Chapter 245: Proof of Strength

The moment he said that, Asagiri exchanged a glance with the man in the white suit.

Even though the two of them had never met before entering this Dungeon and had never spoken in private, they reached the same conclusion in that instant.

They had to control the situation.

If the Players were allowed to descend into a battle royale of mutual suspicion, then even powerful teams would become targets of fear. No, precisely because they were powerful, they would be feared by the others.

Trying to uncover the truth of the Dungeon and clear it while also guarding against every other Player present would be far too difficult.

Just then, the sleeve of a silent male Player slipped down, revealing a dagger.

A ferocious look flashed in his eyes. He shot to his feet and lunged straight for the neck of a female Player sitting at another table.

The next second, a dark red afterimage flashed past.

Then came the dull thud of a dagger and a severed wrist hitting the floor.

[Sword Skill...]

After severing the Player’s wrist, Yuuki Asuna did not hesitate in the slightest. In her full speed state, she immediately unleashed her strongest Sword Skill.

[Stardust Splash.]

Eight brilliant sword flashes streaked through the air, instantly shredding the Player’s body, along with the fleshy tentacles trying to burst out of his abdomen and escape, into minced fragments.

Only after Yuuki Asuna slowly sheathed Gleaming Light at her waist did most of the Players present finally react.

As they looked at the mysterious swordswoman in the dark red cloak, her face hidden behind equipment, expressions of shock appeared on their faces.

That was too fast.

From the moment the parasitized Player drew the dagger to the moment Yuuki Asuna killed him, not even two seconds had passed.

And Yuuki Asuna and Asagiri had been sitting at least ten meters away in a straight line from where the attack happened.

That speed was terrifying.

So Players of this level already existed at this stage of the game. They were practically playing in a completely different league from everyone else here.

"Has anyone here played Werewolf?"

Amid the silence, Asagiri suddenly spoke with a smile.

"Of course, it does not matter if you have not. The logic is simple. Among the Players gathered here, some have indeed already been parasitized. But I can confirm one thing. At the current stage, the number of parasitized Players is definitely far smaller than the number of normal Players."

"If we start attacking one another based on nothing but suspicion, then even if we happen to kill a few parasitized Players by chance, the final result will only be a huge reduction in the number of normal Players. By then, we will not even be able to hold meetings like this to discuss how to clear the Dungeon together."

"Do you understand?"

Hearing that, the two teammates of the Player killed by the man in the white suit, whose heads were still lightly pinned beneath Human Asura’s hands, wore terrified expressions.

One of them spoke in a trembling voice.

"But... but our teammate was not parasitized, so why..."

"Because he was brain dead and loved stirring up trouble. A pig teammate like that deserved it. Is that answer enough?"

Asagiri answered bluntly, without the slightest hesitation.

"Someone who contributes nothing to clearing the Dungeon, cannot think calmly, and only helps the parasites stir chaos, even if he himself was not parasitized, he would still only become a hindrance to the normal Players trying to clear this place. His death was his own fault."

"All of you have survived to the third stage. Do not say such childish things."

After saying that, Asagiri did not move at all, but the Human Asura behind the two Players vanished.

When those two looked up again, they were drenched in sweat.

Relief, fear, and gratitude all mixed together on their faces. Not only were they glad to be alive, they no longer even dared to look directly in Asagiri’s direction.

Only then did the atmosphere in the room ease slightly.

In truth, the most important thing that stabilized the situation was not the overwhelming force displayed by Asagiri or the man in the white suit.

It was Yuuki Asuna’s action.

If that parasitized Player had actually succeeded in killing a normal Player just now, then with the atmosphere as tense as it had been, even if the others feared Asagiri’s strength, they still would have chosen to leave immediately rather than remain in the same room as a possible parasite.

But Yuuki Asuna had shown them that even if a parasitized Player tried to seize the chance to attack, she had the ability to stop it instantly.

Once their sense of safety was guaranteed, the Players present were finally willing to remain seated and continue sharing information.

After Yuuki Asuna sat back down beside him, Asagiri swept his gaze across the Players present and spoke slowly.

"Alright, let us continue. Share what you have learned."

...

Fifteen minutes later, the Players had finished exchanging the information they possessed.

Around a dozen Players, just like Crazy Mita, had fallen into that illusion of sinking into the deep sea and seeing a vast field of red. The difference was that they had not heard the cries of the fleshy tentacles. They had simply been sitting quietly in their rooms when they suddenly fell into the hallucination.

Fortunately, their nearby teammates noticed something was wrong and forcibly pulled them back to their senses by various means.

After learning that, a new problem emerged.

Any Player who had fallen into confusion might already be parasitized.

After all, a parasite could simply pretend it had just been awakened, making it impossible to distinguish those who had truly recovered from those who had already been taken over.

Moreover, their teammates had already checked their phones, and when the eye icon APP was tapped, the same prompt appeared every time.

[The Player who owns this phone is not dead.]

The safest solution would naturally be to kill all Players who had fallen into confusion and eliminate the danger in advance.

But the problem was that those dozen or so Players belonged to different teams.

If it were confirmed that they had been parasitized, killing them would be one thing. But if they were executed purely on suspicion, panic would immediately spread through the entire group of Players and everyone would begin to feel unsafe.

Based on the current information, Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko initially judged that one of the conditions for parasitism was a collapse or disturbance in the target’s mental state.

That meant that once fear spread and Players began to panic, causing their emotions to fluctuate violently, it would only become easier for the parasites to choose their next targets.

Because of that, those Players who had fallen into confusion could only be placed under close watch for now. They could not be killed outright.

Other than the problem of parasitism, there was another urgent issue.

The rising temperature inside the Hotel.

When they first entered the Dungeon, the temperature inside the Hotel had been around twenty five degrees Celsius.

Now, after only four hours, it had already climbed to roughly thirty five.

As the temperature continued to rise, Players expended more stamina simply by moving, and they lost bodily fluids much faster as well.

If this continued, then even if they stayed motionless in their rooms, the drinking water currently available would not last until the seventy two hour time limit ended.

There was, technically, a solution.

Just like the last time Asagiri and the others had entered this Hotel, the water supply system was still functioning normally.

But...

Who would dare drink it?

And what exactly would happen if they did?

It was true that Iwanaga Kotoko could sense the aura of something strange, but when the parasite was hidden inside a human body, even she could not detect anything unusual.

So even if she sensed nothing wrong with the Hotel’s water, that did not mean it was safe to drink.

They had to solve the problem of how to distinguish parasitized Players and identify safe water sources.

Otherwise, as time passed, the proportion of parasitized Players would continue to rise, while the overall condition of the surviving Players would steadily decline.

At that point, lasting until the Dungeon’s time limit ended would become a joke. They might all be wiped out within forty eight hours.

Just as the Players were seriously considering what to do next, the man in the white suit suddenly spoke with a smile.

"Everyone, I actually possess an ability that can distinguish parasitized Players."

The moment he said that, many Players present who had been racking their brains over the problem revealed shocked expressions.

A faint smile surfaced in Asagiri’s eyes as well.

So the self proclaimed prophet had finally decided to reveal that he could identify the werewolves. Interesting.

"Since you have such an ability, then why..."

"My ability has a cooldown. I already used it once after the first danger period ended."

Faced with another Player’s question, the man in the white suit answered calmly.

"I can use it once every five hours. Obviously, I cannot verify everyone one by one. So at the next meeting, I will choose the one among the Players who have fallen into confusion that I judge to be the strongest and check that person first. If that person is confirmed to be parasitized, we kill them. If not, then at least that person will no longer need to remain under suspicion."

"What do you all think?"

"I think it is perfectly reasonable."

Asagiri immediately expressed his approval, speaking with a light chuckle.

"An ability like that makes things much easier. After all, no one wants to remain trapped in the uncomfortable situation of doubting their own teammates and staying on edge all the time, right?"

After hearing that, the Players present thought it over and found it hard to disagree.

Even if they were teammates, having to share a room during the danger period with someone suspected of being parasitized would naturally make anyone uneasy.

If there was a way to verify it, then that was naturally the best outcome.

"Oh, and there is one more thing."

Just when the other Players thought the meeting might finally end, Asagiri suddenly added with a calm smile.

"All Players who have previously fallen into a state of confusion will be separated from their original teams and gathered together onto a single floor to stay there."

.....

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

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