Is this that body outline art? It's the first one I've seen in person!
But isn't that blood?
I saw someone fall off that building!
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 299 PLAYERS PARTICIPATING IN THE TREASURE HUNT!
It's already started.
What was that?
Oh, right...
I have to be getting home.
I get it, they don't want anyone poking their paws at the event, huh?
First I have to meet up with Kaname!
A fun, friendly treasure hunt? Seriously?
I've got nothing but a bad feeling about this!
EPISODE 03 IGNITION
The Shibuya Treasure Hunt Game!
Find the treasures hidden in town and load up on points!
The time limit is 24 hours!
The 300 participating players are all set to Battle Royale Mode,
so it's okay to attack anyone, but during this event, keep in mind that Player Search doesn't work!
SEARCH
Seven types of rings are placed throughout the event area.
Topaz, peridot, lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, emerald and diamond.
They can all be exchanged for the points below.
Search for the rings by using your map display and a new feature, Alternate Reality Camera.
However, be careful about one thing.
When the time limit is up, if the game isn't cleared,
it's "game over" for any player who has less than three rings.
Gather at least three of them, or you may be in trouble.
It's also game over if you leave the designated area, so watch your step.
Now, everybody have a fun, friendly treasure hunt!
So if you try to escape, you die.
He said to be careful about one thing, but that's two!
And we're obviously supposed to murder each other!
Crap, I need to calm down.
I decided to survive, no matter what.
SURVIVE
I refuse to die playing this lousy game!
First, I'll contact Shuka.
The number you have dialed is not currently in service.
That's right, I can't get through to anyone outside of the app.
Guess I'll just have to use the app chat.
Hopefully we can meet up without any hassles.
300 rings!
300 people fighting over 300 rings, so only a third of us can survive!
Wait, don't panic.
A first round must mean there's a second round, with more rings.
Or that's my guess.
Anyway, I need to be able to use this map and Alternate Reality Camera.
Makes sense. These circles are ring locations.
But that alone doesn't tell you their exact location.
I see, that's probably where the Alternate Reality Camera fits in.
What is this? Ruins?
Seen through the camera, the city is in ruins.
Is that the game's design?
But there are weird lights here and there throughout the ruins.
Here's one.
So this is a ring, huh?
It's a gorgeous bracelet when seen through the camera.
Ruby, so that's 500 points! In other words, it's worth 50 million yen?!
What's the point of being happy about that?
Money isn't the objective.
But it's a good sign.
Shit! Already?!
Then there's an enemy nearby!
Crap, crap...
Oh crap, this means the other players have rings and they're on the move.
What now?!
Leave the hotel? Should I take the elevator?
But what if someone's waiting to ambush me the moment I step out?
I'd be better off taking the emergency stairs.
Crap! Somebody's coming!
Gotta get to the emergency stairs!
No, wait...
Recklessly running away is dangerous in on its own.
Wherever I run to, I might bump into another player.
I'll check out my opponent and then take off. I should have time for that.
But being unarmed like this is dangerous.
Nice, that worked well.
Damn, they really are getting off on this floor.
What kind of person is it?
What was that?! A machine gun?!
Is this a war?! Crap, crap, crap!
What the hell?!
Is it a plant?
I can't get through that!
Shit!
There should be another emergency staircase on the other side!
This one's blocked, too!
Don't tell me I'm trapped in here?!
My only option is the elevator? But if I don't hurry, he'll...
He isn't chasing me?
Wait...
Dammit! He's coming around this way!
What's with the plants? Did you do that?
Nah, that can't be.
Nobody would be stupid enough to block their own escape route.
Please! Hurry! Hurry up!
Too bad.
Looks like it's game over for you.
- See ya. - Wait! Don't shoot!
I give up! I'll give you the ring. Just don't shoot!
Oh? I see.
Here, take it!
Well, I'm taking it either way.
I don't have anything else! Isn't that enough?
True, in this event you don't get any points from killing opponents.
Th-Then...
But you have a gun.
Anyone holding a gun should expect to get shot, no?
Am I wrong?
Then die, brat.
Damn, seriously?
It's jammed...
Drop it!
Your hands are shaking, brat.
I told you to drop it!
Shoot me.
I told you to shoot me already.
There, that should do it.
Maybe you aren't worth killing. It'd be a waste of bullets.
You see that once in a while, someone too scared to pull the trigger.
That was a truly boring battle.
Later. Might as well eat that bullet.
Damn...
Is killing each other really that much fun?!
Goddammit!
If I don't have three rings, it's game over.
In the end, if you don't kill in this game, you can't survive.
What's this? Do you mean to use the elevator?
As a warning, you're better off not using it. That is, if you intend to survive.
What's a kid doing here?
Are you looking for a fight?
I'm a first-year middle school student.
There, it's here. Get on, if you wish to die.
I don't really want to die. I just want to get out of here.
Besides, the emergency staircases are blocked.
You see that and still want to get on?
That?
What are those?! P-Plants?
This proves that all four elevators are dangerous.
And that confirms it. The players in the hotel are trapped inside.
Caused by a player's Sigil.
Just one person could do this?!
Before, the camera showed that there are over ten players in this hotel!
At the start, I believe there were 25 players in this hotel.
But now, the odds of anyone but us and whomever did this being alive are very low.
Kaname Sudo, I have a proposal for you.
As fellow cornered rats, why don't we team up until we can escape this hotel?
H-How do you know my name?
I'm Rein.
In D-Game, the other players often call me the Analyst.
All right, the event has barely just begun and already things are happening at a whirlwind pace!
Let's take a look at the current rankings!
Currently, the top earner is Shuka, the Undefeated Queen!
She's already got six rings for a total of 1,900 points!
Though her winning streak finally broke at 49 battles, she's still a formidable player!
In second place, and heavily favored to win this time with betting at 8 to 1 in the first stage,
leader of the Eighth Clan, Wang!
He's got five rings, one short of Shuka, but his clan has an overwhelming 18 rings altogether!
That self-satisfied look on his face screams, "Shibuya is my turf!"
Now then, it's a free-for-all for third place and below,
but there's been a major move at Shibuya Central Tower, one of the event's starting points.
Look at that! The tower is tightly sealed by plants!
Someone's Sigil must be behind it!
But what's become of the players who are trapped inside?
What's this?
This is your first time here, yes? How are you? Profiting, I hope?
No, I just arrived, actually. Pardon me, but may I have your name?
Apologies for the late introduction...
My name is Themis, and I am the manager of Trinity.
Oh, so that's you...
Whoa! Now this is an interesting match-up!
Four Gyro Heads have managed to surround Shuka!
The four of us together have a chance, even against Shuka!
To be honest, the four have their work cut out for them, but let's wish them luck!
Surround her! Surround her!
Leader! Above you!
Die!
Dammit! Kayama!
Right!
Eat this!
All right! We've got her! Perfect timing!
Even if she dodges, my Sigil, Greedy Missile, lets me control the trajectory of any flying object!
The rings give away my location, so I keep getting accosted by casuals.
Is that big building where Kaname is?
Well, even if he's alone, I'm sure this event is a breeze for him.
I wouldn't be surprised if he had ten rings by now.
Instant defeat... They were instantly defeated!
She isn't called Undefeated Queen for nothing! What a spectacle!
That was brilliant.
This country's top ranker is formidable indeed.
If she were a man, she would meet the requirements...
Wasn't that exciting?
I'm fond of that girl.
She's strong, cruel, classy, and has mastery of her power.
I still find D-Game and the Sigils in particular to be truly remarkable.
Lady Themis, I hear the sponsor has given you the special privilege of running this casino,
but do you know the true nature of this remarkable game?
No, but then again, I don't believe it really matters.
A great deal of money and Sigils can be acquired from this game.
The players are satisfied with the irresistible sense of superiority that comes with them.
Compared to long ago, modern society is one of abundance and equality.
In a society like that, people thirst to look down on others like never before.
Analyst?
Well, think of me as an information broker.
So what do you say?
If we act alone, we'll both end up like this man.
Does this have to do with the plants blocking the stairs?
It's obviously the same Sigil.
With the stairs sealed, the elevators became the only way to move between floors.
So he set deadly traps there.
So since we're in the same sinking ship, you want to team up?
You're putting a lot of faith in me.
Selling information is my business. I have a good grasp of your info, too.
KANAME SUDO 3 BATTLES, 3 WINS NO AFFILIATIONS ERROR: UNABLE TO ANALYZE
Kaname Sudo.
The fact that your player name is your real name tells me you're a rookie who started solo.
You're not a violent person,
but with three consecutive wins versus high-ranked opponents,
your record is worthy of special mention.
You're not in a clan, yet you've formed an alliance with Shuka.
It isn't clear what your Sigil is,
but it's confirmed that you've produced a handgun and stungun from thin air.
But your info is old. My winning streak is over.
I lost miserably against machine-gun dude over there.
In Battle Royale Mode, individual fights aren't counted.
At the end of the event, dead players' points are distributed to the survivors.
Then there's no upside to fighting.
So the best thing to do is stay on the run, huh?
For someone like me, who lacks determination, that's a perfect fit.
I don't know what you're sulking about, but what's wrong with being on the run?
That's how I've survived all this time.
That's a good point.
What's so funny?
Oh, the other players I've met up to now have all been like berserkers, so I was surprised.
Okay, let's team up.
I have no plans to die by plants either.
Good.
By the way, you laughed at it,
but in the real world, running away is a far more common survival strategy than fighting.
Even in D-Game, with matches that must be judged,
evading danger is graded on its artistic impression.
In most cases, a challenged player who survives is ruled the winner.
Banda, your first opponent, had a powerful Sigil called Stealth.
Useful Sigils that let you escape or ambush someone are few and far between.
And yet, he went out of his way to attack you, only to have the rug pulled out from under him.
It's not as cool as you make it sound.
I ran around and he self-destructed, that's all.
In the end, I couldn't save my friend either.
I only survived by being lucky.
It may have only been a matter of luck, but that could be the most necessary factor.
The strongest person is the luckiest?
Besides, it's not as if luck landed at your feet from the start.
You refused to give up, so you ran, ran and kept running.
That's why it appeared in front of you.
You have a way with words.
So, how are we getting out of here?
First, let's investigate the plants in the stairwells and see if there's a way through them.
Sorry, hold on a second.
You're retrieving that ring?
The enemy will know where you are the moment you pick it up.
I'd be careful about touching those. It could be a trap.
Whoops!
I doubt we could get through that without a chainsaw.
You don't have one?
Like I would?
I thought maybe with your Sigil...
The power isn't so convenient.
I can come up with a stungun and handgun.
Other than those... Well, don't get your hopes up.
I see...
How about lowering ourselves out a window with rope or something?
This is a 40-story building without any balconies. I'll take a hard pass on that.
Then let's search the hotel...
There are way too many corpse marks in here. Just how many people died?
It's worse on the lower floors.
Did that plant guy do all this?
He's not responsible for the dead upstairs.
The players fought each other over rings there.
The goal is to gather rings! Killing other players isn't necessary!
Dead players can't attack.
And then the ones that survived were murdered by the plant bastard.
I'm astounded.
Do you know who it is, Rein?
I don't have enough information to know who he is.
No one's even seen him before.
But there's only one player who can kill on such a wide scale, leaving unique corpses behind.
The Florist. That's what they call him.
He never reveals himself, but sets traps and waits to catch his prey.
You could say that we're safe as long as we stay on the upper floors.
Since the Florist only killed those who rode the elevators.
I see.
Wait, how do you know he only murdered people who took the elevators?
Bodies in the elevators were covered in vines...
So why haven't the bodies in the elevators become the usual human pop art?
I haven't checked them all,
but there's usually a lag between several seconds and minutes before the bodies are teleported.
I have a bad feeling about this.
If they haven't been teleported away,
then doesn't that mean they're still alive?!
Dammit! They're coming for us!
They? You mean the players from the elevators?
If they're still alive, then they're players who've been killing from the start!
Would they work together to attack us?
No idea! But either way, they won't be extending an olive branch!
Get behind the right pillar!
Close your eyes and cover your ears!
What was that?
A flashbang grenade.
An essential item for players who choose flight over fight.
They're sold by the dozen in the D-Game shop.
But why have they teamed up?
The Florist must be controlling them!
Certain plants have narcotic ingredients.
He may be able to brainwash them with drugs.
No way...
No good. They're headed straight for us.
How do they know exactly where we are when we don't have any rings?
It's possible they have a tracking ability from the plants.
Are they superhuman now?
But I don't even see any plants around here...
So that's what it is. If I only noticed such a simple method...
All the players I've fought so far have been a hot mess,
but at least they put their own lives on the line to do their own dirty work!
Florist or whoever, are you just a spectator in the shadows?!
I get it, the surveillance cameras...
The Florist is in this building's monitoring station.
I'm on my way to get a good look at your face!
You voyeuristic asshole!
So you figured it out?
I'm impressed.
But that won't be enough to turn the tables on me.
After all, this entire hotel is my garden.
There's no way out for you two.
Still, I'm pleased to have a formidable enemy, boy.
It makes me feel a little less guilty.
NEXT TIME: FIREWORKS
Next time, "Fireworks."