The Degree
Great Chaos

After some time on Arthur's departure, Ray simply stared at the chart silently.

“What will you join, Ray?” tanya Terumi who looked uneasy from time to time.

“Before I wanted to ask. Is there a certain way for the union chairman to see the list of members' names?”

Terumi was a little surprised but she still answered him, “Ya, of course there is. That's because all the tasks from Secret will come to the union leader first.”

The existence of the list is useful for union leaders to send tasks to suitable members and find out whether they can do it or not.

In addition, the list is also useful for union leaders if they want to raise the status of their members. For example Erina wanted to make Ray a union secretary so she could use the membership list to do so.

“Not get there. The list can also be useful for replacing leaders or the like. I've seen the chairman of a small union hand over his entire union to the Order and become part of Blueeast.”

Ray was surprised by it but just a few seconds of surprise it happened.

“So. Then will everyone who has joined the union be able to access it?”

“Yes, of course. Everyone will have it shortly after joining. In addition you can exit the union through the membership list so there is no need to bother coming here.”

The reason it is necessary to go to the basement to register with the union is to accept the membership list. It cannot be found anywhere other than the Secret itself.

“So. I understand a little bit.”

There was a lot of information he had gathered in a short period of time. For this time Ray will keep it well and will arrange it later.

Every time he discovered something new there would always be a certain significant change. It was good but it was also bad because Ray had thought of such a futile thing.

After registering himself Ray and Terumi walk out together. Ray now knows the riddle Erina is referring to. Indeed, Ray himself does not understand what the puzzle is trying to convey.

I'll learn more in a little bit later, it takes more than just brains. Her thought.

When they arrive outside, Ray finds everyone gathered in agitation and panic.

“Why can it happen?” Terumi covered her mouth in disbelief, her beautiful eyes trembling by the sight before her.

There was no need for Ray to ask here and there because the situation was already very clear in their eyes.

Something big has happened in the city, black smoke is billowing and Ray is able to hear some sounds of gunfire from the city.

He wanted to go there as soon as possible to find out what happened but there was something better he could have done first.

“What should we do, Ray? Should we go to check things out?” Terumi looks restless even though Ray is amazed that he can still maintain his calm.

“Going without preparation is suicide. Before that I want to discuss some things to you.”

Ray and Terumi go to a deserted place and there is no one. The two began to make preparations to enter the chaos that existed in the city.

“I'm a little curious about this, did you also get the puzzle to solve the fifth task?”

Ray was sure there were some other puzzles because what he got was absurd.

Terumi nodded in response to the question.

“Yes. I got a puzzle that was completely unbreakable. Even though I've been brainstorming for some time there's still no answer.”

Whether the puzzles they get are the same or not, Ray just needs to know it.

“So what do you get?”

Terumi was silent for a moment before answering her, “Place to fail over everything. Those are the words written as a puzzle.”

Ray then thinks for a moment and tries to connect it to the puzzle he got.

“That's different to what I have. My riddle is something even stranger ... Debt is hell, love for you, makeup of death, The absurdity of hell.”

“It ... what does it mean? Not related to each other at all. Even the sentence itself is more chaotic than I received.” Terumi looked dazed as if smoke came out of his head.

“Yes, this is not understandable. But with your puzzle I might be able to connect it.”

Ray picked up the wood and wrote the sentences on the ground. Either the puzzles he gets or the ones Terumi gets.

Ray wasn't sure how many pieces of the puzzle were being spread but if it were only two, then he was close to the answer.

“Did you find anything from this?” Terumi asked with a complicated face while looking at the words Ray wrote, “From my opinion and Leo's about the puzzle we got. The meaning is somewhere or the thing that everyone experiences that makes it fail. Although there are many hypotheses but it is probably the closest.”

Something that makes humans fail. But if the two puzzles are interconnected then it will be difficult to answer what Ray gets.

“That's pretty good, but we'd better dispose of that hypothesis. Wrong assumptions will take us further and further towards the answer.”

Ray didn't want to add anything foreign to his head. The more things he had in mind, the more difficult it was to determine the answer.

“Then what should we do? It's a complicated puzzle because even the Order couldn't solve it even two years later.” Terumi scratched her head that was not itchy.

If the person who has had more time fails then it will be difficult for the people who just got it to find the right answer.

It is complicated .. wait .. complicated. Her thought.

“OK, for the first time let's change our approach.”

During this time Ray tried to understand what message is behind the disheveled sentence.

Suggestions that Secret always gives complicated things should have been embedded in the minds of everyone, not even Ray.

“Change approach?” ask Terumi.

“Yes. If we can't see anything by understanding each sentence then we try another way. I'm sure either Erina or the Order did the same.”

Both must have had many possibilities that have been noted well.

If it's not hard to get a lot of puzzles even from the opposite side, it's absurd that the two get nothing.

Ray is now suspicious that the Order or Erina has found out the key to unlock the fifth task but they remain silent playing dumb.

For two years without making a war or a move to do so .. I've guessed there's a conspiracy behind all this. Thought Ray.

It is not known whether the war has broken out or not. The first step Ray needs to do is solve the puzzle.

Terumi nodded quickly, “Yes, the fact of getting to this place we went through various painful things. Murder, death, and treason.”

Terumi's face became bitter as she said so. As a normal girl, there were things she could not let go of being in this kind of terrifying environment.

“That's the truth. But what if the thought is actually wrong?”

“Wrong? You mean Secret didn't mean to torture and kill us all?” His tone stored a hint of restrained anger.

He obviously didn't accept that Secret didn't have a purpose for it.

“Surely I agree that there is a part of their duty that wants those things. But their main goal is research on Degree limits and there may be something else they hide.”

In reality Ray knows that Secret is looking for a survivor who will survive all the tasks they are given. For what but for sure, the survivor will have everything.

“My absolute belief that there is no task that cannot be completed. If they do so then all these trials are in vain.”

“Then, how can we solve the puzzle that even the great union leader has not solved for two years?”

As Ray began to do something about the words he had written earlier.

“If we take another approach and use the simplest way like this. Whether true or not but I think personally this makes more sense.”

Terumi was completely shaken. Although there was no guarantee that the thing they found was the answer, still, if it was true then something terrible would actually happen.

“It .. impossible. That's not possible! Are they really crazy?!” Terumi started to curse with anger.

Ray himself did not like it. If that were true, there would be a lot of casualties.

But considering this was a test from Secret, it was not impossible that it happened.

“I'm not sure any sane person would test humans and force them to fight each other to kill each other. Since the beginning of Degree, Market, and Open World itself has been crazy.”

“... you are right. I almost forgot that this organization is really a vile bastard!” Terumi bluffed her teeth and clenched her fists firmly.

Ray immediately erased the writing with his feet so that others would not find him. Things would get pretty messed up if anyone else found them.

“The chaos that is going on in the city right now, it is possible that Erina and the Order have had a confrontation. It seems that one of the parties made a move due to running out of patience.”

“If so shouldn't we hurry, Ray?!” Terumi lost her composure and looked a little impatient.

“No. Our arrival will help nothing. We'd better observe stealthily before actually ascertaining what happened.”

Ray stared at the black smoke coming from the city. At that time Ray was reminded of the bonus task of building the largest union in the Open World.

At first I wanted to give up the bonus task even though the main prize was very unfortunate for me to pass. But the situation kept changing so I had to throw it all away again. What can I do .. I have to use it. Thought Ray.

...[****]...

Among the wide forests Leo was running in a hurry. He ran without intending to stop and looked agitated for some reason.

“I didn't expect something like that to be in Open World! If there is anyone I need to save—”

He may not know Ray well yet but Leo has a strong desire to call him best friend. Besides, Terumi is a good girl, at least Leo wants to save her.

Although he did not cultivate any feelings for Terumi, Leo already considered the woman his own sister.

“Something happens so fast. Although I pretended to be sick with the intention of researching the place, who would have expected it to be like this?!”

Leo never imagined that things would change in such a short time.

Other than the Order being somehow active and preparing a large number of weapons and supplies, the current western situation was not fine.

With the explosion, gunfire and burning houses caused a crisis in the west.

“What Order took the first step to war? But this is so strange! Shit, I really don't understand!”

Aside from the western chaos, something Leo found in the secret room also became critical. If everything goes like this then there is no doubt that everyone in the Open World will die.

“I remember Terumi on a mission, she should have been near the basement. I have to see him!”

...[****]...

In the western city, where Erina's residence is located, there is now only rock and foundation debris left.

Erina stared at the residence that was painstakingly built now shattered and flattened to the ground. Bluffing his teeth, his face wrinkled furiously.

“Which hacks dare to do this!”

“When the residence exploded, suddenly the whole city became chaotic.” Mein came along with Ronald who was unconscious because of the rubble of the building.

At that time Erina was taking care of the union documents as usual. Yet somehow his residence suddenly exploded. Fortunately she had only suffered a slight wound to her head and her skirt was torn to the point of displaying her slim legs.

“What Order did all this?! That bastard, he finally did it, yes!”

“I don't know for sure, Miss. So far there is no sign of the presence of the union Blueeast.”

“No, I'm pretty sure he did! That bastard was always like this!”

Erina tore off part of her dress to make it easier for her to move. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

He then realized that half the city was on fire, while the rest were destroyed by the explosion.

There was currently one place that seemed to be the location of the shootout and the fierce fight. Erina was convinced that the perpetrator of all the chaos was there.

“Gather everyone and have them come in full preparation! We will head to the western part of the city, most likely the Order is there!”

“Good!”

With his authority as the vice guild, Mein was able to send a message to all the members of the Redwest guild to gather.

There has never been a calamity like this in two years and the most severe will only be a minor scuffle between Erina and the Order.

“Is it true that the Order started all this? It should be impossible because both of them still care about each other despite hating each other.”

Mein did not understand the current situation at all. He hoped things wouldn't get more chaotic.