Chapter 163: The Person Who Transcends Death
That evening, at Iwanaga Kotoko's house.
"I lost big time. Big time…"
Watching Iwanaga Kotoko clutch her chest in exaggerated heartbreak, as if she wanted to hang herself on the spot, Yuuki Asuna said with a helpless laugh.
"Is it really that bad? It's just a watch. It's gone, that's all. Besides, that watch was originally Asagiri's item. He hasn't said anything, so why are you the one acting like your heart got ripped out?"
"Actually… I'm hurting too."
Hearing Asagiri say that, Yuuki Asuna froze for a moment. She looked at him, still wearing his usual smile, and asked suspiciously,
"You're hurting too? Then how come I can't tell at all?"
Asagiri waved a hand, looking completely justified.
"Hey, it's called keeping up appearances. What kind of expert rolls on the floor crying after losing a precious item? That would ruin my image. A steady demeanor and the confidence of an absolute powerhouse, that's my greatest weapon."
"You're talking nonsense. Your greatest weapon is your Persona."
Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes and exposed his attempt to act cool without mercy. Then she sighed softly.
"But it's true. Our condition was bad at the time, and we'd only just learned the specific abilities of the Ajin. We never expected Sato to swallow explosives and even hand the detonator to Tanaka Koji."
"Yes."
Kato Megumi nodded slightly and agreed in a soft voice.
"We all thought that as long as we cut off their hands and made sure Tanaka Koji and Nagai Kei couldn't shoot Sato or commit suicide, it would be enough. But they had already anticipated that and hid the detonator in their mouths. That really was our oversight."
The red epic single use item, [Hourglass of Reversal], had a value that went beyond its literal effect.
Its greatest significance was that it changed how a Player, or even an entire team, approached risk.
In the past, with the watch as their final insurance, Asagiri and the others had pushed hard in every Dungeon, whether it was the zombie Dungeon or the Mita World Dungeon. They aimed for the highest clear rating every time and took huge risks to secure the best rewards.
Now that the watch was gone, their approach in future Dungeons would inevitably change.
"There's no need to regret it too much. The watch already fulfilled its purpose."
Asagiri noticed the lingering frustration on Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna's faces, and smiled as he comforted them.
"An item like that exists precisely so we can challenge the highest possible clear rating and reward every time. If we start hesitating, or even give up opportunities just because we don't want to consume a so called red epic item, then we're putting the cart before the horse."
"Besides, even though the watch was consumed this time, we also successfully eliminated Sato and completed something that's almost impossible for Players at our current stage."
"The system will definitely issue corresponding rewards. The value of those rewards might even exceed the value of the [Hourglass of Reversal]."
Hearing Asagiri's smiling reassurance, Yuuki Asuna and the others felt a little better.
After all, none of them were the type to wallow in self pity and complain endlessly. Even Kotoko's dramatic wailing had mostly been an act.
"Then I'll settle mine first?"
This time, all four of them had received an S+ clear evaluation. The only differences were slight variations in the descriptions of their bonus actions. Yuuki Asuna's rewards should be on par with Asagiri's, or perhaps even better, since she had been the one to submit the Ajin experimental data.
"Have you decided what reward types you want to customize?" Asagiri asked.
"Yes. I have."
As a high level Player, she could customize the categories of rewards she received after clearing a Dungeon. Yuuki Asuna had already thought this through after waking up.
"First, a weapon. The Exorcist Longsword is only blue equipment now, and its performance is starting to fall behind."
"Then defensive equipment. As for physical and mental stat enhancement, I'm not choosing those this time."
"I'm too lopsided right now. My attack power is already more than enough, maybe even excessive, but my defense is seriously lacking. In our team, the only one who can really stand at the front is Asagiri's Human Asura. His Persona ability is basically all rounder. I need to become a sub tank who can hold the front line at critical moments, or else our team comp is going to hold him back."
After saying that, Yuuki Asuna confirmed her reward categories in the Eye Icon APP.
[Your selected reward categories have been confirmed: Equipment (Armor), Equipment (Weapon)]
[Rewards obtained: Rapier Gleaming Light, Armor of Flashing Light, your Class Swordsman has advanced to Special Exclusive Class: Class - Flash Blade]
[Rapier Gleaming Light (Quality: Purple, Excellent): A silver rapier with crystal-like transparency, forged from an unknown material. Due to the peculiar power contained within the forging material, it can harm spiritual bodies. When using sword type attack skills with this weapon, skill power is greatly increased.]
[Armor of Flashing Light (Quality: Purple, Excellent): Lightweight armor with a white primary color and red accents. Possesses extremely high physical defense. While equipped, the impact and shock damage received by the Player is greatly reduced, and fall damage is greatly reduced.]
[Special Class Class - Flash Blade: A unique special Class born from Player Yuuki Asuna's unwavering determination to advance and her exclusive talent, Flash.]
[Passive Effect: While the Player is moving at high speed, physical attributes such as Strength, Stamina, and Defense are enhanced in proportion to movement speed.]
[Class Exclusive Skill: Flash Thrust: Executes a thrusting sword technique at an unreactable speed, like instantaneous movement.]
[Note: This skill places an extremely heavy burden on the body. Please use it when the passive effect of Class - Flash Blade is active whenever possible. Using this skill while stationary may result in severe physical injury or even death.]
After reading the reward descriptions, Yuuki Asuna stood up from the sofa and equipped her newly obtained Rapier Gleaming Light and Armor of Flashing Light.
Wearing white armor and holding a crystal-clear rapier, she looked at Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi and asked with a smile,
"These are my new weapon and armor. So, what do you think?"
Asagiri looked at her and nodded with a smile.
"Very beautiful."
Yuuki Asuna's face immediately flushed. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said shyly,
"I was asking whether they're strong, not asking you to comment on how they look…"
Asagiri gave her a speechless look.
"If you don't show me the system description on your phone, how am I supposed to know whether they're strong? All I can judge is how they look."
"Oh… right. That's true…"
Yuuki Asuna stuck out her tongue awkwardly, trying to get away with it through sheer cuteness.
After seeing her rewards, the group did not start discussing them immediately. They decided to wait until all four of them had drawn their rewards, then talk about everything together.
And next came the moment everyone had been waiting for.
Asagiri tapped the Eye Icon APP and confirmed his customized reward categories.
[Your selected reward categories have been confirmed: Mental Strength Enhancement, Skill]
[Rewards obtained: Mental strength greatly increased, Skill Hundred Shots...]
The text on the screen suddenly stopped halfway through.
The original dark red mist-like letters looked as if they were being corroded by something, turning black.
In the next instant, the text that had already appeared was erased, and a new set of lines emerged.
[An uninhibited one who has experienced death and transcended it once more, you have unlocked a new ability.]
[Supreme Magic Bullet: Exclusive skill. This ability can be used by you or Human Asura. Consumes a massive amount of mental strength to fire a fatal bullet formed from condensed black light. This skill is the power of "Death" within your sea of consciousness and possesses extremely special properties.]
[Supreme Magic Bullet will only damage targets you designate as "enemies." If a target is not designated as an "enemy," the bullet will not harm them.]
[Supreme Magic Bullet is the manifestation of the essence of "Death." Organisms and spiritual bodies damaged by it cannot recover. Furthermore, the "Death" contained within Supreme Magic Bullet ignores any "special" attributes similar to immortality and eradicates the enemy's existence from the root.]
[Human Asura Exclusive Passive: Pointer's Seal]
[Pointer's Seal: At the moment the [Hourglass of Reversal] was destroyed, Human Asura gained control over a portion of the "watch's" power through you. When you die, this ability will automatically activate, reversing time according to your will. Maximum reversal time: 1 minute. After this ability activates, Human Asura enters a 72 hour cooldown, during which you cannot summon or equip Human Asura.]
"This… is this real?"
Even though they had agreed to discuss rewards only after everyone finished drawing, the moment they saw the two new abilities Asagiri had obtained, Iwanaga Kotoko, Kato Megumi, and Yuuki Asuna were all stunned.
What kind of reward was this?
Especially Iwanaga Kotoko, who was left completely speechless.
So all that mourning she did over the [Hourglass of Reversal] had been pointless?
The item was gone, but its power had transformed into Human Asura's exclusive ability.
Yes, Human Asura would become unusable for up to seventy two hours after the effect triggered, and Asagiri would lose all passive bonuses tied to Human Asura during that time, but even so…
This was still another chance to start over.
Because they had once possessed [Hourglass of Reversal], Kotoko and the others understood better than anyone how precious a restart opportunity was in this death game.
Even if you never used it, just having it was enough to support risky decisions and let you fight for the highest clear evaluation every time.
"Mm…"
Under the shocked stares of Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi, Asagiri wore the expression of an otherworldly master and then said something completely unmaster-like, aggressive to the bone.
"Next time we run into some immortal monster or whatever, I'll just test whether my Supreme Magic Bullet works on it. If it does, that's the end of the story."
.....
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