Otto almost burst out laughing at the arrangements the game show had made.
It was so…inappropriate!
While people were struggling for their lives out in the suffocating heat of the desert, the game masters were busy making it known that their disposable cups were free to use.
Obviously, the Throskarts with no merits couldn't see the humor.
They would be sleeping in the sand, devoid of both water and food for the entire evening.
Worse was that this would weaken their bodies, potentially ruining their attempt to grab the monster lanes tomorrow.
A few looked over to Otto, the only one they knew might have additional merits to offer them.
Otto happened to glance over in their direction as well.
His face looked warm and accommodating.
"Can I help you with something, fellow group members?"
One young girl disguised as a middle-aged man—Otto dared not imagine how a girl who looked no older than 12 came to be on this show, in any case—hesitantly approached him.
"May I have a single point of merit or a glass of water? I'm willing to work for you, if you wish."
Her expression was nervous, her voice awkward and shy.
Otto [Analyzed] her to find that her attributes were quite high for her age.
As of now, despite her youth, she was around the middle of the pack for her strength among the entire group.
The girl looked extremely cute and somewhat naive under her disguise.
Her lips were trembling slightly, whether from thirst or anxiety Otto couldn't tell.
He was soon shocked to find that his own heartstrings were actually being tugged.
He actually wanted to help her?
Otto carefully scanned his mind only to find that there were no tricks or mental influences acting upon him.
But then, he inwardly scoffed.
What was mere emotion in the face of his grand ambition, his yearning for the top of the tower?
Nothing at all.
He realized what he had to do.
His expression quickly gentled significantly, and he looked at her with pity.
"You know that nothing in life is free, correct?"
The girl, disguised as a man, nodded.
Otto elbowed Roran, his bodyguard, in the ribs and quickly whispered something in his ear.
Roran was taken aback, before he guffawed for a full five seconds.
Otto's gaze held a barely discernible, sinister glow.
His voice was by no means quiet.
"Well, it's no problem, really. If you are willing to do me a huge favor, I'd be happy to give you a glass of water."
The ears of the others perked up. A few Throskarts in the surroundings looked at Otto hopefully.
He had spoken to them nicely despite exerting his strength.
Was it possible he had a kind heart, after all?
Otto's tone was just as gentle as before.
"Five of your little friends were glaring at me earlier."
A few onlookers suddenly had an ominous feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
Otto pointed out the five people who were glaring at him the hardest.
"That's a little disrespectful to me, see."
It was as if he was coaxing a young girl.
Which, in a way, he was.
"So If you would be willing to gouge out their eyes and eat them raw, I'd be happy to accompany you with a glass of water and could even give you five merit points for your trouble."
Otto's smiled at her.
To the little girl though, his smile looked like cruelty incarnate.
Otto followed up softly,
"I never mistreat my own."
The girl's face paled further under her disguise. She looked at Otto with utter horror.
She couldn't even form words as choking sounds came out her mouth, and she stumbled backwards until she was crawling desperately on the sand.
Anything to get away from Otto.
Worse, her mind kept replaying the scene of Otto methodically, casually beheading the gruesome monsters, one after another, a magical precision machine.
The whole time, his eyes were blank, as if the task of killing was wholly insignificant.
Even Roran, who had initially laughed, looked slightly disturbed by Otto's delivery.
Suddenly, Otto's face hardened.
His voice chilled.
There was even some mockery and disdain in his eyes as he looked at the group of 'poor' Throskarts shivering despite the heat.
"I have two faces. My 'public' face, and my 'private' face."
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"This is my 'private' face."
"Here are my true thoughts."
"Contemptible beings like you all should thank your fortune for breathing the same air as me."
"Let alone a vulture, I consider you all closer to something a vulture would eat."
"Begging me? I'm surprised you dare to even glance in my direction."
He paused for a split second to let the words sink in.
"I hope the rest of your evening is as pleasant as you are."
His words were delivered with a congenial smile. A smile which only served to sharpen his spite.
"Fuck off now, please?"
He began to walk toward the mansion with measured steps.
A few of the men nocked their arrows and prepared to cast deadly spells towards his receding back, their hands shaking with rage.
No one could bear such naked, public humiliation.
But as if Otto had anticipated it, he called without looking around in a singsongy voice,
"Of course, you haven't forgotten the cardinal rule? Direct harm to another contestant will get you killed…"
In the end, none of the projectiles were released.
Otto returned to the mansion in safety, bodyguard contingent in tow.
He patted himself on the back for his own excellent acting.
They must hate him suitably enough now, right…
He paid the 150 merits to bring himself and his four bodyguards into the mansion.
The sun disappeared behind the horizon.
The heat that settled in the desert retreated somewhat as the sun vanished from the sky.
Still, it was far from cold.
Otto estimated that it was a balmy 110F (38C).
He did his best to continue spreading [Heat Wave] outward towards the stage.
When he entered the mansion, beautiful decor amidst a blast of cool air greeted him.
Otto didn't even raise an eyebrow at the mansion's air conditioning.
He headed upstairs and checked his own room on the top floor. It was reserved for the guest who paid the merits to rent the mansion.
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Otto was greeted with a full meal spread.
He found vegetables, meats, stews, soups, cheeses, breads, pastas, fruits, desserts, and a wide selection of drinks.
It seemed the Throskarts' luxurious spread was similar to the humans'.
Otto sat down and leisurely began to eat and drink to his heart's content.
He also cast one of his rarely used spells [Illusory Body: Unlimited].
Five figures appeared near the brightly lit window to 'showcase' that he and the other guests of the mansion were spending a night in revelry and laughter.
The figures laughed and chatted, each with glasses in their hands.
The contestants without merits, without water, and without food could only watch on as the five enjoyed themselves inside the mansion.
Even the Throskarts in Otto's 'posse' who had rented houses became slightly jealous of them.
Worse was that Otto's behavior seemed to be contagious.
Not one other person in Otto's group bothered to spare even a single merit to help the Throskarts who slept outside in the heat of the night.
A few Throskarts even did their best to save their merit, and entered the tent area instead of the houses despite being able to afford them, aiming to get an easy meal and some cheap water instead of paying 40 merits.
The hours swept by as the 'party' in the mansion continued while others were forced to watch the revelry from outside the white walls.
Otto suddenly sat up from his luxurious cocoon bed.
He cloaked himself in [Shadow Stealth] and unceremoniously slipped from the mansion.
His footsteps made no footprints in the sand.
He approached the area of the lanes.
The bodies of the spider monsters were still there, piled up one on top of the other.
Otto laid his hand on one out of the way spider corpse.
Then, he entered his mental space, corpse in tow.
Once there, he started to dissect the corpse, slowly getting a feel for the creature's anatomy, the placement and function of its internal organs, the sturdiness of its outer shell; even the contents of its stomach were dissected.
"Hmm."
He murmured over and over again as he made new discoveries about the creature, and began to experiment with its corpse, poking, prodding, shooting magic and various powders at it to determine the behavior of all its constituent parts.
24 hours passed in his mental space and Otto silently returned the corpse to the pile.
Thankfully, these corpses disappeared every morning.
No one would find out about his nighttime foray.
Otto slipped back into the mansion unseen. He alternately meditated and slept in his mental space to pass the time before morning.
The sun began to rise over the horizon, waking many Throskarts up from their fitful rests.
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It was time for the second day to begin.