"Hmm..." Megumi Kato looked noncommittal, sighed slightly, and then replied in a soft voice, "Although I will definitely work hard, if too high expectations are placed on me, even I will feel some pressure and trouble."
Although Megumi Kato's words were expressing her pressure and trouble, when coupled with her flat tone and reassuring soft voice, it was impossible for anyone to feel even a trace of negative emotion.
"It's okay, Kato-san." Asuna Yuuki patted Megumi Kato's shoulder and comforted her with a gentle smile, "Your exclusive talent is amazing. As long as you are a little more confident, you will definitely be fine."
Megumi Kato tilted her head, her eyes flickering, and said softly, "That being said... Hmm... Then I'll try my best and hope I won't let down your expectations."
"Oh, right, Kato-san, you didn't forget to bring your sportswear, did you?"
"Hmm, I brought it, look." Megumi Kato took out a set of sportswear from the sports bag she carried, stood up, unfolded it, and showed it to Asagiri Utsunomiya and the others. "This set should be okay, right?"
Asuna Yuuki looked at the set that Megumi Kato brought. It was a very ordinary style, with only light green and white colors, and looked unremarkable. She said noncommittally, "This... it's okay, but how should I say it... it's a bit ordinary..."
"Huh? Is it? Is being a little ordinary not good?"
"It's not that it's not good, it's just..."
Compared to the hesitant Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga was straightforward and said frankly, "After all, Kato-san is that kind of person. The unremarkable sportswear just fits her low presence characteristic and the talent to lower her own presence. It's quite good."
What Kotoko Iwanaga said was indeed correct.
Megumi Kato's exclusive Talent is indeed very powerful, but if her talent were given to any one of Asagiri Utsunomiya, Kotoko Iwanaga, or Asuna Yuuki, the effect that could be exerted would not be as strong.
After all, these three people have a very high presence. It's not related to their appearance, but mainly their temperament... No, it should be said their aura.
Especially Asagiri Utsunomiya and Kotoko Iwanaga.
These two are the type of focal figures with extremely high presence who can immediately attract the attention of people around them just by appearing, even if they don't say a word or make any movements. If the talent for lowering presence were given to Asagiri Utsunomiya and Kotoko Iwanaga, it would at most only pull their presence down to the level of ordinary people; it would be impossible to achieve an almost invisible effect like Megumi Kato.
This also confirms one point: the exclusive Talent awakened by a Player must be the most compatible with the Player's own characteristics, and there will absolutely not be a situation where the talent does not match the Player themselves.
Megumi Kato sighed forlornly and said, "Even I feel a little sad when told I have low presence..."
Hearing Megumi Kato's words, Asuna Yuuki didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only look towards Asagiri Utsunomiya and Kotoko Iwanaga and change the subject, saying, "You two... you're not planning to enter the dungeon dressed like this, are you?"
Kotoko Iwanaga's outfit today was similar to usual: a white Gothic Lolita dress, a light blue wool fleece coat worn over it, a white beret, white over-the-knee socks, paired with a pair of exquisite white round-toe black leather shoes.
The entire outfit could only be described with one words: Gorgeous.
Asagiri Utsunomiya's outfit, in comparison, was much more normal: a sports jacket from a certain luxury brand, a plain short-sleeved shirt underneath, then sweatpants, and a pair of high-top sneakers. The clothes were all black, and actually, just looking at the clothes, it was quite low-key, but worn on him, it was still too handsome and eye-catching.
"Of course." Kotoko Iwanaga first responded while raising her hand to adjust her beret, then said confidently, "I usually wear these types of clothes and am already used to them. If I suddenly switch to sportswear, I would feel very inconvenient instead."
*Sigh!* Asuna Yuuki sighed slightly, then looked towards Asagiri Utsunomiya and said, "What about you?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya didn't answer directly, but asked a rhetorical question, "Yuuki-san, have you seen a sports manga called Kuroko's Basketball?"
"No, I'm not really interested in manga."
"It doesn't matter if you haven't seen it. I'll summarize it for you. There's a protagonist in that manga named Tetsuya Kuroko. His special skill is to exert influence in the game through sudden passes by utilizing his weak presence, similar to Kato-san's talent."
Asuna Yuuki nodded as if she understood but didn't, and then asked doubtfully, "Hmm... And then? Does this have anything to do with the topic we were just discussing?"
"Of course it does." Asagiri Utsunomiya said this first, then explained very seriously, "In that manga, there's another character who is also considered a protagonist named Taiga Kagami. Unlike Kuroko, he has an extremely high presence. As soon as he's on the court, even if he doesn't receive the ball, he will attract the attention of the opposing players. Therefore, he and Kuroko are the best partners."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki immediately understood Asagiri Utsunomiya's meaning and realized with a sudden understanding.
"So that's how it is... In other words, as long as you and Kotoko-san, two people with extremely high presence, are present, Kato-san, who originally has a very low presence and can also activate her exclusive talent to further lower her own presence, will be even less likely to be noticed by others? I see... I didn't think of this..."
At this moment, Asagiri Utsunomiya said seriously, "Of course! Therefore, Kato-san joining our team is simply a match made in heaven!"
◆◇◈◇◆
Half an hour later, the moment the time displayed on the phone screens jumped to twelve o'clock, all four phones simultaneously sounded the same notification sound. In the app on the screens, text introducing the dungeon also appeared, along with a ten-minute countdown.
Asagiri Utsunomiya took out his phone and began reading the content.
[Location: Abandoned City After Zombie Outbreak
[Time Limit Is: Ten Hours
[Mission Objective: Survive until the time limit ends, or go to Mercy Hospital and obtain the antibody reagent stored in the hospital.
[Public Hint: Please always be vigilant of your surroundings.
[Because you received a rating of A- or above in the last dungeon, a special hint is given.
[Special Hint: After officially entering the dungeon, you will receive a detailed map of the city.]
"My special hint is the city map, what about yours?"
Because Megumi Kato only received a C rating the last time she cleared a dungeon, she didn't receive a special hint this time. So, although the team had four people, this time there were only three pieces of special hint information.
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's question, Asuna Yuuki immediately replied, "The special hint I received is that there are Special Infected in this dungeon who are strong in both agility and speed. If I kill them, I can gain double the effect of speed and agility boosts through my exclusive talent."
Kotoko Iwanaga replied immediately afterwards: "The hint I received is that in that Mercy Hospital, there is a wandering specter, and it might be possible to obtain valuable information from it."
"These three special hints aren't repeated either... This is really good for Players like us who can get an evaluation of A- or higher every time." Asagiri Utsunomiya said this first, then added in a flat tone, "This dungeon is different from before, giving two different mission objectives. Since the word or is used, it means that Players can complete the dungeon regardless of which objective they achieve. Simply analyzing the literal meaning, surviving for ten hours in a city with a large number of zombies is clearly much simpler than actively searching for the antibodies stored in the hospital. However, based on the novice dungeon I and Violet experienced, this game likes to use this kind of psychological tactic to instill fear in Players."
Asuna Yuuki looked thoughtful as she asked, "Regardless, we definitely have to achieve the second objective, right?"
"Yes, that's for sure. After all, my special hint is a detailed map of the city, and Necro's special hint is also about that Mercy Hospital."
Just then, Megumi Kato suddenly raised her hand and said cautiously, "Um... I seem to... not have a code name yet."
Asagiri Utsunomiya looked at Megumi Kato with a smile and said, "I've already thought of one for you. 'Phantom,' meaning 'mirage,' fits your exclusive talent very well. What do you think?"
Megumi Kato nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Let's go with that."
"Huh, Captain is really biased." Kotoko Iwanaga looked a bit unhappy, puffing up her cheeks and muttering softly. "Their code names were both given by you. Why is it that only mine was chosen by myself? No, you have to help me choose one too."
Asagiri Utsunomiya glanced at Kotoko Iwanaga, and then he chuckled as he teased, "Then you can be called Dirty Talker. I'll give you the privilege of using two words as your code name."
Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but chuckle when she heard these two words, covering her mouth as she lightly laughed. "Dirty Talker... Someone who talks dirty... it really suits Kotoko-san..."
"Alright, let's get down to business. The scope of this dungeon is a city, and the frequency of action will be higher. We still need to do the most basic protective measures."
Seeing Asagiri Utsunomiya take out bandages and muscle tape from his bag, Asuna Yuuki knew what he was planning to do and quickly spoke up first.
"Um, I've already taken protective measures to prevent sprained ankles in advance. Let me handle Kotoko-san and Kato-san."