Everyone seemed to fall silent, perhaps stunned by hearing so much in such a short time. I myself was still uncertain about my initial bet, but to my surprise, that guess turned out to be correct. I then mustered the courage to look at Velvet, who stood across from me. She herself appeared worried—and perhaps a bit relieved. No way we want to be turned into maids in this game.
Living reluctantly, dying unwillingly.
Dying—in the sense of being turned into sex slaves. Living—in the sense of successfully passing through a trap disguised as an experimental trial before the game begins. Oh, how poetic I am right now... I thought, not believing that such deep and poetic words flowed so easily in my mind. But honestly... at this moment, I don't know what will truly happen. However, it's possible that this first round has its own theme.
And just as I murmured that, FullMetal then typed something, as if confirming what I said.
[ALRIGHT, FOR THIS FIRST ROUND, THE THEME IS "STRENGTH." IN OTHER WORDS, YOU PLAYERS WILL BE PHYSICALLY PUSHED TO COMPETE AS A WARM-UP EVENT. THEN, FOR THE DISTRIBUTION, HERE ARE THE RESULTS OF THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE "V-CARD" AND ALSO THE "SLAVE LABEL," AS FOLLOWS:]
[V-CARD HOLDERS: 100 F-PP]
[D-DRIVE'S SLAVE: -100 F-PP]
Huh? F-PP? What does that even mean?
All eyes seemed to widen—not understanding and simultaneously not believing what they saw. The same went for me, who was also still confused and wondering, trying little by little to guess what this point meant.
"Hey, what's wrong with you, my dear FullMetal~ They're obviously going to be clueless and automatically dumbfounded, meaning they're a bunch of idiots uless you don't explain what this F-PP distribution means. Oh my, you're so young yet already senile~ How adorable! Hehehe."
That coquettish voice, piercing to the ears, cut through the tense atmosphere that had been building from the start. With such a mocking tone and very demeaning words, the horny bear Akuma once again managed to lighten the atmosphere with a show that, well... seemed quite entertaining. The players also seemed relieved, perhaps feeling that it was just an unintended technical error or perhaps something trivial after all.
[OH, SORRY EVERYONE, I LOST FOCUS EARLIER. :D]
"Oh dear, why are you smiling at them? Smile at me, darling~ Look at me here~" said Akuma teasingly, which this time might have made all the players feel ill. I was no exception. In fact, it could be said even more so. If nausea were a buff debuff combo, I'd be at critical HP.
[SMILING ANYWHERE ISN'T THAT IMPORTANT, MY DEAR AKUMA. WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT EVERYONE CAN PLAY WITHOUT OBSTACLES.]
"Hmph~! Fine then, if that's what you want. Just explain." she said angrily, doing an impression like a tsundere girl amidst the palpable tension of the game's atmosphere.
[DON'T BE ANGRY. I'LL GIVE YOU CANDY LATER. :)]
"Hey, I'm not a child, you know—"
Her complaint was immediately cut off as FullMetal approached, then his hand made a gesture—wait no, Morse code?
O-C-H-I-N-C-H-I-N
Oh, right. I see...
I regret having such knowledge. Because clearly, the 'candy' referred to is very vulgar. The other players clearly didn't know, except perhaps a few... including Velvet, whose face seemed to flush upon realizing the hidden meaning of 'candy.'
The most damned part isn't even that this was disgusting. It's rather that… I understood its meaning. Somewhat a bit too well.
Sometimes, knowledge isn't power let alone a bless. Sometimes, it's a curse.
"Oh, that candy! Yes, I want it! I'll suck and lick it for hours~! I'll become a child again if that's the candy you are gonna give me, yay!"
Hearing such a suggestive thing, clearly many were wondering about the 'candy' being referred to. Considering it's impossible for one candy to last that long. Or, if a layman person, they might think that there are many candies.
"Hehehehe, are you curious? Want to know or really want to know~?"
She asked, as if teasing the players who also seemed to speculate about the 'candy.'
"Oh yes, and it seems someone knows too, huh? Interesting, interesting... Just so you know, you curious kids. This candy is clearly the most special player. No one can get it unless you have a sugar daddy or a rich guy. Got it?"
Such a cringe-worthy analogy.
I felt so disgusted hearing an analogy made purely based on lust like this horny bear. She seemed to be leading and then dragging the players into promiscuity—something so deep and dangerous. It seemed some people understood the hidden meaning, but many were still naive.
Actually, what I was more worried about was the actual ages of these players. Maybe from their appearances, they all looked like adults, but who knows. There could be children playing too, because they're usually very skilled. By the way, the game Eden/Zero itself requires each player to verify their student card or identity—without showing their real face. And also, only high school students are allowed to play. That's the minimum. However, this game is most popular among college students, usually.
As for me? My age could be considered quite ideal, which is 18 years old.
Speaking of these players, even now, I could hear muffled giggling. The kind of sound you only hear when people don't know whether to laugh, be offended, or pretend not to understand. I glanced to my right. Some players were squinting at their screens, mouths twitching with either disbelief or discomfort.
Funny, isn't it? We're all laughing now.
Soon, we'll be screaming together.
Others were whispering among themselves, likely guessing if F-PP stood for something absurd. Friendship Points? Fuck Points? Fantasy Power Points?
We were a mess.
And the Game Masters knew it.
[OKAY, ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. THIS TIME I'LL EXPLAIN WHAT F-PP IS]
The atmosphere immediately fell silent again. It seemed now it became so tense after the previously light-hearted mood.
A slow dread pooled in my stomach.
F-PP wasn't just a joke.
It was going to matter.
And in my mind, a question arose:
So, what's behind the explanation of this F-PP?
And more importantly—why do I get the feeling that having 100 of them… doesn't mean safety?
I prayed in my heart. But of course, my prayer wasn't to God—it was to the RNG.