The moment he dropped into his seat, just as the warning bell was ending, the rustle of textbooks at the next desk had barely faded before the electronic bell above the lectern sharply cut through the classroom noise.
Shangguan Che had just touched the cool edge of his desk when he couldn't help frowning. Had he taken too long explaining the club activity process to Hirata at lunch, or had he lost too much time eating in the cafeteria?
He'd dragged Hirata out as soon as class ended. How was he still cutting it so close?
Shangguan Che instinctively summoned the system panel that only he could see. A translucent, pale-blue screen flashed before his eyes.
As his gaze passed over the "Mail" icon, a tiny red "2" suddenly appeared, making him pause.
At the lectern, the teacher had already walked in with a lesson plan. The chalk dust on the blackboard hadn't even settled.
Shangguan Che hurriedly looked away and pretended to study his textbook, then used his thoughts to open the first email.
[Character introduction, final entry.]
[One of the people who needs help]
[Name: Ichinose Honami (light gold)]
[Photo]
[Should a good person have a gun pointed at them? That's why I want to help her.
Pay more attention to her, and help her face the darkness in her heart.
That little bit of darkness is nothing, really. She's just made the wound seem infinitely bigger than it is.
Ichinose seems cheerful, but deep down, she's a girl who hides her inferiority complex. You need to help her truly see how outstanding she is—the kind of outstanding that can easily warm others, yet always hides her own light.
You'll have helped her once she's no longer haunted by the shadows of her past.
Go on, boy. Once you learn about her past, praise her as hard as you can. Praise her to death, and don't let her think she doesn't deserve to be acknowledged.]
The last one. Shangguan Che sighed quietly to himself, his fingertips unconsciously brushing over the textbook.
Four people who needed help were in Class D, and one was in Class B. It seemed he'd chosen to be assigned to Class D because he wanted an advantage in the number of tasks.
Shangguan Che stared at the phrase "Should a good person have a gun pointed at them?" in the email, his brows drawing together even more.
Of course a good person shouldn't have a gun pointed at them. At least as far as he was concerned, once he decided Ichinose was a good person, she deserved to be treated well.
But what exactly did "gun" mean here? A real weapon, or some kind of metaphor? If it was a metaphor, did it mean someone else's malicious slander, or a hurdle in her own heart?
The claim that she had an inferiority complex left Shangguan Che even more puzzled. Ichinose was always the center of attention in Class B. Whenever he ran into her in the hallway, she smiled and greeted her classmates. She was so poised that she didn't seem to have anything to do with being "inferior."
Wait, wasn't Sakura like that too? Quiet on the surface, but hiding a secret she didn't want anyone to know. Wasn't she also insecure? Could Ichinose's "darkness" be a similar secret?
But how could a secret become a "gun"? Was someone threatening her with it, or did she always treat it as a weakness, thinking someone could use it to hurt her at any moment?
Thinking of it that way, it really did resemble "a good person with a gun pointed at them"—someone who'd done nothing wrong, yet was held at gunpoint by another person's malice or their own obsession because of their inner vulnerability.
Shangguan Che thought again about Ichinose's social skills. Surely someone good at dealing with people would know how to handle their opinions. How could she be unable to withstand this so-called "gun"?
Could the person holding the "gun" be someone Ichinose cared deeply about? Or was the "gun" not something anyone else had given her, but a shackle she'd put on herself?
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. It was as if his mind were stuffed with a tangled ball of string.
Shangguan Che shook his head and forced himself to stop. Thinking about this now was pointless speculation. Once he actually got to know Ichinose, the answer might become clear. He opened the second email instead, and the text on the screen changed instantly.
[Class Points and Skill Draw Rules
The rules for converting Class Points in your grade will officially take effect one month after enrollment. The core mechanics involve "point increases and decreases" and "skill draws." The specific rules are as follows:
First, the basic rules for point conversion and skill draws.
At the end of each month, if your Class Points have increased compared to the previous month, even by just one point, the system will automatically convert the additional points into "Skill Draw Points" one second after confirming the increase. These points can then be used to draw skills.
Next, the rules for handling point decreases.
If your Class Points decrease that month, the lost points will not be deducted in real time. Instead, the losses will be totaled and settled all at once on the first day of the following month.
However, be aware that Class Points have a safety net. No matter how many points are lost, the final total after settlement will never fall below zero.
For example, suppose the entire grade loses 100 Class Points this month, while you currently have only 50 Class Points.
Then, when the system settles the points on the first day of the following month, it will first deduct your 50 remaining points. The other 50 points that should have been deducted will not be taken because the safety net has been triggered. Your Class Points will end up at 0, not -50.
Simply put, increases in points can be exchanged for draw opportunities in real time, while losses are settled once a month. Class Points always have zero as their lower limit, so they can never become negative.
Skill Quality and Point Requirements:
Skills in the system are divided into four quality levels: white, blue, purple, and gold. Each level corresponds to a different strength and Class Point requirement, as follows:
White skills: Cost 10 Class Points and provide the ability of "a skilled, ordinary person."
Blue skills: Cost 50 Class Points and provide the ability of "a highly skilled, capable ordinary person."
Purple skills: Require 250 Class Points to unlock, and are considered "the pinnacle of the human world."
Gold skills: Require 1,000 Class Points and offer "cheat-level" abilities with no fixed upper limit. ]
After reading the email, Shangguan Che's heart stirred. Class Points could be used like this?
He glanced up at the schedule on the blackboard. The next class was a math test.
It seemed that if he wanted to draw a good skill, he'd have to work with the other students in his grade and raise their Class Points. After all, who wouldn't want a "cheat-level" skill?
Sunlight streamed through the leaves outside the window, casting dappled shadows across his textbook.
Shangguan Che closed the system panel and picked up his pen. His gaze fell on the first question on the test paper, but his thoughts were already turning to how he could help Ichinose untie the knot in her heart—and how he could work with students from the other classes to raise their Class Points.
After all, Shangguan Che didn't want to become a traitor.
Before you continue