A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

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Kato Megumi nodded and asked in a gentle tone.

"But what if going three days without food or water is also a test set up by the system for us?"

Upon hearing this, Asagiri couldn't help but chuckle and retort.

"Don't talk nonsense. This is a dungeon, not a wilderness survival challenge. Even if it's to test players' willpower, there won't be a boring segment like who can withstand hunger the longest. So this hotel definitely has drinking water and food, but..."

At this point, Asagiri paused slightly before slowly speaking.

"The amount of drinking water and food is most likely insufficient for all players."

Kotoko Iwanaga instantly understood the meaning behind Asagiri's words and said thoughtfully.

"So, players might clash over resources... That's really..."

Just as Kotoko Iwanaga was speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door of the guest room.

"Dong dong dong."

"Hello, is anyone home?"

The moment she heard the woman's voice outside, Asuna Yuuki drew her rapier and flashed it, staring at the door with a serious and vigilant expression. Asagiri walked to the door and looked out through the peephole. She saw a woman in her early twenties, wearing a white tracksuit and glasses. She wasn't exactly cute, and her face showed a hint of timidity and caution as she stood in the hallway outside.

From the outside, the other party seemed to have nothing unusual about them, but...

Is there really nothing unusual?

It had only been less than five minutes since they entered the instance, and this young woman dared to come and knock on other doors all by herself. Even if she thought that doing so would not trigger any dangers in this instance, she should at least be wary of other players who might be hostile.

Is it confidence? Or folly?

Or...

"Who are you? Tell me your name!"

Upon hearing Asagiri's sudden, almost confrontational words, Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko were all speechless.

Despite the tense and terrifying atmosphere of the dungeon, which naturally made people feel cautious, Asagiri's opening line instantly transformed it into something like Dynasty Warriors, making the atmosphere inexplicably exciting and thrilling.

The young woman outside the door was clearly not expected to receive such a response. She paused for a moment, then unconsciously glanced to the side.

This subtle movement confirmed Asagiri's suspicions.

"Hello, I'm also a player, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Call out the people around you."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, the young woman seemed to freeze. A few seconds later, two men dressed in sportswear emerged from a side position not visible through the peephole. One of them appeared to be in his early twenties and looked like a college student, while the other was in his early thirties and wore black-rimmed glasses, appearing more mature and composed.

"Hello, player inside the door."

The mature-looking man raised his hand to adjust the frame of his glasses, his expression calm and his tone steady.

"We have no ill intentions. We are just taking basic defensive measures without knowing what type of players you are. We hope you can understand."

"of course."

As Asagiri spoke, she took out her dark gray mask and put it on. The black hunter trench coat appeared on her body, and a metal chain wrapped around her right forearm. A cursed rope dart, exuding an eerie aura, swayed gently.

Seeing this, Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga changed their equipment and entered battle mode. Megumi Kato took off the Weeping Nightingale Bow from her back, drew her bow, and aimed at the doorway while activating her unique talent effect.

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri removed the security chain from the door and slowly opened the door.

The moment he opened the door, the three players standing outside the corridor all involuntarily narrowed their eyes in surprise, especially the mature-looking man with glasses, whose eyes revealed a hint of fear.

He never expected that the first room he and his two teammates knocked on would contain players of this caliber.

A swordsman wearing a deep red cloak, ornate white armor, and wielding a crystal rapier, whose face is obscured.

She was a petite girl with a mysterious and imposing aura, wearing a half-face mask as if she were attending a masquerade ball, leaning on a cane, dressed in a white dress and wearing a beret.

And then there's the most impressive one: the mysterious man who opened the door, wearing a long black trench coat, with chains wrapped around his right arm, a dark gray mask, and black hair and eyes.

The mature-looking bespectacled man could sense that the three players in the room were very strong, but actually... he didn't need to sense it at all.

Look at the three guys on the other side, dressed like they stepped out of an anime, and then look at your own side, all wearing ordinary sportswear. Just by looking at their styles, you can tell that the two sides are not players of the same level, right?

The bespectacled man didn't think anyone would specifically buy such clothes to enter the dungeon; the outfits of the three people opposite him were definitely powerful equipment certified by the system.

and……

The mysterious man in black standing in front of him exuded an air of composure based on his absolute strength, which he could sense just from his posture and aura.

They're practically a monster player squad.

"that……"

The mature-looking man with glasses carefully considered his words, trying to speak in a calm and gentle tone.

"We're sorry we didn't show up directly at the beginning, it's just that..."

"It's always good to be wary of others; I understand."

Asagiri waved his hand, then glanced at the timid young woman and the young man who was clenching his teeth, clearly wary of them, and said in a calm tone.

"But what I can't understand is, you guys don't seem to be the kind of players who are particularly strong, nor do you have the kind of personality that is completely fearless, so why would you be able to do something as bold as leaving your own room and knocking on other room doors in such a short time after entering the dungeon?"

"us……"

Please think carefully before answering.

Kotoko Iwanaga's voice was sweet and clear, with a lively laugh, but her words made the three players in the corridor freeze.

“We can tolerate your initial cautious probing, but if you lie to our face, then we can only regard you as enemies with ill intentions. For your own safety, you'd better tell the truth.”

Hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's smiling words, the three players in the corridor were already sweating profusely.

Although there was a hint of laughter in the other person's voice, I don't know why...

They could tell that the girl in the long dress was definitely not joking.

"That's right, you guys should be advanced players too, so you should know that advanced players receive special prompts when entering a dungeon, right?"

The bespectacled, mature-looking man said this first, and then quickly told the truth.

"In our three-person team, I'm the only high-level player. The special hint I received when entering the dungeon was that the first hour of the dungeon is a safe time. So I wanted to take advantage of this one-hour window to see if there were any players I could cooperate with."

"Wow, you've really hit the jackpot today."

As soon as she finished speaking, Asagiri placed her hand on the mature man's shoulder, and the two companions behind him were shocked to see this.

The two remained in a state of high alert, but even so...

The young woman and the man still hadn't seen Asagiri's actions clearly, and the mature-looking bespectacled man involved was completely caught off guard. As he looked at the hand Asagiri had placed on his shoulder, a hint of fear and apprehension flickered in his eyes.

The fact that the other person can put their hand on your shoulder means...

The opponent can snap your neck before you and your teammates can react.

11

Chapter 11: Collaborators Providing Supplies

"Don't be nervous."

Asagiri removed her hand from the mature-looking man's shoulder and said with a smile.

“We’re not the type to intentionally kill players. Now tell me about your cooperation plan.”

After realizing the disparity in strength between the two sides, the mature-looking bespectacled man, the leader of his player team, felt fear and apprehension. However, he also realized that the fact that the mysterious man in black and his companions did not kill him and his companions despite the obvious difference in strength proved that the opposing team was not the bloodthirsty, warlike type.

This is a golden opportunity, a golden opportunity to curry favor with someone powerful.

"I believe you are also aware that this instance will last for 72 hours, so we must first solve the problem of food and drinking water."

The mature-looking man with glasses said this first, then a perfectly sealed bag of compressed biscuits appeared in his right hand and he handed it directly to Asagiri.

"These are items I obtained in a previous dungeon. To call them items is a bit of an exaggeration; they're just the most ordinary kind—ten compressed biscuits. This is just one bag; I have two more bags in my inventory, along with a package of twenty-four bottles of purified drinking water. These are system-certified items; you can touch them to see I'm not lying. In seventy-two hours, our team only has three people, and we can't possibly use up all these supplies. So… I want the compressed biscuits and drinking water in exchange for your cooperation… no, to be more precise, I want your protection."

"You think you can get our protection in exchange for just compressed biscuits and drinking water? That's a bit too naive, isn't it?"

Asagiri neither agreed nor refused outright, but instead smiled and said...

"Since this instance presents a problem with food and drinking water, there must be a corresponding solution. The value of compressed biscuits and drinking water is not as high as you think. And by voluntarily revealing that you have supplies, aren't you afraid that I will just kill you here, take your phone, and steal your equipment and items?"

Let me answer your second question first.

The bespectacled, mature man was clearly no ordinary person to have become a high-level player. The initial shock at Asagiri's unexpected strength had gradually subsided, and his tone of voice had become much calmer.

“A player of your level certainly doesn’t need the level of items and equipment I possess. However, I have quite a few items and equipment in my inventory. The probability of getting compressed biscuits and drinking water through random draws is really low. Besides, as a player, you can only draw one item or piece of equipment from me. Even if you are very lucky, the final result will only be a bag of ten compressed biscuits or a bottle of drinking water. There will always be a problem that needs to be solved regarding food and water, so this is not very meaningful.”

"Then there's your first question. It's true, as you said, there must be a way to solve the food and water problem in this instance. But after all, this is a dangerous place. In the third phase of the instance, who can be sure that the food and water they find are absolutely safe? Even if players find food and water, they will definitely not eat or drink it immediately. Instead, they will wait for other players to eat and drink it and confirm that it is safe before doing so."

"What I'm providing you is absolutely safe food and pure water. And because our two teams can use the supplies without worry from the very beginning, as the dungeon progresses, the strength of the other teams will decline due to the lack of supplies, but we will be able to maintain our peak condition and wait for the opportune moment."

At this point, the mature man paused, looked directly into Asagiri's calm, black eyes, and said in a complicated tone.

"But a player of your caliber should have thought of these things long ago... Is this to test whether I've given this matter much thought..."

Asagiri shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

"Protecting trash is not as difficult as protecting skilled players. If you are trash, then there is absolutely no need to help you. By the way, in order for us to keep our promise to protect you, you will definitely provide food and drinking water in batches, such as every twelve hours, to prevent us from turning our backs on us after receiving the supplies, right?"

"Yes, so..."

"Let's go."

Asagiri led Yuuki Asuna and the others out of the room, looked at the three players who had taken a few steps back, clearly showing some apprehension, and said calmly.

"We're going to start investigating this floor now. We can share the information we get with you, but we can't operate with you because you'll only hold us back. Meet us at the door of this room in forty minutes. Deliver the first batch of drinking water and compressed biscuits to us then. Any questions?"

"no problem."

"it is good."

Only after Asagiri and the others disappeared around the corner of the corridor did the three members of the team, led by the mature-looking man with glasses, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Ichikawa, those three people... they're really scary..."

Hearing his companion's still-shaken sigh, the mature man raised his hand to adjust his glasses, his tone filled with relief.

"It seems we're in luck this time, getting matched with such a strong player team in the same dungeon. And judging from their style, they seem to be the kind of team that only wants to clear the dungeon and get the highest completion rating, and has no interest in stealing other players' registration rights. As long as we're careful not to offend them, we should be able to clear the dungeon safely this time, and maybe even get a high completion rating."

What the three players didn't notice at all was that Kato Megumi, who was originally in the room, silently followed the route that Asagiri and the others had just taken after listening to their conversation.

Throughout the entire encounter, the other side failed to realize that they were actually facing a four-person squad.

……

A few minutes later, in another room on the same hotel floor.

"The locks on all the rooms here are broken..."

Kotoko Iwanaga stood inside the door, observing the sensor lock. She noticed that the lock appeared undamaged, but even when the door was closed, it couldn't be locked and could be opened from the outside at any time.

"An unlockable door... a security chain... keep quiet... 'They'... something extremely sensitive to sound, will it appear as the carpet gradually turns red... and try to open the door of the guest room that's making the noise...?"

While Kotoko Iwanaga muttered to herself as she sorted through the available information, Megumi Kato and Asuna Yuuki searched every corner of the guest room, hoping to find some valuable information or supplies such as food and drinking water, but ultimately came up empty-handed.

"There's nothing..."

Asuna Yuuki sighed softly, then looked at Megumi Kato beside her and smiled slightly.

"Fortunately, your unique talent allowed us to confirm that those three players genuinely wanted to cooperate with us."

"We can't rule out the possibility that they discovered me a long time ago, but were still putting on an act."

Kato Megumi raised her hand and tucked her medium-length black hair behind her ear, speaking softly.

"If it's a really skilled player who's just trying to lower our guard, then kills us after we're exhausted from clearing the dungeon and steals our phones, and is deliberately putting on an act from the start, pretending to be weak, that's a possibility, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's better to be cautious."

Asagiri nodded, agreeing with Kato Megumi's idea.

"After all, players who can survive to the third stage are not simple. That team of three didn't even have a single piece of body protection equipment, and they didn't take out any weapons when they faced us. Either they were deliberately showing weakness, or they have powerful skills or talents. After all, they are a team of players who dare to take the initiative. Although they claimed that they were looking for other players to seek cooperation, that's just their side of the story."

"We've searched four or five guest rooms, but we haven't found anything useful or any information..."

Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, carefully recalling her last visit to this hotel instance, and murmured to herself.

"I remember that the hotel had a restaurant on the third floor, a coffee shop on the second floor, and vending machines outside the coffee shop. There was also a small supermarket on the first floor, which was similar to the structure of most hotels. Given the current situation, it seems that we will not be able to obtain food and drinking water on the floors corresponding to our guest rooms. If we want to get them, we will have to search from the first to the third floor."

"Um……"

Kotoko Iwanaga walked over from the door, sat on the soft sofa, rested her fair chin on one hand, and pondered seriously.