"W..what are you saying..." Asuna's face instantly flushed at Asagiri's words and the smile in his eyes. Immediately after, she mustered her courage. Though she didn't dare to look directly into Asagiri's eyes, she extended her slender, fair left hand and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz,
"There are no more infected individuals visible in the hospital, and there are no other Players present now, so... do you want to hold hands..."
Before Asuna could even finish speaking, Asagiri had already taken her hand, just like in the first novice dungeon, in that more intimate way of interlocking fingers.
"Of course, we should hold hands."
Feeling the warmth from his palm and hearing Asagiri's smiling voice, the blush on Asuna's pretty face became even more prominent, but her slender, long fingers gripped Asagiri's hand more tightly. At this moment, even this scene, with infected corpses everywhere, under the dim sky that made the hospital buildings appear even more eerie, giving a sense of suffocation and terror, didn't seem so scary because of her current blossoming maiden heart.
----------------------------
Meanwhile, in the real world.
"Woohoo A new skill And a piece of equipment~" Kotoko cheered, full of energy.
Megumi, lying on the sofa with a somewhat tired face, sighed softly. "Kotoko-san, you have too much energy. I'm so tired now, I barely have the strength to talk..."
Kotoko sat on the sofa, her legs in white sheer stockings and garters dangling, her small body bouncing on the soft cushions. "After all, my skill consumes mental power, not much physical strength, while your exclusive talent consumes both mental and physical strength. Plus, you killed quite a few zombies, so it's normal to feel tired~"
When they cleared the dungeon this time, Kotoko received an S-rank evaluation, while Megumi received an A+. Although they were all in a team with Asagiri and Asuna, the four of them acting together, the actions that contributed to their clearance scores were different.
Kotoko collected information and deduced part of the truth about the disaster that occurred in the City of the Apocalypse, while Megumi 'cleared some of the ordinary infected individuals in the hospital.' Clearly, in the system's evaluation, although Kotoko didn't personally kill zombies, her performance in this dungeon was better because she collected information from the ghost man and deduced part of the truth about the disaster.
After clearing the dungeon, the rewards Kotoko received, in addition to the physical quality enhancement like Megumi, included a piece of equipment very suitable for her, and a new "Abnormality" type skill.
---
[Strange Brooch: (Equipment, Blue Excellent Quality) When wearing this brooch, it slightly increases the Player's mental power recovery speed, and can switch to different colors according to the Player's thoughts]
---
The value of this equipment was actually just average, as it was only a blue quality accessory type equipment and couldn't have any overly heaven-defying effects. However, the part of this accessory equipment that Kotoko liked the most was that it could switch colors according to the Player's thoughts. This way, there would be no color clashes.
However, although Kotoko liked this brooch very much, the main focus of the rewards obtained after clearing the dungeon this time was actually the "Abnormality" type skill.
---
[Netherworld Grip: Consumes a large amount of mental power, after about two seconds of charging, summons a giant Pale Ghost Hand from the void to perform a terrifying attack on the target with both curse and physical attributes. The charging time is shortened as the Player's mental power strength grows]
---
An attack skill that can directly cause damage was exactly what Kotoko needed at this moment. Although "Netherworld Grip" requires a long charging time of two seconds before it can be activated, and consumes a large amount of mental power, it will also affect her own state. But she isn't a lone wolf; there are Asagiri and Asuna in the team, who can completely buy her time to charge the skill during combat, and she doesn't have to worry about being unable to resist if she encounters enemies after consuming a large amount of mental power. Simply put, it provided a very powerful output method for the team.
And Megumi, who obtained an A+ clearance evaluation, in addition to the physical quality enhancement, also unlocked a special profession and an exclusive skill corresponding to her talent.
---
[Special Profession: Shadow Dancer Shadow Dancer: An assassin-type special profession that lurks in the shadows, hides its presence, and delivers a fatal blow to enemies]
[Passive effect of this special profession: Delivering a fatal blow to an enemy without being discovered will restore mental power and physical strength]
[Player Exclusive Skill: Ethereal Touch Ethereal Touch: Can be activated when touching other Players. By consuming one's own mental and physical strength, the other party temporarily gains the effect of "Weak Presence" when activated. The specific duration of the effect depends on the mental and physical strength the Player chooses to consume when activating this skill]
[Note: Similar to when the Player themselves uses their exclusive talent, the slower the other Player moves, the longer this skill effect lasts. The faster and more noticeable they move, the shorter the duration of this skill effect, with a maximum duration of thirty seconds]
---
When Megumi saw her newly acquired exclusive skill, many uses for this skill appeared in her mind. For example, before starting a battle, first apply an "Ethereal Touch" to Kotoko, who isn't good at frontal combat. This can not only prevent her from being targeted by enemies, but also buy Kotoko the charging time required to activate "Netherworld Grip." Another example is when needing to pass through certain potentially dangerous areas, use this skill on Asagiri, Kotoko, and Asuna to ensure the team isn't targeted by enemies and that the team has the initiative in combat.
"Ah, it's so boring." Kotoko lay on the sofa, resting her face in her hands, looking bored, and muttered,
"What are Asagiri and Asuna doing in the dungeon right now... I knew I should have stayed and not left, sigh, I still couldn't refuse his request."
Hearing Kotoko's words, Megumi cautiously spoke. "Kotoko-san, can I ask you a question?"
Kotoko replied with a smile. "No need to be so reserved, just ask~"
"Do you... Really like Asagiri-san?"
"Otherwise?"
"But... why?" Hearing this question, Kotoko looked puzzled. "What, why?"
It's just... Megumi tried to organize her words, speaking softly. "Why did you fall for Asagiri?"
"Hmm..." Kotoko sat up from the sofa, picked up the tray and teacup from the coffee table, first took a small sip of the black tea, and then slowly, with a smile, replied.
"Although I don't think falling for someone needs any special reason, by normal standards, Asagiri is very handsome, has a good physique, excels in both academics and sports, and as for his personality... although it's a bit eccentric and abstract, you could never be bored when you're with him. No matter how you look at it, it's quite normal for me to like him, right?"
"Is that so..." Megumi nodded noncommittally; after all, she had never been in love or liked any boy.
"Instead of this, why don't you go to your room and sleep for a bit?" Kotoko stood up, stretched languidly, rubbed her tired eyes, and yawned. "Looking at the situation, those two won't be leaving the dungeon anytime soon. The clear time this time was also very fast. You can totally sleep, wake up, and then go to school."
Megumi nodded: "Yeah, I think that's better too." Although she had already taken leave in advance, since she could go to school well-rested, it was naturally better to go.
-------------------------
Several hours later, at eight in the morning in the real world, inside the dungeon, in the administrative building of Mochizuki Hospital.
"There's less than two hours left until the dungeon ends..." Asuna's right hand holding the Exorcist Longsword trembled slightly. Looking at the Special Infected, covered in pustules, whose head she had pierced with a sword, and from whose mouth a dark red tongue several meters long extended, she looked at Asagiri beside her and said softly,
"This is the so-called Smoker, right... Among the eight types of Special Infected, only the Tank, described as the most powerful, is one we haven't encountered yet."
Asagiri observed the Smoker's corpse, speaking thoughtfully. "Hmm, perhaps within the difficulty setting of this dungeon, Tank-type Special Infected won't appear."
Asuna's expression seemed a bit complex; she sighed softly. "Even so, besides us, only those two Players completed the dungeon. The other Players... were all filtered out, weren't they..."
Asagiri glanced out the corridor window at the night sky, which had become completely dark, making it almost impossible to see anything clearly, and said softly, "There's less than two hours left until the dungeon time limit ends. If the system really arranged a way to eliminate those slacker Players, it should be appearing around this time, and..."
Asagiri paused slightly here, walked to the corpse of the special infected Smoker, took out a black implantable locator from the area near its neck/tailbone, and then placed it in the transparent plastic bag he was holding in his left hand. In that bag, there were nearly twenty blood-stained implantable locators.
Following this, Asagiri said in a voice tinged with a smile, "The owners of the locators, if they see so many coordinates representing special infected concentrated in one place, will definitely come to investigate, right? I hope to meet them, and then..."
"Things will become interesting."
--------------------