Accompanied by a thick blood-red mist, Asagiri Utsunomiya reappeared in the living room of his home in Shibuya, Tokyo.
"I'm back..."
Seeing the familiar living room, Asagiri Utsunomiya did not relax immediately, but looked down first.
On the white floor, there were black lines that he had drawn with a marker before entering the basement. Now, the black lines on the floor fit the shape of his sneakers.
"It seems that after leaving the dungeon, I will appear in the exact same position as before entering. Even the posture will not change."
After confirming, Asagiri Utsunomiya raised his head and glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room.
The time was the same as the time on his phone. It was now six o'clock in the morning.
An hour had passed in the dungeon, and an hour had also passed in the real world. The flow of time was synchronized.
Asagiri Utsunomiya placed the electric saw and drill on the coffee table, then took out his phone and clicked on the app with the eye icon. Sure enough, several lines of text appeared.
[Congratulations on completing your first dungeon. Here are some things to note:
[1. Ordinary people who are not Players cannot observe the app in your phone.
[2. The app is not bound to the phone, but to the Players themselves. Players can change their phones at any time, and the application will appear on the phone the Players are currently using. There is no need to worry about accidentally losing the phone or damaging the phone.
[3. Each time Players enter a dungeon, Players cannot bring tools, equipment, props, weapons, or armor from the real world, nor can Players use items from the real world to disguise their appearances. Players are only allowed to wear ordinary clothes when entering the dungeon.
[4. Before each dungeon entry, Players will receive a reminder three days in advance. Players must clear at least one dungeon per month. Exceeding the specified time limit will result in forced teleportation to a random dungeon.
[5. Players can choose to actively enter a dungeon from the app features (requires a three-day wait, cannot enter immediately; there must be at least one week between instances). If a Player achieved an A- or higher clear rating in the previous dungeon, they will receive a special notification upon entering the dungeon
[Time remaining until the next time you can enter the dungeon: 0]
"The novice dungeon doesn't count towards the dungeon entry cooldown? That's quite humane."
Asagiri Utsunomiya nodded with great satisfaction. After all, for him, the more times he entered the dungeon, the better. The S+ rating rewards obtained in the novice dungeon was just the first step. He had to quickly grow stronger using a snowball effect to ensure he was the strongest among all Players.
After all, this was a world formed by the integration of various slice-of-life manga and anime. Although he had not discovered any supernatural elements before the appearance of this Survival Game, there were many formidable characters in these slice-of-life series.
There were many such figures in the high school department of Shuchi'in Academy where he was about to attend.
Asagiri Utsunomiya closed the notification and opened his Player panel. Of course, as his own power, he knew how to use his Persona and its specific effects even without the app. But he still checked the description just to see what was written in the app.
[Persona Slots: 1. Hitoshura, 2. Not Available, 3. Not Available.]
[Hitoshura: This Persona manifested from your inner strength when you face the fear of death head-on.
[Strength: Strength, Defense, Resistance, and Speed
[Weakness: No long-range attack method
[Passive: Your physical abilities will be enhanced when switching to this Persona, and because Hitoshura represents unwavering determination, you will be immune to mental attacks, such as fear, rage, confusion, hallucination, mind-control, etc.
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Emperor (Upright)]
After reading this text in the app, Asagiri Utsunomiya noticed that the sky outside the window was starting to brighten. So, he began to wash up and get dressed, preparing to welcome his upcoming high school life.
A brief introduction to all the members of the Utsunomiya family.
Asagiri Utsunomiya, a new student in Year 1 Class A—Class 1-A—at Shuchi'in Academy, and...
That's it.
Parents deceased, no siblings, but he had a house, and it was over two hundred square meters on a single floor in the bustling Shibuya commercial district of Tokyo.
◆—⊰✧⊱—◆
A little later, in the early morning, outside Shuchi'in Academy.
Asuna Yuuki, wearing the female uniform of Shuchi'in Academy, stood at the school gate, constantly tidying her smooth, long flaxen hair, looking a bit nervous. The reason for her nervousness wasn't because she was starting high school today, but because of the person she was waiting for.
Was Asagiri Utsunomiya telling the truth?
Was that person really also a student at the high school department of Shuchi'in Academy?
Asuna Yuuki had already confirmed that the swordsmanship, skill, and rapier obtained after completing the dungeon mission objective could still be used even after returning to the real world.
To be honest, she was scared.
Her parents were both very busy with work, so after starting high school, Asuna Yuuki actually lived alone. Her parents had originally wanted to hire a nanny to take care of her daily life, but she felt that she should become independent after becoming a high school student, so she politely declined her parents' idea.
Thinking about it now, it was fortunate that she refused. Otherwise, if she had suddenly disappeared in the early hours of the morning today, her parents would have been extremely worried, perhaps even calling the police. At that point, she wouldn't know how to explain it.
The only person Asuna Yuuki could discuss these matters with was Asagiri Utsunomiya.
Just then, Asuna Yuuki noticed a familiar figure walking towards her from not far away.
It wasn't just her; many students near the school gate also turned their gaze towards the approaching boy.
Even within Shuchi'in Academy, which had many beautiful girls and handsome boys, his appearance was extremely outstanding, the kind that could attract countless attention just by looks alone.
Although the boy was wearing the male student uniform of Shuchi'in Academy, he hadn't buttoned it. The Shuchi'in Academy uniform, which was supposed to be solemn and dignified with a hint of nobility, somehow gained a few touches of casual elegance when worn by him.
Asuna Yuuki's heart couldn't help but flutter when she saw Asagiri Utsunomiya walking towards her in the Shuchi'in Academy male uniform. A smile even appeared on her face, and she quickly walked over to greet him.
"Utsunomiya-san, good morning."
"Good morning to your too, Yuuki-san."
Asagiri Utsunomiya nodded and returned the greeting with a smile.
Feeling the surrounding gazes, Asuna Yuuki felt a little embarrassed. She realized that her actions just now seemed a bit too intimate and enthusiastic. She first raised her hand to brush her long hair back, then softly said: "Um... I checked the class list for you. I'm in Year 1 Class B, and you're..."
"I know, Year 1 Class A."
"Huh? You already know?"
Asuna Yuuki felt a little confused upon hearing this. Logically speaking, class assignments weren't supposed to be revealed in advance but were to be posted on the first day of school.
How could he know beforehand?