"So that's how it is..."
Hearing that Asagiri Utsunomiya had considered her talent, The Flash, when he said he wanted to choose the dungeon with the Zombie keyword, Asuna Yuuki's pretty face couldn't help but blush. She tucked her long hair behind her ear and turned her head, not daring to look directly into his eyes. She just suppressed her shyness and spoke softly.
"Um... thank you."
"Waaah, it's not fair, it's not fair!"
Seeing Asagiri Utsunomiya with a smile and Asuna Yuuki looking a little shy, Kotoko Iwanaga was like a little girl who had lost her beloved toy. She immediately threw herself on the floor and started rolling around, complaining non-stop.
"Why wasn't I in the same novice dungeon as Asagiri-san? Why didn't I meet him first! It's not fair, it's not fair! I demand a rematch!"
Seeing this scene, Megumi Kato suddenly asked a question that made Asuna Yuuki flushed completely red and didn't even know how to respond.
"Yuuki-san, are you and Utsunomiya-san a couple?"
"No, no, no, we're not... Um... Kotoko-san is just messing around, Kato-san, don't mind her."
"Oh, I see."
Megumi Kato seemed to have seen through everything. She nodded calmly, then took out her smartphone and started playing with it, entering her legendary Sage Mode, having the demeanor of a transcendent person who was uninvolved with worldly affairs.
"Alright, let's stop here."
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words, Kotoko Iwanaga quickly scrambled up from the floor. The wronged and pitiful expression disappeared, and she immediately became serious. The speed of her face change was so fast that Asuna Yuuki even suspected that her awakened unique talent was related to being an Actor.
"Besides the point I just made, there are other reasons for choosing to enter the dungeon with the Zombie keyword."
Asagiri Utsunomiya looked at Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato in front of him and spoke slowly and calmly.
"With our current team strength, which completely overwhelms most Players, we can achieve a high-level evaluation in any type of first-stage dungeon. I want to enter the dungeon corresponding to the Zombie keyword mainly to explore the world view of the dungeon and the essence of this Survival Game."
"World view? Essence?"
"Exactly." Asagiri Utsunomiya first replied to Asuna Yuuki with a nod, then patiently explained to everyone, "What we currently know about the world view of the dungeon includes the world where Mount Massive Asylum and that Haunted Hotel are located. Let's temporarily call it the World of Oddity. The biggest mystery in that world is the information we learned in the Haunted Hotel dungeon last time about the Men in Black. This time, since the keyword is Zombie, if it's really a zombie apocalypse-type dungeon as I suspect, then three questions arise.
"First, are the world of the zombie apocalypse and the World of Oddity the same world?
"Second, if they are not the same world, then is the dungeon of this Survival Game ultimately about transporting us to one world after another filled with different types of dangers?
"Third, all current dungeons are PVE type survival or escape. Since the main goal of the Survival Game is not to make Players kill each other, who is the real enemy for setting up so many tests and giving so many rewards to Players? Is it the Men in Black that Alice mentioned in the last dungeon, who clearly entered the Haunted Hotel, could have dealt with the Specter of the Drowned Corpse, which was the source of the oddities, in the water tank, but ultimately did nothing?"
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words, Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato were all stunned.
"Uh..."
Seeing the three girls looking bewildered, seemingly a little overwhelmed, Asagiri Utsunomiya just waved his hand and said, "Of course, you don't need to consider these things for now. That's my job. Well, I just think that as Players, exploring the world view and the truth of the Survival Game, even if we don't get obvious rewards for now, is a very interesting and fun thing to do."
Asuna Yuuki chuckled speechlessly and shook her head, then said in a gentle tone, "You really are playing this Survival Game as a real game, huh? Suit yourself. Actually, I'm also quite curious about the truth hidden behind this Survival Game, but the most important thing right now is to ensure that we can survive in the dungeon. Only Players with enough strength to easily clear the dungeon have the leisure to explore the truth, right?"
"Then it's settled. We'll choose the dungeon corresponding to the Zombie keyword."
Hearing that Asagiri Utsunomiya had made his decision, Kotoko Iwanaga's eyes flickered, as if another wonderful idea had emerged. She said with a smile, "Oh, right, Kato-san said she would tell her parents that she's going to a friend's house on Tuesday night. In that case, why don't we all gather at my place on Tuesday night, and then on Wednesday, we can enter the dungeon together from the same location?"
Asuna Yuuki stared at the smiling Kotoko Iwanaga, saying dubiously, "Go to your place? Why do I always feel like you have some ulterior motive? You're not planning to do something like a night attack while Asagiri-kun is sleeping at your place, are you?"
Kotoko Iwanaga shook her head seriously and said, "How could that be? I'm not that kind of person."
Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes, saying irritably, "Coming from you, that has no credibility at all, but if Asagiri-kun agrees, I don't mind."
Asagiri Utsunomiya looked at Kotoko Iwanaga and asked with a light chuckle, "If we enter the dungeon at your place, can we ensure absolute safety?"
"Don't worry, absolutely no problem." Kotoko Iwanaga patted her chest, guaranteeing with certainty. "Besides, my bed is big and soft, and sleeping alone feels empty and lonely~"
Asagiri Utsunomiya nodded slightly and replied without hesitation, "Alright, then the four of us will sleep together."
Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki were both dumbfounded upon hearing this.
Megumi Kato didn't even lift her head, just played with her phone, saying in a flat tone, "If there's a proper reason, I don't mind."
"Kato-san, don't just calmly agree with this guy!" Asuna Yuuki lightly bit her lower lip, crossed her arms over her chest, assuming a defensive posture, and glared hatefully at Asagiri Utsunomiya. "Sleeping all four together... Don't talk nonsense here, Kotoko-san doesn't only have one room at her place!"
Asagiri Utsunomiya explained seriously: "Look at what you're saying, I'm not doing this for my own personal selfish desires. Sleeping separately is fine, of course, but what if someone secretly runs to my room at night and is discovered by someone else among you? Wouldn't that easily cause a bloodbath scene? I am making this sacrifice as the captain to prevent the team from having conflicts and ultimately falling apart."
"You're even making a sacrifice now?" Asuna Yuuki said speechlessly, and then covered her forehead in helplessness as she added, "Besides, who would do something like secretly running into your room at night..."
Just as she was halfway through her sentence, Kotoko Iwanaga interrupted with a serious expression, "Hard to say."
"I beg you two, can you please be serious?"
Asuna Yuuki was almost enraged, and she looked towards Megumi Kato, requesting assistance from this newly joined team member.
"Kato-san, you also think sleeping separately is the normal choice, right?"
Hearing Asuna Yuuki call her name, Megumi Kato put down her phone, looked up, and said thoughtfully, "Hmm... I'm fine with anything."
"Fine with what..."
Looking at the overly calm Megumi Kato, Kotoko Iwanaga who always said ridiculous and strange things, and Asagiri Utsunomiya who, although trustworthy as the Captain but whose personality and style of action were always unexpectedly somewhat abstract, Asuna Yuuki felt very heavy-hearted.
'In this four-person team... It seems only I am considered normal...'
◆◇◈◇◆
On Tuesday evening, in the living room of the magnificent mansion where Kotoko Iwanaga lived, which resembled a castle.
Asagiri Utsunomiya looked at Megumi Kato, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Asuna Yuuki in front of him, and spoke slowly.
"Before officially entering the dungeon, let's reiterate the precautions. Based on the information we currently have, the difficulty of the first-stage dungeon will definitely not be too high. After all, most Players are currently only at the level of ordinary people. Therefore, the dungeon we are entering this time, just like the Haunted Hotel last time, must have also undergone difficulty balancing. It's the kind of dungeon that even Players who have only cleared the novice dungeon have hope of completing.
"If that's the case, there are three possible types of zombies in the dungeon. The first type us infected with the virus and will kill and turn anyone with a bite or scratch into a zombie, but moves slowly and cannot even run.
"The second type moves quickly, and there may be special types of zombies, but the victims will not be infected with the virus and will not die from being injured by it.
"The third type moves slowly, and being scratched or bitten by it won't infect the victim. Given the current dungeon difficulty, this is the most likely type to appear, and the least threatening.
"Of course, there are also differences like sensitive hearing, sensitive vision, sensitive smell, and so on, but the most fundamental and important difference is whether or not one will be infected with a virus from being scratched or bitten by a zombie."
Kotoko Iwanaga nodded, saying thoughtfully, "Hmm... Although the first type seems relatively easy to deal with, there is no room for error. If possible, I still hope it's the second or third type, and... I've collected some information about zombies online these past two days. Strictly speaking, this kind of fictional thing should just be moving corpses, right? It's hard to say whether my Gaze of Curses will have any effect on them..."
"In short, clearing the dungeon is definitely not a problem for us. The key is how to obtain a high-level evaluation."
Asagiri Utsunomiya paused, then looked at Megumi Kato and said, "If the zombies in this dungeon are the type with perception levels similar to normal humans, or even less sensitive, then Kato-san, your exclusive talent can come into play."