In total, this Volume had Three scrapped chapters. Originally, chapters 15, 16, and 17 was supposed to be about another topic but I changed it because it was getting hard to write.
Volume 1: The Taste of Rain
Chapter 1: Where All Tragedy Began
It'll start out with our MC, Dasu Akuta (New Name), being reincarnated into Blue Archive.
Akuta reincarnated alongside a system to help her live a comfortable life inside Kivotos.
The System told her all about the way the system could help her achieve her goal, Points could be used to upgrade her specs. Example:
200k Points for Self-Healing Constitution(Can be Upgraded using Points)
200k Points for Pain Control(Can be Upgraded using Points Max Level 5)
400k Points for Increased Agility
500k Points for Increase Strength
500k Points for Increased Dexterity
500k Points for Increased Durability
500k Points for Increased Flexibility
500k Points for Increased Reaction Time
1M Points for Cooking Skills
1M Points for HouseKeeping Skills
10M Points for Halo Upgrade
20M Points for Shop Upgrade
Akuta started her life with 1M points as a way to compensate for the lack of guide to help survive this new world.
She immediately bought Pain Control, since it could be upgraded, the pain tolerance probably wasn't as significant at level one. To upgrade it once, it'll cost 400k Points. She did so. Upgrading it again would cost 800k Points. She doesn't have enough.
She asked the system how to earn Points.
System explained about the Life Simulator feature on the System Panel. In short, she could live a life entirely different compared to her own and the more emotions she made the others around her feel, the greater the amount of Points she'd be able to make.
Would she be reincarnated inside another world? No, she'll be randomly assigned a body and an identity inside Kivotos. Using said body, she'll need to extract emotions, be it Positive or Negative.(Hint: Negative Emotions are easier to articulate)
The System would give out a prompt, [Would you like to begin first Simulation? Warning, It may affect the world subtly.]. [Yes]
She's then reincarnated inside the body of a student inside Arius, the one protected by Azusa in the early days.
Her first instinct after moving body was to hug Azusa, the body of the white haired girl who was protecting her.
Azusa was determined to protect the girl that she got beaten up to a pulp before Saori interferes.
The girl introduces herself as 'Kasuka'. She has a weak halo and can't handle anything bigger than 9 millimetre. She's prone to sickness and often faints out of nowhere.
Saori brought her back to their squad where Kasuka met up with the rest of the people. As Kasuka introduced herself, Arius squad also began to introduce themselves. Atsuko, who was still able to talk as Beatrice still hadn't warned her of her blood, Misaki who was as pessimistic as ever, Hiyori who was more cowardly than a cat, Azusa who was more quiet than the rest, and Saori, the leader of the group.
Kasuka said Atsuko's voice sounded heavenly. She called Hiyori brave. She comforted Misaki who had her arm covered in bandages.
Kasuka called Azusa smart(She also introduces Peroro to Azusa). She called Saori a reliable person, one that would be able to lead her squad out of this hell.
Kasuka realized at this moment that these people are… Extremely Valuable! They generate so many points just by talking to her while other people barely manage to scrap a point or two! Now, she's determined to get closer to them and milk them as much as possible!
One day as she was exploring the Arius District, she accidentally cut her wrist on an abandoned barbed wire. She returned home to find Atsuko and Azusa having a conversation.
Then, they noticed her arm and thought that she had cut herself. They are now concerned about the thoughts jumbling inside Kasuka's head and begin to monitor her occasionally.
…This is the turning point, Kasuka discovered the fact that Negative Emotions such as Stress and Guilt could give out WAY more points than normal positive emotions! For example, if Atsuko is grateful to her, she'd pumped out 1k points! But if Atsuko felt guilty looking at her… She'd pumped up as much as 30k Points!
She began testing the water on all the other members of Arius Squad. Starting with Azusa, Hiyori, Misaki, Sayori, then Atsuko.
As it turns out… Yes! Negative emotions are so much easier to farm! Due to that, she started wondering. If she raised their affections as high as possible and then… die? Just how many points would she get!?
Now the rest of the squad is concerned and starts stalking(following out of concern) Kasuka and witnessing her clutching her chest in pain(happiness). They exposed themselves and tried talking to Kasuka to leave all the heavy lifting to them.
'That's a lot of points!' Kasuka thought. And suddenly she figured out something… The best way to extract points… Just how much would the Arius Squad grieve if she died in front of them? How many points would that be?! And it just so happens that she heard the conversation between Saori and Beatrice! What a perfect opportunity!
She happens to have enough points to buy a self-healing constitution too! And so she bought that and arranged a private meeting with Beatrice!
She negotiated to become the sacrifice in Atsuko's place by showing her worth. Since she now has abnormal healing power, Beatrice thought that the Chroma had already dropped their gaze onto Kasuka and agreed.
Of course she wouldn't do this without any witness… She had also arranged for Hiyori to listen in on their conversation! What a perfectly orchestrated tragedy! Just by having her listen in on their conversation, she already milked Hiyori dry!
Kasuka chuckled to herself and when she thought she was alone(She knew Saori was listening) and Saori thought that she was happy to finally be of use. Guilt gripped Saori's mind and heart.
Saori wanted to stop her but Kasuka has never smiled bigger than she is doing now. Saori feels guilty because even though she shouldn't feel like this, she was a bit relieved knowing that Atsuko wouldn't be the sacrifice. But another part of her is beating herself because she doesn't want Kasuka to take Atsuko's place. So, she kept this feeling to herself… effectively giving Kasuka a constant flow of points! "Saori! I love you!"
Kasuka would keep on acting happy(depressed to others) to farm more and more points.
I CAN PUT IN ANY EVENTS I WANT HERE
1 year has passed. Kasuka thought that she had spent enough time inside this simulation, now that she has extracted enough points, it's time for one last performance to close off her life in the most grandest way possible to farm as many points as possible.
Pain Control was already level 4, she needed 3.6 millions points to upgrade. If she does this right, she'd be able to get those exact amounts of points in just a single day.
She talked to every member of Arius Squad, who all thought that she had gotten over the thoughts of self-harm. But for some reason… She seems happier than ever. She started to shower them in love and affection, never to drop her smile for a single second.
Although Atsuko thought this kind of behaviour was a bit out of character, she doesn't hate this change. In fact, she loves it very much, not knowing the fact that the people who have decided to finally end it all would also behave the same way Kasuka was.
Saori had a meeting with Beatrice that day, although Beatrice was keeping it a secret that Kasuka was the one who she's finally decided to use as a sacrifice, Beatrice knows that Saori knows about her change of decision.
So, they talked. And as it turned out, tomorrow is going to be the day of Kasuka's passing, the day Beatrice commences her ritual to summon the Chroma.
Saori panicked and tried to stop her, but what could a child do against an adult? Without Sensei to give their support, she's effectively a pawn against a queen. She'd never gain the advantage against Beatrice.
She watched helplessly as Kasuka smiled her way through the day. At some point, she absentmindedly grabbed Kasuka's hand, staying silent.
Kasuka asked her what's wrong with a soft smile. Saori built up the courage to say, "...Why?". Kasuka didn't answer, simply tilting her head slightly to show her confusion… While in reality, She's smiling because her plans had worked!
These past couple of months, she's been trying her best to help Beatrice with all of her experiments. If she could accelerate the progress of the ritual… then she'd die earlier! Kasuka is impatient, she needed as many points as quickly as possible!
And all that cooperation(Only Kasuka thought of it as a cooperation) had paid off! "I love you Beatrice!"
Saori watched Kasuka's lonely back walk further and further away into darkness and then fell to her knees, pressing her face against the ground in vain. "Vanitas Vanitatum, Et Omnia Vanitas." Kasuka muttered as she passed by Atsuko with a smile. Atsuko thought that something was wrong with the way Kasuka was acting, and now she's certain.
The Arius squad, minus Saori, followed Kasuka's footsteps straight into… a church-like building. There, they noticed that Kasuka was no longer walking around, instead she's stuck on a cross, covered in thorns which were grabbing onto her skin, her halo blinking on and off, seemingly leaving her at the edge of consciousness.
Beatrice took notice of them much earlier than they would expect. Of course, she doesn't care as the perfect vessel was already in her hand, only to be used left.
Kasuka seemed to regain the last bit of her consciousness and looked at the squad, noticing a black hair(Saori) in the darkness.
She smiled at the squad and seemingly lost consciousness, but her halo was still shining brightly above her head.
Misaki had a theory, Kasuka was currently at the edge of the afterlife which led to her consciousness being confused with fiction and reality. Although her body was currently conscious, her mind was quiet.
(This could also be left as Letters Kasuka left behind for the Arius Squad) FUCK, USE A FUCKING RECORDER!!!!! As they tried to get closer, their steps stopped, Beatrice had stopped them right on their track. She said to them that Kasuka wanted to convey one final message to them in case this exact scenario happened. She brought out a tape recorder and clicked the on button."I'm happy to have met all of you. Hiyori, you might be pessimistic, but you're not hopeless. I know just how hard you try everyday to overcome those thoughts. Even if no one else in this world acknowledges your effort, just know that I do. Misaki, you're a good candidate as a leader. I know you're extremely competent but it just so happens that Saori is a lot better than you are. Don't be afraid to convey your feelings to them. You are not a burden and will never be a burden. If it's too much, it could lead to self-destruction. I don't want that cute face of yours to be covered in blood. Live well. Azusa… I don't talk to you a lot, but I know how much you treasure the squad. They're practically your family, right? Hm, I wish I could have people to hold as close to myself as you are to them. I am quite envious of you. But that doesn't mean I hate you. In fact, I see myself the most similar to you. Perhaps you've never seen me as family, perhaps you've held me closer than anyone ever could, but I don't think I have the capability to find out now. You're the only person I need to send my apologies to… I'm sorry Azusa. Next time, let's meet inside a more forgivable circumstance. Perhaps we'd talk about Peroro the next time we meet… Hime, no, Atsuko. I've said it to you once before, I'll say it again. I love your voice very much. Perhaps I'd wish to listen to you sing me a lullaby before I sleep, perhaps I'd wish to listen to you telling me about stories before we started scavenging. You are the melody that kept my body functioning. Without your help back then, I don't think I would've lasted this long without killing myself… Did you know? I actually tried to harm myself at some point, but then you called for me. Haha, just thinking about it is making me blush. You know how embarrassing it was to meet your eyes after almost committing a sin? Mm, sorry. I talked too much… Atsuko, don't worry about me. I am the happiest person that could ever exist right now. I'm not sure what kinds of expressions you're holding, but just know that this is not something I'd do with regrets. Thank you, Atsuko."
The Recording ended and Saori who was hiding at the entrance of the church fell and leaned her back on the door. 'She didn't leave words behind for me… Hah, what am I thinking? I don't deserve her affection. All I've done is feel relieved about her taking Atsuko's place' Etc, etc. Then, Beatrice brought out another recorder and played the tape. "Saori. I made this one specifically for you. I'm sure you're feeling very guilty right now, but don't worry. Because I've known this whole time." "You don't need to regret, because what you did actually helped me a ton. In fact, I'm grateful to you. Thank you, Saori. Did you think that you're the only one that had made a contract with Beatrice? Heh, guess you're not unique! I did too! Thanks to you, I now know what it feels like to be a secretive detective! Thank you for that… Hm. You're a great person, Saori. You did your best this whole time even without anyone to give their shoulder for you to lean on. But I acknowledge it. The same way I acknowledge Hiyori's efforts, I acknowledge your determination to keep us safe. Even if I am not part of the people you wish to protect, I'll always wish the best for you. Thank you, Saori. Meeting all of you was the greatest blessing of my life."
It was already too late, the ritual had started and there's nothing they could do as weak, small students. There's no Sensei to lend a helping hand, there's no adult to give their support. Arius Squad watched helplessly as Kasuka's body disintegrated on the cross, leaving not even ashes behind. But Chroma did not descend, in fact, nothing happened. Chroma did not accept Kasuka's body as an offering because her soul wasn't part of Kivotos. Beatrice was enraged and turned to Atsuko, finding her next sacrificial lamb. But since she had already done the ritual just now, there's no longer any resources around for her to do another ritual. She simply walked away from the sacrificial altar towards her office, leaving the Arius Squad behind with empty eyes.
Tears escaped the eyes of the 5 students inside the altar. Meanwhile, Saori was crying outside the Church, leaning her back against the door.
Perspective changes to Dasu Akuta smiling in joy as the points come rushing in. "Hahaha! Children are so easy to manipulate!"