"Hey, this does not explain anything-"

"Now you want explanations as well? May I remind you all that you are here as representatives with something on the line? If you still have questions for me, then go ahead."

That shut the other creature up, and the snake-like being crawled over to Rin’s side before wrapping its arms around Rin’s shoulders and tugging him toward the center seat.

The cold, slimy feeling of those arms around him made Rin shiver, but he maintained a confident expression as he walked toward his final destination — the seat beside the snake.

"Since you are my precious junior, I will give you some advice that the system won’t — don’t take things at face value, and trust the system’s judgment. Despite all its nonsense, it does not want you dead."

Rin had even more questions after hearing those words, but before he could ask the snake-creature any of them, he found himself facing the row of monsters in front of him.

They all looked interested in Rin, but he also realized that he would be eaten alive the second he showed any hesitation on his face.

Clap

"Now that we are all here, shall we begin today’s agenda? We’ve already wasted far too much time. Does anyone want to volunteer their thoughts?"

The snake man took charge of the situation, and a few hands immediately shot up.

"How are we deciding the winner? Is it going to be the last one standing?"

"Last time, the death toll was too high. We should eliminate teams without killing them."

"How about individual matches? Those who cannot keep up can simply surrender."

A lot of people started talking over each other. No one wanted to agree with another person’s suggestion, and even raising their voices was not helping.

In this situation, Rin needed to think of something that would benefit humans.

These people believed humans were weak, so they likely would not target them first. If Rin could take advantage of that, then he could ensure his side had an advantage.

But interrupting these arguing monsters was not easy...

Slam

"Everyone, we are clearly getting nowhere. So how about this? We ask our human friend what he thinks."

All eyes turned toward Rin once more. The snake man had helped him without being asked again, which was likely some kind of trap.

But since Rin had been presented with such an amazing opportunity, who was he to refuse it?

"How about a free-for-all? We can run an elimination-style bracket, and once we reach a certain number, those who still want to fight can continue until only one remains standing. Anyone who loses consciousness will be eliminated."

A free-for-all was both the most dangerous and the safest way for humans to survive.

Compared to other species, humans were smaller and physically weaker, so it would be easy to overlook them and target bigger prey instead. Anyone who had made it this far was smart enough to understand that.

But right now, the silence that followed Rin’s words was far more concerning.

’I have thrown out the bait. Since all these creatures seem to have huge egos, they won’t be able to think rationally enough to reject my offer.’

That was what Rin was counting on. And as expected, these loudheads decided they liked Rin’s idea a lot.

"A free-for-all? This human sure has guts. I thought you would suggest something that gave humans an advantage, but this is even better."

"Hmm, this does sound appealing. We can eliminate our competition early."

"This feels like a trick, but for some reason, I don’t mind falling for it. I’m in as well."

People started agreeing with Rin, and those who disagreed were drowned out by the others.

Rin breathed a sigh of relief at the support he received, but he was also aware of the snake man’s eyes lingering on him.

"Since we are all in agreement, I will submit this proposal and get things started. Representatives may rest here until the tournament begins. Human, would you like to come with me to file the report?"

The snake man asked suddenly, and Rin nodded before following the creature out.

Things became awkward after a while since Rin did not know how to start the conversation. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. So he was thankful when the snake man spoke first.

"Human, do you have a name? My creator named me Hibiki, so you may call me that as well."

Rin tried his best not to reveal what he was feeling, but it was difficult to keep his expression straight.

"My name is Rin...So, how long have you been a system employee?"

There was no point beating around the bush. Rin decided to ask the question he had wanted to ask for a long time.

But the snake man only smiled at him in that mysterious way that told Rin it would not end well if he dug too deeply into these matters.

"I have been a system employee ever since my creator brought me into this world. She was trying to bring things back to life when she decided to modify my dead body with human DNA. The result was...far from what she expected."

Rin could see that. But it did make him curious about the purpose behind creating such a creature.

"The others here have similar stories. They were abandoned by their creators as well. However, unlike me, they were not chosen by the system to become employees."

"So, do you know what the system is? Or why did the apocalypse happen? Are we even from the same world?"

There were so many questions Rin wanted answered that it was difficult to restrain himself. But whether he would get any answers depended entirely on this snake man.

"Ah, you are a curious one. What a pity. People like you do not live long."

Now that was a clear warning for Rin to stop asking questions. The silence was suddenly suffocating in a way it had not been before.