A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

Asuna Yuuki stared at Kotoko Iwanaga, who was smiling, and asked with some doubt.

"I have a feeling you're up to no good. You wouldn't be thinking of launching a night raid while Asagiri is sleeping at your house, would you?"

Kotoko Iwanaga shook her head seriously.

"How could that be? I'm not that kind of person."

Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes and said irritably.

"These words don't carry any credibility coming from you, but I don't care if Asagiri agrees."

Asagiri looked at Kotoko Iwanaga and asked with a light smile.

"If I enter the instance from your home, can you guarantee absolute safety?"

"Don't worry, it's absolutely fine."

Kotoko Iwanaga patted her chest and solemnly assured him.

"Besides, my bed is big and soft, and it feels so empty and lonely sleeping alone~"

Asagiri nodded slightly and replied without hesitation.

"Okay, then let's all sleep together."

Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki were both stunned upon hearing this.

"what?"

Kato Megumi didn't even look up, just kept playing with her phone and said in a flat tone.

"If there's a legitimate reason, I don't mind."

"Kato-kun, don't just calmly agree with what this guy says!"

Yuuki Asuna gritted her teeth, crossed her arms in front of her chest, adopted a defensive posture, and glared hatefully at Asagiri.

"Four people sleeping together... Don't talk nonsense here. Kotoko's house has more than one room!"

"Look at what you're saying. I'm not doing this for my own selfish desires."

Asagiri explained in a serious tone, "Sleeping separately is of course no problem, but what if someone sneaks into my room at night and is discovered by the others among you? Wouldn't that easily cause a scene? I made this sacrifice as the leader to avoid conflicts within the team and its eventual disintegration."

"You even sacrificed yourself?"

Asuna Yuuki sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

"Besides, who would sneak into your room at night..."

Just as she was speaking, Kotoko Iwanaga interrupted her with a serious expression.

"Hard to say."

"Please, both of you, be serious for once, okay?"

Asuna Yuuki was almost laughing in exasperation. She turned her gaze to Megumi Kato and asked the newly joined team member for help.

"Kato-kun, you also think that sleeping separately is the normal choice, right?"

Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki call her name, Megumi Kato put down her phone, looked up, and said thoughtfully.

"Um... I'm fine with anything."

"What can I do...?"

Looking at the overly calm Kato Megumi, the Iwanaga Kotoko who was always saying absurd and strange things, and the somewhat abstract Asagiri who, although a trustworthy leader, always had an unpredictable personality and style of doing things, Yuuki Asuna felt very heavy.

In this four-person team...

It seems like she's the only one who's considered normal...

……

Tuesday evening, in the living room of the castle-like mansion where Kotoko Iwanaga lived.

"Let's reiterate the important points before we officially enter the instance."

Asagiri looked at Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna in front of her and slowly began to speak.

"Based on our current information, the difficulty of the first phase of the dungeon will definitely not be too high. After all, most players are just average. So, the dungeon we are going to enter this time, like the hotel last time, must have been balanced in terms of difficulty. It is the kind of dungeon that even players who have only cleared the newbie dungeon can have a chance to clear."

"If that's the case, then there are three possible types of zombies in the instance. The first type is that if you get scratched or bitten, you will be infected with the virus and die, and then be transformed into a zombie, but it will be slow-moving and won't even be able to run."

"The second type is those that act quickly, and there may even be special infected individuals, but you will not die from the virus if you are injured by them."

"The third type is slow-moving and will not spread the virus if scratched or bitten. Given the current difficulty of the dungeon, this is the most likely type and poses the least threat."

"Of course, there are other differences such as hearing sensitivity, vision sensitivity, and smell sensitivity, but the most fundamental and important difference is whether or not one will be infected with the virus due to being scratched or bitten by a zombie."

Kotoko Iwanaga nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"Hmm... While the first type seems easier to deal with, it leaves no room for error. If possible, I'd prefer the second or third type. Besides... I've been researching zombies online these past few days. Strictly speaking, these fictional beings are just moving corpses, right? It's hard to say whether my 'Cursed Gaze' will be effective against them..."

"In short, passing the mission is definitely not a problem for us. The key is how to achieve a high level of clearance rating."

Asagiri looked at Kato Megumi and said with a smile.

"If the zombies in this instance are the type whose perception is at the same level as normal humans, or even not very sharp, then Kato, your special talent will come in handy."

64

Chapter 64 The Chemical Reaction of Presence.

"Um……"

Kato Megumi, with an ambiguous expression, sighed softly and replied gently.

"Although I will definitely work hard, if I am given too high expectations, even I will feel some pressure and trouble."

Although Kato Megumi's words expressed her stress and distress, her gentle tone and reassuring voice made it impossible for anyone to feel any negative emotions.

"It's alright, Kato-kun."

Asuna Yuuki patted Megumi Kato on the shoulder, offering a gentle smile of comfort.

"Your unique talent is amazing. As long as you are more confident, you will definitely be fine."

Kato Megumi tilted her head, her eyes sparkling, and said softly.

"That's true... Well... I'll try my best, and hopefully I won't let you down."

"Oh right, Kato-kun, you didn't forget to bring your gym clothes, did you?"

"Yes, I've brought it. Look."

Kato Megumi took out a set of sportswear from her sports bag, stood up, unfolded it, and displayed it to Asagiri and the others.

"This set should work, right?"

Asuna Yuuki looked at the outfit that Megumi Kato had brought. It was a very ordinary style, with only light green and white colors. It looked like an unremarkable tracksuit, and she remained noncommittal.

"Well... it's possible, but how should I put it... it's rather ordinary..."

"Huh? Really? Wouldn't it be better to keep it ordinary?"

"It's not that it's bad, it's just..."

Compared to Asuna Yuuki, who seemed hesitant to speak, Kotoko Iwanaga was straightforward and spoke with a smile.

"After all, that's just the kind of person Kato is. Her plain sportswear perfectly matches her low-profile nature and her talent for minimizing her presence. It's just fine."

Kotoko Iwanaga's statement is correct.

Kato Megumi's unique talent is indeed very powerful, but if her talent were given to any of the other characters such as Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, or Yuuki Asuna, the effect would not be as strong.

After all, these three people have a very high presence, which has nothing to do with their appearance, but mainly their temperament... no, it should be said that it is a matter of aura.

Especially Asagiri and Kotoko Iwanaga, these two are the kind of people who can immediately attract the attention of those around them as soon as they appear, even if they don't say a word or do anything. They are extremely high-profile figures. If you gave Asagiri and Kotoko Iwanaga the talent to reduce their presence, at most you could only bring their presence down to the level of ordinary people. It would be impossible to achieve an effect like Kato Megumi, who is almost invisible.

This also confirms that the exclusive talent awakened by a player must be most compatible with the player's own characteristics, and there will never be a situation where the talent is mismatched with the player.

Kato Megumi sighed with a hint of melancholy and said softly.

"Even I feel a little sad when people say I have a low profile..."

Upon hearing Kato Megumi's words, Yuuki Asuna didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only look at Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko and change the subject.

"You two... you're not planning to go into the dungeon dressed like this, are you?"

Kotoko Iwanaga's outfit today was similar to her usual attire: a white, puffy dress with a light blue wool coat, a white beret, white knee-high socks, and a pair of delicate white round-toed leather shoes. The entire outfit could only be described in two words.

gorgeous.

In contrast, Asagiri's outfit was much more normal: a sports jacket from a luxury brand, a plain short-sleeved shirt underneath, sweatpants, and high-top sneakers. All the clothes were black, which was actually quite understated, but on him, it still made him look too handsome and eye-catching.

"Of course."

Kotoko Iwanaga raised her hand to adjust her beret and replied confidently.

“I usually wear this kind of clothes, and I’m used to it. If I suddenly changed into sportswear, I would feel very inconvenient.”

"Ugh……"

Asuna Yuuki sighed softly, then looked at Asagiri.

"how about you?"

Asagiri smiled, but instead of answering directly, she asked a question in return.

"Yuki-kun, have you ever read a sports manga called Kuroko's Basketball?"

"I haven't read it. I'm not interested in comics."

"It's okay if you haven't read it. I'll just summarize it for you. There's a main character in that manga named Tetsuya Kuroko. His special skill is to exert influence in the game through sudden passes by using his weak presence. His talent is similar to that of Kato."

Asuna Yuuki nodded as if she understood, then asked in confusion.

"Hmm... and then? Does this have anything to do with what we were just talking about?"

"Of course."

Asagiri explained very seriously.

"In that manga, there is another character who can also be considered a main character, named Kagami Taiga. Unlike Kuroko, he has an extremely high presence. As soon as he enters the game, even if he doesn't catch the ball, he will attract the attention of the opposing players. Therefore, he and Kuroko are the best partners."

Upon hearing this, Asagiri immediately understood what he meant and exclaimed in realization.

"I see... In other words, as long as you and Iwanaga are both very high-profile people, Kato, who already has a low profile and can further reduce her profile by activating her special talent, will be even less likely to be noticed by others? I see... I didn't think of that."

"of course."

Asagiri said in a serious tone, "So, Kato joining our team is simply a match made in heaven. It's like Wu Song being invincible on foot, Lin Chong being unmatched on horseback, and Lin Chong riding Wu Song – an invincible combination."

……

Half an hour later, the moment the time displayed on the phone screen jumped to twelve o'clock, all four phones simultaneously emitted a notification sound. The eye icon app on the screen also displayed text introducing the dungeon and a ten-minute countdown.

Asagiri took out her phone and began reading its contents.

The location for this instance is: a post-apocalyptic abandoned city.

The time limit for this instance is ten hours.

The objective of this "player's" mission is: either survive until the time limit expires, or go to "Ren'ai Hospital" to obtain the antibody reagents stored in the hospital.

[Instance Public Notice: Please be aware of your surroundings at all times]

[This is a special reminder because you received an A- or higher rating in the last dungeon run.]

[Special Note: You will receive a detailed map of the city after officially entering the instance.]

"My special hint is a city map, what about yours?"

Because Kato Megumi only received a C-rank completion rating when she entered the dungeon last time, she didn't receive any special notifications this time. So, although the team had four members, there were only three special notification messages this time.

Upon hearing Asagiri's question, Asuna Yuuki immediately replied.

"The special hint I received is that there are special infected in this dungeon with high agility and speed. If I kill them, I can gain double the speed and agility boost through my exclusive talent."

Kotoko Iwanaga then replied, "The clue I received is that there are wandering spirits in that 'Ren'ai Hospital,' and it's possible to obtain valuable information from them."

"These three special tips aren't repeated this time... This is really good for players like us who always get an A- or higher rating."

Asagiri said this first, then added in a flat tone.

"This instance is different from the previous ones, giving two different mission objectives. Since the word 'or' is used, it means that players can complete the instance regardless of which objective they achieve. Simply put, surviving for ten hours in a city with a large number of zombies is obviously much easier than actively searching for the antibodies stored in the hospital. But from my and Violet's newbie instance, this game likes to use this kind of psychological tactic to instill fear in players."