Facing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, which were like a confession, Asagiri Utsunomiya remained unmoved, saying, "Don't try that. Let alone love at first sight, even if you put on a sexy bunny suit and pole dance in front of me right now, I wouldn't easily trust you and reach some so-called cooperation with you just like that."
"How heartless." Kotoko Iwanaga first said this, then pursed her lips and propped her cheek with one hand, then she said with a cute giggle, "But I also really like your ruthless and slightly sadistic, condescending attitude~"
Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's expression became a little complicated.
She never expected that in this dungeon with a total of five Players, first there were two brainless idiots who courted death, and now there were two... extraordinary individuals.
This Kotoko Iwanaga looked like a well-mannered young lady from a wealthy family, but why did she speak with a level of abstractness comparable to Asagiri Utsunomiya's as soon as she opened her mouth?
"Um... Iwanaga-san." Asuna Yuuki first called out, pulling the gradually deviating topic back; the she said, "To tell you the truth, neither he nor I can trust you. Conversely, you probably can't completely trust us either, right? To put it bluntly, even if we were to establish some so-called cooperative relationship right now, under circumstances where neither of us can absolutely trust the other, it would just be empty talk. It might even be better to act separately to avoid having to guard against each other."
"I see... Well, now that it's come to this, I won't hide it anymore." Kotoko Iwanaga first said with an understanding smile, then looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya and said slowly, "I want to team up with you... Oh right, and the person next to you, not just for this dungeon, but to form a long-term teammate relationship—how about it?"
Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga talk about herself as if she were an optional freebie, Asuna Yuuki felt a little displeased, frowned slightly, and said skeptically, "You're not... thinking of teaming up with us just because of such a childish reason as supposedly falling for him, are you?"
"How could that be? Although that aspect is a factor, the decisive reason isn't that." Kotoko Iwanaga first denied, then explained patiently, "You were able to solve the most important mystery of the dungeon within an hour, and those two Players in the room just said that the dungeon hint they received was 'absolutely do not attempt to fight a vengeful spirit.' Yet, you can not only fight a vengeful spirit but even have the ability to capture and interrogate it. This is enough to prove that your strength far surpasses that of ordinary Players.
"More importantly, when I just proposed killing those two Players possessed by the oddities, you didn't object, and you even suggested using them as cannon fodder to scout the way. This shows that you are not indecisive, soft-hearted person with a hero complex. If you were those kind of person, I wouldn't have thought of teaming up with you.
"Of course, you might think that a Player like me, who dares to enter dungeons alone, would be so eager to team up, which is too abnormal and seems very suspicious, right? But actually, I also have difficulties that are hard to explain. You should understand after seeing this."
Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly took out her phone, opened the app with the eye icon on it, and then placed the phone on the table without any concealment.
"This..." Asuna Yuuki was a little bewildered. After all, the Player panel in the app could be said to be the most private thing for every Player. It not only contained their real name but also displayed all information such as the Player's current talent, skills, items, equipment, job, and so on.
Why did Kotoko Iwanaga just expose her Player panel proactively like this?
Thinking of this, Asuna Yuuki cast her gaze towards the phone screen.
[Player Name: Kotoko Iwanaga
[Player Level: Official
[Overall Physical Ability: Frail (Overall physical ability is higher than ordinary people's, but the left leg is a prosthetic limb, so unable to perform at a normal level.)
[Overall Mental Ability: Outstanding
[Talent: God of Wisdom of the Oddities]
[Talent Name: God of Wisdom of the Oddities
[Talent Introduction: All oddity-type enemies with rational thinking ability (Ordinary Spirit, Vengeful Spirits, Demons, Monsters, and so on) will not actively attack this Player (except for a few special cases). Able to observe the aura and traces of the oddities, immune to any mental attack effects from oddity-type beings, and the effect is enhanced when casting oddity-type skills.
[Negative Effects: Unable to master any active skills or passive skills other than of oddity-types. Unable to active any skills when physical power is too low. Unable to equip most weapons and armor. Only able to unlock job of the oddity-types.]
[Job: Not yet unlocked.
[Equipment: Mask of the Masquerade, Monster Princess's Staff]
[Equipment Name: Mask of the Masquerade
[Equipment Introduction: Ordinary equipment, a mask with an extremely gorgeous appearance.]
[Equipment Name: Monster Princess's Staff
[Equipment Introduction: A staff specially crafted by the oddities and monsters for their Princess, Kotoko Iwanaga. Material unknown, exceptionally tough, and very difficult to damage. Mental power recovery speed is increased when equipped.]
"This..."
Noticing Asuna Yuuki's surprised look after seeing her Player panel, Kotoko Iwanaga said frankly, "Now you should understand, right? Without unlocking a Job and Skills, I have no combat ability whatsoever, and I can only master oddity-type skills. Even if I could master them, because of the negative effect of my exclusive talent, which prevents me from equipping most weapons and armor, as well as my physical disability, I am not suitable for fighting on the front lines.
"In this dungeon, my exclusive talent is indeed very suitable, but if the next dungeon I'm matched with doesn't involve so-called oddities, then the advantages of my exclusive talent cannot be utilized, and only the disadvantages remain. Therefore, I need teammates."
Afterwards, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya who was sitting there silently, clearly knowing that compared to Asuna Yuuki, he was the one who held the deciding power.
"How about it? What do you think? A Player like me, whose own talent has great flaws and must rely on teammates, but has very good personal ability, a similar way of doing things as you, can be very useful in dungeons involving oddities, and has no reason to betray you, would be the best teammate, right?"
"That's true." Asagiri Utsunomiya first replied affirmatively, then looked at Asuna Yuuki and said, "In my opinion, this Kotoko Iwanaga is not bad. How about we recruit her into our team? We can conquer the dungeon together and plan great things. What do you think, my consort?"
"Who... who's your consort! Don't talk nonsense!" Asuna Yuuki first retorted with a blushing face, then said with a hint of helplessness, "Although what you said is like something out of the Water Margin, I won't complain this time. Since you've already made a decision, I won't object. After all, you are the leader."