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

"What exactly is the difference between these so-called mega-dungeons and previous dungeons? Does it refer to a large number of players entering, a large dungeon map, or both?"

"Based on our current understanding of the system's patterns..."

Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, a complex look in her beautiful orange eyes.

"The system will not give players tasks that allow them to fight against each other, nor will it allow players to enter dungeons where they are certain to die, or set goals that are too difficult to complete. Just as Asagiri once said, this game is not meant to torture players, but to select players who meet certain criteria to achieve certain goals."

"The game's system usually doesn't interfere too much with players' behavior, but this time it defied that rule and actually sent out this notification just when we were about to sign up for the dungeon."

"So, in that massive instance with the keyword 'hunt,' there are certain difficulties that we must overcome... No, there's another possibility."

Asuna Yuuki raised her head, looked at Kotoko Iwanaga and Megumi Kato in front of her, and Asagiri with a relaxed expression, and slowly began to speak.

"The system not only gathered our team through Morning Mist, but also those who may exist and have been recognized by the system as high-level players. If they register before Thursday, they will receive the same notification. It is even possible that on Thursday, the system will send a notification to all high-level players, hoping that they can enter that super-large instance."

"A dungeon that we hope all high-level players will participate in?"

Upon hearing this, Kato Megumi frowned slightly, her face showing concern.

"Could it be... that the difficulty of clearing the dungeon is exceptionally high?"

"That depends on how you define difficulty."

Upon hearing Kato Megumi's words, Asagiri responded calmly.

Does the greater the number of players entering the same instance, the easier it is to clear the instance? Not necessarily.

"The hotel instance that Asuna, Kotoko, and I once entered is a case in point. Two foolish players drank the hotel's water and were cursed by the source of the anomaly, turning into time bombs that could explode at any moment. If Kotoko hadn't had the ability to sense the aura of the anomaly and discovered that the two people had been invaded by it, it's hard to say what would have happened next."

"Furthermore, it's impossible for players who don't know each other to trust each other completely and start some kind of so-called cooperative dungeon clearing just because they've entered the same dungeon and have the same goal. Since it's unlikely that players can cooperate to clear a dungeon, simply increasing the number of players entering the dungeon won't affect the difficulty of clearing it, unless..."

At this point, Asagiri paused slightly before speaking softly.

"Unless this instance is the kind that doesn't require player cooperation, or where the difficulty is reduced simply by having enough players, even without them cooperating, it might be like a faction battleground in an online game. Even though players usually engage in PvP, in the battleground, all players will prioritize clearing the instance and fighting against enemies from the other faction. So the more players there are, the fewer enemies each player will face, which is itself a form of cooperation."

"That……"

Kato Megumi asked tentatively.

"Should we participate in a super-large dungeon?"

"Not participating."

"what?"

Seeing the somewhat surprised expressions on the faces of Kotoko Iwanaga, Megumi Kato, and Asuna Yuuki after hearing her say she wouldn't participate, Asagiri chuckled and spoke.

"After analyzing this for so long, if it's really as I speculated, and we high-end players were invited by the system to attract enemies in the super-large dungeon, making it easier for ordinary players and giving them a chance to clear it, then aren't we being used as tools? What do the lives of those ordinary players have to do with us? If we're brought in a bunch of useless players, it's like we're drawing all the firepower so they can clear it? I'm not a saint, of course I'm not going."

"It seems that's really the case."

Kotoko Iwanaga nodded in deep agreement.

"Besides, we can register today. If we wait until Thursday, we'll waste five whole days. The system hasn't even explained the rewards clearly, so it's not worth taking such a big risk. Let's think about which of the three keywords—inn, fog, and village—to enter..."

Just as Kotoko Iwanaga was speaking, a notification sound and a line of text popped up on Asagiri's phone, which was on the table.

If you register again on Thursday and enter the super-large dungeon, the cooldown time for you and your friends will be reset. You will not need to wait seven days. After clearing the super-large dungeon, you can immediately register for the next dungeon.

"Heh, you're trying to pull this on me?"

Asagiri picked up her phone, looked at the line of dark red text on the screen, and shook her head with a smile.

"We're not allowed to rest and recuperate after clearing the dungeon? And we're supposed to sign up immediately? Stop making empty promises. If you're going to come, give us something concrete."

Asagiri raised her head and glanced at Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Iwanaga Kotoko in front of her before speaking calmly.

"Although you gave me the hint, you just assumed that I and the others would definitely enter the same instance. You actually want all four of us to participate in the super-large instance, right? You only need to pay me the reward to bring in four high-level players with considerable strength. Are you playing the cost-effectiveness game with me here? I'm not asking for rewards like skills or equipment, because even if I wanted them, you probably couldn't give them to me. So my request is very simple: let Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato advance to the same level as me as high-level players."

After a brief silence of a few seconds following Asagiri's request, the phone beeped again as a new line of text appeared.

[After clearing the super-large dungeon, players Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato will be promoted to Advanced level, in addition to the rewards corresponding to their clear rating...]

Before the system's font could even finish appearing, Asagi interrupted him forcefully.

"Promote now without clearing the level."

A few seconds after he finished speaking, the phones of Asuna Yuuki, Megumi Kato, and Kotoko Iwanaga all rang simultaneously. When they took them out, they found that it was a notification popped up by the eye icon, and the content was almost exactly the same.

[Player Asuna Yuuki/Kotoko Iwanaga/Megumi Kato, you have been promoted to a Senior Player and have obtained the corresponding Senior Player privileges.]

Upon seeing the notification that popped up on their phone screens, Asuna Yuuki, Kotoko Iwanaga, and Megumi Kato exchanged bewildered glances.

What just happened?

Asagiri threatened the system, and then the system promoted the three of them to advanced players?

Isn't this a bit too outrageous?

Asagiri noticed the shock of Yuuki Asuna and the others, and chuckled as she spoke.

"What's so surprising? Haven't you figured out something yet?"

Asuna Yuuki asked curiously, "What is it?"

"We have a cooperative relationship with the game's system, and the system of this death game needs us more than we need the system."

Asagiri said that first, and then whispered.

"Based on our past dungeon experiences, our power does not come from the game's system. The things that this death game system can accomplish are extremely limited. It can't even transmit information directly to our minds. Instead, it has to use a mobile phone as a medium. Crazy Meta can even block its information prompts, which confirms this point."

"The system of this death game needs players, especially excellent players like us, to achieve certain goals, such as fighting against other worlds or eliminating certain beings in certain worlds."

"Since it's a cooperative relationship, if they want us to do certain things, they should offer corresponding and satisfactory conditions. As a game system, it may not be able to reward us with power, but it can still grant privileges to high-level players."

"Anyway, let's set registration for Thursday and enter the super-large instance on Saturday. Does anyone object?"

Seeing that neither Yuuki Asuna nor the others objected, Asagiri stood up and waved her hand.

"Alright, let's call it a day."

"Ok?"

Seeing that Iwanaga Kotoko hadn't said anything, Kato Megumi asked with a hint of curiosity.

"At a time like this, given your personality, shouldn't you be saying something like, 'Let Asagiri sleep at your house,' or 'Let her share a bed with you'? Why are you so silent today?"

"Forehead……"

Kotoko Iwanaga was at a loss for words.

How am I supposed to answer that? Should I tell the truth and tell Kato Megumi that I was almost exhausted by Asagiri last night and this morning, and that I have no energy left and just want to go to bed and rest?

He encountered the goddess of the harem by chance, and despite his best efforts and every trick in the book, he could not defeat her.

21

Chapter 21 The Yuki Family's Ascent.

The following morning, on the second floor of an upscale coffee shop in Tokyo's Ginza business district.

Ashikaga Miwa picked up her coffee cup, took a small sip, then looked at Asagiri sitting opposite her. As she took off her gold-rimmed glasses and took out a handkerchief from her bosom to wipe them, she said in a low voice.

"You really know how to cause me trouble, making me accompany you to meet your girlfriend's mother, and..."

Ashikaga Miwa paused for a moment, put her cleaned gold-rimmed glasses back on, then adjusted the frames and slowly began to speak.

"Isn't this seating arrangement wrong? You and I should be sitting together, Yuuki-san should be sitting opposite you, and her mother should be sitting opposite me. That's how it should be, isn't it?"

Just you wait and see.

Asagiri smiled, picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. The bitter taste of the black coffee without sugar or milk made him frown slightly.

"It was determined to be far inferior to iced cola."

"Then why do you insist on drinking black coffee? I'm used to drinking black coffee, but you're... trying to act mature in front of your girlfriend's mother? This isn't like the person I know..."

Just as Ashikaga Miwa was speaking, she saw Asagiri push aside the black coffee in front of her, then take out a can of iced Coca-Cola, open it, take a big sip, and then let out a sigh as if she had grasped the true meaning of life.

"As expected, it has to be Coca-Cola."

Ashikaga Miwa: "...As expected of you."

Just then, footsteps came from the stairs, followed by Asuna Yuuki's somewhat nervous voice.

"Mom, over there."

Asagiri and Ashikaga Miwa looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yuuki Asuna, wearing a white dress, and a middle-aged woman with short flaxen hair and a red suit jacket and trousers over a black outfit, walking slowly toward them. She exuded a serious air.

"Hello."

Ashikaga Miwa was the first to stand up, walk out of the booth, and extend her hand to the middle-aged woman.

"I am Utsunomiya Asagiri's aunt, my name is Ashikaga Miwa."

The middle-aged woman grasped Ashikaga Miwa's hand and nodded.

"Hello, I am Kyoko Yuuki, the mother of Asuna Yuuki."

Even upon hearing the name Ashikaga Miwa, Yuuki Kyoko didn't react in any particular way, which was normal. After all, although Ashikaga Miwa was a descendant of a samurai noble family and the owner of several large companies, she wasn't exactly a well-known celebrity. Even most of the students at Shuchiin didn't know that this homeroom teacher of Class A was actually a member of the school's board of directors. It was perfectly normal for Yuuki Kyoko not to recognize her.

After exchanging greetings, Kyoko Yuuki turned her gaze to Asagiri, who had just stepped out of the booth. The moment she saw Asagiri's face clearly, even this meticulous university professor was momentarily stunned.

My daughter's boyfriend is so handsome?

Kyoko Yuuki didn't care much about her future son-in-law's appearance. After all, in her mind, personal ability was the most important thing, and appearance was not important as long as her daughter liked him.

Of course, being handsome is definitely a plus, especially for this Utsunomiya Asagiri. He's so handsome that even if it's the first time you meet him, you can't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards him.

“Utsunomiya-kun.”

"Auntie."

Hearing Asagiri call her mother "Auntie," Asuna Yuuki gently patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

She was genuinely afraid that when Asagiri saw her mother, she would suddenly call her "Mom" too.

Kyoko Yuuki is, after all, a university professor with a rather serious and earnest personality. If Asagiri were to suddenly come up with such an abstract task, Asuna Yuuki really doesn't know how her mother would react.

"Asuna, please sit inside."

"Eh?"

When Asagiri pointed to the seats inside the booth, Asuna Yuuki was taken aback, unsure of the seating arrangement. However, trusting her boyfriend completely, she obediently nodded and sat down in the booth on Asagiri's side.

"Ashikaga, you sit inside too."

"it is good."

Ashikaga Miwa didn't seem to mind and sat back down on the side where she had originally been sitting.

With this arrangement...

This resulted in Ashikaga Miwa and Yuuki Asuna facing each other inside the booth, while Asagiri and Yuuki Kyoko faced each other outside.

Upon seeing this, Kyoko Yuuki's eyes flashed with a strange light. Looking at Asagiri sitting directly opposite her, who seemed completely calm and unfazed by the tension, her opinion of her daughter's boyfriend rose even higher.

She knew that as a university professor, even if she didn't mean it that way, she would still unconsciously put on a serious face from time to time due to professional habits, giving people a serious or even stern feeling.

This Utsunomiya Asagiri classmate wasn't intimidated at all when facing me, and even took the initiative to arrange a seat facing me directly, which was definitely a plus.

"What would you two like to drink?"

Upon hearing the waiter's question, Kyoko Yuuki replied calmly.

"A cup of black coffee and a cup of orange juice."

"Ok."

Even from the simple detail of ordering food, you can see that Kyoko Yuuki is the kind of parent who makes decisions for her child and is very assertive.

“Utsunomiya-kun.”

After the waiter left, Kyoko Yuuki looked at Asagiri sitting opposite her and asked in a deep voice.

"What are your plans for your future with Asuna?"

However, Asagiri's answer was completely unexpected by Kyoko Yuuki.

"Tomorrow, which is Monday, the election for the new student council of Shuchiin Private Academy will begin. I will serve as the vice president of the student council, and Asuna will also become a member of the student council."

"As you probably know, the student council of Shuchiin High School is completely different from that of ordinary high schools. When it comes time to apply for higher education after graduating from high school, having served as a member of the student council of the private Shuchiin High School is an extremely important advantage. With this experience on her resume, coupled with Asuna's excellent grades, she can get into any university she wants, even a top university like the University of Tokyo."

"As for me... there's no need to repeat my grades again. In short, whichever university Asuna goes to, I'll go with her."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Kyoko Yuuki paused for a moment before slowly replying.