After parting ways with Sakayanagi Arisu.
Hayasaka Ai didn't immediately return to the dorm assigned to her.
Alone, she leaned against the corridor railing, flipping through the special phone the school had issued.
On the screen was the intelligence Ichinose had spent so long compiling and summarizing about the Black Sphere exam.
There was even some that had just been updated not long ago today...
But what surprised her was—
In Class B's group files, there was actually a document organized by a Class C leader?
But on second thought, she felt relieved.
Even the school's original set of rules was, in the end, nothing more than small-time squabbling.
But under the threat of the Black Sphere, the original class hierarchy and hostility would naturally be compressed down to nothing.
The weak huddle together for warmth, the strong trade what they have—this is the optimal survival solution for living creatures.
Evil spirits, mysterious merchants, the Uninhabited Island exam, cross-month worlds... and the so-called S-points.
After quickly skimming through the content, Hayasaka Ai gained a rough understanding of the Black Sphere system.
Just as she was about to check whether her own phone could connect to this world's network—
"Tmp, tmp." From the other end of the corridor came a sudden sound of footsteps.
Hayasaka Ai instinctively switched off the screen and looked toward the sound.
Two girls were walking side by side toward her.
One of them was carrying a suitcase in her hand.
Catching sight of the blonde gyaru leaning by the railing, Kamuro Masumi's steps paused slightly, and she spoke with some surprise:
"You're... Hayasaka Ai, right?"
Hayasaka Ai put away her phone and straightened up.
Since she'd already decided to rack up points as fast as possible, there was naturally no need to keep up the disguise; showing her true self would actually make it easier to act.
She proactively held out her hand:
"I'm a member of Class B now."
"Sakayanagi said Class B would let me take part in the future Advance Tests and the Black Sphere exam, so I came... Nice to meet you, please take care of me."
Seeing this, Kamuro Masumi quickly extended her hand to shake.
"No need for the 'take care of me' stuff. I'm Kamuro Masumi."
"We're all scraping out a living under the monsters' noses, so let's look out for each other."
Hayasaka Ai nodded politely and smoothly steered the topic toward Shiraishi Asuka beside her.
To be precise, toward the black case in her hand.
"This suitcase..." Hayasaka Ai's gaze flickered. "Is that the 'Combat Suit'?"
Shiraishi Asuka nodded slightly; reserved by nature, she didn't say much.
Kamuro Masumi generously explained on her behalf:
"It's a Combat Suit, all right. But this thing can only be exchanged inside the Black Sphere Space."
Hearing this, Hayasaka Ai quickly ran the numbers in her head.
The monsters slain during an exam—their points could also be recorded by the Black Sphere.
Plus the few Stone Masks she'd casually collected earlier...
Hayasaka Ai raised her head and looked at Kamuro Masumi:
"Going by the exchange rate, the points I have on hand right now should be enough to buy a full Combat Suit."
"For the next Black Sphere exam, if I want to take part, is there a chance?"
Kamuro Masumi scratched her head:
"That... you'd have to go ask Morishita Ai."
"Because apart from the randomly drawn personnel, each class only gets one fixed main-match slot per exam."
"Originally, next time it was settled that Morishita would go exchange for a Combat Suit. If you want to cut in line, you'll have to discuss it with her."
At this point, Shiraishi Asuka, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up softly:
"Actually, I only got the chance to exchange for a Combat Suit ahead of time because I was drawn as the 'random personnel' for this exam."
Hayasaka Ai nodded in understanding.
For this kind of life-or-death resource distribution, having a queue mechanism was only natural.
"I understand. I'll go talk it over with Morishita. Thank you both for the intel."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries and getting a feel for Class B's current internal atmosphere, Hayasaka Ai politely parted from them.
As the corridor fell quiet once more.
Hayasaka Ai turned around, resting both hands on the railing.
She lifted her head and gazed at the dusk slowly sinking into the clouds on the distant horizon, the dying sun like blood.
Lady Kaguya... Mother...
I'll come back. For sure.
...
Over on Chris's side.
Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Using a day's worth of time inside, Chris and Sakayanagi had pretty much helped Ichinose sort out the development direction of the Love-Love Fruit going forward.
The three of them returned to the room in reality.
As one, they noticed the Magic Butt still left sitting on the chair, and the atmosphere turned a little awkward.
Chris, expression unchanged, looked away and walked over to the table to pour some water.
Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami also tacitly chose to ignore it.
Actually, if you looked at Sakayanagi Arisu alone—
Aside from her initial embarrassment and irritation at having been unintentionally grabbed by Chris, she honestly didn't care much about this.
After all... you can't catch the tiger cub without venturing into the tiger's den.
In order to ferret out the secret Chris carried, in order to see this man through completely and bring him under her control—
She had even steeled herself with the resolve to "feed herself to the tiger."
So what was a little thing like this?
It could even be used as a bargaining chip for flirting.
However, since Ichinose Honami was still present, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't dare act too boldly.
Her intuition was sharp; she always felt that beneath Ichinose's gentle, saintly exterior, she was actually the sensitive type—easily jealous and prone to going dark inside.
When she wasn't planning to dip the beans, the mode of interaction naturally had to change.
And as for Ichinose—
Although it was selfish of her, she actually wanted to linger a little longer in this room steeped in Chris's scent.
But the moment she thought of the [Magic Butt] still sitting in plain sight on the chair...
Ichinose Honami genuinely couldn't come up with any excuse to keep staying.
Not to mention, Sakayanagi Arisu was staring at her with a half-smile, striking the pose of a stubborn holdout: "As long as you don't leave, I absolutely won't leave either."
And so.
After a brief silence.
Ichinose Honami stood up with a flushed face, and after confirming with Sakayanagi Arisu that the Magic Butt's link was no longer in effect, she said her goodbyes to Chris together with her.
Watching Ichinose's adorable look—holding it in so uncomfortably, yet having no choice but to leave—
Chris smiled and waved them off.
Closing the door. Chris pulled out his vibrating phone.
On the screen popped up an inquiry message from Kiryuuin Fuka.
Mainly she wanted to confirm whether their cross-world Black Sphere exam this time had any new rules.
After Chris briefly sent over the changes for this round—
He stretched lazily, lay down on the bed, hands pillowed behind his head.
Should he say the catfighting was a good thing? Ichinose Honami, who had originally been a little girl who'd blush for half a day just from holding hands.
In the end, after being provoked by Karuizawa Kei.
She actually dared to use the excuse of developing the Devil Fruit to brazenly come pay him a "night-raid make-up lesson."
Although in the end it was still just back-and-forth tugging, this initiative was already a qualitative leap.
Shaking his head, Chris chose to suppress these stray romantic notions for the time being and let things develop naturally.
He had no intention of forcibly interfering or correcting anything.
A maiden's heart is always unpredictable and capricious.
It's precisely by letting it clash and interweave amid jealousy, crisis, and longing that things get interesting!
"Speaking of which." Chris's thoughts shifted, and he thought of Shiranami Chihiro.
"She went to ask Yotsuya Miko for help mainly to try using Miko as an anchor, to see whether she could break the limitations of being an Earthbound Spirit and return to the school to check on Ichinose."
"But Shiranami's revival match has already reached its final stage; going to all this trouble to return to school now seems pretty pointless in practical terms."
"Later, when Ichinose goes to the Student Council people for a leave-of-school certificate, I might as well find an opportunity to head out together with them."
"Just treat it as a surprise for her."
As for now...
Concentrating wholeheartedly on preparing for her own revival match is what Shiranami most ought to be doing right now!
Whatever bonds of friendship—they all have to take a back seat in the face of this~
Chris stretched lazily and pulled his thoughts back on track.
Incidentally, tomorrow was the upperclassmen's special exam.
As Nagumo Miyabi's first exam since his upgrade, what kind of BOSS should he send onto the stage this time?
Shin-chan from Shin Godzilla, who can endlessly evolve? Or the Ant King Meruem from Hunter x Hunter?
Or maybe Kibutsuji Muzan from Demon Slayer?
After mulling it over for a moment, Chris made his decision.
"Forget it... the infinitely evolving Godzilla is a bit too overpowered."
"Ant King Meruem will do."
"Even dropped into One Punch Man, the un-reborn Ant King would still pack demon-tier strength, right?"
As an opponent for Nagumo Miyabi and Ayanokoji, that should be more than enough to give them a hard time.
That's right. For the next upperclassmen's exam, Chris likewise planned to crash a few familiar faces into it.
A theater without an audience—no matter how gorgeous the slaughter, it loses a bit of its flavor.
The next day. Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, opened using class evaluation points.
After another stretch of closed-off training equivalent to several days in reality, Chris had basically figured out which people had the qualifications to adapt to and use Stand discs.
Exiting the Time Chamber.
Kushida Kikyo, holding a bottle of electrolyte water, proactively sidled up to Chris.
"Chris-kun, good work out there."
Kushida handed over the drink, then took the chance to sit down beside him, speaking in a seemingly casual tone:
"Our class should have stockpiled quite a lot of those 'intrusion-exemption privileges' by now, right?"
"This afternoon the upperclassmen are going to run their Black Sphere exam... I was thinking, shouldn't we use this privilege ahead of time, just in case?"
Chris took the water, unscrewed it, took a sip, thought it over, and answered truthfully:
"It's certainly worth a try."
"But I have to give you one warning. The only thing the intrusion privilege can exempt is the risk of being dragged in as an 'examinee.'"
"It apparently can't prevent a situation where you and Horikita get directly picked by the Black Sphere to become mysterious merchants and staff, the way you did yesterday."
Hearing this, Kushida Kikyo wasn't the least bit flustered.
Instead, she confidently patted her own chest, stirring up a dizzying surge of waves:
"Well, that I'm not worried about~"
"The odds of being selected as a special NPC twice in a row are about the same as winning the lottery. I've got some confidence in my own luck."
"And privileges are the kind of thing you should use first and worry about later. Otherwise, if you hoard it too long and they change the rules one day, in the end it'll just go to waste."
Chris nodded:
"I'll tell Ayanokoji and the others."
"But during last exam, you should have been allotted some points, right?" Chris shot her a sidelong glance. "Are the points you have on hand enough to buy a Combat Suit?"
Kushida Kikyo pursed her lips and silently ran the numbers in her head.
"Mm... counting that Stone Mask I grabbed at the very end, it should be enough."
Kushida paused, her watery eyes turning toward Chris:
"Don't tell me... Chris, you're planning to have me take part in Monday's official Black Sphere exam?"
Chris rolled his eyes at her in exasperation:
"What on earth are you thinking? If you really wanted to go, you'd have said so to Nanase Tsubasa's face yesterday, wouldn't you?"
Having her thoughts seen through, Kushida Kikyo's cheeks flushed slightly.
This wasn't because of any maidenly bashfulness.
Rather, it was an instinctive reaction born of embarrassment and a guilty conscience.
After all, in her heart, aside from a few thighs worth clinging to, she actually didn't take Nanatsura Tsubasa seriously at all.
In this dog-eat-dog class, as long as Chris spoke up, she figured no one would question him in the slightest.
But Kushida, deeply versed in the way of the green-tea schemer, naturally had no intention of putting that kind of thing out in the open.
She just took advantage of this awkward blush, lowered her head slightly, and put on a wronged little expression:
"Um... it's because I was overthinking back then, my mind was a bit of a mess..."
"So I didn't really pay attention to what Nanatsura was saying."
Seeing this, Chris spoke earnestly:
"If you genuinely want to improve yourself and add some insurance for your future, then go take part in the 'Advance Test' next time."
"Being forcibly selected by the Black Sphere and making up your own mind to go are completely different experiences."
Kushida Kikyo's fingers unconsciously tugged lightly at the hem of her skirt.
A little nervous, yet not daring to refuse outright.
After a brief inner tug-of-war, she forced up a smile and probed once more:
"Um... Chris-kun..."
"You haven't misremembered, right? When the Black Sphere first descended, I was among the first batch of people dragged in."
"So I'm really just like the rest of you—I've got the same extra three lives of margin for error... right?"
Watching her cowardly act of repeatedly confirming her safety net.
Chris was helpless:
"If you're really that scared of dying, then not taking part is fine too. Honestly, after this exam, there shouldn't be a small number of people in the class who'll want to go."
"You're free to keep hiding in the back."
Hearing the disappointment in Chris's tone.
Kushida Kikyo's heart shuddered, her gaze more serious than ever before:
"No! I'll go!"
"I'll overcome my fear! Since everyone's working so hard, there's no way I can fall behind either!"
At that moment. Using the location-tracking function on the friends interface of her phone, Tachibana Akane, who had tracked her way all the way over—
Happened to witness the scene of the two of them talking.
She fell silent for a little while.
Seeing that the two of them seemed to have wrapped up their business, she only then stepped lightly forward and spoke:
"Chris-kun... are you two finished?"
Chris looked toward the voice, saw that it was Tachibana Akane, and nodded slightly:
"I've got time, senpai."
"Did you come to ask about the rule changes for our last Advance Test and Black Sphere exam?"
"I had a talk with Kiryuuin-senpai last night; if you need it, I'll forward the organized intel document straight to you."
Tachibana Akane gently folded both hands in front of her and bowed slightly, with a touch of gratitude:
"That would really be wonderful, thank you so much."
"Actually, the reason I came this time was to find out about the changes."
Her tone carried a few notes of unease:
"My combat ability isn't very good, but I heard Vice President Nagumo say that the points earned in the Advance Test can now also be counted by the Black Sphere..."
Chris shook his head, cutting her fantasy off directly:
"Senpai, you've misunderstood."
"It's not the points awarded by your ranking in the Advance Test—it's the points from the monsters you personally hunt and kill during the test that can be counted by the Black Sphere and carried out."
"The points from the test ranking alone still only affect your placement within the test."
"All these details are written in the document I put together; once you go back and read it carefully, senpai, you'll understand."
At those words, Tachibana Akane's eyelashes lowered slightly.
She was silent for a moment, then forced a smile:
"I understand. Then... I won't keep bothering you. I'll go find Student Council President Nagumo and get ready for this afternoon's test."
Chris nodded:
"Safe travels, senpai."
Watching Tachibana Akane's somewhat forlorn retreating figure.
Kushida Kikyo leaned in close to Chris and asked in puzzlement:
"How strange... senpai's on your friends list, isn't she? If she wanted to know something, couldn't she just shoot you a message on Line?"
"Since she specially came all this way to tell you in person, there's got to be some other reason, right?"
Chris withdrew his gaze and answered offhandedly:
"Maybe... but since senpai herself isn't willing to come out and say it, I can't be sure either."
But in truth, from a god's-eye view, it wasn't hard to guess.
After all, with Horikita Manabu absent, facing the Black Sphere exam, Tachibana Akane was definitely feeling insecure inside.
Instinctively, she wanted to find someone reliable to confide in. And as it happened, Chris was the very person Horikita Manabu had specially designated as trustworthy before he left.
But since she and Chris weren't really close to begin with—
With Tachibana's reserved, duty-bound personality, even if she wanted to ask for help, it would actually be very hard for her to truly step over that inner threshold, swallow her pride, and show weakness to a junior by begging for protection.
Awkward as anything.
'She's actually a bit like the earlier Horikita Suzune... how cute.'
Thinking this, Chris stretched lazily and decided to go find Nagumo Miyabi, and to check on how Kiryuuin's preparations were coming along while he was at it.
What he hadn't expected, though—
The instant he stepped out the main gate of the school building, he ran head-on into Ichinose Honami, who was hurrying along with Yotsuya Miko in tow.
Chris feigned puzzlement and went over to meet them:
"Ichinose? Where are you two off to?"
Ichinose halted her steps and explained briefly:
"Yotsuya here has been wanting to go home and see her family, hasn't she?"
"Yesterday I specially asked the Student Council Vice President. He said you can apply for a leave-of-school certificate using the reason of 'assisting the Student Council with an off-campus investigation.'"
"So I figured, while it's still early, I'd take Yotsuya to go ask Tachibana-senpai for help."
Chris raised an eyebrow in mild surprise: "...That simple?"
Ichinose pursed her lips, not too sure either:
"This is the school's old, proper method for officially leaving campus. As for whether the procedure still works now, I can't be certain either."
"But I have to take Yotsuya to give it a try regardless. After all, she was innocently dragged into all this too..."
Chris nodded:
"I just happened to run into Tachibana-senpai a moment ago."
"Let me give her a call for you, so you don't make the trip for nothing."
At that, Yotsuya Miko hurriedly bowed deeply toward Chris in gratitude:
"Thank you, Chris! I'm really so sorry to trouble you!"
Chris waved his hand, unbothered:
"It's nothing. Anyway, I was just looking for a chance to test whether I can get out through this kind of regular channel."
"And while I'm at it... see what attitude the Black Sphere system takes toward this school."
____
👻🔥Whant more?: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Homelander: Founding the Hero Association
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers