Chabashira Sae let out a long, quiet sigh.
She stared at the crushed cigarette in her hand, pressed her fingers irritably to her brow, and slowly began to explain:
"Not long after your first-year exam ended, the Black Sphere came to me."
"It said I had been chosen to serve as the 'spokesperson' for the mysterious merchant in this uninhabited island exam."
"As my reward, I won't truly die — not until all the items in the shop have been sold and depleted."
"In exchange, every time I die and reset, one item will be permanently removed from the shop's inventory."
She reached down and touched her own abdomen — completely unharmed — and looked at Morishita Ai with the distant air of someone recalling a memory:
"Actually, I had already died once before I ever ran into you. I was reborn from death and then made my way to your group."
"That's why I was so desperate to find people — I wanted to move as much merchandise as possible before the shop ran completely dry."
That was Chabashira Sae's account.
But Chris, watching the whole board from a god's-eye view, knew exactly how much salt to take it with.
He had personally witnessed the look of naked panic that had crossed her face the moment the Black Sphere chose her. And the expression she'd worn when truly staring death in the face — contorted by despair — had been, in its own way, deeply entertaining.
Not that there was any need to strip away what little dignity an adult had left.
Chris followed her lead and spoke up:
"In that case, Chabashira-sensei — would you mind showing us what you still have available for sale?"
Karuizawa Kei quickly chimed in:
"We've already taken down a few monsters ourselves, so we've saved up some S-Points. If Chabashira-sensei is with us, we could create a real positive feedback loop!"
Chabashira Sae didn't waste words.
She simply raised her hand in silence.
A moment later, a translucent screen suffused with pale blue light materialized before them out of thin air.
The item list unfurled:
[Omni-Directional Mobility Gear]: A specialized tactical device used by the human military forces of another world. Allows humans — accustomed to fighting on foot — to achieve high-speed aerial maneuverability between tall structures using grappling cables and pressurized gas canisters. With this device, soldiers can effectively dodge, reposition, and strike the weak point on the back of a Titan's neck.
——Price: 3,000 Item Points
[Leo Cavalry Unit (Mass Production Model)]: A mass-production combat armor. Equips the user with an all-round enhancement to physical capabilities and can be layered on top of a Combat Suit for stacked effects. Comes fitted with an accelerating blade-gun that can switch between a high-frequency vibration blade for close quarters or an energy beam rifle for ranged combat.
——Price: 10,000 Item Points
[Designated Gourmet Meal Voucher (Gold)]: Single-use card. Upon activation, you are temporarily removed from the exam zone and transported to a luxury cruise liner to enjoy a lavish, fully customized meal of your choosing. Once you have finished eating, you are forcibly returned to your original position in the exam.
——Price: 2,500 Item Points
[Hyperbolic Time Chamber Training Pass]: Special venue access pass. Upon use, you enter a dedicated time chamber provided by the Black Sphere for training. One day inside equals one minute in the outside world.
——Billed by time: 500 Item Points per outside minute
Surveying the glittering catalogue, Chris furrowed his brow, wearing a distinctly unimpressed expression:
"Somehow... none of these feel particularly powerful?"
Chabashira Sae replied with a helpless shrug:
"Originally, there was also an option called the 'String-String Devil Fruit.' After consuming it, the user could freely manipulate razor-thin threads invisible to the naked eye — threads capable of slicing through steel and puppeteering others like marionettes..."
"But because I died once, that fruit was forcibly stripped from the inventory as punishment."
"Though..." She paused and exhaled. "Even with it included, nothing in here is really at the level where a single item could single-handedly tip the scales of a battle."
Amikura Mako shook her head and offered a consoling thought:
"That said — without sensei here, all the points we've earned would just be sitting there with no way to convert them into combat power. That'd be a real problem too, wouldn't it?"
At that moment, Morishita Ai — who had been staring at the screen in a quiet daze — seemed to suddenly notice a blind spot.
She pressed her lips together and cautiously ventured:
"Um... hypothetically, if we bought the [Designated Gourmet Meal Voucher]..."
"And then, while dining on the cruise ship, we deliberately left our food untouched and just... never finished eating — wouldn't that be exploiting a system bug to let us stay in the safe zone indefinitely?"
"That's..." Tachibana Akane scratched her cheek, caught between a laugh and a grimace. "That shouldn't work, should it?"
"Even regular all-you-can-eat buffets have a time limit on how long you can sit. This is a Black Sphere exam — there's no way it'd leave something that obvious open to exploit."
Shiina Hiyori, however, rested her chin in one hand and considered it seriously for a moment before murmuring:
"Maybe... it's not completely out of the question?"
"After all, based on the exchange rate the Black Sphere gave us, 1 S-Point converts to 500 Item Points. Which means a single voucher card costs 5 S-Points."
"Five S-Points — that's five whole Evil Spirits' worth, or at least two Parasytes. As the price of 'skipping class,' so to speak, it's not exactly cheap."
At that, Karuizawa Kei suddenly cut in:
"The problem is... none of us have spare points to throw at an experiment with no guaranteed outcome. Except Chris."
The group fell into silence again — Chabashira Sae included.
After all, everyone understood perfectly well that on this island where tomorrow was never guaranteed, the one they had to rely on was Chris. Not only did he carry a wealth of combat experience — he also held a controller capable of turning invisible and providing real-time intel on every enemy's location and weaknesses. He was, without question, the cornerstone they couldn't do without.
Sensing every gaze converging on him, Chris turned and looked at Morishita Ai, the one who had raised the idea in the first place:
"The bug-exploit scheme — let's table that until we've linked up with the main group."
"Setting aside whether it'd even work: if it doesn't, and the Black Sphere forcibly warps you back to your original position..."
Chris raised a hand and pointed toward the empty clearing that had swallowed her just moments ago, his tone dropping a notch. "If we're not there when you land — and you drop straight into a pack of monsters alone — that's game over."
"Besides, the Black Sphere warned us right from the start that the play area would shrink. The space-time rifts are only going to get more frequent from here. Can you honestly guarantee you'd land near another Class D student?"
Shiina Hiyori nodded along in genuine agreement:
"Chris is right — the risk is too unpredictable."
"That said, when you weigh everything up... aside from the [Leo Cavalry Unit] that directly stacks onto the Combat Suit for extra combat power, none of the other items seem like they'd have an immediate, tangible impact on our survival right now."
"The Omni-Directional Mobility Gear in particular — for an average person, you'd probably need to spend points on the [Hyperbolic Time Chamber] and grind for months just to build the muscle memory needed to use it at all."
Chabashira Sae offered a different perspective:
"Personally, I believe the Time Chamber Training Pass is the single most strategically important item in this entire catalogue."
"One day inside equals one minute outside! Whether you're practicing the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear or studying the Ripple Breathing technique you've already learned — it saves an enormous amount of time that you simply don't have out here."
Chris didn't dispute the point's merit.
But he felt a tremor beneath the soles of his feet, and his expression shifted ever so slightly:
"Let's save the detailed planning for when we've caught up with the main group."
"I think... something's coming."
The moment Chris said it, the ground beneath them began to shake.
What started as a tremor barely perceptible underfoot rapidly grew into a full, unmistakable vibration — violent enough to rattle every leaf on the surrounding trees.
The girls' expressions shifted at once. They snapped their Black Sphere weapons up and clustered back-to-back, eyes locked on their radar screens, immediately entering a defensive formation.
Chris was the first to flip open the controller on his wrist.
On the three-dimensional holographic display, a massive cluster of green dots — packed so densely together they formed one enormous green smear — was advancing rapidly in their direction.
And trailing behind that green mass, and flanking it on both sides — every red dot that had been scattered along the radar's edges, representing monsters, had vanished without a trace.
More tellingly: any red dot that dared wander close to the advancing formation was snuffed out within seconds.
"This..." Chabashira Sae stared at the display on Chris's controller, brow creasing. "All this commotion... Could it be that someone got the airdrop equipment and managed to rally all the scattered students nearby into one group?"
"Seems a little reckless, though. If they run into trouble, won't the whole lot of them get wiped out at once?"
Chris glanced sideways at her.
"And splitting up — does that mean they won't get picked off one by one instead?"
Without further explanation, Chris bent his knees slightly.
Channeling the explosive burst of his Combat Suit, he launched himself upward.
In a few leaping bounds, he'd cleared the canopy and landed at the crown of an ancient tree.
Standing at the treetop, Chris looked into the distance.
At the far edge of the jungle, a colossal figure encased from head to toe in hardened crystalline armor was advancing through the trees with earth-shaking strides, cutting a path forward with thunderous weight.
And cradled in the broad, outstretched palm of the Armored Titan — formed from Parasytes — was a cluster of students, held steady and secure.
Chris, of course, knew exactly who this was: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had consumed the Titan serum.
They had clearly already divided up the airdrop supplies, were now sweeping through the straggling low-value monsters in the area, and were methodically gathering up surviving classmates — all in an effort to keep casualties to a minimum.
'But...'
Chris pulled up the global data table GANTZ had provided him.
[Current Surviving Students: 108]
[Total Monsters Eliminated: 148]
Eleven more students needed to be eliminated before the second airdrop would appear.
And before the official Black Sphere exam phase could begin... two more monsters still needed to fall.
Ah — wait, never mind, that's already taken care of.
Watching two more red dots wink out on the controller, Chris felt the corner of his mouth curl upward.
Now that the prerequisites had been met — it was time to unlock the hidden teleportation point at the island's center, and officially bring onto the battlefield the Jogo who'd been standing by on the other side, along with the upperclassmen like Horikita Manabu.
Otherwise, Douma's power level was honestly looking a little underwhelming on its own.
Besides — he'd been keeping Jogo locked up this whole time, and had even confiscated all but one of its Sukuna fingers, leaving it just that one for the enhancement boost. The thing was probably furious by now.
Chris quietly mapped out the next act in his head.
Just then — a sharp, rushing sound tore through the sky above. The heavy beat of enormous wings slicing through the air.
Chris looked up.
A graceful silhouette was gliding high overhead.
It was Ichinose.
Behind her, the girl had unfurled a pair of enormous snow-white wings that radiated a sacred, almost celestial light — soaring through the sky like an angel descended from the heavens, gazing down upon the mortal world below.
He knew perfectly well it was the effect of an Imperial Arms. But seeing Ichinose appear looking like this, Chris still played along with an expression of genuine surprise:
"Ichinose...?"
High above, Ichinose Honami was in the middle of conducting a low-altitude reconnaissance sweep, guided by the radar built into her enhanced rifle.
At the sound of his voice, she spotted Chris standing at the top of the tree.
"Senpai! Oh, thank goodness — you're here!"
Ichinose Honami's voice was filled with the warmth of reunion.
Chris gave a small nod, then tilted his head toward the white wings at her back with a wry smile:
"We've barely been apart and you've already turned into an angel?"
At the teasing, Ichinose looked flustered and shook her head quickly:
"N-no, it's not like that — this came out of an airdrop capsule, it's an Imperial Arms..."
"By the way, senpai — have you seen Amikura and the others? We've already gathered all the surviving students in the area over to Ayanokoji's location. You few stragglers are the only ones left to find."
Chris tilted his chin downward, gesturing below him:
"They're all down there. Perfectly safe for now."
He then shifted his gaze toward the Armored Titan not far away, and the crowd of students being steadily ferried along in those enormous Parasyte-formed hands:
"That big guy... is he also something you pulled out of an airdrop capsule?"
"Yes."
Ichinose Honami followed his line of sight and explained gently:
"That's your Class D's Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. He consumed a Titan serum from the airdrop..."
She hadn't even finished her sentence.
Ayanokoji was already right upon them — each heavy footfall sending the leaves shuddering with a raspy whisper.
Then two figures dropped one after the other from the Titan's broad shoulders.
Ryuuen Kakeru landed with a crash of displaced dust — his entire body wrapped in heavy metal plating from the cybernetic augmentations he'd undergone.
Sakayanagi Arisu, by contrast, was the picture of elegance.
Cradling her romantic cannon, she first caught a thick branch with one outstretched hand to cushion her descent, then touched down onto the ground with measured poise.
Seeing this, Chris also dropped down alongside Ichinose.
"Fufu~"
Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Chris — completely unscathed — and let a smile curl at the corner of her lips:
"I knew it. Someone with your abilities was never going to be in any real danger."
Meanwhile, Ryuuen Kakeru — clad in his Combat Suit now visibly augmented with a sprawling network of mechanical tubing and armored protrusions — had zero interest in Chris at that moment.
His gaze went straight past him and locked onto Chabashira Sae, who was standing just behind Chris in her office attire.
"Isn't that Class D's teacher?"
Ryuuen's voice was cold. "What's she doing in our exam zone?"
Seeing Ryuuen's openly hostile posture, Chris stepped forward and explained Chabashira's role on her behalf — running through her setup one more time.
After that, Chris sized up Ryuuen with a mildly curious look:
"Looks like you've been through quite a bit over there..."
"Going by the radar, I'd guess you racked up a decent monster count on the way here. Anything in the shop catch your eye?"
Ryuuen glanced down at the remaining S-Points displayed on his wristwatch.
"66 points..."
He clicked his tongue. "At the Black Sphere's conversion rate, that's 33,000 Item Points."
"Enough to buy anything in that crappy shop." He scoffed. "But honestly? This gear is absolute trash. All auxiliary garbage or niche gimmicks."
Ryuuen didn't bother hiding his contempt. "Doesn't hold a candle to a single thing from the actual airdrop!"
At that blunt dismissal, Sakayanagi Arisu gave a light laugh:
"You're not doing the math right."
"Getting airdrop equipment means walking straight into high-scoring monsters face-first."
"Risk and reward have always been proportional~"
With that, Sakayanagi winked at Chris:
"Don't mind him. The cybernetic augmentation has been affecting his brain a little. It'll clear up once the exam is over."
While the group was talking, Ichinose Honami had just finished exchanging information with Amikura Mako and the others — and had learned that Chris's controller could pinpoint the exact location, real-time status, and weak points of any monster on the radar.
Her eyes lit up, and she walked briskly over.
"Um... senpai!"
"Since your controller can lock onto specific monster positions —"
"There's no time to waste!"
Ichinose Honami clenched both fists. "We should use the fact that it's still daytime — sunlight suppresses evil spirits — and go take out the one they're calling 'Douma' right now!"
Ryuuen's eyebrows lifted slightly, caught off guard:
"Oh? It does that too?"
Sakayanagi smiled:
"It cost 40 S-Points. If it didn't have some serious utility, the Black Sphere would be treating us like absolute suckers."
Chris nodded, not denying it:
"The function's there, yes. But..."
"Douma's mist is laced with toxins. Wide-area coverage — any ordinary person who breathes it in dies instantly."
"Bringing too large a group would just create liabilities."
As he spoke, Chris glanced over at the Armored Titan looming behind Ryuuen, enormous as a small mountain.
Ichinose Honami caught his meaning immediately:
"We've already gotten a taste of how nasty that toxin is."
"So this time, we don't need to throw the whole army at it in a human-wave assault."
Ichinose swiftly laid out the tactical assignments:
"With senpai acting as our precision 'eyes' for targeting, all we need is a strike team."
"I provide aerial mobility support from above using the Imperial Arms; Sakayanagi provides fire suppression from a safe distance using her romantic cannon; and Ryuuen — who's already been augmented and is immune to the toxin — will go in as the main frontline force alongside Ayanokoji, who transforms into the Armored Titan!"
Sakayanagi Arisu added a gentle reminder:
"On the condition that we move fast."
"The moment this drags into nightfall and we lose the sunlight's advantage, the demon's regeneration becomes a whole different problem. The odds swing heavily against us."
Listening to the discussion, Shiina Hiyori — who had been quietly taking it all in — softly offered a suggestion:
"For dealing with the evil spirit..."
"If anyone has spare S-Points to work with, it might be worth purchasing [Time Chamber] training access from Chabashira-sensei."
"One minute inside converts to an entire day outside. Even if you only go in for a few hours to practice [Ripple Breathing]... against a demon that fears sunlight, that technique would be an absolutely decisive trump card — one that pays for itself many times over."
She paused, then let her gaze drift toward the crowd of ordinary students still trembling on the Armored Titan's palm:
"And we could use the time that you're training in the Time Chamber for something else, too."
"Have Ayanokoji transfer everyone to the island's center in the meantime."
"That way, they won't be caught in the crossfire from the Black Sphere's 'space-time rift' warnings during the subjugation operation."
"Space-time rifts..."
Ryuuen murmured the phrase, eyebrow arching.
Chris took the cue and added context:
"Earlier, your class's Yamada Albert and Ichinose's class's Kobashi Yume were both caught by a space-time rift and disappeared."
"If those rifts appear randomly..."
"Having Ayanokoji act as a carrier and move everyone out of the danger zone in one trip is genuinely the most effective way to minimize non-combat casualties right now."
"Yamada Albert..."
Hearing that his most loyal subordinate had gone out in such an undignified fashion — Ryuuen's face darkened, and he exhaled in rough, irritated bursts.
"Whatever. Dead is dead. As long as I make it through this and rack up a high score, I'll have plenty of chances to drag him back later!"
Ryuuen turned on his heel and headed toward Ayanokoji:
"Move out! Talk while we walk!"
"I'm actually a little curious what kind of disaster managed to hit you lot."
Chris gave a nod.
Out of habit, he glanced at the three-dimensional map on his controller.
After confirming the precise location where Douma was currently lying low, Chris reached inward through his mind and interfaced with GANTZ.
Because the airdrop had supplied the field with Adam's Hammer — a heavyweight unit immune to toxins —
Even though Ryuuen wasn't quite as fearsome as the original template, operating at only seventy percent of full augmentation,
With futuristic technology suppressing his limitations, plus the backup of an Imperial Arms assist...
Taking down a Douma that was hobbled by daytime restrictions and couldn't perform at full strength — honestly, the outcome wasn't particularly in doubt.
Given that — and in the name of keeping the game balanced — as a compensatory buff for Douma's side, Chris, through the Black Sphere, had a Sukuna finger quietly delivered to Douma's hiding spot in the valley.
It was borrowed from Jogo anyway. Chris didn't feel the slightest pang of guilt spending it.
As a bonus, the finger could also serve as bait — luring Jogo, who would be teleported over alongside Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi, directly onto the battlefield.
Killing two birds with one stone — elegantly done.
The only remaining question was...
Did the cursed spirit system and the demon system from Demon Slayer even have any compatibility with each other?
Handing a Sukuna finger to Douma might genuinely have zero practical effect.
And even in the most optimistic scenario — even if Douma actually ate the finger — could a body like Douma's really provide Sukuna the foothold he needed to resurrect in the flesh, the way Yuuji had?
"Feels... pretty unlikely."
Chris raised an eyebrow.
Yuuji was, after all, the product of years of careful preparation by that scheming old brain. Douma wasn't even in the same league.
But — who cared.
Worth a shot.
Even counting the one finger he'd kept back specifically to power up Jogo, there were at most two fingers in play here.
He still had eight more tucked away safely.
At that ratio, if Sukuna felt like complaining — the King of Curses could genuinely be casually elbowed aside by Gojo.
____
👻🔥Here: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting in The Long Dark with My Waifus
We have set new community milestones:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for all readers