"Who are you?" Resha glared to his left, staring at the seven students. 'Six... or seven? Oh god, what's happening to my mind? They never existed in my previous life. What is going on?'
"Did you hurt your head, Resha?" The student seated at the orange position tilted his head. "Don't tell me you forgot your bestie, Orakha?"
"Bestie?" Resha frowned.
"Fear of death might have erased his memories," mocked the student seated at the green position. "We're the infamous Death Row students of this academy. No one expects us to have a future."
"Are you serious, Resha?" The student in blue asked, his gaze darkening. "Have you forgotten us?"
'Wow, never seen someone speak bullshit so confidently!' Chaos thought, amused. They were sticking to the novel's script—pretending to be close to Resha since they never existed in his previous lives.
The act was flawless, their arguments staged like lifelong friends. But Chaos knew the brutal competition about to unfold.
'And here is Me who can't even fake a lie for a sick day, and I already have to scheme against people like this,' Chaos sighed. 'If I were Inala, I'd be excited. But I'm not Inala.'
*DINK*
*DINK*
*DINK*
'FUCK! This stupid notification is driving me insane! I wish I could turn it off.'
[NOTIFICATION DISABLED]
'Huh. Guess there's more to this cheat than I thought. But no time to dwell. The first minor disaster is coming up.'
"Why don't we introduce ourselves?" suggested the student in violet. "Might help jog Resha's memory. Us Death Row students need to be united. I'm Virala."
Chaos watched them speak, move—alive and vivid beyond his imagination. 'Man, they look so different from how I pictured. But no way I'm describing them. I'm lazy.'
Virala (Violet), Inala (Indigo), Blola (Blue), Grehha (Green), Yennda (Yellow), Orakha (Orange), and Resha (Red). All introduced themselves.
And then there was me—Chaos. From typing on a keyboard to staring into the eye of chaos itself. Heh, pun intended.
"And who are you?" Virala's question turned every pair of eyes toward me.
I had planned to say 'Vardha,' hoping @Unknown gave me a decent name. But...
"Oh, me? I'm Chaos."
FUCK. Why did I say that? I swear I said Vardha!
[NOTIFICATION ENABLED]
'Eh? I didn't enable it—' I glanced at the screen, everyone's eyes still on me.
[Discord DM]
@Unknown: Man, you should really check your notifications. I tried to tell you—your choices don't matter. You're here for my entertainment. You'll use whatever I give you. Including the name.
@Unknown: That's all. Bye-bye.
[BLOCKED]
That bastard blocked me! The nerve of this fucker.
Suddenly—a sharp, primal terror gripped me. My chest tightened, and every instinct screamed: RUN.
Killing intent...?! Is this how it feels? Terrifying. Too terrifying.
I can't handle this. Am I supposed to compete with monsters like this?
Just as I was about to collapse under the pressure, my brain sparked to life.
Chapter 3 of ISTMC. I remembered.
"All students! To the shelter, NOW!" The instructor's voice thundered across the academy, ordering over three hundred students.
Chaos's heart pounded.
"I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!"