The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Starting with *The Fruit of Grisaia*

Kamuro Masumi, who had been caught in the crossfire for no reason, felt a wave of stomach pain.

She dodged left and right, but no matter which way she turned, there was no escaping it.

Was she just genuinely unlucky, or had she been marked by this broken Black Sphere because she'd been tainted by the bad luck of these two people?!

I mean... it completely ignores whether people can handle this or not; it's really hard to keep a straight face, isn't it?

At this moment, Sudo Ken finally realized that something was wrong.

He looked around the room, taking in the crowd packed inside:

"Hey? Wait, didn't Hirata say there was one main entry slot per class, plus one random slot?"

"Why does it feel like there are... an absurdly high number of people here?"

Ryuen Kakeru was speechless, having completely lost patience with this single-celled organism.

He walked straight to the Black Sphere in the center of the room.

"GANTZ, stop stalling, get ready to start!"

"Hum—"

The surface of the Black Sphere flickered, and familiar white text appeared.

Accompanying it was a photo of two bizarre creatures with human torsos but the faces of apes.

[Target Name: Ape-Man * 2]

[Characteristics: Genetic products, educated but uncivilized, natural enemies of humanity.]

[Likes: Philosophy, debate, survival of the fittest.]

[Catchphrase: I am an Ape-Man; I am neither fully human nor fully ape.]

[Failure Penalty: Total annihilation of all members.]

[Time Limit: 60:00]

[Friendly Reminder: Due to the strength levels being somewhat excessive, there are only three intruders dropped in this time.]

[So... next, shall the information on the hidden monster be revealed? Student Kanzaki Ryuji.]

"Reveal it directly," Kanzaki Ryuji answered decisively.

"No! Why is no one listening to me?" Sudo Ken was still hung up on the headcount. "Don't any of you find this confusing? This doesn't follow the rules!"

But truly, no one had the time to pay him any mind; everyone's attention was focused on the screen of the Black Sphere.

Even Ichinose, who had an exceptionally good temper, was no exception.

A decrease in the number of huntable targets meant fewer points to be earned, which simultaneously meant—the survival pressure on those comrades burdened with negative points would increase exponentially!

At this moment, the image of the Ape-Men on the surface of the Black Sphere was replaced by a photo of a man in casual clothes with a cold, stern expression.

Below the portrait, a line of small red text was marked:

[Gotou: The ultimate parasitic creature created by a laboratory, coexisting with four Parasites within a single body, capable of flexibly commanding and utilizing them; combat capability far exceeds that of ordinary Parasites.]

[Kill Point Value: 20 points.]

"20 points..."

Ichinose Honami clenched her fists subconsciously, her expression looking rather poor as she quickly did the mental math:

"In other words, even counting this hidden monster, we only have three scoring opportunities this time?"

For a ten-person team, this was asking a bit too much.

Especially with some people currently holding negative points.

"Not necessarily."

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the annotations on the screen and analyzed calmly:

"During the exam where we encountered the Evil Spirits, if we calculated based on one point per spirit, the final score wouldn't have made sense. Yet, the scoring was indeed based on kills."

"I suspect that for a boss composed of multiple entities like this, each 'component' within its body might be counted as an individual unit?"

"And the person who lands the final blow simply enjoys the final integrated bonus?"

Su Wei nodded, stepping into the role of narrator at the right moment:

"Looking at it this way, it's not a dead end. Plus, since there are only three intruders to protect this time, our defensive pressure is much lower."

"As long as we coordinate properly, it might actually be easier to score than last time."

"Heh, quite the analytical mind."

Ryuen Kakeru sneered, stopped wasting words, and made the final call:

"Since that's the case, leave those two monkeys to Shiina and Shiranami; let them make up their points while protecting the three intruders."

"As for that big guy worth 20 points..."

Ryuen Kakeru licked his lips, his gaze sweeping over Ichinose and Su Wei, who were equipped with Reinforcement Suits:

"The rest of you, come with me to meet that Parasite!"

"Let's leave it at that. Hurry up and pick your weapons; time is limited!"

Few people raised any objections to this.

Most understood the principle that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Since someone was willing to take on the hard work, they were more than happy to stay idle.

Only Sudo Ken stood there, half-confused, feeling as though the entire world had isolated him.

"Wait, guys..."

He pointed at Ryuen, then at Ichinose: "Is there really no one who can explain this to me?"

Watching the look of pure, unadulterated stupidity on Sudo's face, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help but find it amusing.

She unlinked her arm from Su Wei's and beckoned, calling a clearly reluctant Kamuro Masumi over to her side.

"Kamuro-san, you've seen it too."

Sakayanagi said softly, "There isn't much cannon fodder in this exam. It's obvious that Ichinose-san and Su Wei-kun, who possess Combat Suits, need to step up and handle the pressure."

"Therefore, for what comes next... I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to act as my 'legs' once again."

She tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of mockery:

"Honestly, I don't want to either, but it seems we really are a pair of star-crossed lovers. We're quite fated, aren't we!"

Kamuro Masumi remained silent for a long moment.

Looking at Sakayanagi's exquisite yet infuriating face, she wanted to curse, but didn't know where to begin.

In the end, she took a deep breath and redirected her pent-up rage toward Su Wei, who was watching the show from the sidelines.

"Tell me, what exactly is wrong with your class?!"

Kamuro pointed at Sudo, who was still making a racket, and snapped at Su Wei:

"Chirping and squawking until now, and you can't even manage basic information sharing? Do you need me to help you teach him the rules?"

Seeing Su Wei looking at her with a strange expression, Kamuro Masumi felt a bit confused, but the stifling sense of oppression she had been feeling eased significantly.

She snorted coldly and shifted to giving orders:

"What are you looking at? Go, help me grab two Capture Guns. Since the two of us are half-crippled, we'll just have to provide support from the back later!"

Under Sakayanagi Arisu's shrug and her look of "I can't help you,"

Su Wei: ...

Fine, I suppose your anger wasn't misplaced; you really did find the right person.

He shook his head helplessly and walked over to the Black Sphere, looking at the still-bewildered Sudo Ken:

"Time is tight, pick your gear first."

"If you have questions, I'll add you to the internal group chat after the exam ends. You can read the group announcement and you'll understand everything."

"For now, follow orders and don't get yourself killed."

Although Sudo Ken was dissatisfied, he could sense the heavy atmosphere.

His gaze swept over the weapon rack, and he grabbed a hilt at random based on instinct.

Seeing this, Su Wei kindly reminded him:

"That thing is a bit hard to use. Why don't you pick something else?"

"The Y-shaped ones on the side are capture types, and the X-shaped ones are for attack. Both are long-range and have a higher margin for error."

"No need! I know, Hirata had all this on the flyers!"

Sudo Ken swung the hilt in his hand. As the black blade extended, a confident smile appeared on his face:

"But I trust my body's instincts more! I've never lost a fight, and I even spent months in middle school watching the upperclassmen practice in the Kendo Club!"

"A real man plays with a katana!"

"I'm going to be a katana master!"

Su Wei fell silent once again.

You have guns, yet you choose martial arts?

Does he really think he's Zheng Zha, capable of opening the Gene Lock...

--End of Chapter--

py:<Comprehensive Anime, I Really Just Want to Grind Traits>

Chapter 39: Admit It, You Can't Stand the Alien

Watching Su Wei take the initiative to find Sudo Ken, Ichinose Honami nodded to herself.

Although Su Wei had been somewhat forward with her during their private special training... even to the point of being unspeakably shameful.

But his stepping up at this moment had indeed saved her a lot of energy.

As for Sudo Ken, the notorious Demon Pill of Class D, she had heard a thing or two about him.

A typical proponent of violence, hot-tempered, impulsive—the kind of unstable factor likely to become a liability to the team in a crisis.

It wasn't that there was any discrimination against underachievers; it was simply that when two parties were unfamiliar with each other, offering unsolicited kindness could easily be misinterpreted by those with excessive pride as charity, thereby triggering unnecessary conflict.

In such moments, it was undoubtedly most appropriate for Su Wei, being from the same class, to step forward and take the lead.

Actually, Su Wei is quite a decent person, and he's handsome, too.

Ichinose Honami found herself thinking, for no apparent reason:

He's just a bit rough around the edges, perhaps because he isn't used to the indirect communication style here in Japan... Was I too harsh with him just now?

Just as her thoughts drifted, a sudden warmth spread through her palm.

"Ichinose, don't worry about us."

Shiranami Chihiro gripped her hand tightly, her eyes filled with a steely resolve, as if she had made up her mind about something.

"Go and do what you need to do! This time, Shiina and I will definitely protect those who have intruded; I absolutely... do not want to be a burden to you anymore!"

Ichinose snapped back to reality, feeling the weight of her friend's trusting gaze.

She turned to look at the countdown on the Black Sphere screen and nodded heavily.

[00:00]

[Weapon selection complete]

[Teleportation of all members commencing]

As the beam of light from the teleportation crept up her cheeks toward her eyes, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not instinctively close them like the others.

He kept his eyes open, calmly watching his field of vision as the dim, oppressive environment of the multimedia classroom was replaced, step by step, by flickering, amber-hued light.

This was his first time experiencing a Black Sphere teleportation firsthand.

Truly novel.