"Love-Love Fruit…"
Looking at the cherry-shaped Devil Fruit in Ichinose's hand, Chris clicked his tongue: "Why do I get the feeling this should actually be called the Medusa Fruit?"
"Petrification — the ceiling on this ability is sky-high," Ryuuen Kakeru remarked.
Ichinose Honami's face, however, didn't show much joy — instead it carried a hint of distress:
"This petrification ability only works when the target feels their heart flutter."
"But getting monsters to develop that kind of emotion on a battlefield… I'm really not confident I can pull it off."
Catching the awkwardness on Ichinose's face, Amanatsu Kazuha leaned in with a teasing grin:
"Madam Class Rep, aren't you selling yourself a little short here?"
"From where I'm standing, you've completely underestimated your own charm~"
"Just ask everyone — even if it doesn't quite reach the level of romantic adoration, in this entire school the vast majority of people hold you in really high regard. A fruit that fits your vibe this perfectly — I'm sure you'll develop it spectacularly."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded in agreement:
"Amanatsu's right. Once you've actually developed it, combined with your Myriad Soaring Wings…"
"I think it'd be a downright terrifying combo."
Praised back-to-back, Ichinose touched her cheek in mild embarrassment:
"But I have absolutely no idea how to even 'develop' charm…"
Surely they weren't suggesting she strike seductive poses in front of monsters?
Just picturing the scene made you want to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
Chris thought it over and offered a suggestion:
"Then forget about all that and just be yourself."
"A confident person's natural charm is the greatest charm there is."
"Don't bend yourself to the ability — let the ability bend to you."
"Just believe. Belief doesn't need a reason."
Ichinose lowered her head slightly.
Her lips moved, and she let out a soft murmur — one nobody could quite catch.
Of course, Chris wasn't part of that 'nobody.'
He clearly heard Ichinose mutter:
'Actually… what I'm worried about isn't that at all…'
What exactly was she worried about? Chris could roughly guess.
Nothing more than the fear that this kind of ability would make her interpersonal relationships go weird, even cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
But it wasn't urgent. He could remind her later, and leave the call to Ichinose herself.
With that, Chris pulled his gaze back and turned to Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and the others, laying out the plan:
"This exam doesn't have any hidden high-point monsters."
"The only remaining threats are our three vampires here, and that half-dead Kars."
"You guys go collect the rest of the Stone Masks — stockpile some points and set yourselves up."
Horikita Suzune didn't leave right away, though.
She paused, her cool gaze sweeping across the room:
"Three vampires? Counting Mr. Speedwagon that's one… the other two — don't tell me it's Yagami Takuya and Housen Kazutomi?"
At her words, everyone's eyes snapped at once toward Housen Kazutomi and Yagami Takuya.
Seeing this, Speedwagon stepped forward without hesitation:
"Come on, then! I've long since steeled myself!"
That noble, ready-to-die-for-the-cause attitude actually left Housen Kazutomi and Yagami Takuya feeling a little awkward.
Yagami rubbed his nose and ventured tentatively:
"Senpai, are we… already flagged as hostile units by the system?"
Chris didn't say anything — he simply brought up the controller's 3D projection for everyone to see.
Looking at the screen, two yellow dots blinked clearly, alongside two red dots.
Housen Kazutomi clicked his tongue, brow furrowing tightly: "Turned yellow? What's that supposed to mean?"
Chris shook his head:
"No clue on the specific judgment. But our objective this round is the Pillar Men only. Once Kars is dead, the exam ends — no reason to make extra trouble over you guys."
Yagami Takuya pressed his lips together, then suddenly suggested:
"How about… you guys try killing me once? See whether the me that respawns is a human, or a vampire?"
Housen Kazutomi shot him a sidelong glance.
Even though he'd always championed violence, he hadn't expected this Yagami Takuya kid to be that brutal to himself.
But before Housen could respond, Ichinose Honami's voice cut in:
"There's no need to throw away your precious life testing something like that!"
Ichinose's tone was firm: "The Black Sphere almost certainly isn't going to let you guys return to school in a vampire state. Once the exam ends, we'll just see how the system settles it."
With Ichinose having set the tone, nobody raised any further objections.
Hiding at the back of the group, Yotsuya Miko — who knew nothing of what they'd been through before — watched the scene and couldn't help but be amazed.
So these are the archangels Shiranami-san was talking about… how wonderful.
If only I could have met them sooner in my world, I wouldn't have had to live every day terrified out of my wits.
Thinking that, Yotsuya Miko suddenly felt a tug at her heart.
She had to remember — Shiranami Chihiro currently existed as a ghost who could lose her true nature at any moment!
With everyone scattering off to look for Stone Masks, if someone else spotted her—
Miko drew in a breath, mustered up her courage, and spoke up of her own accord:
"Um… can I also help look for Stone Masks?"
Seeing Chris give a small nod, and no one else looking like they had any objections, she quickly trailed after Amikura Mako and the others, planning to slip away from the group once they'd gotten far enough off to check on Shiranami Chihiro's safety.
And Hayasaka Ai — being, like her, an outsider crashing in from another world who didn't belong to Advanced Nurturing High School…
…had been standing close to Yotsuya Miko from the very start. As a professional attendant, she had naturally also noticed Miko's sudden change of expression.
She didn't, however, choose to follow up and probe — let alone call it out.
Because right now, she had more important things to confirm.
Seeing that the only ones left in the main hall were the core members, Hayasaka Ai spoke up calmly:
"I have a question."
"Over on your side, is there an academy called 'Shuchiin'?"
Horikita Suzune glanced at her sideways:
"Never heard of it. Is that school famous?"
Hayasaka Ai sighed:
"It's Japan's most elite aristocratic academy. The vast majority of politicians and zaibatsu families send their children there to study."
"It's a school that, in the truest sense, holds the future of the nation in its hands."
At that, Kouenji Rokusuke raised an eyebrow:
"Oh? My family carries a bit of background and connections of its own. But I've genuinely never heard of this so-called top-tier school of yours."
Chris cut in at exactly the right moment:
"Well, that's pretty clear-cut, then. Meaning, you really do come from a different world than ours."
Hayasaka Ai's lips pressed together slightly:
"Then… do I still have a chance of getting back?"
She still had to go back and protect her mother, and Lady Kaguya.
Karuizawa Kei looked at her and, drawing on her own understanding of the Black Sphere's rules, suggested sympathetically:
"Black Sphere S Points can be exchanged for a 'Miracle.' If… you can accumulate enough S Points and trade with the Black Sphere, I'm sure you can go back. The prerequisite being that you have to survive, and that your points are enough."
Hayasaka Ai silently nodded, retreated back into the shadows, and said no more.
And Speedwagon — who'd been ignored for quite a while now — finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up loudly:
"Young man! Don't ignore me!"
"There's no doubt about it — this is my world! If I'm left as I am, sooner or later this evil power is going to erode my sanity!"
"While I'm still lucid, kill me!"
Ayanokoji raised a hand, ready to neatly and respectfully send this old gentleman off in style.
"Hold on."
Chris suddenly extended a hand, stopping Ayanokoji's movement.
"Ayanokoji, I'm mulling something over."
Chris fixed a deep look on Speedwagon:
"For exams like this with relatively lenient clear conditions… can us fixed-personnel members be granted selection criteria?"
"Look — Ichinose currently has forty Stone Masks in hand. And as this old uncle's just told us, he himself destroyed at least twenty or thirty masks earlier."
Chris turned to Ryuuen Kakeru with a meaningful look: "If Ichinose and this old uncle here can both also be folded into the Black Sphere's contribution score… that's great news for you."
Ryuuen Kakeru cocked an eyebrow:
"Probing its underlying rules, are we?"
"Doesn't seem to be any issue with it. Yours truly loves exploiting loopholes like this!"
Ayanokoji thought it over for a moment, deciding this was indeed intel worth verifying.
He retracted his bone blade and looked at Speedwagon:
"Uncle, you heard it yourself. Bear with us and help us run a little experiment."
"If the Black Sphere doesn't pass judgment, I'll kill you in the instant before we leave. Rest assured, I'm fully capable of it."
Speedwagon was silent for a stretch.
Though he didn't fully understand, in the end he gave a nod.
So long as he wouldn't ultimately become a monster harmful to humanity, then it was no problem.
"As long as this evil can be wiped out, this old man's life is yours to dispose of as you please!"
Seeing this, Chris picked up the Soul-Release Blade and walked over to the half-dead Kars, preparing to end the exam.
Horikita Suzune suddenly spoke up:
"Hold on."
"The remaining Stone Masks — once Amikura and the others pool theirs together, you should still be able to scrape up a bit of item points."
Karuizawa Kei immediately chimed in too, hurrying over to Chris's side eagerly:
"Chris, I've got a few more Stone Masks here too — do you want to…"
Chris waved her off:
"There's nothing I want to buy at the moment."
"But still — since I've come all this way, walking off with nothing would be a bit unjustifiable… Hori, get me one [Random Blind Box Card]. I'll take it back and try my luck."
Horikita Suzune nodded and handed the controls over to Chris.
Watching Chris convert his last few S Points into item points and complete the payment.
Horikita Suzune thought it over for a moment, looking a touch conflicted, and finally opened her mouth:
"As the merchant, the kickback I'm taking from this trip — while it isn't quite enough to buy a T-Virus outright — combined with the S Points I had left over before, just barely covers it."
"What do you think… should I buy the T-Virus now, take a gamble like you did, or save these points for the next exam?"
Faced with the girl asking for advice with her usual front dropped, Chris answered seriously:
"I'd love to say 'it's up to you.' But since you're asking me, my answer is: there's no need to go full gambling-addict mode."
"When you've got clear options to choose from, locking in an upgrade you can actually hold in your hand is the most reliable move."
Horikita Suzune fell into thought at his words.
Beside her, Karuizawa Kei didn't interrupt — just silently watched the scene, who knew what she was thinking.
Without further delay, Chris raised the blade and brought it down.
"Squelch!"
Along with the sound of Kars's soul dying, the exam-end chime rang out.
Chris tossed the blade back to Ryuuen Kakeru:
"Ryuuen, whether you get an extra life on top depends on how this one gets judged."
Ryuuen Kakeru caught the blade, and rare for him, let out a sigh:
"Well, then… let's just wait, and keep hoping."
…
That familiar musty smell hit them in the face.
Back inside the Black Sphere Space.
While the others were still adjusting to the transition.
Chris had already used his god's-eye perspective to confirm that Yotsuya Miko had successfully reunited with Shiranami Chihiro inside the exam zone, and watched the entire process of Shiranami Chihiro entrusting her message to her. Satisfied, he pulled his mind back.
He looked at the explorer's backpack Ichinose had used to load up the Stone Masks — which had now vanished along with the teleportation — and spoke up to remind her:
"Ichinose, first go check with the Black Sphere on the change in your points."
Ichinose Honami took the lead, stepping up in front of the Black Sphere at the center of the room:
"GANTZ, please tally up our scores first!"
The silent Black Sphere swirled with flowing light, and several rows of white text surfaced:
[In quite the rush. I know what you're all thinking, but all I can say is — easy now. Everything has to go through proper procedure, you know.]
[Right now, what you guys need to do is stand up nice and proper while I tally the scores.]
[Alright. This time the total cross-world intrusion was 16 friendly units and 6 cross-world visitors. Although a few unfortunate deaths did occur… because the testers' presence in the alternate world is limited, the final judgment counts them as having survived.]
[As such, all participants receive +18 base points, with 4 points deducted.]
[You bunch really cleaned up big this time around.]
[Individual rankings as follows——]
[1. Ryuuen Kakeru: 115 pts (cumulative 123 pts)]
[2. Ichinose Honami: 99 pts (cumulative 100 pts)]
[3. Chris: 88 pts]
[4. Kouenji Rokusuke: 42 pts (cumulative 54 pts)]
[5. Amanatsu Kazuha: 29 pts (cumulative 37 pts)]
[6. Sakayanagi Arisu: 28 pts (cumulative 32 pts)]
[7. Kamuro Masumi: 25 pts (cumulative 45 pts)]
[8. Ishizaki Daichi: 20 pts (cumulative 26 pts)]
[9. Shiraishi Asuka: 16 pts (cumulative 20 pts)]
[Note: Scores already include the points from submitted Stone Masks. Rewards for the top four will be supplemented once the senior years' advance tests are fully concluded.]
[This round's class rankings and bonus points are as follows:]
[Class A (Chris's class): 4580 (original 3950 + 126*500%); each class member receives an additional 630,000 consumption points.]
[Class D (Ryuuen's class): 2695 (original 1345 + 135*1000%); each class member receives an additional 1,350,000 consumption points.]
[Class C (Ichinose's class): 2502.4 (original 1542.4 + 128*750%); each class member receives an additional 960,000 consumption points.]
[Class B (Sakayanagi's class): 2435 (original 2262.5 + 69*250%); each class member receives an additional 172,500 consumption points.]
[Exam Evaluation:]
[As a 'welfare round' following the mid-term exam, with your current lineups, there really wasn't much difficulty here. But honestly speaking, a certain someone didn't deliver a performance I was satisfied with! I won't name names here — she knows in her own heart. And then there's also…]
Reading through that string of comments, Kamuro Masumi — inexplicably name-checked — guiltily glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu beside her.
Right now, though, nobody was paying any attention to the Black Sphere's snarky evaluation.
Everyone's attention was concentrated on Ichinose's score change!!
Because Ichinose's tally did, indeed, count the Stone Masks in — which undoubtedly opened up a brand-new channel for the few fixed-personnel members, especially Ryuuen Kakeru, who was in desperate need of more error tolerance!
Chris broke the silence:
"Looks like, going forward, you've got a shot at buying back the life you lost, Ryuuen — congrats~"
Sakayanagi Arisu and Amanatsu Kazuha very cooperatively gave a light round of applause, their voices coquettish:
"Omedetō~ (Congratulations~)"
But Ryuuen Kakeru didn't look all that excited:
"What comes later, we'll talk about later."
"Right now there's something more important… hey, hold on!"
Ryuuen Kakeru looked like he'd just clicked into something:
"Speaking of which — that vampire uncle who destroyed those twenty or thirty masks — doesn't that mean he's got a shot at making the top four of this advance test, and walking off with the revival reward?!"
Kouenji Rokusuke smoothed his freshly groomed hair and answered casually:
"Wasn't the whole point of keeping him around to test the limits of the rules in the first place? Once Ayanokoji and the others wrap up, we'll just ask them and find out."
Chris gave a noncommittal nod.
The truth was, in his original script, he had planned on verifying one thing.
Whether a person with a golden spirit, when wrapped up in power, could still hold true to their original heart.
But after he had used [Chronicle of Ages], and discovered that this old gentleman had chosen, without the slightest hesitation, to face death…
…Chris had changed that decision.
Speedwagon, in truth, was actually quite a decent guy.
Since he had no intention of digging in and causing trouble in the JoJo world, then there was no need to forcibly write off a figure as influential to that original world as he was.
Just having his vampire state removed would be enough — count it as a small kindness toward that world on his part.
After all, who knows — there might be a chance to open a JoJo instance again in the future. Keeping a familiar old face around as an NPC wasn't bad at all.
Ichinose Honami's train of thought, however, clearly wasn't jumping around like his was.
Following along with Ryuuen Kakeru's words, she stared at her own current cumulative score.
Ichinose drew in a deep breath and spoke to the Black Sphere:
"GANTZ, my current points… they're enough to bring someone back to life, right?"
The Black Sphere's screen flickered: [Your selection?]
Ichinose met Chris's incoming gaze without flinching:
"Shiranami Chihiro."
The Black Sphere's light screen paused for two seconds, as if running a background search.
Then:
[Target detected as currently participating in a 'Revival Match' procedure…]
[Do you confirm spending 100 S Points directly to fully revive her?]
"What the hell?!"
Ryuuen Kakeru exclaimed: "Dying in that crap place… there's actually a Revival Match you can play?!"
This wasn't just Ryuuen's confusion — it was the confusion of every single person there.
Chris, on the surface, also acted as if he were pondering it:
"Revival Match — is that literal?"
"Then if… Ichinose doesn't spend the 100 points to directly revive her right now, but instead only spends a small amount of points to ensure that our next instance's exam zone is the world that contains our classmates… how would that get charged?"
At his words, Kouenji Rokusuke glanced sideways at Chris and clapped lightly with a chuckle:
"As expected of the man even Ayanokoji-kun acknowledges — Boy~ that brain of yours really spins fast."
Chris paid no attention to the teasing — he simply watched the Black Sphere quietly.
The Black Sphere's screen flickered briefly and produced its answer:
[The so-called Revival Match is set up specifically for those special existences who are 'dead but not entirely dead' — that is, those whose souls have not yet dispersed and who have not yet turned into evil spirits.]
[So long as they can pass a specific trial, GANTZ doesn't mind giving them a chance.]
[As for the proposal in the latter half of your question… within what the rules permit, it is feasible.]
[As for the pricing structure: searching for a world containing a classmate costs 20 S Points; confirming it as the coordinates of the next exam zone costs 20 S Points; on top of that, locking in each additional person costs an additional 20 S Points.]
Looking at this pricing model, the whole group exchanged glances.
Amanatsu Kazuha was the first to speak up and analyze:
"If Shiranami-senpai has a shot at winning the Revival Match by her own power and being reborn… can we, for the time being, choose to put a little trust in her?"
"That way, Class Rep, you could save those precious 100 points."
Ichinose pressed her lips together, sinking into hesitation.
Ryuuen Kakeru, on the other hand, pressed her without any tact:
"If you ask me — there's absolutely no need to keep clinging on to one Shiranami Chihiro like this!"
"What's wrong with trusting her once? Worst case, if she loses her Revival Match, you can just revive her then — isn't that fine? So long as you're still alive, why fear not being able to earn the points later on?"
It wasn't that Ichinose Honami didn't understand that logic.
But, in two prior cases where she'd clearly had the chance to save her and had chosen to give up…
…Ichinose just felt her conscience being mercilessly reproached.
But the thought of how, in this exam, she hadn't actually been any real help… if she spent all her points, what would she have left to protect the rest of her companions with when an even stronger monster appeared next time?
And so.
Reason finally prevailed over emotion.
Ichinose Honami closed her eyes:
"GANTZ."
"Please help detect… the instance world that contains our scattered classmates."
Seeing Ichinose make the concession.
Ryuuen Kakeru immediately tacked on:
"Confirming an instance where Yamada Albert is present — how much extra would that cost?"
Black Sphere: [Precise filtering for one person costs an additional 10 points. Confirm payment?]
Ryuuen Kakeru turned to look at Chris and Sakayanagi Arisu:
"Anyone in your classes you want to add and pin down too? Let's group-buy?"
Chris thought about it:
"Throw in Wang Meiyu. She is, after all, my only fellow countrywoman…"
Sakayanagi Arisu spread her hands:
"Our class currently doesn't have any classmates missing because of the cross-world intrusion, so I'll be sitting out this little investment."
Ryuuen Kakeru nodded, and turned to face the Black Sphere.
On the Black Sphere's screen, the final settlement information popped up:
[Ichinose deducted 40 S Points (world search + coordinate confirmation).]
[Ryuuen Kakeru deducted 20 S Points (precise lock on Yamada Albert).]
[Chris deducted 20 S Points (precise lock on Wang Meiyu).]
[World filtering in progress…]
[Detection complete… The coordinates of the two target individuals have been synchronously anchored to the same world.]
[Everyone, please make your preparations.]
[Your next exam world will be —— "Chainsaw Man".]
____
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