"How do I get out of here?"
Kasuka looked at the empty horizon, only seeing the blues of the sky that stretched farther than her eyes could see.
She squinted her eyes a little bit to try and see better but that was in vain as there really was nothing except for her in this space.
Giving up on such a useless action, Kasuka started to walk again.
While doing so, she didn't forget about her only companion in this place, the System.
[The host can choose to wake up at any point of time.]
Is that so?
That makes everything so much more simpler, then.
"Is the time affected inside this place?" She asked to satiate her curiosity.
Immediately, another panel replaced the one before:
[If desired so, then the time shall work in a way that is most compromised with the host. With that said, the host could also choose to awaken the moment right after the Host lost consciousness.]
"Ah? That... Wait, you really didn't explain everything at first, huh?" Kasuka punched her own head softly as she sighed.
It appears she misunderstood something.
The amount of time that had passed since she fell under the effects of anesthesia have been around 12 hours. But that doesn't mean she had been out for 12 hours.
Wait, that's wrong...?
She was...
Aiya, why is this so complicated to explain?
Simply put!
She had been asleep in this space for 12 hours!
Am I right, system?
[Affirmative.]
That's it!
Nothing else!
Nodding to herself as if she had just gained enlightenment, Kasuka tapped her chin and turned around, capturing more of the empty space she had covered.
Looking back, she realized that she could see traces of her own footsteps.
"That's quite beautiful. I'm not gonna lie, system. Your taste in the environment is quite top notch." She covered the light from entering her eyes.
"Enough of that. First, I'm gonna need to figure out a plan to throw a wrench in Beatrice's plan... What's the best way?"
As she pondered to herself, Kasuka suddenly lit up and jumped slightly.
"Hah! That's right! I could use this!"
She opened her personal system panel and went over to the shop section.
Scrolling down and down, her finger finally landed on a text.
A creepy smile covered her mouth, one that would've given Beatrice the chills if she was present.
"This... practically cost the rest of my lifesavings... But it'll pay off! I'm quite certain of it!"
Remaining Points: 540,200
Kaching!
-500,000 Points
Remaining Points: 40,200
[Halo Upgrades:
Pain Control (3/5) (Active/Inactive)
Self-Healing Constitution (3/5) (Active/Inactive)
Halo Switch. (Active/Inactive)
Bond Meter. (Passive)
Increased Reaction Time (1/20) (Passive)
Increased Dexterity (2/20)
Death Contract(One time use(In Progress))
Terror Efficiency (1/20)]
Kasuka gripped her heart, feeling like she had just ripped her own wallet in half.
She's never been this poor on points before.
Of course, she had bought some other expensive things before. 500,000 isn't the most she spent at once.
After all, she herself did buy Increased Dexterity and upgraded it once, so that practically cost her 1.5 million points!
But that was because she still had a lot of points leftover!
But now...
Barely 40,000 remaining... Hah, she's going to need to eat water soup for her next simulation.
But quickly, her hopes were raised as she convinced herself that this was indeed an investment for the future!
Not only could she fuck up Beatrice, she'd also be able to farm her friends!
Efficiency is key!
"System, wake me up at the earliest point in time in which Beatrice isn't paying attention to me."
[Affirmative. Please do not resist.]
A couple moments after Kasuka read the sentence on that panel, her body was suddenly covered in soft yellow lights.
Seeing this, she realized that she was about to be transported out of this place.
With one final glance, her body disappeared, leaving only footsteps behind.
---
Tick Tick
The first thing that greeted her awakening was the sound of a clock ticking as the needle turned clockwise.
Immediately deactivating her halo so as to not make a scene, Kasuka cautiously opened her eyes.
Indeed, this was exactly the scene she had expected when she previously opened her eyes. But what she saw before was the endlessly stretching horizon of nothing.
Meanwhile, this place was dreadful.
Her nose felt like scrunching up at the smell of something disgusting, almost like a rotting watermelon...
Ew.
Looking around, she didn't see anyone. But the door was slightly opened, meaning that there's a chance that Beatrice could still come back at any moment.
"System, how much time has passed since she forced me into unconsciousness?"
[An approximate time would be 4 Hours.]
"Only 4? How fortunate." Smirking to herself, she tried to move around but then realized that all of her limbs are restrained to the operating table.
"..." Thinking for a moment, Kasuka thought of an idea and started to immediately put it to action.
Crack
An unnatural sound echoed as she forced her wrist through the hole, her hand becoming redder and redder with each forceful pull.
"Hugp!" But the pain wasn't even that bad since she had her Pain Control at max.
Pop
With one final pull, her left hand escaped the restraint.
Immediately activating Self Healing Constitution, she quickly did the same for the rest of her limbs.
"Wow, never thought I would ever resort to such self-destructive behavior." Kasuka laughed dryly.
If she didn't have Self Healing Constitution, the skins that got scrapped off during her forceful actions would've looked so bad to the outside.
Perhaps, if it was in another circumstance, she would've left it as it is, but this is not her current goal.
She needed to fuck up Beatrice.
Everything else is second.
A perfectly conditioned body would suffice for now.
With that said and done, she looked for the closest escape.
But there seemed to be no windows nearby, only the door that was slightly opened seemed to lead somewhere.
If she were to use that door, there's a chance she might run into Beatrice, that wouldn't be ideal.
She's still very weak right now, she can't guarantee being able to run away effectively from an adult's clutches.
The only reason she bought Increased Dexterity was because she thought she'd be able to get her very own weapon in this place...
But for some reason, nobody ever presented her with any firearms.
Even the Arius Squad, who had been seen to be using their own personal firearm, never allowed her to touch any guns.
That makes sense...
Firstly, she was injured for the first week.
And then... ugh... What happened in the second week?
Well, it doesn't matter.
Anyways, she was hidden away for an entire month.
Probably a reasonable reason to not allow her a hint of physical activity.
Kasuka turned her palm around and told the system to access her personal firearm.
Red cubes appeared out of thin air, slowly shaping up into a small handgun with unique shapes.
After it was done, it landed squarely on Kasuka's palm, feeling it fit perfectly in her hands.
"...From now on, your name shall be Spectator." As she scrutinized her gun, Kasuka gave it a name that slightly fit her theme as an Actor.
Creak
The ajar door opened suddenly as Beatrice made her appearance.
"Tsk, wasting my time on useless things... Should I just kill them off?" Grumbling to herself, Beatrice walked through the room, making her way to the table in which she had placed all her research results, completely unaware of the empty operating table.
And well... Kasuka took advantage of such carelessness.
'I'm free!' She exclaimed inside her mind as she walked through the dark corridor. This place doesn't seem to be the same office in which everyone had visited Beatrice before.
'Turn Halo on!'
Her bright Halo illuminated the surroundings, allowing Kasuka to walk freely across the building with trained efficiency.
'Hug the right wall! That'll lead me out!' Following such an idea, she quickly found a door.
Excitedly, she opened the door and took in... a long set of stairs....
"..."
Her expression did a 180.