1 7th Tower of Mystification

Despite being precious, life is just a reason to hide our debt from our creator. Lost lives will place you deeper in debt. A satisfying life is a payment. But what does it mean when you're drowning for life? Lost Opportunities? Regrets? Lies? No. You take someone's life, you take someone's debt.

Murderers have the greatest debt in the conscious world. When hunters hunt their prey, it's only natural and is called survival. But systems do change. The reason why I hate murderers is the same reason why I hate myself.

I dreamt that I was drowning under the ocean and someone was calling me from above. It's inaudible but I can feel the desire in it. No one helped me. My heavy debts would have to be paid off until I died, not when I woke up.

12 students are trapped and isolated in this laboratory classroom. Five boys and seven girls, including myself, were lying on the floor when we woke up. All the chairs in the chemical laboratory are scrambled in front of the whiteboard.

We are all unaware of what happened before we got here, and we are still thinking of that as we stand up. As everyone stares at each other, eyebrows are raised in confusion.

What happened yesterday? How do I get here?"

"I wish I would know too. I don't even know what to ask in this situation."

"What's wrong with you guys? Why are you all sitting on the floor, and why are we here in this laboratory?"

"Are we classmates? Seriously, who are you guys?"

It turns out, we don't know anyone. We have the same uniforms, but very few are familiar with me. They are just famous, and I can't raise a finger to count the times we've even had a conversation.

Observing the whiteboard with narrowed eyes, a man with a misleading aura approached it. He has light brown eyes and shoulder-length, straight, black hair.

"'Don't sleep at night.' Who draws that calligraphy on the board? It's no funny joke," he said.

"Alright, alright. It's afternoon already. We can dismiss and think about what happened later, right?" Another man entered the scene. He is 5'1" tall with pasty skin and has a friendly feel about him. He has brown eyes and short, dark brown hair. Her leadership is evident in some of the ways she interacts with us.

"Well, that's the first thing that I'll do. After all, I do have practice. See you…" A girl said as she rushed in opening the door. She is easily recognizable because of her appearance. She has gray eyes and short, black hair. From what I remember, she's Hirari Yazukawa from 3-D, a volleyball varsity player at our school.

She flinches back and shakes as soon as she opens the door. We all thought she would be nervous, but she wasn't. Then we realized something strange about what she said. "Guys… The hallway… It shortened."

Everyone widened their eyes, including me as we all rushed out the door. In her words, as soon as we stepped outside, the right was already a dead end, while the left had two more rooms, one of which was a bathroom.

"What the heck happened here!?"

"What is this? Is this even our school!?"

"But the view outside the window, that's definitely the view from the laboratory window!"

"What does that mean? Can't I go home?"

Suddenly, the speaker at the upper-right of the whiteboard made a sound, which made us go back to our rooms. We are all eager to know what happens, that is why we are expecting a proper explanation from the announcement.

"Hello people, and welcome to the 7th Tower of Mystification. This will be the tower's first assessment test for the participants of the game. Better be prepared for the challenges that will be coming because everything here will get bloody."

"Hey! What do you mean by that!? Participants my arse!"

"This is surely a kidnapping case with the imitated laboratory from our school!"

"Who are you? Tell us what you want from us!"

"Who are we, you ask? We are not planning on revealing our identity once you have cleared this round," the announcement replied.

We? Is that a company? And how are they hearing us? There must have been a lot of taps in this room. What does 'round' mean?

"The real question is 'Who are you?' You should be more concerned about your state right now than being eaten by your pride. The more you understand each other's similarities, the more you'll know the answer to your questions. That's the key to winning this game," the announcement said.

After hearing the last phrase, everyone raised their voices and expressed their anger as before. That phrase also seems disturbing, but more so is what he said before that. The uproar continues but the announcement continues to lay down a set of rules.

"Game!? Are you kidding!? Do you think locking people is a game to you? This is clearly a crime, you psychopath!!"

"Let us go home! As far as we remember, we don't even remember being a participant in your stupidity!"

"Now, in order to succeed in this game, you need to survive for one week. Don't expect peaceful things to happen. The other room will be your supply room, where the canned foods, light supplies, and water bottles will be stored. They are all sufficient for five people to survive for one week," the announcement said.

"FIVE? BUT WE ARE TWELVE! DO YOU KNOW HOW TO COUNT!?"

"IT'S NOT JUST KIDNAPPING, YOU'RE PLANNING ON KILLING US!"

"Oh, God! What did I do to deserve this treatment!"

"What did you do to deserve this treatment? I think you should be well aware of that; otherwise, you shouldn't be here. Don't you think we exist just for fun? That's no fun.

"The room you're in right now, the trashy laboratory you have at school that you can't even clean up, everything here is tapped. We can even hear your whispers if it's loud enough.

"Also, don't bother doing something risky. There are security cameras everywhere. If you did, we can't help but laugh at your stupidity," the announcement explained.

"Does that mean we can't escape? No way. I need to go to the pharmacy and buy medicine for my grandma. I'm the only one she can rely on, but if I can't return home, for even one week, then…" I stuttered with worrying eyes.

"You should understand that now, you are all slaves of the game. If not, you'll be a tiger's chewable deer," the announcement said.

"So, what do you mean by 'game rules'?" The man with long straight black hair asked.

"Ahh, Manabu Sakatomu, was it? You're the first one here I see that has common sense. Violence will be allowed if needed at the required level, the announcement said.

"What do you mean!? Killing? As if we'll approve that!"

"We won't be following your orders! We will find a way to survive this week with all of us!"

The announcement continues. "You're still complaining when I already gave you a handicap? Do you see what's written on the board?

"The next thing that you should know is that there are two tigers hiding behind your group. Do you know what tigers do with their prey? If you don't, you'll find out soon.

"But there are ways that a tiger will hunt you, and to do that, you need to pray that you won't be hunted. You can also hunt the hunter as you please. You should prepare the hunter to kill you, and you know the most effective way to do it."

They really want us to kill each other…

"If seven days pass, or if two players survive to the end, the game will end. But please be informed, that a hunter can only hunt a maximum of two people each day. Even if the tiger kills two, and has been seen, he can't kill or be killed until the next day.

"Also, no hunter can kill another hunter. For the first two days, tags can be exchanged, but it's a significant risk. The watch is still there, right?" the announcement said.

Everyone resorted to a speechless panic, a reaction that I had not anticipated. They should have continued complaining but that wasn't the case. There's something wrong with this majority.

As part of the game, the announcer offered hints on how to 'win'. One thing we have in common is that we attend the same school. Yes, that's true, but it isn't strange. If it's true, will the participants of this so-called 'death game' be all Nishigawa high school students?

"Oh, I forgot to tell you the most critical instruction of all. There's a slip of paper stashed in your pockets. You'll discover something interesting. Alas, no rickrolls," the announcement said.

I had never felt this atmosphere before. There's a feeling of an earthquake because everyone's shaking is synchronous. Then, as I picked up the paper with trembling hands, I felt something like a small piece of metal nearby.

Is it just me who has one... or is there someone else? The fact that everyone didn't doubt picking their papers indicates that I am the only one. I should find out soon.

The moment I pulled out the paper, I gulped deeply, acting without a doubt. I didn't express shock before I knew it was dangerous to do so. The paper states my name, Saori Kitagaya, and my role in this tiger game is…