Asuna Yuuki sighed, rubbed her forehead, and said with a helpless expression, "Your attitude is too confident. I don't even know where to start complaining..."
Next, Asagiri Utsunomiya and Asuna Yuuki also told Kotoko Iwanaga about the rewards they had received.
When Kotoko Iwanaga heard the quality and effect of the Pocket Watch of Reversal, she couldn't help but reveal a look of shock.
"Epic Quality!? Reversing time by one minute? Automatically activating if the owner dies? And you can retain memories from before the time rewind? This is too..."
"That's enough." Asagiri Utsunomiya first interrupted Kotoko Iwanaga's words with a wave of his hand, then said, "You don't need to be surprised and say the same words that Yuuki-san already said to me."
"You're right..." Kotoko Iwanaga replied with a nod, took a small sip from her cup of black tea, and then wiped the smile on her face and put on a serious expression. She said, "After completing this dungeon, if we want to enter another dungeon, counting the seven-day cooldown and the three-day early registration time, the earliest we can go is ten days from now. Do you have any thoughts on our next actions?"
"Our next actions..."
Seeing that both Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga were looking at him, clearly seeking the opinion of their leader, Asagiri Utsunomiya first said that, then put on a thoughtful expression.
After a several seconds of silence, he said, "Exercise regularly, pay attention to your diet, and get enough rest."
Hearing his words, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but say, "...Is that some kind of public service announcement for children? Is that all? Nothing else?"
"Well, what else do you want?" Asagiri Utsunomiya first replied and spread his hands, then said nonchalantly, "Although we can use our powers in real world, and you use your skills and talents in combat, like increasing your speed by killing enemies, the problem is, who do we fight? Other Players? Or do we all just turn into righteous Kamen Riders and start fighting against all kinds of evil in the world? That's not very realistic, is it?"
Hearing his words, Kotoko Iwanaga seemed to think of something. After a while, she raised her index finger and said with a smile, "No... perhaps not necessarily. Actually, many of the requests the yokai convey to me involve force, such as clearing cursed objects from a certain place, or eliminating a terrifying specter that cannot communicate. If you are willing to help me handle these kinds of requests, then you can familiarize yourselves with your own power through combat in the real world, gain growth, and most importantly, you can earn my gratitude!"
"The last part is irrelevant." Asuna Yuuki first replied irritably, then said thoughtfully, "However, helping you deal with such incidents... is indeed a good proposal. After all, the power and skills gained from the game rewards need to be familiarized through combat. I don't want to become a Player who is only strong in stats but has no combat sense at all. Utsu..."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was about to call out to Asagiri Utsunomiya as usual, she suddenly remembered Kotoko Iwanaga's intimate way of addressing Asagiri Utsunomiya before. A hint of unwillingness flickered in her eyes, and then a light blush appeared on her face. Then, while pretending to be calm, she said, "Asagiri-kun, the decision is yours. I'll listen to you."
Asagiri Utsunomiya chuckled and teased, "Hehehe, you'll listen to me? Then can you wear a bunny girl outfit for me to see?"
Asuna Yuuki immediately turned angry and said, "You... what nonsense are you talking about?! We're talking about serious matters!"
"I am talking about serious matters." As he said this, the frivolous expression on his face disappeared, instantly switching to a serious state. Asagiri Utsunomiya looked directly into Asuna Yuuki's eyes and said, "Even my ideas aren't always right. If you always agree with my opinions and always follow my line of thinking, then our small team is very likely to fall into the disadvantage one day in the future. Therefore, I hope that as my teammate, you can think independently and give what you believe to be the correct answer."
Hearing his words, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but be stunned. It was only at this moment that she realized that ever since she became a Player and met Asagiri Utsunomiya in the Mount Massive Asylum ward, she had indeed been relying on him too much.
And Asagiri Utsunomiya was well aware of this.
Asuna Yuuki had many strengths, such as the courage to remain calm and think rationally in dangerous situations, a mind far superior to ordinary high school students, and excellent execution ability brought about by her firm determination and will. However, she had one major weakness, which was that she wasn't very good at... or rather, she simply couldn't think independently at all.
It was unavoidable. After all, for a young lady from a wealthy, prestigious family like her, every step she took from childhood was arranged by her parents—or rather, her overly controlling mother. Whether it was elementary and middle school, or coming to Tokyo alone and attending the high school department of Shuchi'in Academy, she had never considered whether this was the path she wanted to take herself.
"In that case..." Asuna Yuuki first said this, then pursed her lips, and after pondering for a moment, she said, "My suggestion is, if we can ensure that our identities as Players are not exposed, then I vote yes."
"Okay, I agree too." Asagiri Utsunomiya first said with a nod, seemingly satisfied. Then he continued speaking in a casual tone: "After all, there are only just over twenty days left until the game difficulty increases."
"Huh? Game difficulty increases? What does that mean?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Asagiri Utsunomiya, facing the bewildered Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga, said this first, then calmly explained, "This so-called game increases in difficulty every month, because every Player must go though a dungeon within at least thirty days. In other words, even if there are Players who slack off and don't actively sign up for dungeons, after the one-month deadline, they will either die in the dungeon or successfully go through it, so every month, the number of Players decreases, the overall strength increases, and the difficulty of the dungeon will increase."
Asuna Yuuki furrowed her eyebrows and then murmured to herself, "What is the ultimate goal of this game? Is it to clear it? Or... will this game only completely end after all Players are dead?"
"It's highly unlikely to be that kind of malicious goal." Asagiri Utsunomiya first said while shaking his head, then explained, "If this so-called game is truly aimed at causing all Players to die, or at appreciating the despair of Players struggling to survive in dungeons, then it shouldn't have arranged dungeons like the Hotel, which have no hell difficulty in completing the mission objective."
Asagiri Utsunomiya paused for a moment and then continued speaking with a solemn expression: "Rather than malicious torment, this game is more like using dangerous dungeons to force Players to grow mentally and in power. As for what it's for, it's impossible to judge at the moment."