One of the most shocking moments of Kai's life

The entire game of Tournament of Worth was about showcasing one's abilities and getting Sponsors.

Item-M had warned Kai about it already before his reincarnation. She had been a 13th-floor Contestant and naturally knew all about Tournament of Worth and how the Sponsor system worked. Though, as she hadn't participated in ToW last time when she was a priestess, she didn't know the exact details. If she had, then Item-M wouldn't have been allowed to participate in ToW this time. Irrespective of fallen status, all Contestants could only be Candidates once in their lifetimes.

Kai recalled what Item-M had told him about the Sponsor system.

More often than not, Contestants became Candidates with organizations already backing them up. The leaders of these organizations acted as the initial Sponsors for the Candidates. Those who didn't have any organization behind them, like Kai, depended upon their performance in the 1st Stage to garner attention from the observers who belonged to the top floors. And if there wasn't a tremendous benefit to it, Kai would've never showed-off his capabilities last time.

'Every new Sponsor, from the 2nd Stage onwards, gives an Attribute Point,' Item-M had told him. 'As an unprecedented payment is involved to become a Sponsor, only those who are extremely interested in the Candidate would choose to do so. Even then, getting two or three Attribute Points is already a benefit that one could never ignore, especially when these points wouldn't be counted as a part of the Set Quota.'

But this was not the most important benefit to the Sponsors.

Once Kai was to select his Sponsors, only these individuals could observe him thereafter. They could see his face, hear his words, and see his actions clearer than ever in return for the payment they had invested in Kai. This also served as a foundation for the ultimate selection before the 3rd Stage, where Kai would then choose a single Sponsor out of the many. More appropriate was to say he would sell himself to the highest bidder. Hence, Candidates showed off as much as they could in the 1st and 2nd Stages, as the benefit they would receive during the "auction" before the last stage depended on how interested these Sponsors were in them.

There was one more benefit to opting for the Sponsors.

Once he was to get the Sponsors, everyone else would then have to take their permission to watch Kai henceforth. These individuals would have to pay twice, first to the Systems, and then to the Sponsors, to just see Kai's blurred appearance. Who would do that? No one was so stupid. So getting Sponsors also meant restricting the showcasing of their abilities to a select group of Contestants, who truly wanted the said Candidates to join their faction.

So when the notification presented itself to him, Kai didn't wait to nod at it. "Yes," he said, smiling. "Why would I not avail this privilege?"

[[

Candidate Kai Stormborn, you have availed yourself the privilege of having Sponsors. Please refer to the following points:

1. Once selected, the process is irreversible

2. All Sponsors will have equal rights over observation

3. Mission Details, not compromising the Candidate's abilities, will be shared with the Sponsors.

4. All Sponsors can forward questions to the Candidate during the Mission Time Limit. The Candidate can choose to answer or ignore these questions, but it may affect the final selection of Sponsor before the 3rd Stage.

5. A privileged boost will be given to the Candidate depending on the strength of the Sponsors.

6. The Candidate can only select a maximum of 10 Sponsors while selecting at least 1 Sponsor is a must

In what arrangement would you like to see your Sponsors?

]]

Kai narrowed his eyes at the six points. Even though Item-M had told him about Sponsors, given that she hadn't participated herself, there were many things she wasn't aware of, like these.

'Not compromising the Candidate's abilities,' Kai repeated a part of the 3rd point. 'Hmm, the difficulty of the Mission directly shows that I have something transcending the normal Candidates. So perhaps the Systems would not share that or would tamper with it. That's good, I think. I just hope there would be at least one Sponsor from the 12th floor, preferably from 100 Zanpakuto School. Though, there is no way to know that. Not before the 3rd Stage. Sigh!'

"Arrange them according to their floors in a descending order," Kai answered, taking a deep breath. "Let's see how big the fishes I've baited into a trap this time. Haha!"

[[

Congratulations Candidate Kai Stormborn. Five Sponsors have invested in you. These five Sponsors are:

1. Contestant Shadow Origin - 18th floor

2. Contestant Jade Beauty - 18th floor

3. Contestant Black Mountain - 18th floor

4. Contestant Ravana - 18th floor

5. Contestant Aphrodite - 18th floor

Note: Selecting each Sponsor will give 1 Attribute Point, 1 Title Status Point, and 1 hour of privileged one-to-one conversation with one Sponsor

]]

Kai gawked at the words on the giant screen. Time seemed to slow down in his eyes. He stood up, and in a stunned stupor approached the screen as if nearing it would change the words. His heart was racing, pounding against his chest. His mind had gone blank.

Even with all the unparalleled knowledge he had, Kai, at this time, couldn't help but disbelieve what he was seeing. No! How could it be? How was this even possible? This wasn't mere imagination. This notification, these words, bordered on blasphemy.

Yet, no matter how much he observed it, and irrespective of his widened eyes, the words stayed true to their nature, unbending and unchanging.

Kai licked his lips. He traced back his steps as if showing his back to the words would bring disaster upon him. As he sat down, even his headache failed to make him wince, his eyes staring at the screen in sheer stupidity.

Kai wasn't happy about it at all. Not one bit. Why were such figures interested in him? In him, a puny 4th-floor Contestant? Yes, he had showcased his sword-related Ability, and perhaps had given a hint about two more Abilities to spice things up, but those were nowhere enough to catch the attention of the names he was seeing on the screen. Had someone figured out that he had a Glitch? No, that was impossible. He hadn't used it at all. Had someone remembered him using the Book, then? No, that was impossible as well. The sheer nature of D-Mail didn't allow such a thing, he knew.

18th floor! This number was enough to buckle knees at the mere mention of it. Even Item-M knew almost nothing about it. And here he was, getting not one, but five Sponsors of the 18th floor.

'This changes everything,' Kai thought, his mouth opening and closing like a simpleton. Could he hide his Glitch from such Contestants? Could he hide the fact that he had over three Abilities? Was revealing his face and sharing his voice with them prudent?

There was no one answer to these questions. This could go either way for Kai, and he knew it. Not to mention, choosing one meant offending others. Now, Kai wasn't afraid, but he wasn't stupid either. That's why he had accepted the curse of the Rinnegan-user, to begin with. Because Kai knew that if he was in the place of that White Being, he wouldn't have let "Kai Stormborn" see the next sunrise, no matter the price. He had thought of using D-Mail then, but Kai had also prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. The only reason that Kai risked everything then was because he knew he wasn't getting cursed only, but had gotten quite a substantial benefit as answers, like knowing about the Deep Ones and their marks on him.

Kai's throat felt dry.

He closed his eyes and entered a deep state of meditation, trying to see some sense in it. What must he do now? How to take advantage of this situation? Could he turn this absurd situation into a singular event of gaining more power? Dare he let himself associate with these figures, being aware of the monstrous secrets he hid in his Inventory and within himself?

"He-he-he…"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha…"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Kai threw his hands out and laughed like the maniac he was. His hands were trembling, his legs shaking, and his hazel pupils quivering, yet the Blood Demon found this situation quite amusing as well.

Dare he? What was this stupid question? Why wouldn't he?

His ambition was the peak of absolute power, wasn't it? Why would he care about these puny beings then, who wasn't nearest to the peak, anyway?

No risk without reasoning! Yes, his motto checked out. And there were plenty of reasons to take this risk. More than he cared to even think about them.

Kai snapped his eyes towards the screen, his gaze at the Note mentioned at the end. 5 Attribute Points, 5 Title Status Points, and 5 hours of one-to-one talk with these inhuman beings. Yes, plenty of reasons, Kai reflected.

He threw himself off the chair. A dense burst of hot steam covered his figure, making it blur like the heat of a scorching desert. His skin became red before a deep blue color surfaced as if someone was painting dying Kai's body. A thumb-sized red jewel protruded out on his forehead, his hands and feet became webbed, and a long tail thrashed against the chair, sending it flying off somewhere.

Long white hair swayed behind him like a waterfall, his Charisma shooting up to the roof along with the last change.

The Golduck-Kai twisted his neck, bones snapping under his muscles, and grinned.

"I choose all of them," he declared. "If they want to be entertained, then I will give them the performance of a lifetime. Heh!"

[[

Candidate Kai Stormborn, you have selected five Sponsors.

Rewards:

1. 5 Attribute Points (Not Applicable to Set Quota)

2. 5 Title Status Points (Only Applicable to Beginner-level Titles)

3. 5 hours of privileged time with 1 hour of one-to-one talk with each Sponsor

Prepare for teleportation…

]]

Kai took out his three swords, the Book, the case of HP-MP-SP capsules, and the Rock Cake, which the 9th-floor Contestant had given him in the Pokemon World. His tail snapped like a whip as Kai decided to which Titles he would add the Points, an obvious hint of a mocking smile slithering on his face.

One blinding blue flash and Kai vanished.