Volume 27: Chapter 190: Narcissist's Cradle Arc - Part XVIII._Classroom of Doom

"AND TIME IS UP!!!" Basara clapped his hands up in the air as the ranking ladder was still exhibited "Before we move onto the execution round, I'll announce those that managed to get the correct answers, which in turn will mean that those selected individuals get to select two options if they are chosen by the skull in the upcoming execution round!" Basara would then proceed to announce their names "Hirakibo Tatsu! Hikaru Yulia! Daniel Lead! Stratos! Kyoko Yukishiro! Nasha Sana! Ryousuke Kawahara! Takeshi Kuzan! Kaneta Tateyana! Rikishima Ikkiri! All of you, have passed!" It meant, however, that those that weren't called, didn't have this privilege "Y-You lied?!" Kanawari was in shock as she didn't correctly score "Oh, oops." He laughed ".....!!!!" Kanawari became visibly annoyed "But hey, I also didn't score." Hyunda shrugged "You are shrewd, Hyunda..." Sana recognized "Indeed, fufu." Yukishiro smiled as she was enjoying the show.

There was, of course, the mandatory reward for placing first in the judgment round.

"Hajime Hyunda, congratulations you fucking worthless gigolo!" Hyunda rapidly accepted the reward that was blessed to him "Lovely." He didn't mind the reward as per usual "AND NOW, WE WILL BEGIN THE EXECUTION ROUND!!!" Basara announced as the crowd went wild "Oh for fuc------" Liyuga halted himself "Language..." Andrea was not in the mood "I'm sorry, I just----" Liyuga sighed as he was disturbed as well "Guys, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it..." Seok got on his knees and apologized "Doctor, please control your grandchild." Andrea took her rage out on doctor Hwan "Seok, you imbecile, how dare you embarrass me like this?!" He chopped Seok heavily on his head "OWWWWWWWW!!! THAT HURTS, GRAMPS!!!" It was, in fact, extremely painful as doctor Hwan hit an acute point in his cortex.

The lowest ranked player would be selected as the target of the execution round.

"GAYAKIRIMA KANAWARI, STEP RIGHT UP!!!" Basara loudly shouted as the passage was open in front of Kanawari's seat, next to Tateyana's "!?!??!?!?!?" Her face emitted the most perplexed combination of violent emotions in that split second "W-WHAT?! I'M NOT THE TARGET, LUS IS!!!" Out of instinct, Kanawari pointed at Lus, from afar "CHECK AGAIN, I AM NOT-------!!!!" Unbeknownst to her, there was a significant change in the rankings.

Not a single person didn't look at the ranking ladder, which was updated a few seconds ago.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 2 - Tatsu (23254/35000 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account] [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 3 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 4 - Arkalee (8023/10000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 5 - Rayazaki (7580/20000 points) [Has a 25% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day] [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 6 - Lus Sera (6256/7500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 7 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 8 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 9 - Daniel (4369/10000 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 10 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 11 - Sana (4162/4500 points)

> 12 - Kawahara (4064/4500 points)

> 13 - Hinagiku (4020/4500 points) [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control]

> 14 - Kuzan (3904/4500 points)

> 15 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 16 - Ikkiri (3692/4500 points) [Rikishima Ikkiri has a 75% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day, but should she get a claim wrong, the 75% point boost acquisition will become a 75% point boost acquisition in reverse and will only change back when she gets a claim right (should she fail to get it right three times in a row it will not go back] [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

> 17 - Kanawari (3528/4500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

"He gave her 3000 points..." Andrea was baffled "There's always a delay when the judgment round ends! Tenma Basara has to announce a few things and he took advantage of that to sneak that contract in, OHHHHHHHHH-------" Bryce supported his head with his two hands "NO, WHY?! WHEN THE ROUND ENDED, LUS WAS AT THE BOTTOM!! IT'S UNFAIR, PLEASE!!!!" Kanawari tried to reason with Basara as she was taken away to the center, fully dragged "But did I announce who was the target of the execution round though?" Basara's face radiated apathy "Y-YOU...!!!" Kanawari turned her attention to the unresponsive Lus, who hadn't said a word yet "YOU SOLD ME OUT LIKE THAT LUS?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!?" Kanawari's anger exploded "You're the one that sold me out..." Lus' eyes narrowed toward the center, where Kanawari was being shackled against her will "...Kanawari." Her facial expression was frozen and there was only a singular thought in her mind.

Basara would now announce the detailed bounty on the target of this execution round.

"Low and behold, the bounty!!" On the wide screen, it appeared.

> Target: Gayakirima Kanawari.

> Points earned from her death (collectively): 384 points.

> Points earned from her death (individually): 768 points.

> Bonus reward: You may select a zone and acquire it at half of its original price.

"Ehh... It's kinda... like... Why now?" Tateyana didn't really like the bonus reward "Is it even worth it to waste your points on a zone this early anyhow?" Yukishiro asked Hyunda "Who knows?" He shrugged "You played the game, so tell us." Sana insisted "Find out by yourself, Sana." He retorted "Useless..." She clicked her tongue "At least the points increased, but... 768 points seem kinda little..." Kuzan complained "I need more points..." He added.

There were many opinions on this, but the main attraction was not the bounty, at all.

Without delay, after seeing the nervous and paranoid Kanawari, who wouldn't stop screaming-----ultimately now locked and tied to the chair-----Basara commenced the rhythm of chaos.

"SPIN THE FUCKING SKULL!!!" Basara's voice chant seemed demonic to Kanawari, who began to cry out of desperation "Wait... We know how it ends, but... we didn't saw who killed----" Andrea interrupted Skan "Quiet." Skan's lips were sealed as he feared the attentive Andrea, whose eyes fully wide open "............" The suspense grew as they watch the uncaring fire skull go through 16 pictures.

For a beginning, there is always an end.

It landed, ultimately.

"KUZAN, YOU'RE UP!!!" Momentarily, Kanawari stopped crying as she saw that Kuzan was chosen "........" Hyunda thought if it was worth it "No, my audience deems it necessary that this happens." He murmured as he concluded "K-Kuzan.....!!" Kanawari smiled to Kuzan "Heya Kana! You're in a pretty rough shape..." Kuzan lamented "I-----" She gulped "I------" She gulped again as she had trouble speaking "I really hate this game, I am going to keep it real with you..." Kuzan took a heavy breath "Kuzan, please....!!!!" Kanawari wouldn't stop sobbing "Please... Please don't... kill me...!!!" She begged dramatically "Oh, I won't." Kuzan was quick to deny it ".....!?" Kanawari became rather alarmed.

But Kuzan only had one thing in mind, which led him to forfeit 100 of his points.

"He can choose two options...!! Is he going for the kill?!" Tateyana gulped "Of course he's not." Kawahara rejected the idea "Kuzan may be an idiot, but he understands how money works. If you understand how money works, then..." Kawahara halted his breath "Your odds at winning this game are absurdly high..." The options were chosen without hesitation as Kuzan pinned them down.

He first tracked the option by observing which options contained the symbol of "%" and then took almost the entirety of the one minute to observe just how many options he could apply to himself.

"My first option will be option 13!!" Kuzan demanded "What...?!" Bryce didn't understand Kuzan's approach "I also don't follow... I mean, the path of victory here is VERY OBVIOUS if you have the option to pick two options!!" Skan couldn't comprehend as well.

Option 13 reads as the following: Gayakirima Kanawari's choker's red lights will be depleted by 4; you will earn a 50% point acquisition boost for the next three hours.

Therefore, it was immediately applied, as Kanawari was down to a singular red light on her choker.

However, since Kuzan is able to pick another option, he went for it.

"I'll then pick option 68, which allows me to apply an option that's beneath the other 67 options, to myself." Kuzan released a heavy deep breath "I choose option 25!!!" Without reluctance, Kuzan made his decision "He's getting serious, it seems..." Sana noted "Maybe the reality check has finally come through!" Hyunda laughed as Kuzan's desk's front was open, which allowed the two guards carrying the variety of deadly tools, to arrive at the scene.

Option 25 reads as the following: Gayakirima Kanawari's left arm will be cut off in exchange for her choker's remaining red light (+2500 points).

"It just doesn't make any fucking sen------" Bryce was immediately corrected "LANGUAGE, I SAID!!" Andrea reminded him as her loud voice echoed throughout the room "EEEEK!! I'M SO SORRY!!" He repent immediately "His brazenness aside, he has a point." Liyuga admitted "The path to victory is beyond clear if you have two options. It's already been confirmed that you get all the points of the person you kill in this game. So, with that said..." Skan decided to finish Liyuga's sentence "All he had to do was pick the option that allows him to swap one of his classmates for Gayakirima Kanawari as the first option, and then when that's that, you go for the kill! ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS SWAP GAYAKIRIMA KANAWARI FOR HAJIME HYUNDA AND HE WOULD HAVE WON ALL OF HIS POINTS, PLUS THE BOUNTY AND THE POINT BARRIER BREAKTHROUGH!!!" Skan was going insane as he could not comprehend Kuzan's thought process.

But there was a reason for it.

"There's no way we could have that, could we?" Erigaisi brought to light something "In order to prevent such an exploitable strategy, every time a player can choose two options instead of one only; that specific option will allow you to do that but at the cost of the other option not being available." Erigaisi clarified "Wait... So if Takeshi Kuzan had done that... He would actually be giving the other player the opportunity to kill Hajime Hyunda?!" Bryce realized "Yes." The president confirmed "But this is a good example as to why using that option is bad. Even if you didn't have two options; it's still----objectively speaking------a bad choice." The president stretched the point even further "You are essentially allowing someone else, at random, mind you that, to have the opportunity to get so many free points. That's why, although the premise of swapping the target for Hikaru Yulia sounded alluring, it's ultimately a counterproductive move." He concluded "......." Some of the members of the student council that weren't aware of this, reflected on this "........" But Andrea thought of a way of actually making this work, under a specific condition.

Feeling scourging pain, Kuzan's left shoulder's pit was bleeding tremendously from the cut.

"AGHHHHHH......!!!!" He could only yell "DAMN IT...!!!!" He took heavy breaths "For the record, the vending machine is now selling highly effective anesthesia in the form of syringes. If you need your wounds bandages or disinfected, you may speak to Olivia afterwards." Basara declared the news "Oh gee..." Kuzan's breath was now thoroughly ragged and without strength "How generous... Thanks, teach..." He kept on struggling over his lost arm "Uhhh so in conclusion..." Tateyana looked over the ranking ladder "Where does that put him?" Many were curious too as they looked over the ranking ladder.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 4 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 5 - Arkalee (8023/10000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 6 - Rayazaki (7580/20000 points) [Has a 25% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day] [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 7 - Lus Sera (6256/7500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 8 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 9 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 10 - Daniel (4369/10000 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 11 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 12 - Sana (4162/4500 points)

> 13 - Kawahara (4064/4500 points)

> 14 - Hinagiku (4020/4500 points) [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control]

> 15 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

His rise was alarming and most of all, unexpected.

"Ok..." Tateyana gulped "He's close to breaking his point barrier too..." Akimiyashika noticed "That calculation was not a mistake..." Kawahara noted "But then again, we witness the craziest shifts in every execution round, so I guess it's only normal...?!" Akimiyashika ultimately concluded.

Despite Kuzan's position shift, the show had to go on, as the execution round would be alive as long as there were pictures left for the skull to select; and most importantly-----a target to kill.

With the exclusion of Takeshi Kuzan, 15 other individuals remained to be potentially chosen by the skull.

"SPIN IT!!!" At Basara's command, the skull's slow oval march was initiated, until it fully accelerated into full speed; carefully picking its target.

Kanawari dreaded her well-being when she was picked.

Sagasuga's fate was ultimately delivered by her choice alone, but Sagasuga's words came back to haunting Kanawari transiently.

"SANA, MAKE IT COUNT!!!" Basara was happy to announce that Sana was this round's executioner "Why hello there, Kanawari..." Sana's expression remained cold "I hope you don't mind me using your situation to my advantage..." Her wicked smile began to show "PLEASE...!!!" Kanawari entered a new layer of despair as Sana thought for a while.

It was something that everyone had noticed, but it was crucial to remember at all times when playing the execution rounds.

"Let me guess, she's going to forfeit 100 points and select the option that allows you to apply any of the prior options to yourself?" Bryce made the guess "That's no longer possible." Andrea corrected him "Any option that's used once in this execution round, no longer becomes available." He reminded him "RIGHT...!!!" He remembered now "But wait, she has two options to pick from... What could she be thinking so hard about...?" Bryce found her behavior puzzling "I don't know, but one thing is for certain..." Andrea already knew it.

There was essentially a surefire way for Sana to earn a lot of points subsequently. Would it, however, be wise in the long run to chase after a large quantity of points without any good bonuses?

She didn't think so, as she forfeited 50 of her points.

"Not 100? Cheeky." Hyunda critiqued her "This is not about the options..." Sana murmured "?" Hyunda was curious now.

Sana would then get up as fifty seconds remained.

"I'll be brief; I'm willing to accept points in order to increase Kanawari's points." Sana made her intentions be known "Under one condition though; it has to be at least half of the points in the option within your desire. If you got that, you have thirty seconds to negotiate." Sana then proceeded to cross her arms as the room fell silent for a while.

There was a visible lack of understanding going on.

"What did she just... say?!" Seok was confused, to say the least "It makes sense now that they know that the target of the execution round gives all of their points to the killer upon their deaths..." The president spoke "So wait... Nasha Sana is trying to imply that she is willing to expand the value of Gayakirima Kanawari's life...?!" Skan was outraged at the idea "It's wicked and immoral, however, there is undoubtedly an avenue of interest..." Andrea wasn't morally blind to the point of not noticing.

And certainly, no one in that room failed to see just how lucrative this idea could be.

"Sana, what about your second option?" Tatsu asked "What about it?" She was vague, with a snarky look on her face "I want to know if you are willing to use your two options with the idea you just proposed." Tatsu clarified "Yes, it's possible and I'm willing to do it. Want to give it a go?" Sana happily asked "....." Tatsu posed silence as he went over his points "G-Guys...?!" Kanawari could not believe what was about to be discussed "If you increase all of her choker's red lights to 10 and then select the option to cut her legs, I will give you half of the points required afterwards." Tatsu struck the first bargain "HUH?! NO, PLEASE!!" Kanawari dreaded even further "Hold up, this is just a terrible idea." Hyunda interrupted the entire thing, which made Sana a bit mad "You're getting annoying, Hyunda..." Her eyes narrowed "I'm dead serious. If you give her too many points, the option to terminate the round will be available to her. It costs 4000 points, so just know that." Hyunda adjoined his right fist to his face calmly "FUCK YOU!!! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?! I CAN HELP YOU, RETARD!!" Kanawari shouted at Hyunda with all of her rage "........" Hyunda's words made Sana rethink her stance.

However, he didn't back down.

"This can easily be solved." Tatsu would proceed to elaborate as Kanawari became even more nervous by the second "Use the option that allows you to select an option and erase it for the rest of the day." Everyone knew about this option by now.

It had been on the mind of every single player, but nobody thought about using it for one very good reason.

"No way. Are you crazy? The option costs 25000 points currently. I am poor in points, Tatsu. So, what will it be?" Sana pressured him "How about a loan?" Tatsu would then say something beyond absurd "20000 of my points to you; you will earn 3500 additional points from the point barrier bonus. Sum it up with your current points, you will have 27662 points." Sana's jaw dropped "Are you----Wait, hold on---You mean to tell me that you will give me 20000 of your points if I select the option to erase the said option?! What then?! My points will be 2662 afterwards! I just went minus!" Sana found Tatsu's deal beyond unreasonable "It would usually be unreasonable. However, with your second option, it's a different matter. You can bargain to someone else." Tatsu proposed.

It was a bit difficult to understand the implications of Tatsu's words.

"I see, how interesting." But the president caught on quickly "He is willing to give 20000 of his points to make Nasha Sana be able to afford the option to erase the said option..." The president sipped on his warm tea "But Nasha Sana doesn't benefit from this! It's as she said! She'll be in prejudice!!" Bryce agreed with Sana's words "Normally, yes. However, if Nasha Sana sticks to her words and tries to negotiate with someone else, they might be interested." Bryce then saw what he meant "Oh dam-----" Andrea looked at Bryce "Er----But the time! There's no time!!" Bryce was right.

There was about fifteen seconds left and with this much little time on the clock, there were little to no hope of negotiations.

"Option 41 will be my first option..." Sana was visibly mad because her initial idea wasn't well accepted "And then, option 15!!" The options were executed thoroughly without delay.

Option 41 reads as the following: Forfeit any multiples of your points (x96) and for each multiple, add a red light to Gayakirima Kanawari's choker.

Option 15 reads as the following: Deplete 9 red lights from Gayakirima Kanawari's choker; for the next four hours, you will have a 75% point acquisition boost.

"OH GOD----PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO!!!!" Kanawari begged, but it went to deaf ears "........." Sana ignored Kanawari and kept the mad expression as she saw her points decline "I mean, it's a good idea, don't get me wrong." Hyunda felt like he should have a word with her "Shut up." She coldly retorted "......." Hyunda didn't feel like anything he would say would have an effect on her.

Regardless, the ranking ladder was updated as Sana added 9 red lights to Kanawari's choker, which initially left 10 lit up on her choker. Meaning, she lost 960 points, for the second option. Not to mention the 50 points prior to it, used to open the options.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 4 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 8 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 9 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 11 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 12 - Kawahara (4064/4500 points)

> 14 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 15 - Ikkiri (3692/4500 points) [Rikishima Ikkiri has a 75% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day, but should she get a claim wrong, the 75% point boost acquisition will become a 75% point boost acquisition in reverse and will only change back when she gets a claim right (should she fail to get it right three times in a row it will not go back] [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

> 16 - Kanawari (3528/4500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 17 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

"So, why didn't her idea work? Didn't we go over how beneficial it was?" Seok asked "Hajime Hyunda explained it." Liyuga spoke "If Gayakirima Kanawari is given too many points, she can easily scour for the option that allows her to terminate the round at the cost of 4000 points. At that point, it not only backfired, but Gayakirima Kanawari is back into the game." He concluded "Okay but... What if what Hirakibo Tatsu said happens?" Bryce threw the idea out in the air "Unrealistic, so far. Because only one person can pull it off and it requires 25000 points. Furthermore... Who knows what he actually will chose if he gets a turn..." Andrea concluded as the skull was spun once again.

Takeshi Kuzan and Nasha Sana were no longer available to be chosen.

Therefore, the skull would go through 14 others.

"Lus." Basara spoke in her direction "You're up." He continued "I know..." She pinpointed Kanawari with a deadly glare "......!!!" Kanawari immediately felt shivers as her skin became colder by the second "Hmm..." In control of her decisions, Daniel gave it some thought "Kill her." Lus coldly ordered "If you let her live, she will come back to bite you. Trash like her needs to be disposed of, Daniel." Ruthless, Lus commanded with that type of speech "I DIDN'T MEAN IT!!! I WAS PRESSURED INTO IT, BY HYUNDA!!!" Kanawari tried to reason with Lus "Woah there! You gladly accepted it though, didn't you?" Kanawari's face twitched "T-THAT---THAT'S NOT TRUE, LUS!! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO BE AT THE BOTTOM!!!" Kanawari persisted "Hey..." Lus couldn't understand something.

As well as many others.

"Aren't you talking to the wrong person here?" She asked Kanawari, while exhibiting a mocking expression "Ughhhh!!!" Once Kanawari looked to the right side, where Daniel is, she lost all hope "Oh God. I'm dead." She looked down on the ground in order to avoid eye contact as much as possible "Hmm....." Daniel was in deep thought "What's wrong? Sad that you can't take your own limbs again?" Basara mocked Daniel "A bit..." He admitted it "Woah." Erigaisi was shocked "Wait, Lus Sera didn't score correctly in that last claim. So Daniel Lead can only choose a single option..." Krale reminded them "True... It leaves me wondering just exactly what's on his mind..." This was the eternal question that everyone had as soon as Daniel opted to forfeit a set quantity of Lus' points.

He decided to forfeit 100 of her points.

"......." She was hesitant on knowing what he would choose in her steed, but felt like he was not aiming to kill Kanawari "How about another test of loyalty, Lus?" Lus' expression darkened "Why... What more do you want? You have control over my choices for the entire day and that alone is still not enough? Not even when I want to kill my ex best friend with all my might?!" Lus questioned Daniel more thoroughly "There's a line between loyalty and utility. Let's see if you have what it takes..." Daniel would then announce his desired option "Option 75!" All eyes traveled down to where that option was "YOU-----!!!" Lus immediately blurted as she saw what the option was.

Option 75 reads as the following: Forfeit 2,000 points; every time you score correctly, the points earned will be doubled (this effect stacks), however, should you score incorrectly more than three times, you will die.

"It's not enough to just say "yes". It's not enough to want to be "useful". It's necessary to be progressively superior, Lus." Daniel told her ".....!!!!" She gritted her teeth in pure unfiltered rage "I fucking hate you so much." She was about to cry "Don't cry now, you've been given a chance. Use it wisely and you might even become the one at the top and then... your dreams..." Daniel didn't finish his words but he let Lus ponder the deeper meaning "AGHHHH...!!!" Kanawari was breaking down from all the pressure "Yup... I know that feeling...!!" Akimiyashika sympathized to a degree "You believe you have seen everything until you are forced onto that chair and your life is at the hand of everybody else... It's fucking horrifying." The ladder was updated shortly after.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 4 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 7 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 8 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 10 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 11 - Lus Sera (4156/7500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [Every time Lus Sera scores correctly, the points earned will be doubled (this effect stacks), however, should she score incorrectly more than three times, she will die.]

> 12 - Kawahara (4064/4500 points)

> 14 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 17 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

With Lus out of the way, the momentum had to be initiated.

"SPIN IT!!! WE DON'T GOT ALL DAY!!!" Basara ordered as the skull traveled through the remaining 13 other players "He's investing on her, it seems." Liyuga deducted "Most likely. Lus Sera's choices in the execution round are under Daniel Lead's control now until the end of the day. This means that unless she has a lot of points to spend, she is very much otherwise, not as useful as the others." The president agreed "Still... How unlucky do you have to be to not score three times in a row?" Bryce asked "Considering the fact that Daniel Lead somehow managed to score 11 out of 12 in the judgment round, I don't think this will be an issue." Andrea reasoned "At the end of the day, it's 50/50. Even if you don't score twice, the third time won't be as uneven, it's still 50/50." The president added.

The target was chosen.

"Rikishima Ikkiri!!" Basara shouted her name with fashion "That's ME!!" She smiled in a dorky manner "She has two choices, because she actually scored..." Lus spoke to Daniel, despite still being mad at him "Yes." He simply said "........" Lus gave him an apathetic glance "I will copy your every answer, Daniel. If I die, you will lose value. You understand that, right?" Lus spoke with confidence, for the first time in a while "......" Daniel's eyes slightly widened as he was surprised "No way, you're finally in the mood to be of use, Lus?" Daniel mocked her with a smile "I will fucking choke you with your sleeves, you narcissistic bastard..." She grunted as she threatened him "Be careful not to trip." Daniel mocked her yet again.

Ikkiri thought for a while about what she wanted to achieve from Kanawari's misery and how she could profit from her life to the maximum.

"Woah, I can't switch other players with Kanawari and use my second option... That sucks so much..." She lamented "It's this game's "balanced" side." Hyunda remarked "Balanced, good one." Ikkiri lowly laughed "We really needed to eliminate the option that allows the player to escape the execution... Hyunda, you dumbass, why didn't you do that..." Ikkiri was mad at his lack of decision making "That doesn't promote skill and fair play. The player at the center, should be allowed to get a chance at escaping this horror show." Hyunda replied back "Liaaaaaaaar, you just want to see us suffer and struggle for your amusement!" Ikkiri laughed "TRUE, HAHAHA!!!" He didn't deny it and got hateful glances "Mhm... Well then..." Ikkiri opted to forfeit 50 of her points.

Ikkiri had come up with a rather malicious idea.

"Alright, I'm taking offers in regards to increasing Kanawari's points." Sana was shocked and bewildered as she heard her proposal "What are you, stupid?! We went over this! The only way to stop Kanawari from escaping is by erasing the option------" Ikkiri interrupted her immediately without a second thought given "No, there's a more simple method. It's already in one of the exhibited options." Ikkiri told her "....." And Sana went over the options.

She realized her point but wasn't sure if it would work.

"Does that even work...?!" Sana asked Basara, but he shrugged "Hyunda, how about it? Wanna help me out?" Ikkiri asked him "Hell no." He replied quickly "Idiot." She as well "Hmm... Tatsu?" Ikkiri confined herself to the second place "What's the option you have in mind?" He asked, first of all "42." Kanawari looked over the option "AHHHHH?!" She immediately realized what it meant "I think it works... I mean, if you think back, the only way for Kanawari to escape the round is to shout the number of the option that allows her to do so. Take away her ability to shout and what happens?" Ikkiri's idea came to fruition "I mean..." Hinagiku started to see the potential value "Very well." Tatsu was in the mood to negotiate "How much for her legs?" Tatsu asked "Hmm..." Ikkiri looked over the option that allowed her to cut Kanawari's legs "Since it gives her 3200 points, I want half of it, Tatsu------so 1600." Thirty seconds remained on the clock "......." Tatsu entered a state of deep thought.

There was something that seemed like a flaw, however.

"If you press the option to cut her legs, it comes at the cost of her choker's red lights." He told her "Well, that's only if we do go for that option." Ikkiri said "What----What's on your mind then?" Tatsu reluctantly asked "I'm thinking about first sealing her lips and then picking the option that increases her points by 50%, which doesn't come at the cost of a red light." Ikkiri revealed her intention now "I see. And you want half of that?" He asked "Ugh, yes, Tatsu. Don't waste my time if you're not going to comm------" An instant pop up appeared on Ikkiri's screen, with a contract "Now we're talking..." She sounded excited "But... This condition... I can't accept it." She rejected Tatsu's proposal "By increasing Kanawari's points by 50%, it will mean that her points; breaking the point barrier included----will be at 10556. By giving you half, you will receive 5278, which, if you include your barr-----" Ikkiri was getting tired of Tatsu's never ending explanations "12306 points, I know! But I am not obeying this condition!" Ikkiri's mood became foul "I see... No deal then." Tatsu cancelled the contract right away.

Ikkiri sighed and looked at Hyunda in the hope that he would go along with it.

"It takes 7 red lights to seal her lips. She has only one. Do something about that first." Ikkiri sighed again "You guys are cowards!" She threw a tantrum "You're the one that wants to exploit others! Just focus on yourself, for fuck sake!" Hyunda replied in the same manner "Oh, fine. Wanna see me be egotistical too? Think I can't?!" Ikkiri threatened "Oh fuck, what is she up too?!" Arkalee dreaded her decision out of nowhere "WATCH!!!" With something to prove, Ikkiri selected her first option "OPTION 41!!!" Ikkiri would proceed to make yet another reckless purchase "She's putting me to shame with these impulsive decisions...!!" Hyunda couldn't help but genuinely smile at everything she did "AND THEN, OPTION 13!!!" With a grand smile, Ikkiri purchased her desired options.

Option 41 reads as the following: Forfeit 400 points, decide the number of rounds within the next judgment round.

Option 13 reads as the following: Forfeit 2000 points; adjust your point barrier.

"How many rounds do you wish the next judgment round to have, Ikkiri?" Basara asked her, but there was already an option that allowed her to select a quantity of numbers "Hmmm..." She scoured through the available points and tried to see how many rounds she could, hypothetically speaking, ask for "Oh, only 20?! Bummer..." She sighed "20?!" Arkalee freaked out "There's no way someone doesn't die from that..." Opinions started to spread "Hmm..." Ikkiri did the necessary calculation in her head "Hina..." She knew that the option she picked would ultimately also benefit Hinagiku as well "Oh well." But she didn't care "16! Because I'm turning 16 in June!" Thus, the number of rounds was chosen "Oh for fuck's sake-----" Many didn't like this "This... is bad..." Akimiyashika came to terms with it "No shit." Kawahara agreed "But I'm a genius and I won't get 10 claims wrong, so who gives a shit!" Kawahara just laughed it off.

And as for Ikkiri's second option...

"I want my point barrier adjusted to 1500!" As it was the only available number close to her point barrier, she had to pick it "Very well. You love wasting points, don't you?" Basara questioned her as he also found her behavior impulsive "It's fun!" She didn't shy away from it "I see." Basara acknowledged it.

And with Ikkiri out of the picture, as well as some options that no longer could be picked again this round, the skull was spun once again.

"SPIN IT!!!" Basara highly demanded right away "Hold on, I just noticed something..." Bryce started the dialogue again "Why aren't they killing Gayakirima Kanawari?" There were a few reasons for it, but Andrea went for the one she thought was the most logical "Putting Rikishima Ikkiri aside... All of their choices have been... an investment towards the future rounds. And that investment, in their minds, is far more worth it than killing Gayakirima Kanawari." She told Bryce "Killing Gayakirima Kanawari individually, will give you 768 points. Add up her points, 3528, you receive 4296. Add your point barrier breakthrough, and you probably receive a lot. However, there is an undeniable merit to picking other options. Such as the boosts..." The president offered his insight "In other words, in more rash terms------Gayakirima Kanawari's life is not valuable to the point where they have to kill her without a second thought. As a matter of fact, they have been discussing and trying to come up with methods to increase her life's value... for a reason, Bryce." Bryce felt like he was scolded on something relatively obvious "I... get it..." He reluctantly gulped.

Before it landed, the ranking ladder was updated as Ikkiri's position plummeted once again, by her own accord.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 4 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 7 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 8 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 10 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 12 - Kawahara (4064/4500 points)

> 14 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 15 - Kanawari (3528/4500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 16 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

> 17 - Ikkiri (1242/1500 points) [Rikishima Ikkiri has a 75% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day, but should she get a claim wrong, the 75% point boost acquisition will become a 75% point boost acquisition in reverse and will only change back when she gets a claim right (should she fail to get it right three times in a row it will not go back] [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

In no time, the skull landed on its upcoming target, as Kuzan, Sana, Lus, and Ikkiri, are out of the picture.

"About time, HOLY FUCK!!" Kawahara shouted "Oh God..." Kanawari, became fearful for her life once again "Isn't this your first time?" Basara asked Kawahara "It is!" And he didn't deny it "Congratulations, you get to pop your cherry!!" Basara clapped and Kawahara gave him the middle finger.

Kawahara scored the last claim correctly, so he is able to pick two options instead of one.

"Alright, let's cut the shit. There's only one reason why we aren't killing her and we know it all too well." Kawahara summed up the attention of the remaining players who had yet to be chosen "Here are my demands: At least 5000 points and a solid bonus boost for the next hour. Preferably a 50% point bonus boost." Kawahara demanded "......" Silence filled the room "Oh right, I will mention this----big guys----should my demands not be fulfilled, don't be surprised by what happens next." Kawahara's face became serious "What do you mean?" Hyunda asked him "If, let's say, out of spite, I want one of you clowns to be swapped, then don't pin it on me. I need points, but I don't mind co-working temporarily, if you catch my drill." Kawahara explained it with his own words "......." Hyunda gave it some thought.

It was possible. And, statically speaking, if Kawahara is out of the picture, it would mean that there are only 11 players left to be chosen.

If there is an intention to profit from Kanawari's life, then a decision would have to be made now.

"Add nine red lights to her choker and then seal her lips, which requires her red lights to go down by eight. Do that and I'll fulfill your demands." Tatsu, stepped right up "Hit me with the contract, big guy." Kawahara wanted to see more from him "Sure." Tatsu didn't hesitate "WAIT!!" A voice cried out in desperation "Hm?" Kawahara looked at the very center "What do I have to do... for you to end this round?!" Kanawari asked as she figured that Kawahara could ultimately be reasoned with "Nothing. I'm about to receive 5000 points, which is more than you can ultimately put up on the table. Sucks to be you, but you are fucking dead." Kawahara shattered Kanawari's expectations as he forfeited 200 of his points "OH GOD-----!!!" Kanawari dreaded as she saw the two guards approaching her at the center now that the central lane was open.

Kawahara had to pick a different way to add red lights to her choker because Sana had already picked the option that allows a player to add red lights to the target's choker by forfeiting multiples in 96.

In other words, he would have to expand his options.

"Tatsu, give me a hand and look for options that allow you to add red lights to her choker!" Kawahara wanted cooperation "Got it." And Tatsu was more than happy to oblige "........." Lus was slowly breaking out of her hatred mold "What's wrong?" Daniel noticed it right away "Nothing..." She refused to elaborate "Don't worry. She will die." Lus' face twitched "Can't they just fucking do it then...?! This is just... torture, at this point...!!" Lus spoke "Your life, in this game, needs to have value. If your life has no value, then others will try their best to make sure your life has value. Isn't it beautiful how thoughtful these people can be?" Daniel admired Kawahara and Tatsu's dedication to the cause "You're not alright. I know this is obvious, but there is something deeply wrong with you and I'm not sure if you even know what that is." Lus confessed her true thoughts "That might be true. But at least... I remain true to my core when it matters." He looked at Lus now "What about you? Are you true to your core?" Tatsu had managed to spot the option.

The option that was first picked as Tatsu noticed it, was 158.

It reads the following: Forfeit half of your points; Gayakirima Kanawari will earn a 50% point acquisition boost, but her choker's red lights will be lit up fully (excluding the last remaining one).

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Following that up, the second option that was picked by Kawahara was option 73: Gayakirima Kanawari's lips will be sealed for the entire day in exchange for eight of her choker's red lights (+2800 points).

And since these apply in the sequence that the options were picked, it would mean that the first option would take priority.

Therefore, Kanawari's choker's red lights were fully lit up at the cost of Kawahara's point by half.

And now...

"NO, GOD NO!!! PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!!! SOMEONE, I DON'T CARE WHO, JUST SAVE ME!!!!" With hyper-turbulence, Kanawari's movements became uncontrollable as she tried to physically break free from her chair while emitting her loudest cries "I DON'T DESERVE THIS, PLEASE!!!! LUS, PLEASE CONVINCE THEM!!! SAVE ME, YOU HAVE THE POINTS!!! FORM A CONTRACT, I'M BEGGING YOU, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Towards Lus, Kanawari yelled ".........!!!" A sudden impulse was driven by Kanawari's words as Lus was showing a rather meek composure in regard to this.

A sudden physical trauma is necessary to break out of a psychological mold at times.

Depending on how deep the person is into that mold, the physical trauma would have to be severe.

His left foot dove deeper into her left broken knee, from an oblique angle; causing Lus to scream instantly.

"AAAAAHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Despite the focal point being Kanawari, who was surrounded by two guards with their necessary tools at hand, Lus' scream proved to be so loud that not a single person could ignore it "What's going on over there?!" Basara questioned Lus, whose face was radiating with physical agony "Knee injury! I'll take care of it!" Daniel withdrew his left leg from the angle "Let's see..." Daniel balanced his body and entered beneath Lus' table "The painkillers wore off, so now she's feeling the pain! Continue with the event, teacher!" Daniel told him "It was going to undergo anyways." Basara rose his hand up in the air and the guards began to execute the second option that was chosen "GHHHHHH....." With saliva dripping from her mouth's corners, Lus could barely compose herself "Sorry about that... I had the very bad feeling that you were about to do something stupid, so it appears I'll have to guide you through the motions here, Lus..." Daniel's forehead became softly adjoined with Lus' left knee "Hate her. She tried to kill you by manipulating the positions. Why are you thinking of saving her? For fuck's sake, make up your mind already, woman..." Daniel erupted his head slightly just to meet Lus' trembling gaze "Say all the words you really want to say to her. You won't have another time." With a strong swing, Daniel rammed his forehead onto Lus' left knee "GHHHH.......!!!!!!!" Wanting to avoid attention, Lus didn't scream.

Afterwards, Daniel got out of that position and went back to his chair.

The method that the guards used to seal Kanawari's lips was a rather simple one; a very rough tape would be wrapped around her mouth, which would effectively not allow her to fix or move her lips in any manner. Furthermore, an unbreakable iron-clad glue was applied all over her lips, so even if by some chance the tap was to be removed, it would not matter.

Kanawari was officially unable to recite a single word from here on.

"A pleasure doing business." Kawahara rejoiced as he had a good outcome, only accepting the contract when everything was done "Let's see if the theory works..." Ikkiri got curious, now that Kanawari's lips were officially sealed.

At the same time, the ranking ladder updated.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 2 - Tatsu (18254/35000 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account] [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 3 - Kawahara (10532/15000 points) [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 4 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 5 - Kanawari (9828/10000 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account] [Has a 50% acquisition boost for the rest of the day]

> 6 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 7 - Arkalee (8023/10000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 8 - Rayazaki (7580/20000 points) [Has a 25% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day] [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 9 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 10 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 11 - Daniel (4369/10000 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 12 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 13 - Lus Sera (4156/7500 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [Every time Lus Sera scores correctly, the points earned will be doubled (this effect stacks), however, should she score incorrectly more than three times, she will die.]

> 15 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 16 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

"Hirakibo Tatsu could have cancelled the contract and screwed Ryousuke Kawahara..." Liyuga noticed "I'm surprised he didn't..." Andrea confessed "He's a mysterious guy... Seriously, who is he..." Seok murmured as he saw doctor Hwan going over some files "These... are not legit..." His intuition spoke out loud "What isn't?" The president asked "These files! They don't add up!" Doctor Hwan showed spite "Nothing has been adding up for a while now..." Bryce complimented "Wait... No, seriously------how the hell did it reach that ending then?!" Bryce stopped himself "........" No one knew the answer to that.

But by now, with 9828 points, it was no longer a doubt.

Gayakirima Kanawari's life has value and strong interest.

"SPIN IT, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!" At Basara's order, the skull of doom ran rampant.

Those who can no longer be chosen by the skull are: Kuzan, Sana, Lus, Ikkiri, and Kawahara.

"Oh shit----" When his picture was chosen by the skull, everyone in the room knew that there wouldn't be a repetition like before "SATOU RAYAZAKI!!!" Basara chanted his name up and Rayazaki, determined to fix his points, only had one choice "Alright, let's get this shit over wi------" However, he has the power where others do not "Kick: Satou Rayazaki!" Loudly, Hyunda declared the usage of his reward "GODDAMN IT, FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER!!!! FUCK YOU!!!!" With absolute rage, Rayazaki slammed his fists onto his front desk "Don't get upset, the chances of you being chosen in the upcoming spin are the exact same as before you were chosen." Hyunda shrugged in a mocking manner "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Unable to contain himself, Rayazaki shouted as he released his pent up stress.

Once again, the skull was spun, with the same odds for everyone.

However, just because you have the same odds, it doesn't mean that you are arbitrarily favored, by any means.

"Oh no..." The moment they saw his name, they knew that the outcome for him would be astronomical "Hirakibo Tatsu." Basara smiled as Tatsu was chosen "......" Tatsu, who had his eyes closed, decided to open them now "She's done for. There's absolutely no reason not to kill her." Yukishiro claimed "I wonder about that..." Hyunda had a different idea in mind.

The death of Gayakirima Kanawari, in total, excluding barrier breakthroughs, gives 10596 points.

In the hands of someone with a barrier breakthrough coming up soon, it would be extremely advantageous.

"Who wants body parts from her?" The unexpected came to life, as Tatsu spoke those words "Wh----" Lus was confused "Yup, that's the correct approach." Kawahara agreed "I have two options. I'll have to use one of them to increase her red lights, but only the other one will allow me to get rid of a body part of hers, which will give her more points." Tatsu explained his approach and then added some more crucial information "The ones that haven't been chosen and that can be chosen are: Tateyana, Arkalee, Rayazaki, Hyunda, Daniel, Hinagiku, Yulia, Yukishiro, Akimiyashika and Stratos." Their names were called out "To all of you, who can be chosen in the next spin, you should be aware that the profit you gain can be massive. That's why I'm open for business. Send me a contract my way and I will accept it, as long as it's at least half of the points that Kanawari will gain from the option. Lastly, it can't be under 3000 points. I must earn at least, 3000 points." Tatsu's demands became rather brutal to some.

But his words were true.

"Say..." Akimiyashika gulped "Let's say I offer a contract that says: If I'm chosen, then I will have to transfer those said points-----will you still accept?" Akimiyashika asked "Of course not." Tatsu rejected her right away "........" Akimiyashika was finding it rather difficult to forfeit at least 3000 points like that "Tatsu, no one will offer you such points, man." Hyunda began to talk with Tatsu "Not even you?" Tatsu asked "Just get this over with and kill her. No need to be a baby just because you're not gonna break your barrier." Hyunda sighed "You and I are the only ones with a significant lead." He added "And you don't want to make your lead far more significant?" Hyunda was questioned "If only it worked like that." Hyunda lamented "I see. So no one wants to try?" He asked all the other remaining players "3000 is too much..." Yulia admitted "Way too much..." Rayazaki followed it up "Got it." Tatsu understood and decided to stick to his other plan.

He forfeited 100 of his points right away.

"Option 51 and option 100, please." Tatsu monochromatically ordered "Seriously...?! She's going to live... AGAIN?!" Tateyana was beyond surprised "This guy..." Yukishiro was rather enticed by the options that Tatsu picked "Yup, you got it." Hyunda confirmed Yukishiro's suspicion despite her not speaking yet "It wasn't obvious at first, but if you take everything into account, there's really only a singular logical explanation for this." Yukishiro lightly smiled as the options were executed in sequence.

Option 51 reads as the following: Forfeit 2000 points to buy a new player into the game (they will start with the same points as the lowest ranked player, but with -50 points instead)

Option 100 reads as the following: Forfeit 4000 points, your rewards will be doubled for the rest of the day.

"Double... the rewards...?!" The implication was already far too great "And we're also getting a new player... What is he thinking?!" Tatsu's behavior could not be comprehended by many "Kanawari's value didn't go up, and he's only further away from his point barrier..." The ranking ladder was then shortly updated.

> 1 - Hyunda (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 2 - Tatsu (12154/35000 points) [Has a 100% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next four hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 100% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account] [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 3 - Kawahara (10532/15000 points) [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 4 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 6 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 9 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 10 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 12 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 15 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 16 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

"HUH?!" Arkalee's jaw dropped as soon as she saw Tatsu's bonuses "EXCUSE ME?! WHAT?! NO!!!" She refused to believe it "Co-dependence has its price, Arkalee." Hyunda told her "WHY YOU----TATSU, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Enraged, Arkalee elevated from her chair "It means what it means. What else could it mean?" Tatsu replied it normally "BUT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ABSORB ALL MY BONUS POINTS NOW!!! I WON'T EARN A SINGLE DIGIT!!!" Arkalee complained "Yes, and?" He asked "AGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Out of pure rage, Arkalee grabbed all of her hairstrands and was forced to cope up with the new reality.

With Tatsu out of the picture, the skull was ready to be spun.

"SPIN IT!!!" Basara, impatient, wanted this round to be over with "It should be coming up, right...?!" Bryce asked them "Yes. Either the next round or the after." Andrea confirmed it "Man..." Seok was beyond suspenseful as the rounds grew heavier.

The only players that can be chosen by the skull now are: Tateyana, Hyunda, Daniel, Hinagiku, Yukishiro, Stratos, Akimiyashika, Rayazaki and Yulia.

"Oh..." The moment the skull landed on his picture, Liyuga began to saw how everything went down "Daniel Lead..." Andrea, with caution, muttered his name.

The target of the skull was no other than him.

"Daniel, break a leg!" Basara passed the baton to him ".........." Daniel's eyes narrowed completely as he awaited patiently for this opportunity "If he kills her, he breaks his point barrier..." Yukishiro became alarmed "But he won't." Yukishiro and Sana both looked at Hyunda as he said that "He wanted to, but he won't. Oh no... Definitely not anymore..." Hyunda then began to slowly laugh as he had an idea of what was about to go down.

According to Lus' expectations, now was the time.

"Please... Let me just say those words, before you..." Lus made the request "......." Daniel took a quick glance at her eyes and saw that she was ready for it "Make it count." Daniel, with forty-five seconds on the clock, gave Lus the spotlight.

After a deep breath, Lus erased all of her weakness and proceed forth.

"Kanawari, look at me."Already traumatized, without hope of getting out alive, Kanawari could barely move her head "I said... LOOK AT ME!!!" After Lus dealt the last shout, Kanawari looked over to where Lus was, on her left "I know you can't speak, but I don't care, you will listen..." Kanawari had once seen that expression from Lus in the past "I am your friend and ever since we've been friends, I've never failed to be your friend. It wasn't an exaggeration, all those times when I said I would die for you if I said I had the chance. However... After what you did... To deceive me, manipulate me into believing that you deserve better... I feel betrayed. I don't like feeling betrayed or manipulated. That's why, Kanawari, I hope you make better decisions in your next life." Kanawari's tears ran faster and her terror increased to the maximum "Because you already made plenty of fucking bad decisions in this one." Lus then looked at Daniel "She's all yours." Coldly, Lus gave him the permission "Woah, she's cold." Hyunda whistled "Too bad though." Daniel forfeited 100 points.

The usual wide sea of options was available for a singular minute. There were some new options here and there, but the majority of the options were options that were already previously seen.

Since Daniel correctly scored in the round of the last claim, he can pick not only one option, but two.

As Daniel read through the options that he hadn't seen pop up on the screen in this game so far, he found one that had untapped potential.

"Hmm... This one has real potential..." A low light smirk was born from his lips ".......?" Lus found it strange that Daniel was not going straight for the obvious choices "What's wrong? Do you need me to help you scout the choices that let you kill her? Or are you thinking deeply about your second option?" Lus was considerate "No, no. This... I want to try this one." Daniel became decided "OPTION 65!!!!" Shouting as loud as he could, Daniel picked his first option "....?!?!?" Lus' face became perplexed "WH---WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" She freaked out at the nature of the option "It works." Daniel then followed it up with his desired second option "And for my second option; option 97!!" The true change came to light as the second option proved to be unorthodox.

Lus was so baffled that she could not produce a single word; she stood motionless as she pondered what was even the meaning of her words back then.

Hinagiku found it entertaining and witty in a sense, but ultimately came to a singular conclusion.

"You really can't be trusted, Daniel... What am I going to do with a boy like you, seriously..." She was disappointed but invigorated to see the outcome of this now.

Option 65 reads as the following: Forfeit all of your points; your point barrier will be reset; furthermore, for the rest of the day, should you get 5 claims correct in a row, you will be awarded with the total of points of those claims.

Option 97 reads as the following: Forfeit 1000 points; target one of your classmates----they will be swapped with Gayakirima Kanawari as the execution round's target (Gayakirima Kanawari can forfeit 500 points in order to nullify this).

"There's... no way this is beneficial... right?!" Bryce pondered as he sweated "Hmmm..." The president began to think whether or not it was "Daniel, you crazy rat, who's your target for the second option?" Basara asked "Oh, he knows." As soon as the word "he" was said, not a single male individual in the room felt ultimately saved "Who?" Basara insisted and Daniel then looked at him with scorning eyes as his target squirmed in rage "You, of course." Daniel looked at Rayazaki with a staggering expression "GO OUT AND BLEED FOR THE CROWD, RAYAZAKI!!! HAHAHA!!!" Laughing like a true maniac, Daniel ultimately selected his target for the second option "DANIEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU I SWEAR!!!! AGHHHHHH------!!!!" Quickly, Rayazaki was overpowered by two guards who went behind him, as his desk opened the lane to the central chair "YOU'RE THAT MAD SHE BLEW MY DICK?! FUCKING SUCKS TO SUCKS!! SHE'S A WHORE!!! YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS A FUCKING WHORE THAT SUCKED MY DICK, LET THAT SINK IN!!!!" As Rayazaki assaulted Daniel verbally, he just kept on laughing without a care in the world.

image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9c3e3c59-8f24-49ce-8a2b-546d1bb52197/di81fnm-1fda5201-902f-4f5f-adab-91d086effe86.png/v1/fit/w_804,h_561,q_70,strp/no_context__by_kumokuroro_di81fnm-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NTYxIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOWMzZTNjNTktOGYyNC00OWNlLThhMmItNTQ2ZDFiYjUyMTk3XC9kaTgxZm5tLTFmZGE1MjAxLTkwMmYtNGY1Zi1hZGFiLTkxZDA4NmVmZmU4Ni5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9ODA0In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.U096PVmCVcW3XX-i7rsyhrneYHd-7ZFeFqcaG5rT6DU]

Midst that, Kanawari's shackles were released, albeit her mouth restrain was permanent.

She had a lot of trouble believing that she not only managed to stay alive, but that her body remained unscathed.

"Told you nothing bad was gonna happen!" Hyunda told Kanawari, but she was far too traumatized to look anywhere but the ground "Hey, get here!!" Tateyana loudly shouted at Kanawari so she could go back to her seat; which she ultimately did, although very meekly, as if lost.

Given that Kanawari was no longer the target of the execution round, it meant that Rayazaki's turn to be shackled came forth.

"You could argue it was predictable, but... Kanawari living for that long is really... how do I say this..." Yukishiro wasn't able to find the correct word "Lucky." Sana finished for her "Almost..." Yukishiro replied "I think she died in a sense. Sigh, she might just..." Hyunda had a bad feeling about Kanawari's future.

Now that Rayazaki was thoroughly restrained, Basara had to elevate the momentum.

"SPIN IT!!!" As Basara said that, Bryce noticed a flaw "Wait, wait---This is dumb! He has 7580 points! The option to terminate the round at the cost of fewer points will come up!" Bryce insisted with his belief "...In theory." Liyuga, who had seen through everything, already deducted the reason for the outcome "In theory?" Bryce wanted to know what Liyuga was referring to "Watch." He told him.

And so, the skull landed.

"Shrimp, you're up!!" All eyes were on Hinagiku "It's not me who you have to look at." She decided to remind them "Oh, RIGHT!!" Tateyana, who had forgotten about it, looked over to Daniel, who was in fact in control of Hinagiku's turn during this particular execution round "........." Rayazaki didn't speak a word and waited to see what Daniel would do "Please pick 100 options, please pick 100 options, please pick 100 options, please pick 100 options, please pick 100 options, please pick 100 options, please pick 100 opt-----" They all thought he had gone insane as Daniel kept reciting the same words over and over "Oh sorry, I shouldn't speak your thoughts out loud. That's a bit insensitive." Daniel sighed "YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIIIIITTTTTTTTT.......!!!!!!" Rayazaki's face twitched with uncontrollable rage.

Currently, Rayazaki only has a single red light. There are a wide variety of options that allow players to add red lights to a player's choker, but they have crafty conditions.

It is also worth noting that Hinagiku did not score correctly during the last claim, thus, Daniel only has one option to choose from.

"I'll forfeit five points." Many became staggered "FIVE?!" Arkalee was baffled "Why five only?!" Akimiyashika also didn't understand "...I wouldn't even bet that much, honestly..." Kawahara murmured to himself "Huuuuuuh?!" Akimiyashika still couldn't comprehend "........" Rayazaki tried his best to maintain his poker face "Well, at least he was economical about it..." Hinagiku showed some appreciation as the five options were exhibited on the screen.

> 1 - Decrease Satou Rayazaki's red lights from his choker by taking points from him (1 red light is equivalent to 500 points) in which case those points are transferred to you.

> 2 - Satou Rayazaki legs and arms will be cut off in exchange for his remaining choker's red lights (+15000 points)

> 3 - Transfer your points to an individual in your class (minimal point input: 1000)

> 4 - Earn 4,000 points; if Satou Rayazaki doesn't die in this round of execution, ten red lights will be lit up on your choker.

> 5 - Increase Satou Rayazaki's choker's red lights by nine (he can forfeit 2000 of his points to you in order to deny this)

Rayazaki's expression darkened with stress as his desired option did not show up.

"Why not simply forfeit a single point if the aim was to make sure he didn't get a chance to escape?" Skan asked "The odds are low, but presumably..." Andrea drew a guess "OPTION 4!!" Without any sort of hesitance, Daniel spoke in regard to his desired option "YOU COULD HAVE ASKED!!" Hinagiku, mad, got up from her seat and decided to go straight to where Kanawari was previously seated "Huh? You're getting 4000 points. Stop talking." Daniel found Hinagiku's complain unreasonable "I could have gotten more if you just decided to fucking kill him..." Hinagiku now took her seat, on Daniel's right "Oh, it's you." Hinagiku noticed Lus "What do you want..." Lus was not finding her presence exactly necessary "Oh, just a talk with him. Don't mind us..." Lus didn't like the way she said that.

The option was instantly applied and the ranking ladder was updated without delay.

> 1 - Hyunda - (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Hinagiku (11520/15000 points) [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control]

> 4 - Kawahara (10532/15000 points) [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 5 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 6 - Kanawari (9828/10000 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account] [Has a 50% acquisition boost for the rest of the day]

> 7 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 8 - Arkalee (8023/10000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 9 - Rayazaki (7580/20000 points) [Has a 25% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day] [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 10 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 11 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 12 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 14 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 15 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

> 16 - Ikkiri (1242/1500 points) [Rikishima Ikkiri has a 75% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day, but should she get a claim wrong, the 75% point boost acquisition will become a 75% point boost acquisition in reverse and will only change back when she gets a claim right (should she fail to get it right three times in a row it will not go back] [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

> 17 - Daniel (0/50 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [If a claim is correctly guessed five times in a row, the sum total of the points of those five claims will be added]

"Is this your way of compensating for your failure?" Hinagiku spoke to him a low voice in order to not get Lus' attention, thought this wasn't exactly working "You went along with the plan; you get rewarded. It's that simple." Daniel simplified in a low voice too "My... How chivalrous for a psychopath like you..." Hinagiku's sarcasm was activated "But surely you don't think that makes what I said about you not doing the task, going away, right?" Hinagiku asked "..........." Daniel remained stoic and didn't reply "Well..." Hinagiku looked over to Kanawari, who was still shaking, despite being comforted by Tateyana "Seeing her this torn and traumatized is oddly satisfying..." She wasn't entirely dissatisfied with the outcome.

Basara took a deep breath and rotated his shoulders.

"Christ..." He got ready "FUCKING SPIN IT, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" By Basara's orders, the skull would spin again.

By now, only 8 other players would have to be able to be chosen. In this execution round, 8 players were already chosen and yet none of them died.

"RED-HEAD, YOUR TURN!!" Akimiyashika's name was chosen "Knock it off!" Akimiyashika didn't appreciate being mocked "I gotta ask, but why red? Got tired of black?" Kawahara asked her "Uhhh yeah... Well, it was a mood swing at first, it looked weird at first, but it grew on me!" Akimiyashika was happy to elaborate "Oh, gotcha." Kawahara gently smiled as he closed his eyes ".....Wait, how does he know that... My hair used to be black..." Akimiyashika wanted to interrogate him but her attention became more focused on the one who had control over her points.

Tatsu, on the other hand, had to take into consideration what the right amount of points was to be forfeited.

Akimiyashika did not score correctly during the last claim, therefore, Tatsu does not have access to 2 options.

"Tatsu, let's negotiate." Rayazaki, with a formal posture in the chair, spoke to Tatsu "Sorry." Tatsu forfeited 3 points right away from Akimiyashika's side "COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! DON'T YOU WANT SOME POINTS?!" Rayazaki fumbled "I do. But I have to keep a keen watch over the others as well." The three options were highlighted on the screen as Rayazaki prayed for that one specific option to appear.

> 1 - Satou Rayazaki's nose will be cut off for 4 of his choker's red lights (+1000 points)

> 2 - You will be awarded 1600 points, but will start the next round with 9 red lights.

> 3 - Earn a 25% point acquisition boost for the next hour, but whenever you get a claim wrong in the next hour, two red lights will be lit up on your choker instead of one.

Rayazaki further stressed.

"DAMN IT...!!! I JUST NEED FOR THAT OPTION TO APPEAR BUT THEY AREN'T FORFEITING ENOUGH POINTS!!!" Rayazaki's inner struggle began to show as his sweat was shown to be profound "Option 3!" Tatsu decided for Akimiyashika "......." Akimiyashika didn't know what to exactly think of this option "...This is bad... I need them to forfeit more than these small numbers...!!" Rayazaki's brain was hyperactive as he deemed it that his life was entirely on the line "A point boost is nice..." Akimiyashika saw the benefit "....." But Kawahara didn't think she was seeing through the act very well.

Without a fatal outcome, the skull was to be spun again.

Basara, this time around, simply moved his right hand and symbolized the motion necessary for the skull to be spun, and so, it was underway as the new target would be picked.

"Arkalee, you're up!!" Basara declared but in reality, it was the person next to her that had the total control "Ok, this is getting a bit absurd, his control is..." Hinagiku finally noticed "Arkalee has over 8000 points to choose from... The options are actually there..." Tateyana feared for the outcome as she desperately wanted to be chosen.

Since Arkalee was the target for the judgment round, she naturally couldn't have gotten the last claim right as she wasn't able to vote for herself.

"NOT TATSU AGAIN, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!!! GIVE ME SOME OTHER PREY!!!! Though... For some reason, Tatsu has not shown a single interest in killing so far... For some odd reason..." Even Rayazaki found it strange.

Tatsu forfeited 5 points from Arkalee, and Rayazaki looked over the options that were exhibited on the screen, with the hope of escape.

> 1 - Increase Satou Rayazaki's choker's red lights by forfeiting multiples of your body pieces, in which case, a body piece will equal one red light; but in exchange, for each body piece you forfeit, you will earn 1000 points.

> 2 - Forfeit 2,000 points; target one of your classmates, for the rest of the day they will receive a 50% point acquisition decreasement boost.

> 3 - Forfeit 5,000 points in order to get priority knowledge on who will be chosen for the next round of judgment.

> 4 - Deplete red lights from Satou Rayazaki's choker by acquiring points for him (1 red light = 96 points)

> 5 - Forfeit 2000 points and switch with the individual that's currently being executed (you will be awarded with 1000 points as an added bonus).

Rayazaki, once again, dreaded.

But not as much as Arkalee, once she realized that those five options didn't necessarily contribute to her well-being.

"P-Pick option 2!! Target Ikkiri, please!!" She begged "Hmm... Why though?" Tatsu genuinely asked "Because she deserves to die." Arkalee replied without thinking "I don't see how that's beneficial for me. Arkalee, what body pieces do you want to give up?" Tatsu asked her "..........?!?!?" She was confused and bewildered, which was why she took a quick glance at the other options "No... NO, NO, NO!! STOP THAT, TATSU!!" Fearful, she got up from her chair as her face emitted paranoia to the highest level "I've been thinking and... Since I win the bonus points for myself... You won't actually be that close to your point barrier." Arkalee wanted to run, but the nearby guards spelled doom to her "Breaking the point barrier of 10000 points, gives you 5000 points, which will be mine. After that, the closest point barrier is 15000. In other words... 6 of your body parts will have to go." Tatsu ultimately concluded "Arkalee, get back to your seat-------" As Basara was trying to control Arkalee, she began her emotional rampage.

By evacuating from her seat, Arkalee tried to make a run for it as she rapidly aimed at the door on the southwest, which is the closest to where she is.

"NO!! NO!!! LET GO OF ME, I DON'T WANT THIS!!!" It goes without saying that she was captured in no time by a singular guard who held her arms in the back "I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT SHIT!!! PICK ANOTHER GODDAMN OPTION, TATSU!!!" Arkalee angrily demanded, as her legs would not stop moving back and forth "Option 1!!" Without hesitation, Tatsu pressed his desired option "YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!! I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" Two guards moved her chair back and the other guard in charge of restraining Arkalee, moved her back to that chair "Tie her up." The guard ordered from the other two, who applied ropes on her wrists and ankles, to restrain her "Tatsu, how many do you wish to forfeit?" Basara asked him "THIS IS SUCH BULLSHIT!!! IT'S MY TURN!!! THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN!!! IT'S ILLOGICAL!!!" Arkalee didn't cease her talking "She's getting annoying, cover her mouth." One of the guards said "Thank you!" Hyunda applauded their wise decision as Arkalee's eyes narrowed Hyunda thoroughly "Woah, don't look at me like me like that. What'd you expect? You gave him the right to control you in the execution rounds. SURELY YOU DIDN'T THINK THIS WOULDN'T BACKFIRE FOR SOME REASON, RIGHT?!" Arkalee would unleash her loudest scream before her mouth being fully covered "HYUNDA I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL FUCKING KILL Y--------MHMMGGGH-----" Applying the same method as they did with Kanawari, Arkalee's mouth was temporarily sealed and would only be undone after the option was executed.

Tatsu picked 6 body parts of Arkalee to be disposed of: her two hands, her two forearms and her two arms.

"GGUUHHHH---" Akimiyashika couldn't control herself and vomited to her left "There, there..." Kawahara patted her back as Akimiyashika was trembling whilst ventilating "That----That-----that could have been-----me!!" Akimiyashika finally realized what it meant to sell her control "But you were not. So, you're lucky." Kawahara remarked "UUUUHHHHH----!!!" She placed her two hands on her head, completely horrified as she glanced at Arkalee, who was undergoing through the torture.

It wasn't the first time a body part was cut off, but this one was particularly hard to watch------despite not coming close to what Sagasuga got as a treatment.

After it was done, the ranking ladder was updated.

> 1 - Hyunda - (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 2 - Tatsu (17154/35000 points) [Has a 100% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next four hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 100% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account] [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 3 - Arkalee (14023/15000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 4 - Hinagiku (11520/15000 points) [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier] [In the next execution round, Mayabashi Hinagiku's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control]

> 5 - Kawahara (10532/15000 points) [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 6 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 7 - Kanawari (9828/10000 points) [Every time Gayakirima Kanawari earns a point, no matter the quantity, 25% of it will be transferred to Lus Sera for the rest of the upcoming hour] [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account] [Has a 50% acquisition boost for the rest of the day]

> 8 - Yulia (8436/10000 points) [Every time Hikaru Yulia earns a point, no matter the quantity, 75% of it will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki for the upcoming hour]

> 10 - Stratos (4868/7500 points) [The next time Stratos breaks his point barrier, 50% of his bonus points earned will be transferred to Satou Rayazaki's account]

> 11 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 12 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 14 - Tateyana (3786/4500 points)

> 15 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

"All of her bonus points... were thoroughly absorbed..." Bryce gulped "H-Hey, I know they are all dangerous and should obviously be locked up, but... aren't they a little TOO DANGEROUS?! Like, come on! We are almost the same age!" Seok was worried "All the more reason as to why we need to continue with this game. For the sake of our school's future, it's necessary that they all die." They didn't expect the president's sudden cold words "That's------" Andrea felt like she was caught off guard "I think it's in the upcoming round." Liyuga remarked "I think so too." The president didn't disagree "It's not quite often that you see an execution round last this long! This certainly has kept the viewers on the edge, I'm impressed!" Erigaisi decided to clap as he found the criminals ability to entertain, far above the mediocre likes he is used to.

Only six other players can be chosen: Yukishiro, Hyunda, Tateyana, Stratos, Yulia, and Kanawari.

"GET A MOVE ON, NO NEED TO WAIT FOR MY SIGNAL!!!" Basara loudly ordered and the skull spun once again.

She was already chosen, but to her, it felt like it had been a long time.

"OH FUCKING FINALLY!!! THANK GOD!!!" Tateyana took a good moment to relax as she was beyond happy "Alright...!! She can be reasoned with." Rayazaki decided it was time to execute his plan "Hey! If you pick 100 options, I'll give you all of my points!!" Rayazaki made his bargain "........." Tateyana became stoic for a moment "I'm so hungry..." She said out loud as she hadn't eaten in a while now "All you have to do is form a contract that says you'll pick 100 options and----------" Tateyana instantly forfeited 100 of her points.

Rayazaki didn't waste time whatsoever and as soon as the sea of options appeared, he had only one thing to do. It is also important to know that since Tateyana scored the last claim correctly, she is able to select two options instead of one.

"ALL I HAVE TO DO IS SEARCH FOR THE OPTION THAT SAYS I HAVE TO SAY THE NUMBER, WHICH IS THE OPTION THAT ALLOWS ME TO GET OUT!!!" With precision, Rayazaki started from the top and did exactly as his thoughts demanded "100 points?!" Lus found the approach unnecessary ".........." Daniel looked at Tateyana and the moment he did, it happened.

Rayazaki was completely merged into finding the option and after twelve seconds, he did exactly that.

The option that allows him to terminate the round is option 67. All he has to do is shout "67" and the round is terminated.

It's primarily the main reason as to why no one sane would pick 100 options. It's better to play safe and select a few options.

However, she is greedy. Greedy beyond any measures and to do add it up, highly impulsive.

"SIXTY-SEV-------" The small radius of the explosion almost reaches a meter but in insight, it's 70 centimeters in all angles "LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! YES, WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Tateyana struck a champion pose as she celebrated Rayazaki's death, earning the attention of everyone present "Oh thank God!" Yukishiro was getting tired of the dragged out round "It's been more than forty minutes..." Sana wasn't happy as well as she got up "Hey, Sana?! Can you carry me all the way to------" She interrupted Hyunda's words "Eat shit." Hyunda became transiently depressed "Alright, let's get THE FUCK MOVING!!! BE HERE IN TWENTY!!!" Basara ordered and most of the students started to leave the room.

They, on the other hand, had trouble understanding what had happened.

"What... exactly happened?!" Bryce asked "I mean, we knew that Satou Rayazaki would end up dead and that Kaneta Tateyana would kill him thanks to Seok spoiling us, but still!!" Seok felt instigated "I already apologized, chill!" He got slightly irritated "It's alright." The president raised his left hand "To understand what happened, you need to only look at where Kaneta Tateyana was looking at, the moment she forfeited those 100 points." The president decided to unwind almost a minute back and then they saw it.

It would take Rayazaki 12 seconds to notice that the option was there.

"Where is she looking at so suddenly...?!" It was a mystery, because Tateyana spent her good chunk of five seconds trying to scout the option that would allow Rayazaki's choker's red lights to be lit up to the maximum "He saw it, but if I had to take a guess, Mayabashi Hinagiku and Lus Sera helped him out. It's something he already did, but essentially, they outran Satou Rayazaki." The president reasoned "He then proceeded to shout the option, which was option 52 that reads as the following: You will be unable to use your second option and your next five point acquisitions will be cut in half; also add 10 red lights to Satou Rayazaki's choker." Andrea explained "She could have picked fewer options instead of gambling it like that... So compulsive and greedy..." Andrea was confused as she took a notice of the updated ranking ladder.

> 1 - Hyunda - (37250/45000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account]

> 3 - Tateyana (15534/20000 points) [Kaneta Tateyana's five upcoming point acquisitions will be halved]

> 4 - Arkalee (14023/15000 points) [Kitsuya Arkalee's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [For the next two hours, whenever Kitsuya Arkalee breaks her point barrier; 50% of her bonus earned points will be transferred to Hirakibo Tatsu's account]

> 5 - Hinagiku (11520/15000 points) [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

> 6 - Kawahara (10532/15000 points) [For the next hour, whenever Hirakibo Tatsu wins a point, 50% of it will be transferred to Ryousuke Kawahara's account]

> 7 - Kuzan (9904/10000 points) [Has a 50% point boost acquisition for the upcoming three hours]

> 8 - Kanawari (9828/10000 points) [The next first 3 correct guesses from Gayakirima Kanawari will be transferred to Hajime Hyunda's account] [Has a 50% acquisition boost for the rest of the day]

> 9 - Yulia (8436/10000 points)

> 10 - Stratos (4868/7500 points)

> 11 - Akimiyashika (4684/7500 points) [Izayoi Akimiyashika's turn will be under Hirakibo Tatsu's control in the execution rounds until this day is over]

> 12 - Yukishiro (4188/4500 points)

> 13 - Lus Sera (4156/7500 points) [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [Every time Lus Sera scores correctly, the points earned will be doubled (this effect stacks), however, should she score incorrectly more than three times, she will die.]

> 14 - Sana (3248/4500 points) [Has a 75% point acquisition boost for the next four hours]

> 15 - Ikkiri (1242/1500 points) [Rikishima Ikkiri has a 75% point boost acquisition for the rest of the day, but should she get a claim wrong, the 75% point boost acquisition will become a 75% point boost acquisition in reverse and will only change back when she gets a claim right (should she fail to get it right three times in a row it will not go back] [In the upcoming hour, Mayabashi Hinagiku will earn 50% of Rikishima Ikkiri's bonus points earned from breaking her point barrier]

> 16 - Daniel (0/99 points) [Has a 50% point acquisition boost for the rest of the day] [Lus Sera's turn will be under Daniel Lead's control in the execution rounds until this day is over] [If a claim is correctly guessed five times in a row, the sum total of the points of those five claims will be added]

> 17 - ??? (0/99 points)

"The two players at the top didn't change, but the same can't be said for the others." The president noted "What time is it...?" Bryce asked, feeling sleepy "10 am. Do you want to return to the main building?" Andrea asked him "Well, no... This is... fun, I guess?!" Bryce's eyes widened in response "I'm afraid I'll have to go back for a couple of hours." The president got up "I'll continue to watch the stream from my phone, in my office." The others felt the need to ask "Do you need assistance?" Skan asked "No, I'm fine. Just a couple of meetings, here and there. It's also important to be in touch with the students as the student council president!" The president started to walk towards the north side in the direction of the luminous area where a faraway elevator could be spotted "I've been meaning to ask, but are we supposed to supervise this event or something? What exactly are we here for...?" Bryce asked, now that the president was nowhere near at sight "We have to keep the school safe. And to do that, we must see this through and make sure that they don't try anything. We are to act if they try some sort of escape plan, as Toharoh Tsudo said earlier." Andrea clarified "...Yeah, but how..." Bryce murmured in the midst of his confusion.

----------------------------------------

Rayazaki's lifeless head was collected by one of the guards while the rest of his body was put inside a plastic bag.

Afterwards, the guards would have to exit the building, by descending the two levels of the block. Granted, they would be left behind a few minutes later after the execution round was over.

After leaving block F, they would venture towards the west side, far past the male and female dorms, where the cryptic classroom that has been abandoned, remains-----overguarded like a fortress by endless suits. It is, without a shadow of doubt, impregnable.

"I regret never checking that classroom with more attention. I went there once, saw what I saw, got bored and then waltzed out." Kawahara confessed as he sighed "Same... I don't think infiltrating is even possible. Not to mention... We don't have access to our dorm." Kuzan----who was bleeding relatively from his left shoulder's pit, after taking a syringe mixed with anesthesia and a durable painkiller that lasts for a couple of hours that can be bought from the bending machine at the cost of 500 points-----sighed as well as the two of them looked over their dorm, which was beyond overpopulated with black suits "Hey." Hinagiku came down from the female dorm and greeted the two of them "Sucks what happened to Rayazaki, doesn't it? Oh well, he was a piece of shit, I bet. Deserved." She told her true feelings on the matter despite the two of them not asking for it "The dumbfuck could have survived if he didn't waste his points like a dumbass and tried to act like the king of the hill all the time." Kawahara told her "Honestly, I was really sure Kana was going to die. She's now a bit of a problem with that lead of hers..." Kuzan admitted "Wanna swap her in the next round and divide the points?" Hinagiku proposed "Hmm..." Kuzan gave it some thought "I'm joking. Nothing ever goes as planned." Hinagiku lightly laughed "But anyways, have you seen Daniel? I can't seem to find him..." Hinagiku got down to the core of the matter.

There was a reason as to why Kuzan and Kawahara were at the front of their dorms while watching the fortress that was the abandoned classroom.

"Oh, so that's why I couldn't find him. He just went to a place so obvious that it didn't occur to me." At the borderline of the wide horizontal grid gate where the black suits are guarding the entrance, Daniel was lying down with his head near a sewer metal stamp "..........." He had his right ear adjoined to it, and although he was near the grid gate, the guards didn't bother to kick him out "Squat down and lend me your ear." Without allowing her to initiate the dialogue, Daniel talked first "What is it?" Hinagiku did exactly that and squatted in a rather shameless position "Go to the female dorm normally to the rooftop and watch 6 pm o'clock at all times. Do it naturally, but preferably fast. The elevator is fast----if it's even an elevator..." Hinagiku was puzzled by this sudden request "And who exactly should I watch out for? Reminder, we are inside a cradle." Hinagiku asked "Whoever emerges from it. Go and be here in two or so minutes." Daniel ordered "And what if I don't want to?" Hinagiku forced Daniel to now look at her "........." He shifted the angle of his head slightly to the right side just so he could see her figure, but he couldn't see anything but what she was deliberately shamelessly showing him "How old are you again...?" Daniel's expression emitted mockery to her "........" Her expression became stark cold.

Swiftly, she got up and performed a rapid kick stomp onto Daniel's balls.

"Why do I get the feeling that bro said something he shouldn't have?" Kuzan watched the scene as Hinagiku withdrew herself to the female dorm "Let's check on him." Kawahara and Kuzan began to walk forward as Hinagiku went in the opposite direction "Not like we got anything better to do. They won't let us inside the female dorm anyways." Kawahara found it stupid "After the claims that Tsudo was faced with, they think we are all rapists. Man..." Kuzan as well, found it unnecessary "Owww..." Daniel kept rolling back and forth, in agony "I don't think they have syringes for that kind of pain." Kawahara lowly laughed "That bitch..." Daniel was not feeling alright "Hey, Dan. Don't tell me you are still thinking of escaping? The plan was decent, in my opinion, but after it was exposed, it's a given that it would never work..." Kawahara emphasized "The plan was to get it exposed..." Daniel got up "?!" Kawahara and Kuzan didn't expect those words "The real problem is how we proceed..." Daniel still didn't give up "........" But Kawahara and Kuzan, had different opinions.

After witnessing the rewards from the game, they had to be honest with him.

"Dan, nobody actually wants to escape anymore." Kawahara's face became serious "........." And then, Kuzan told his fair share as well "Assuming we do escape, what then? It's just a matter of time before we're caught again and by then, we will be thrown into a real cell. It's just... not worth it, bro." Kuzan admitted "I see... So, even you two are willing to accept being part of this game as long as you get what you want out of it in the end?" Daniel asked "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Kawahara said "And I don't think anyone but you sees it as otherwise." He added "......." Daniel looked down on the ground, inoculating his expression "Got it." Daniel smiled as he raised his face back up again "You two are right. It's stupid to try anything else but the game." Daniel laughed "My bad, I should've known." He sighed and retreated back to his initial position; going to the ground and adjoining his right ear to it, in a rather uncanny manner.

The female dorm wasn't as quiet as before, since Arkalee had suffered severe body mutilation. Her screams of pain were beyond staggering.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! DAMN IT, THIS SHIT HURTS!!!! IT HURTS SO MUCH, I'M GOING TO DIE FROM PAIN, OH MY GOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!" After losing her hands, forearms and her upper arms, which covered the requested parts from Tatsu, Arkalee was undergoing through pain that she had not yet experienced "Stay STILL!!" Olivia, who was bandaging her shoulder pits, which are tremendously bleeding, told her "SHUT UP AND MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY!!! INJECT ME WITH SOMETHING, PLEASE!!!" Arkalee begged as she cried out "Shouldn't you have bought some injections from the vending machine?" Olivia asked her "I HAVE NO HANDS, YOU DUMB BITCH!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO INJECT MYSELF?!?!?" Arkalee became far more delirious "I thought you had a boyfriend who would do anything for you..." Olivia found it strange as she finished wrapping the bandages around her shoulder pits "........" Arkalee's expression, which was previously full of rage and bitterness, slowly became a more condensed, weaker, and sadder expression "UUUUUUUGHHHHHH....." Tears began to overflow her face "Oh dear..." Olivia more or less understood what had happened and brought Arkalee's head closer to her chest as she cried out in high volume.

Lus, who was watching this from afar, in the cafeteria, decided to sip on her water which contained painkillers dissolved.

"........" Kanawari was nowhere at sight, but Lus didn't want to face her either, so she roughly got up and began to walk to her dorm's entrance-----having to drag her left leg due to the brutal injury "Oh, Lus, dear!" Olivia noticed Lus limping on her way out, despite still treating Arkalee "Go to the pantry, if you can! There should be a set of crunches in there that you can use!!" She told her "...Oh... Got it. Thanks." Lus looked relieved as she heard that.

The pantry is located at the end of the first floor, on the east side, where the staircase for the first floor is.

Lus had to support herself through the wall on her right in order to get there.

".....!?" As she reached close to the door, Lus saw Hinagiku coming down from the upper floor at the speed of light, completely ignoring her and going for the dorm's exit "What the..." Lus felt like she had to see what she was up to, so she decided to open the pantry and soon as she grabbed her pair of used crunches, she also made the effort to exit the dorm.

On the second floor, however, she was exploring uncharted territory. Every room has a frame border with a designed name to it, and thus, the rooms belong to the name within that said border.

There is a key attributed to the students of class F, so normally, it would take one to enter the said room.

And as she tried to enter her room, she was met with that reality.

"......." She tried three more times to enter the room, albeit the response was the same every time "Could it be that you're missing the key?" On the edge of the west side of the second floor, leaning towards the staircase that will lead to the rooftop, Yukishiro stood "They were given the moment we were allocated here, so naturally, we all have them. We are supposed to carry them all the time as well." She began to approach her slowly "But I suppose your case is more complicated... When you died by yourself, your key was thoroughly removed. In other words, your room is, for all intended purposes, not accessible." She explained "Fear not, however, for he is graceful." Yukishiro presented an ominous key, straight from her skirt's right pocket "That's this room's key?" She asked "You could say that, yes." Yukishiro replied as Yulia took the key from her hand.

A soft opening was formed as Yulia introduced the key to the door.

"Thank yo---" As Yulia turned around, Yukishiro was no longer there "Where did... she go?" Yulia could have checked the staircases, but after seeing this opportunity, she opted to take full advantage of it.

There was around 10 minutes until the next round, so Yulia had a few minutes to lose.

"........" Yulia was in awe due to how good the room smelled but as well as how tidy it was.

The books on her desk were organized, alongside the pens and pencils, each in their own row. Her bed was fully composed and not a single sheet was standing out; it was utterly ordered. Her curtains were closed, however, and Yulia decided to open them, so some sunlight could sneak in----in addition to some fresh morning air.

"Ahhh..." Her hair fluttered with the gentle wind as she inhaled the relaxing oxygen "This feels so good... I could definitely get used to this!" She took a step back and jumped to the impeccably organized bed "MHHHMMMM!!!!" She smashed her face onto the soft gentle pillows that smelled like apple fragrance "SHO GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!" Her words got mumbled due to the pillows as her legs moved back and forth in happiness "Mhmmmm....!!" She rotated her position until she was face to face with the yellow ceiling of her room "When was the last time I sat on such a comfy bed... I can't even remember... Sakhalin was just..." Her expression darkened as she didn't finish those words "But... What now? That woman told me that I've been given the chance to take my life back... I've seen how this game comes and goes, it's possible." She acknowledged to herself "Attach yourself to the strongest players and take full advantage of them. Boys mainly, are super easy to take advantage of. They can't control their carnal desires and will wish to satisfy themselves no matter the cost. That's how Rayazaki----ultimately died----except not... He really got mad and swapped him for Kanawari----who was lucky to not get killed off. That's how he died." Yulia reflected.

Yulia noticed that on her right, on top of the wooden headboard, there was a small mirror.

She reluctantly reached out for it, but ultimately, did grab it and began to look at her face.

"I'm so beautiful like this..." Her eyes widened in awe as she smiled "My face is so well-proportioned! My eyes are so light-colored and this body too...!!" With her eyes, she mainly looked at her chest, but as well as her tights too "It's as if... I can just forget about how I looked... My previous identity, how I was, my prior experiences... They... don't have to apply!" She reached that conclusion.

After further inspection, Yulia decided to put the mirror back to the headboard----but not in the exact same position as she didn't care about where it was placed.

"Now I'm curious... This------Yulia------what was she like?" Yulia got up from her bed and left the top of her sheets slightly off "The woman told me nothing about her. I was simply ordered to play the game. I was, apparently "chosen" and given the opportunity." Her direction was aimed towards the desk, where there are nine drawers; four on each side, and a central one.

She began by investigating the drawers on the right side, starting from the top.

"What is all this?" The first drawer contained notebooks from her, on a lot of subjects "She..." She read the notes and couldn't help but admire the pretty calligraphy "Oh... Wow..." None of the words and numbers in the notes went overboard or were they out of order; it was perfect "Alright..." She was a bit overwhelmed but couldn't help but admire it as well "And now..." She went to the second drawer, after stuffing the notebooks on the first drawer again, with no particular intention of keeping it in the same order "No way... She drew too?!" After finding art books from Yulia, she kept fiddling from page to page.

At first, the drawing varied from contemporary backgrounds, animals, and abstract paintings. However, after around twenty pages, the shift of focus began to unravel.

"......" Yulia recognized who the person was in the drawings by a mile "He... was not joking... So she really was his girlfriend? That would explain why there are so many drawings of him... Seriously, there are too many!!!" A compilation of 50 pages came forward as they revealed a lot of drawings of Daniel "She even drew drawings of them together..." Around 6 drawings were made, with a lot of imagination in mind "She must've really loved him, huh..." Yulia came around the end of the notebook as an unfinished drawing was created "I have no idea what this is supposed to be." Yulia closed the art book and stuffed it inside the second drawer; moving to the third drawer "A to do things list... Let's investigate." Yulia was fairly committed into this now "She's crazy." Yulia rapidly closed the book that contained her to do list "How can a criminal dream of a romantic life with another criminal? It's nonsense and never works." She remarked as she moved to the final drawer on the right side "...?" The drawer was authentically empty and Yulia had to squat down in order to get a good glimpse of what was there "No, nothing here. How... strange..." Yulia got up and decided to check the middle drawer.

The middle drawer and the drawers on the left side contained plenty of additional information about Yulia in the forms of either books, photos, accessories, her old phone, which is depleted of all its battery, a gold medal, and a wooden mahjong board game set. Essentially, they were all fairly filled and they couldn't compare to the drawer that Yulia saw nothing in.

"That doesn't sound right..." She suspected that the drawer had more compared to what it was showing "Why would this one be empty when all the others aren't? She... doesn't seem like the type of person to do this..." She bent her knees over and got on all fours "There has to be something here..." With her right hand, she tapped the surface of the drawer, made out of wood, and looked for anomalies ".......!?" A short contrast was allocated in the northwest corner of the surface "It's... higher, but just by a tiny bit...!" She kept palpitating the surface in-between and out to make sure she had the right assumption "No, there's no doubt, there's something here, below..." She went for the exterior of the drawer and pulled out the entire drawer out.

And then, she twisted it upside down and shook it over and over.

"There is something here!!" It was clear by now, but there was something thin, with low height, beneath the surface of the drawer's ground "Come on!!!" She shook it more and more and the south side of the ground began to fall off slowly "A----haaaaaa!!" After it fell off, the item that was carefully hidden, was revealed "What the..." Her face became perplexed as a diary was revealed "So she kept a diary...? She's more innocent than I thought..." Yulia grasped the diary, which had a significant height and a fair width, with a picture as the thumbnail of her and Sana on the bottom and her and Daniel on the top "She was also not lying..." Yulia realized "I have five minutes left..." She started going through the pages "There's no way I'm reading all of this! She writes too much on every day's entrances! This has over a hundred pages, easily!!" Impulsive, she went down to the last pages, flipping through pages that had pictures adjoined with glue to them and many other notes "...?!!?" The sight of that unorganized calligraphy and messy writing caught her off guard "Is this even the same person?!" She pondered as she checked the day entry "March 27th... Wait, what happened that day...?" Curious now, Yulia took a seat on her desk's chair and began to read the rather short entry as well as the last chapter of her diary.

Roughly a few minutes earlier...

Hinagiku, short on breath, arrived at where she thought Daniel would be, but he was nowhere near at sight.

"He told me he would be here... Don't tell me he actually thought I wouldn't do it?!" She was perplexed and started to look around; mainly in the direction of the male dorm that was swatted by black suits "I CAN'T EVEN USE THE GODDAMN KITCHEN?! THEN LET ME USE THE BASEMENT, I NEED TO HIT MY DAILY LEG PRESS PR, YOU SKINNY ASS MOTHERFUCKERS!!" George Kentucky, the male dorm's supervisor, argued with the black suits guarding the entrance of the dorm "Calm down, please. The dorm is under inspection still-----" He was brutally interrupted by a deafening shout "INVESTIGATION MY ASS, BITCH!! I SAW THAT KID WALK OUT AND HEARD THE CONVERSATION!! THERE'S NO INSPECTION GOING ON!!" The black suits started to become rather nervous "Orders are orders..." But even so, they had to maintain their ground "When it's done, you'll be able to enter again..." He gulped "That's it. Nobody tells me what to do." George started to wrap his white sleeves backwards, while winding up his right arm in a menacing manner ".........." The guards unconsciously reached out to their belts, where their guns are hidden "Wait, wait, wait." His voice intervened as he walked from the east side "........." Hinagiku was curious as to where he was as he saw him.

He made his point quick as he began to further approach the area.

"I don't mind not having to use the male dorm." Daniel said "WELL, I DO!!!" And George blatantly countered as his fist was right up in the air, ready to unwind a devastating blow "That's not what I meant to say! I'm saying, isn't it fine if we can use the female dorm?! Can't you use Olivia's kitchen instead?" Daniel argued "OH HELL NO!! THAT'S A PUSSY KITCHEN!! YOU BAKE MUFFINS AND PIES THERE, NOT RAW CHICKEN BREAST AND REAL MANLY PROTEIN INTAKES!!! NOT ON MY TURF, BITCH BOY!!" Once again, Daniel was unable to reason with him "But they're not going to let you inside any time soon. It might be the case for the rest of the day. They are convinced that we are hiding something there, so why not just shift locations?" Daniel proposed "AND I'M FUCKING TELL YOU THAT'S NOT HAPPENING!!" George defied again "You know, Olivia could use a hand or two. The banquet yesterday did a number of her and she's stuck tending to the wounds of the others, like Arkalee, who got her arms cut off." Hinagiku spoke to him "I'm sure she would appreciate some help and you know, you could actually use the kitchen!" George halted his fist, despite still feeling like that wasn't solving the issue at all "While at it, cook something for us, please." Daniel sighed "Don't make me waste points on that shitty vending machine that sells plastic food... I can't stand not eating your food, king..." Daniel showed genuine sadness ".......!!!!" George started to retreat his fist entirely and the black suits began to feel relieved again "You... really... think so...?" George looked at Daniel with deadly eyes.

One wrong answer could cause a disaster.

"No, I'm dead serious. I can't get my daily protein intake and it's messing me up. That plastic egg sandwich that Hinagiku fed me earlier from the machine felt so bad that I want to throw up." Daniel looked at Hinagiku "It's true. He's been saying that ever since the dorm was seized by them. He's also not the only one. Rayazaki bought a burger from it and instantly threw up!! He said that it's just not the same!!" George's eyes widened and a gigantic smirk began to show "Oh.... OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Motivated, George withdrew his stance and began to bravely march forward to the female dorm "OLIVIA!!! I'M COMIN' OVER!!!!" With high might in his voice, no girl could ignore that, especially Lus, who just exited the dorm now and had to move to her left in order to not collide with the giant that is George Kentucky.

Daniel and Hinagiku began to walk a bit more forward towards the female dorm as well.

"Did you tell him that Rayazaki died?" Hinagiku asked "No." Daniel replied immediately "I don't think he has noticed it nor that he cares about it. He didn't show a single flying fuck when Tsudo died either." Daniel added "Oh, great." She sighed "AH, YES!!" Hinagiku kicked Daniel's left leg "........" Daniel abhorrently looked at Hinagiku "Mhmm...?!" Hinagiku had her entire right leg left shaking from the impact "Kick the other next time." Daniel advised "I------Whatever..." Hinagiku couldn't quite tell why she had felt such an abnormal impact from Daniel's left leg "So, I was watching from the rooftop like you said in that precise angle, and it was strictly aimed at block E..." Hinagiku demonstrated a sudden displease "And?" But Daniel didn't care "And it's a regular block like all the others! But what messes me up is how the timing collided with 10:45 am! It's the timing for the interval between 10:45 and 11:00 am! So, naturally, a lot of people left the building!!" Hinagiku exclaimed "Did anyone suspicious leave the building before?" Daniel asked "No, they all left at the same time, in hordes. Not a singular person left before." Hinagiku added "......." Daniel wasn't satisfied with the results.

Lus began to approach the two of them.

"What are you two talking about?" She awkwardly asked "Nothing that's relevant to you." Hinagiku coldly replied "Stop that." Daniel told her "Why..." Hinagiku didn't like how Daniel talked to her "Someone definitely left..." Daniel mumbled "Not just someone, as I said. Every student that is taking classes in block D will have to leave for the recess during the interval. It's not optional, I believe." Lus still wasn't understanding what they were talking about "Why would you look for people leaving block D?" Not to Hinagiku, but to Daniel, Lus questioned "Don't ask how I know, but I'm confident that a student council member left the building at exactly 10:45 am. More precisely, around 10:46 am, in order to blend in with the crowd better." Daniel explained "Oh... But, aren't they easy to spot though? They have their own uniforms. Did you not notice that from Liyuga earlier?" Lus thought that Daniel knew this "......" He turned his head towards Hinagiku, who was now in deep thought "No, no, there was no one like that. They all had the same uniform..." Hinagiku was sure "......." Daniel could only think of a singular option.

Near block C.

Despite the altitude in the school's hierarchy, he didn't mind it. It's almost believed to be against the school's dressing code, but, student council members are allowed to dress their usual uniforms; they are simply also allowed to wear their special attire. Even so, the president had an attire of his own for special occasions should he need a quick change of clothes; available in all the blocks that students may access.

"Ahhh..." After chunking a good amount of water from the public water fountain, the students around him were baffled, as they saw him engulf his mouth on water that they didn't believe to be worthy of him "P-President! Do you need a handkerchief?! I have one!" A gentle girl approached him, almost taking out the handkerchief out of her skirt's right pocket "I appreciate the concern, but as you can see, I'm just fine." He halted her with a smile "But, how about you? Do you need my help?" Usually, out of courtesy, nobody would dare to waste his time; as a matter of fact, they tend to keep a one meter distance from him in all angles, out of sheer respect "Um..." She was, in fact, having difficulties, as the spring finals were coming up "Do you have two minutes of your time...? It's Calculus and my teacher didn't explain it well... Topology..." But, to those that have talked with him at least once, they would know that the distance is authentically unnecessary "Topology is a bit tricky, isn't it?" He giggled, earning her affection "Very well. Do you mind accompanying me to the cafeteria just up ahead? And don't worry, we can take ten minutes, there's no need for small talk." He proposed "......!!!!" Her face became ecstatic, consumed with happiness "YES!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!" Many were jealous, zealous, and even admired the girl's courage, but most importantly, they greatly recognized the president's charisma.

image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9c3e3c59-8f24-49ce-8a2b-546d1bb52197/di8iv08-13e6a4d2-8964-42db-ae93-125888d90ca4.png/v1/fit/w_425,h_765,q_70,strp/no_context__by_kumokuroro_di8iv08-375w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzY1IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOWMzZTNjNTktOGYyNC00OWNlLThhMmItNTQ2ZDFiYjUyMTk3XC9kaThpdjA4LTEzZTZhNGQyLTg5NjQtNDJkYi1hZTkzLTEyNTg4OGQ5MGNhNC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NDI1In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.Wa9d1-ZSsudHposrff-FqUhdh_vXYt554VB7rPBkWPc]

Ever since the cradle has been put up, the students have been able to relax and felt far safer than they could before.

"I heard some rumors and according to master Liyuga, it was president August that proposed the idea of the cradle!" The voices went around "Apparently, they are going to get rid of the criminals once and for all! Seriously, it's been so nerve-wrecking ever since we've had to co-exist with them! I wish they would just die!!" The opinion on the matter remained strong as ever "I'm sure the student council is doing everything in their power to ensure that the criminals can no longer put a foot outside the cradle... And peace will be restored with them out of the way...!!" It went on and on.

They could not have foreseen the sheer magnitude of the impact, however...

Volume 27: Chapter 190: Narcissist's Cradle Arc - Part XVIII.

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