AOS 5

"What the hell?!"

Micheal thought, utterly shocked by what he had just witnessed as they fell onto soft, fluffy beds.

Although he had wanted revenge on Jake and wished bad things for him, he never expected something so brutal, let alone a killing.

Meanwhile, Tohira, relaxed and seemingly unaffected, turned to Micheal while wearing his sleep mask.

"Relax, this is where the real fun begins. Yo!"

Tohira grinned at Micheal.

"This guy is insane!"

Micheal thought, still shaken, staring at Tohira, who was so calm and carefree.

"How can he be this normal in such a situation?!"

Micheal felt a mix of skepticism and unease.

Just then, a voice cut through the tension.

"How about we all introduce ourselves? If we're going to be teammates and survive this."

Micheal and Tohira turned their attention to a pink-haired boy their age, named Christopher.

"You ain't wrong, Mister Male Barbie!"

Tohira laughed softly, a friendly grin on his face.

"Seriously, something's off about him, but he isn't wrong!"

Micheal thought, still glancing at Tohira in disbelief.

"Well, I'm Micheal."

Micheal said nonchalantly, though he couldn't shake the image of Jake's brutal death.

"I'm Tohira."

Tohira said enthusiastically, sitting up and folding his legs, his sleep mask still on his face.

"I'm Christopher. Nice to meet you all."

Christopher said coldly, offering a faint smile.

The three looked around, waiting for the rest of the group to introduce themselves.

"I'm Rodè, and please don't mind my nervousness."

Rodè introduced himself, his voice calm but shaky. He was clearly nervous about the situation, looking down and avoiding eye contact.

Then Nishi roared in anger.

"Like we care about introducing ourselves when we just watched someone get killed!"

Rodè flinched slightly, his nervousness heightened by Nishi's aggression. He felt as though Nishi's words were aimed directly at him, especially since he had spoken just before Nishi's outburst.

"Shouldn't all your damn brain cells tell you we're probably going to be put against each other? With This whole 'outside world' curiosity thing and the annoying damn money that comes with it..."

Nishi's angry gaze shifted between Micheal, Tohira, and Christopher, clearly irritated by their presence. The three of them seemed to rub him the wrong way from the moment he first laid eyes on them.

"Mister hothead, or better yet, Mister 'I know how to roar like the king of the jungle!'"

Tohira began coldly, his demeanor shifting to seriousness.

"Or rather, Mister 'head built like a damn circus!'"

"For your information, we're all aware of that. So, I suggest you calm down and read the room!"

The atmosphere in the room grew tense following Tohira's insulting statement.

"And if you're this scared, then you shouldn't have joined without knowing the full details of this project."

"After all, Mister Genius, shouldn't your common sense have told you not to join if something is really vague?"

Tohira lifted one side of his sleep mask, revealing his golden pupils—like ocean galaxy—glaring dangerously at Nishi's enraged expression.

"Damn you, sleepy dog! How dare you?!"

Just as a fight seemed about to break out, Gin watched with a smile, and Bruse observed coldly. At that moment, a voice interrupted.

"He's right. You should've double-checked before making the decision to join this project."

Starter's voice cut in calmly as he held Nishi back with one arm.

"He's sure right about that."

Micheal thought, realizing he hadn't thought things through either.

"either way it wouldn't stop me."

Micheal thought.

 then He looked at Starter, whose snowy white hair and ocean blue pupils glared at him, Tohira, and Christopher.

"Has he been quiet this whole time?!" Micheal wondered, staring at Starter.

Just then, they heard Takihi's voice through the speaker.

"Alright, boys. That was certainly an entertaining introduction."

Takihi smiled, munching on his puff puff doughnut.

Meanwhile, Micheal, Tohira, and Christopher turned their attention to the massive screen, watching Takihi. In the background, Nishi continued mumbling and struggling as Starter held him back, while Gin maintained his carefree demeanor. Rodè appeared nervous and scared, and Bruse sat on his bed, watching coldly.

"Team A, this is where the real trial begins!"

Suddenly, all of Team A looked at the watches on their wrists, which they hadn't noticed had flashed open.

"These watches monitor your stats and ranks."

As Takihi said that, everyone looked at their watches, and a display popped up showing their current ranks and stats.

[Micheal Walker: Beginner: Rank 1,000]

"Yikes!"

Micheal thought, looking at his watch.

[Tohira Claudson: Median: Rank 900]

"Sweet!"

Tohira said with a delighted tone, licking his lips.

[Christopher Yanker: Median: Rank 950]

Christopher watched with a faint smile on his lips.

[Nishi crownson: Median: Rank 912]

Nishi growled.

[Bruse Nunez: Median: Rank 920]

"Not bad."

Bruse looked at his rank expressionlessly.

[Gin Arkson: Median: Rank 910]

"Loving it!"

Gin remarked with a slight, cheerful smile as he looked at his rank.

[Starter Dylan: Median: Rank 899]

Starter coldly looked at his rank, showing no emotion.

"I need to step up my game!"

Micheal thought, glancing at Tohira and Starter as an unspoken tension grew between them.

Then the gaze of Team A shifted to Rodè.

[Rodè Paul: Beginner: Rank 1,001]

"I'm sorry, it seems like I'm going to drag down the team,"

Rodè began, sounding like he was about to break down.

"But then again, I don't want to die!"

He added, on the verge of tears.

"Then why did you join if you're this scared and mentally unstable?"

Nishi slightly roared in annoyance, looking down at Rodè.

"That's because I... I... I want the money for personal reasons."

Rodè began, his voice trembling as he cried, holding his head in his hands. He was utterly terrified.

"Am I going to die? Am I? After all, I made it past the first round right?."

Rodè mumbled, horrified and mentally exhausted.

Right?!"

Rodè eyes widened opened in horror.

"Try dragging us down and you'll find out."

Nishi roared in angered as he had enough of Rodè behavior.

"Alright, now that you're all familiar with your ranks, it's time to advance to the next trial."

Takihi interjected with a smile on his face.

Then the massive screen turned off, and a schedule for their next trial appeared.

"House of Crows!"