Seeing the notification on the phone APP that they had successfully added each other as friends, Yuuki Asuna looked up at Asagiri and said in a flat tone.
"It's really not easy to gain your trust, is it, Mr. Fangshi... No, Utsunomiya?"
"Isn't this the vigilance that a 'Player' should possess?"
Asagiri first replied with a smile, then placed the chainsaw and power drill on the ground. Next, he took off the black coat and removed the books and magazines that were originally taped to his body for protection. Finally, he took off the sunglasses and black mask he had been wearing.
The moment he took off his sunglasses and black mask and Yuuki Asuna saw his true appearance, her eyes couldn't help but tremble.
His black hair was slightly messy without being untidy, a bit long, and his black eyes carried a hint of a smile that made people instinctively feel a sense of closeness. Just looking at his hairstyle and eyes, as long as the rest of his face wasn't too ugly, he could be called a handsome guy.
And Asagiri's other facial features were also very good-looking, and he didn't have the overly feminine softness that some idols have.
Coupled with his slender figure, slightly over 1.8 meters tall, simply put, he was very handsome.
"So that's what you look like..."
Yuuki Asuna wasn't the type of girl who would be smitten by a handsome guy. The reason she made such a remark was that Asagiri's words, actions, and appearance somehow always felt contradictory.
"How is it, handsome?"
"Yeah, you're indeed very handsome."
"Oh, you're too kind, Yuuki Asuna. You're also very good-looking."
Neither Asagiri nor Yuuki Asuna showed the awkwardness and shyness of ordinary high school students when discussing this topic. The reason was simple: in this situation, Yuuki Asuna had no time to think about such things. Besides, she didn't have any special feelings for Asagiri. He was indeed very handsome, she was just stating the truth.
Next, Yuuki Asuna conducted a test.
The equipment rewarded from clearing the instance, the slender rapier, seemed ordinary and unremarkable, but with just a thought, the rapier would instantly disappear or appear, which was very convenient.
While Yuuki Asuna was making the rapier disappear again, Asagiri suddenly walked in front of her and then did something that surprised Yuuki Asuna and made her face blush.
Asagiri didn't hesitate and directly took Yuuki Asuna's hands, and it wasn't just a normal handshake, but an intimate way of holding hands, fingers intertwined.
"You... what are you doing..."
No matter how composed Yuuki Asuna was, she was still just a high school girl. Suddenly having her hands clasped by Asagiri made her flustered, and even her heart rate quickened significantly.
"Why are you blushing? Be normal, don't get caught up in romance."
In contrast, Asagiri's expression and tone were as calm and composed as ever.
"Try now and see if you can equip that rapier."
Hearing this, Yuuki Asuna immediately realized that Asagiri wanted to use this method to verify whether a "Player" could still summon their equipment directly when under some kind of restraint.
"Hmph, I, I just didn't react in time. It's not because I'm caught up in romance."
Yuuki Asuna retorted like this first, then tried to summon the rapier, but nothing happened.
"I can't summon it."
"Okay."
Asagiri nodded: "It seems that equipment cannot be summoned when the body is restricted."
Upon hearing this, Yuuki Asuna pursed her lips and softly responded, her eyes looking somewhat complex.
It wasn't because she was holding Asagiri's hand in an intimate interlocked-finger manner, but because she realized that ever since entering the instance, he had been the one leading her forward. Whether it was escaping the ward, analyzing the true purpose of the "nurses," or obtaining information through experimentation after getting the clearance rewards, Asagiri's actions were always so efficient.
If it were an ordinary girl, being led like this and clearing the instance without needing to exert herself, she would probably feel very happy. But Yuuki Asuna was different.
Having received an elite education since childhood, her self-esteem wouldn't allow her to just be a freeloader, like a delicate and cute accessory, doing nothing useful and just relying on Asagiri to clear the instance together.
Of course, Yuuki Asuna also knew very well that acting impulsively driven by self-esteem would not only fail to provide help but would also become a hindrance. She simply made up her mind to adapt to the rhythm of the instance as quickly as possible and strive to at least demonstrate her value as a teammate the next time she entered an instance.
"Wait a minute, that's not right..."
After letting go of Asagiri's hand, Yuuki Asuna suddenly frowned slightly and said.
"The reward from this APP is a Western sword... Although this kind of thing is not easy to buy, it's not difficult either. Since you can bring in chainsaws and electric drills, wouldn't I just bring a weapon from the real world next time I enter an instance? Although it has the convenient function of being readily available, as one of the rewards for an A+ clearance... isn't it a bit too ordinary?"
"Congratulations, blind student, you've found the key point."
Asagiri didn't explain directly but guided Yuuki Asuna's thoughts by asking a question.
"Since I can bring weapons like chainsaws and electric drills when entering the instance, if I were to exaggerate a bit more, if I had a gun with me at that time, would I also be able to bring it into the instance? If players can bring their own weapons, what's the point of the so-called equipment rewarded by the instance?"
Upon hearing this, Yuuki Asuna mumbled thoughtfully.
"That's right, what's the point? Could it be that bringing your own weapons... is a special privilege for newcomers entering an instance for the first time, and you won't be able to carry weapons when entering instances in the future?... No, it's more than that, I understand, this instance is a newcomer instance, so being able to bring your own weapons is itself a hint for clearance!"
Asagiri asked with interest, "Oh? How do you figure?"
Yuuki Asuna's exquisite face lit up with excitement as her thoughts suddenly opened up, and she immediately replied.
"Because the 'nurses' won't attack the 'players' at all, as long as you escape within the specified time limit, there's no need to fight at all. However, if you don't escape within the specified time, a certain anomaly will occur within the sanatorium, and you won't be able to leave anymore. So the key point is only when the 'player' deduces the true purpose of the 'nurses' and when they can muster the courage to open the ward door. As for whether the carried weapon is a fruit knife, an electric drill, a chainsaw, or even nothing at all, entering empty-handed, it has no impact on whether you can clear the instance."