Chapter 199: The Third Event Begins; Anime Trivia Quick-Draw?
....
Thwack!
She'd put some spirit into it, but it felt more like a tickle than a punch. Seito barely flinched.
"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you," Seito laughed.
"Hmph!" Yuzuru Nishimiya let out a cold snort, turning away to fiddle with her camera.
The trio quickly reached the building and headed upstairs. At the second-floor landing, Seito gave a casual wave.
"See you in the game."
"Mm." Shoko smiled gently, taking her sister's hand as they departed.
Seito stepped back into his own home.
7:30 AM.
Everyone had finished breakfast and logged into the game. They were abuzz with speculation, discussing the impending event with a mix of excitement and nerves.
As 8:00 AM struck, the world shifted.
[Round Three: Lightning Round Trivia!]
[Feature 1: In this round, all remaining players are teleported to a shared examination hall. There are fifty questions in total.]
[Feature 2: This is a buzzer-based 'quick-draw' game. Players must buzz in to answer questions as they appear.]
[Feature 3: Question Category: 'ACG / Two-Dimensional Culture.']
[Participants: 50]
Scanning his surroundings, Seito found himself seated in a chair. On the desk before him sat a single, large button—the buzzer.
The other forty-nine players were seated exactly like him, arranged in rows facing a massive digital screen at the front of the hall.
"I didn't expect so many of you from the Full-Moon Guild to make it to the third round."
Seito spotted Kaguya Shinomiya nearby. Beyond the players from the previous round like Asuna and Sinon, quite a few familiar faces had survived: Yukino Yukinoshita, Kaguya, Ai Hayasaka, Arisu Sakayanagi, Suzune Horikita, Honami Ichinose, Kakeru Ryuuen, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, and more.
The elite were gathered in force!
However, when Seito saw the category for the third round, he burst into laughter.
Most of these high-achieving "Full-Moon" players didn't spend their time watching anime! He glanced at the rest of the players—plenty of middle-aged businessmen who looked completely lost. The few young adults present were also frozen in shock.
"Anime and Manga? I'm cooked! This is my end!"
"Me too! This is a disaster!"
"Dammit! I should have watched more cartoons with my son!"
"Why wasn't 'Otaku Culture' part of the family curriculum?!"
Mental states were crumbling across the board. Even the strategic geniuses of Full-Moon looked pale. Kaguya Shinomiya sat frozen, and even Ayanokouji's mask-like face twitched slightly—this was a literal blind spot in his vast ocean of knowledge.
In contrast, Iori Kitahara roared with laughter.
"Hahaha! I'm a veteran of the culture!" Iori was vibrating with excitement. He felt like every hour he'd spent watching late-night anime in middle school was finally paying off. As long as the questions weren't totally obscure, he had this in the bag!
Sora, Shiro, Sally, and Ako's eyes also lit up. The rest of the Fatui Executives let out sighs of relief as they looked toward Seito.
At that moment, the system chime echoed.
[Question 1]
[In the anime 'Bleach', what is the name of the Zanpakuto belonging to Captain-Commander Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai?]
Ding!
Sora slammed his buzzer first, a wide grin on his face. "Ryujin Jakka."
[Correct Answer.]
[Current Standings:]
[1st: Sora — Score: 1]
"This is too easy," Sora said, leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head.
"Yeah, we've basically won this game already," Seito chuckled.
"Should we all try to grab some points?"
Maple asked, looking between the two.
"Definitely," Seito nodded. "The top five slots for this event are essentially ours. Iori, make sure you push for the top ten."
"Leave it to me!" Iori gave a thumbs-up.
Their casual banter left the surrounding players feeling utterly defeated. Even those who had seen a few shows couldn't compete with the reaction speeds of Seito and his group. Faded memories required time to process—time they didn't have.
Thirty questions later...
[Current Standings:]
[1st: Sei — Score: 8]
[2nd: Shiro — Score: 7]
[3rd: Sora — Score: 7]
[4th: Sally — Score: 3]
[5th: Ako — Score: 3]
[6th: Iori Kitahara — Score: 2]
The leaderboard was dominated entirely by the Fatui. The rest of the players were growing increasingly dejected.
"Seito-kun... could you maybe slow down a little? Give us a chance," Asuna finally pleaded.
She knew some of the answers, but because she wasn't a hardcore fan, her memory was fuzzy, and she needed a few seconds to recall the details. The other players looked at Seito, waiting for his response with desperate eyes.
"Sure, no problem," Seito said plainly. Their goal was the top three rewards anyway; giving up a few points didn't matter.
The room let out a collective sigh of relief. It would be too embarrassing to finish with zero points.
[Question 31]
[In the anime 'Naruto', who is Naruto Uzumaki's wife?]
Ding!
"Kaguya-sama, I know this one!" Ai Hayasaka pressed her buzzer, turning to Kaguya.
"Go ahead then, Hayasaka," Kaguya said calmly.
The other players looked on with complicated expressions. Many of them knew this answer too, but their hand speed was simply no match for Hayasaka's.
Hayasaka looked at the screen with an expressionless face and stated her answer.
"Hinata Hyuga."
[Incorrect Answer.]
A massive red "X" appeared on the screen.
Not only was Hayasaka stunned, but every player who thought they knew the answer froze.
How could that be wrong? Naruto's wife is Hinata, isn't she?
At that moment, Iori Kitahara snickered. "We give you a chance, but you're just not up to the task~"
....
Thank you for reading.