After roughly figuring out what [Immersive Hosting] could do, Shirase dove in eagerly.
It felt just like finding a new game perfectly tailored to your tastes—once you buy and install it, you can't wait to explore every single feature.
That was exactly how Shirase felt.
He focused, recalling his teammates' faces one by one. Within seconds, holographic figures appeared on the field behind him—everyone from reliable veterans like Hayama Hayato to the rookies who'd only recently joined the club.
They looked real enough, but something was off. The faces and bodies were accurate, yet their expressions were blank, mechanical—like unfinished NPCs.
When Shirase confirmed the "soccer training" option, it didn't feel like a regular practice session where everyone worked on individual drills. Instead, it jumped straight into a full-on match against the national championship favorites.
During the game, Shirase noticed something curious: even though he didn't feel tired, his movements gradually slowed down. His speed and agility started to drop.
A stamina system, he realized. Just like in a game.
His real body was back in the physical world, supposedly solving math problems—while his mind was here, playing a soccer match.
It was… surreal.
High school soccer matches usually lasted 80 minutes, ten shorter than professional games. But here, he could tweak the pace freely—double speed, triple speed—like fast-forwarding a card game.
By the end, the scoreboard showed 5–2.
In this first [Immersive Hosting] session, he and Hayama each scored once, but overall they'd been dominated by the opposing team.
Still, Shirase wasn't disappointed. He understood this was a pure simulation—no off-days, no injuries, no emotions. Just raw stats and tactics.
A 5–2 loss wasn't bad. In fact, it meant they had a real shot in the actual tournament.
His eyes locked onto the opposing player wearing number 7—the one Yukinoshita Yukino had specifically warned him about, a "semi-pro" powerhouse.
That player's speed wasn't superior to Shirase's, but his dribbling and shooting technique were on another level. Add in a tall, athletic build and terrifyingly good headers, and he was a complete menace.
In this match, Shirase had set Hayama to mark him. The result? Maybe a 70–30 split—then 80–20 as the game went on. Hayama just couldn't contain number 7.
"This is amazing," Shirase murmured. "I can run through this a dozen times before bed."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. With this function, he could memorize opponents' habits and playing styles before even facing them in real life.
I'll become a memorization monster, he thought with a grin.
Exiting the training mode, he checked that Kana hadn't come looking for him, then decided to test something new.
This time, he gave the command: Study.
Instantly, a desk appeared before him—paper, pens, books, all neatly arranged.
"Figures," Shirase muttered dryly. "If working adults had this, every capitalist on earth would be crying tears of joy."
Double efficiency for the same cost—of course they'd love that.
Just as he was about to begin, a new line of text popped up:
[Does the host require a study tutor?]
"Tutor? What's that supposed to mean?"
[Host may select one individual from among your acquaintances as your tutor.]
Shirase froze. His heart skipped.
Yukinoshita Yukino's face immediately came to mind.
In the top-left corner of his vision, a profile icon appeared—her impossibly beautiful face staring back at him, like a contact in some chat app.
"Wait, only a profile picture? No 3D projection like in training mode?" Shirase asked.
[Host, your thoughts are dangerously inappropriate.]
"I think your mind's the dirty one here," Shirase shot back. He wasn't about to take the blame this time.
Once he began solving problems, Yukinoshita's icon flickered whenever he answered something wrong—and her cold, sharp voice cut through the silence:
"Are you an idiot? You can't even solve such a simple geometry problem?"
"You got that wrong again. Honestly, your lack of talent is astonishing."
"Just as I suspected—you really are hopeless. Even being good-looking won't save you. You're basically an unevolved primate struggling with high school math."
Shirase deliberately kept getting questions wrong, testing the feature. Soon, the steady stream of Yukinoshita's verbal abuse filled the room.
When she finally said, "Unevolved primate struggling with basic geometry," Shirase burst out laughing.
"Hey, system, did you hear that? She just called you an ape."
The math-impaired system said nothing.
"This mode's pretty fun," Shirase said between laughs. "But if she keeps that up, it's gonna turn into [Immersive Verbal Abuse] instead of studying."
So he switched tutors.
Next up: Kirisu Mafuyu.
"Shirase-kun," her voice said sternly, "you wouldn't want Kana-nee to be disappointed in you, would you? So stop making these childish mistakes."
Could you be any more dramatic? Shirase thought.
He went down the list—Kojima Kana, Hiratsuka-sensei, and even all five Nakano sisters.
Each voice was distinct, perfectly matching their personalities.
When he picked Nakano Nino, she said confidently, "You're asking me? How should I know?"
When he switched to Nakano Miku, her soft voice stammered, "I… I don't know this one either…"
By the end of it, Shirase was genuinely impressed. Whether for soccer or studying, [Immersive Hosting] was ridiculously practical.
He grinned. Maybe one day he'd post online: What's it like to let the top student train you into becoming the next top student?
Exiting [Immersive Hosting], he stretched, feeling oddly refreshed.
Thinking back, maybe giving the system a one-star rating earlier had been too cruel.
He should definitely give it one star again next time.
As for today's [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery]—no familiar names appeared.
In the end, he just won an utterly useless prize: a complete set of Ranma ½ manga.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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