"You too?"
Asuna was very surprised to hear this. She never expected that this mysterious boy, who was holding a chainsaw and a power drill, dressed like that, and hadn't even shown his true face until now, was just a new student about to enter the first year of high school, just like her.
Moreover... he was also from Shuchiin Private Academy?
Shuchiin Private Academy's admission standards are extremely strict. It is undoubtedly the top school in Sakura Province. Over ninety percent of the students who can enter have extremely prominent family backgrounds, and the remaining small portion are geniuses with outstanding abilities.
Asuna's father is the CEO of a large electronics manufacturer, and her mother is a university professor. Coupled with her receiving an elite education since childhood and having excellent grades, she gained the qualification to enter the high school department of Shuchiin Private Academy.
"So that's how it is..."
Asuna thought this while walking out of the lobby with Asagiri.
When they came outside, she finally saw the full view of this so-called 'sanatorium.'
This place was completely different from the structure of a normal hospital. Several buildings about four or five stories high surrounded a central, dilapidated courtyard. The direction of the exit had no railings, security booths, or other facilities, only two unlocked iron gates that made a very eerie grinding sound as the wind blew them.
And the moment the two pushed open the iron gates and stepped out of the courtyard, their respective phones also received notification sounds.
Asuna took out her phone and opened the APP with the eye icon. Several lines of bright red text immediately appeared on the screen.
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[Congratulations to 'Player' Asuna Yuuki, you have cleared the Newbie Dungeon and obtained formal Player status.]
[Dungeon Clear Rating: A+]
[Reward: Basic Class 'Swordsman' unlocked, obtained Skill 'Wind Blessing', obtained Equipment 'Ordinary Quality Sword'.]
[Swordsman: A combat class specializing in swords.]
[Class Passive: When fighting with sword-type weapons, proficiency increases. There is a chance to awaken a 'Player's' personal exclusive sword skill during combat.]
[Wind Blessing: Consumes a small amount of Mental Power to make the body lighter and more agile, a blessing-type magic.]
[Ordinary Quality Sword: Choose one type of sword and obtain the corresponding ordinary quality weapon.]
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When she saw the last line of text, the style of a rapier subconsciously appeared in Asuna's mind. The next second, she felt a slight weight in her right hand.
"This is..."
Looking at the slender rapier in her hand, which was exactly the same as she had imagined, Asuna was very shocked.
Although she had already confirmed that the 'game' was real, the function of conjuring things out of thin air was too wondrous. This didn't comply with the law of conservation of energy, did it?
Meanwhile, Asagiri, who was standing not far away, also had similar text appear on his phone screen.
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[Congratulations to "Player" Asagiri Utsunomiya, you have cleared the Newbie Dungeon and obtained formal Player status]
[Dungeon Clear Rating: S+]
[Reward: Special Class 'Diplomat' unlocked, Exclusive Talent 'Persona' unlocked, obtained Item 'Teddy Bear Doll That Recites Dirty Jokes.']
[Diplomat: Special support-type class]
[Class Passive: When communicating with any type of target in the dungeon, the effect of all Diplomacy-type rhetoric such as intimidation, deception, appeasement, guidance, and persuasion is increased.(Note: Cannot be effective on 'Players', and the target of negotiation must possess basic self-awareness and thinking ability.)]
[Teddy Bear Doll That Recites Dirty Jokes: A non-living replica based on a certain Different World Teddy Bear doll. The activation time and volume can be set in advance. After activation, it will continuously recite various dirty jokes. (Note: The maximum volume can even make one's eardrums ache slightly).]
[Persona: A projection of the mind formed by your inner self and beliefs (can also be used in the real world.)]
[Your Persona is fully synchronized with you, requiring no specific command to activate. Summoning it does not consume Mental Power or Stamina. However, when your Persona engages in combat, it will gradually consume both. (While it cannot be permanently destroyed by any type of attack, each time it is shattered in battle, a significant amount of your Stamina and Mental Power will be drained.)]
[When different Personas are equipped, you will gain corresponding enhancement effects even if they are not summoned]
[Current Persona slots: Three]
[Existing Personas: ??? (Unlocked upon first summoning), None, None]
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"Did you also receive the dungeon clear notification?"
Hearing Asuna's question, Asagiri nodded.
"Yeah, I received it. I got S+, how about you?"
"A+."
Asuna didn't feel any disappointment or jealousy over the fact that Asagiri's dungeon clear rating was higher than hers. For one, simply making it out safely was an achievement in itself—and an A+ rating was nothing to scoff at.
More importantly, she knew she hadn't played a decisive role in either the deduction or the action. Given that, it was only natural her rating wouldn't match his.
"By the way, what did you mean by the assessment earlier?"
Hearing Asuna's question, Asagiri explained with a smile.
"How about forming a team? I've checked, after becoming a formal Player, some functions have been added to the APP, including adding friends. I also said before that your abilities and qualities in all aspects meet the standards I want for a teammate. Most importantly, you got an A+ rating this time, and I got an S+ rating. I guess there aren't many people who can get such a high dungeon clear rating in the Newbie Dungeon. If we team up, we'll have more advantages in future actions."
"Team up, huh... Okay."
Asuna didn't think much and agreed directly. After all, although this "Fangshi Yangming's" behavior was sometimes a bit abnormal, the abilities he displayed were indeed excellent. Being able to clear the dungeon so quickly and safely this time was also thanks to him, so teaming up was a wise choice.
Asuna took out her phone, lightly tapped the add friend function button, then extended her phone and gently touched Asagiri's phone. Immediately after, both phones simultaneously received a notification sound, displaying a line of text.
[You have successfully added 'Player' Asuna Yuuki as a friend.]
[You have successfully added 'Player' Asagiri Utsunomiya as a friend.]