I was planning to update on the lunar new year for fun, but then I realized that I'm too lazy to keep a schedule currently.
Rika> Satori and Rika: Mokou is the official death trap tester, have her check on the food and the service elevator.
>Logically, an immortal would make a good everything-tester. If she dies, she'll just come back!
>Satori has had the same idea, and is arguing with Mokou about it.
>"C'mon, Mokou! It's for the good of the team!" you try to persuade her.
>"If this ends up killing me, it'll be on your conscience," she mutters.
>"Only until you're alive again."
Satori> Satori and Rika: Mokou is the official death trap tester, have her check on the food and the service elevator.
>You decide to take an idea floating around Rika's mind. "Hey, Mokou. You can just test the food and service elevator for deathtraps, right?"
>"And risk getting killed?"
No way.>"You're immortal. You'd get better."
>"Dying still hurts."
It's not like I don't die. I just don't stay dead.>Rika joins in pressuring Mokou. "C'mon, Mokou! It's for the good of the team!"
Convenience, more like, but that doesn't need to be said...>Mokou gives in. "If this ends up killing me, it'll be on your conscience."
Maybe I should just burn this place down. Smoke the annoying youkai out.>"Okuu, take care of things like you did the last time you were here. I'll just sit back and trust it to you."
>Mokou's jaw drops. "What? You're sending me to explore the tower with
that birdbrain?"
No way. Not ever. Can't trust her.>"Hey!" Utsuho pouts. "I'm not a birdbrain!"
>Her mind is empty. "Yes you are," you tell her.
>She pouts, but falls silent. You clap your hands to get everyone's attention. "Well, since we've got this all figured out, let's not let this food go to waste! Mokou, if you'd please?"
Mokou>"Mokou, if you'd please?"
> Mokou: Object to being the death trap tester.
>You grumble sour nothings under your breath.
>The food doesn't taste like poison, in any case. You give the thumbs-up sign. This is actually quite good.
>Upon your signal, everybody digs in.
>Rika is giving some ridiculously overdramatic speech about you testing out the service elevator.
>You catch something about "The good of SCIENCE" and "without a spatula, of course," but other than that, you don't pay much attention.
>And then Rin pushes you into her wheelbarrow before dumping you unceremoniously into the elevator.
>Well, you might as well try it out, since you're here.
> Consider leaving tower, then burning it down. We don't have to be inside the tower to smoke her out.
>The
elevator music is relaxing. For some reason, you feel like it fits the infinite nightmare that this tower must have been planned to be.
>You turn your thoughts to watching the tower burn once you get back down.
>It doesn't look all that flammable, though. Maybe if you apply hotter fire...
>The elevator dings. Ah. You've reached the top.
>It opens to a blank wall.
>Wait, no. It's got writing on it.
Ya tryin' to cheat? TOO BAD!
Inescapable deathtrap! Bam! This whole thing's rigged to explode!
If anyone is reading this, I won the bet. Take that, magical talky book!>That's when the elevator explodes.
Interlude>Satori hears a distant explosion that sounds like it came from the top of the elevator shaft.
>"Well, looks like that was a deathtrap," she remarks.
Mokou>You suppose Chiri didn't count on someone surviving the explosion. After all, you didn't land back at the bottom.
>Conveniently, the wall was broken down. You can see Chiri arguing with an open book, but you can only hear her side of the argument.
>"Hah! Told you!"
>"What? It's an explosion! Nobody 'just survives' something like that!"
>"Yeah, I
know everyone here cheats. Still, it's an explosion! That's the most effective deathtrap you can get, short of throwing a train at someone."
>"...what do you mean by 'look behind you'?"