Wanted by the Whole School!

"Teacher, you dropped your money again."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Amamiya Natsuki calmly pointed at the coin on the desk.

Whether human or Vengeful Spirit, once you'd done something for the first time, you'd want to do it again.

This time, the Proctoring Teacher didn't even hesitate. She silently picked up the coin from the test paper, then tapped the correct answer with her finger.

Correct.

Amamiya Natsuki was quite pleased.

The Proctoring Teacher was a god!

The other human players in the classroom naturally saw what had happened, and each of them had their own thoughts.

"What's that big shot doing?"

"I smell a Backroom Deal."

"As expected of a top-tier player. Has he already found a hidden rule?"

"..."

Plop.

A note suddenly landed on Amamiya Natsuki's desk.

"Hm?"

Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and glanced from the corner of his eye at a boy sitting behind him, to the right.

He was an Unlucky Player. When he saw Amamiya Natsuki looking over, he quickly clasped his hands together, his face full of pleading.

Amamiya Natsuki pondered for two seconds, then opened the note.

"Big shot, please carry me!"

Sorry, he wasn't a big shot. He was just an ordinary player who'd only just cleared the newbie level.

He'd worked so hard to get the correct answer. The thought of casually telling someone else felt pretty awful.

But they were both human players. It wasn't as if they had to look out for each other, but he couldn't just watch someone die without a twinge of conscience...

Plop.

Another little note came flying over, followed by a black... Cat Ear Hairpin?

"Big shot, I know the Rules. This is the last item I have!"

After hesitating briefly, Amamiya Natsuki reached out and touched the Cat Ear Hairpin.

A Game Panel appeared before his eyes.

[Item: Cat Ear Hairpin]

[Origin: Blind Box Draw]

[Special Effect: Once you put on the Cat Ear Hairpin, you'll no longer be an ordinary person. In the eyes of Vengeful Spirits, you'll turn into a cat.]

[Reminder: This item has an affinity requirement. Your current affinity is 40%. The higher your affinity, the harder it is for others to see through your disguise.]

[Note: Hurry up and turn into a Cat girl!]

"So this item came from a Blind Box."

Amamiya Natsuki turned it over in his hands a couple of times, quickly guessing what the so-called Rules were.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

If you wanted someone to carry you, you either had to show your worth or offer enough in return.

The Cat Ear Hairpin was obviously the latter.

The deal was to trade a rather useless item for the answers to the test.

Amamiya Natsuki thought it over for two seconds, then gave a slight nod.

Even without the item, he would've helped in the end.

It wasn't an exam where only one of them could survive. He couldn't just ignore someone asking for help and watch another human player die. His conscience wouldn't let him.

Getting an item from a Blind Box in return was an unexpected bonus.

Seeing Amamiya Natsuki nod, the human player was overjoyed and looked at him eagerly.

Amamiya Natsuki silently lifted his test paper.

"Thanks, big shot!"

Trading a useless item for help was a fantastic deal!

The human players weren't the only ones in the classroom. The Vengeful Spirit Students were the real majority.

A Vengeful Spirit Student sitting behind Amamiya Natsuki seemed to want to copy his answers, too, but took a much more direct approach. He simply reached out with his blood-soaked right hand and grabbed for Amamiya Natsuki.

Hey, that's too much.

The other guy was only copying. You're straight-up stealing!

A chill swept over him, and Amamiya Natsuki felt as if his body were about to freeze solid. He took a deep breath and immediately shouted:

"Teacher, someone's stealing my test paper!"

The Proctoring Teacher, who'd been patrolling, abruptly turned around.

The Vengeful Spirit Boy's body went rigid. His voice was hoarse. "They're all copying..."

Before he could finish, the bloodstained Triangle ruler swung down.

The classroom quickly fell silent.

He'd bribed the Proctoring Teacher fair and square. If you didn't offer her a thing and still expected to boss her around, you deserved to get caught.

A short while later.

"Exam's over."

The Proctoring Teacher spoke in a sinister, hoarse voice. The female teacher stood at the podium, her eyes blood-red. "Students who passed may leave the classroom now. Those who failed will stay behind and wait for the next makeup exam."

Under the chilly stares of the Vengeful Spirit Students, Amamiya Natsuki and the others got up and walked out of the examination room.

"We're out!" Fujiwara Chika patted her chest lightly. "I thought Kaguya-chan was so smart that she'd pass the exam easily, but those questions weren't even meant for people!"

It was a Vengeful Spirit School in the first place. It was only normal that humans couldn't answer the questions!

"Amamiya-classmate, is that Cat Ear Hairpin special?"

Fujiwara Chika asked curiously.

"Take a look."

Amamiya Natsuki handed her the Cat Ear Hairpin.

Fujiwara Chika took it curiously, then soon let out a soft gasp. "Eh? It's an item from a Blind Box... Its affinity is 70%. Amamiya-classmate, what's yours?"

"Forty percent," Amamiya Natsuki answered.

"Eh, that's so low." Fujiwara Chika passed the Cat Ear Hairpin to Kaguya, her voice bright and clear. "Kaguya-chan, check your affinity."

Shinomiya Kaguya remained cool and composed, as if she wasn't afraid at all. After a brief silence, she said:

"Ninety-five percent."

"So high!"

"Boring item." Shinomiya Kaguya returned the Cat Ear Hairpin, her voice calm. "We've already met the minimum requirement to clear the level. We can go back..."

Before she could finish, a sinister, hoarse announcement suddenly rang out across the school.

[Announcement: Players Evil of This World, Cancer of the Earth, and Weak and Helpless Princess Kaguya have been reported by multiple students. Bounty mode has now been activated.]

Schoolwide Manhunt!

"So what's 'Cancer of the Earth' supposed to mean?" Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks and couldn't help shouting, "Giving a girl a title like that is just too much!"

"That's true."

Amamiya Natsuki looked at the title the game had given him.

Evil of This World?

He'd been behaving himself and obeying the Rules. He was also a newbie player on his second time playing the game. How had he become Evil of This World?

The game was rigged. It had to be!

"Eh, wait." Fujiwara Chika suddenly leaned forward, eyes wide as she looked at Shinomiya Kaguya. "That Weak and Helpless Princess Kaguya has to be Kaguya-chan, right?"

"It isn't me."

Shinomiya Kaguya's face remained expressionless.

Fujiwara Chika leaned even closer, her eyes sparkling. "Kaguya-chan is so amazing. Why would the game call you weak and helpless?"

(How would I know?!)

Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip, silently telling herself not to let it bother her. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

She really couldn't stop thinking about it!

I, Shinomiya Kaguya, a genius young lady—why do I have a useless title?

This was unfair!

Though she was indignant, Shinomiya Kaguya kept her usual cool, composed expression.

"You should be focusing on the bounty status."

Even without Shinomiya Kaguya's reminder, Amamiya Natsuki had already turned his attention to the game log.

[Your actions have provoked public outrage. You have been reported by multiple Vengeful Spirit Students and are now wanted.]

[You cannot leave the game world while wanted.]

[Your location will be updated every ten minutes.]

[Bounty duration: thirty minutes]

Amamiya Natsuki frowned.

He hadn't done anything wicked. How had he ended up wanted by the whole school?

Didn't those Vengeful Spirit Students who'd reported him have a conscience?

They'd already become Vengeful Spirits, and they were still running to the school to tattle. What a bunch of cowards!

"Eh, we can't go back?"

Fujiwara Chika had just finished reading the game log, and couldn't help getting nervous. "Class is about to start. Teacher Kirisu is super scary. It'll be awful if we're late."

"You should be worrying about how to survive, not something trivial like being late and getting made to stand," Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help retorting.

At the same time.

The sinister, hoarse voice rang out again over the school broadcast:

"The three players are currently in the Teaching Building, on the second-floor east corridor."

As soon as the announcement ended, the lifeless Vengeful Spirit Academy seemed to come alive all at once.

The doors and windows of the Death Examination Hall behind them suddenly rattled. Dull thuds and snarls rang out, as if the Vengeful Spirit Students who'd failed the exam were about to break out.

"Run!"

Amamiya Natsuki immediately shouted.

Since they couldn't leave, they had to find a way to survive.

No matter what, Amamiya Natsuki wouldn't sit around and wait to die.

The two girls instinctively followed.

"Amamiya-classmate, where are we going?" Fujiwara Chika hurriedly asked.

At that moment, Amamiya Natsuki's thoughts were unusually calm: