Shikoki Island—-
After the meal, Soren dismissed all the kids into separate guest rooms, leaving Omariro and Sora at the table.
"Well," Soren remarked. "I imagine you'll stay for the training, eh, Omariro?"
"Hmm."
"At the bare minimum, do you want a room?"
"Room not needed."
With a tap of his staff, he disappeared. Soren shook his head. "I am incredibly jealous he can literally pop in and out whenever and whenever he wants."
Sora put a hand on his back. "Don't feel bad, dear. Omariro is 1 of 1. It's best not to dwell on the fact he's better than you in basically every aspect."
"Ahem, excuse you?"
"Goodnight."
Sora headed toward the bedrooms, leaving Soren alone to shake his head. "Glad he's so antisocial. If he weren't, he'd probably even steal my wife."
Meanwhile, Zaria tossed and turned in her bed, firmly closing her eyes. "Please don't corrupt me! Please don't corrupt me!"
She sat up abruptly, breathing heavily. "Han seems to know more about this than he should. Did they already get him? Is that why he's been acting so moody?"
She took a deep breath, laying her head back down. "No, no. Just calm down, Zaria. Han's your friend. If he was some corrupt Abyss jerk I'd know by now."
She looked at her arm. "But I'm not feeling any personality changes or weakness, so maybe the effects aren't that bad?"
As she began to close her eyes, she noticed Omariro in her room, and she quickly got up. "Oh! Sir!"
Her face turned red. "Did you come here to sleep too? I mean, I have space next to me…"
"Girl had questions."
"Right, oh, but Han did too!"
"Boy is asleep. Will be dealt with later."
She got up. "Okay, well..I've got some kinda bad news to tell you, Sir."
Omariro simply stared at her, bland as ever.
"So…this guy, his name is Shion, he granted me some power. A loadout, I think."
Omariro narrowed his eyes as she continued.
"He said it would have costs. Like, health-related. And he used that Daraku power, the same one the guy that killed my mom and sister used."
"Girl faces dilemma."
"Yes. What do you think I should do? Is there any way to remove a loadout from your body?"
Omariro shook his head. "Power cannot be removed. Once there, death is only solution."
"Would that be better than having this? I don't want to lose control and attack the others, or you, sir!"
Omariro remained silent for a long moment before tapping his staff on the ground. "Girl has strong will. Girl will be fine. Loadout does not change person, only circumstances."
"Wait, are you saying I should use it?"
"If girl has trust in self. Do not let Abyss scare you into doubt. Be confident in skill, curse or no."
"And it won't affect my mind?"
Omariro shook his head. "Only body. I will watch girl. Girl will be safe."
She gave him a relieved look. "Thank you, sir. But wait! There was one more thing! He said that he was your student, is that true?"
Omariro closed his eyes. "Yes."
"Someone as dangerous as that, sir?"
"Former students were not like current. Power hungry, insane, cruel. Banishment only option. Revenge is what they seek."
"So, that guy that killed my mom…he's a student of yours that drifted away?"
Omariro nodded.
"But why? Why would they try to defy you? Being taught by you is like the greatest blessing in the world!"
"Those who seek to gain cannot control self. Children bite the hand that feeds them, and children lose themselves in the process."
"Could…you tell me the story?"
"Another day," Omariro replied. "Girl focus on training. Proving worth."
He gave her a pat on the head with his staff and disappeared, leaving Zaria alone.
"Abyss…how many are there? And what really happened? Did they really try to outdo someone as powerful as Mr. Nyugawa?"
She lay her head back down. "Well, if he's watching over me, maybe I could make some use of this power. But the moment it turns me against my team, I'm stopping it."
She closed her eyes, the unease settling in her mind.
Next day—-
Rika banged on Zaria's door. "Wake up, Zaria! They're making us gather early!"
Zaria opened her eyes, a groggy look on her face. "Okay, I'm up, I'm up."
Rika folded her arms as she stared at her. "Good."
"Bestie, are you seriously still mad?"
"Yes. Yes, I am."
"I said sorry! What more do you want me to do? Buy you a birthday gift?"
"That would be pretty nice. But I've got a better idea. How about you don't act so recklessly in whatever test we've got today, and actually listen to me?"
"Fine. I'll try."
"Good. Then I forgive you."
As they left the room, they bumped into Nonoka, who was busy stretching.
"Oh, look," Nonoka noted. "The Sorority Sisters."
Zaria glared at her. "Why are you still here? We don't need any A-Class jackasses here, so you can get lost."
While they bickered, Omariro appeared in Han's room, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Boy."
Han immediately snapped to focus. "Sir!"
"Dark presence emits from you, boy."
Han looked at the ground. "You know about that? What am I saying? Of course you do."
He looked away. "Sorry about hiding it."
"Abyss reeks of boy. Boy seen things."
"I saw this woman, she calls herself *The Nurse.* I don't know what or who she really is, but she seems really dangerous, and really unstable."
"She's quiet now," Han thought. "Is it because Mr. Nyugawa is here?"
"Do not let woman tempt you. Identity not yet clear, but woman seek boy for selfish gains."
"How do I get rid of her?" Han asked. "If I don't, I'm worried she'll take over my body."
"Woman must exit body."
"But how?"
"Soul Jugen. Only one known in current age."
"Who?"
"Seshina."
"Well, where is she, sir?"
"Not here. Woman must be tracked down."
Han's hands nervously twitched. "Oh. Is that possibly something we could do after the training? I don't know how long she's going to stay at bay."
"Boy will be free when time comes. Ignore woman's temptation. Seeks to deceive boy."
"I—-I will, don't worry, sir."
"Come, boy."
Han followed Omariro as they all gathered in the dojo, where the others were waiting. Once everyone had gathered, Soren stood up.
"As stated, these three tests will sharpen your mind, body, and soul. Unfortunately, since my sister is not here, Sora will have to give the soul test instead."
"I promise not to shatter your souls," Sora assured.
"How do we begin?" Rika asked.
"Simple. We start with the Mind. We've used a version of the Paths System to help us with this test."
The room shifted into that of a classroom.
"What are we, taking a test?" Han asked.
"Something like that. A Jugen Test. Have a seat, children."
They all shared a look before sitting down. Nonoka put her feet back up on the desk.
"The test is simple. Find a way to escape this room."
Soren looked over to Omariro. "Dear friend, could you escort us to an area where we can watch?"
Omariro tapped his staff, and they vanished. Nonoka looked around the room.
"Escape the room? Please. Are these idiots testing or giving handouts?"
She got up out of her seat.
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Noroi no Sukiru Kyōka."
〈Buff Applied. 200% Buff to Current Party Member.〉
"Wow," Rika scoffed. "Couldn't you at least buff us too?"
"Nah. Don't need to."
She punched a wall, but it didn't even budge, sending her flying backwards.
"What the hell—-?"
Rika folded her arms. "Still don't need to?"
"That wall's clearly rigged or something!"
Zaria waved her off. "Nah. You're just weak."
She kicked the wall, but the same effect occurred, sending her flying into a desk. "Ow!"
Nonoka got up, folding her arms. "Weak, hmm?"
Rei fired a moonlight blast at the wall, but it merely bounced off. "I've got nothing!"
Sōshin and Han watched as the girls tried attacking the wall again, to no avail.
"Friend Han, what are they doing?"
"Idiotic stuff. Don't be like them, kid."
Han fired a wire at them, distracting them. "Hey. Clearly, we need to use our heads for this test, or it wouldn't be a mind test."
Soren's voice came from a nearby speaker. "Smart boy. And I suggest you do that quickly, because this room is about to self-destruct in 5 minutes."
"Wait, what?"
A UI popped up on the wall.
〈Room Destruction In: 5:00〉
In a nearby observation room, Soren, Sora, and Omariro watched, the latter sipping coffee.
"Did you have to give them so little time, dear?" Sora questioned. "Our son IS in there."
"We can't coddle these kids, Sora," he pointed out. "If they don't face danger, how will they face dungeons?"
"I guess you have a point…"
"Also, why are you sitting so close to Omariro?"
Sora turned as red as a cherry. "Sorry, my mistake?"
"Yet you still haven't moved?"
She gave him an innocent look as Omariro closely watched the kids, with Zaria attempting to stab her way out of the room.
"Children have much to learn."
Inside the classroom, Han palmed his face. "Ridiculous. Aren't you supposed to be second in charge?"
"Yeah? I'm trying, here!"
"Okay. Why don't we not look like dumbasses in front of our master, and actually look around the room?"
"Whatever."
She dispelled her spear. "You've got the Kōbisha senses. Where do you think the answer's hiding?"
〈Room Destruction In: 3:21〉
"Well, this is a classroom, so why don't we check the teacher's desk?"
"On it!" Sōshin volunteered, speeding over to the desk. As soon as he did, he found a sigil hiding within. "Look what I found!"
Two UI popped up.
〈Path A: Use the Sigil.〉
〈Path B: Hold Off.〉
"I say we use it," Zaria proposed. "If it's a transportation sigil, that's a bullseye."
"And if it's not?" Rika worried.
"Well, it's the clearest answer we got, but if you guys don't wanna take the risk, then that's up to you."
"Cowards," Nonoka muttered.
〈Room Destruction In: 1:21.〉
Rika sighed. "I don't think we have much of a choice. Path A it is."
"Wait," Han realized. "I'm pretty sure we—-!"
〈Path *A* Selected.〉
〈Sigil Ability: Transportation.〉
"See?" Zaria remarked. "Easy win. Mr. Nyugawa's gonna be super impressed."
Sōshin looked at the sigil. "I don't think it's that easy, friends!"
Zaria took it. "C'mon, kid! We gotta hurry before we blow up!"
Zaria crushed it in her hand.
〈Sigil: *Activated.*〉
In an instant, the entire group disappeared.
And by the time they reappeared, Zaria, Rei, and Nonoka reappeared inside a floating cage, high above the sky.
"Wait…what?" Zaria questioned. "The test isn't over?"
Rika buried her face in her hands. "Ugh, I listen to my best friend again, and we become stuck! Where's the others?"
A speaker rang through the cage. "You'll have to find them."
Zaria quickly confronted him. "Hey! What's this? We found the answer!"
"No. You found what you THOUGHT was the answer. In truth, the answer was to stay put and use Rei's shield to protect yourselves, as the next room was below the current one. But you let my tone sway you into thinking you had to escape, clearly not considering the fact that I could lie."
"Wait, what—-?"
"Way to go, idiot," Nonola growled.
"Now, you've dug yourself into a bigger hole. You're no longer on our island. You're somewhere else entirely."
His laughter echoed through the speaker. "Good luck!"
Zaria dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry…I was so desperate to win and look good…I completely cost us…"
Rika stared at her before putting a hand on her back. "It's fine. We understand."
"No, we don't," Nonoka refuted. "Now we've gotta handle being in the middle of the sky, because of your stupid brain. Maybe those other losers got lucky."
Rika gave her a rude look, but Nonoka ignored her.
Meanwhile—-
Han, Rei, and Sōshin got up, noticing they were in a large museum-like arena.
"Huh?" Han questioned. "Did we get sent back to Tokyo or something?"
Sōshin pointed to a large dinosaur in the center, which was snoring loudly.
"Hey! I think it's alive!"
The dinosaur opened its eyes, before standing up and roaring.
"Nevermind! Definitely NOT Tokyo! Run!"
——