Chapter 353: "World" Class Player
Kuroki Gensai watched Utsunomiya Asagiri, who stood unscathed beneath the lights.
The hem of his black trench coat fluttered gently in the breeze. Aside from a small piece of his black mask being broken, there was no sign at all that he had just gone through an intense battle.
Kuroki Gensai collapsed heavily to the ground.
"I have lost."
Kuroki Gensai, Kanoh Agito, and every spectator present could all tell one thing.
Utsunomiya Asagiri had gone easy on them.
This so-called going easy did not mean he had not given his all.
It meant he had not chosen the smart way to fight.
With both Kanoh Agito and Kuroki Gensai on guard, it would have been difficult for Utsunomiya Asagiri to lift them directly into the air. He could not deal with them the same way he had dealt with Kure Raian.
But during the fight, he could have easily flown into the air, whether to buy time to rest and catch his breath, or to strike directly from above with Ice Spears.
Kanoh Agito and Kuroki Gensai, who lacked flight capabilities, would have had no way to deal with him.
However, he had not done that.
He had not even summoned his Persona.
He had simply engaged the two of them in close combat, making no attempt to defend, attacking with full force until the very moment the victor was decided.
From the perspective of a Player, this was not a wise choice.
But as a martial artist, this was definitely more satisfying.
"The winner... Ashikaga Budo Association Team A, Shadow!"
Hearing the announcer's declaration, the spectators in the stands immediately erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
"Seeing a scene like this, the ticket was worth it even if I died!"
"He really is the strongest Player. Taking on three people at once and still winning without a scratch!"
"In that case, the Ashikaga Budo Association swept the top three in this tournament? They really are the strongest Player faction in both name and reality."
"With the Ashikaga Budo Association around, life in Tokyo will be much safer."
Meanwhile, in the waiting room, the Shijo Family representative team, who had actively requested to fight Utsunomiya Asagiri and been eliminated in the first round, watched the screen in silence.
"I'm telling you..."
Shijo Maki pointed at the close up of Utsunomiya Asagiri on the screen, looking at the part of his cheek revealed by the damaged mask, and spoke thoughtfully.
"Why do I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?"
"You feel that way too?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned slightly and murmured,
"I also feel like he's somewhat familiar... By the way, didn't you say there was someone in the Ashikaga Budo Association's Team C who felt familiar to you?"
"Yeah. That warrior who uses a longsword and longbow, and that pink haired one. I find both of them very familiar..."
Shijo Maki pursed her lips, contemplation appearing in her eyes as she spoke softly.
"I keep feeling like that warrior looks a lot like my great aunt..."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Eriri was shocked and instinctively said,
"There are elderly Players in this Game? Your great aunt is pretty robust."
Shijo Maki fell silent.
"...My great aunt is the same age as me."
"Your family tree is..."
"You two should have seen my great aunt too."
Shijo Maki looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri in front of her and said calmly,
"The Student Council President of Shuchiin Academy, Kaguya Shinomiya."
"Kaguya Shinomiya..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha recalled the scene when she met Kaguya Shinomiya at the gate of Shuchiin Academy last time. After a few seconds, she shook her head.
"I seem to remember her, but my impression isn't very deep."
"Huh?"
This time, it was Shijo Maki's turn to let out a confused sound.
"How is that possible? Did you see the real person? Although I don't like her, she is a very capable person, and her appearance is outstanding. Not to mention that noble young lady aura of hers. She's the type of person you can never forget once you've seen her. How could your impression not be very deep?"
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha brushed her long black hair and spoke calmly.
"I only remember that Vice President from your school, Utsunomiya Asagiri. He's really an infuriating guy."
"Eh..."
Hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, Shijo Maki suddenly discovered a blind spot.
"Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case... My great aunt usually has a very strong presence, but when that Utsunomiya-san is present, she seems to deliberately restrain her aura. How should I put it... there's a feeling that she gets pushed into the background?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha listened to Shijo Maki's description and frowned slightly.
"Could it be that Kaguya Shinomiya has feelings for that Utsunomiya Asagiri..."
"Exactly! That must be it!"
Shijo Maki suddenly stood up, clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth.
"It must be because my great aunt lost to that guy in the exam, so she feels humiliated. Whenever she's with that guy, she's enduring humiliation every moment. Hmph... although I don't care much for the so-called dignity of the Shinomiya Family, the Shinomiya Family is still the main branch of the Shijo Family. It seems my great aunt's honor must be reclaimed by me, Shijo Maki!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was stunned after hearing this.
Holy crap, a genius!
You're crazy!
What kind of bizarre train of thought was this?
Normal logic would suggest that Kaguya Shinomiya had different feelings for Utsunomiya Asagiri, so when she was with him, she acted differently than usual. That should be the answer, right?
How did it suddenly turn into humiliation and dignity?
Was the way these high class young ladies thought always this peculiar?
That evening, at Iwanaga Kotoko's home.
"Phew... the tournament is finally over."
Yuuki Asuna picked up her teacup and took a sip of black tea from the white porcelain cup. She let out a sigh of relief, then looked at Utsunomiya Asagiri and asked,
"By the way, when you were fighting Kuroki Gensai and Kanoh Agito today, did you activate Human Asura Mode? Isn't the limit for Human Asura Mode fifteen seconds? How were you suddenly able to maintain it for two minutes?"
"People grow."
Utsunomiya Asagiri spread his hands and explained with a smile.
"Although my physical fitness hasn't improved significantly compared to when I first entered Human Asura Mode, my proficiency has improved a lot. How should I explain it... simply put, I can now distribute my stamina consumption better while in Human Asura Mode. You could call it energy saving."
He paused slightly, then continued,
"And although from your perspective, it looked like I maintained Human Asura Mode for two full minutes, in reality, I was constantly switching it on and off. I activated it when attacking and defending, then deactivated it whenever there was an opening, making sure every second of Human Asura Mode wasn't wasted. That's how it worked."
Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi exchanged glances.
Both of them knew very well that while the principle Utsunomiya Asagiri explained sounded simple, the difficulty was absurdly high.
Not to mention the extremely high proficiency required to seamlessly switch states during battle, the key point was that one had to judge the battle situation with absolute precision.
He could not miss any gap where he could rest, and he also could not misjudge a gap and end up taking an attack while Human Asura Mode was deactivated.
To accomplish such a thing in an intense battle against two top tier combat Players like Kuroki Gensai and Kanoh Agito, both of whom possessed terrifying physical ability and combat skill, was simply unbelievable.
It was just as Miwa Ashikaga had said.
Utsunomiya Asagiri possessed monster level talent as a top combatant.
"Then, it's time for the fourth stage Dungeon, right?"
"Yeah."
Hearing Kato Megumi's words, Utsunomiya Asagiri nodded and smiled.
"We've had enough rest time. It's time to get to work."
Immediately afterward, Utsunomiya Asagiri took out his phone, opened the app with the eye icon, and tapped the button to confirm participation in the Dungeon.
As usual, dark red mist formed several keywords corresponding to the Dungeon theme.
[Infection]
[Night]
[Island]
But this time, after the three dark red keywords, another line of text appeared.
It was bright red like blood, and the font seemed to flow slowly like liquid.
[You have become one of the representative Players of this world. Your authorization has been upgraded from "Advanced" to "World".]
["World" class Players can know in advance the Dungeon keywords for the current stage in the world they are in, and can choose Dungeons in their own world. The rules for clearance scoring and rewards are the same as Dungeons in other worlds.]
[The world keyword this time is: "Hunt".]
"Huh? A Dungeon conducted in our own world?"
Seeing the new prompt on Utsunomiya Asagiri's phone, Iwanaga Kotoko muttered to herself while pondering.
"The advantage of conducting a Dungeon in our own world is that it's a home game. We can also know the specific clearance goals of Players from other worlds, allowing us to predict their movements. On top of that, we can obtain important information about our own world."
She paused briefly.
"As for the disadvantages... there don't seem to be any. Although we need to be careful not to reveal our true identities, even if we are exposed, given the official attitude and Ashikaga-sensei's power, they can help us destroy all evidence and even cover it up using the excuse of a natural disaster."
"The benefits are obvious, but why did the system upgrade our authorization?"
Utsunomiya Asagiri put down his phone and spoke calmly.
"Is it because the actions we've taken, and the power we now possess, made the system realize our value? Is conducting a Dungeon in our own world meant to protect us? Or is it guiding us to increase our influence over this world?"
Kato Megumi also raised the question in her mind.
"Since you've become a World class Player, could there be Players with the same authorization in other worlds?"
"That is indeed a worrying question..."
Yuuki Asuna frowned tightly, worry appearing in her eyes.
"Not to mention other worlds, but if Blackwatch also has World class Players, then Players going to their world for Dungeons will face a siege from Blackwatch. The risk of going to other worlds for Dungeons is much higher than before."
Hearing the various questions raised by Utsunomiya Asagiri and the others, a thoughtful look appeared in Iwanaga Kotoko's deep purple eyes.
Finally, she slowly spoke.
"If it were merely a matter of solving a difficulty somewhere in the world, then we, as Players conducting the Dungeon, would be in the same position as those Players from other worlds. If that were the case, why not enter the Dungeon normally?"
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"Since the system granted this authorization, it can only mean one thing."
Utsunomiya Asagiri nodded slightly and spoke softly.
"Starting from the fourth stage, Players from different worlds will evolve into a hostile relationship that will not end until one side is dead."
.....
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