Chapter 392: Furious Beast
After saying this, Asagiri looked up at the sky, determined their approximate position on the island based on the sun's current location, then stepped in a certain direction and spoke softly.
"Discussing this now is useless. Let's search the outer perimeter first. This Dungeon has no time limit, so there's no need to rush."
"Hmm, normally, information and clues about this Dungeon should be obtainable in the early environment. Searching the outer perimeter first is indeed wise... Uh."
Just as Yuuki Asuna was halfway through her sentence, her voice abruptly stopped.
Immediately after, dozens of Space Killing Art sword marks, cut by Shimmering Light, appeared and directly sliced a buzzing giant mosquito-like insect into pieces.
The insect was roughly the size of a human's upper body.
"Phew..."
After confirming the insect's death, Yuuki Asuna immediately distanced herself.
Looking at the scattered body parts and the dark green viscous liquid on the ground, a look of lingering fear appeared on her delicate face. She gently patted her chest and let out a long sigh.
"You scared me..."
Seeing Yuuki Asuna's adorable expression, Asagiri reached out and pinched her fair, tender cheek, chuckling as he teased,
"What? Asuna got stressed seeing a bug? No matter what, using Space Killing Art to kill a mosquito that doesn't even count as a small monster is a bit excessive, isn't it?"
Yuuki Asuna puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and muttered defensively,
"What do you mean? I'm a girl, after all. Seeing a bug suddenly jump out like that without any mental preparation would definitely scare me..."
To Yuuki Asuna's surprise, Iwanaga Kotoko immediately voiced her disagreement upon hearing this.
"What's so scary about bugs? You're too timid!"
"Huh?"
Upon hearing this, Yuuki Asuna could not help looking at Yamauchi Sakura.
Yamauchi Sakura scratched her head and gave a carefree, somewhat embarrassed smile.
"Um... I'm not afraid of bugs either."
Helpless, Yuuki Asuna could only look at Kato Megumi, who was standing there, with hopeful eyes.
"I'm not afraid of bugs either."
Kato Megumi replied first, then walked over to Yuuki Asuna, gently placed her hand on her shoulder, and comforted her in a very gentle tone.
"However, it's quite normal for girls to be afraid of bugs. In such situations, it's unavoidable."
"No... it's not normal at all, okay?"
Yuuki Asuna stomped her foot.
Realizing that she was the only one in the team afraid of bugs, her competitive spirit resurfaced, and she stubbornly insisted,
"Hmph, I was just startled. Next time, I definitely won't be scared."
"She's being rebellious again."
As Asagiri spoke, he crouched down in front of the giant mosquito's remains and carefully observed the dark green liquid on the ground.
He lightly touched it with his fingertip, and a very obvious burning, stinging sensation immediately came from his skin.
"The liquid inside this creature's body is corrosive. Even I, with corrosion resistance, can feel a sting, which means the corrosiveness is very strong. When encountering this type of giant mosquito again, be careful not to get splashed by the liquid."
"This Dungeon environment is very harsh."
Iwanaga Kotoko walked behind Asagiri, her eyes serious, and lowered her voice.
"The dense forest area we are in is too humid, and the terrain is very complex. We must be wary of monsters that could appear at any moment during our advance. It's a huge test for both physical and mental stamina."
"However, the other two areas you saw should be similar. The snowy mountain requires us to face low temperatures, while the volcanic area is hot. It is truly incredible that these three extreme ecological environments appear on one connected island while remaining so clearly distinct."
Kato Megumi, holding the Nightingale Blood Crying Bow, stood at the back of the team, responsible for secondary reconnaissance and guarding the rear, and calmly said,
"This Dungeon is not the type we are good at dealing with, though the terrain itself isn't bad."
"Any Player team probably isn't good at dealing with this Dungeon."
Asagiri, who was leading the way, swung the Rope Dart of Deathly Grievance connected by a chain.
Although he was walking through a dangerous rainforest where terrifying monsters could appear at any moment, just by looking at him, one might think this was a relaxed and pleasant school trip.
"Fighting monsters of such immense size, powerful magical spells should theoretically be the most effective. However, the more powerful the magical spell, the greater the commotion it creates."
"Once surrounded by multiple monsters, even we would find it tricky, not to mention the need to consider stamina, concealing our breath, perception, and reconnaissance abilities. Any weakness in any aspect would cause problems."
"No wonder the system calls it a fifth stage, highest difficulty Dungeon."
"Thankfully, everything in reality has already been arranged."
Yuuki Asuna breathed a sigh of relief, but a premonition stirred in her heart.
This Dungeon...
Would probably be very long.
...
Nearly ten hours later, in a dense forest area beside a small lake.
"Quiet."
Asagiri, hidden in the dense forest, raised his hand and signaled Yuuki Asuna and the others behind him to stop.
Kato Megumi immediately understood and applied the Void Touch effect to the five members of the team, including herself.
"What's wrong?"
"It's strange."
Hearing Yuuki Asuna's question, Asagiri gazed at the seemingly crystal clear lake surface, which shimmered with a golden hue under the nearly setting sun, and spoke softly.
"Water sources are very important to creatures in nature. The closer you are to a water source, the more creatures there should be. But haven't you noticed? For the past ten minutes, we haven't seen any trace of living creatures. Even the flying insects have disappeared."
"Do you mean... because there's danger near this water source, the creatures in the area deliberately avoided it?"
"According to the laws of nature, yes. And..."
Asagiri raised a finger and pointed.
At the edge of the lake, there was a cave.
With vision far surpassing that of ordinary people, Yuuki Asuna clearly saw dark red bloodstains on the ground at the cave entrance, with scattered black fabric strips around them.
"Is that a Blackwatch member's combat uniform?"
"Yes."
Asagiri nodded, his tone tinged with a smile.
"From a game perspective, any place that can yield important clues will inevitably present a difficult challenge for Players."
"Uh..."
Hearing Asagiri's eager and impatient tone, Yuuki Asuna sighed softly.
"Why do you seem even more excited?"
"Because I want to fight. And..."
Asagiri's eyes revealed undisguised excitement as he slowly gripped the Rope Dart of Deathly Grievance in his hand.
"Since no other creatures dare approach this place, it means the entity controlling this water source is far more powerful than the surrounding creatures."
"This way, even if we make noise during combat, as long as it isn't too loud, we don't need to worry about other monsters rushing over. This is simply a pure pleasure fight."
"Sigh, I can't do anything with you."
Yuuki Asuna shook her head helplessly and gripped the hilt of her sword, determination filling her eyes.
"In that case, let's get ready."
"Then it's the old rule."
A black gun-shaped summoner appeared in Asagiri's left hand.
He aimed it at his temple, his index finger gently resting on the trigger.
"March and Necro are responsible for providing long range support. Phantom, while assisting in offense, must also pay attention to protecting them both."
"Although we'll likely only face one monster, just in case, we still need to be prepared for all possibilities."
"Understood."
"Then..."
Golden light emanated from Asagiri's eyes as his index finger pulled the trigger.
"Begin, Persona, Human Asura."
"Come out, IBM!"
"Holy Genie Summon!"
Seeing Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yamauchi Sakura all call out the names of their abilities, looking cool with a hint of chuunibyou, Kato Megumi tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, then also called out in a gentle tone.
"Archer, position!"
Hearing Kato Megumi's adorable shout, the other four almost could not help laughing.
Kato Megumi making such a cute action with such a matter of fact and calm attitude was truly...
Very innocent and cute.
At the moment Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yamauchi Sakura unleashed their respective abilities, an unavoidable and obvious power fluctuation erupted.
Even with the presence reducing aura Kato Megumi had applied to them, it could not conceal the burst of power.
"Roar!"
The instant the power fluctuation erupted, a deafening roar suddenly came from the cave.
Immediately after, a beast entirely golden yellow, with demon-like horns, golden lightning flashing on its back, and moving on all fours, swiftly lunged out from inside the cave.
"Furious Rajang..."
Seeing the monster's tail, which was broken off at the root, and its entirely golden form from the moment it appeared, Asagiri immediately recognized it.
But...
"Thump, thump, thump!"
The Furious Rajang moved with extreme agility, rushing toward the dense forest where the five person team was hiding at an astonishing speed.
Facing its active attack, Asagiri and Human Asura, who had the highest presence and posed the greatest threat to the Furious Rajang, immediately met it head on.
The Rope Dart of Deathly Grievance instantly stabbed toward the Furious Rajang's head.
"Slap!"
The Furious Rajang possessed extremely fast reflexes and immediately raised its left palm to swat away the incoming Rope Dart of Deathly Grievance.
Then its right palm rose high and slammed down fiercely toward the Human Asura in front of it.
"Bang!"
The Human Asura's punch collided with the Furious Rajang.
The tall black figure remained motionless, while the Furious Rajang's robust body recoiled backward due to the terrifying force of the collision, almost losing its balance.
"Is that all it is?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, the Furious Rajang retreated several meters and vigilantly watched the Human Asura in front of it.
Then it suddenly threw its head back and let out a deafening roar.
The next second, several more golden figures darted out from the dense forest.
"Five in total..."
Looking at the five Furious Rajang, all with broken tails and golden fur on their backs flashing with electricity, Asagiri revealed a hint of an eager smile.
He slightly lowered his body, his eyes showing a desire for pure combat.
"That's more like it. Then..."
"Let the hunt begin."
.....
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