The Beginning

The first two chapters introduce the system. People say you can probably skip them.

In an ordinary space belonging to an ordinary system, Qian Jihui (20) finally calmed down after the shock of a blinding white flash. Seeing no suspicious people or objects around him, he turned his attention to the tablet in front of him.

There was only one page on the tablet. Qian Jihui couldn't see anything else.

[I am the Transmigration System.]

[1. You may choose whether or not to transmigrate.]

[If you choose to transmigrate, you will enter a world based on the setting of Classroom of the Elite. Your mindset will also become somewhat more like that of an anime character. If you die, you will return to your original world, where time will have remained unchanged.]

[If you choose not to transmigrate, you will leave this place and return to your original world with your memories intact. Whether you regret your decision is up to you and has nothing to do with this system.]

[2. Rule One: You can improve your attributes by donating personal points. Raising an attribute by one point costs 10,000 points up to and including six. Raising it from six to seven costs 100,000; from seven to eight costs 1,000,000, and so on, increasing tenfold each time.]

[Rule Two: Class Points gained by your class after the first month of the school year can be converted into points for drawing skills.]

[You can claim them as soon as they increase, even if only by one point.]

[If they decrease, the loss will count against your Class Points when they are distributed on the first of each month.]

[If your saved Class Points reach zero, they will not become negative. Zero is the minimum.]

[For example, if the grade loses 100 points this time and you have 50 saved, your balance will become zero on the first of the month.]

[Skills are divided into four tiers: white, blue, purple, and gold.]

[White: the level of an ordinary person with practice. Blue: a skilled, capable level. Purple: the pinnacle of human ability. Gold: cheat-level.]

[White: 10 Class Points. Blue: 50 Class Points. Purple: 250 Class Points. Gold: 1,000 Class Points.]

[Rule Three: For every day you survive without being expelled, you get one chance to draw an item. Most will be ordinary objects, and the odds of getting a supernatural item are extremely low. All items you draw can be stored in the system's inventory.]

[3. Choose five characters you want to help. Apart from the male protagonist, the rewards for helping the others are the same.]

[How success is determined: You only need to sincerely believe that you have truly and completely helped your target.]

[Reward for successfully helping someone: One free chance to draw a gold-tier skill with a 100% success rate. All physical attributes increase by one point. (Can be used at any time.)]

[The system will decide whether to increase the number of characters. Once you've chosen a character, the first time you see them, the system will send you a profile that you wrote yourself.]

[4. Do you want to retain your memories of the Classroom of the Elite plot?]

[If you retain them, then when you return to your original world, the level of every skill you acquired will drop by one tier, and half of all the attribute points you gained will be deducted.]

[If you don't retain them, your character profiles will be restricted, but you will arrive in your original world in your complete form.]

[5. You can survive in the world of Classroom of the Elite for four years without any cost.]

[After four years, every second you experience will consume your original world's lifespan at a ratio of 10:1. For example, if you survive for 14 years in the world of Classroom of the Elite, you might have lived to 100 in your original world, but you will ultimately only live to 99.]

[Once the four years are up, the system will give you a choice: death or survival.]

[If you choose death, the system will take you back.]

[If you choose to survive, you are on your own. If you die within those four years, you will immediately return to your original world.]

[6. As for your personal information in the world of Classroom of the Elite, create your background, fill in your name, and choose your gender.]

[7. You will appear on the bus on the first day of school. Whether the protagonist is on that bus will be random.]

[8. Choose your class: Class A, Class B, Class C, or Class D.]

[9. The reason for your choice: Random.]

[10. This system has no consciousness; it is merely a program. Oh, and you can prepare a starter pack for yourself. You can even leave yourself a message.]

After reading everything, Qian Jihui looked up at the white-glowing space around him, set down the tablet, and decided to take a moment to collect himself.

Qian Jihui had watched the anime adaptation of Classroom of the Elite once. He had also read the novels until Ayanokoji got Sakura expelled, then abandoned them. He couldn't help it; he just couldn't keep reading.

It was only now that Qian Jihui realized how heartless Ayanokoji was. He didn't need any emotions at all—not familial love, friendship, romance, or anything else.

He had read quite a few fanfics, too. He liked the earlier parts of Classroom of the Elite, but had no words for the original author.

Qian Jihui picked up the tablet again. He had made up his mind: when an opportunity came his way, he had to seize it.

[1. Transmigrate. This choice needs no explanation.]

[2. You've graduated, so you should still be able to draw. After all, you weren't expelled, right? (It seems like you get a diploma from another school if you don't graduate from Class A, but I don't think anyone said an expulsion notice would be issued together with a diploma from another school. Right?)]

[3. Let's consider them one by one.]

Class A had Kamuro Masumi and Sakayanagi Arisu.

Both had been expelled, but helping them would be difficult. (One was the spoiled daughter of the chairman; and I heard Sakayanagi Arisu had chosen to leave on her own.) Qian Jihui liked them, but not that much. He decided to give up.

You might say Totsuka Yahiko had been expelled, too. Sorry, but Qian Jihui didn't know him well at all.

And what about Katsuragi Kohei? He was indeed a good guy, but he hadn't been expelled, had he?

It seemed like no one in Class B had been expelled, but there was one person who had gone dark: Ichinose Honami.

An angel. Since he'd transmigrated, he might as well see if he could help her.

Good people shouldn't have guns pointed at them. Qian Jihui genuinely wanted to help her.

So Qian Jihui chose the first character, but didn't immediately write her profile. He would choose everyone first.

It seemed like someone in Class C had been expelled, but Qian Jihui hadn't felt much about it when he watched the anime.

Ryuen Kakeru, sorry. You're a real man, but there's really nothing I can do to help you.

Ibuki, sorry. I don't like fighting. It definitely has nothing to do with thinking I'd lose to you.

Shiina Hiyori, sorry. I've only read Sherlock Holmes, so I'm not worthy of being your reading buddy.

In Class D, he absolutely had to choose Sakura Airi. No need to say more about her figure; she was beautiful, had a great body, knew how to repay kindness (she chose to leave voluntarily), and had a lovely personality.

Qian Jihui thought Sakura had experienced the real version of, "You're holding my heart in your hands, and calling it your trump card."

It was too cruel. Ayanokoji, the male protagonist, had said that by OAA standards—so why hadn't he considered how much she'd hurt the class?

At least Sakura had served as a witness, and she hadn't harmed the class. Go to hell, you heartless Ayanokoji.

This was one of Qian Jihui's greatest regrets. He absolutely had to help her.

With that in mind, Qian Jihui chose the second character.