgust or discomfort at the overflowing foul blood. Instead, he muttered to himself. "When a sharp object approached, its pupils didn't change at all, and it didn't blink. It seems this thing doesn't have the instinctive reaction to danger that normal creatures do, nor does it know what fear is. It's the most common type of zombie, and as the diary said, it can't even run."
"This difficulty... isn't it a bit too low?" Asuna looked at the struggling zombie, a furrow in her brow. "When the apartment door was open just now, this guy didn't sense our presence either, which means its sense of smell isn't as sharp as a real beast's. And at such a close distance, if we speak softly, it doesn't seem to hear."
"Judging from how it felt when I just cut it, its physical strength is on par with normal humans, or even a bit weaker, and it can't run. Even if bitten or scratched, you won't get infected with the zombie virus."
"As long as it's a normal person who can move freely, finding a long weapon like a baseball bat, solving this thing isn't too difficult. Just be careful not to get surrounded. Even though it's a first-stage dungeon, it shouldn't be this simple. Compared to the Hotel dungeon we entered, it's simply too easy, even abnormally easy."
Hearing Asuna's assessment, Asagiri pulled the Rope Dart from the zombie's eye socket and then spoke. "Thinking about the dungeons in this game from a certain perspective, they are actually similar to exams. They are all testing whether the 'students,' or rather the 'Players,' meet the passing line requirements for a certain ability. For example, the first newcomer dungeon tested courage and the ability to think calmly under high pressure, while the second dungeon tested caution and keen observation."
"And 'passing' means completing the dungeon. If you can get an excellent score, you'll receive rewards. Since that's the case, why don't we think about it in reverse, similar to 'predicting exam questions'? That is, first analyze the existing information to deduce which aspect of the Player's abilities this dungeon wants to test, and based on that, infer the potential dangers that might appear in the dungeon."
Kotoko walked over, looking directly into the zombie's single remaining eye, and said softly, "The danger of this dungeon... could it be the so-called special infected?"
"There are indeed special infected, but it's unlikely they are the main challenge the dungeon sets for the Players." Asagiri shook his head, his tone flat. "From the information we already have, the dungeon—at least the first phase of the dungeon—generally won't set challenges that Players must overcome with force. Forceful breakthrough is a special route prepared for top Players like us. Correspondingly, there must be a normal route where even ordinary people can achieve a high-level evaluation for completion. After all, this game isn't simply torturing Players; it's more like filtering and cultivating Players through successive dungeons."
"Hmm... there's too little information right now, it's hard to draw a convincing conclusion." Kotoko said, then looked directly into the zombie's eye, activating her "Curse Gaze."
The moment she activated the skill, the pupil of the zombie's only remaining eye suddenly dilated. Its body first twitched violently a couple of times, then became utterly motionless.
"The skill worked. It seems these zombies don't have the characteristic of defending against mental skills. Their resistance to mental attacks might even be negative." Kotoko showed a slight smile. "So, my skill and Phantom's talent can both function normally."