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

"Mita, aren't you afraid at all?"

Hat-wearing Mita tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled: "What are you afraid of?"

Before Yuuki Asuna could speak, Hat Mita said with a smile.

"Oh, I get it, but it's okay. As long as I have players around, I'm not afraid of anything~"

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

"Okay, okay, I know you like him a lot, so can you please stop emphasizing it?"

Asuna Yuuki really didn't know what to do.

Logically speaking, as Asagiri's official girlfriend, she should be jealous and unhappy to hear someone publicly professing love for her boyfriend, but the problem is...

Mita was originally designed as an NPC in a dating sim. To be honest, it was the four of them who trespassed on her territory, which led to this situation.

Asuna Yuuki looked at Mita, the cute and playful hat, who was swaying back and forth, and couldn't help but think to herself.

This dungeon was really tough...

96

Chapter 96 The secret passage inside the room.

"This guy probably can't talk, so continuing to torture him is just a waste of time."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but ask curiously.

How can you be so sure?

"Of course, I'm an expert in this area."

Kotoko Iwanaga raised her cane and pointed to the female ghost that Asuna Yuuki was holding, who had first been slapped by Asagiri and then hit by a baseball bat by Mita the Hat, whose eyes were still filled with resentment. She said calmly.

"Although this thing is considered strange, it's different from the ghosts and evil spirits we've encountered before. It's not a strange thing that the dead have transformed into, but rather... well, how should I describe it?"

"Simply put, it should be considered a kind of bizarre phenomenon. It is a curse that arises from the thoughts of certain people in an area that has been completely invaded by the bizarre. It has no consciousness and only acts according to pure resentment. It is impossible to communicate with it."

"It appears in this human-like form only for some reason, but it has never been human, just like the strange water that contaminated the hotel instance."

Upon hearing Kotoko Iwanaga's words, Asagiri nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"Oh, that's how it is."

The next second, the rope dart appeared in his hand, and he thrust the tip directly into the female ghost's forehead.

"In that case, give me some mental energy."

As the female ghost's body turned into a cloud of black mist and dissipated, Kato Megumi twirled the ominous dagger in her hand and looked at Iwanaga Kotoko.

"Is there any way to get through that long corridor outside?"

"It seems the only way to break through is by force."

Kotoko Iwanaga said thoughtfully, "However, we don't know where the source of the strangeness is. Moreover, judging from what just happened, there is a strange being in every painting hanging in the corridor. Not only are there many of them, but they are also quite powerful. If we force our way through... the risk is too high."

"Is there really such a difficult challenge...?"

Kato Megumi pursed her lips and tentatively asked.

"Could it be... that all the dungeons in the second phase are this difficult? Or is this particular dungeon just special?"

Asuna Yuuki frowned, deep in thought, her eyes revealing a conflicted expression.

"Without knowing the objective or providing any hints, how could such a terrifying corridor filled with evil spirits appear under these circumstances... How am I supposed to complete this level..."

"Calm down."

Just when everyone was at a loss and didn't know what to do, Asagiri walked to the front door of the living room, grasped the doorknob, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Given our team's capabilities, if a level appears that even we're not confident we can clear, it means that the level wasn't originally designed for players to pass, and..."

At this point, Asagiri opened the living room door. Outside was still the same long corridor filled with oil paintings, except that the oil paintings that had fallen to the ground were now hung on the walls on both sides.

He pointed to the oil painting closest to the gate and said calmly.

"Why did the warning only appear after Necro had walked ten meters? There was clearly something strange in the initial painting, so why wasn't a warning given from the beginning? In other words, why is there a ten-meter safety distance in this eerie corridor? What is this ten-meter safety distance for?"

"what do you mean……"

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Kotoko Iwanaga seemed to have thought of something and spoke to Asuna Yuuki, Megumi Kato, and Mita the Hat.

"Everyone come out."

Once everyone had come out and was standing in the corridor, Asagiri closed the door leading to the living room again. However, instead of turning around and walking deeper into the corridor, she opened the door in front of her again.

"Zizzizi..."

Accompanied by a slight crackling sound, what appeared before them was no longer the cozy apartment where Hat Mita lived, but a living room that, although similar in structure, was unusually dark, with the walls covered in large and small "I LOVEU" letters in blood-like dye, giving it a creepy feel.

"I see……"

Kotoko Iwanaga observed the living room inside the door, muttering to herself as she sensed whether there was any strange aura present.

"Is it only possible to get to this place by walking up the corridor, closing the door, and then reopening it...? No wonder there's a ten-meter safety distance and a warning about the oil painting falling and breaking on the ground. It turns out it's a reminder that there's a dead end ahead."

Kato Megumi asked curiously upon hearing this.

"Since there was a notification, does that mean that although the system's app can't be opened, the difficulty of this dungeon has still been assessed by the system, and it's not a hopeless dead end?"

Asuna Yuuki nodded firmly: "That must be it. Since the system has given us the option to enter this instance, it can't be a dead end."

Then, she spoke again.

"Moreover, the system has actually already given us a hint."

"hint?"

"Yes, the lack of prompts and the inability to open the app are actually a kind of prompt."

Asuna Yuuki looked at the adorable hat Mita, who was still swaying there, and spoke softly.

"Although we haven't met the Mita with the pigtail hairstyle yet, based on the information provided by this Miss Mita, all the 'Mitas' are programs in the game. Considering the strange phenomena we encountered before entering the dungeon, and the fact that the app on our phones couldn't be opened after entering the dungeon, the Mita with the pigtail hairstyle must have the ability to interfere with our phones in some way, or even directly block the function of the app on our phones."

"So that's it..."

Kato Megumi nodded as if she understood, her eyes flickering as if she were thinking about something. After a few seconds, she looked up, met Asagiri's gaze, and said softly.

"However, according to Miss Mita, only Leader's real name has been exposed, so..."

At this point, Kato Megumi suddenly stopped, only glancing at Asagiri. After seeing the latter nod, she immediately understood.

"Okay, let's stop the analysis here."

"Just right."

Listening to the discussion among the group, Kotoko Iwanaga, who had been observing the area inside the door, spoke softly.

"I sensed it roughly, and there was no strange aura in this room, but we can't let our guard down. After all, I can only sense strange things, not other types of enemies. Anyway, let's go in first."

The formation remained the same, with Asuna Yuuki leading the way, followed by Kotoko Iwanaga and Megumi Kato. Asagiri stood shoulder to shoulder with Hat Mita. This wasn't to create opportunities for the two, but rather because Asagiri was the strongest, and if Hat Mita tried anything, he would be the first to notice.

After entering the house and closing the door, the group searched it roughly and found that apart from the dim lighting and the strange bright red lettering on the wall, the furniture and furnishings were similar to those in Hat Mita's room, except that it lacked items like the electric guitar that represented her personal attributes.

"Huh? How could this happen..."

Hearing Hat Mita's puzzled mutterings, Asagiri asked.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"This shouldn't be happening..."

Hat Mita looked adorably puzzled, and even her habitual shoulder-shaking motion stopped.

"Logically, there should be a corresponding Mita in each room. There shouldn't be two Mitas, but there should also be a corresponding Mita. Judging from the furnishings of this room, it should definitely be Mita's home, but here... why isn't there a Mita?"

Asuna Yuuki asked tentatively.

"Is it possible that it ran away to somewhere else?"

"probably not."

Hat Mita shook her head and moved closer to Asagiri.

"Before meeting Mr. Player, I never had any thought of leaving. After all, our job at Mita is to wait for players to arrive, so it's unlikely that this situation would occur."

"So, Mita, who was supposed to be in this room, defied the program and left on her own...?"

Hearing Asuna Yuuki's mutterings, both Megumi Kato and Kotoko Iwanaga had the same thought in their minds.

Could the owner of this house be Mita, the one with pigtails who seems mentally unstable?

Just then, a faint sound suddenly rang out from inside the room.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

Asuna Yuuki's expression changed, and she immediately took out her exorcist sword and held it in her hand. After listening carefully for a while, she frowned slightly and said.

"The sound seems to be coming from the direction of the bedroom."

"I'll go take a look."

Kato Megumi volunteered, activated her talent effect, and then walked towards the bedroom.

After observing carefully, she turned to look at Asagiri and the others.

"There shouldn't be any danger; the sound is coming from inside the wardrobe."

"Wardrobe?"

Asuna Yuuki entered the bedroom, and just as Megumi Kato had said, there seemed to be something in the wardrobe that was making a slight vibration.

"Get ready to open the door."

"it is good."

Kato Megumi walked to the side of the cabinet and gently placed one hand on the metal handle of the wardrobe.

Meanwhile, Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki were not idle either. One of them was staring intently at the wardrobe, preparing to activate her skill "Cursed Gaze," while the other held an exorcist's longsword, ready to stab at any moment.

Asagiri was the most outrageous. He took out the sniper rifle, released the safety, raised it, put his index finger on the trigger, and aimed it at the wardrobe. If any monster or something jumped out, he would let it experience what a "carbon-based life cooling-off period" was like.

However, when Kato Megumi pulled open the right half of the wardrobe door from the side, what appeared before everyone was not an enemy or any kind of creature, but a dark gray metal door hidden deep inside the wardrobe.

"This is... a secret passage?"

97

Chapter 97 Mita, imprisoned in the basement.

"What should we do, Leader? The knocking seems to be coming from behind the iron gate."

Upon hearing Asuna Yuuki's question, Asagiri stared at the iron gate, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Megumi Kato.

"Phantom, how are you? Are you able to continue using your abilities?"

"no problem."

Kato Megumi nodded without hesitation.

She has a clear understanding of her role in the team: an assassin who roams around looking for opportunities during battles, and a scout who uses her talent to gather intelligence for the team when exploring unknown areas.

Kato Megumi had no complaints about this; on the contrary, she was very happy to play such an important role.

As for the potential risks of exploring the route?

As a team composed of "players," each member bears corresponding risks. For example, Asuna Yuuki always stands in front of everyone to ensure that she can buy enough time for Asagiri and Kotoko Iwanaga when any crisis occurs. Kotoko Iwanaga is responsible for perceiving and reasoning about strange phenomena, while Asagiri, as the team leader, is the team's reliance in times of crisis and is the one who decides how to clear the dungeon.

Everyone is taking risks, and Kato Megumi doesn't want to be the kind of person who's just carried along and gets through the game.

"call……"

Kato Megumi took a few deep breaths, then held them, and went into the wardrobe. She gripped the doorknob with her left hand and slowly turned it open, while holding the ominous dagger in her right hand, ready to fight at any moment should she be discovered by the enemy.

After the iron gate was opened, what appeared in front of Kato Megumi was a narrow passage leading downwards.

As she took a step forward, Asagiri followed, ensuring that Kato Megumi remained within her line of sight so that she could immediately activate the skill "Casting" should any unexpected situation arise.

Kotoko Iwanaga, Mita the Hat, and Asuna Yuuki stayed in the bedroom of the house.

"Dang...dang...dang..."

As Kato Megumi and Asagiri walked down the path one after the other, the rhythmic clanging of metal grew clearer in their ears.