Classroom of the Elite, I Can Add Points Infinitely Chapter 5

"It was rude of us to come here like this. Please use these Private Points to buy some high-quality sportswear for the seniors in the Billiards Club, teacher."

After saying this, under the strange gazes of the Billiards Club members and their faculty advisor, Aragaki Shun turned and left the activity room.

Back in the hallway of the club building, Kanzaki Ryuji walked with a thoughtful expression, while Shibata Sou seemed to have something to say but held back, eventually unable to resist asking: "Aragaki, those are points you won fair and square. Why did you give them back to them?"

"The club president is a good person, after all. He ignored the school's disciplinary warnings to tell us that besides Private Points, there are also Class Points, and he even shared information about people like Nagumo Miyabi. It's surprising that someone like me is only in Class B."

"Huh? Would the senior get disciplined by the school for leaking information?"

"It's fine. As long as he doesn't admit it, this information is just something I deduced myself. Whether it's true or false is uncertain; the school can't be that strict."

Unless every single second and third-year student refused to interact with the first-year freshmen, the common sense cultivated by staying at this school wouldn't be so easy to hide. Sharp-minded people could always detect clues from these interactions.

If the school truly strictly forbade second and third-year students from revealing information, the upperclassmen would have chased them away the moment they saw them.

Since they didn't do that, it only meant that the school actually tacitly allowed freshmen to investigate school rules in this manner.

"But even so, why did Aragaki return the points to them? That was 300,000 points!"

"Consider it making a friend."

Aragaki Shun smiled at the pensive Kanzaki beside him. "I think I left your phone in the Billiards Club changing room earlier. Remember to go get it when we head back to the dorms."

"I understand. The seniors are good people; it should be fine to leave it there for a while."

"Huh?"

Listening to this strange exchange between the two, Shibata felt completely bewildered. He wanted to ask, but under Kanzaki's signal, he could only painfully suppress his curiosity.

After leaving the Billiards Club, Aragaki Shun stopped by the Judo Club and the Shogi Club. Unfortunately, he didn't encounter the legendary loli or upperclassman who could send the Dragon King to prison, so he could only earn some Private Points as a consolation.

But when he left the Shogi Club in disappointment and walked into the adjacent Chess Club activity room, he was shocked to realize that it wasn't that she didn't exist, but that the loli had gone to the wrong place.

The girl, whose petite figure made her look like she wasn't even a high school student, wore a beret. She had fair skin, a cute face, and her slender legs were wrapped in white stockings, enough to catch any man's eye.

She sat in a seat provided by the club, a cane resting beside her, surrounded by three or four men and women like a young lady of high status.

Just like when he first saw Ichinose, a name surfaced in Aragaki Shun's mind—Class A, first-year, Sakayanagi Arisu!

She was currently toying with a chess piece on the table, her face, which should have been endearing, radiating an imposing aura. Opposite her, a senior student was dripping with cold sweat.

Clearly, this seemingly harmless loli had chosen the same path as Aragaki Shun: farming gold from the upperclassmen.

"I lose."

Before long, the Chess Club member gave up struggling in despair and chose to bow his head in defeat.

"According to our agreement, I will transfer 200,000 points to you."

"The senior's skill is already quite good; you can be considered to have made a name for yourself among your peers. If you keep working hard, there is hope for you to become a professional player in the future."

Sakayanagi Arisu wore a faint smile, nonchalantly signaling her entourage to receive the points.

"I appreciate the junior's kind words."

The Chess Club president felt a sense of humiliation, because just moments ago, this seemingly innocent junior had squeezed their entire club and all its members dry of points, and every time she won, she would casually toss out the same words without changing a single syllable.

Moreover, one could tell from her playing style that this junior from Class A was a ferocious beast with plenty of aggression.

"Hehe, it seems the members of the Chess Club no longer have any points to play against me."

Sakayanagi Arisu stood up, scanned the red-faced but silent club members around her, and picked up her cane with a hint of boredom.

Just as she was about to lead her Class A classmates away, she saw a figure walk to the opposite seat. After looking at the game on the board, he made an invitation with great interest: "Class B, first-year, Aragaki Shun. Do I have the honor of playing a game with this young lady?"

"Good day, Class A, first-year, Sakayanagi Arisu. It seems this school isn't as boring as I thought."

Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips, her eyes lighting up as if she had found an interesting toy.

7. The Chess Match with a Time Limit: The Provoked Sakayanagi Arisu

Neither side was the type to dawdle, and they quickly signed a contract under the witness of a teacher.

This contract involved as many as 1,000,000 points, meaning the winner would take 500,000 points from the loser.

"I didn't expect that besides me, someone else would think of the method of obtaining points from clubs on the very first day."

Sakayanagi Arisu carefully scrutinized the man opposite her. Her posture was nonchalant, not at all worried about the outcome on the board.

Compared to that inevitable result, this Class B student who thought the same way she did interested her even more.

"I didn't expect that Classmate Sakayanagi would look so cute and harmless, yet be able to take nearly a million points from the Chess Club in such a short time."

Aragaki Shun recalled the point balance Sakayanagi had displayed earlier and looked around at the dejected club members. He could only say that this little one, who could be made to cry with one punch, was truly ruthless. This was nothing short of stripping them to the bone.

She must have used the "playing the pig to eat the tiger" approach from the start. Once the Chess Club members realized what was happening, they were too embarrassed to lose face to a seemingly weak little girl, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep sending points.

However, since there was no competitive relationship between upperclassmen and freshmen, Aragaki Shun felt that playing around with mutual consent was fine. Everyone relied on their own abilities; if you lost, you could only blame your own lack of skill. Besides, those who were willing to join the game after someone else had already lost must have set aside enough living expenses.

Designing a way to drain the pockets of the upperclassmen like Sakayanagi did seemed unnecessary. Wasn't this girl afraid that someone might secretly swipe her cane?

Aragaki Shun glanced at the girl's pretty face, which really hadn't focused on anyone else, and recalled the information he had received before enrollment regarding the management of Kodo Ikusei Senior High School.

It seemed the Board Chairman of this school was also named Sakayanagi, right?

So, she really was a young lady who had never known the hardships of the world.

"But Classmate Sakayanagi, do you really not need to take a break and recover your stamina? You had already played several matches with others before I arrived, right?"

"There is no need." For some reason, Sakayanagi's voice seemed to turn somewhat cold. "The chessboard is a territory of wisdom and intellect; their combined efforts couldn't put any pressure on me. I hope you won't be just as disappointing!"

"In that case, let me witness the profound wisdom and unfathomable intellect of Miss Sakayanagi."

Aragaki Shun smiled; since the other party refused his good intentions, there was naturally no need for him to force the issue.

After signaling for the girl to take the first move, Sakayanagi Arisu began her offensive without the slightest hesitation.

Aragaki Shun took a glance; it was indeed a style that laid its aggression completely bare from the opening.

He picked up a piece unhurriedly, calculated for a moment in his mind, and placed it in his desired position.

Sakayanagi Arisu merely glanced at his move, and as if she hadn't even thought about it, immediately picked up a piece to make her next move.

In the time that followed, both sides went back and forth, each making their next move decisively after only a few seconds of simple thought.

In just three minutes, Aragaki Shun had already completed his twentieth move, only to see a dangerous smile suddenly appear on Sakayanagi Arisu's face. She picked up a piece nonchalantly and issued a warning to the boy, "Classmate Aragaki doesn't seem any stronger than the predecessors; I had hoped this match would be more interesting."

Aragaki Shun watched as the girl placed her piece, and the situation on the board became significantly more complex.

It wasn't particularly surprising; as things stood, he had fallen into a disadvantage.

She was, after all, an opponent capable of sweeping the entire Chess Club single-handedly. It was only natural that he would fall behind when pitting his chess skills—which he had set aside after playing for only a short time—against hers.

This world had never lacked individuals with extraordinary talents in every field; this was a truth he had understood back in his previous life.

After being reborn into this new world, there were even more geniuses like this who achieved terrifying accomplishments at such a young age.

A super-bestselling author whose work had been adapted into anime twice and whose original light novels had sold over fourteen million copies—get to know her, she's actually a natural airhead middle school second-year girl in a kimono.

Those who truly love chess spend a massive amount of time every day memorizing openings, studying endgames, and playing against others to gain experience.

The Sakayanagi Arisu before him was clearly a veteran of such battles. Perhaps due to her physical limitations, she couldn't participate in the energy-consuming entertainment that normal young people enjoyed, so she could only immerse herself in the world of the chessboard at home, over and over again.

An opponent with both talent and perseverance, who had also accumulated such rich experience—how could she be anything but difficult to deal with!

It was just a pity—

"Miss Sakayanagi, you have actually never had the experience of playing against a true professional, have you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Sakayanagi Arisu didn't understand, assuming Aragaki Shun was mocking her. "Could it be that Classmate Aragaki is the type of man who cannot accept failure and only knows how to take advantage with his tongue?"

"No! I just wanted to say, I'm going to get serious now!"

After saying this, Aragaki Shun turned to look at the crowd watching their match and instructed the president of the Chess Club to act as a neutral party to keep time.

"Although it should have been decided at the very beginning, it's only been three minutes, so it's not too late to add it now. How about we set this match to the international standard of a 6-hour time limit?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sakayanagi Arisu's expression twisted abruptly, and she stared daggers at the man before her.

But before she could say anything, someone among the sycophants crowding behind her couldn't hold back.

"Hey, hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? Why would a chess game need to last 6 hours? You are clearly just..."

"Shut your mouth!"

This angry shout didn't come from anyone else, but from the very person he was trying to defend.

The girl's eyes, filled with fury, startled the first-year student from Class A who had jumped out, leaving him standing there with his mouth agape, not knowing what to do.

However, Sakayanagi Arisu ignored this fool who had jumped out without knowing anything. She only gritted her teeth and glared at the detestable man opposite her, knowing full well that he had malicious intentions but having no choice but to step into the trap.

"Miss Sakayanagi, please don't look at me like that. It's just as you said: the chessboard is a territory of wisdom and intellect. I intend to calculate every move carefully from here on out, so it's best to set a professional time limit. Unless, of course, you want this game to drag on until the middle of the night?"

Aragaki Shun gave this perfectly valid reason, which no one could refute, without a change in his expression.

If it were just for simple entertainment, then chess would naturally be a game where everyone moves as they please and ends once a winner is decided, with no need for time limits.

But if everyone starts to get serious, then it becomes necessary to stipulate that both sides must complete a certain number of moves within a time limit.

In early chess tournaments, it was common for a single game to last over a dozen hours precisely because there were no time limits, sometimes even leading to situations where everyone played until the middle of the night without a winner, both sides so exhausted they slumped over the table and fell fast asleep.

Aragaki Shun and Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't agreed on a time limit beforehand, so if this game were to drag on, it would be perfectly normal for it to last until the middle of the night.

He didn't mind, but looking at the girl's body supported by a cane, she might not necessarily be able to keep going.

"Then why use the rules for slow chess? I think playing blitz or bullet chess would be fine too."

Her cold, sharp gaze fixed on Aragaki Shun, as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.

Without a doubt, this was a sufficiently rational enemy. To expose someone's scars so unreservedly and strike directly at their weaknesses was simply, simply... wonderful!

I have never been this annoyed before; I have decided, I must treat you as the best toy and toy with you thoroughly!

"It's been about two years since I last played chess. Although I remember the rules, I don't have a hundred percent confidence that I can beat you without enough time to calculate."

Aragaki Shun stated this without any pretense.

Strength 8, Constitution 8, Agility 9, and finally, Spirit 10.

Given that the average value for a normal adult in this world is only 5, his stats were undoubtedly luxurious.

But people can never be compared to one another.

When the average pulling force of an adult male with his arm extended is only 70.3 kilograms, some people can set a world record for a raw deadlift of 400 kilograms with knee wraps and no drug testing.

When a sub-healthy college student can't even beat a goose, some people can pull a 189-ton airplane by themselves, lift 500 kilograms on their shoulders, and carry 22 women on their back at the same time.

If the gap in physical strength between humans and other creatures is already so vast, then the differences in intelligence, inspiration, and thought between individuals are even more impossible to estimate.

Normally, even if an ordinary person undergoes professional training from a young age, reaching a value of 10 in various stats is already the limit, but it is hard to say for certain gifted individuals who seem like they are cheating.

In any case, Aragaki Shun felt that with his Spirit stat of 10, it was impossible to surpass top-tier figures who had spent half their lives studying their respective fields just by relying on drawing inferences about other cases.

Sakayanagi Arisu might not have reached that level, but being able to single-handedly sweep the entire Chess Club at Advanced Nurturing High School suggested her talent was not low either.

Unless Aragaki Shun spent several weeks memorizing and studying thousands of chess games, he had no confidence in defeating her in the realms of rapid or blitz chess.

After all, no matter how strong the memory and calculation abilities brought by his Spirit stat were, he still had to spend the time to memorize the material first.

"In other words, you believe that as long as you have enough time to calculate, you have a one hundred percent chance of winning against me?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's expression darkened further; she had never seen anyone look down on her so much, to the point where she was almost laughing out of pure anger.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! Since standard chess takes too long and rapid chess is too short, let's compromise. How about we cut the time for each stage in half under standard chess rules?"

Just give him an hour and a half!

She would show him just how ugly this futile struggle was in the face of an absolute gap in strength!

8. Sakayanagi Arisu, defeated by the war of attrition

Aragaki Shun and Sakayanagi Arisu eventually took a step back, choosing to cut the time for each stage in half based on the 6-hour standard chess format.

This meant the first time control was 1 hour for each side to make the first 40 moves, the second time control was half an hour for each side to make moves 41 through 60, and the time for the third and subsequent time controls would be the same as the second, serving as the time for adjourned games.

Since he had already completed twenty moves, he now had one hour of free time to make moves 21 through 40. If the hour ended and 40 moves had been made without a winner, they would enter the second time control to continue with moves 41 through 60.

After the rules regarding time limits were finalized, everyone in the Chess Club, including the freshmen from Class A and Class B, once again cast their gazes toward the chessboard.

But for some reason, the atmosphere in the activity room suddenly became much more solemn this time. Even though Aragaki Shun did not move his next piece for a long time, the onlookers held their breath, not daring to make a single sound.

Aragaki Shun stared at the black and white pieces on the board. At this moment, he had already outlined the same board layout in his mind, focusing on calculating which piece to move next and how Sakayanagi Arisu across from him might respond.

After deducing every possible next move for his black pieces, it still wasn't enough; it was difficult to reverse the disadvantage on the board!

He needed to continue deducing two, three, four steps ahead...