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Nanana’s Buried Treasure Volume 6 Chapter 3.1

Episode 3: The First Stage Begins; Participants Begin To Move

The tram carrying us 《game》 participants continues moving in the darkness.

Due to the show of force earlier by M, the inside of the tram had a heavy atmosphere.

I look out the window, but all I can see is a cityscape lit up by dim street lights. I have no idea where I am.

Where exactly am I being taken?

For some reason all I can imagine is some sort of basement,《ruin》, or other suspicious dark place. And there a life-threatening death game will unfold.

Just when I was hoping for a break from this line of thinking, the tram slowly came to a stop.

「We have arrived. Everyone please exit」, M says as the doors of the tram open.

The participants followed M off the tram one by one.

Just like when we boarded the tram, we are still not at a station, just in the middle of the tracks. I have no idea where I am.

I could see something that looked like a building, but it was too dark to see clearly.

A moment later a dazzling light appeared in front of my eyes.

The overwhelmingly bright light made me close my eyes. It hurt my eyes. Tell us before you turn on the lights!

After waiting for my vision to return I slowly opened my eyes. By that time I could start to hear the voices of surprise from the other participants.

When I finally could see the scene in front of my eyes with my recovered eyesight, I was just as surprised as the other participants.

「Whoa, no way. 」

The first thing that caught my eye was the ferris wheel and roller coaster. They are located in the middle of some interesting buildings that are even more eye-catching. In the center of this park is what seems to be a medieval castle.

What appeared out of the darkness in an instant was a glittering amusement park.

It is the first theme park on Nanaejima, 《Seven’s Land》. This is the stage for this year’s 《game》.

In front of all of our stunned faces, the masked girl M with her hands outstretched in front of the new theme park, declares so with all of her heart.

The sight of it makes me feel like an idiot for imagining something like a deep dark dungeon moments ago.

Even so, I never expected that a theme park would be used as a venue before it opened. This along with the cover-up regarding Yun-chan’s disappearance makes me realize once again the magnitude of the power of the mysterious leprechauns.

I looked at the theme park in front of me and honestly thought to myself, ‘Isn’t Nanaejima amazing? They even have something like this’.

Nanaejima has the title of 《special student zone》 and there is an image an emphasis on study. In fact, the island is strict about studies, and there are many research facilities for such. However there is also a great deal of leisure and recreational facilities. The island also has many trendy stores run by former students, and there are places like South Red Mall that we were at the other day. There are also events like the Tanabata Festival from the other day that the whole island gets excited about.

The studying is tough, but besides that it’s a great place to live. You can always experience the fun atmosphere firsthand. To be honest I wouldn’t mind staying on this island forever.

「Well then, let’s go」

The participants follow M one by one as she heads towards the entrance of the park.

We found a black snowman standing at the entrance gate as if to say, ‘Let me see your ticket please’. Of course we didn’t have tickets and so nothing to show him. Instead though he was handing out palm-sized cloth bags.

「What is this? 」

We passed through the entrance gate with a bag containing something in my hand and arrived at the square beyond. M who had been leading the way turned around and looked at all of us.

「So, let’s start the first stage. 」

M’s declaration made the participants anxious.

It’s finally the beginning of the 《game》.

M took something out of her pocket and held it up high for everyone to see.

「A coin? 」

It was a single golden coin.

「There are five coins just like this in the bag I handed out to everyone earlier. In the first stage, I will ask everyone to compete for these coins. 」

I opened my bag and looked inside to find that there were indeed 5 coins inside.

M continues.

「Once the stage starts, everyone will compete in the battle areas in the park. 」

「Battle area? 」

「Battle areas are located throughout this theme park. They can be in corridors, rooms in a building, attractions, etc. Each battle area has a different set of rules. 」

While listening to the explanation, I looked around. The theme park seems to be quite large and has many buildings.

「The actual flow of this stage is to move around the park freely, negotiating with the participants you want to play against, selecting a battle area, and the number of coins you want to bet on the game. Once that is done, place the coin to be wagered on the betting table inside, and begin the game. After the game is over, the winner is awarded the coins that were wagered. 」

So that’s how you gain or lose coins.

「Each battle area will be staffed by one gorokuma as a referee to ensure a fair match. A detailed list of the competition’s details and rules are posted at the entrance to each battle area. Please note that once a match has begun, players may not leave the battle area until it is completed. 」

Hmmmm…. Wait what is a gorokuma?

「The condition for passing the first stage is to collect 10 of these coins. If you do meet the requirements please head to the white castle in the center. The gorokuma wearing a red hat will be waiting in front of the castle gate, so please present him with the 10 coins you have collected. 」

A black snowman standing next to M quickly raised its hand. Only one of them is wearing a red hat… wait is this what she meant by ‘gorokuma’? ..Wait a minute! A bear? That’s a bit too avant garde isn’t it?

「The first stage is cleared when you enter the castle, where you will advance to the second stage. 」

Hmmm, does that mean the second stage is set in the castle?

「The time limit for the first stage is one hour. It starts at 1:00 a.m. and ends at 2:00 a.m. 」 M pointed to the clock tower in the plaza that showed the time was  0:40, and concluded the announcement.

After listening to the explanation of the first stage, various possibilities ran through my head.

From M’s explanation, we can expect that the rules of a battle area are different from each other. Which battle area should I fight in? The choice of area could likely be the deciding factor in the battle.

Also, although it wasn’t mentioned by M, the number of players who can pass the first stage is limited. Since each player has five coins to start with and ten coins are needed to clear the stage, only 15 of the 31 participants including M will be able to proceed to the next stage based on simple math. That means half of the participants will drop out here.

To start with I’d like to see the battle areas with my own eyes.

As I was thinking about this, M spoke again, 「Now that I’ve explained the first stage, let’s talk about the handicap. 」

「? Handicap? 」

M said something that made me raise an eyebrow.

「I’m sure some of you may be dissatisfied with the fact that I know the details of the competitions in advance. 」

The participants look at each other. One of them coughed. It seems he was thinking ‘Now that you mention it, it’s not fair’. I had my suspicion that this was the case, but I didn’t expect M, to admit it on her own, without being called out.

While we are confused, M continues, 「In the first stage the advantage or disadvantage of players is clear depending on how much information they have. I have a good understanding of where the battle areas are located in this large park and what the rules are. Therefore, I would like to impose two conditions on myself. 」

I see. So this is what M meant by handicap.

M sticks up her right index finger.

「Handicap 1. Everyone starts with five coins, but I will start with just this one. 」

M holds up the one coin she showed before in her left hand.

This handicap causes a stir among the participants.

「And handicap 2. In this first stage I will not use any Nanana collection at all. 」