"A mandatory dungeon will open in twenty-four hours. Players, please prepare…"
Looking at the message that popped up in the notification bar, Natsuki clicked his tongue lightly, feeling quite calm, as it was about time for a dungeon to appear.
What needed to be done now was…
Natsuki took out his phone and sent messages to all the girls.
"Mandatory dungeon incoming! Danger! Come quickly!"
"…"
An hour later.
The girls gathered at Natsuki's house: Kaguya, Hayasaka, Yukino, Chika… Even Miko and Momo came, not a single person was missing.
"President, President." Marin's voice was clear, "Is a new dungeon about to open?"
"That's right." Natsuki nodded, "I just received the news a short while ago. The dungeon will open on time in twenty-four hours… Now there are only twenty-three hours left."
Tsubame said softly:
"Time is tight, we need to start preparing now."
Since the dungeon content couldn't be known in advance, various preparations had to be made in advance for unforeseen circumstances. Basic survival necessities like fresh water and food had to be replenished. Unless absolutely necessary, no one dared to eat food from inside the dungeon.
Besides that, there were many other miscellaneous things to prepare, and the most troublesome was the communication issue.
It's important to know that after players enter a dungeon, they don't necessarily spawn in the same location. In previous dungeons, there were even situations where identities and appearances were disguised, and they had to carefully identify each other… The primary task upon entering a dungeon was to quickly group up.
Of course, if you were a lone wolf player, it didn't matter; you could do whatever you wanted.
"How about the Mind Potion?" Chika raised her right hand and suggested, "Yesterday I heard the President say that he obtained a new potion formula that can achieve long-distance telepathy."
Ever since Marin pulled her into playing Tetris at the hotel, secretary Chika had been hiding at home, unwilling to see anyone.
Fortunately, Chika was ultimately good-natured and broad-minded. After all these days, she finally 'cooled down' and gradually put the events of that night behind her… What was done was done, and regretting it was useless, but she would never play the same game again!
Yukino was very calm, her voice clear and cool:
"Does the new potion have any side effects?"
Upon hearing the words 'side effects', the expression on Kaguya standing quietly beside them clearly became a bit unnatural.
Natsuki glanced at Kaguya, understanding.
It seemed the 'body swap' side effect had been eliminated… What a pity, it wasn't fully enjoyed.
"I don't know." Natsuki shook his head, saying casually, "I experienced it once before, and no side effects have been found yet. For more detailed information, you'll have to ask the Strange Tales Management Bureau."
"Well, whether there are side effects or not, a potion that allows long-distance telepathic communication is super effective." Haruno rested her right hand on her chin, smiling sweetly, "And even if there are side effects, they won't be permanent. Compared to its value, it's completely acceptable."
Sayu nodded in agreement:
"Haruno-nee is right."
Juju hesitated:
"But isn't the success rate of the potion very low? Won't we run out of time?"
Natsuki looked at Juju and said gently:
"Don't worry, we can just entrust the potion matter to the Strange Tales Management Bureau."
His free contribution of the potion formula was entirely an act of increasing their foundation and benefiting the public, and naturally, there would be corresponding rewards. Free and unlimited potion supply was one of the Strange Tales Management Bureau's returns.
After discussing the items and tools each person needed to prepare, there was still one important matter: Copy and Paste skills.
Natsuki said:
"First, tell me what skills you want to Copy and Paste, then come over one by one to Copy and Paste."
"Me, me, me." Chika was the first to raise her right hand, her voice clear, "I want Kaguya-chan's Dark Shadow skill."
Marin followed, raising her hand:
"I want Hanamori-chan's transformation ability."
As of today, everyone had mastered more and more skills. Natsuki even mastered two Golden Skill-level skills, but 'Copy and Paste' remained the true core skill, without a doubt.
Clearly, hoarding had long been outdated; skill sharing was the true trend.
After noting down all the skills the girls wanted to Copy and Paste, Natsuki took a deep breath and said:
"Deep Blue… Evolve!"
"…"
After completing the Ozaki Eight challenge, Natsuki gained a limited skill called [Evolution] which had a cooldown of a full twenty-four hours. Now it came in handy.
[Exclusive Limited Skill: Touch of Destiny]
[Attribute One: Give it to me! You can seize destiny from a target through physical contact, including basic attributes, health points, basic skills, etc. The seized power will disappear within a certain period of time.]
[Attribute Two: What's mine is yours! You can share the power of destiny with others through physical contact. The shared power will rapidly deplete when the target uses it.]
[Please note: Skills have priority levels. When the target's skill exceeds the priority of Touch of Destiny, you will not be able to seize the opponent's skill power.]
At this moment, after the skill evolved, it was still called by this name, but the skill color turned light gold, and at the same time, new evolution effects appeared.
[This skill has evolved, gaining additional skill effects.]
[Good Fortune in Threes: During evolution, skills you Copy and Paste can be used three times, and the skill duration will be extended. Please note, skill cooldown will not reset.]
[Shared Destiny: Designate a target, and both parties' destinies will be bound. You will share all abilities with this target, excluding exclusive skills, title skills, equipment skills, and Golden Legends. At the same time, all damage received will be split equally between both parties.]
[Destined Person: Following the guidance of destiny, you will cross space and instantly appear beside your destined person. Please note, prerequisite conditions must be met to unlock Destined Person.]
[Note: Evolution effects can last for sixty minutes.]
The skill description was long-winded, but in summary, it was actually very simple…
"Tsk, isn't it just stronger, more lasting, and more uses?"
Momo folded her arms across her chest, summarizing it with a few concise words.
"Strong, stronger…"
"More lasting…"
For some reason, upon hearing the summary, a delicate blush quietly crept onto the faces of several girls.
Moeha, however, was still puzzled and asked curiously:
"Eh, why is your sister blushing?"
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Chika's pretty face flushed, and she couldn't help but cough. Seeing her companions cast subtle glances, she was instantly ashamed and wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Fortunately, at this moment, Haruno smiled and helped change the subject:
"Well, aren't there also the Destined Person and Shared Destiny abilities… Natsuki, who do you want to bind as your Destined Person?"
"Stare—"
As soon as she finished speaking, the girls all turned their heads in unison and looked at Natsuki.
"Cough, cough…"
This time it was Natsuki's turn to cough, and as he coughed, a slight cold sweat even appeared on his forehead.
After being a scumbag for so long, Natsuki had a deep understanding of one truth:
No girl could be generous enough to share her boyfriend with others.
Not a single one.
Although everyone tacitly accepted Natsuki's harem due to their bonds transcending life and death, saying that the girls wouldn't be jealous or envious of each other was like believing Israel would hand over the Gaza Strip tomorrow.
In simple terms, it was one sentence:
It's not scarcity but unevenness that causes trouble; this has always been the way to disaster.
No matter who he chose at this moment, a terrible crash would occur!
"Whoosh…"
Natsuki took a deep breath, and as his mind raced, he had already thought of a way to 'save his dog life'.
What was his greatest advantage?
It was being open and aboveboard, being upright, being… being shameless and unprincipled.
So…
"To me, all of you are more important than my own life." Natsuki looked around at the girls in front of him and said with conviction, "My palms and the backs of my hands are both flesh; I truly find it difficult to choose, so you should vote yourselves."
"Ptooey~"
"Shameless!"
"Damn scumbag!"
"…"
Natsuki's shameless behavior was quickly met with unanimous condemnation from the girls, who fiercely called him 'shameless and lewd' and 'the ultimate scumbag'. However, the risk of a disaster was safely averted.
As for being scolded… To be honest, Natsuki didn't care at all.
He was already a scumbag, and he had long declared his goal of 'I want them all'. Letting everyone scold him to vent their anger caused no damage to his self-esteem whatsoever.
In Natsuki's opinion, those hypocritical acts of being a slut and putting on airs were even more despicable.
Enough of the chatter.
After the girls finished their verbal assault, seeing that Natsuki's face was as thick as a city wall and showed no signs of shame, they all snorted lightly, temporarily reined in their sullenness, and began to discuss who was most suitable to be bound as the 'Destined Person'.
After some discussion, it was finally decided by majority vote to have Chika bound as the 'Destined Person'.
Seize and Eliminate Evil was an old-school combo skill, and even today, it was still super practical. The skill combination of Sheep Transformation Technique and Pickpocket could also be used in various ways.
The process of Copy and Paste skills needs no further explanation.
After Natsuki bound Chika as his 'Destined Person', the instant teleportation mark was successfully activated. Clearly, 'Destined Person' indeed had a hidden condition of 'intimate contact'. If he hadn't taken advantage of Chika during the global challenge, it would have been very difficult now.
With all the miscellaneous matters handled, Natsuki still wanted everyone to stay and eat together, but unfortunately, the girls all refused and left together. Before long, Natsuki was left all alone.
Natsuki took out his phone and called Mitsui to pre-order Witch Potions. To activate the telepathy effect, the potion drinker also needed to provide a drop of fresh blood. Haruno and Yukino had pre-ordered, and Marin and Sayu, as well as Juju and Shoko, also wanted potions, so he had to prepare in advance to avoid running out of time.
After finishing the call, Natsuki was thinking about his afternoon schedule when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Natsuki curiously opened the door and saw a black-haired girl standing at the entrance, smiling charmingly.
"Haruno-nee?"
Natsuki looked past Haruno, realizing that only Haruno had come. He asked curiously:
"Did you leave something behind?"
Haruno smiled:
"I accidentally said something wrong just now, I came to apologize."
"Apologize, huh?" Natsuki's expression darkened. He turned and said, "Come in, let's shower first."
"Eh, eh, eh?"
Haruno's pretty face quickly flushed, and she hurriedly called out to stop him:
"Wait, wait a minute…!"
"What's wrong?" Natsuki stopped, turned to look at Haruno, and said with a burning gaze, "Haruno thinks showering after is better than showering before?"
"Of course, it's showering beforehand!" Haruno couldn't help but retort, "Otherwise, it's too unhygienic… Wait, not today. We're about to enter the instance. Natsuki-kun should be conserving his energy and focusing his mind right now…",Speaking of which, Haruno's pretty face flushed slightly, and her voice also lowered, "Let's talk about it after we clear the instance and come back."
Natsuki said meaningfully, "This is Haruno-nee's personal promise. You can't go back on your word then."
Haruno's bright eyes glared at him.
"Yukino and I have already been completely devoured by Natsuki-kun. It's too late to go back on it now, isn't it?"
Natsuki picked up his teacup and took a sip, saying, "Then what did Haruno-nee come here for?"
"I told you, it's to apologize," Haruno sat down naturally, extending both hands to gently massage Natsuki's arms. "Of course, there's also a small matter."
Natsuki glanced over, "Speak."
Haruno smiled brightly, leaning in close to whisper in his ear, her breath like orchids, "It's been several days since the last mana replenishment, and we don't know what the situation will be like in the instance, so… Natsuki-kun, can you help me replenish mana beforehand?"
Natsuki's face stiffened, and he reached out to pinch her, saying, "Haruno actually called me little?"
"Ah…"
Haruno gasped lightly, her pretty face quickly turning red. While pleading pitifully for mercy, her voice became melodious, "I was wrong, Natsuki-kun, please forgive me~"
"…",Half an hour later.
"Natsuki-kun, I'm going back now~ If it's too late, Yukino will definitely get suspicious."
After replenishing her mana and successfully gaining some basic attributes, Haruno was content and ready to leave.
"Wait a moment," Natsuki called out to Haruno, reaching out to take something and hand it over, "Here, this is for you."
"Eh?"
Haruno took it curiously, her beautiful eyes lighting up, "Instance Exemption Card? Natsuki-kun, are you really giving this to me?"
Natsuki nodded and said, "If you encounter an inescapable danger, Haruno-nee, remember to use it immediately… However, there aren't many Exemption Cards, so not everyone can have one. After Haruno takes it, don't tell anyone else."
The Instance Exemption Card, once used, allows immediate escape from an instance. It is truly the best life-saving item in an instance, even rarer than skill cards. Most people are unwilling to part with it; once obtained, it is definitely treated as a precious treasure to be kept at the bottom of a box.
Natsuki wanted to acquire them, but he couldn't. Even asking the Strange Tales Management Bureau for help yielded no results. So far, he only had a few cards, all of which were rewards from completing real-life Strange Tale missions.
Simply put, it's impossible for everyone to have an Instance Exemption Card, so how to distribute them becomes a problem, and a huge one at that.
It's not scarcity but inequality that causes trouble; this has always been a recipe for disaster since ancient times.
But keeping these without using them is meaningless, so after much thought, Natsuki decided to secretly give the Exemption Cards away… The recipients were naturally the girls he worried about the most.
For example, Haruno, Juju, and so on.
"Thank you, Natsuki-kun~"
Haruno's beautiful eyes sparkled. She stood on her tiptoes, about to kiss him.
Natsuki took half a step back to dodge, saying, "Remember not to tell anyone… You can leave now."
Haruno puffed out her cheeks, unhappy, "Natsuki-kun is so mean. I just rinsed my mouth."
Natsuki waved his hand, "Even rinsing won't do. Hurry up and go."
Haruno's voice was aggrieved, "Sure enough, once boys have had their fill, they no longer cherish you."
When you say that, please touch your conscience, who was it that devoured whom just now!
After Haruno left, Natsuki had a simple lunch, then changed his shoes and went out.
First stop…
"Juju, are you home?"
Natsuki took out his phone and sent a message.
Juju: "…We're going into the instance tomorrow, and you still want to do that kind of thing!!!"
Natsuki: "Don't misunderstand, today is serious business. I just want to give you something good."
Juju: "Go away, I don't want your smelly stuff!"
Natsuki: "…"
This conversation can't continue. I said it was serious business, why are you always thinking wildly!
"Anyway, you'll know when you come down," Natsuki said. "See you downstairs at your place in twenty minutes."
Juju: "It's so hot, I'm not coming downstairs."
"…",She said she wouldn't come downstairs, but when Natsuki arrived at the apartment building, Juju was already standing in the shade downstairs, on her tiptoes, eagerly looking forward.
"Juju-sama, good afternoon."
Natsuki walked forward with a smile.
Juju's small face was flushed, and she glared at him angrily, unable to help but retort, "We're going into the instance tomorrow, and you still want to do that kind of thing… Let's talk about it after we clear the instance!"
Natsuki said faintly, "In Juju's eyes, am I someone whose head is only filled with perverted thoughts?"
Juju crossed her arms over her chest, a look of disdain on her face, "Hehe."
"I told you, you misunderstood," Natsuki sighed, taking out an Instance Exemption Card and handing it over, "Take this."
"Eh?"
Juju reached out and took it, her beautiful eyes quickly widening.
"Take the Exemption Card. If you encounter an inescapable danger, remember to use it," Natsuki reminded her. "All in all, safety first. Exemption Cards are limited in number, so remember not to tell anyone else."
Juju held the Exemption Card, her slender eyelashes trembling slightly, "You came all this way just to give me an Exemption Card?"
Natsuki said earnestly, "That is natural. We're entering the instance tomorrow, so besides ecchi, I naturally have to consider your safety."
Upon hearing this, Juju immediately felt ashamed.
Stupid Natsuki was serious for once, and she actually doubted him…
At this moment, Natsuki continued, "So, is your sister home?"
Juju's beautiful eyes widened, "Why are you asking if my sister is home?"
Natsuki shamelessly said, "If your sister isn't home, I'd like to come up for a cup of tea."
Juju: "…Die!"