Honestly, before checking the results, Chris hadn't been expecting much from this ten-pull.
Sure, he'd rolled so absurdly powerful items before — the God Sphere, the Analyzer Watch, the Ti-Stop Watch, the Devil's Passport, things like that.
But from a probability standpoint, and from everything he'd experienced these past few weeks, the system really was random at its core.
More often than not, it spat out fun little everyday gadgets — a Gourt Tablecloth, Invisibility Spray, the Magic Butt — useful and entertaining, but nothing ga-breaking.
It was precisely because those first few days had been so absurdly lucky — broken-tier items dropping back to back — that Chris had gotten ahead of himself and started going wild right from the start.
Otherwise, given his natural temperant, he'd probably have held back a while longer, mapped out every card in his hand before making his move.
Though, looking at where things had ended up, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference either way.
Still — staring at the ten items lined up in a row inside his system space — Chris had to admit.
This pull hit different. There was genuine weight here.
Setting aside the classic heavyweights with built-in downsides — the [T-Virus] from Resident Evil, the [One Ring] from Lord of the Rings — the rest of the haul was frankly staggering.
[Senzu Bean]: ignored all conditions and instantly restored full status. Basically an extra life.
[Super Buster Machine 7's Final Danbine Bomb]— no, wait. The [Galaxy-Busting Bomb]: capable, in a strictly literal physical sense, of reducing the Milky Way to cosmic dust.
[Kan Rider Odin]'s card set, bundled with "Ti Vent" — capable of rewinding ti at will.
[The AllSpark]: able to bestow life and a soul upon any and all machinery.
[The Chronicle of Ages]: with a single stroke of the pen, you could rewrite the historical setting of the world itself, or chart the course of the future.
And the two Infinity Stones, naturally, needed no introduction.
Then there was this... divine...
Chris's gaze settled on the massive biological weapon model, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
At first glance, he'd assud it was the Phantom God "Obelisk the Torntor" from Yu-Gi-Oh — and he'd already been ntally calculating whether he could use the Analyzer Watch to scan the God Card's DNA and attempt a transformation into the Giant Divine Soldier, just to try out that Divine Fist Pulverize attack.
Then he looked closer —
Oh, for the love of —
It was the Giant Warrior from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The one with a seven-day lifespan. The one whose body started falling apart after firing off a few laser blasts.
A grotesque, nuclear-irradiated slab of rotting at. His image of it crashed and burned on the spot.
"...Forget it. Can't be too greedy." Chris shook his head. "What I've got is already more than enough."
With a thought, he dragged the two Infinity Stones into the League of Legends-exclusive equipnt slots unlocked passively by [Heart of Steel].
As passive-effect equipnt slots, they were the perfect place to park two rocks like these.
Next, he singled out the [Multipurpose Card] from Heaven's Lost Property, pinching it between his fingertips to study it.
Chris rembered it clearly: in the original source material, this thing was a wish-granting terminal connected to the Synapse mainfra.
The reason it had seed underwhelming at first was because the angeloid Ikaros was sealed at the ti. Once the "Queen of the Sky" mode removed all limiters, the card's wish ceiling approached omnipotence — rewriting reality with ease.
The problem was that the wish card was fundantally Ikaros's external interface device.
He had the card, but not the angel. Could this thing actually reach across worlds and connect to the Synapse's server — actually function as a wish machine?
Chris honestly wasn't sure.
But then again... he did have the Analyzer Watch in hand.
With the staggering intellect of the Little Green n behind him, reverse-engineering the card and fabricating his own Ikaros and Synapse from scratch wasn't exactly out of the question.
After all, it was an artificial angeloid — a product of the technological side of things. That kind of challenge ant absolutely nothing to a Gavin alien.
And he still had the Reality Stone, didn't he. One thought was all it would take.
Saved himself the trouble of crafting anything by hand.
Of course, summoning a full-blown Queen of the Sky — sothing capable of erasing heaven and earth — would be a bit much in terms of breaking the balance, and honestly unnecessary. That sort of thing was better kept as a private indulgence.
Though, now that he thought about it...
Ichinose Honami happened to have the Imperial Arms [Mastema: Fate of the Wicked] in her hands right now. Combined with her signature saintly disposition, it matched her nickna — "Great Angel" — almost too perfectly.
If the opportunity arose, maybe he could apply the reverse-engineered angeloid technology to her — remodel her into his very own exclusive angel?
"Mm. Operation: Great Angel Ichinose — Developnt Plan."
Chris rubbed his chin, his thoughts drifting further and further afield.
"Not a bad idea at all."
—
On the other side of campus, reality's weight was far more piercing than any of the fancies floating through Chris's head.
After the latest wave of incoming transfer students had filled the gaps left behind.
The classroom — which had felt noticeably sparse since the Uninhabited Island exam — was once again filled to every seat.
And yet, the textbooks, stationery, and spare dormitory keys left behind by the students who hadn't made it back were being collected by Chabashira Sae, her face utterly blank, and packed one by one into cardboard boxes.
These belongings would be locked away together in an empty classroom — silent gravestones, waiting quietly for the day so classmate might spend 100 S-Points to bring their owners back.
"Click."
Watching Chabashira Sae lock the iron door of the storage classroom, Nanase Tsubasa — who had just transferred in — turned to Horikita Suzune, who had been assigned to show her around, and asked:
"Horikita-senpai... are those books in there — were those left by the forr Class A students?"
Horikita Suzune's footsteps faltered. She stood there, blank for a long mont, before it clicked.
Right. Because of the point settlent from the Uninhabited Island exam, the once-bottom-ranked Class D had staged a full reversal and claid the Class A throne.
What a cruel irony that this honour had nothing to do with anything she herself had accomplished.
And the person she'd pushed herself to the limit trying to prove herself to... was no longer anywhere in this world.
Though, in the end, the Black Sphere had indicated that Horikita Manabu was temporarily fine — that there was even a chance they could "rescue" him through a future Black Sphere exam.
But Horikita Suzune, who had survived that exam floor firsthand, understood better than anyone what that really ant.
Even the monsters appearing in this world were this dangerous. Her brother, alone, thrown into so unknown world — what would he be facing?
Most likely, the odds were against him.
In the end, it would probably co down to soone spending S-Points to resurrect him.
And it might even cost more than 100 points — since retrieving soone from "across worlds" might prompt the Black Sphere to jack up the price to so even more absurd figure.
But even if that was the reality, Horikita Suzune had no choice but to swallow it in silence.
After all, she could hardly morally pressure Chris into shelling out over a hundred S-Points for her sake, could she?
What's more...
After the midterm exam results had co out, Horikita Suzune had co to understand sothing clearly:
Chris was the sa as Ayanokoji — the barely-passing scores they'd both put up on the entrance exam were the product of deliberate sandbagging.
With that in mind, the reason Chris had agreed to her tutoring request back then — sitting with her in the library all that ti — must have been nothing more than him humoring her fragile pride.
She'd fancied herself genuinely helpful to him. In reality, she'd been a one-sided burden on Chris the entire ti.
It was even possible that Chris not taking a top-ranking score on the midterms had been a deliberate act of score-control — to protect her face. And to give the opportunity to her.
And in return, she had — out of her own stubbornness on that Uninhabited Island exam — cost Chris one of his precious lives.
Given the enormous gap in their abilities, and the guilt twisted up inside her over it, what kind of face could she even show him now?
Horikita Suzune had no answer.
Just as the gloom was growing unbearable behind her eyes and her thoughts were spinning into a dead end —
Nanase Tsubasa, walking beside her, suddenly raised a pale hand and waved it gently in front of Horikita Suzune's face:
"Senpai? Are you listening? Class is about to start, you know."
Horikita Suzune snapped back to herself. She looked at the golden-haired girl in front of her — eyes clear and guileless — and forcibly tamped down her swirling thoughts, replying in a cool, flat tone:
"As you suspected — the owners of those cardboard boxes were sitting in this very classroom with us just two days ago."
"Now, because of the Black Sphere exams, they're dead or missing. Locked away in the dark, waiting for soone to co along and resurrect them..."
Nanase Tsubasa nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on her face:
"Ichinose-senpai from Class C explained all those rules to yesterday."
"I was just wondering — why would an existence like the Black Sphere choose Advanced Nurturing High School specifically? What makes this place so special to it?"
Horikita Suzune walked ahead, not turning back, answering offhandedly:
"That's a question I'm still searching for the answer to myself."
"But the only truth we can confirm right now is this — if you don't fight, you can't survive.
"No one gets an exemption."
That was exactly what Nanase Tsubasa had been waiting for.
She quickened her half-step to draw level with Horikita Suzune, her eyes sincere:
"In that case — would you be willing to be my sparring partner, Senpai?"
"I want to take part in the Black Sphere exams too. I want to earn the strength to stay alive."
Horikita Suzune stopped walking.
She turned and fixed Nanase Tsubasa with a scrutinizing, puzzled look:
"Do we even know each other well enough for that? Why co to instead of going to Chris?"
"If you heard about the Black Sphere exams from Ichinose's end, you should have at least a basic sense of the difference in ability between us.
"Sticking with him gives you a survival rate incomparably higher than sticking with ."
At that, Nanase Tsubasa pressed her lips together in mild resignation and ca clean:
"Because... it was Chris-senpai who told to co to you."
"He said you're soone who's been through the Black Sphere exams firsthand, and that you've been pushing yourself to grow stronger the whole ti."
"If I can't even earn your approval, then I don't have the right to enter the Black Sphere's exams — going in without it would just be throwing my life away."
"The right to..."
Hearing that this was Chris's doing, Horikita Suzune quietly twisted the hem of her uniform between her fingertips, drew a slow breath, and let a flash of self-deprecating acknowledgnt cross her eyes.
"He's right."
"In fact — it's not just you. Even I, as things stand right now... have already lost the right to enter whenever I feel like it."
Her voice grew a little tight, her tone sharpening slightly:
"Now that the midterm exams have dragged the entire school population into the Black Sphere arena, the regular Black Sphere matches have stopped being sothing ordinary people can just wade into.
"That said — by the look of you, it seems like you transferred here with the Black Sphere as your goal from the very beginning."
Horikita Suzune pinned her with a direct stare. "What exactly are you after?"
Nanase Tsubasa was quiet for a mont.
The warmth that usually lived in her eyes dimd a little before she finally spoke:
"I have sothing weighing on — a regret belonging to a friend. Sothing that can't be resolved by any ordinary ans."
"Then, a few days ago, I suddenly received a text ssage. It asked whether I had any unfulfilled wishes."
"I said yes. And that ssage told there was a miracle in this school — sothing capable of changing fate. It invited to co. So I ca."
Nanase Tsubasa let out a wry, helpless laugh. "I just... really didn't expect that this so-called miracle would be built on top of a death ga..."
Horikita Suzune gave a cold smile:
"Nothing in this world has ever been free."
"That said — since Chris was the one who sent you my way, after school today, you'll start basic physical conditioning drills with ."
She pushed open the back door of the classroom, her tone softening — if only slightly:
"The Black Sphere does grant every newcor entering the arena for the first ti one extra life. But each person only gets that one chance to waste."
"Once it's gone, you'll need to be prepared to die at any mont.
"As for the so-called resurrection..." Horikita Suzune's silhouette looked sohow lonely. "All I can tell you is that, as of today, there has not been a single successful case of it anywhere in this school."
Nanase Tsubasa watched Horikita's retreating figure and gave a quiet "mm."
She kept her expression neutral — but deep inside, the girl couldn't help feeling a wave of reproach toward the impulsive version of herself from a few days ago.
Why had she so readily trusted the words in that ssage?
No tuition, free room and board, and your wish granted on top of it all... what kind of charity organisation in this world could possibly be that generous?
See? You took the bait and now you're trapped.
Unfortunately, what was done was done — Nanase Tsubasa had no way back now.
The one thing worth being grateful for, at least, was sothing she'd learned from Ichinose Honami.
The Black Sphere's standard day-to-day exams normally only involved a small number of representatives from each class. It was only at major checkpoints — midterms, finals — that school-wide trials were triggered.
In that case, as long as I make the most of my ti...
I should be able to pick up enough strength to hold my own in these exams before finals arrive, following Horikita-senpai and Chris-senpai... probably.
The girl offered up the silent, not-entirely-confident prayer in her heart.
———
At the other end of the classroom, the atmosphere was equally heavy.
Unlike the transfer students from yesterday — who had still been marveling at Advanced Nurturing High School's frankly extravagant facilities and generous allowances — after a night of letting everything sink in, the reality that they'd transferred here specifically because they were "filling dead people's seats" had hit them hard.
More than a few had shattered on the spot. Even after a full night's sleep, they were still shaky-legged, unable to pull themselves together.
Faced with this, Hirata Yousuke — the class's spiritual anchor — could only heave a long, deep sigh.
He walked to the front of the room, clapped his hands together, and tried to gather the attention of the group that was on the verge of breaking down:
"Everyone — please listen."
"I've already compiled everything that happened in this school into a docunt and posted it to the class group chat.
"If you genuinely can't bring yourself to believe any of this is real, I can't force you."
"But in the days ahead, there are a few non-negotiable survival rules. Please rember them. Carve them into your brain."
Hirata Yousuke held up three fingers, his expression grave:
"First — under absolutely no circumstances should you entertain any idea of contacting people outside the school or revealing the Black Sphere's existence to anyone. Not even a hint. The school's network is monitored around the clock. One violation, and the extra life the Black Sphere gave you as a safety net will be deducted on the spot."
"Second — although the school now has the 'preliminary test' system as a buffer, aning there isn't an exam every single day, there is still a small chance you could be randomly selected by the Black Sphere, or pulled into the monster-infested arena for failing an exam or similar reasons."
"If you're unlucky enough to end up in there with no preparation... for your own safety, do not run. Find a hidden corner to hide in and wait for the main combatants from class to co and rescue you."
"And finally..." Hirata Yousuke's voice slowed. "Once everyone's had a chance to calm down — girls, please register with Karuizawa Kei; boys, co to and log your specialties and skills. We need to pool every asset we have in preparation for the Black Sphere exams that could erupt at any ti."
On hearing that, many of the new students still couldn't accept it. Red-eyed, they turned on Hirata Yousuke:
"Hirata-class-rep! Is there really no way at all to get out of this school?!"
"I don't care about guaranteed university placent anymore! I want to withdraw! Let go ho!"
"I'd rather go back to being poor! I don't want to die!"
Hirata Yousuke was silent for a mont.
Then he offered them sothing that was barely a hope, but was still sothing:
"Standard withdrawal applications no longer work."
"But the Black Sphere has said — a hundred S-Points can work a miracle. Resurrect a person."
"Perhaps... if you can scrape together those hundred points as the price, the Black Sphere might 'buy you back' and return you to an ordinary life."
A hundred points.
The student who had spoken buried his head in his hands and let out a wail of despair:
"A hundred points — you said killing a monster is only worth a few points?! Even if you killed , I couldn't rack up a hundred points!"
At the newcor's breakdown, the classroom fell into a strange, deep quiet.
Not a single person laughed.
There was no veteran-player superiority directed at the newcor.
Because those who had lived through the Uninhabited Island exam — even with only that much experience behind them — knew far too well.
A hundred points? You must be joking.
That was an astronomical figure stacked up on the corpses of countless Parasytes, Decepticons, and Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
You could trade your life for it and still co up short. It was that obscene a price.
That said — Hirata Yousuke's reassuring words, landing in the ears of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seated by the window, actually carried a certain practical weight.
'A hundred points in exchange for freedom, is it...'
Ayanokoji rested his chin in one hand, his eyes shifting slightly.
Based on his observations of the Black Sphere system, GANTZ was twisted in its sense of humour — but in its execution of its own rules, it had no reason to deceive them.
If it said the anomalies in this area would be cleared when they were cleared — then that ant genuinely, completely cleared.
If a hundred points really could sever the connection to the Black Sphere and return soone to an ordinary daily life, then honestly... that wasn't such a bad deal.
The one thing he couldn't gauge yet —
Whether an existence like the Black Sphere would be willing to let high-performing specins go so easily from the "experintal field" it had penned them into.
In that case... I'll find an opportunity later to personally probe that boundary.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka settled on that in his mind.
Just then — the all-purpose capsule sitting in his uniform pocket suddenly buzzed with a faint vibration.
It was the voice of the Parasyte sealed inside — one whose mind was linked to his:
[Ayanokoji. Do you want to leave this place?]
[If you leave... what happens to ?]
Ayanokoji's expression didn't change. Through the ntal link, he replied:
[We'll see about bringing you along.]
[According to your listed price, you're worth 1,000 item points — which works out to roughly 2 S-Points. A fairly cheap consumable, by most standards. If I throw in a little extra as a 'buyout' fee, I imagine GANTZ won't make too much of a fuss over sothing this minor.]
The Parasyte seed to consider this for two seconds inside its capsule:
[That's reasonable. From an equivalent-value substitution standpoint, it's viable.]
[So... does that an I'd go with you when the ti cos? Leave this place — with all its food and combat data?]
Ayanokoji raised no objection to the symbiotic arrangent:
[If it can be arranged. One more convenient tool at my disposal is never a bad thing.]
Parasyte: Mm.
Two seconds of silence. Then the relentlessly curious creature raised another question:
[Oh, right — Kiyotaka. If I ca with you to the outside world, should I get a na? Like humans have?]
[If I stay in this form, I have a feeling I'd frighten people rather easily, which would make blending in and surviving harder.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stared at the blackboard, expression completely blank, and chose the weapon of silence against this particular magic.
The Parasyte, undeterred:
[We're talking inside our heads — no one outside can hear us. It's not really disrupting class, is it? ...Also, why does my form scare people?]
[Oh — what na are you going to give ? Sothing like a human na, sharing your surna — 'Ayanokoji Sothing'?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka kept his gaze fixed on the blackboard, stonily opting to fight sorcery with silence.
anwhile, Chris — sitting at the adjacent desk — glanced sideways at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka unconsciously kneading the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and felt a distinct urge to laugh.
Parasytes really did have extraordinary learning capacity.
The unfortunate part was that during the Uninhabited Island exam, the Black Sphere system had completely blocked all network signals.
This ant that Ayanokoji's Parasyte was fundantally different from Amanatsu Kazuha's "Xiao Zuo."
After receiving her fusion card, Amanatsu Kazuha had prepared mountains of offline reference materials and negotiation fraworks in advance.
So even without a network connection, "Xiao Zuo" had at least had no shortage of study materials for absorbing the basics of human common sense — and hadn't been the nagging type.
Ayanokoji's, on the other hand...
Aside from the early period they'd spent training Ripple Breathing together in the Hyperbolic Ti Chamber, every single piece of information this Parasyte had absorbed about the outside world had co from passively tagging along with Ayanokoji himself in his day-to-day life.
Naturally.
Driven by the instinct Parasytes are born with — gathering information to ensure their own survival — and unable to actually do anything physically, it had no outlet except to beco a walking encyclopedia of relentless questions.
Specifically, the kind that exclusively ambushed Ayanokoji and refused to let up.
"Heh... so this is what it feels like to finally et your match."
Chris leaned back in his chair, in a thoroughly good mood, and flipped open his textbook.
Nanase Tsubasa.jpg
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