"One point equals a thousand?! So a hundred points would be a hundred thousand?!"
"No way! Something this good actually exists... trust me, we're going from bikes to motorcycles!"
"Ha? With your PE-failing grades? Step aside — if anyone's going, it's me!"
"Shut up unless you want to die! This is everyone's living expenses we're talking about!"
Arguments broke out across Class D's classroom, one after another.
But that was to be expected.
In a school where points could buy you anything, the dream Chabashira had dangled in front of them was more than enough to send this crowd of broke, reckless freshmen spiraling into a frenzy.
Chris rested his cheek in one hand, his fingertip lazily scrolling across his phone screen.
Honestly, sneaking around on your phone in the middle of class is peak entertainment. Anyone else feel that?
At that moment, a Line notification popped up at the top of the screen.
Lil' Kikyo: "This sounds a lot like our black sphere exam yesterday~ (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡) But there's only one slot — Chris-kun, do you think we should sign up?"
Chris lifted his head.
His gaze drifted through the crowd — as if pulled by some invisible thread.
Across the room, Kushida Kikyo, who had been pretending to listen to Hirata, chose that exact same moment to glance back over her shoulder.
Their eyes met.
The girl's large, expressive eyes blinked once — as if silently asking for his opinion.
Well, well. So this is what they mean by the composure and confidence of a seasoned performer.
Chris pulled his gaze away and tapped out a reply:
Chris: "Do whatever you feel like. I'm going to wait and see for now."
The message had barely been sent for two seconds before a reply bounced back.
Lil' Kikyo: "Then I'll wait too~"
Lil' Kikyo: "But if they're running one of these every single day, that frequency seems way too high, right? Even with three lives each, a class of forty people can't exactly afford to burn through them... The upperclassmen look like they've got decent numbers though. Do they have some kind of survival trick we don't know about?"
It's just because the game is freshly launched. After this, who knows.
Chris's lips curved slightly:
Chris: "Why not just ask directly? Intel like that is worth spending points on. It won't be a loss."
He sent the message and didn't reply again after that.
Not far away, Kushida Kikyo glanced at her phone, pressed her lips together in thought for a moment, then sent back a "good-girl-nod.jpg."
The class-end bell rang.
Chabashira Sae, performing her role like an NPC completing a quest, tucked her lesson plan under her arm and walked out without a single unnecessary word.
The moment the homeroom teacher left, the classroom completely detonated.
"Everyone, settle down for a second!"
Hirata Yousuke — the natural center of the class — stepped forward immediately:
"We need to properly discuss who gets the exam slot. This affects everyone, so we should—"
Hirata was still doing his best to maintain order.
But Kushida Kikyo, in an unusually out-of-character move, slipped away from her usual circle without hesitation and walked straight over to Chris's side.
"Hey, Chris-kun. I've been thinking it over."
She deliberately lowered her voice, and the way she leaned in made it look, from a distance, like she was whispering something secret.
"We don't have many points to spare as it is. Spending them on intel feels like a lot... What if we split the cost with Ryuuen-kun and Ichinose-san?"
Chris gave a small nod. "Not a bad idea."
With that single word of approval, Kushida's efficiency kicked into high gear.
Within moments, a five-person group chat bearing the name [Black Sphere Mutual Aid Society (Tentative)] had been created.
She tagged everyone and laid out her idea in a brief message.
The chat sat in silence for a few seconds.
Perhaps because she still felt guilty about how little she'd contributed in yesterday's exam, Ichinose Honami was the first to respond.
Ichinose: "...Actually, I happen to know a second-year upperclassman. I could ask him to look into it for us? If it costs points, I'll cover as much as I can."
You really are too much of an angel, Ichinose. Walking straight into a trap with a smile on your face.
To be fair, though, this was technically the official canon. And Chris had already used a gadget to subtly adjust Nagumo Miyabi's disposition — awakening a certain... inner quality in him. So things wouldn't go quite as badly for Ichinose as they might have otherwise.
Then Sakayanagi Arisu chimed in.
Sakayanagi: "Heehee. Does everyone recall — before the exam began, the black sphere specifically said we were 'the first eligible candidates'? And given the technology on display, which is far beyond anything this era should have... isn't it possible that we genuinely are the only pioneers? That no one else has experienced this yet?"
Ryuuen Kakeru followed immediately:
Ryuuen: "Do whatever you want. Don't drag me into it!"
And then he left the group chat.
Kushida Kikyo looked up from her phone. Those big, watery eyes of hers found Chris, and she murmured her complaint in a small voice, looking faintly wronged:
"Ryuuen-kun... seems like he's kind of hard to get along with."
"We're all in the same boat here."
"People just don't understand each other's joys and sorrows."
"You get used to it," Chris said, locking his screen without much ceremony. "But if Sakayanagi's theory is right — if we really are the first..."
"Then this exam probably isn't limited to just us first-years."
"We might be able to use that information gap to our advantage."
Kushida Kikyo blinked — and then, as if something had just clicked into place, her eyes lit up.
"You mean... selling intel to the upperclassmen who are about to participate in the black sphere exam?!"
Of course. In a school where points were everything, information was money.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became — the sulkiness from before completely forgotten.
"The exam is tonight, so we'd have to move fast. And we'd need to account for the risk of Ichinose-san's side leaking info..."
"Leave it to me, Chris-kun! I'll handle everything! No problem at all!"
Chris gave the now-fired-up Kushida Kikyo a small nod.
A two-faced snake in sheep's clothing, sure — but at least she isn't stupid. She picks up on what I mean fast enough. With a little steering, she makes a perfectly functional tool.
It's just... a shame, really.
Because tonight's exam roster had no place for her.
This was still the exploratory phase, after all.
To keep the instance manageable, Chris had set his preliminary rules as follows:
Himself plus three others would serve as permanent regulars, with an absolute first-mover advantage guaranteed.
For the official exams, outside of that core group, the format would be: one representative per class, plus one school-wide random participant.
Last night's Kushida Kikyo had been that lucky guinea pig for the trial run.
But just like those maddening gacha games that claimed to be random — nothing was ever truly random.
Every probability shifted at the discretion of the hand behind the curtain.
As for tonight's "random slot" — Chris already had someone in mind. Naturally, that left no room for Kushida.
"Alright, if nobody has any objections..."
From the podium, Hirata Yousuke's voice pulled Chris back from his thoughts.
After what had been a fairly heated debate, Class D had settled on their representative for tonight's exam.
Beside the podium stood a girl with long, straight black hair — the kind of aura around her that seemed to say don't come near me — arms crossed, expression imperious.
"I will bring back the points. I'll prove it to all of you — and show you who's actually right."
Figures it'd be Horikita...
Sure, this armour-specialized version of Yukinoshita Yukino was overconfident to a fault, completely lacking in social empathy, and hadn't made a single genuine connection with anyone in class.
But given that nobody here knew what this exam actually involved — her raw academic power, ranking in the top five school-wide on their entrance exams, was the kind of credential that commanded respect at face value.
The real question is whether she'll manage to keep that expression of hers together once she's staring down a room full of malevolent spirits.
I'm kind of looking forward to it.
Here's hoping she lasts a while.
Chris let out a yawn, cast his eyes over the class schedule, and began mentally mapping out which periods would be best suited for slacking off and catching up on sleep.
And just as he settled into that comfortable, unbothered state of relaxation —
From the seat beside him.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been silent and still the entire time, turned his head — just barely — and glanced at Chris from the corner of his eye.
...Did I misjudge this guy's value?
...No, it probably has nothing to do with me.
Ayanokoji looked away. His fingers tapped quietly against the surface of his desk.
____
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