Chapter 43: Regeneration of the End
When Asuna and Kotoko returned to the hotel lobby together, the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit was gone.
Asuna finally let out the breath she had been holding.
Kotoko's judgment had been dead on. Whatever Kotoko's identity was in the real world, one thing was obvious: she had dealt with far too many bizarre situations to be fooled by surface appearances. In that moment, she had immediately realized the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit fighting the Human Asura was not the Anomaly's true body.
Only by destroying the corpse inside the water tank with a spiritual weapon could they eliminate the Banshee completely.
Just as Asuna started to relax, her eyes caught Asagiri.
He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the reception desk. The gun shaped summoner lay near his hand, and his usual easy smile was gone. His black eyes looked dim, like the light had been drained out of them.
Asuna's heart lurched.
She sprinted over. "Lea… Leader! Are you okay?"
"I…" Asagiri's voice came out faint, like it might fade away mid sentence.
"It seems… this is as far as I go…"
Asuna's face went white. Panic hit so hard it made her hands shake.
"How could that… no, that's impossible. This can't be happening. Just hold on a little longer. I, I won't let you die!"
"Huh? Die?" Asagiri blinked, then broke into a grin. He waved his hand, suddenly relaxed.
"You misunderstood. I'm nowhere near dying."
Asuna froze. "Eh? Then why were you just…"
"I just felt like saying that line." Asagiri pushed himself up, stretching as if he had merely been resting. He glanced toward the mess on the marble floor, where dark green liquid had corroded everything into an unrecognizable ruin.
"Truly a strong opponent," he said solemnly. "I'm afraid I'll never forget you, Elastic Water Balloon."
Asuna stared at him, caught between fury and disbelief.
"Elastic Water Balloon? If someone heard that without context, they'd think the enemy was some cute mascot from a children's cartoon."
She turned her head sharply and wiped at the corner of her eyes, then faced him again, expression hard and voice firm.
"From now on, you're not allowed to make jokes like that again!"
"Okay." Asagiri nodded obediently, then added in a thoughtful tone, "Killing a Boss outside the normal clear route should count as bonus points in the app's evaluation, right? If so, the three of us should get at least an S rank clear rating."
Asuna pulled out her phone, checked the time, and exhaled in relief.
"It felt like forever, but it's been less than three hours since we entered the Dungeon."
The moment she said it, all three of their phones chimed at the same time.
[You have eliminated all hostile Banshees in this Dungeon and uncovered the truth behind the hotel's strange incident. You may choose to leave the Dungeon at any time using the APP function]
On Asagiri's screen, another notification appeared immediately after.
[Your Persona "Human Asura" has grown and unlocked a new characteristic]
Asagiri scrolled down. Just as he expected, the Human Asura's details had changed.
[Human Asura: A Persona born from within your heart, facing the fear of death head on]
[Strengths: Strength, Endurance, Defense, Speed, Agility]
[Weaknesses: No ranged attack methods]
[Human Asura Passive Effect: When switching to this Persona, your physical abilities will be enhanced. Because Human Asura represents unwavering determination, you are immune to all mental type attacks such as illusions, brainwashing, and hypnosis]
[Current Characteristic: Regeneration of the End]
[Regeneration of the End: Each time Human Asura is completely destroyed in a true battle, its basic abilities will grow and its resistance to the corresponding attribute attacks will increase (no upper limit). You will also receive the resistance enhancement provided by Human Asura. Current enhanced resistances: Corrosion, Curse]
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Emperor (Upright)]
Asagiri already understood what this meant.
Every time the Human Asura was completely destroyed, it would grow stronger. The resistance it gained would match the attribute that destroyed it.
Just now, it had been melted by the Floating Corpse Evil Spirit's corpse water, which carried both corrosion and curse properties. That was why those two resistances had been added, and the growth had no upper limit.
Even without the app notification, Asagiri could feel it. This improvement only came from real battles like the one they had just survived.
Trying to deliberately get it destroyed over and over like some cheap exploit would not work.
After reading everything, Asagiri handed his phone to Asuna and Kotoko, smiling.
"My Human Asura unlocked a new characteristic."
"A new characteristic?" Asuna took the phone, and she and Kotoko read the screen together. Their expressions slowly turned strange.
"Regeneration of the End…" Asuna repeated, disbelief creeping into her voice. "It boosts basic abilities, increases resistance without an upper limit, and it shares the resistance with you too. This…"
She returned the phone, lips pressed together, face complicated.
"Honestly, isn't your exclusive talent, this Persona thing, a little too strong? This is basically a cheat."
Asagiri chuckled. "Oh? You know about cheats too?"
Asuna rolled her eyes. "Didn't you tell me to learn more about games? To think like a Player and approach these Dungeons from a game perspective? I'm not the type to realize I need to learn something and then refuse to change because I'm lazy."
Then her gaze flicked from Asagiri to Kotoko, and she muttered under her breath, unable to hide it.
"Sigh… both of you have exclusive talents, and I'm the only one who hasn't unlocked anything like that. Sure, most Players at this stage haven't even awakened a profession or a talent, but…"
She looked away, voice quieter.
"When you're teamed up with two cheat level Players, it's hard not to feel the gap."
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