Chapter 200: Guarding Boss
Hearing Sakurakawa Rikka's words, Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko all remained silent, simply waiting for Asagiri's response.
A few seconds later, however, the words that came out of Asagiri's mouth startled them so badly that they instantly entered combat mode.
"Why are you lying? You don't have Main Tank-type abilities at all."
"You..."
Sakurakawa Rikka's eyes trembled slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke in a low voice.
"How did you figure that out? Do you have some kind of reconnaissance ability that lets you view other Players' data?"
Asagiri spread his hands and let out a light laugh.
"I guessed."
"Huh?"
Sakurakawa Rikka froze for a moment. Then a helpless smile, fleeting but genuine, bloomed on her beautiful face, which had previously shown almost no emotion.
"So you were baiting me. I didn't expect I'd fall for something so simple. Also... you left too strong an impression on me. Combined with the fact that you called out my name earlier, I subconsciously assumed you had some kind of ability that let you inspect Player data."
Faced with those faintly flattering words, Asagiri gave no reaction. He simply said,
"Still, your lie was meaningless. Since you claimed to be a Main Tank, then if the four of us are acting as a team, it's very likely... no, guaranteed that we'd put you in the front and make you take the most dangerous scouting position. I really don't understand why you would tell a lie that brings you no advantage."
"No advantage? Not necessarily."
Sakurakawa Rikka's smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and she returned to her usual emotionless calm.
"You said it yourself. The four of you are a team that trusts each other, while I'm an outsider. In that situation, if I take the initiative to walk in front, wouldn't that make all of you feel more at ease? And although my ability type isn't Main Tank, in this Dungeon... I should still be able to barely take on that responsibility."
"Then what is your real class type?"
"Healer."
The moment that answer left her mouth, Sakurakawa Rikka observed the expressions behind Asagiri and spoke quietly.
"Now you understand why I lied, don't you? If a stranger you don't know or trust suddenly says she's a Healer, a support type who needs protection, then even if you believe it on the surface, you'd still remain wary of me inside. In my opinion, that kind of atmosphere isn't helpful for breaking through Floor B1. So I lied."
"A support-type Healer? Yet you cleared Floor B2, and judging by your condition, you don't look seriously injured."
Hearing Asagiri's meaningful words, Sakurakawa Rikka calmly replied,
"You're Players too. You should know I can't reveal the details of my abilities. This is all I can say. Whether you arrange me as a Main Tank, treat me as a Healer, or choose not to cooperate with me at all, that decision is yours."
"Let's vote."
The moment Asagiri said that, Iwanaga Kotoko was the first to raise her hand.
"Let's cooperate."
Then she looked at Sakurakawa Rikka with ill intent, the corners of her lips curving upward.
"But she'll be the tank."
Kato Megumi nodded slightly.
"I agree with Necro."
Yuuki Asuna followed right after.
"Mm. Same here."
Although Yuuki Asuna was gentle and kind, she was not naïve.
The situation was obvious. Sakurakawa Rikka was dangerous. She needed to be watched, and she couldn't be fully trusted.
Since she herself claimed she could take on the role of a Main Tank, then let her tank. It wasn't as though they would simply believe her if she said she was a Healer and place her in the safest position.
In a proper formation, a support class like a Healer, someone without strong frontal combat ability, should stand at the rear with another support class, hiding behind the frontliners. And the other support class, obviously, would be Iwanaga Kotoko, the Warlock.
Entrusting their backs to Sakurakawa Rikka?
None of the four of them would make such a foolish choice.
"Alright, it's settled."
Asagiri looked down at Sakurakawa Rikka, who stood below them on the stairs, and said calmly,
"You'll be the Main Tank and walk in front."
"Okay."
Sakurakawa Rikka agreed first, then added,
"But I have one request..."
"He's not single!"
"Huh?"
Sakurakawa Rikka was completely baffled by Iwanaga Kotoko's sudden outburst. She had no idea why, out of nowhere, the other party had chosen to announce that this very handsome boy was not single.
Kato Megumi also looked puzzled, but Yuuki Asuna understood the joke at once and nearly burst out laughing.
Iwanaga Kotoko had clearly remembered the scene from their first meeting in the Hotel Dungeon.
Back then, she had been holding the staff handbook that contained the hotel layout and wanted to make a deal with Asagiri. The condition for that deal had been to ask whether he had a girlfriend.
Now that Sakurakawa Rikka had used a similar opening, Iwanaga Kotoko's instincts as a girlfriend immediately kicked in.
"You... really are a strange person."
Sakurakawa Rikka said that first, then turned back to Asagiri and continued the interrupted conversation.
"After we get out safely, I want to exchange information gathered in this Dungeon with you. You're a capable Player as well, so you should know that giving information to other Players doesn't affect your clearance rating. However, gaining information you did not already know from other Players can sometimes earn you additional points."
"Even if the information I have may not be equal in value to yours, and even if what I know may ultimately prove useless to you, I will still be acting as the team's Main Tank and taking on the risk of pathfinding. I think that request falls within a reasonable range."
Asagiri nodded and smiled.
"Mm, very reasonable."
...
Five minutes later, at the entrance to Floor B1.
Sakurakawa Rikka extended her right hand to the side. As her slender fingers slowly clenched, a long blade radiating faint violet light and a distinctly eerie aura emerged from the void.
Seeing that scene, Iwanaga Kotoko could not help frowning.
Wasn't she supposed to be a Healer? What kind of Healer used a longsword as a weapon?
Then again, upon further thought, it also made sense.
Sakurakawa Rikka was a solo Player. By this point, the second phase was already nearing its end, which meant she had likely gone through at least three or four Dungeons. For a solo Player to survive through all kinds of Dungeons, becoming versatile was only natural.
Among the four members of their team, only Asagiri was truly all-purpose and capable of handling nearly any situation. Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko herself all had their own strengths and weaknesses.
That was also one of the advantages of forming a team. Everyone could specialize in the direction most suited to them.
"I'm opening the door."
"Go ahead."
After getting Asagiri's permission, Sakurakawa Rikka cautiously pushed open the fire door with her left hand.
The current formation was simple. Sakurakawa Rikka in front, Asagiri second, Iwanaga Kotoko third, Kato Megumi fourth, and Yuuki Asuna guarding the rear.
Sakurakawa Rikka was smart enough to immediately notice that in this formation, the four of them had deliberately placed Iwanaga Kotoko in the safest central position. That alone was enough to tell her that Iwanaga Kotoko's frontal combat ability, or more precisely, her ability to deal with sudden danger, was the weakest among the four.
Once the fire door opened, what appeared before them was not a normal mental hospital floor at all, but an enormous hall paved with greenish stone bricks.
It was completely empty.
At the very center stood only a wooden chest wrapped in black cloth, with strange white symbols drawn across its surface.
"That thing is the source of the eerie aura."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's words, Asagiri stared at the ancient wooden chest in the distance. He didn't need her reminder. The moment the fire door opened, even he, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi, none of whom could normally sense eerie energy, felt a powerful, instinctive palpitation.
Their bodies were warning them. That box was dangerous.
Do not approach it.
But...
The direct elevator to the surface was right behind it.
"Wait."
Asagiri placed a hand on Sakurakawa Rikka's shoulder, stopping her from moving forward. Then he signaled Yuuki Asuna with his eyes to guard the fire door, making sure it would not suddenly shut behind them and trap them on this floor like some classic horror movie cliché.
Only after that did he raise the black gun-shaped summoner to his temple and pull the trigger.
"Persona, Human Asura."
After Human Asura appeared, it slowly advanced toward the direct elevator.
Everyone, including Sakurakawa Rikka, remained silent as they watched.
Human Asura's tall figure moved across the hall, its feet stepping onto the greenish stone floor without making the slightest sound.
Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter...
Less than half a meter away from the elevator, Human Asura finally reached the wooden box.
And at that very instant, the change began.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
A dull knocking sound suddenly came from inside the box, as though something trapped within was trying to break free.
Then, thick liquid, dark and sticky like fresh blood, began pouring out through the gaps in the wooden chest, rapidly spreading across the entire floor of the hall.
TL: Check out my newly released fanfic on my second account "FicLord"
Crossover Anime World: Reborn as Abe no Seimei
I didn't know that there's a limit on how many books you can publish here in webnovel
.....
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