Chapter 234: Hotel

"Hotel, huh..."

Asagiri looked at Kato Megumi sitting across from him, then turned to Yuuki Asuna beside him.

"Do you both feel the same way?"

"Mm. Hotel is probably the better choice."

After Yuuki Asuna agreed, Kato Megumi also nodded at once, her tone as calm and gentle as ever.

"I agree too. After all, I’m an archer, and I’m still not very skilled with shooting. If the place is too narrow, I might accidentally hit you with an arrow."

Asagiri chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.

"It’s fine. Even if you accidentally shoot me, I’ll just shoot back later."

"Even though I don’t fully understand what you mean..."

Kato Megumi glanced indifferently at Yuuki Asuna, whose face had already turned red, and at Iwanaga Kotoko, who looked eager enough to say Shoot me, shoot me, then let out a soft sigh.

"That was a dirty joke just now, wasn’t it?"

Asagiri shrugged with a smile.

"So, try not to accidentally hurt me..."

Before he could finish, Kato Megumi said something shocking in her usual understated tone.

"Then should I consider intentionally injuring you by mistake, so Asagiri kun has an excuse to do something dirty to me?"

Yuuki Asuna looked utterly stunned. Even Iwanaga Kotoko, who usually loved saying outrageous things herself, raised a hand to cover her lips, her deep purple eyes full of surprise.

"Megumi... so you’re a carnivore too. I really underestimated you."

"Since everyone agrees, then it’s settled. We’ll choose [Hotel]."

After confirming the registration for the Dungeon corresponding to the keyword [Hotel], Asagiri took out his [Cursed Rope Dart] and idly swung the metal chain as he smiled.

"It’s only a little past eight right now. Even if we enter the Dungeon at midnight, we still have at least three hours. So how about we..."

Iwanaga Kotoko immediately blurted out the answer, her purple eyes shining.

"Have a round?"

"I don’t mind."

Asagiri answered first, then walked over to Iwanaga Kotoko and stroked her light blond curls with a smile.

"But with your physical condition, if we really did that, you probably wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed for a while, right? For the sake of staying safe inside the Dungeon, we should hold back a little."

"Ah... okay then."

Iwanaga Kotoko sighed in disappointment at first, then clenched her fair fists and declared with absolute determination,

"Then after we clear this Dungeon, we have to do it big!"

"You two are getting more and more abstract..."

Yuuki Asuna complained helplessly, then a worried look appeared in her eyes.

"I wonder whether Ashikaga sensei’s first Dungeon will go smoothly..."

During this period of time, both Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi had often trained under Ashikaga Miwa. They had naturally grown attached to this female teacher who seemed stern and rigid on the surface, yet occasionally showed them genuine care and kindness. It was only natural that they worried about her safety.

"No need to worry about her."

Asagiri walked over to the floor to ceiling window and looked out at the night view. Then he turned back, the lights of Shibuya’s night skyline illuminating him as he spoke slowly.

"Have you ever considered that, because of the appearance of the Game, many hugely profitable industries are going to be born in the real world?"

He looked at them and continued,

"For example, the system itself doesn’t provide any official way for Players to trade with one another. Equipment like Asuna’s [Exorcist Longsword], which is already somewhat expendable to us at this stage, would still be worth a fortune to most Players. But right now, we have no proper channel to sell or exchange it."

"Oh?"

Iwanaga Kotoko rested her cheek in one hand, clearly deep in thought.

"You mean that once demand exists, the corresponding industries are bound to appear. So Ashikaga sensei wants to take advantage of this opportunity to build up her influence in the real world?"

Asagiri gave a slight nod.

"Exactly. And that’s not all. There’s also the need for channels to broker cooperation between Players and important figures in the real world, the phones of dead Players, information networks, Player team formation, and everything else. None of that has formally taken shape yet."

Yuuki Asuna thought it over seriously, then hesitated.

"But if all the industries you mentioned really start developing, then... won’t the social order eventually be affected?"

"No need to worry about that."

Asagiri waved a hand and answered calmly.

"The number of Players seems large, but what proportion of the total human population do they actually make up? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? Not to mention, not every dead Player’s phone will be taken by another Player, and even when it is, the person who takes it might only be after the items or equipment inside. Compared to the entire population of the world, Players are still a tiny minority. And as the Game continues, that ratio will only drop further. This isn’t a spiritual energy revival. It’s just a very small group of people gaining special abilities."

"Judging from what we know so far, Players are actually closer to fighters. Both possess extraordinary power that ordinary people can’t match, but neither are strong enough to truly do whatever they want in the real world. So their future development will probably follow the same path as fighters. Major figures in different circles will use the strength of their Players to demonstrate the power they possess, and they’ll resolve disputes through matches instead of causing large scale chaos."

"However, Ashikaga Miwa isn’t an ordinary entrepreneur."

At that point, Asagiri’s tone shifted slightly.

"Unlike someone like Oko, she isn’t afraid to personally enter Dungeons. In fact, she’s probably looking forward to it. She’s the type who actively pursues exciting battles. And if she gains enough strength inside the Dungeon, it’ll also make it much easier for her to build up her own Player faction later. That is Ashikaga Miwa’s ambition."

He paused briefly, then smiled.

"So don’t be fooled by her usual cold and rigid image. Ashikaga Miwa is far from an ordinary middle aged woman. Otherwise, she would never have reached her current status and influence."

Iwanaga Kotoko fixed her eyes on his face and smiled faintly.

"You already discussed all of this with Ashikaga sensei, didn’t you? The strongest Players at the current stage cooperating with a martial noble family that holds real world power, lacks neither courage nor boldness, and can fully trust each other... You’ve already thought through not only the strength of Players, but also the future development of the real world."

"Originally, I didn’t care much about any of that."

Asagiri leaned against the window, looking at Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi sitting there, and said softly,

"But now, there are people I absolutely have to protect."

Looking at Asagiri’s figure under the brilliant city lights, and the smile on his handsome face, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi all felt their hearts stop for a moment.

As expected...

This guy really is a succubus.

...

Later that night, at the moment the clock hands crossed midnight.

[Player Utsunomiya Asagiri is now entering the Dungeon.]

[This Dungeon location is: ??? Hotel]

[This Dungeon time limit is: seventy two hours]

[Current Player objective: Survive]

[Public Hint: Please do not act alone. Please do not remain alone inside any Hotel room. When the carpet in the corridor gradually turns red, immediately enter a guest room, close the door, fasten the security chain, and remain silent.]

[Special Hint: With your current mental strength, you may be able to look through the peephole, but please be careful of what you see.]

Once the viscous red mist before their eyes dissipated, Asagiri and the others found themselves inside a room that looked like a Hotel guest room.

"Hmm..."

Already used to the process of entering a Dungeon, Asagiri immediately began observing the surroundings.

The layout appeared to be that of a luxury Hotel suite. Past the entrance was a small living room, while a sliding wooden door separated the living room from the bedroom. Although the room itself was not overly large and the bedroom only contained a single large bed, the presence of a separate living room in a king room was enough to show that this was a relatively high end Hotel.

Right after that, Asagiri walked to the door and looked outside through the peephole.

Through the peephole, he could see that the corridor floor outside was covered with a patterned wool carpet. The carpet was only light yellow and white, without a trace of red.

After confirming that, Asagiri turned back toward Yuuki Asuna and the others.

"The carpet hasn’t turned red yet, so this shouldn’t be dangerous time. We can talk for now."

"That’s good."

Yuuki Asuna nodded first, then glanced around at the familiar room layout and exchanged a look with Iwanaga Kotoko. Both of them had already arrived at the same conclusion.

"This is the same Hotel we’ve been to before."

During their investigation in that previous Dungeon, both Iwanaga Kotoko and Yuuki Asuna had entered rooms in that Hotel. They were already familiar with the layout of its king rooms.

"Let’s share our special hints first, as usual."

"Okay."

Iwanaga Kotoko’s special hint was the same as Asagiri’s.

Yuuki Asuna’s special hint was:

[Please do not remain in close contact with "them" for too long.]

Kato Megumi’s special hint was:

[Carefully investigate the corridor carpet. You may discover something unusual.] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"One of the special hints was repeated this time..."

After listening to everyone’s hints, Iwanaga Kotoko sank into thought and murmured to herself,

"Seventy two hours inside the Dungeon. That’s longer than the previous ones. Why? Why is the time limit fixed at seventy two hours? Is it because the Game has already entered the third phase? Why is there no clear goal for Players to complete like there was in Kyozan Mental Hospital? Time... this is an unusual factor, and it’s worth paying attention to."

.....

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

[[email protected]/FanficLord03]