"Something wrong with our memories?"
Shiina Hiyori thought it over and realized that Shiranami Chihiro, who, like her, hadn't gone up to the rooftop with everyone else, was the only one who didn't look confused.
She quietly speculated:
"Maybe it has something to do with the 'hidden monster' in this exam?"
"Actually, it'd be easy to check."
"We just need to compare the points we remember earning from hunting monsters with the Black Sphere's final tally. That should reveal what's going on."
"After all, Kabane are standard units. Their point value can't be that high."
Ryuen Kakeru quickly went over the events in his head.
"Our group... by the time we'd finished off the Kabane, I'd killed three, Albert two, and Shiranami one..."
"Ichinose got five, plus that special Dual-Blade Kabane."
He paused and looked toward Su Wei.
But before Su Wei could speak, Horikita Suzune cut in impatiently:
"On our side... Su Wei got two, Sakayanagi three, I got three, and Kamuro Masumi... zero."
Ryuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow. "You're splitting the points too?"
Horikita Suzune glanced at Kamuro.
She'd thought Sakayanagi Arisu had gotten some kind of leverage over Kamuro Masumi, which was why Kamuro had willingly let her have the monsters. So it had been a tactic?
Kamuro Masumi: "..."
It wasn't a tactic. That shameless couple had teamed up to bully me!
She ranted furiously to herself, but kept up her aloof facade on the outside, turning away rather than bothering to explain.
Ryuen Kakeru didn't dwell on it.
"GANTZ! Begin scoring!"
The Black Sphere flickered, and white text appeared:
[Ten allied units entered the trial as reinforcements. Seven were lost (killed/infected), and three survived.]
[Each survivor earns 1 point. Each casualty costs 1 point.]
[Therefore, everyone receives 3 base points and loses 7 points.]
[Individual scores, ranked below--]
[1. Ichinose Honami: 7 points (12 points total)]
[2. Su Wei: 4 points]
[3. Horikita Suzune/Sakayanagi Arisu: 2 points (4 points total each)]
[4. Yamada Albert: 1 point]
[5. Ryuen Kakeru: 0 points (3 points total)]
[6. Kamuro Masumi: -1 point (1 point total)]
[7. Shiina Hiyori: -2 points]
[8. Shiranami Chihiro: -3 points]
[Class rankings and point adjustments--]
[Class A: 1035 (1030+1*500%), each class member receives 500 bonus spending points]
[Class B: 732.4 (702.4+4*750%), each class member receives 3000 bonus spending points]
[Class C: 505 (515-1*1000%), each class member loses 1000 spending points]
[Class D: 150 (90+6*1000%), each class member receives 6000 bonus spending points]
[Spendable S Points can be exchanged for Class Points at a 1:10 ratio]
"Wow, I thought they'd just take off a percentage at most. I didn't expect them to dock points per person!" Su Wei exclaimed.
"And they were scattered when we reached the school building. There was no way we could've saved them all... They're really that ruthless?"
Ryuen Kakeru looked grim, almost grinding his teeth to dust.
After fighting tooth and nail for so long, not only had his individual score ended up at zero, but he'd even have to pay out of pocket?!
"Heh. It's GANTZ's style. We could've seen this coming."
Sakayanagi Arisu stayed composed and even had the time to analyze the situation:
"Maybe they deduct points when your score is low, but take a percentage when it's high."
Su Wei nodded to himself. That's a good way to look at it. Nice!
Sakayanagi continued:
"But judging by these rankings, everyone's scores have an unusually high surplus, even after the deductions."
"That hidden monster must have been worth a lot. Maybe... there were quite a few of them, too?"
"A monster capable of affecting our perception would have to be worth a lot."
Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and offered her cool assessment.
Honestly, she was frustrated.
It was like scratching an itch in a place she could imagine but not reach. They'd clearly won, yet she had no idea how, and the uncertainty was driving her crazy!
Compared to Horikita, Shiina Hiyori was more concerned with practical matters.
"If we don't have enough points, they'll deduct them until we're in the negatives..."
"Besides taking points from our class, will there be any other consequences for us personally if we're in the red?"
As though answering her question:
[As a Qualified One, a negative S Point score means disqualification.]
[Qualified Ones who fail to meet the cumulative score requirement three times in a row will forfeit their right to live and be 'removed.']
"Removed...?"
Shiina Hiyori asked before she could stop herself, "What kind of removal?"
The Black Sphere: [You're a clever girl. Use your imagination.]
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
What else could that mean here?
They couldn't think of anything but literal execution.
"How could this..."
Ichinose Honami looked at Shiranami Chihiro and Shiina Hiyori, both pale-faced, and felt a surge of panic.
She whipped around to face the Black Sphere.
"GANTZ! Can we transfer points?"
"Can I give some of my points to Shiranami and Shiina? Even if it only brings their scores up to zero!"
[I love telling arrogant people--NO!!!]
Ichinose Honami pressed her lips together. Her chest heaved, and her eyes reddened in an instant.
"It's okay, Ichinose."
Shiranami Chihiro forced a smile, trying to reassure her.
"It's only minus three points. We've still got two more chances! We can earn them back in the next exam. It'll be quick!"
"That's right, Ichinose."
Shiina Hiyori chimed in softly. Although she was a little pale, her reasoning remained clear:
"Even if you could transfer points, if you gave yours to us, you wouldn't have enough to buy a Reinforcement Suit, would you?"
"I'm sure the Reinforcement Suit had something to do with Su Wei and Horikita placing so high this time, right?"
Su Wei decided to go along with it.
"Probably. The Reinforcement Suit is pretty useful."
It wouldn't be right to say the Reinforcement Suit was the reason, but it wouldn't be right to say it had nothing to do with it, either.
Horikita Suzune fell silent.
She couldn't remember what had happened at the end. What was she supposed to say?
She couldn't just bat her eyelashes and say, "Even without the Reinforcement Suit, I could've wiped out the enemy forces," could she?
That would be unbearable.
She might lack social skills, but she wasn't an idiot.
Just then, the taciturn Yamada Albert spoke up:
"There are three survivors left... Looks like Hirata Yosuke is okay."
"What about the people who died during the exam?"
Ichinose Honami hurriedly took out her phone and messaged Amikura Mako.
A few seconds later, she looked up, her expression somewhat relieved.
"Mako says all our classmates are alive. They've just lost their memories of this exam."
"And Hirata's injuries healed as soon as the exam ended."
"Just as I thought." Ryuen Kakeru snorted. "I knew that was what had happened."
"GANTZ... It's terrifying."
Sakayanagi Arisu sighed.
"This is only the third exam, and it's already caused such a huge upheaval."
"And yet it can easily erase everything and return the world to peace."
"With power like that, and a god so capricious, who knows what'll happen next..."
Everyone fell silent for two seconds.
They feared the future, and felt powerless in the face of their own insignificance.
"Tch."
Ryuen Kakeru pursed his lips and turned away, walking straight out of the Black Sphere Room.
His back looked a little lonely, a little forlorn, and it was enough to tug at the heartstrings...
Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head, looked away, then turned to Kamuro Masumi, who was still staring blankly into space.
"Kamuro."
"...Huh? What?" Kamuro Masumi jumped.
"I'm sorry."
Sakayanagi Arisu sounded unusually sincere.
"I didn't expect there to be a removal mechanism for negative scores."
"It was my mistake to drag you into this and leave you with a negative score."
"We were lucky this time. Nothing irreversible happened."
She paused, then spoke softly:
"You don't have to take part in the next exam. From now on... I won't force you to come here again."
"Eh?"
Kamuro Masumi froze.
Before you continue