Vengeful Spirit Classroom.
Death Exam Hall.
After being forced into the classroom and seated at an empty desk, Natsuki finally regained control of his body. He quietly let out a breath of relief, then took the opportunity to observe the classroom.
Most of the room was filled with spirit students wearing bloodstained uniforms, their skin pale as they silently kept their heads down, radiating cold, malevolent energy.
Besides them, there were a few unlucky players just like Natsuki's group.
The doors and windows were covered in bloodstains and scratch marks. The blood didn't seem to have dried, silently testifying to the horrors that had occurred in this room.
At the podium stood a tall female teacher with waist-length hair. Her figure was curved in all the right places—surprisingly well-endowed. Judging by her figure alone, she was clearly a beauty.
Natsuki's gaze moved upward to the proctor's face.
Well then.
So it was a car crash of a face.
Crisscrossing knife scars, crimson eyes, and slashed corners of her mouth—nothing remotely close to a beautiful teacher. Though with a mask on, she might work.
As Natsuki stared, a line of text slowly appeared above the proctor's head.
[A teacher who was once bribed by students before exams to leak test questions. Deep-seated resentment. Extremely dangerous. Do not engage in direct conflict. Find her weakness and subdue her]
"Where's the weakness?"
Natsuki's gaze drifted downward to the proctor's chest.
Found them. There were definitely two weak points.
"The 444th round of examinations officially begins."
The proctor stood at the podium, holding a blood-stained triangular ruler, her voice raspy. "The exam rules will now be announced."
"This round's exam duration is twenty minutes."
"During this time, leaving the classroom is forbidden. Violators will die."
"After answering each question, the test paper will grade itself. Students who fail will receive the death penalty."
Fail the exam and die? Even the strictest teachers weren't this brutal.
"It's the legendary Big Three!"
A hushed exclamation reached his ears.
Several unlucky players looked toward Natsuki's group, whispering among themselves.
"Back in the cafeteria, I saw those three bosses collecting protection money from spirit students with my own eyes!"
That wasn't protection money—it was hush money.
"All the spirit students paid up. One spirit girl tried to resist and was even toyed with until she cried."
Shut up! There wasn't even any physical contact! When did anyone toy with a spirit?
"Those three bosses must be super veterans!"
Sorry to disappoint, but the pink-haired airhead with the bow ribbon playing with her pencil behind you is a super fresh newbie on her very first game.
Natsuki looked down at the test paper on his desk.
It was covered in large bloodstains that obscured nearly the entire page. But as Natsuki stared at it, the bloodstains quickly faded and contracted, revealing the questions.
[A blood-stained test paper. Wrapped in thick resentment. Reusable. Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly]
"Hey, the first question is super easy!"
Chika's soft exclamation reached his ears.
Natsuki's gaze fell on the first question. Indeed, it was super easy.
"What is one plus two?"
The spirit students all looked like high schoolers, and there were several adult players too. Yet the test question was one plus two?
Who do you think you're looking down on?!
Natsuki picked up the blood-stained pen and marked his answer.
Correct.
His gaze moved down to the second question.
"Rabbits and chickens are kept together in a cage. There are 35 heads in total and 94 legs below. How many chickens and rabbits are there respectively?"
It's the chickens-and-rabbits-in-a-cage problem from elementary school. Super easy.
No way.
There's no way someone can't answer this, right?
Natsuki marked the correct answer and looked at the third question.
"What is the digit at the 100th decimal place of pi?"
What the hell!
The 100th decimal place of pi—how could any normal person possibly know that?!
"Poke poke poke—"
Natsuki suddenly felt someone gently poking his thigh.
He turned to look. Chika was secretly writing a "9" on the desk with her right hand.
Natsuki was shocked.
She could actually remember the 100th decimal place of pi? Was she some kind of genius girl?
"It's Kaguya-chan." Chika cupped her hand over her mouth. "I just peeked at Kaguya-chan's test."
I see.
As a supremely talented, all-capable beautiful girl, remembering the 100th decimal place of pi wasn't surprising.
Lady Kaguya, eternal goddess!
Natsuki looked at the fourth question appearing on his test paper and expressionlessly abandoned any thought of riding on her coattails.
"Please answer: What color are the proctor's panties?"
A: Red
B: Black
C: Blue-and-white stripes
D: Going commando
First, he could eliminate the commando option. If she wasn't wearing any, there wouldn't be a color. That left three options... completely impossible to determine.
To get the answer, he'd have to ask the proctor herself. No matter how smart Kaguya was, there was no way she could know the proctor's underwear color.
Natsuki silently stared at the question. After a moment, a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[You chose to flip up the proctor's skirt to investigate... You died]
Great.
Thanks for that completely unhelpful advice.
The others had reached the same question and were scratching their heads, growing restless.
To answer this question, they either had to guess randomly or figure something out from the proctor herself.
One player quickly took action.
He pulled out a small round mirror from his pocket, bent down to hide it on the top of his foot, then when the proctor walked past, he quietly extended his right foot, preparing to investigate.
And then...
"Cheaters deserve death."
The proctor suddenly turned her head, her voice cold and raspy. The bloodstained triangular ruler in her hand swung down violently.
Blood splattered.
All the players fell silent as cicadas in winter, quickly abandoning any thoughts of peeking up her skirt.
Natsuki silently moved to the next question. If he couldn't answer it, he'd have to skip it for now.
"What punishment awaits anyone caught by security while trying to escape the school?"
A: Hanging
B: Impalement
C: The wooden donkey
D: The goat punishment
Natsuki's expression was blank.
Besides hanging, he'd never even heard of the other three punishments.
He tried to continue scrolling down... but couldn't.
He had to select an answer before he could see the next question.
Natsuki sighed and reluctantly looked toward the proctor.
Compared to some security guard who could be anywhere, the proctor at least offered some possibility of passing.
As he stared, a new line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Through persistent observation, you have successfully identified the proctor's weakness]
[There is no problem in this world that money cannot solve]
"Hm?"
Natsuki's eyes lit up slightly. He quickly thought of a solution.
A moment later.
The blood-reeking proctor walked past Natsuki's desk.
Clink.
A coin from the vengeful spirit school's currency fell onto the desk surface.
The proctor abruptly stopped.
"Teacher, you dropped your money." Natsuki reminded her.
"..."
The proctor was silent for a moment. She reached out, picked up the coin, then silently pressed down on one of the options on the test paper.
D: Nothing under the skirt.
Natsuki filled in the answer.
The test paper quickly self-graded: Correct.