Time To Lock In

The night passed.

Or at least, it should have.

Haku figured most people barely got any sleep. He did—maybe a few minutes at best.

Then—

A blaring alarm cut through the silence.

The System appeared.

⚠ SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT ⚠

🔹 TEAM VS. TEAM MODE 🔹

Each match will have three difficulty levels:EASY – NORMAL – HARD

Two teams must agree to fight each other.

The difficulty is decided by both teams:

If Normal is chosen, both teams get the normal difficulty. If one team chooses Easy and the other Hard, then one team will face the Hard challenge, while the other gets Easy.

If no agreement is reached, a coin flip will decide the difficulty split.

The mission details will be revealed after the selection.

⏳ Countdown: 5 minutes

"What?! Only five minutes?!" Mey blurted out, eyes widening.

Before anyone could process what was happening, a group pushed through the crowd.

Shokono.

The leader of one of the most dangerous teams.

He walked straight up to Momo, the leader of Haku's team, a smug grin on his face.

"We're fighting you. Capiche?"

Momo's glare was sharp. "Why us?"

Haku scanned the room. Every other team was quickly pairing up, shaking hands, agreeing on a Normal difficulty.

No arguments. No hesitation. Just simple, peaceful agreements.

But not here.

Shokono scoffed. "No time for discussion. We want Easy, so you'll take Hard."

Momo crossed his arms. "No. We're choosing Normal."

Shokono's team loomed over them, a few meters behind Momo, their presence suffocating. Meanwhile, behind Momo, his own team stood uncertain, scattered, hesitant.

No one was coming to help.

Haku exhaled. So that's it. We're stuck with them.

He stepped forward, standing beside Momo.

"We're choosing Normal."

Shokono sighed dramatically. "Tch. Guess that means we leave it to fate."

With a wicked grin, he tapped the floating coin icon in the System menu.

⚠ INITIATING COIN FLIP ⚠

A metallic coin spin animation appeared in the air. It twirled rapidly, reflecting the dim light.

Shokono's grin widened. "I love gambling. Bahahaha!"

Momo's team froze. Everything was happening too fast.

Then—

🔹 COIN FLIP RESULT 🔹▶ Shokono's Team: EASY▶ Momo's Team: HARD

A sharp silence fell over them.

Momo's team stood in stunned disbelief.

Shokono's team? Smiling.

Haku?

His jaw tightened. His eyes locked onto Shokono with an intensity that could cut through steel.

A Death Stare.

The countdown appeared.

⚠ TELEPORTATION STARTING ⚠5…

Shokono and his team exchanged amused glances, their smirks growing wider.

4…

Haku didn't move. Didn't flinch.

He was locked in.

3…

Shokono chuckled.

2…

Haku's voice was quiet. Low. Seething.

"I will fucking rip you apart."

1…

⚠ TELEPORTATION STARTING ⚠