Fifteen minutes later, in the staff lounge on the fifth floor of the Hotel, where the heavy fireproof door had been opened, the water accumulated on the floor had been completely drained, leaving only the ground somewhat damp.
"It's a shame. Those two guys' phones were also destroyed in the explosion."
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's slightly regretful sigh, Kotoko Iwanaga comforted him: "But we have already found the most valuable thing."
Soon after, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at the weapon hanging on the wall, encased in a black scabbard, emitting an extraordinary presence, and said thoughtfully, "Hmm... Based on my feeling, this thing is indeed a genuine spiritual item that can harm oddities. Although it doesn't reach the level of a legendary sword, it's more than enough to be considered a treasure in an ordinary shrine."
"A sword-type weapon... No wonder it was a special hint for me..."
Asuna Yuuki took down the longsword hanging on the wall, and with her other hand, took out her phone and opened the app with the eye icon.
As expected, information about the longsword appeared.
[Equipment Name: Exorcist Longsword
[Equipment Quality: Blue (Extraordinary)
[Equipment Introduction: When multiple incidents of guests drowning in bathtubs occurred consecutively in this Hotel, the Hotel manager hired a young Exorcist who was new but full of confidence. He brought his family's heirloom, a spiritual sword, to the Hotel, vowing to slay the vengeful spirits within the Hotel. However, before preparing for action, he followed tradition and performed a ritual called purification. Simply put... he not only took a bath but also gargled with the water in the Hotel and his fate was needless to say. This equipment can cause additional bonus damage to spirit-type creatures.]
Kotoko Iwanaga saw the introduction displayed on Asuna Yuuki's phone and said in a tone full of amusement, "An inherited spiritual item from a certain Exorcist... To be polluted by the opponent without even seeing the opponent's face... truly not cautious enough."
Asagiri Utsunomiya's focus was different from Kotoko Iwanaga's. He said, "Multiple incidents of guests drowning in bathtubs—it seems this is the source of the earthbound spirits within this Hotel. But most importantly, we have discovered a hidden rule not introduced in the app. It's not just about completing the mission objective; in corresponding dungeons, it's possible to obtain equipment. For example, this time it's a oddity-type dungeon, so it's possible to obtain a anti-spirit weapon like this."
Asuna Yuuki drew the longsword from the black scabbard, inspected the blade that reflected a cold light, and murmured, "Hmm, this sword is indeed very good..."
Soon after, she held the longsword horizontally and handed it to Asagiri Utsunomiya. She said, "Captain, you use it. After all, your combat power is the strongest."
"That's not necessary." Asagiri Utsunomiya refused while shaking his head, then said, "I'm not a swordsman. I'm a peace-loving, violence-fearing diplomat. Besides, I'm not the kind of dungeon parasite who rolls for gear just because I see good equipment. In that case, you can use it."
"Okay."
Seeing Asagiri Utsunomiya and Asuna Yuuki decide the equipment distribution in just a few words, Kotoko Iwanaga thought to herself that teaming up with these two was indeed an extremely correct choice.
Even after obtaining the Exorcist Longsword, an extremely valuable, Extraordinary (Blue)-quality weapon in the early stage, there was no dispute at all. On the contrary, Asuna Yuuki, who possessed the Swordsman Job, was willing to give up the equipment, and Asagiri Utsunomiya, as the Captain, did not abuse his authority but considered the overall strength of the team and made the most correct choice.
This was a real team!
"Since the preparations are complete, let's start formulating the final battle plan now." Asagiri Utsunomiya opened the Hotel staff guidebook, flipping through the floor plan while speaking, "The currently known information is as follows:
"One: The source of the oddities in this Hotel possesses the ability to spread its influence using water as a medium. This means that when we fight, we absolutely cannot let water containing its influence enter our bodies. Therefore, our eyes, mouth, and nose must be protected in all places, just like a Doctor treating a patient of AIDS.
"Two: It cannot directly create vengeful spirits, but can transform them into earthbound spirits that can only stay on fixed floors by causing guests to drown. Looking at the Hotel's floor plan, this Hotel has the same structure as a normal Hotel, with no rooms on the first floor. Therefore, it's highly likely that there are no earthbound spirits like the previous red-clothed vengeful spirit on the first floor.
"Three: Like those earthbound spirits, the source of the oddities is unable to move freely within this Hotel due to some restriction. It can only spread its influence through the medium of water.
"Four: The source of the oddities possesses a certain degree of thinking ability and will even use the anti-spirit weapon on this floor as bait to set an ambush for us in advance. But from another perspective, this action also reveals its fear of us. Its main body's strength is not that powerful. Otherwise, it should do nothing, let us successfully obtain the anti-spirit weapon and confidently go to the location of its main body, and then kill us itself."
After Asagiri Utsunomiya finished these points, Kotoko Iwanaga murmured with a thoughtful expression, "Oddities, although they are existences that defy common sense, they also have rules that they need to follow. And the ability of the source of the oddities in this Hotel is clearly related to water. So... will all the water in this Hotel be directly controlled by it?
"No, if it were something of that level, it would be too powerful. Just like the fourth point you just mentioned; if it were that powerful, it should deliberately lure us to its hiding place. Therefore, if it wants to integrate its influence into water, it needs certain conditions. Based on my experience, the most likely one is that it can reach the places where the water is located through some medium connected to itself..."
Before Kotoko Iwanaga finished speaking, Asuna Yuuki had already gently pointed at a certain spot on the first floor plan of the Hotel with her index finger and said softly: "Here, in the equipment room on the first floor, the water tank that is responsible for supplying water and connected to all the pipes in this Hotel—its main body is here."
Kotoko Iwanaga nodded slightly, and then asked, "But since it already knows that we have obtained the Exorcist Longsword, it definitely won't just wait for death. I don't know how many vengeful spirits are left in this Hotel, but if we want to reach the equipment room on the first floor, we have to go down four floors.
"From the third floor upwards are guest rooms, so there should be corresponding earthbound spirits on the third and fourth floors. And according to normal logic, the closer the floor is to that guy's main body, the stronger the earthbound spirits should be. The stairwell is too narrow and not conducive to combat..."
"Therefore, to avoid unnecessary risks and consumption, we cannot take the normal route." Asagiri Utsunomiya interrupted Kotoko Iwanaga's words as he glanced at the Hotel's floor plan, "My suggestion is, let's give that guy—"
He paused, looked up at Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki, revealing a savage grin as he finished his words.
"—a big surprise."