Asuna Yuuki's pupils dilated in shock, and she subconsciously wanted to scream, but before any sound could come out of her throat, she raised her free hand to cover her mouth, forcing herself not to scream and trying to suppress the fear in her heart. She didn't make a sound, but her shoulders and legs trembled slightly.
Seeing everything Asuna Yuuki had done, Asagiri Utsunomiya couldn't help but feel admiration at this young lady from a wealthy family.
As expected of Asuna Yuuki, who had received an elite education since childhood. Even in such an environment and facing a sudden terrifying incident, she could maintain the most basic rationality. She wouldn't be like those foolish female characters in horror films, screaming shrilly or doing stupid things due to stress or terror.
"Is anyone here? Let me see what's going on."
Asagiri Utsunomiya, under Asuna Yuuki's incredulous gaze, first said this in a casual tone, then picked up the chainsaw that was originally placed on the ground and then walked towards the door with relaxed, unburdened steps.
When Asagiri Utsunomiya was only two or three steps away from the ward door, the hideous, bloody face of the monster outside the door seemed to be stimulated by something. Its head suddenly tilted back and then hit the transparent observation window hard.
*Thump!*
The sudden impact made Asuna Yuuki take two steps back involuntarily, and her legs finally gave out, causing her to fall to the ground.
Compared to Asuna Yuuki's terrified reaction, Asagiri Utsunomiya's reaction was much calmer.
Asagiri Utsunomiya kept moving toward the door. Then, with only the observation window separating them, almost face to face, he stared directly into the hideous, bloody face of the monster outside.
The next second, he asked softly, "What are you looking at here? Are you looking for your mother's urn?"
Hearing his words, Asuna Yuuki was stunned for a few seconds, even forgetting her fear, then reacted. She hadn't made a sound when the monster had frightened her twice, but now she could only open her lips slightly and utter a single, confused syllable.
"...ha?"
Was that... an insult?
Was he insulting that monster with the hideous, bloody face outside?
Although a well-mannered young lady from a wealthy family like Asuna Yuuki, who had received an elite education from childhood, would certainly not swear, she wasn't so naive as to not realize that his words were an insult.
The point was that he could curse freely, and the words he used were quite polite but targeted both of the monster and its mother!
"No… now isn't the time to think about that." Asuna Yuuki first reminded herself and shook her head, forcing herself to forget the abstract curse she had just heard. Then, she looked at the man who called himself 'Akari Fususeki', who was standing at the door holding a drill and a chainsaw, and said with a frown, "Fususeki-san, you're not planning on opening the door… and fighting… that thing outside, are you? That... thing must be the caregiver mentioned in the hint. The hint says that as long as our ward is closed, the other party will absolutely not be allowed in. In other words, as long as we don't go out, we're safe, at least for the time being."
Asuna Yuuki paused for a moment, then asked: "Do you want to cooperate with me and discuss and analyze the information we have now?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya didn't respond directly. He didn't even turn his head, but just stared at the hideous, bloody face stuck on the observation window.
Suddenly he said, "It seems I'm a better Player than you, Miss. Anyway, since you're planning to collaborate with me to complete the mission objective of this dungeon, the least you should do is show your sincerity by stating your name first, right?"
Asuna Yuuki hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Well, you're right. Let me introduce myself. My name is Asuna Yuuki."
Asuna Yuuki was very clear about the current situation. This was definitely not a spoof reality show, because with her status, no TV station would dare to do such a thing.
Moreover, the apartment building where Asuna Yuuki lived was located in one of the most prosperous areas in Tokyo, the Ginza business district, and the security measures were very strict. Otherwise, her parents would not be able to let her live alone with peace of mind.
In such a dangerous situation, cooperating with the Player in front of her was the wisest choice. After all, from the previous few minutes of contact, although the other party's personality appeared a little different, he was very brave. And looking at the clean and neat movements when he picked up the chainsaw from the ground before, his physical fitness was obviously very good.
But the most important thing was to cooperate and escape from this place.
"Well, hello, my name is Akira Fususeki."
Hearing the other party reiterate that pseudonym again, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but frown, wondering if the other party thought that she was easy to fool, or if the other party knew that she had guessed that 'Akira Fususeki' was a pseudonym, but just didn't care?
"And you were a little wrong just now."
Hearing his sudden additional statement, Asuna Yuuki was confused and asked, "Wrong?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya continued to stare at the hideous, bloody face on the other side of the transparent observation window, standing in a relaxed posture without any signs of tension. If someone didn't know him, they would have thought he was watching monkeys in the zoo.
He said, "Well, yeah. Wrong. It's not 'our ward', it's 'the ward we're in'."
Asuna Yuuki heard his words and hesitated for a moment, but she ultimately asked, "Does it... make any difference?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya continued to stare at the hideous, bloody face on the other side of the transparent observation window as he said, "Of course there is a difference, and it's a crucial difference. Since we are players, every time we enter a dungeon, it's like starting a game. So, what's the first thing a player does after entering the game?"
Hearing his question, Asuna Yuuki didn't pretend to know the answer, but shook her head honestly and said: "I've never played any game, so I don't know."
Asagiri Utsunomiya did not pretend to be mysterious and keep the answer in suspense, but gave the answer directly: "It's about gaining an identity. Simulation games, side-scrolling games, action-adventure games, role-playing games—any game will provide the player with a perspective, or an identity."
Although Asuna Yuuki had never played video games before, she immediately understood what he meant.
"So, the subtle difference in wording you just mentioned is actually a hint at the Player's identity? We don't have our own wards because the roles we play in this dungeon aren't even patients in this asylum?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya nodded and said softly, "That's probably the case. Of course, the premise is that the game we're working on isn't trash, but rather a valuable work worthy of careful scrutiny, with every word analyzed to get clues for completing the game. If we make this assumption based on that..."
Before he could finish, Asuna Yuuki seemed to have thought of something and suddenly realized it. She said, "The primary responsibility of a caregiver... is to look after the patients in the asylum. We are not patients of this asylum, so... the caregiver won't actually prevent us from leaving?"