You tell me, this is called daily youth?

Yuki stood for a while and slowly covered his face. Every time he came back from a dungeon, he felt like he was dreaming. Those zombies, demons, and evil gods became very unreal.

But apart from the sense of illusion, this time he felt that there was something more, driving him to return without stopping.

Like... a sense of anticipation?

In reality, someone is waiting for you, and you can enjoy a moment of peace. This is like a tranquilizer, calming your heart that is pursuing power.

Continuously completing dungeons and madly accumulating strength?

Isn't that pure masochism?

Yuki scoffed at his own desires from a while ago. Ever since the bloodthirsty red moon, he had formed a logical closed loop:

The purpose of completing a copy is to gain power, the purpose of gaining power is to survive, the purpose of surviving is to return, and finally the purpose of returning is to enjoy life.

After reviewing the perfect logical chain, Yuki's resolve became as strong as steel again.

He quickly walked to the desk, took out a spare phone from the drawer, and saw several missed calls on it.

The Academic Affairs Office? I'm more familiar with demon biology than humans now.

Diving club? I'll contact you later. It's not nice to stand people up all the time. Besides, Kitahara Iori's situation is very interesting.

He looked down for unfamiliar phone numbers. He had instructed them to contact him as soon as he returned before entering the dungeon.

But no, this made Yuki feel uneasy.

"Their mission couldn't have been longer than mine, right? Or did they fail to return? Impossible. The three of them are way above average. Without me, the dungeon wouldn't have been abnormal. Even if I took a step back, it's impossible for them to all be wiped out."

Yuuki closed the drawer and paced back and forth.

Although he knew that the probability of total annihilation was extremely low, he couldn't get rid of the panic in his heart. Yuki even felt more panicked than when he heard the evil god's invitation.

"No, absolutely not."

He muttered to himself, and the pleasure of gaining huge profits as a lone ranger disappeared in an instant. Just when he was regretting conducting the experiment, he heard a light "click" sound.

He turned his head slightly stiffly, and the narrow door opened, and a pair of long legs wearing thin black stockings stepped into the entrance.

It’s the senior!

Yuki uses his legs to identify people, and his body reacts before his brain even thinks.

With a step of her toes, her extraordinary body instantly arrived at the door, startling Sakurajima Mai who was turning to close the door and making her take a step back.

But Sakurajima Mai was no longer an ordinary person. When she felt someone approaching, she instantly pulled out a dagger, with the tip of the knife against Yuuki's chest. When she saw it was him, she quickly lowered the blade.

"You, you, you, what are you doing?"

"I wanted to give you a loving hug, but then I almost got stabbed to death." Yuki sighed, and suddenly realized that being a player was not so good. His reaction speed was too fast, and it was difficult to launch a sneak attack.

"Who told you to scare me so suddenly? You deserve to be exposed." The senior student wrinkled her nose, revealing a 'fierce' expression. Then, her little face relaxed and she smiled.

"You just returned?"

"Well, you didn't think I wouldn't be able to come back, did you? You're planning to come and help me pack up my belongings?"

"You deserve a beating for saying such discouraging things." Mai knocked Yuuki's head with the back of her knife, making a crisp 'dong' sound, then turned and closed the door. "We never thought anything would happen to you. Why are you just standing there? Why don't you pick up my things for me?"

Yuuki took the plastic bag and saw that it was full of food. He immediately understood what Sakurajima Mai had been doing.

My heart couldn't help but warm up, and I deliberately asked, "Are you so confident in me? My dungeon this time is quite long."

It's been a full fifty hours, but it felt like five. No wonder I couldn't help myself just now.

"How long can two days be? What if you encounter a two-month-long instance? Can I still repair your grave?"

"Forget about repairing the grave. You can stay a widow for me."

"Find a fight!"

The dagger was thrown directly at him. Yuki took a step back and saw the dagger trembling slightly as it was nailed to the wall. He couldn't help licking his lips.

As my strength increases, teasing becomes more difficult. Fortunately, I now have an extraordinary physique, so I can be fine even if I take a knife.

Just as Yuki was daydreaming, Mai, who was crossing her legs to change her shoes, also breathed a sigh of relief.

I believe it, but I can't help but feel uneasy if this idiot doesn't come back.

She knew how dangerous the reincarnation game was, and it would be even more dangerous with Yuki around. No one dared to claim an absolute survival rate.

Because of this danger, when she saw Yuuki, Mai didn't show any emotion. Her high emotional intelligence kept reminding herself:

Every player may leave and never come back. I cannot become a burden or weakness to him. If I get too excited, it will interfere with his judgment.

The senior sister is so calm. Could it be that I gave her too much trust?

While Yuki was reflecting on himself, he watched the girl bend her legs and flick her index finger, and her brown leather shoes fell off. Her black stockings were thin, and her snow-white thighs could be vaguely seen.

Then the small jade feet stepped on the floor. Because the weather was too hot, it seemed to be steaming slightly. After stepping on it, it left a shallow footprint on the floor.

Mai used her fingers to slightly open her collar, revealing her delicate collarbone, while her other hand kept fanning back and forth.

"It's so hot. Hey, what are you standing there for? Take the food to the kitchen."

"Oh, I'll go right away." Yuuki hurriedly did as he was told. As he walked, he asked, "Where are Hiyori and Hayasaka? Are they okay?"

"What could possibly happen? The three of us complement each other and have enough combat power. I think this entire dungeon will be safe and sound."

"Is it really a near miss?"

"Well, there's still some danger. It's better not to cross over. They both have their own things to do and can't come over in the next two days."

"Then we are not alone anymore?"

"You wish. I came to Izu for a filming job and just stopped by to see you."

"Senior, why are you learning to be a tsundere instead of being good to yourself?"

The two of them chatted back and forth, as if there was no such thing as the reincarnation game at all, and they were just friends who hadn't seen each other for two days.

But this feeling of having someone waiting for you to go home is just right.

Apart from making dark dishes, Yuki can't help much in the kitchen. Perhaps considering that he just returned, the senior was very considerate and didn't ask him to help.

So he leaned back in his chair and lazily looked at Mai's back.

The senior girl was wearing a short skirt and stockings, and she had tied her long black hair into a ponytail, swinging it back and forth as she moved. This made Yuuki move his nose, and he only smelled the daily smell in the room.

Yuki suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten for two days since entering the dungeon.

The extraordinary physique even improved his hunger tolerance. The more he entered the extraordinary realm, the less he looked like a normal human. But when he smelled the fragrance of the food, he was miraculously hungry and drooled.

"Hey, I'm giving you a report. Are you listening carefully?"

"I'm listening."

Yuki quickly changed his posture and listened carefully to the senior's lecture.

The dungeon the three of them experienced this time was the "Forest Maze", and Yuki actually guessed it right. This dungeon had very high requirements for puzzle solving, and the mission clues were hidden in seemingly inconspicuous details.

This happens to be Shiina Hiyori's home turf. The girl is weak in combat, but very good at reading details. She found the map fragments of the maze one by one.

"Complete the mission within 36 hours. There are a total of 108 fragments, divided into four stages. Each stage unlocks a way out. Only after obtaining the complete map can you pass the dungeon."

It sounds quite complicated.

Yuki had a picture in his mind: a forest so lush that the sun could not be seen, and the player was looking for a way out in the forest.

It is definitely not a good idea to run around like a headless fly. Players need a map and eventually piece it together to get out of the maze.

A puzzle-solving dungeon, but given the nature of reincarnation games, PVP content is essential.

"I guess fragments like this are up for grabs."

"Yeah, that's true. There aren't many monsters in the maze, and the players are the main source of danger." Mai wasn't surprised that Yuuki guessed it, and continued, "Oh, and getting lost. This dungeon is similar to Bloodthirsty Red Moon, and it's very dangerous to go alone. Anyway, there was a newcomer running around, and we haven't seen him since."

"Then this kind of dungeon is best suited for team-based raiding. Even if the fragments can be snatched, there's no need for players to start a war, right? Any other tips?"

"I really can't hide it from you. There's no fun in telling stories at all." Mai wrinkled her nose. Storytelling requires anticipation. This idiot is too smart, which makes her lose interest.

"It's simple. The dungeon prompt says there are 15 players in total, but there are 16 people at the start. I guess the maze... exists in the players' minds, too."

Hiss, so insidious.

Yuki took a deep breath. This was a time bomb buried from the beginning. Because the fragments could be snatched, this monster that infiltrated the player team had a lot of room to operate.

You can assassinate others, create civil unrest, or deliberately hide fragments so that important pieces of the puzzle are missing.

"This copy is quite difficult. How did you solve it?" Yuki suddenly became interested and sat up straight.

The change in posture made Sakurajima Mai subconsciously smile slightly, and she was instantly filled with a sense of accomplishment.

I'm not this pighead's follower. I can handle it just fine even if he's not around.

She picked up the spatula, waving it gently like a baton, and replied playfully, "Of course it's because I conducted well and made good use of Hayasaka and the others. Let me explain..."

"Mai-senpai, if I remember correctly, the one in charge was Hiyori."

Before she could start, a familiar cold snort suddenly came from the room, which made the girl shudder and look around hurriedly.

Yuki turned his head instantly and saw a rabbit doll on the sofa. The sound came from the doll.

"No wonder you were so anxious to send me back to Tokyo. You were trying to steal the credit. Tsk, Hiyori was right when she said, 'The maze of the human heart is scarier than the sea of ​​trees.'"

The omnipotent maid is everywhere, so how could she leave such a big loophole?

Yuki looked at the doll in surprise, then turned his head away. Sure enough, he saw that the senior's face turned red, and he almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

The maid is the senior's natural enemy. How many times has she been caught red-handed?

Chapter 2 I became a stress monster? ?

Swish swish.

The clatter of the spatula continued. The senior student had to be proud, and when her boasting was exposed, she blushed. Fortunately, she had been in the entertainment industry for a long time and had a thick skin. Otherwise, how could she deal with the haters?

She pretended not to hear Hayasaka Ai's sharp words and refused to let Yuki see her embarrassed expression, so she simply turned around and started cooking.

Thanks to Hayasaka, Yuuki was finally able to objectively understand the entire picture of the "Sea of ​​Trees Labyrinth".

It was indeed terrible that the clues did not match the number of people, but it did not pose a problem for the senior students and others. Hiyori first suggested playing "Truth or Dare", carefully distinguishing each person's words and micro-expressions, so as to determine the approximate range.

What's even more clever is that she didn't specify who the suspect was, but just kept it in mind, and then used the information she got to let Mai go and verify it.

The process was certainly tortuous. After the first player died inexplicably, the team attack mode could no longer proceed, so the fifteen players split into three groups to search separately.

"Did you three openly team up from the beginning?"

"Well, Hiyori is a nuclear weapon in this kind of dungeon, and her main body is too weak to be suitable for joining with strangers." Hayasaka Ai answered simply, giving Yuuki the illusion.

It was as if a maid with an expressionless face and a straight back was standing in front of him, reporting the schedule.

"It's a reasonable judgment. Her importance is self-evident. If you can collect the most fragments, then someone will come looking for you." Yuki also unconsciously sat up straight, placed his hands on his knees, and said thoughtfully:

"Of course, the monster pretending to be a player won't be so stupid, but as you collect more and more fragments, the monster will get anxious and will eventually take action himself."

In a room in the mansion, there was no maid with a straight back. Hayasaka had just taken a bath and was wearing a loose white shirt. Her blonde hair was wet and she was looking at the man on the screen and gritting her teeth.

You guessed everything, let me tell the story.

"Hayasaka?"

"If you interrupt again, I won't say anything."

"Okay, okay, I shut up."

"Some pretended to be lost, some pretended to be pitiful, some ambushed, and some used fragments as bait..." Hayasaka Ai put her legs on the table and recounted the bizarre conspiracy in a light-hearted manner.

Of course, they solved all of this.

Hiyori can read details, Senpai can spy, and she can solve problems with a gun.

"When we entered the fourth stage, it finally arrived. I then realized its ability was mental incitement, amplifying the desires of those players. No wonder everyone had ulterior motives."

"Is it very powerful?" Yuki frowned. Why does the ability to amplify desires sound so familiar?

"It was very strong, but I..." Hayasaka Ai heard the sound of the spatula stop and quickly changed her words: "No, it was me and the senior who solved it together. We used the old tactic of swapping identities. I disguised myself as Hiyori to lure it out, and Hiyori disguised herself as me, while the senior used the singer's white veil to block the fatal blow. With the cooperation of the other players, we successfully killed it."

It was a classic tactic, but Yuuki knew it wasn't as easy as Hayasaka Ai said, it would definitely be a tough battle.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"This is my job." The maid's voice rose slightly, and she couldn't help but smile proudly. "It took us about 25 hours to complete the game, and the team evaluation was very good, reaching an A+ grade."

The evaluation of this copy must be calculated based on the time it takes to complete it, so Yuki was not surprised. After a quick recollection, he couldn't find any fault with it.