Chapter 165: Shuchiin Academy, a Cradle of Talent
"What kind of weird question is that?"
Even Asagiri was caught off guard by Iwanaga Kotoko's words. He immediately waved his hand and answered in a stern tone.
"Putting aside the fact that my preferences are not that strange, even if they were, your body is still the most important thing. How could I possibly stop you from using Black Particles to repair it?"
Hearing that, emotion flickered in Iwanaga Kotoko's deep purple eyes. Her small face flushed slightly, and she was just about to say something when Asagiri continued in the same serious tone.
"Besides, if we are talking about your real moe point, shouldn't it be the contrast between the way you constantly spout dirty jokes like a middle aged perverted uncle and your absolutely flat, one point five meter loli body?"
"Pfft."
Kato Megumi could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha… absolutely flat… it sounds like a washing machine slogan… Hahaha…"
Iwanaga Kotoko puffed out her cheeks and muttered softly when she saw this.
"Your sense of humor is way too weird… It is not even that funny…"
"Sorry, sorry."
Kato Megumi raised a hand and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes after laughing too hard. Then she looked at Iwanaga Kotoko and apologized in an extremely serious tone.
"I should not have laughed at your physical flaw. You must feel terrible inside. I will not do it again."
Iwanaga Kotoko clenched her fists and waved them around, her face flushing with exasperation.
"Hey, do not apologize that seriously! That makes it even harder for me to deal with!"
After joking around with the three of them for a bit, Iwanaga Kotoko let out a long breath. Usually fearless, she still could not help showing a trace of nervousness in her eyes at this moment.
She raised her fair, delicate hand and removed the prosthetic from her right eye, revealing the dark, empty socket beneath it.
This was the first time Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi had seen her without the prosthetic eye. Neither of them showed disgust or discomfort. Instead, both looked pained. Yuuki Asuna, who usually loved bickering with Iwanaga Kotoko, sat down beside her, gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and spoke softly.
"Let's begin."
"Mm."
Hearing Yuuki Asuna's gentle voice, Iwanaga Kotoko also lost her usual fierce, impish edge.
She lifted her left knee slightly, then took a deep breath and steadied herself for a while before finally activating the newly obtained ability.
Just like the Black Particles that appeared when Ajin died and resurrected to repair their bodies, Black Particles emerged from the severed point of her left knee and the empty socket of her right eye. It took less than a second. Before anyone in the room could even react, the repair was complete.
"Eh? Is it done?"
Iwanaga Kotoko raised a hand and carefully touched her right eye. Then she let out a cute little cry.
"Ow, that hurts a little."
"It really grew back?"
Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko's missing right eye and left leg restored instantly, Yuuki Asuna could not hide her surprise. Then she murmured thoughtfully,
"But this ability seems more suited for front line fighters who get injured often, or even lose limbs in battle… Is the system really that kind? Did it really give you this ability just to restore your body?"
Faced with Yuuki Asuna's question, Iwanaga Kotoko was also a little confused. After all, her class was Warlock, not some close combat fighter. Recovering from her one eye and one leg disability definitely made movement more convenient, but as for direct combat power…
At that moment, Asagiri suddenly spoke.
"Look at your exclusive talent."
"Exclusive talent? Eh… my exclusive talent…"
Iwanaga Kotoko opened her phone and checked. A look of astonishment immediately appeared on her face.
"All the negative effects of my exclusive talent are gone?"
The section under her exclusive talent description that had originally read, [Negative Effects: Cannot learn any skills or passive skills outside the "Anomaly" type, cannot activate any skills when stamina is too low, cannot equip most weapons and armor, cannot unlock any professions outside the "Anomaly" type], had completely disappeared.
"After my body was restored to its original state, the negative effects of my exclusive talent disappeared too… This really is a huge buff."
Asagiri chuckled lightly after hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's muttering.
"Being able to grow your leg back is already a huge buff. At least now you can stop breaking a prosthetic every time you enter a Dungeon. Your breakage rate is so high you are basically the world's number one prosthetic consumer."
Asagiri's sudden abstract comment instantly amused Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi. Even Iwanaga Kotoko herself could not help smiling. The image of her hopping around on one leg every time her prosthetic broke was simply too ridiculous.
"That is true. For an elegant young lady like me, hopping on one leg is rather undignified."
Hearing that, Yuuki Asuna shook her head helplessly and could not resist replying.
"You can only be called an elegant young lady when you are not talking, okay? You and Asagiri are the same type. Both of you look amazing, but the moment you open your mouths, the abstract nonsense makes people forget your looks entirely. I honestly cannot tell whether that is a strength or a weakness."
Kato Megumi suddenly thought of something and asked tentatively,
"Kotoko, you originally gave up your right eye and left leg to become the God of Wisdom for the yokai, right? Now that you have restored them… will they stop acknowledging you as the God of Wisdom?"
"No, they will not."
Iwanaga Kotoko waved her hand and smiled.
"It is true that the price I paid to become a god was giving up my right eye and left leg, changing from a human into a one eyed, one legged God of Wisdom. But I already paid that price once back then. Getting my limbs back now does not change the fact that I already paid it. And besides…"
She paused briefly before continuing in a softer voice.
"The price I paid to become the God of Wisdom was not set by the yokai. They do not have that kind of power. If anything, it was closer to a rule or a constraint. If the yokai found out I got my right eye and left leg back, they would only be happy for me."
Kato Megumi let out a breath of relief and smiled.
"Mm. That is good."
"Alright, let's call it a day for now."
Iwanaga Kotoko jumped up from the sofa, ran to Asagiri's side, and rested her head on his shoulder. She wore a sweet smile, but the words coming out of her mouth were as abstract as ever.
"Hurry, hurry. I need to test what kinds of wonderful movements my fully restored body can do. I am going to ask my adorable boyfriend to help me test my flexibility and endurance. You two should head home quickly~"
Yuuki Asuna looked disgusted and replied bluntly,
"You really are a perverted demon. I can see you do not even bother hiding it in front of me anymore!"
"What? You want to join?"
"Uh…"
Seeing Yuuki Asuna's face turn red as she lost the ability to speak, Iwanaga Kotoko looked smug.
She had already discovered the best way to deal with Yuuki Asuna.
In normal arguments, they were evenly matched, with wins and losses on both sides. But the moment the topic moved in this direction, Iwanaga Kotoko could smash through Yuuki Asuna's mental defenses with her shamelessness advantage and leave her too embarrassed to respond at all.
"Hmph. Mere Violet, all bark and no bite~"
Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes and snapped back irritably,
"Why are you starting to talk like him now?"
"Alright, that is enough from both of you."
Asagiri stood up, stretched, and let out a long yawn. Then he smiled and said,
"Go back and rest early tonight. Do not forget, after we get to school tomorrow…"
…there would be three troublesome opponents waiting for them.
…
The next morning, Private Shuchiin Academy, Class 1-B.
"Gooood moooorning, Asuuunaaa~"
The moment she heard that sweet, drawn out voice, Yuuki Asuna, who had been reviewing her notes, could not help trembling slightly. When she looked up, she saw Fujiwara Chika staring at her with a simple, bright smile.
"Chi… Chika…"
For some reason, even though Yuuki Asuna had long suspected Fujiwara Chika might be a Player, and it was now fully confirmed, she still felt a little nervous facing her after that veil had been lifted.
"Why has Utsunomiya still not removed me from the blacklist?"
To Yuuki Asuna's surprise, Fujiwara Chika had no intention of bringing up the game at all. Instead, she turned around and sat backward in her chair, rested both arms on Yuuki Asuna's desk, propped up her chin, and pouted adorably.
"I only sent one harassment email, right? It has been several days already. He should let me out by now."
Watching Fujiwara Chika complain in a soft voice, Yuuki Asuna relaxed and then could not help laughing.
"Why did you even have to email him? The two of you have no connection and no reason to contact each other."
"That is not quite right."
Fujiwara Chika waved her hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and put on an air of fake maturity.
"Whether I need to contact him is one thing. Whether I can contact him if I want to is another. What if I suddenly need him one day?"
"Then you can contact me."
"That is true, but I still feel kind of uncomfortable…"
Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks. It sounded like she was talking to Yuuki Asuna, but also like she was muttering to herself. Tilting her head, she looked confused.
"Why… why is Utsunomiya so rough with me… Could it be he really dislikes me?"
Yuuki Asuna smiled teasingly.
"That is very possible."
Fujiwara Chika immediately looked annoyed.
"Hey, hey, hey. I asked you to comfort me, not kick me while I am down."
"Yes, comfort… wait a second, that is wrong."
Halfway through speaking, Yuuki Asuna suddenly paused, frowned, and looked at Fujiwara Chika, who still wore an innocent expression.
"He is my boyfriend. How is it normal for someone to get blocked by her friend's boyfriend, then come ask that same friend for comfort? Your thought process is way too weird, is it not?"
.....
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