Danganronpa: Digital Daze

Before us was the Carnival Room, filled with various types of games, including the typical ones you'd find in a carnival midway. In the back was a Prize Counter, where various prizes awaited those lucky enough in the games to purchase them. I couldn't really make out the prizes, however; there were too many games in the way.

But what caught my attention, immediately... were the Monorakuns in the room.

So many Monorakun robots, each one seemingly assigned to a particular game, staring back at us, unmoving.

Kenchikka looked back at each of them, puzzled. "What is this? Asshole Raccoon Room?"

Theo glanced around the room. "It appears to be some sort of carnival in here."

"Bulls-eye!" A growling voice came from behind us. I didn't even have to turn around to realize it was Monorakun.

"Welcome to the Carnival Room!" Monorakun announced. "I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but each of you were getting 100 Monocoins per day. So, assuming you haven't lost or gained any, that would put you at..."

Monorakun did some mental math, as his red eye pulsed erratically. After several moments of this, he resumed.

"1100 Monocoins. Anyway, since most of you showed little interest in the School Store, I've decided to add a Prize Counter to the back of the room. Should be some interesting things in there for everyone!"

Monorakun then scurried away, as Kenchikka glared at his departure.

"Alright, let's see what games Asshole Raccoon put in here," she concluded, reluctance heavy in her voice.

"Indeed. Let us see what awaits us in here. Perhaps some welcoming diversions are in store here," Theo agreed.

At a glance around the room, we saw the usual games one would see at a carnival midway.

Skee-Ball, Ring Toss, a dart game, and two "Test Your Might" games caught my eye immediately.

One involved smashing a hammer on a target at about knee height, sending a Monorakun head up a tower. The higher it went, the more Monocoins you were get. The other one had a punching bag, which measured how hard you punched, to the same effect.

Each of the two games had a scanner near it, presumably for the E-Handbook, and had "One Play Per Day" labeled on them. I presumed this meant you couldn't smash them over and over again, racking up Monocoins endlessly.

There was also a Skee-Ball game in here, as well. Ten Balls, each resembling a round, smooth Monorakun Head, would be rolled up a ramp, where several round targets forming a Bulls-Eye awaited. Two smaller targets, one high up on each side, awaited those skilled enough to make it into them. Each one gave 100 Monocoins, while the bulls-eye area went 5, 10, 20, and 50 for the center bulls-eye.

Turning around, my eyes caught sight of two other games. "Whack-a-Rakun!" and a Cup Game.

"Whack-a-Rakun!" looked like your typical "Whack-a-Mole" game, except there were Monorakuns instead of moles, set in a honeycomb format with two at the top, three in the middle row, and two more at the bottom.

I remembered this game. You would have to smack them as they rose up for points. The longer the game went, the faster they would rise up and hide again.

As for the Cup game, there was a Monorakun with three cups in front of him. Usually, one of them had a ball or coin under it. Then, the cups would be shuffled around for a while, before you had to pick which cup wasn't empty.

After looking at those games, I moved on to two others. One was a large wheel, reminding me of a vertical version of "Wheel of Cash". It had a flipper at the top, and various Monocoin amounts listed on the wheel in each slot the flipper could stop on. Beside it, a sign nearby reading "Spin the Mono-Wheel! Every spin a winner!", could be read. Underneath it, in smaller letters, were the words, "Limit one spin per day."

Beside it was a screen, with 20 buttons on a pedestal in front of it. This game reminded me of that TV show, with girls in dresses standing next to briefcases. The player had to pick a briefcase, then eliminate other briefcases to get as much cash as possible.

This particular version was called "Stay or Go?", and had Monorakuns standing near the briefcases, but the general gameplay seemed to be the same.

"It would seem that each game has a button labeled 'Rules'. I would presume this button permits the rules of the game to be explained." Theo observed. He hit the Rules button on the Hammer Game, and the Monorakun next to it sprang to life, albeit remaining in place, and explained the game.

As I expected, the Monorakun barker explained that the object of this game was to strike the target on the pedestal with the hammer. Monorakun's head would then fly upwards. The higher it went, the more Monocoins you got. The barker then went silent.

After walking past several arcade games (a bike racing game, a car racing game, a fighting game, and a game that contained several sports to choose from), I realized Kenchikka was standing at the Prize Counter, by herself.

"This some sort of sick joke?" She was looking towards the prizes on the wall.

Moving closer, I saw why she asked this.

At the Prize Counter, there were the usual prizes: Candy, plushies, and some toys. But that's not what she was looking at.

Along the wall, in a bulletproof glass box, were various types of weapons. Several sharp knives, a Taser, a garrote, and other items were displayed along the walls, all designed to either defend yourself or kill another. Each one was given a number and letter designation, and had a keypad to select your item and a drop slot for its delivery.

"Oh, dear," Theo said, arriving behind me. "This is a most dreadful situation."

Monorakun appeared from behind the counter. "Well, you shitbags haven't been buying much from the School Store lately, so I decided to switch things up in here. Hopefully the items here are more to your liking."

Kenchikka stared back at Monorakun. "Asshole Raccoon! Give weapons as reward, hope for another murder?"

Monorakun responded back. "Sorry, Cyclops. Gotta do what you gotta do, right?"

Kenchikka glared back at Monorakun, her green eye focused on him. "Real items? Have doubts. Let me test Taser, see if fries your circuits."

Monorakun chuckled. "Purchase it and find out. No freebies given here, Miss Artifical Heterochroma."

Monorakun then scurried past us, out of the room.

As Kenchikka glared past Monorakun as he departed, Theo and I stared at the weapons in their glass cases.

The stakes have just been raised, and someone would surely try to cash out now.