Chapter 256: Rumors of a Powerful Player Team
"Do we still continue?"
The White Suit Man glanced at Asagiri's abdomen, hesitation clear in his eyes.
"Even if you healed the injury with an item, you still lost a lot of blood. And after using a power that terrifying, your current condition…"
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
Asagiri casually patted the White Suit Man on the shoulder and laughed.
"I'm not dead yet. And if I'm not dead, that means I'm at full health."
"Uh…"
Hearing that, the White Suit Man and his three teammates had no idea how to respond.
In their understanding, after a battle that intense, after suffering a wound that would have killed an ordinary Player several times over, the fact that he could still stand should already have been the limit.
And yet, for some reason, this guy looked even more energetic after getting injured.
Could it really be that he was the type who found things more exciting the closer he got to death, some sort of dangerous lunatic who enjoyed testing the limits of survival?
But Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko understood very well that this still wasn't anywhere near Asagiri's true limit.
Not to mention the Human Asura's time reversal, he hadn't even used Hoder Franklin's healing ability.
For Asagiri, true danger should go like this.
First, he suffers a fatally heavy injury. Then he uses Hoder Franklin's [Sacrifice] to transfer all the damage and return to a completely unharmed state. After that, the enemy has to kill him again, or force him into a truly hopeless position, to make him use the Human Asura's time reversal.
Even after all that, they would still have to kill him one more time before it could be considered a success.
And through that entire process, they would also have to make sure not to expose their main body, because the moment they did, they would be hit by [Supreme Magic Bullet].
Honestly, this Dungeon really had let Yuuki Asuna and the others experience the difficulty of the third phase. But for them, that difficulty was about figuring out how to eliminate that cursed existence, not about whether they themselves could survive its parasitism.
That part was effortless for their team.
"The problem now is that we've searched this floor thoroughly, but we still haven't found the main body of that cursed existence."
Hearing Asagiri's words, the woman wearing the Fox Spirit Mask looked at him for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"Can I confirm something first? If we find the true body of that cursed existence, do you have complete confidence in killing it? With the ability you just used?"
"Yes."
Since both sides had already fought side by side, and the foundation for genuine cooperation had finally been established, Asagiri saw no reason to keep hiding that much.
"But I can't use it again immediately. I need at least three hours of rest."
"I see. Then we should rest first…"
The Fox Mask Woman nodded, then pointed toward the White Suit Man beside her and said in a calm tone,
"This guy is a physical class. His fighting style revolves around manipulating bones. He can fight at close, mid, and long range, but in the end he is still a pure physical type, so he has no means of damaging spiritual bodies."
She then pointed at the Player with the sharp gaze.
"He is a perception type scout. He's good at observing the surroundings and analyzing the environment. If there's enough time during battle, he can also set traps to support the team."
Then she pointed to the last male Player.
"He is a physical martial artist. He doesn't have mid or long range attack methods, but he's very fast. His damage is only average, though his defense is good enough that he can barely serve as a tank."
Finally, she lightly touched her own mask.
"As for me, I'm a spiritual support type. My main ability is buffing teammates, though I also have a few spiritual attack methods."
After introducing the general roles of all four of them, the Fox Mask Woman looked at Iwanaga Kotoko and said flatly,
"If possible, please tell us your general roles as well. You don't need to reveal too much, but at the very least we need to know each other's positions. Otherwise we'll just get in each other's way in battle."
"Hmm? Why are you asking me?"
Iwanaga Kotoko smiled and pointed at Asagiri beside her.
"He's our captain. Shouldn't you be asking his opinion?"
"When I spoke to him earlier, you seemed very unhappy about it. You four… are in that kind of relationship, right? I don't want to cause any misunderstandings."
"You're pretty perceptive~"
Iwanaga Kotoko nodded with satisfaction, looped her arm through Asagiri's, and began introducing their side.
"I'm a Warlock type. I mainly use cursed attack abilities, and I can also provide support through control and mental interference. The one in the deep red cloak is a Swordsman. The one with the black ponytail is an Assassin plus Archer. And as for our captain…"
At that point, Iwanaga Kotoko paused for several seconds, seemingly considering the most accurate description. Then she looked at the Fox Mask Woman and said with a smile,
"He's a Warrior plus martial artist plus Mage plus Warlock plus Summoner plus…"
"Stop adding to it. What are you doing, writing an equation?"
Asagiri rubbed Iwanaga Kotoko's head, cutting her off, then looked at the White Suit Man and smiled.
"Just think of me as an all round combat type Player."
"All round combat type…"
The White Suit Man repeated the phrase to himself, recalling what Asagiri had shown in battle.
Holy and fire attribute magic. Ice spears and physical projectiles. A cursed close combat weapon linked by chains. The ability to switch positions instantly with summoned creatures, plus the ability to keep changing summons, giving him nearly flawless mobility.
And, most importantly, that pitch black beam of light powerful enough to erase dozens of parasitic Players and every face in the entire banquet hall in an instant.
The White Suit Man nodded in deep agreement, his expression complicated as he looked at Asagiri.
"This really is the first time I've met a Player like you. Before this, I thought our team already stood at the peak of Players at this stage, and that only that legendary person was stronger than us…"
"Legendary person?"
Asagiri's interest was immediately piqued. Since they were already resting, this was a good chance to exchange whatever information they had.
"Huh? Haven't you heard other Players talk about it?"
The White Suit Man smiled, sat down cross legged on the ground, and slowly began.
"In the middle of last month, in the real world, there was a super large Dungeon. The Dungeon setting was a world very similar to reality, except it was full of immortal creatures called Ajin. In that super large Dungeon, the system directly issued a hidden main quest meant for high level Players, which was to assault a research base that was practically impossible to break into and obtain the experimental data stored inside. Only if one specific Player obtained that experimental data could the other surviving Players clear the Dungeon. Otherwise, everyone would eventually be wiped out. And at the crucial moment…"
"Hold on."
Asagiri raised a hand and interrupted him.
The White Suit Man noticed that the eyes of the four people opposite him had all turned a little strange, like they had just heard something extremely funny and were trying their best not to laugh. His brows immediately furrowed in confusion.
"I haven't even finished yet. In that Dungeon, there was a…"
"A cute blue haired girl wearing a cat ear hat who gathered all the Players who arrived at the Dungeon location, then personally organized the plan to assault the experimental base. And that girl belonged to a mysterious and powerful Player team. There, I summarized it for you, so you don't need to give us the whole recap."
"Recap…"
The White Suit Man froze for a moment, then his expression abruptly changed. He and his three teammates all looked at Asagiri and the others in shock.
"Could it be… that rumored Player team… was you?"
"Heh, no need to praise us too much."
Although Asagiri waved a hand modestly, the words that came out of his mouth made the White Suit Man almost choke.
"We're just the strongest Player team at this stage. That kind of thing is only natural."
"Uh…"
The White Suit Man and his teammates exchanged glances.
The black clothed Player in front of them really was terrifyingly strong, and his mental state was unbelievably stable, to the point where he seemed almost incapable of fear.
But his personality…
Somehow, it felt a little unreliable.
"So, what exactly are we waiting for now?"
Hearing the White Suit Man's question, Iwanaga Kotoko smiled.
"You still don't get it? The Twenty Fourth Floor is where that thing's power is strongest. But even after searching the whole floor, we still haven't found its trace. I already had a guess before, and after the battle just now, I can confirm it. The so called dangerous period is actually when that cursed existence 'awakens.' Only during that time can it create split bodies to carry out physical parasitism. And the true face of that cursed existence…"
Iwanaga Kotoko paused for a moment before continuing slowly,
"Is a strange being formed from the fusion of all the earthbound spirits in this Hotel, the resentment of everyone who died here, and all the phenomena that have accumulated here."
"I see…"
Before the White Suit Man and his three teammates could even react with shock, Asagiri suddenly added something that made their hearts jolt.
"The power of that cursed existence really is strong. It can even corrupt the minds of enhanced Players. And this is still its own home ground. Yet even so, it has been forced back to the Twenty Fourth Floor, reduced to making this its final domain."
Asagiri's tone remained calm.
"That alone is enough to prove that the existence behind the high temperature phenomenon is far stronger than it is."
.....
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