Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator Chapter 1

Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator

Author: Yingning

Introduction:

[Life Restart Simulator]

[Entering chapter "Ichinose Honami's Summer Time Rendering"]

[Five talents have been randomly selected: A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold, Tokyo Handsome Guy, Protector of Flowers, Scion of a Prestigious Family, Attracted to Younger Women]

[Simulation starting]

[Day 14: On the night of the Fireworks Festival, you blocked the blade Ichinose Honami aimed at Karuizawa Kei. Under the sorrowful and shocked gazes of the two, you died.]

[This simulation has ended. Please select one talent to retain and carry over to the next simulation.]

[Ending reached: Bystander — Human joys and sorrows are not connected; we often ignore the many causes, seeing only the effects.]

[Ending reached: Symbiosis — The strongest relationship in the world is that of accomplices.]

[Ending reached: Salvation — Then let us make a pact here: we shall walk a long path together from now on.]

On the day he truly transmigrated, Kitagawa Ryo, having arrived at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, scratched his head at the series of golden talents on his body and said:

"Uh, but I've already cleared all CGs and all endings."

Ichinose Honami's Summer Time Rendering

Chapter 1: Ichinose Honami's Summer Time Rendering

[Life Restart Simulator]

[Every time you perform a life simulation, five talents will be randomly drawn. Talent levels are categorized into White, Green, Blue, Purple, and Gold. After each simulation ends, the player can choose one talent to solidify and retain for the next simulation.]

[Please note: You may perform at most five simulations per chapter. The game is lost after five failed simulations.]

[Once a chapter is successfully cleared, the player permanently gains all talents held at the time of completion and can use them in the next chapter's simulation.]

[A mysterious prize can be obtained after clearing all chapters.]

[I wish you a pleasant game.]

[Ding - Life Restart Simulator simulation has started.]

[Please name your character.]

[Player chose random name.]

[Naming complete.]

[Next, the first simulation of the first chapter will begin.]

[Chapter: Ichinose Honami's Summer Time Rendering]

[Five talents have been selected for the player, as follows:]

[Piercing Heart and Carved Bones (Purple): You possess a mysterious past. (Highly likely to affect the chapter ending)]

[Pooper Scooper (Blue): You own a well-behaved, clever pet cat that understands human nature. (It is just a cat)]

[Modest Assets (Blue): You own an 80-square-meter property and have savings of five million yen. (The property is located in Tokyo)]

[Affinity (Green): You naturally possess an extraordinary level of affinity, making it easier to win others' trust. (Effective for both men and women)]

[Taciturn (White): Your communication skills are poor, and over time, you have developed a silent personality. (This hinders your further interaction with others)]

[Talent selection complete.]

[Chapter 1 clearance goal: Find Ichinose Honami's life turning point and correct it.]

"Ho, interesting."

In a rather dim room, the boy tapped the [Start] button with his finger.

Sixteen-year-old Ryo yawned lightly. His mother had divorced his father and left when he was twelve, and two years later, his father had abandoned him as well. Since then, he had erased his original surname, leaving only a single character. Relying on writing web novels to barely keep himself from starving, he had recently become obsessed with this Life Restart Simulator game series.

Real-life version, Xianxia version, Magic version, Isekai version...

He had tried every single version of the Life Restart Simulator without exception. On one hand, he genuinely enjoyed this type of text-based game with high randomness; on the other hand, he truly hoped that one day his own life could be restarted.

"This version of the Life Restart Simulator feels more like a puzzle-solving and dating sim game."

"If that's the case..."

[Simulation starting]

As the background music shifted, the page on the screen began to generate text descriptions in real-time.

[Day 1: The date is July 9th. Tokyo in early July is in the midst of a scorching heatwave. You stand at a street intersection, following the directions on your phone's map to your property. Everything here feels incredibly novel to you. During the summer break, you can see many peers dating in pairs on the streets. Large screens mounted on the exterior walls of surrounding buildings are scrolling through advertisements. The white cat on your shoulder taps your cheek with its paw, signaling that the light has turned green and you can proceed.]

"Ah, I really want to raise a cat, even though I can barely feed myself right now..."

[You have forgotten most of your past. At sixteen years old, you came to Tokyo only to inherit a family legacy: an 80-square-meter property. At the same time, you have five million yen in your bank account. These two things will be the only things you can rely on to survive in this international metropolis.]

[Your property is located on the third floor of an apartment building. When you arrived, the moving company was already waiting downstairs. Since it was exactly noon and you were worried about disturbing the neighbors, as well as wanting to pay a courtesy visit, you knocked on the door of the unit across from yours.]

[A girl who looked to be around your age opened the door. Through your mutual introductions, you learned her name is Ichinose Honami. She is currently in her third year of middle school. Because her mother was out working, only she and her younger sister were home. You understood her situation and proposed that you would bring a housewarming gift to visit once you had finished unpacking in the evening.]

[Ichinose Honami's poised and generous demeanor left a deep impression on you. At the same time, you noticed her younger sister behind her, who looked to be about two years her junior. The girl was very interested in your cat and kept staring at it, seemingly wanting to pet it.]

[The talent 'Affinity' took effect. Encouraged by your gaze, the first-year middle schooler named Ichinose Maki successfully petted the white cat. Before long, they were playing happily together, and you sensed that Ichinose Honami's attitude toward you had grown closer.]

[During the half-hour move-in process, you chatted with Ichinose Honami. To your surprise, even though she was a year younger than you, her way of phrasing things and interacting with others showed an unimaginably high level of affinity and tolerance. She took the initiative to set the pace of the conversation when you were at a loss for words, yet she never made you feel awkward. You acknowledged her excellence and also learned that Ichinose Honami currently serves as the student council president at her school.]

[That evening, as the new neighbor, you brought a gift to visit the Ichinose Family. Ichinose's mother looked somewhat older than her actual age. You noticed that the family's financial situation was not particularly good. Your relationship with the Ichinose Family shifted from being strangers to acquaintances.]

"Are we neighbors, then?"

"I just don't know if this is a starting bonus from the Modest Assets talent or if it's a fixed spawn point that always drops you in front of the target."

"I'll write it down for now."

Since he had decided to clear this game from the start, Ryo had prepared pen and paper, recording key information as he read the text.

[Day 2: Your white cat woke you up. After washing up, you realized you hadn't given this master a name yet. After a brief period of thought, you named her 'Hotaru' because of her eyes, which were as brilliant as fluorite. After breakfast, you gave Hotaru a bath. The soft cat felt very comfortable to touch, and you enjoyed the pleasure of petting her. Happiness +1.]

"Hey, hey, can you go out and gather some intel?"

The description for the second day had nothing worth recording, so Ryo muttered a subtle complaint about the game's progress and fast-forwarded to the next day.

[Day 3: You are obsessed with petting the cat.]

[Day 4: You are obsessed with petting the cat.]

Two more days of brief descriptions followed. If it weren't for the fact that the Pooper Scooper talent explicitly noted that this was just a cat, Ryo would have suspected that the game's protagonist had been bewitched by something like a cat-girl.

"Get moving, you idiot."

[Day 5: You realize you can't just stay cooped up at home all the time, so you decide to take the cat out for a stroll.]

[You happened to run into Ichinose Maki. Although she seemed to have awkwardly forgotten your name, she had a deep impression of your cat, and you were forced to accept the strange nickname of 'the big brother who keeps a cat'.]

[During your small talk with Ichinose Maki, she inadvertently mentioned her wish to keep a cat in the past, but because the family situation wasn't suitable, she had to give it up with regret. Her current wish is to have a hair clip of a style that was popular last year.]

[The talent 'Taciturn' took effect. Inexplicably, you realized this was a key piece of information, but due to your natural lack of eloquence, you gave up on pressing for more details.]

"It's fine to test the waters on the first playthrough, at least I got one piece of intel."

"Judging by the text, the hair clip should be an important item."

[Day 6: You read the following news on the television:]

["Regarding the recent surge in school violence, experts point out that the middle school period is a sensitive time for adolescent physical and mental development. Relevant educators and parents must coordinate to jointly address adolescent psychological issues."

"Tokyo Koudo Ikusei High School is being questioned for occupying excessive public resources; the school held a press conference yesterday to respond."

"The annual Fireworks Festival will be held at the end of this month."]

[You feel bored, so you go back to petting your cat.]

"Is this some kind of introduction to the game world background?"

[Day 7: You went out at night and ran into Ichinose's mother. You exchanged friendly greetings. Because it was getting late, you asked about her destination out of curiosity.]

[The talent 'Affinity' took effect. She felt you had no Malice, so she told you that work had been busy lately and there were many late-night shifts. You nodded and told her to take care of her health.]

"So, what exactly is the build if I have both Affinity and Taciturn... is he just a nice guy?"

Ryo spun the pen in his hand, a bad habit of talking to himself that had lingered from the past. He had even been judged by people nearby for muttering to himself while watching movies alone. Anyway, he was home alone now.

[Day 8: While performing the troublesome task of garbage sorting, you received help from Ichinose Honami, who happened to be heading out. She patiently taught you a few tips and expressed her gratitude for you letting her sister spend time petting your cat recently.]

"Talk, hurry up and talk!"

Having seen the target character appear in the description again after several days, Ryo immediately became serious.

[Ichinose Honami asked about your school with some curiosity. Because of your missing memories of the past, you scratched your head, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said that you were currently unemployed and looking for work. For some reason, you felt that Ichinose Honami actually showed a hint of envy.]

"A top student envies someone who doesn't have to go to class?"

There wasn't much description regarding Ichinose Honami, so Ryo could only use the few available paragraphs to piece together her character image.

[Day 9: While wandering the streets, you ran into Ichinose Honami. She was shopping for groceries in a department store. You thought her figure as she picked out vegetables in front of the shelves was very feminine, and your heart-throb index rose.]

"That's way too easy to sway. I remember I don't even have any weird talents like that."

[During your conversation with Ichinose Honami, you learned that tomorrow is Ichinose Maki's birthday. You expressed your desire to give her a gift, but were politely refused. You sensed that Ichinose Honami has been a bit paranoid lately.]

"July 9th plus 9, so July 18th, right?"

[Day 10: While giving Hotaru a bath today, you noticed that a quarrel seemed to have broken out in the Ichinose household next door. After dropping the still-soapy and bewildered Hotaru, you opened your door to see what was going on.]

[The noise was indeed coming from the Ichinose home across the hall. You considered your current relationship with the Ichinose Family and decided not to knock, planning to ask about it in a couple of days when you had the chance.]

"This should be an important choice branch. The evaluation standard is the relationship between 'me' and the Ichinose Family. In the previous text, 'I' was merely an acquaintance, so failing at this critical node on the tenth day makes sense..."

"This simulation is probably a bust. Let's see if I can get two more useful pieces of information."

Thoughts raced through his mind. As a veteran gamer, Ryo basically passed a death sentence on this simulation.

[Day 11: While out walking the cat, you met Ichinose Honami, who was leaving in a hurry. You tactfully asked her about what happened yesterday. Upon sensing that she didn't want to talk about it, you withdrew the topic. Ichinose Honami asked you to look after her sister for the next two days because her mother had been hospitalized due to overwork, and she might not have time to take care of Ichinose Maki. You sensed there might be an underlying story, but being Taciturn, you didn't ask further and simply nodded in agreement.]

"A quarrel followed by hospitalization—there must have been some kind of conflict in the Ichinose Family..."

[Day 12: Ichinose Maki spent the entire day at your place petting your cat. To put the Ichinose Family at ease, you left your front door wide open. As Ichinose Maki complained to you about her mother, you comforted her by saying that mothers have their own hardships, even though you didn't know what had happened. To your surprise, Ichinose Maki replied that she had her own difficulties as well. Just as she was halfway through venting her emotions, Ichinose Honami happened to return. She pulled her somewhat agitated younger sister back home while apologizing to you, and you noticed that she seemed a bit dazed, so you reminded her to get some rest.]

This is the second time Ichinose Honami's mental state has been mentioned; the last time was on the ninth day, right before her sister's birthday. The argument broke out on the day of the birthday, and that was also the day her mother was hospitalized...

[Day 13: You slept until noon and woke up with a yawn, noticing the sun was shining brightly. You decided to take your quilt out to dry. On the balcony, you happened to see Ichinose Maki skipping and hopping as she headed outside. You asked her where she was going, and she replied that she was going to the hospital to visit her mother.]

[You felt a bit strange, because even though she had been fiercely accusing her mother just yesterday, she was now able to visit her with a smile on her face. While it is true that a child's emotions come and go quickly, you sensed something slightly abnormal.]

[You knocked on the door of the Ichinose Family, wanting to see if Ichinose Honami was home, but no one answered.]

[It wasn't until three hours later that you were shocked to hear a certain definitive fact.]

[Mission failed. This simulation of your life has come to an end.]

[The simulation lasted for thirteen days. You may choose one talent to retain, which will be automatically used in subsequent simulations.]

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement 'First Experience', receiving one Talent Refresh Card (Green).]

[Talent Refresh Card: Can refresh any talent. The new talent is guaranteed to be of green quality.]

[Congratulations to the player for reaching the ending: Bystander.]

[Bystander: Human joys and sorrows are not shared; we often ignore the many causes, seeing only the consequences.]

[Unlocked story CG: The Guilty.]

[The Guilty: When you cannot forgive yourself, the kindness of others feels like even heavier shackles.]

[Would you like to read this story CG? (This may be helpful for your future game progress.)]

Chapter Two: The Guilty (Part 1)

Ichinose Honami never mentioned her father to anyone, as if he had never existed in her life, leaving not even a shadow behind.