After we left the big bloody room, private rooms were waiting down the hall for each pair.
Thanks to my “Mapping” skill, I already knew the complete layout of this building.
Past the main room, the hallway curved into a circle, and a spiral staircase sat right in the center.
The building had three floors with five rooms on the first floor and five on the second, making ten rooms total.
Each surviving pair would get one room.
The rooms were numbered in order.
The first floor was 1-1 through 1-5, the second floor was 1-6 through 1-10, and the big room was on the third floor.
My room with Shikijo was “1-7” on the second floor.
Looking at the structure, there was no way for us to get out on our own.
There were no doors or windows leading outside anywhere.
I understood now, since this was clearly the venue for the second game.
”Looks like this is the room we were told to go to,” I said softly.
”…”
I tried talking to her, but Shikijo just stared at the ground in complete silence.
She hadn’t said a single word since we watched that execution happen.
Was she hurt somewhere?
I checked her status with “Appraisal,” but her HP was totally fine.
So she probably just really needed to use the bathroom.
Her face was a little red, and she stood slightly behind me as if hiding.
We went into our assigned room, “1-7.”
At the same same moment, the door behind us closed, and we heard an electronic lock click shut.
I tried turning the doorknob, but it didn’t budge at all.
…We were trapped.
However, the countdown on my wrist ring had finally stopped.
We made it inside on time, so we avoided that first Penalty.
”We’re locked in, and the door won’t open,” I remarked quietly.
”Indeed… that poses a considerable problem, so let us inspect the room first, shall we?”
Shikijo straightened her voice and said that.
She was actually calming down pretty fast.
As she started checking the room, I decided to try breaking the door my own way.
…No particular reason.
I just wanted to see if we could escape.
Earlier I’d only given that doorknob a very light turn.
”Hmm. ‘Accelerate.’ Manifesting Demon Sword. Fourth Demon Sword… ‘Titan’!”
After buffing my body, I summoned the Strength Demon Sword, “Titan.”
With its effect, my physical strength instantly shot up to maximum output.
Black particles gathered in my hand, forming a giant sword over two meters long.
”Wh-what in the world… what is that grotesque object, pray tell?!”
Shikijo sounded completely shocked behind me.
Had she never seen a skill activate before?
”Careful. Please step back a little.”
I raised the greatsword and faced that solid iron door.
Unfortunately, the entrance was way too narrow.
I couldn’t swing the blade at full power.
…Oh well.
Guess I won’t swing it then.
I stabbed the greatsword into the floor to anchor myself and raised my fist.
Then, with my boosted strength, I threw a heavy straight punch at the door.
”Hah!”
”KYAAAA!!!”
…BOOOOOOM!!!
The whole room shook with a loud explosion of sound.
Cracks ran through the walls, and the floor creaked under my feet.
Yet the iron door didn’t break.
The spot I hit was merely dented in the exact shape of my fist.
One strike wasn’t enough.
Time for one more.
I planted my feet firmly and drove my fist right into the exact same spot.
”HAH!”
”KYIIIEEEE!!!”
…BOOOOOOM!!!
Once again, the whole room rattled with a deafening crash.
Still, the iron door didn’t move an inch.
…That stung my pride just a little bit.
If my fists aren’t working, maybe I should use the Third Demon Sword… “Divider” to cut through.
”Dimensional Slash” could probably slice this whole door in half, space and all.
While I considered that, a panicked voice came from behind me.
”K-Kageyama, hold on a moment! Pray explain what you are attempting to do this instant!”
I turned around to see Shikijo Yuna covering her ears with both hands while looking terrified.
”Doing? We’re locked in, so I was just seeing if I could break it open.”
”I can clearly see that! I am well aware! …Hah, hah… calm yourself, Yuna. Shikijo Yuna, do not lose your composure in such a place, so get a firm hold of yourself…!”
She pressed a hand to her chest while desperately talking to herself.
Her shoulders were trembling, as she was definitely holding in her need for the bathroom and reaching her limit.
I really wanted to tell her that holding it isn’t good for your health.
”I have several questions, so first, explain that! Inform me about that greatsword in your hand, and where you pulled it from, given you had nothing a moment ago…”
”Oh, this? It’s one of the Demon Swords I summoned with ‘Wielder of the Ten Holy Demon Swords.’ Its name is the Fourth Demon Sword… ‘Titan’! It’s a sword that boosts my strength!”
”‘Wielder of the Ten Holy Demon Swords’-that defies all logical sense! What is the meaning of all this, being abducted to some bizarre room, watching people perish, and now finding the man I am paired with is utterly insane… this is beyond infuriating, so I simply wish to return home…”
Shikijo’s tension finally snapped, causing her to clutch her head and crouch on the spot.
This crazy situation had clearly pushed her to her limit.
I had no idea what to say to a girl in moments like this.
”You okay, Shikijo? Anyway, ‘Wielder of the Ten Holy Demon Swords’ is one of my unique skills. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who has one, since I was the only Player there with a skill. Everyone else, including you, was level ‘1.’ And… if we clear all the games after this, maybe we can go back to our original world? I don’t know where your home is, but…”
I wasn’t sure if the game’s NPCs even had a home to return to, but I didn’t want things to get awkward between us in a locked room.
So I gave it my absolute best shot.
She froze completely with a blank look on her face.
Still crouched on the floor, she put a hand to her chin and started thinking deeply.
Leaning forward like that pushed her chest against her knees, making her school uniform fabric stretch tight.
Anyway, did I say something weird?
Did I say something weird?
Maybe she took it as me saying, “You’re an NPC, so stay out of it.”
”Uh… is something wrong?”
”No, hold on… merely grant me a moment, as there is far too much to process and my mind is reeling… I am sorting through it all now.”
Her eyes narrowed as she pondered the situation.
With nothing to do, I opened my “Inventory,” pulled out a cold barley tea with a burger, and began eating while waiting.
In the first game, I killed around five thousand Goblins.
All of their dropped loot was stored right inside my “Inventory.”
The barley tea and burger were actually item cards dropped by those Goblins.
The lettuce was crisp, and the juicy patty mixed with the savory sauce perfectly.
”Wh-wh-wh-“
”Wh-what?”
Chew chew. Truly delicious.
Why was she shaking like that?
”How… how do you possess such items?! There are far too many absurdities to address, so you shall answer my queries immediately!”
”Sure. I’ll answer anything I can!”
Even if she was an NPC, we had to survive the next ten days together, so clear communication was key.
”Very well, first… pray tell me what you were doing immediately prior to your arrival here?”
”Before I came here? I was fighting a Dragon inside a Dungeon. I’d leveled up too much, so it really wasn’t that tough, honestly.”
”I demand that you speak with utmost seriousness!”
”I am being serious. What, you don’t believe me? I really did beat a Dragon in the last game. This Demon Sword is the real deal too, since I earned it by raising my skill proficiency… Oh, right. It’d be faster to show you real proof.”
I pulled out a single “Black Dragon Scale” straight from my “Inventory.”
”Look at this. A real Dragon scale.”
Shikijo nervously took the heavy scale, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
She must have been deeply moved by touching actual Dragon material.
I remember being totally amazed the first time I saw a Dragon too, because it was so cool.
I really wish I could have shown her the real living creature.
”Kageyama… who, precisely, are you?”
”Who am I? That’s a tough question… I’m just a regular high school kid, born and raised in Japan!”
”That is utterly impossible, as ordinary high school students do not summon greatswords, slay Dragons, or manifest culinary items from thin air!”
”Oh yeah, that’s fair. Hahahahaha.”
Shikijo placed a hand against her forehead and hung her head as if rendered speechless.
”‘Hahaha’ solves nothing… do you even comprehend the dire circumstances we face? I aligned with you under the impression that you possessed superior intellect, yet you are merely an unhinged fool, so why must this happen…”
Looks like she figured out that I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed.
”Hey, but everything I just said was true… Oh, I know! Shikijo, try saying ‘Status’ out loud. A system screen should pop up showing your abilities and skills.”
Even if she was an NPC, this was a core game system, so the mechanics should function the same way.
That’s why I suggested it to her.
”Preposterous, as this is hardly some trivial game… ‘Status.’ …Wait, what? No, this cannot be, for something is floating before my very eyes…”
Her eyes opened wide in disbelief.
Just as I thought, her status screen had opened up.
Now she possessed concrete proof that I was telling the truth all along.
It seemed I couldn’t see her screen from my perspective, which was my first time learning that detail.
”See? I told you. This world is built just like a video game. That’s why Dragons, Demon Swords, and stats are all real here.”
”That defies all reality, for I was… I was merely present in my classroom a short while ago, so why…”
”School, huh. So NPCs have school background settings too. They really put a lot of detailed effort into this world.”
”What is the meaning of this ‘NPC’ term?”
”Oh, it’s just what I call the set pieces that the God-side prepared for this game. That’s all.”
”Hold your tongue, for you are gravely mistaken! I am no mere set piece, as I am a human being with genuine emotions, and upon reviewing my status display-it indicates the exact same designation as yours: ‘Player.’”
…No way.
I thought her reactions in the big room were way too lifelike, so it turns out I was seriously mistaken.
So Shikijo and those people who died earlier weren’t just background data placed here by some “god,” They were real humans, transferred straight from the real world.
In other words, they were “late-joining players” who only got brought in for this second stage.
After we swapped information, a lot of things became clear.
Yeah, they weren’t NPCs, as they were actual living people.
Which means that fat guy who died in the first room, the night club girl, and that old man Haruo-all of them were real players with real lives.
Is this system going to keep adding new players as this twisted game goes on?
”I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I said a bunch of rude stuff, but I finally get it now, since I totally misunderstood your situation.”
Shikijo wasn’t a fake game character, as she was a flesh-and-blood human being.
No wonder her personal data inside my ‘Appraisal’ was so detailed, and no wonder she freaked out so much at everything I did.
She’s nothing like those mindless Goblins.
According to Shikijo, she and the others never went through that “pure white first room” like I did, as they just suddenly found themselves inside that big hall.
When I thought about the difference between us, one specific phrase came to mind.
… ‘Early Access Player.’
So while they are normal players, I was part of the “Early Access group” thrown in way before everyone else.
That easily explains the huge gap in our levels and skills.
… Man, what a total mess.
Just as we were going back and forth sharing info, that’s when it happened.
From the back of the room, a creepy chime sound rang out loudly.
It seemed to originate from past the narrow entrance, deeper inside the room.
We had stepped inside, but I still hadn’t moved past that narrow entryway area.
”How about we go check out what that sound is from back there? Maybe the game instructions got updated.”
”Very well, let us proceed at once.”
I grabbed my greatsword, and together we passed through the entryway and down the hall.
Beyond the door was a studio room that looked like the inside of a love hotel.
Against the far wall, a glass-walled toilet, sink, and bath stood all lined up so anyone could see inside.
On the near wall, shelves were stocked with tons of emergency rations, canned food, and drinking water for long stays.
In the center of the room sat a massive king-sized bed.
Across from it was a closet, and a big LCD monitor was turned on.
”Okay, let’s see… ‘We will now begin the Partner Game. Below are the rules for surviving in this room. Any violation of the rules will result in an immediate Penalty (death).’ … That’s what it says.”
”My goodness, you maintain remarkable composure regarding all this, while I am nearly driven to distraction-how utterly disgraceful for a Shikijo, so I must collect myself!”
That message was written on the big monitor in glowing green text.
On the bottom half of the screen, the basic rules for the next ten days were crammed together in tiny font.
They always write the important stuff super small.
I swear, this game’s God has zero artistic taste.
Here is what the screen displayed:
………………………………………………………………
[Partner Game: Basic Rules]
• Each pair is given a private room and cannot leave.
• You must spend 10 days with your partner.
• Complete the ‘task’ given once per day.
• Failing a task or breaking any rule results in a Penalty.
• Your mutual ‘Trust Level’ is shown at all times on the monitor and on each person’s device.
• Every 3 days, a trust ranking of all pairs will be posted in the room.
• Every 3 days, the lowest-ranked pair will receive a Penalty.
• Surviving 10 days means clearing the game.
※ Trust Gauge Details:
Measures in real time “how much you’re opening your mind and body to your partner” and “how open your heart is.”
[Current: Day 1]
[Remaining Pairs: 9]
[Today’s ‘Task’ – (Disclosure)]
The monitor shows the target person’s ‘secret.’
The target must look their partner straight in the eyes within one hour and read the ‘secret’ out loud.
[Time remaining until ‘Task’ starts: (0:58)]
………………………………………………………………
So I just have to survive ten days in this room, clear the daily ‘tasks,’ and I win.
The rules are simple enough.
That ‘Trust Level’ requirement is a little worrying, but we’ve already opened up to each other and shared crucial info.
Compared to when we started, we’re practically done already.
”That’s easy, no problem,” / “This is truly harrowing.”
My voice and Shikijo’s overlapped at the exact same time.
Wait, this is harsh? I tilted my head a little, confused, then turned back toward the monitor to plan my next moves.
Trivia:
- Kageyama casually mentions killing 5,000 Goblins and considers fighting a Dragon “not tough” – this reveals just how overpowered he’s become from prior grinding.
- Shikijo’s repeated physical descriptions (trembling shoulders, red face, pressed chest) suggest the narrative is tracking her growing distress and physical discomfort rather than just her dialogue.
- The fact that Shikijo’s status screen shows “Player” confirms she’s real and has agency, directly contradicting Kageyama’s assumption that everyone around him is an NPC.
- The protagonist’s “Early Access” status creates an inherent power imbalance—he has higher levels and skills, but Shikijo and others entered with no tutorial or warning, making them more vulnerable and emotionally raw.
- The “Trust Level” gauge is being measured mechanically, but the protagonist’s casual assumption that they’ve “already opened up” may be dangerously naive given the system’s cold, punitive nature.
- The fact that the rules are written in tiny font while the initial announcement uses large green text suggests the game designer deliberately obscures critical details, a pattern of malicious presentation.