Ayanokoji's Gaze

The system's voice sounded in his ear...

[Target (Ayanokouji Kiyotaka) detected with persistent presence and potential attention. Correlation Analysis: Medium. Motive: Observation/Evaluation. Threat Assessment: Potentially Rising.]

Toudou Shizuka's expression remained normal. He held his umbrella steady, blending into the flow of students heading towards the library like any ordinary student.

His steps were steady, but the alarm bells in his mind were ringing at their highest frequency. Ayanokouji's gaze was more premature and felt more dangerous than he had anticipated.

The quiet of the library soothed his frayed nerves somewhat. Toudou Shizuka found a corner seat. He didn't immediately open a book but instead pulled out his personal device. 100 Simulation Points gleamed with an alluring light.

[Talent Shop]:

[Dynamic Vision (Fine-tuning)]: Slightly enhances the ability to track high-speed moving objects. Price: 120 Points. (20 Points short)

[Neural Reflex (Basic)]: Slightly enhances nerve signal transmission speed, optimizing reaction time. Price: 150 Points.

[Stamina Enhancement (Minor)]: Slightly enhances muscle endurance and fatigue resistance. Price: 100 Points.

(More talents require host level-up or more Simulation Points to unlock)

The choices lay before him. Should he wait for 20 Points to purchase [Dynamic Vision], which would be more beneficial for combat and observation? Or should he immediately acquire [Stamina Enhancement], which could improve overall endurance (effective for fighting, training, and even prolonged analysis)?

[Rational Analysis B-rank] quickly assessed:

Recent Threat: Ayanokouji's potential threat is rising (holder of S-Rank Fighting Style), possibly involving physical confrontation or high-speed reaction scenarios. [Dynamic Vision] is more targeted.

Long-term Needs: Dealing with future Special Exams (potentially involving endurance consumption), continuous virtual training, high-intensity information processing. [Stamina Enhancement] provides a basic guarantee.

Point Acquisition: Current class missions are stable, and continuous point gains from affection increases are steady. The 20-Point deficit is not difficult to make up.

Weighing the pros and cons, Toudou Shizuka made his decision. Enhancing basic stamina and improving sustained combat capability was a more stable long-term investment. Confronting Ayanokouji with insufficient current intelligence, blindly strengthening a single sense was not the optimal solution.

[Purchase Talent: Stamina Enhancement (Minor)? Consume 100 Simulation Points.]

Confirm!

A warm, flowing power instantly surged through his limbs, penetrating deep into his muscle fibers. Toudou Shizuka clearly felt the subtle fatigue accumulated in his muscles being rapidly dispelled, and a deeper, more sustainable power settled within him. His body felt infused with new resilience.

[Simulation Points: 100 → 0.]

[Stamina Enhancement (Minor) talent loaded.]

Investing in himself, solidifying his foundation. He felt the new strength within his body and turned his gaze to Sakura Airi's 54 Affection Points on the system interface (only 6 points away from unlocking A-Rank Photography!). He also recalled her fleeing figure in the rain and Ayanokouji's cold gaze.

He opened the communication interface with Sakura Airi. There were no words, only a photograph he had taken during art class not long ago: a moment of a raindrop falling from the tip of an emerald leaf. The photo captured dynamic tension and static crystal clarity, with a concise and powerful composition.

A few seconds later, Sakura's reply came. Also without words, just a photograph—in front of the library's massive floor-to-ceiling window, a lost, soaked sparrow was tilting its head curiously through the glass, gazing at the warm light and bookshelves inside.

The light and shadow treatment was excellent, creating a silent yet moving contrast between the sparrow's bewilderment and longing, the cold barrier of the glass, and the warm tranquility inside the library.

[Sakura Airi Affection +1 (Tacit Understanding and Resonance from Image Exchange). Current: 55 (High Gratitude and Trust) -> Target 60 (High Trust).]

Toudou Shizuka looked at the sparrow in the photograph, then recalled her thin figure in the rain. He was silent for a moment, his fingertip hovering over the personal points transfer interface.

[Rational Analysis B-rank] was in a struggle with the faint glimmer of "softness" in his heart... The struggle concluded (choosing an acceptable method for Sakura to provide her with help), and incidentally, it could also increase Sakura's affection towards him.

Risk: Direct transfer might trigger her inferiority and panic, destroying the trust that had been painstakingly built. It could also be noticed by other Class D students or Ayanokouji, attracting unnecessary attention.

Benefit: Substantively solve her urgent need, preventing her from being forced into Class D's grey lending due to extreme distress, or even making more irrational decisions. Greatly improve affection, accelerating the unlock of A-Rank Photography skill.

Plan: Anonymous? Amount? How to explain?

Finally, [Information Synthesis B-rank] refined a compromise plan. He exited the transfer interface and opened the campus store. (Note: In reality, products can be purchased on mobile phones and delivered.)

An hour later, a package with no sender information was quietly placed in front of Sakura Airi's locker in the Class D classroom. Inside the package were a few items:

A complete set of high-quality basic painting pigments and drawing paper (her usual brand).

A box of exquisitely packaged energy bars (convenient to carry, replenish stamina, usable for male shopping, like weapon enhancement, ordinary energy bars, epic energy bars).

A card with no signature, printed with the In-School Free Resource Guide (highlighting the Library Free Art Journal Area, and information on borrowing easels at the Student Activity Center).

And, a brand new, face value 5000 Points anonymous points card. The amount was not large, enough for her to manage basic living and art supply replenishment for a while, but not so large as to incite the greed of those in Class D or make Sakura hesitant to use it.

No message, no signature. Only silent support that did not touch her pride.

Toudou Shizuka stood by the library window, looking at the misty campus through the rain curtain. He knew Sakura Airi would find the package. He could not predict her reaction—confusion? Guessing? Or... a hint of secret, guarded warmth?

The cloud cover of Ayanokouji still loomed, the crisis in Class D remained unresolved, and the journey for Class B was still long.

But at this moment, resilience from [Stamina Enhancement] flowed within him, clarity from [Rational Analysis] and [Information Synthesis] operated in his mind, and a ripple caused by a photo of a "sparrow" stirred in his heart.

Class D's points were reset to zero, but a new round, accompanied by the sound of rain and silent shouts, had quietly sown seeds of more possibilities on the cold soil of Kōdo Ikusei High School.

He adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting the continuous raindrops outside the window, and also the increasingly complex pattern on the chessboard. The next step: wait for the seeds to sprout, or actively cultivate further lands?

The answer would settle... settle amidst the sound of the rain.