In the Ordinary Streets of Tokyo, I Awakened as a Player

Chapter 294 294: Dungeon Boss

Ten minutes later, underground, inside a room where the walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of metal.

"Kayaba-san, please rest here for a while."

Ashikaga Miwa sat on the sofa, looking at Kayaba Akihiko as he held a cup of black coffee, and spoke in a calm tone.

"In about four hours, once it's safe, you can rest at the hotel I arranged for you."

"It's alright."

Kayaba Akihiko took a sip of the bitter black coffee. His expression was so calm that even Ashikaga Miwa felt slightly surprised.

"I simply find this quite interesting."

Kayaba Akihiko glanced at the Human Asura standing nearby.

Its tall, imposing body was covered in dark red patterns, radiating an invisible pressure. A faint emotion that was difficult to read flickered through Kayaba Akihiko's eyes before he looked back at Ashikaga Miwa.

"Ashikaga-san, the people who protected me earlier, and the people who attacked me, are all Players, correct?"

Most ordinary people did not know about the Game or Players. However, for a top scientist like Kayaba Akihiko to have heard some related rumors was not strange.

Ashikaga Miwa was not surprised that he could guess the truth. She did not continue with meaningless denial and only nodded slightly.

"Yes."

"As expected..."

Kayaba Akihiko's fingers gently tapped the side of his porcelain coffee cup. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked a question Ashikaga Miwa had not anticipated.

"This so-called Game... is it interesting?"

"Interesting? That..."

Ashikaga Miwa originally wanted to say that such a dangerous and terrifying game, where one could die in another world at any moment, had nothing to do with the word interesting.

But when she saw Kayaba Akihiko's expression, for some reason, she suddenly thought of the way Asagiri discussed game-related matters in front of her.

These two people...

Perhaps they were unexpectedly similar.

"Whether or not it is interesting is a subjective feeling. I cannot make that judgment for you."

Ashikaga Miwa said this first, then changed the subject.

"But I do know that this game is real. If you do not give it your all, you will die. Not only will the Players participating in the Game die, but our world will not be spared either. A certain Player I know, who is currently the strongest among the Players, does indeed find this Game very interesting."

"He..."

Kayaba Akihiko murmured softly, then spoke.

"Is he the person I saw on the train earlier?"

"That's right."

"Mm..."

Kayaba Akihiko nodded noncommittally, then fell silent as if thinking about something.

The room became quiet.

...

Two hours later, on the roof of a two-story house forty-five meters away from the commercial building.

Fujiwara Chika swept the area again with her binoculars. After confirming that there were no figures within her field of vision, she did not put the binoculars down. Instead, she maintained her observation posture and sighed.

"Sigh... Although it's good that no enemies are attacking, isn't it too quiet? What if no one comes until the very end?"

"If it were you, would you dare to come under these circumstances?"

Kaguya Shinomiya adjusted the long sword in her hand and spoke calmly.

"At the final stage, when the Dungeon is nearing completion, a hidden quest suddenly appears, and the target's location is being shared in real time through the eye icon APP. Anyone with a bit of sense can deduce that since the system has reduced the difficulty of finding the target to almost zero, it means that, in the system's judgment, even if the Players participating in this Dungeon know the target's real-time location, they still cannot approach easily. Unless they are Players with absolute confidence in their own strength, or Black Watch members who are utterly fearless of death when pursuing their goals, it is impossible for them to take such a high risk to attempt this hidden quest."

"Compared to that..."

Hayasaka Ai, who was disguised as Shadow but still spoke in her original voice, said softly.

"Kaguya, is it really the right choice for us to become this deeply involved with Utsunomiya and the others?"

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't like you."

Hayasaka Ai's tone was calm, but her words were completely undisguised.

"If it were the old you, you would definitely first weigh the risks and benefits of cooperating with Utsunomiya and the others, then make a decision based on rationality. But now... I'm not sure whether the decision you made was based on rational thinking or personal feelings."

Kaguya Shinomiya's lips parted slightly.

"I..."

Hayasaka Ai did not give Kaguya Shinomiya a chance to speak or cover it up. She spoke frankly.

"I'm not saying that decisions based on emotion are wrong. I just hope you can think clearly about what Utsunomiya is to you. Is he only a simple partner? An accomplice? Or... someone you like?"

"Utsunomiya is to me..."

Just as Kaguya Shinomiya said this, she suddenly saw a cloud of Black Particles surge into the sky.

The three girls immediately realized that this was the signal sent by Iwanaga Kotoko.

Enemies had arrived.

...

When Kaguya Shinomiya, Hayasaka Ai, and Fujiwara Chika arrived, they saw Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna confronting more than twenty Players dressed in all kinds of outfits.

"Six people..."

Seeing reinforcements arrive, the more than twenty Players from another world all became wary and subconsciously retreated several meters.

"Hmm? They're not attacking?"

Hearing Fujiwara Chika's question, Yuuki Asuna kept her gaze locked on the Players opposite them. She gripped Gleaming Light in her hand and replied softly.

"Although they're cooperating, they're clearly several temporary Player teams combined together. There is absolutely no trust between them, so they're all hesitating."

Just as Yuuki Asuna said, although these more than twenty Players came from another world, they were no different from the Players in this world.

Even if they had reached a consensus to cooperate, they were still wary of each other.

Launching an attack without knowing Yuuki Asuna and the others' strength would inevitably involve huge risks. And if they were injured in battle, who knew whether the Players beside them, who had originally spoken of cooperation, would kill them to seize their phones?

Without trust, there was naturally no such thing as true cooperation.

In a situation like this, there were only two solutions.

The first was to fight separately by team.

The second was to do what Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and the others had done before: display absolute strength, become the maintainers of the cooperation order, and lead the other Players into battle.

Clearly, among the more than twenty Players before them, there was no one strong enough to convince the others.

"Scatter!"

Hearing one Player's shout, the more than twenty Players instantly reached a consensus. They split into six different Player teams and rushed in six different directions, bypassing Yuuki Asuna and the others as they headed straight for the location of Kayaba Akihiko.

"Hmph, trying to escape?"

Yuuki Asuna's figure flashed, her crimson cloak forming a red afterimage. She instantly appeared in front of one of the Player teams, and the rapier Gleaming Light thrust toward a Player in white robes who looked like a mage class.

"Sword Skill, Stardust Splash!"

Eight sword lights flashed.

The mage-type Player did not even have time to scream before his body was cut into pieces.

At the same time, Kato Megumi drew her bow, nocked an arrow, aimed at another Player team, and rapidly fired.

Iwanaga Kotoko was not idle either.

"Pale Domination!"

Several Pale Ghost Hands emerged from the ground. However, because the Players were moving at full speed, it was difficult for Iwanaga Kotoko to lock directly onto a target.

Only one Pale Ghost Hand successfully grabbed someone, but that Player still forcibly broke free and escaped.

"Tch, how troublesome."

All the girls present realized that if it were a head-on confrontation, even if they were outnumbered, they might not necessarily lose. However, trying to form an impenetrable defense with only six people and preventing even a single Player from breaking through was still too difficult.

"Chase them. Kill as many as you can."

The current Yuuki Asuna was no longer the Yuuki Asuna who lacked decisiveness and hesitated at critical moments.

She gripped Gleaming Light, took a deep breath, and slightly lowered her body.

Then, with a loud bang, the ground beneath her feet cracked from the force of her step, and she chased after them like a red comet.

Iwanaga Kotoko knew their speed was not as fast as Yuuki Asuna's, so they could not directly catch up to the escaping Players. However, since she had already confirmed that the enemy's target was the place where Kayaba Akihiko was hiding, she quickly calculated a suitable interception point based on the Players' routes.

She immediately led Kato Megumi, Kaguya Shinomiya, and the others toward the target direction.

Meanwhile, Asagiri, who had been sitting leisurely at the entrance to the ground floor of the commercial building, basking in the sun, had already seen the cloud of Black Particles rising high into the sky and heard the commotion of battle.

This area was an old pedestrian commercial district. Within a fifty-meter radius centered on the commercial building, there were many low-rise structures such as residential houses and small shops.

The terrain was very complex, and visibility would be partially obstructed, but it was still much better than most areas in Tokyo filled with skyscrapers.

Asagiri's task was simple.

Guard this place.

If they encountered a powerful enemy, Iwanaga Kotoko would control the Black Particles to form a distress signal. At that point, he would use Kings Gambit to arrive at the battlefield.

And even if some Players possessed the ability to pass through walls and bypass the defense line to reach the underground shelter, Asagiri could still use Kings Gambit to swap positions with the Human Asura in the underground shelter. Along with Ashikaga Miwa guarding there, that would ensure Kayaba Akihiko's safety.

"Have they finally arrived?"

Seeing several figures appear in the distance, Asagiri calmly stood up, patted the hem of his black trench coat, and watched as several panting Players rushed toward him.

He smiled.

"Congratulations. You are the first Player team to meet the final boss."

.....

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