Chapter 7 – The Shadow of Judgment
Friday, 8:00 a.m.
All first-year classes were gathered in the auditorium. 160 students. Four classes: A, B, C, and D.
The atmosphere was icy. Glances crossed with suspicion. Invisible alliances. Palpable tension.
Then, Principal Tazuma appeared on stage.
Behind him, a black screen lit up.
— "Today marks the beginning of your first Special Exam. Get ready to face one of the most formative... or destructive experiences of your year."
He raised his hand. The screen displayed the title:
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SPECIAL EXAM – THE AVATAR GAME
Duration: 3 days
Location: Entire campus (classrooms, dorms, outdoor areas)
Objective: Identify the other classes' Avatars, protect your own, and accumulate as many points as possible.
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GENERAL RULES:
1. Each class designates one Avatar, a student chosen in secret and registered with the administration.
2. Each class starts with 1000 collective points.
3. If your Avatar is identified by another class: -300 points for your class, +300 for the one that found them.
4. If your Avatar is captured (identity card stolen): -500 points for your class, +500 for the other.
5. If you identify all 4 Avatars (excluding your own): special bonus of +500 points.
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ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS:
If your Avatar confesses their identity, even under pressure: your class loses 400 points.
If you accuse the wrong Avatar: -100 points for each mistake.
Avatars are given highly secure identity cards. Stealing one requires cunning, strategy, or manipulation.
Avatars may change behavior, clothing, or even deceive others to stay anonymous.
Classes can use any strategy: bluffing, alliances, traps, betrayals, negotiations, etc.
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Important:
> "At the end of the 72 hours, the class with the highest collective score will earn 2000 extra points and gain academic and social privileges.
The class with the lowest score... will lose all privileges for two months."
Silence.
No one dared speak.
This wasn’t just a game.
It was war.
8:30 a.m.
The classes were released onto the campus. The game had begun.
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Class D — Improvised Headquarters.
Nero stood, barking out quick orders.
— "Alright, we need to pick an Avatar. Someone discreet, not too obvious."
Voices burst out.
— "What if we pick a girl? Or maybe the most nervous-looking guy?"
Salia, calm as ever, suggested:
— "Let’s choose someone no other class would ever suspect."
Everyone turned toward Winner, who sat silently in the back.
— "Him? Seriously? He barely talks."
— "Exactly," Salia replied.
Winner looked up. He knew refusing would be suspicious. So he agreed... while setting the real plan in motion in his mind.
> "I’ll be the Avatar… but only on the surface."
In the shadows, he convinced another even more discreet student to carry the real Avatar card while he acted as bait.
A double identity. An illusion.
Salia understood. And she followed.
Meanwhile, the other classes were organizing. Spies roamed the halls. Some students were already being tailed.
But Winner had already begun moving his pieces.
He sent a "naive" student to infiltrate Class B with a false rumor:
"We think their Avatar is a girl who always wears a red bracelet."
Half an hour later, two boys from Class C began shadowing her, thinking they were onto something.
> "Divide the enemy, create false leads, control suspicion."
The real game wasn’t played on the field.
It was played in the shadows.