69novels Page 27
Page 27
Only the tip of the sword, gleaming with a cold light, gradually magnified in the reflection of its pale white eyeballs.
............
"Is it resolved...?"
With a single sword strike piercing the Minotaur's head, watching its massive, furry body gradually dissipate, Asuna Yuuki didn't rush to retract her weapon. Instead, she drew her Exorcist's Sword, gripping the hilt tightly until she was certain the Minotaur had completely vanished without leaving a trace. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and cancel the summoning of her weapon.
"Your combination technique is really impressive."
Kotoko Iwanaga adjusted her beret and looked at Asagiri with a smile.
"When Leader castles, the original positions of both sides are maintained during the exchange. This is equivalent to a Violet at full speed, instantly teleporting more than ten meters in front of you, and the enemy has no time to react."
Asagiri nodded slightly and smiled.
"Even so, only Violet can use such a combination technique with me. If someone's reaction speed and balance are not so outstanding, suddenly teleporting to a different position while sprinting at full speed will only cause them to lose their balance and crash into the enemy's attack, which is tantamount to suicide."
Kotoko Iwanaga blinked her beautiful dark purple eyes and made a playful and cute expression.
"Hmm, but we don't necessarily have to use combo attacks. Anyway, we can bind multiple targets. If I ever encounter danger in the future, I'll trouble you to use this skill to save me~"
"call..."
At this moment, Asuna Yuuki, who had just slain the Minotaur, looked down at her palm and let out a long sigh of relief.
"I can vaguely sense that after eliminating this guy, my speed... does seem to have increased somewhat..."
Asagiri nodded seriously and slowly began to speak.
"Yes, I'll try to become a Shiny Asuna as soon as possible. Shiny Pokémon are something every trainer wants to collect."
"What collection? What do you take me for...?"
Asagiri replied without hesitation, "Family!"
"Are they really family...?"
Yuuki Asuna appeared doubtful on the surface, but the corners of her lips couldn't help but turn up as she raised her hand to tuck her long, flaxen hair behind her ear.
"Although Necro had the monster unplug the camera, it's best to leave as soon as possible before the security guards who heard the noise arrive. You can chat later when you get back."
"No, it's not resolved yet."
Asagiri suddenly said this, and then his gaze turned to a spot not far away.
"You've been standing there watching for so long, and even eavesdropping on our conversation, aren't you going to come and say hello?"
"Ok?"
Upon hearing Asagiri's sudden remark, both Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko looked puzzled. Following his gaze, they discovered a girl wearing a white dress, a red coat, and a white beret standing quietly next to a water dispenser.
"Huh? Since when...?"
Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki were both stunned.
They hadn't even noticed the presence of this young girl not far away...
If you look closely... this short-haired girl has a very delicate and cute face. Although her figure is slender and tall, it is also curvy and distinct, unlike the flat-chested Kotoko Iwanaga.
However, the other party's aura seemed a bit strange.
Like a calm lake without ripples, or a deer strolling freely in the forest, she exudes a tranquil and serene temperament. Even though Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki are looking at each other, they feel that the girl's presence is rather faint and easily overlooked.
"Um... I'm sorry."
The girl's voice was very pleasant, and there was no panic or anxiety in her tone. She spoke at a steady, comfortable pace.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I was just a little embarrassed to interrupt you. I should introduce myself."
"Hello, I am Kato Megumi, a first-year student at Toyonosaki Private Academy. It's nice to meet you."
Asuna Yuuki hesitated, thinking to herself, "This girl who calls herself Kato Megumi..."
Isn't that a bit too calm?
055 Kato Megumi's Resume
"Um... Kato-kun..."
Asuna Yuuki looked at Megumi Kato standing there and hesitated slightly.
"Aren't you afraid at all?"
"Afraid? Oh, I see."
Kato Megumi raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression calm and serene, and said softly.
"Indeed, your attire is quite strange, and the way you address each other doesn't sound like your real names, but considering that the three of you are all 'players,' it's not surprising."
"You know what a 'player' is?"
"Ah."
Kato Megumi nodded and replied directly without any pretense.
"Because I'm a 'player' too."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga exchanged a glance, both sharing the same thought.
Kato Megumi's reaction... wasn't it a little too calm?
Did he just openly admit that he's a "player"?
Is this the normal reaction a person should have?
"Oh... I'm sorry, you might think I'm a strange person if you hear me say something like this all of a sudden."
Kato Megumi seemed to have noticed the confusion of Iwanaga Kotoko and Yuuki Asuna, and explained in a calm tone.
"However, from my perspective, if I pretend to be an ordinary person who is unaware of the situation, you will definitely be suspicious. Although it was unintentional, I did activate my talent effect on you. I just saw your battle with that monster, and I know very well that if you want to kill me, I definitely can't escape. Since that's the case, I might as well tell the truth, after all, I really have no hostility towards you."
"this..."
Asuna Yuuki looked at Asagiri and asked cautiously.
"Leader, what should we do?"
"Kill him."
"Kill him?! We can't do that, can we?"
Not only Asuna Yuuki, but even Kotoko Iwanaga, who doesn't care much about human life, expressed her opposition. However, her reason for opposing was even more cold and rational.
“There’s no need to kill her, is there? Anyway, she didn’t see what we looked like, and she doesn’t know our real names or identities. If we just leave these traces at the scene, the school administration of Toyonosaki Private School will be very suspicious, but that’s all. But if she dies here, the school administration will definitely call the police. We don’t need to create this trouble for ourselves.”
"Just a joke."
Asagiri shrugged and replied with a light laugh.
"I'm not some morally bankrupt devil, why would I kill someone over such a trivial matter?"
Asuna Yuuki breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
"That's good, then let's go quickly."
"Don't rush yet."
Asagiri looked at Kato Megumi standing there and said with a smile.
"I think Kato Megumi is quite a hero. Why don't we recruit her into our team and start conquering dungeons together, enjoying the rewards? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
............
Fifteen minutes later, outside the private Toyo no Saki Academy, in a quiet, deserted alley.
"So...you guys want to team up with me?"
Looking at Kato Megumi's slightly puzzled, somewhat naive and innocent expression, and still wearing a mask that concealed her true face, Asagiri spoke in a serious tone.
"No, it's too early to say. Just treat this as an interview. But we need to determine first whether you're interested in joining our company."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but mutter a complaint under her breath.
"Aren't we a strategy guide team...? How did we become a company...?"
"That's roughly the gist of it."
"An interview... Oh, I see."
Kato Megumi nodded obediently at first, and after thinking for a while, she gave an affirmative answer.
"Well, I'm all alone right now anyway. Judging from what I just saw, the three of you are all far stronger than me as 'players.' If I team up with you, I'll be more confident in clearing those dangerous dungeons. So I'm interested in joining your team... oh no, I mean joining your company."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki sighed slightly, looking somewhat helpless.
"You don't need to go along with this guy and agree with his weird talk..."
"It's ok."
After replying with that, Kato Megumi took out her phone, tapped a few times on the screen, and then handed the phone to Asagiri.
"I heard them all call you Leader, so you must be the company's boss, right? This is my resume."
The so-called resume is actually just Kato Megumi's information as a "player".
Player Name: Kato Megumi
Physical fitness level: Average (normal level)
[Unique Talent: Weak Presence]
[Occupation: Not yet unlocked]
[Player Level: Official]
[Skill: None]
[Props: None]
[Equipment: None]
[Weak Presence: When this talent is activated, your presence will be greatly reduced. Moving while maintaining this talent effect will continuously consume stamina and mental energy. If you remain stationary, the talent effect will be enhanced and will not consume any stamina or mental energy.]
"The effect of this talent... is quite powerful."
Upon seeing Kato Megumi's unique talent, Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but sigh, then asked curiously.
"However, why don't you have any items, equipment, or skills? Did you only clear the dungeon once?"
Kato Megumi shook her head: "No, if you count the newbie dungeon, I've cleared the dungeon twice. The reason I met you guys at school just now is because I entered the dungeon in that school building on Saturday afternoon, and I ran into you right after I cleared it."
"How could that be..."
"When I cleared the newbie dungeon, I got an A+ rating, but the only reward was unlocking an exclusive talent. The second dungeon was in a three-story old house haunted by evil spirits, and the player's goal was to survive until the dungeon time limit ended."
Kato Megumi spoke in a calm tone.
"For the second instance, I found an empty room, sat on the sofa, activated my talent, and spent ten hours doing nothing before completing the instance. I only received a C-level completion rating, and the only reward was a slight improvement in physical attributes. There were no other rewards."
"A C-level rating... Is it because I didn't do anything that I didn't get a higher completion rating...?"
After muttering this to herself, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Megumi Kato and asked.
"However, since you achieved an A+ rating in the newbie dungeon, you should receive a special notification when you enter the dungeon a second time, right?"
"Yes, I got it. They said there was a piece of equipment in the basement of that house."
"That..."
I ignored it.
Kato Megumi spoke at a moderate pace and in a calm tone.
"I don't have the ability to fight, and there are other players in the same instance as me. I feel that in this situation where there is no guarantee of safety, it is too risky to go to the basement to look for that piece of equipment whose type I don't even know. Even with the talent to reduce my presence, it is still too risky. So, I ignored that special warning."
Happy New Year everyone! There will be another update later.
056 The four-person team is initially formed
Upon hearing the choice that Kato Megumi made in the last instance, Iwanaga Kotoko nodded and spoke with a smile.
"Ignoring the special hints I received... While it might seem wasteful, it was certainly a wise choice."