After arriving inside this base, the four girls sent away by Aaron moved away from the area Aaron was in with perfect tacit agreement.
Along the way, observing the Oceania Branch, Bronya had already begun planning how to breach the Oceania Branch's internal network.
Although she had powerful hacking skills, Schicksal was the world's largest anti-Honkai organization.
Even if she was confident in her skills, she wasn't arrogant enough to think she could easily breach the internal system of the strongest organization in the Inner World.
However, just minutes after separating from Aaron with the others, she suddenly heard a strange voice pop up in her brain.
[Ding, drawing complete. Congratulations, Miss Bronya Zaychik, for being selected by the 'Randomly Cobbled-Together Dungeon System' as the participant for this dungeon.]
[The selected participant will enter a unified dungeon with Tester 233. After completing the minimum tasks, you may leave the dungeon world.]
[Dungeon teleportation will begin in three minutes.]
Hearing this bizarre voice, Bronya froze for a moment.
Then, while continuing to follow everyone's footsteps, she looked at the faces of the others around her.
*Hm, everyone else isn't showing any surprised expressions...*
[Don't look, you're the only participant selected this time.]
*You can see my inner thoughts?*
[Precisely.]
*Is participation in this kind of dungeon mandatory?*
*...Really unreasonable.*
*Are there any benefits?*
[Hm, if you're lucky, maybe just one dungeon can make you stronger than that Master of yours.]
[If you're lucky, that is.]
*...!*
Hearing this sentence, Bronya instantly became fully alert.
Although she had been acting with the other companions, Bronya knew very well that she had always been the weakest among them.
The intelligence she gathered played a certain role, but once a battle broke out, she became the designated human burden among the group.
The fact that nothing happened in these past operations was purely because the enemies were too weak... like hell.
Emperor-class Honkai Beasts and Pseudo-Herrschers popped up; apart from actual Herrschers, it was impossible to have stronger enemies.
She was completely fine during these operations purely because the others were too strong and could easily cover her.
But, what about the future?
Bronya didn't want to continue being a burden to her companions.
Moreover, to stop those wrong actions of Mother Cocolia in the future, Bronya also needed stronger power.
[Oh, by the way, due to various special reasons this System is too lazy to explain again, please find a place where no one can see you, Participant. It will be more convenient for this System to teleport you later.]
*Bronya understands.*
"Mei-oneesan, Kiana-oneesan, Seele, you go visit other places first."
The next second, Bronya immediately covered her stomach and said expressionlessly to the three:
"Bronya might have eaten something bad; I need to go to the toilet first."
"...That's rare."
Looking at the expressionless Bronya, Mei looked at Bronya, then at Kiana.
"Me~i~ are you thinking of something rude~"
"No, really not this time."
Seeing that Kiana and Mei didn't intend to leave, Bronya knew they were just preparing to wait for her here, not that they had seen through her lie.
However, at the same time, the look in Seele's eyes watching Bronya also became a bit strange.
Unlike Mei and Kiana, Seele had lived with Bronya for several years, so when Bronya lied, Seele still noticed Bronya's unusual little micro-expressions.
But considering Bronya didn't want to say the reason, there was no need for her to expose it. Seele finally decided to wait for Bronya on the spot with the other two companions.
Having found her excuse, Bronya went to the women's restroom the group had just passed at her fastest speed.
Then, she continued to ask the System in her mind.
*If Bronya enters the dungeon, at what ratio does time flow in the real world versus the dungeon?*
[One to one... obviously impossible. No matter how long you stay inside, only 0.1 seconds will pass in reality. As long as you leave the dungeon alive, no existence in reality will discover you went missing.]
*As long as I'm alive... then what if I die in the dungeon?*
[Miss Bronya, you should know very clearly yourself. Unless under special circumstances, life only happens once.]
*True.*
*But with only three minutes, Bronya cannot prepare well.*
[Ah, this problem...]
*You didn't mistake the entry time, did you, Mr. System?*
[Of course that's not the reason. If you want to blame someone, blame your teammate for being too strong.]
[Because he is too strong, the welfare benefits a novice team would originally have were all cut due to your combined average combat power.]
*Is he... very strong?*
*Hm, although having a strong teammate increases the probability of completing the mission, who can guarantee the other party is trustworthy?*
*More of a headache.*
[However, it really makes this System sigh. A normal participant has finally arrived this time.]
[The first participant treated this System's prompts as auditory hallucinations; the second participant was simply in a coma before preparing to enter the dungeon.]
[Sigh, Miss Bronya, a participant like you who actively asks about relevant details is rare.]
*Well said. Is there a reward?*
[Hah, the reward is in the dungeon; let's see if you can get it.]
*Really stingy.*
[You'll know how generous this System is after you get the reward. Provided you can get it, that is.]
[However, for the genius gamer Silver Wolf, this is just a game. Presumably, the genius gamer Silver Wolf wouldn't fail to clear even a single game.]
*A new game? Bronya has never been afraid of 'games'.*
[Hm, that's the spirit. Then...]
[Ding! The time has come! Teleportation start.]
The moment she heard this sentence, Bronya saw the scenery around her change instantly.
In the next instant, Bronya, having regained her consciousness, immediately looked to her side with extreme vigilance.
Only after seeing the other person's appearance, Bronya immediately let out a cry of surprise.
"...Master?!"
"...I say, it's about time you changed that form of address."
Hearing Bronya's address for him, Aaron said with an incredible headache.
"Originally, you only shouted that out to prank me. Now that we're all so familiar, can you stop using that title to address me?"
"During this time on the streets, do you know how many times I saw people around us take out their phones preparing to call the police after hearing you call me Master? A full 233 times."
"...Could it be that Master doesn't need Bronya anymore?"
"I said stop pranking me."
After delivering a chop to Bronya's head, Aaron said grumpily.
"Stop messing around; time to work."
"Yes."
*Master is actually the teammate this time... Hm, wait, so Master became so strong because of this dungeon?*
*According to that System, this is also a type of game, right—the only difference is, if you die here, you really die.*
*Okay, Bronya accepts the challenge! Watch Bronya clear it in one life!*
Originally, Bronya thought this.
But in the next second, after seeing a 'human' walking over from not far away, she suddenly called out 'Her', who had accompanied her for a long time, with extreme vigilance.
"Project Bunny!"
"Ah, enemies have appeared."
*No wonder that System guy didn't react and didn't mention the mission and matching Buffs this time.*
*First time was in a hotel, second time encountered a slasher, third time starting directly facing this kind of enemy that looks even more troublesome than a slasher.*
*Although the energy intensity on this guy isn't high, this is...?!*
When the appearing enemies saw Aaron and Bronya, Aaron and Bronya simultaneously witnessed an incredibly bizarre scene.
Of the enemies that looked like ordinary salarymen, the two in the lead suddenly transformed into the appearance of Bronya and Aaron.
Then, these two 'humans' mimicking Aaron and Bronya looked at each other with extreme shock, then immediately revealed their...
No, it should be said, their true forms.
"This... what disgusting bugs."
"...Damn, these are Worms."
*So this is the world of Kamen Rider Kabuto.*
After seeing the two leaders immediately expose their true bodies, the other Worms following behind these two Worms also revealed their forms simultaneously.
Aside from the two leading Worms which were molted adults, the remaining Worms were all pupae.
It was just that in terms of numbers...
"Oi oi oi, isn't this quantity a bit much?"
Originally, there were only a few dozen Worms following those two Adult Worms, but after they revealed their forms, other Worms ceaselessly surrounded Aaron and Bronya from all directions.
According to Aaron's estimation, there were at least four or five hundred of them.
*Although they are all pupae, once this number stacks up... I guess I know why the System said I could definitely win in a one-on-one.*
*Is this damn thing trying to exhaust me to death with these numbers?*
*Should I use a Noble Phantasm to clear the field now... If there are so many Worms here, I can't guarantee there aren't ZECT members nearby.*
*Although accidentally killing one or two unlucky bastards wouldn't matter much, but... forget it, better kill them manually.*
*Also, I can't guarantee if there are ZECT surveillance cameras nearby. Before knowing the mission objective, better to hide the cards in my hand.*
"Stay where you are and don't move. Just use your Project Bunny to attack those bugs."
Directly using the power of Magnetic Field Rotation to form a small protective barrier wrapping Bronya's body, Aaron drew the Key of Demon Armor [Incursio], which he hadn't used for a long time.
The Worms that had already read all of Aaron's memories naturally knew the efficacy of Aaron's Teigu.
And because it had seen Aaron's memories, this Worms decisively activated the Worms' signature trump card—Clock Up.
In the state of Clock Up, Worms would move at a thousand times their usual speed.
And precisely because of this trump card, when Worms fought enemies usually, they would almost always hold the upper hand in speed due to the super-high mobility of this trump card.
In an instant, Aaron's body was already wrapped in the armor of Incursio.
At the same time, Bronya, unable to move because she was wrapped in Aaron's magnetic protective barrier, saw Aaron being beaten black and blue, then knocked into the sky on the spot.
"Master! Damn it, Project Bunny!"
Project Bunny, connected to Bronya's mind, immediately fired artillery at those afterimages.
Regrettably, these shells passed through the afterimages and completely failed to hit the two Adult Worms in Clock Up.
Although Project Bunny's shells easily blasted several pupae to death, in the current battle situation, killing a few green bugs wasn't going to solve the problem.
However, seeing the results caused by Project Bunny, Bronya actually calmed down.
During her time with Aaron, she hadn't seen Aaron go all out many times.
But she had a certain understanding of how big the gap was between Aaron's combat power and Project Bunny's combat power.
Anyway, if Aaron went all out, a thousand Project Bunnies attacking together would probably just be fodder for him to mow down.
Then facing these bugs that even Project Bunny could blast to death...
So what if Aaron got knocked into the air?
The enemy simply couldn't break Aaron's defense. In that case, no matter how fast they were, it was useless.
*Master is truly mean-spirited; is he actually actively showing weakness?*
*Hm, in that case, should Bronya play along with him and pretend to be worried...*
While Bronya was pondering, the two Worms were still ceaselessly launching attacks on Aaron.
It was just that with their not-so-powerful attacks, they simply couldn't tear open the reinforced Incursio armor.
When Clock Up was about to end, the two Adult Worms indeed got anxious.
Condensing the characteristic known as [Atomic Collapse] onto their claws, the two Adult Worms tried to tear open the armor on this silver human directly from the front using claws imbued with the [Atomic Collapse] effect.
Accompanied by intense electricity constantly interweaving on the insect claws, the Worms, striking with incomparable speed, actually managed to tear open the armor on the opponent with this blow.
Only, the moment they planned to retract their claws, they suddenly discovered they couldn't do it.
Clock Up hadn't ended yet, but the Worms, moving at a thousand times acceleration, simply couldn't move their claws another inch.
At this moment, they finally saw clearly that beneath Aaron's torn armor was not his bloody abdomen.
In that position, the cold air constantly emanating out had long since turned into a block of solid ice, completely freezing the claws of the two bugs.
......................