Twenty-fifth day after the Great Rift's activation.
In an unknown corner of the Great Rift, Ninth from Azure Lotus High School opened her eyes.
Rubbing her empty stomach, Ninth felt unusually irritable.
When people didn't get enough to eat, they got irritable. Too much irritation easily bred Heart Demons, which made them even more irritable.
They had been stranded here for twenty-five days. At first, they still had the strength to argue and complain. Now, all that remained was irritation.
No matter how socially Darwinist you were, you were powerless before a natural disaster.
The activated Great Rift was everyone's harshest mother. It didn't care how high or low you had ranked before. Anyone incapable of cooperation was crushed. After several devastating disasters, Azure Lotus High School's top ten had finally learned how to work together, barely avoiding total annihilation.
Checking the duty roster, Ninth found that First was supposed to prepare breakfast today.
But when she was about to wake First, she noticed that the other girl was breathing rapidly and her forehead was burning hot. She was probably sick.
First had an excellent Spiritual Root. That was an advantage in places with average spiritual energy, but here, it was a fatal weakness.
The activated Great Rift's spiritual energy was far too abundant. Nourished by it, their Spiritual Roots began crowding out the space needed for other bodily functions, leaving nearly everyone in a state of Spirit Drunkenness.
Though it had eased somewhat by now, some people still couldn't hold out and had begun falling ill.
Touching the other girl's forehead, Ninth had the sudden urge to throw her outside.
But the thought only passed through her mind before she let it go.
After all, when they had fallen down here, First had saved her. Otherwise, she had probably