Round 3, Day 1 [all characters and round announcement]

[utopiamods]

The storm doesn't let up through the rest day, but by the next day the power is back, the staff are looking moderately less nervous, and the weather is light enough that the usual announcement rings over the speakers in the morning.

"The announcements will start at noon. Will all students please report to the lobby for that time."

Umbrellas are now scattered around the campus at useful points, including the dormitory common rooms and the entrance to the school buildings. Helpful, because the rain is as heavy as ever today. When you arrive in the lobby, the screens are all lit and the receptionists are back at their desk and smiling at old students and new arrivals both.

At twelve o'clock exactly, a woman appears on every screen, smiling so cheerfully that several of the audience probably have an allergic reaction.

"Good afternoon to our new students here at Utopia Academy! Thank you for choosing to enroll with us for this, our first semester of the new year. Our battle system is the best in the world, set up for you, our students! I hope that you all had a fun journey here, and that you've all made some new friends! You're going to need them soon, so keep them close, okay?

"Good afternoon to our current students, as well! You all worked hard last week, and we're really very proud of you.

"Now, normally I would explain the rules, but you've all had a day to read the manual, and I'm sure you've met some of our helpful students since you arrived. Let's skip that! Besides, this week is special. That's because... Well! It would be difficult to fight in this weather, right? We're going to give you a break from battles. Isn't that nice? You can still fight each other if you want, but this week it's ~totally optional~.

"This week is a scavenger hunt! We're gonna give you a clue in a moment. The clue will lead you to a treasure, which you should bring back to our sages," the receptionists wave from their desk, looking a little sheepish, "And they'll give you the next clue! If you collect six treasures, you'll win the round and get a great prize, so work hard!

"Ah, one more thing... Players! You can have as many Weapons as you want this week. Winning battles or collecting Weapons won't count as a victory again until the next round, so have fun!"

She disappears from the screens, but her voice doesn't. "The first clue is... I must be broken before I can be used. What am I?"

The Player list scrolls onto half of the screens; the other half show the clue in flowing red text.

Players for Round 3:
Enki
Fletcher Tringham
Kevin Smith
Koharu Izaki
Kotarou
Locke Cole
Marino You
Mei Chang
Mizuno You
Nunnally vi Britannia
Romeo
Sugata Shindo

Comments

[queenscheckmate]

"You couldn't think of one, could you?"

[tenwholeryou]

He didn't reply. Suddenly, scuffing his shoes sullenly against the lobby floor was the most interesting activity in the world.

[queenscheckmate]

"A simple yes or no will do," she said softly.

[tenwholeryou]

"... no." He muttered. "But I bet I could if I tried!"

No, Kotarou. No you couldn't.

[queenscheckmate]

"So let's come up with an answer, together."

[tenwholeryou]

"A horse, I guess?" He offered, after a moment of face-scrunching thought. "But you don't 'use' a horse..."

[queenscheckmate]

"Well you use a horse in order to ride it. So it's not entirely wrong. So that's one. Anything else you can think of?"

[tenwholeryou]

No, there wasn't. But if 'use' meant 'do something with'... "Things with shells?"

[queenscheckmate]

"You're getting closer."

[tenwholeryou]

"You're not helping think of any."

[queenscheckmate]

"Because I already know. What type of shell are you thinking of?"

[tenwholeryou]

"A nut. And you should just tell me!"

[queenscheckmate]

"You don't learn that way." Kallen slightly smiled. She wasn't teasing him. "Let's go a bit bigger than that."

[tenwholeryou]

Could've fooled him. He huffed, and thought about it with barely-concealed sulking. What was bigger than a nut but still had a-- "There aren't any crabs here."

[queenscheckmate]

"You're thinking too big now. Something about this size." Kallen made an oval shape with her hands, small.

[tenwholeryou]

Too big, too small... Kotarou made the same gesture and stared down at it, nose wrinkling.

"Dunno. Is it alive?"

[queenscheckmate]

"No, it's not."

/switches to actiontag for one comment to properly convey how stumped he is

[tenwholeryou]

[hnnnh]

lmao poor baby

[queenscheckmate]

"It's something you can eat."

[tenwholeryou]

"You said it wasn't alive."

[queenscheckmate]

"Because it's not."

[tenwholeryou]

"But you can eat it and it has a shell."

[queenscheckmate]

"I must be broken before I can be used." Kallen said, repeating the riddle.

[tenwholeryou]

"This is stupid."

[queenscheckmate]

"We're not going anywhere until you get this." Stated firmly from the mother hen. Kallen knelt down in front of him. "You can eat it, but it has to be broken first."