Chapter 210: The First Red Epic Equipment

"Mm, that makes sense."

Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko nod so earnestly, as if deeply convinced, Yuuki Asuna said crossly,

"Oh, please. Anything Asagiri says sounds reasonable to you."

"Shouldn’t it?"

Iwanaga Kotoko replied righteously, full of momentum.

"As the boyfriend of the great Princess of the Youkai, of course he’s always right!"

Hearing that, Asagiri asked curiously,

"What if my opinion differs from yours?"

Iwanaga Kotoko stood up, put her hands on her hips, and declared,

"Hmph hmph, then there’s only one solution. A hearty battle! Whoever wins, the other obeys!"

Yuuki Asuna frowned slightly and looked at her with suspicion.

"For some reason, I feel like the battle you’re talking about isn’t a proper one."

"No need to feel."

Iwanaga Kotoko waved her hand confidently.

"It’s definitely not a proper battle. What’s the fun in a proper battle?"

"You’re really bad at it, yet you love to play."

Asagiri teased her before asking,

"What about you? What reward do you want to customize?"

"Hmm..."

Iwanaga Kotoko raised a hand and rubbed her fair chin. After thinking seriously for a while, she answered with a smile,

"I’ll choose armor type equipment. The negative effect of my exclusive talent is gone now, so I can finally equip armor. As the most fragile member of the team, I need to improve my defense. Only then can I avoid dragging you down and support you properly in battle."

After all four of them had decided what kind of custom rewards they wanted, Kato Megumi took out her phone, opened the eye icon app, and entered the type and quantity of rewards she wanted.

[Confirmed reward types: Weapon (Ranged), Skill]

[Obtained: Bloodstained Nightingale Bow (Bow type weapon, Purple quality), Sniper]

[Bloodstained Nightingale Bow: An entirely black bow crafted from ebony and infused with strange magic, capable of damaging spiritual bodies. Every time it hits the same target, the arrow’s power increases further. This bow does not require the user to carry arrows, as a quiver that replenishes automatically will appear.]

[Sniper (Passive Skill): Greatly increases accuracy and power when using ranged weapons.]

"A purple weapon. Not bad."

Asagiri sat down beside Kato Megumi, took her phone, glanced at the reward details, and smiled.

"The power increases every time it hits the same target. If you use it against a boss with absurd defense, the effect should be excellent..."

Halfway through speaking, Asagiri looked up, only to see Kato Megumi resting her chin in both hands and staring at him quietly. Her cute face was so close that they could practically feel each other’s breath.

"You really are very handsome."

Hearing Kato Megumi’s flat, matter-of-fact compliment, Asagiri smiled and asked back,

"What, are you cosplaying a mirror? Every time I look into one, it says the same thing."

"Hmm... isn’t that just called narcissism?"

Kato Megumi tilted her head, then stood up, patted down her clothes, and said softly,

"You must all be hungry, right? I’ll go make dinner first."

"Wait, I’ll come too..."

"No need, no need."

Seeing Yuuki Asuna also about to stand, Kato Megumi waved her hand and smiled gently.

"You used a lot of energy in the Dungeon, so just rest. I didn’t expend much physical or mental energy, so I’ll handle it."

Watching Kato Megumi walk into the kitchen, Yuuki Asuna’s eyes flickered. Then she spoke.

"Then I’ll go after I draw my reward. I’ll help her afterward. There’s no way I can let her cook alone."

Iwanaga Kotoko eagerly raised her hand, saying excitedly,

"I want to cook too, I want to cook too. Asagiri still hasn’t tasted my cooking."

"You can cook?"

"A little."

Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko’s confident reply, Asagiri asked tentatively,

"And may I ask what, exactly, does ’a little’ mean?"

"Hmph."

Iwanaga Kotoko crossed her arms over her chest, lifted her delicate chin, and said proudly,

"I know what a kitchen knife looks like!"

"What!?"

Asagiri widened his eyes in shock.

"A kitchen knife!? That’s a divine artifact only legendary three star Michelin chefs have even the slightest chance of seeing. And you actually know what it looks like!? Incredible!"

"Hehe, this is the broad knowledge of me, the God of Wisdom!"

"As expected of the God of Wisdom. Truly wise!"

Seeing the two of them putting on such an exaggerated act, Yuuki Asuna sighed and held her forehead.

"Can you two stop staging a play here? Seriously, both of you are chuunibyous."

After complaining, Yuuki Asuna also picked up her phone and entered the reward type she had chosen into the eye icon app.

[Reward selection confirmed.]

[Obtained: Significant enhancement of physical attributes.]

After receiving the reward, Yuuki Asuna’s physical rating finally changed from [Excellent (overall stats at the level of a professional athlete, with Speed, Reflexes, and Agility close to human limits)] to [Outstanding (overall stats close to human limits, with Speed, Reflexes, and Agility surpassing human limits)].

Although the panel displayed it that way, in actual combat, as long as Yuuki Asuna remained in a high speed state, the passive effect of [Class Flash Blade] would further enhance her entire body, to the point where she could even rival Asagiri in his Human Asura enhanced state.

"Alright, I’m going to help Megumi cook."

After getting up, Yuuki Asuna left. Then Iwanaga Kotoko also entered her custom reward choice.

[Reward selection confirmed. Would you like to add the accessory type equipment Sorcerer’s Ring to the prize pool in order to increase the quality of obtainable equipment?]

"Oh? This is the first time I’ve seen a prompt like this."

Iwanaga Kotoko first showed the notification on her phone to Asagiri, then tapped confirm.

The Sorcerer’s Ring was a Purple quality accessory. Its effect was to consume mental power and create a light green curse attribute shield around the wearer. The shield continuously drained mental power while active, and its strength scaled with the user’s mental power.

When she had first obtained it, the ring had indeed been useful. At the time, she had no real defensive means. But things were different now.

She could now create barriers with Black Particles. Aside from attacks with anomalous attributes, the defensive power of Black Particles was far superior to the shield generated by the Sorcerer’s Ring. And with the exclusive talent [God of Wisdom of Youkai], it was already difficult for cursed beings to actively target her. With Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi around, it was even less likely.

So at this point, the Purple quality Sorcerer’s Ring was no longer especially valuable to her.

[Obtained: Garment of Phantom (Red Epic Quality)]

[Garment of Phantom: Armor type equipment that can transform into any form the wearer desires. While worn, curse attribute resistance is greatly increased, and resistance against mental attacks is greatly increased. Once every twenty four hours, the wearer may activate [Phantom], entering a Phantom state for up to one minute. While in Phantom state, the wearer is immune to all forms of attack and may move freely, but cannot attack enemies or use skills. Phantom state may be ended early.]

"Oh... Red Epic quality equipment..."

Iwanaga Kotoko muttered to herself at first, then suddenly her dark purple eyes widened in disbelief.

"Red Epic quality equipment!?"

She was so excited that she jumped straight off the sofa, ran to Asagiri, cupped his face in both hands, and kissed him hard. Then she ran toward the kitchen while waving her phone and shouting,

"Asuna! Megumi! I got a red! I got a red!"

Watching Iwanaga Kotoko leap around in excitement, Asagiri shook his head and reminded her with a smile,

"In ancient times there was Jin passing the imperial exam. Today there’s Kotoko pulling a red. Don’t get too excited and faint from happiness."

Right after that, Asagiri took out his phone, opened the eye icon app, and entered his own reward choices.

[Confirmed reward type and quantity.]

[Obtained: Blood Burst, Holy Cross]

[Blood Burst: Burns the user’s blood to greatly enhance all physical functions for five minutes.]

[Note: After Blood Burst ends, the user enters a weakened state and physical abilities are reduced. Recovery time depends on the user’s own recovery capability.]

[Holy Cross: Consumes mental power to create a blazing Holy Cross that deals divine and fire attribute damage. Damage is doubled against anomalous enemies.]

"A body enhancement skill and an offensive skill with a divine attribute. Not bad. Considering it was only an S rank, this is about what I expected..."

Halfway through speaking, Asagiri suddenly saw another line of prompt information appear on his phone.

[Because you led the action to annihilate the enemy Black Watch in this Dungeon, a special reward is being issued. You may choose one active skill you possess and upgrade it.]

"Upgrade a skill, huh..."

Asagiri murmured to himself, then made his decision without any hesitation.

Among the active skills he currently possessed were offensive skills like Cold Frost Spear and Holy Cross, as well as reinforcement skills like Blood Burst. But none of them were especially critical. Whether he had them or not would only affect the means available to him in battle.

The truly strategic skill, the one that could fundamentally change the team’s tactical possibilities, was the skill that had been with him the longest.

[Confirmed upgrade target: King’s Gambit.]

.....

[If you don’t want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 Chapters ahead on P@treon.]

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