"The same as me?"
Asuna Yuuki, saying so, was very surprised. She never thought that this mysterious man who was holding a drill and a chainsaw, dressed so suspiciously, and had not revealed his true face until now, was actually a freshman who was about to enter high school like herself.
And... the other party would be attending Shuchi'in Academy too?
The admission standards of Shuchi'in Academy were extremely strict. It was undoubtedly the best academy in Japan. More than 90% of the students who could enter there had extremely prominent family backgrounds, and the remaining small number were geniuses with outstanding abilities.
Her father, Shouzou Yuuki, was the CEO of a large electronics manufacturer, and her mother, Kyouko Yuuki, was a university professor. In addition, Asuna Yuuki herself had received elite education since childhood and had excellent academic performance, which was why she was qualified to enter the high school department of Shuchi'in Academy.
(So that's how it is...) Asuna Yuuki thought as she walked out of the hall with him. After coming outside, she finally saw the whole picture of this so-called asylum.
The structure was completely different from that of a normal hospital. Several buildings about four or five stories high were surrounding it, and in the center was an abandoned courtyard. There were no railings, security booths or other facilities in the direction of the exit. There were only two unlocked iron gates, which made a very strange friction sound when blown by the wind.
The moment the two pushed open the iron gate and stepped out of the courtyard, a notification sound came from their respective phones.
Asuna Yuuki took out her phone and clicked on the app with the eye icon. Several lines of blood-red text immediately appeared on the screen.
[Congratulations to 'Player: Asuna Yuuki' for clearing the novice dungeon and becoming an official player.
[Rating: A+
[Rewards: A basic Job: Swordsman; a Skill: Wind Protection; an Equipment: Ordinary Sword.]
[Job Name: Swordsman
[Job Introduction: A basic combat job specializing in swordsmanship.
[Job Effect: Increases proficiency when using sword-type weapons in combat, and there is a chance that your unique swordsmanship skills will be awakened during combat.]
[Skill Name: Wind Protection
[Skill Introduction: A blessing-type skill that consumes a small amount of mental energy, making the body lighter and more agile.]
[Equipment Name: Ordinary Sword
[Equipment Introduction: Choose any sword type to obtain the corresponding weapon of the ordinary quality.]
When Asuna Yuuki saw the last line of words, the image of a slender sword—a rapier—subconsciously emerged in her mind, and the next second, she felt a sudden weight in her right hand.
"This is..." Looking at the rapier in her hand, which was exactly the same as what she had imagined, Asuna Yuuki was shocked. Although she had confirmed that the Survival Game was real, the ability to create things out of thin air was too magical.
(Is this creating something out of nothing? Doesn't this violate the law of conservation of energy?)
Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but have such questions in her mind as she examined the appearance of her new rapier.
Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was standing not far away, also had similar notifications appearing on his phone screen.
[Congratulations to 'Player: Asagiri Utsunomiya' for completing the novice dungeon and becoming an official player.
[Rating: S+
[Rewards: A unique Job: Diplomat; an exclusive Talent: Persona; an Item: Teddy Bear of Dirty Jokes.]
[Job Name: Diplomat
[Job Introduction: A special auxiliary profession for diplomacy.
[Job Effect: Enhances the effectiveness of all diplomatic actions, including but not limited to threat, deception, appeasement, persuasion and enlightenment, when communicating with any type of target in the dungeon. (Note: This does not work on Players, and the target of the negotiation must have basic independent consciousness and thinking ability.)]
[Item Name: Teddy Bear of Dirty Jokes
[Item Introduction: This replica of a teddy bear from another world has a preset activation time and volume. Once activated, it will recite a variety of dirty jokes non-stop. (Note: The highest volume can even cause a slight pain in the eardrums.)]
[Talent Name: Persona
[Talent Introduction: A projection formed by inner strength and beliefs. This talent can also be used in the real world. Your Persona is fully connected to your mind and requires no special command. Your Persona does not consume any mental or physical energy when summoned; however, it consumes a certain amount of mental and physical energy when fighting. Your Persona consumes a large amount of physical and mental energy each time it is destroyed. Your Persona cannot be destroyed completely and permanently by any type of attack. Equipping different Personas will gain corresponding enhancement effects even if they are not summoned.
[Persona Slots: 3
[Current Personas: 1. ??? (Unlocked upon first summon), 2. Not Available, 3. Not Available.]
"Did you also receive the notification for completing the mission objective?"
Hearing Asuna Yuuki's question, Asagiri Utsunomiya replied with a nod, "Yeah, got it. Mine is S-plus, what about yours?"
"A-plus."
Asuna Yuuki didn't feel disappointed or jealous because Asagiri Utsunomiya's clearance rating was higher than hers. On the one hand, she felt that just being able to complete the mission objective without any problems was already a great achievement, and an A+ wasn't a low rating. On the other hand, she didn't actually make any crucial contribution, either in reasoning or action, so it was natural that she was rated lower than the other party.
"By the way, what did you mean by the assessment you mentioned earlier?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya explained after hearing Asuna Yuuki's question, "Teaming up, of course. How about that? I've checked. Becoming an Official Player adds some new features to the app, including the feature to add friends. As I've said before, your abilities and qualities in all areas meet the standards I'm looking for in a teammate.
"More importantly, you received a rating of A-plus this time, and I received S-plus. I suspect there aren't many people who can achieve such high ratings in novice dungeons. If we team up, we'll have a greater advantage in future operations."
"Team up... Okay." Asuna Yuuki didn't think much about it and agreed directly. After all, although the behavior of this man who introduced himself as 'Akira Fususeki' was sometimes abnormal, the abilities he demonstrated were indeed excellent. This time, she was able to clear the dungeon safely and at such a fast speed, thanks to him. Forming a team was a wise choice.
Asuna Yuuki took out her phone and tapped the 'add friend' button in the app with her index finger. Then, following the app instructions, she held out her own phone and gently touched it with his phone.
Immediately afterwards, both phones sounded a notification tone at the same time, and a line of text was displayed on each screen.
[You have successfully added 'Player: Asuna Yuuki' as a friend!]
[You have successfully added 'Player: Asagiri Utsunomiya' as a friend!]