"Blue turtle, I'm thirsty too" Rak said lying on the floor.

"What? Go buy something yourself" Khun said.

"That's okay. I'll go" Bam said and ran to the vending machine. Shibisu threw the drink to Rak.

"Who's the big guy?"

"Call me 'The Leader'" Rak said.

"I'm Khun. You can call him 'Gator'" Khun introduced and Rak exclaimed.

"How about the lucky kid? Is she in your team?" Shibisu asked.

"Yeah, her name is Min" Khun answered.

"But I thought there should be three teammates in one group" Shibisu scratched his head in confusion.

"There should be but the Ranker said it's fine"

"Oh, no wonder. Hello there" Shibisu greeted her.

"Hi" Min greeted back.

"You've got interesting teammates" Shibisu complemented to Bam.

"Yes, very"

"I hope we make it to the end, Bam"

"Huh?"

"You and I both look really ordinary, you know? Same with Min. It makes me feel sympathy for you"

"For me?"

"Watching you inspires me, I guess" Shibisu said and Bam's happy.

"Such a wonderful friendship!" Lero Ro exclaimed.

"Mr. Lero Ro"

"What's the next test?" Khun asked.

"I have wonderful news for all of you"

"Wonderful news?"

"Yes. You've been granted the opportunity to participate in a Bonus Test" Lero Ro announced.

"Uh, taking more test isn't wonderful for all of us at all" Shibisu complained.

"This isn't an ordinary test. First, participation is voluntary. Declining to participate will not put you at any disadvantage. Second, a team that wins this test will be considered to have passed all the tests" Lero Ro announced and everybody started murmuring.

"What? You mean..."

"You'll be granted permission to climb the tower"

"That's great" Khun said.

"We have to take it" a woman said and then everybody agrees.

"So all of you will participate?"

Later on, they're all in the testing ground to take the test.

"The game you'll be playing is the Crown Game" Lero Ro said.

"Crown game?" Bam said in question.

"Simply put, you'll be stealing a crown from each other. Your time limit will be five minutes. Five teams will be participating at once, and the game will be split into five rounds. A member of the team that has acquired the crown must wear it and stay sitting on this chair before the game ends. If they're able to defend it until the end, the other four teams are defeated, four teams will enter and the second round will begin. The game ends the moment the person with the crown leaves the chair. If that happens, all five teams will be swapped out, and the game will resume. The team in possession of the crown at the end of the final game wins" Lero Ro explained.

"So winning early only hurts you" Khun said.

"Exactly. But if you delay your participation because of the risks, the game may end without ever participating" 

"You're right"

"Also, a single team from another testing area will be participating in this game"

"Another testing area?"

"We have our reasons"

"What's that? I smell powerful weapons that weren't around here?" Rak said as he walked towards the bars. 

"You really do have a good sense of smell, Rak" Bam said and then he took a glance to another cell. He saw a girl wearing a hood. She look away and Bam thought of her.

"The first round will now begin. If you like to participate, please press the buzzer in your waiting room by the time I count to five"

"Let's see how it goes first" Khun said.

"Why?" Min asked.

"Uh... It's complicated" Khun said.

Min went beside Bam to watch the fight. Then, Rak hardly pushes the buzzer.

"That lizard has a powerful weapon! We have to participate too!" 

"Unfortunately, the opportunity to participate has closed" Lero Ro said.

"Let's see how this goes" Khun said chilling on his seat.

"Let the first round of the crown game... START!" Lero Ro signaled. The other group pulled out their weapons.

"I'll handle this alone" Anaak said stepping foreward.

"Don't get in my way" 

"We won't. Do whatever you want!" Shibisu said happy.

"Please take this seriously. Are you mocking us?" the Regular asked.

"Weak or strong, I always go-out" 

"Tsk, are you provoking me?" he asked as he walked towards her.

"I won't fall for-" Anaak pushed his chin up making him fly.

"Kon!" Anaak grabbed him using her weapon and dragged him to the wall. He bumped to the wall and threw him away. Rak clapped happily and Min was surprised. She looked on Bam's Black March.

"KON!" his teammate exclaimed.

"B!TCH!" Anaak slammed his face as he flew in the air. She continued hurting him and fell to the ground.

"What is that weapon?" Khun stood up as he looked through the bars. Bam felt something from the Black March. Anaak yawned as she crack her bones.

"You didn't finish the job, lizard girl!" the other one punched her temple on the head.

"He hit her square on the head" Khun said and he screamed in pain. 

"MY HAND!" 

"Apparently, the lizard has rock for a head" Rak said. 

Anaak kicked him to Shibisu's direction. Shibisu ducked and the Regular crashed onto the wall.

"THAT WAS CLOSE!" Shibisu exclaimed.

"Damn it!" the Regular attacked her using his needle. Anaak grabbed it and threw him away. The Regular stood up.

"You still want to fight?" the Regular ran pass her weapon.

"NOW! RUN!" he signaled his teammates.

"As long we take the crown, we still-" Anaak jumped to the throne making them stop. Anaak used her weapon to make a strong wind making them fly. Bam and Min flew to Rak.

"ANAAK! Give me the crown. With you and Hatz defending me, we've good as-"

"Hey" Shibisu was cut off and saw Anaak wearing the crown.

"Y-YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU WEARING IT?!"

"Don't worry. I won't let anyone take it" Anaak said and Shibisu cried.

"Get off, Black Turtle, Baby Turtle"

"Sor-" Bam took a glance on the other cell.

"Since the challengers are unable to continue fighting, the next round will begin. Please press the buzzer by the time I count to five" Lero Ro said.

"Rachel... What?" Bam walked towards the bars. As he grabbed the bars.  

"RACHEL! RACHEL! RACHEL!" he shouted and the girl didn't respond.

"Rachel? The girl you're looking for?" Khun asked.

"Yeah, but it's not her"

"After all, she would've..." 

"Are you listening everyone? Since the challengers can no longer fight, we'll move on to the next game. If you like to participate, please press your buzzer..." 

"HOLD UP!" Shibisu exclaimed.

"Anaak, get down from there! I, the weakest team member, will sit there. As the strongest team member, you should defend me..."

"The team's strongest member?" Hatz interrupted and Shibisu pointed him.

"Don't interrupt me, DAMN IT!"

"If the individual who initially donned the crown leaves the throne for any reason, their team loses" Lero Ro reminded them.

"Eh? You never told us that rule" Shibisu said.

"A detailed explanation of the rules was posted in your waiting room"

"EH?!"

"Returning to your waiting room during the game will result in disqualification... Entering another team's waiting room will result in disqualification" Rak said reading the rules above the buzzer.

"Wow.. You can read, gator?" Khun teased Rak.

"WHAT?!" Rak exclaimed.

"You're saying it's our fault for pressing the buzzer without reading it?"

"That's right" 

"Enough talk. Let's begin" Anaak said.

"HEY!"

"Oookkaaaayy"

"In that case, please press the buzzer if you'd like to participate in the game"

"Our team is divided!" Shibisu cried and fell onto his knees. 

"What are worried about, Shibisu?" Hatz asked.

"Huh?"

"We just have to defend the throne with my sword skills and your killing arts" he said and Shibisu remembered the time showing his killing arts.

"What? You believed that?" Shibisu asked as he stood up.

"It's only natural to trust your teammates" 

"Hatz, I LOVE YOU" he jumped to Hatz hugging him.

"You have five second to sign up" Lero Ro announced. Rak squealed twirling his spear.

"Time to hunt the lizard" Rak said as he reach his hand to the buzzer. Khun blocked the buzzer.

"Not yet"

"Huh?"

"It's not time for that yet" Khun said.

"If you insist, give me ten chocolate bars, and you have a deal" Rak said.

"Yeah, yeah" 

"You must be hungry" Bam said. 

"Mr. Bam, where did you get the weapon?" Min asked.

"I got it from a Princess of Jahad"

"Wow. You have the same weapon as Anaak-san" 

"Huh?"

"When I saw her weapon it looks similar to yours, I also saw the symbol same with yours" 

"Oh, I see" he said as he look back to the fight. 

"By the way, Min, I never asked this but why did you decide to go to the tower?" Bam asked.

"Tower?" Min remembered back before going up to the tower. Her memories flashed before her which made her silent.

"Min?"

"Uhh?... I don't know, Mr. Bam"

"Eh? Is that so?" Bam smiled wryly.

"Why is their teammate sleeping over there?"

"EH?"

"He must be tired" he smiled wryly.

"I want to hunt them now. Why did you stop me,blue turtle?" Rak asked watching the fight.

"It's still only the second round" Bam said.

"Under normal circumstances, we should've fought" 

"What?"

"In this game, the team sitting on the throne is at disadvantage until the second or third round at the latest. As the game progresses, the number of participants will increase. No matter how much they fight the team sitting on the throne, other teams will interfere. In the worst case, it's likely another team will steal the crown from under their noses. Rather than stopping the other teams while going for the crown, it's easier to just sit on the throne right now" Khun explained.  

"Then why don't we participate? Why don't we fight?" Rak asked.

"Because Anaak is on the throne" Bam answered and Khun nodded. In the middle of the fight, the man who was sleeping created a ball of shinsu. He fired it to Anaak.

"Someone who could use Shinsu was hiding among us" Khun said. His teammates started attacking her.

"Touch our cutie, and I'll kill you" as Anaak prepeared to land on the throne and then another wave of Shinsu was fired to Anaak.

"Anaak!" Anaak landed on top of the throne with smoke around her.

"She's okay!"

"Okay? How is this okay?" Hatz asked.

"Huh?"

The Black March started to act strangely. Bam noticed the Black March shaking.

"Mr. Bam" Min exclaimed making Khun and Rak distracted.

"It's acting strange" Bam said controlling the Black March.

"Bam, are you okay?" Khun asked approaching him.

"Y-yeah, better than before, at least" Bam said struggling. 

"I know. I think it wants to fight me!" Rak said.

"Yeah, yeah" 

"I think it's reacting because of Ms. Anaak weapon, it has the same symbol on it when I took a glance on her" Min said and Khun realized something. The bandage tore apart on the Black March. 

"That lizard has one of the 13 month series which means she must be one of the princesses of Jahad" Khun said.

"13 month series?" suddenly, someone destroyed their grate.

"Why do you have the Black March?" she asked with glaring eyes.

"What?" Bam struggled in controlling the Black March.

"It's obvious that you don't deserve that blade"  

"She's clearly more than a threat than we first thought" Khun said.

"This doesn't concern you..." Shibisu placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Anaak" Anaak startled by him.

"Did you forget that you're not supposed to leave the throne or enter in other's waiting room? Thanks to you, we've been disqualified" Shibisu said blaming her.

"Give me the Black March" 

"You left the throne because of that piece of crap?!" 

"It's far from a piece of crap. I'll pretend you never said that" she pinch his finger and Shibisu cried in pain.

"That sword is one of the 13 month series forged by a master craftsman, Ashul Edwaru. That's the Black March"

"You mean the legendary weapons King Jahad gave to each of his princesses?" Shibisu asked.

"That's right"

"Wait, how do you know all of that?"

"That sword smells exactly like your sword"

"Well of course it does. This weapon is another forge of the 13 month series. This is the Green April. I'm a chosen princess of Jahad" everybody was surprised.

"What?! A CHOSEN PRINCESS OF JAHAD?!" Shibisu exclaimed.

"Your name is Bam, right? Give me the weapon. You know you're not worthy of possessing it" 

"I can't do that. Yuri entrusted me this to me and I'll return it myself" Bam refused.

"That's right, Black Turtle. Take the lizard down" Rak said.

"Wait, if you're a Princess of Jahad, where's the proof of it?"

"What kind of question is that, kid? You already seen it with your own eyes, right?" Anaak said showing the Green April.

"No, what I mean is where's the symbol of Jahad. All of the princesses are wearing clips symbolizing they're a princess of Jahad but you're not wearing any" 

"You're smart for a kid. But I'm a true princess of Jahad. If you don't want to give me the Black March, then I should-" Lero Ro holds the Green April.

"I won't allow this behavior of yours, Anaak. Your team is disqualified so return to your waiting room immediately, please" 

"Don't make this worse, Anaak. He's the test adminitrator" Shibisu said convincing her

"Anaak don't do it" Hatz said.

"Hey, Bam. Let's make a bet" Anaak said.

"A bet?"

"Yeah, let's make a wager for the Green April and the Black March"

"Huh?"

"On second thought, that is rather interesting" Lero Ro said. 

"What are you saying?" Bam asked.

"I'm saying is the crown game can continue and ther is no problem making a bet with you or Princess Anaak" 

"If you or your team are still standing after the last round of the crown game, I'll give you the Green April. But if you lose, I won the bet which means you're going to give me the Black March" 

"Why would I bet like that and risk the Black March?"

"Because once this game ends, I intend to kill you and take the Black March, anyway. So it's the only way you could possibly escape with your life" Bam took a gaze on the Black March.

"I want to protect the sword but I don't want to be the cause of any more trouble" 

"Well, not a bad deal, right? At least, you have the slightest chance of winning if you-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Rak asked.

"DO YOU THINK I HAVE ANY CHANCE OF LOSING?"

"But Rak..."

"Princess rules or whatever, it's dumb. I don't like this" Khun said.

"We will prove to you that we're stronger, Ms. Anaak!" Min said.

"I don't care if you're a princess. I'm taking you out, lizard" Rak said and Anaak smirked.

"I think it's time. You've been itching for a fight. Now's your chance" Khun said.

"Yeah"

"The crown game will now resume. Have fun and try not to get blood on my floor" Lero Ro said as he took the crown from Anaak.

"I'm sorry, guys. This is because of me. It's my fault" Bam said.

"It's alright. What's better is you drag the lizard down from the throne" Khun said.

"Besides, you're amazing. Eventhough, she threatened you, you never hand over the Black March"

"Because Rachel once told me..."

~FLASHBACK~

"You can't betray anyone especially a girl" 

"Why not a girl?"

"Because betraying a girl's trust is the same thing as making an enemy the whole entire world or else the world's roof will fall on you" Rachel smiled.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

"I'm just keeping the promise she has me to keep or else the world's roof will fall"

"Well, that's dumb" Rak said and Khun remembered his past with Maria.

"I mean. It was my choice. If you can tell, I'm pretty weak and useless"

"Well, you're certainly weak for sure" Khun said.

"Yeah"

"But that's exactly what makes you amazing. Even if your life is on the line, you're still stuck to your convictions and stick with your promises to your friend. I could never done that"

"But you..."

"The participants have now been selected, the third round will now START!" 

NEXT CHAPTER: THE CROWN GAME (PART 2)