Grey was only given another three minutes to find [Safe Seat] number 13. After spending some time wincing in pain in sleep, there was no time for him to plan, let alone talk to his temporary partner. Therefore, at this time he could only move to search and continue to search for the whereabouts of the seat with that unlucky number.

Grey covered his broken ribs with one of his hands. He only touched it lightly, to protect the part that (seemed to be) cracked due to hitting the back of a seat. He also had to walk a little more carefully, because if there was too much movement that involved his body, it would hurt so bad. Just clearing his throat feels like being hit by a hammer.

This time Grey combed at the very front of the ship; column with seat number 50. Grey still holds the concept he calls the 'Chronosseum way of thinking' in his mind. In this case, one of the concepts included was '[Safe Seat] spaced at least one seat apart to avoid Estre's cooperation'. Therefore, out of the entire row of seats in the first column, the most likely to be [Safe Seat] was only the fifth row seat. Unfortunately, it's seat number 48; It wasn't the chair that could save him from the bull shark.

Current seat numbers on 13 (that Grey knows):

Grey sat down on seat 48 with his hands not even off his ribs, taking a deep breath. His navy blue eyes were drawn to how great, and at the same time terrifying, the Estre's struggles were after being motivated (and threatened) to play.

While seeing how thrilled the struggle for life on other fleets was with his weak death gaze, Grey thought about the 'sin' of Estre, which might be one of the reasons why they have to risk their lives in this world of nowhere. Those who are consumed by the promise of 'atonement' and 'dream or a new life to escape sinful feelings' can play freely, strive to become winners, often involving sabotage behaviour on other Estre.

With just a snap of the crow tamer, Estre could recall their 'sins'. Unlike those Estres, that snap of a finger didn't ring any bells on his head. Grey even remembers that he is just a good person who just wants to go about his daily routine as usual. Let alone committing a sinful act, he even was reluctant to lie to Johann.

Grey tilted his head, looking at the cloudless blue sky with his blank stare, and abandoned all kinds of sensory input from the five senses.

Same with the sky, Grey feels himself just an empty and hollow space compared to those who have had storms and darkness in their past. There was no 'interest' for him to continue the game. Realizing this, he had no spirit of playing at all, much less excited. This is what makes Grey himself question his existence in this world.

"Hee? Have you given up? Have I wasted my time to inform you about those seat numbers?”

Not a word came out of Grey's mouth. The question of the man sitting in seat 26 was answered only with a slight shrug of his shoulders, causing a frown to form on the man's forehead.

The granny's face with her white curly hair and the burly man with one of his fak yellow teeth were drawn on the blank blue canvas in the sky. In fact, Grey was aware of this possibility, namely the drawbacks of cooperating with strangers; he and his two temporary partners were forced to fight over the remaining [Safe Seat]. However, what Grey has not been able to determine is who 'deserves' to win this game among the three.

Asking the two of them casually, "Hey did you guys kill people in the past?" or “What are your sins like in real life?” doesn't seem like a way that Grey can choose to make judgments about. It isn't polite. Because of that, he was always haunted by this multiple choice during the ship sailing towards the [Third Obstacle].

But now it was clear to him that he should give up the two remaining [Safe Seat]. At least there will be no violence and forced struggle. At least, either the granny or the burly man had a reason to continue succeeding at the game.

Do you really want to give up and want to feel first-hand what it would be like if a shark's fangs tore apart your body and shredded its contents? Grey that I know won't give up so easily even to an existential crisis. Didn't you make it through the philosophy class you always complained about?

A wild Johann appeared on the canvas, twirling between the two faces he had only just met today.

You seriously want to give your life to a mysterious man like this? He might just be a swindler! I just spit him out of here! I understand that you want to save the granny, but you even know my grandmother more who you never met because she died before I was even born!

Stop it, Johann! It's not a matter of who they are, but their reason for winning! I… I don't understand why I have to follow all this.

But you have your own life in the real world, right.

...

Alright, maybe you haven't found your 'reason' to keep fighting in this world. But at least, fight for your life in the real world. It's not something you can just throw away for someone else's sake.

Speaking of which, I'm going to get rid of that burly man! His face sucks, though… Maybe he'll also do some unexpected bad things. The same thing was done by the deceased distended man in the premiere game, right?

Grey's eyes were more alive. Now he could feel the motion of the ship again, the noise of the game, and also his broken ribs. Even so, Grey has not moved to continue the game. There was no determination in his heart. There was still one doubt in his head.

Yes, I have my life in the real world, and so do they.

STOP THINKING OF OTHER PEOPLE'S LIFE, YOU DUMBFUCK! BE A LITTLE SELFISH, JUST ONCE FOR YOUR OWN LIFE!

Farkas' big hand slapped Grey's cheek imaginatively. Sherwyn also came to his imagination, pointing at the model of the brain in his hand. Use your brain!

Nora's sweet smile followed by her smiling eyes was also reflected in his image.

Don't you have a reason to fight, Grey? Aren't 'protecting others' and 'saving lives' your reasons to keep fighting? Then, in the first place, shouldn't your own life come first? Your mission is not to let people die on your ship; that means including you. So don't die in vain. With regards to those two, you will be able to judge which one you should save first in a few moments.

Grey jumped from his seat, accidentally kicked the seat in front of him, so he made a noise himself. He winced slightly in pain as the pounding made his ribs throb. He then held his head and ears, trying to figure out who the woman with the face in shadows suddenly appeared in his mind. The woman's voice sounded real in his head and touched his heart. It wasn't just imagination.

“Oh, you awake? You almost missed the fun part. Before you die from being eaten by a shark, at least pay attention to that fight between generations.” The man sitting in seat number 26 once again turned his face away. Grey then followed the direction of the man's head towards the centre of the ship.

"You can't, sonnie... Didn't we promise to discuss it first with the young man?"

“Get off that seat and let me sit! I understand that it was you who found it first, but, listen, I've saved your life many times, you know. Without me, the bull shark below would have eaten away your wrinkled body! I asked you nicely… Come on… Before I act even harder on you!”

The granny insisted, shook her head and did not move from the seat she was sitting in. She could have easily secured the seat by fastening the seat belt actually, but the elder respected Grey.

"Damn you! Why do you think I want to stick with an old geezer like you, huh?!” The burly man gripped the granny's shoulders tightly and lifted her easily. The elder flapped her short legs, finding that her feet could not touch the ground.

The true colour of the burly man was beginning to show. The only reason for him to work with a person who has broken the spirit and the granny who is even difficult to bend is that they are easy to exploit. Moreover, because of the nature and plan of Grey, the burly man thought he could easily steal [Seat Safe] if they discovered it. Whether fortune or bad luck, both for Grey or the burly man, because they haven't found [Safe Seat] until the last two stages.

"Then, why do you think this old granny wants to keep being stuck to a stinky person like you?"

Unbeknownst to the burly man, the granny stuck her fingers in the brass knuckle hidden under her black cardigan. With his armed right hand, she punched the burly man in the ribs quickly and hard like a wrecking ball. The sound of wood being broken could be heard directly from the burly man. This time someone's ribs were actually cracked. Her target was actually the solar plexus but missed a bit, miscalculated due to her no longer being young age.

The burly man took his hands off the granny, forced to drop her to the ground. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, his breath became short for a moment, saliva dripped from his mouth. At the same time, the granny had a little pain from falling.

“Kh-Y-You old o-old scum!” He shouted weakly. However, that doesn't mean he can't move. Given just a few seconds, he was able to subdue the pain. His body has been trained to withstand various kinds of violence from his opponent. He was just a little surprised.

The burly man took his hand in the air, without a second thought aiming it automatically at the frail old woman's face. However, the burly man didn't know that the granny was ready for another counterattack. This time, she made sure not to miss the bridge of the man's nose.

Just as the clash was about to occur, an object blocked the blazing sun directly above the two arguing people, causing them to stop what they were doing and wanted to do. The burly man turned his body to look at the sky, while the granny sitting on the ground could already see it.

It was Grey, who jumped up with a strong stomping of the feet, causing him to float slightly. He no longer cared about his throbbing ribs. All he cared about was saving the frail old granny from that bastard.

In a split second, the burly man could see Grey's sea-blue eyes that seemed to be burning brightly with the flames of anger. His mouth growled, fangs exposed. The burly man had met all kinds of faces that threatened him on the ring, but none more genuine than Grey. He was made to shiver by Grey's face filled with the intent to wound, to kill; that was no joke. It was like looking at the barrel of a gun. Only, not a gun gripped tightly in his hand; it was the golden fork he had brought from the other world.

“Keep your hands off the granny, you asshole!”

A fork is not a weapon used to stab, let alone kill people. Moreover, a man's body with layers of fat and well-trained muscles was impossible for a fork to penetrate, especially if he tightened all his muscles.

However, the human eye cannot be trained.

The weapon that Grey impaled punched three holes in the burly man's left eye. Grey forcibly removed the fork, rupturing the sclera, smearing the golden fork he gripped tightly with a mixture of blood and the eyes' white.

Terror suddenly came piercing Grey's heart. He felt his legs wobble from the shock of his own actions and fell to the ground in front of the aching man. Grey threw the golden fork far into the bottom of the lake with his hands still shaking. The blood on the fork attracted the bull shark, making it hyperactive after only touring quietly between the fourteen ships—the cause of the intense ripples in the lake.

Hurting the heart of a woman who likes him may be something Grey had done before, but this was the first time he had intentionally hurt someone physically. In his basketball career was also the same; he was clean of fouls. However, having already understood how the human body works in the Chronosseum, Grey did the terrible thing without hesitation. Indeed, if he did in the real world, the burly man would be one-sided forever, without a doubt. But this first experience of hurting someone turned out to be very shaking.

The burly man let out a long roar, covering his eyes with both hands even though only one of them was crushed. He no longer felt the fist from the granny, defeated by the pain signal that came from his eyes. He staggered towards the wall of the ship not far from the braided hair girl, causing the girl to scream as well at the sight of the shattered eyeballs between her fingers.

Grey calmed himself, inhaled and exhaled slowly and steadily. There was someone more important for him to worry about than himself, and that person was the granny sitting weakly in front of him.

“Granny… You are okay?”

"Don't worry sonnie, my bones won't fall out just from falling." The old woman hid the brass knuckle under her black cardigan once more, carefully so as not to be seen by Grey.

Grey helped the granny to stand up and then helped her sit on seat number 13. Grey asked her to fasten the seat belt. But the granny hesitated. She lowered her eyelids, her lips curled downwards, wondering what the future fate of the young man would be.

"It will be fine, Grandma. I've gone back to Grey who doesn't want to lose, really!" He said energetically while holding up his still shaking thumb. The granny just tilted her head and wrinkled her forehead, not understanding what the young man said.

The granny insisted on finding the remaining [Safe Seat] with Grey. However, Grey was even more adamant. There was no time and Grey felt that he would not be able to protect her as good as the burly man who had become his enemy, even though the granny argued that she could save herself. After all, the hard-to-find [Safe Seat] is also vulnerable to being stolen.

Therefore, Grey wrapped the seat belt around the granny's body and tightened it so that the [Safe Seat] didn't fall on the wrong ass. This time the granny could not refuse and was forced to spend the rest of the game watching. Now Grey just has to get ready to face the next obstacle and beat the burly man in the last stage to win the game. Even easier because he only had to supervise one person only.

***

Grey walked briskly towards the front of the ship, leaving the burly man still holding his eyes behind. He chose to prepare himself near the man in seat number 26, who kept his mouth shut when he saw Grey's presence. His eyes decided to look at the mountains behind the lake. He didn't want to go back to dealing with him for a second, hoping the information he had provided was enough to free himself from Grey.

“Crews! Put your body up for the Black Eyes! This is a mighty ship that has passed through various whirlpools, so don't worry about it and just focus on so you don't fall victim to the ferocity of the Black Eyes !"

Shortly after the crow tamer signal, they made the water violently surging, although it was unable to affect the rides at all. The sky turned gray again, the air around the fleet of ships became more humid.

The ship now began to rotate clockwise on the main mast as the axis, and not long after that, the cylinder above made the rides swing horizontally in a circular circle—[Third Obstacle]. If the obstacle's motion is just like this, it was easy for Grey to sit on the surface and hug one of the seats tightly. The obstacle this time wasn't as bad as Grey thought—or rather, it was because Grey himself had adapted more to the game and survival.

In his eyes blurry from squinting, Grey found the burly man struggling to keep his balance despite being helped by the main mast. With one of his eyes no longer functioning and the twirling motion caused by the ride, the man couldn't tell which was left and right. Also, because Grey crushed one of his balance aid organs, he often fell on the wooden floor.

Just fall into the lake, you bastard!

Even so, Grey's wish will not come true because the burly man has found his trick; sit on the surface and hug the main mast tightly.

At this point, the majority of Estre no longer needed to fear death. With the [Safe Seat] they sit on, this feeling is the same as riding a regular pirate ride at your ordinary amusement park. Some were still shaking, some breathed a sigh of relief, some raised their hands and shouted excitedly. If uninformed people saw this commotion, they would think that this was just another amusement park with an extraordinarily great effect. No one would have thought that they could find two humans who were still struggling to survive on each of the ships.

[Third Obstacle] is finished faster than any other obstacle; the Chronosseum governments must be looking forward to dipping people in the bull shark playground. The last stage will begin, all (un)natural effects are returned to their original state. Most of Estre on the ship 13 were already able to sit quietly, allowing their bodies to be carried away by the ship's heaves. While Grey and the burly man stared intensely at each other, preparing to fight for the last winning ticket.