"The dungeon hints and special hints are different..."
Asuna murmured, looking thoughtful.
"The difference in dungeon hints should be due to the difference in our strength. In other words, according to the app's assessment, if I were to fight a Banshee with my current strength, I would likely not win, but your strength is enough to eliminate a single Banshee, so it gave different hints? This app is quite user-friendly. As for the special hint..."
Just as Asuna was halfway through her sentence, Asagiri suddenly grabbed her fair and tender feet. This sudden attack caused Asuna to freeze for a moment, then her pretty face instantly turned crimson.
"You... why did you suddenly grab my feet..."
"Wrapping them with athletic tape and bandages."
Asagiri seemed to have switched from his usual abstract mode to professional Player mode. He didn't say anything outrageous but spoke in a calm tone.
"Professional athletes use athletic tape and bandages to stabilize their ankles before a match to reduce the risk of sprains. Although the app rules say no defensive gear of any kind, this shouldn't be included."
"Oh, oh... I see..."
Asuna raised her hand and smoothed her long hair. Seeing Asagiri place her feet on his lap, then tear open the bandages and athletic tape with both hands, carefully wrapping them, her pretty face was slightly red. She said softly in an apologetic tone.
"Sorry...I just thought...I thought you had some strange ideas about me, that's why..."
"No need to apologize," Asagiri said plainly. "If you think I'm doing all this prep work for you purely out of lust, then you're underestimating me. But if you think I'm doing it with zero impure thoughts and only cold rationality... then you're giving me way too much credit."
"Y-you...you jerk…"
Asuna's ears turned red. She bit her lower lip, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"P-pervert…having those kinds of thoughts while touching someone's feet...You're seriously a pervert…"
"Now, now, don't twist my words," Asagiri replied with a chuckle. "It's not just anyone. It's only when I'm touching Asuna that certain...thoughts arise. The qualifier matters. It's you."
Asuna lowered her head, saying nothing at first—just a quiet "Mm."
But beneath that calm exterior, her face was on fire, and she felt like steam could burst from her ears at any moment.
Direct hits… absolutely terrifying.
.......
[Player Utsunomiya Asagiri, preparing to enter the dungeon]
[Countdown 10, 9, 8... 1, 0]
At the moment the countdown reached zero, a thick, dark red mist appeared before Asagiri's eyes. By the time the mist dispersed, he was in a completely unfamiliar room that looked like a Hotel suite.
Just as he had guessed, measures like wrapping his ankles with athletic tape and bandages to prevent sprains and injuries would not disappear when entering the dungeon. This was reasonable; after all, a Player's ability to think of this and prepare cautiously for clearing the dungeon was also a reflection of their personal capability.
After confirming this, Asagiri began to look around. He saw that there were not only him and Asuna in the room, but also three other people who seemed to be Players.
One was a young man in an expensive suit, wearing a tie, with slicked-back hair, and a rather handsome appearance, and standing beside him, very close, almost leaning on him, was a young woman with Heavy Makeup.
From the young Woman's actions, Asagiri and Asuna could tell at a glance that these two must have known each other before entering the dungeon, perhaps they were a Player team?
The last Player's attire, however, looked a bit strange.
The Player's figure was strikingly petite—barely reaching 1.5 meters in height. She wore a white Western-style dress, elegantly paired with matching white stockings and dainty leather shoes. A white beret rested neatly atop her head, and in one hand, she held something that resembled a decorative cane.
But what stood out most was her face—or rather, what concealed it. Despite the app's clear rule that Players couldn't use real-world items to disguise themselves in the dungeon, this girl wore a lavish white half-mask that covered the upper half of her face. It looked straight out of a masquerade ball, delicate and expensive.
A girl… she should be a girl, right?
The other Players in the room had all turned to look at her, but she showed no sign of nervousness. On the contrary, she seemed perfectly composed. With practiced grace, she lifted the hem of her dress slightly and dipped into a textbook curtsy.
"Good evening, everyone," she said softly, her voice laced with a faint smile.
The Suit Man looked at the girl, his brow furrowed, and said.
"Hey, that mask you're wearing and the cane you're holding, are they equipment?"
The girl nodded without concealment and replied with a smile.
"Yes."
"Hmph, already having two pieces of equipment when entering the second dungeon. It seems you got a good evaluation in the novice dungeon as well."
Seeing that the young Suit Man only glanced briefly at the girl's cane and mask before turning his attention elsewhere, both Asagiri and Asuna realized something important: this person was unaware of a crucial hidden rule.
After killing another Player, if you managed to obtain their phone, you could randomly draw one piece of their equipment or items.
This wasn't common knowledge—it was a secret rule Asagiri had discovered firsthand in the novice dungeon by defeating a seasoned Player and taking their phone.
Certainly, others had killed Players in the novice dungeon before, but very few had uncovered this hidden mechanic so early on. In fact, at this point, it was likely that only Asagiri and Asuna knew about it.
The conditions to verify this rule were strict: first, you had to get another Player's phone; second, that Player needed to have cleared the dungeon and been promoted from a novice to a formal Player; and third, you had to kill that Player and open the app marked by the eye icon.
Meeting all those requirements in the novice dungeon was nearly impossible—not to mention having the idea to even test for the hidden rule.
"Tch...a little girl, and you two...look like high school students?"
The Suit Man glanced at Asuna and Asagiri, arrogance appearing between his brows, then he spoke in a deep voice.
"I'll be direct. In this dungeon, you must follow my orders. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it, and I will lead you to clear it."
Hearing this, the masked girl in the Western-style dress said with a smiling voice.
"Follow your orders? We are all Players, why should we do that?"
"Hmph, isn't that simple? Because my ability is the strongest."
The Suit Man folded his arms across his chest and snorted coldly.
"I forgot to tell you, in the novice dungeon..."
"I received a high-level clearance rating of B+."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Please support my work and gain access to 15 advanced chapters at [email protected]/Dannycifer.