Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator

After falling for the thirty-third time, Kitagawa Ryo landed an effective blow on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka for the first time.

He poured strength into his right hand, seized a lapse in defense Ayanokoji Kiyotaka revealed while dodging his whip kick, and slammed a heavy punch into his shoulder.

However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to feel no pain; the next second, he quickly adjusted his posture and returned a heavy punch to Kitagawa Ryo.

Kitagawa Ryo tried his best to keep his eyes wide and his center of gravity low, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's figure struck like a ghost, aiming rhythmic and sharp jabs at Kitagawa Ryo's head, followed by an elbow strike that slammed into Kitagawa Ryo's chest.

"Ugh."

When the white radiance dissipated and Kitagawa Ryo stood opposite Ayanokoji Kiyotaka once again, he felt a dense, prickling pain radiating from within his mind for the first time.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to notice Kitagawa Ryo's abnormality:

"Are you alright? Shall the combat match begin?"

Kitagawa Ryo pressed hard against his brow; amidst the scattered, flying memories, the girl's face became increasingly blurred.

"Yeah, let's begin."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, his body dodging Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's attack out of habit. That guy had just greeted him with a friendly expression, but within seconds of starting, he launched a continuous, relentless assault on Kitagawa Ryo.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka liked to use a style that hid real attacks behind feints launched with his left hand. Kitagawa Ryo quickly widened the distance with his footwork, dodging attacks while searching for his own opening. The rest of his brain seemed to have grown weary and stopped working; at this moment, the only things this organ needed to consider were the timing for striking and dodging.

There wasn't even time to blink. He calculated the timing to deal with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's incoming left kick, but was quickly struck in the upper side of his abdomen by the opponent's high-speed right kick. The violent impact and pain swallowed his nerves and flesh almost instantly.

He bent over subconsciously to alleviate the pain in his abdomen, but the next instant, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's figure rushed over again, pinning Kitagawa Ryo's neck with his knee and pressing his entire body straight onto the ground.

"You lost."

He spoke as if stating an established fact.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go again."

Kitagawa Ryo spat two mouthfuls of blood onto the ground.

From the sixtieth time onward, Kitagawa Ryo attempted to use a trade-damage fighting style. He had become almost crazed in his desire to make Ayanokoji Kiyotaka bleed, so the intensity of their battle escalated to a new level.

[Talent Combat Expert (Blue) proficiency maxed, upgraded to Martial Artist (Purple)]

Starting from the eighty-seventh time, Kitagawa Ryo calmed down again, abandoned the trade-damage style, and attempted to find Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's flaws in technique.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka flicked his right leg, shooting it viciously and sharply toward Kitagawa Ryo's lower abdomen.

Having become familiar with Ayanokoji's rhythm, Kitagawa Ryo sidestepped to the left like a running program, taking the opportunity to sweep a kick toward Ayanokoji's chest. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka twisted his body and stuck to him like a maggot on a bone, driving a straight punch toward Kitagawa Ryo's chin. Kitagawa Ryo remained unhurried, flipping his left hand to hook the opponent's wrist while smashing his right hand toward Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eye socket.

Having reached this point, neither side had any intention of holding back. Ayanokoji leaned backward, kicking upward toward Kitagawa Ryo's throat.

At the exact moment Kitagawa Ryo's fist struck Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eye socket, that kick shattered his throat bone.

Gritting his teeth again.

"Again."

"I didn't expect Ryo to win so easily in the chess match."

Ichinose Honami didn't understand chess very well, so naturally, she wasn't as obsessed with the process as Sakayanagi Arisu, who was still lying there studying the endgame between the two. For her, as long as Kitagawa Ryo was the final victor, that was enough.

"Next, it's combat."

Sakayanagi Arisu finally finished simulating how she would play if she were in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's position. She stretched and looked at the image on the screen:

"He is already... in the dream."

Ichinose Honami watched the boy leaning against the wall, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, and took a deep breath:

"Ninety-nine times."

"What ninety-nine times?"

Sakayanagi Arisu asked, somewhat stunned.

"Before Ryo left today, he already told me that he would give himself one hundred chances."

"In other words, he is going to weave ninety-nine layers of dreams in one go."

"You're crazy! Why didn't you stop him?"

For the first time, an expression of disbelief appeared in Sakayanagi Arisu's deep purple pupils. Although Kitagawa Ryo had once engaged in nearly a thousand matches with her in a dream, that wasn't a dream of a single night; it spanned nearly a year.

"Because I believe in him."

Ichinose Honami came back to her senses and smiled at Sakayanagi Arisu. She was indeed feeling heartache and worry, but she still trusted Kitagawa Ryo's judgment.

"What if he loses all his memories again like he did back then?"

Sakayanagi Arisu restrained her emotions.

"It will be fine."

Ichinose Honami touched the screen with her finger, as if wanting to caress the still-eyes-closed Kitagawa Ryo through the display.

"The memories between Ryo and me don't need any carrier. The two of you are the best carriers of this time yourselves. As long as I see him, and he sees me, we will naturally recall the past. Our times were already intertwined to begin with."

The girl placed her hands in front of her chest in prayer:

"I only need to wait for his victory."

[Talent Unwavering Perseverance (Purple) proficiency maxed, upgraded to Talent Persistence (Gold)]

[Persistence (Gold): Grit your teeth a little more. (You now possess this great quality)]

[Talent Dreamweaver (Gold) usage frequency overclocked, temporarily unavailable]

Kitagawa Ryo opened his eyes.

"Please take care of me."

"Please take care of me."

The outcome has been decided.

[Plot CG: Masterpiece, read complete]

[When you open your eyes once more, the first thing to enter your vision is undoubtedly the golden-pink hair reaching the other person's waist. Beneath shallow bangs are a pair of azure pupils currently revealing surprise and disbelief, and the faint, fresh scent of green tangerines drifts to the tip of your nose.]

[You wave at her:]

["Um, hello?"]

["Forget it, I won't pretend to have amnesia anymore."]

[You smile and reach out to pull her into your arms:

"I'm back, Honami."]

[This simulation lasted for two years and one hundred twenty-eight days. You may choose one talent to retain; this talent will be automatically used in subsequent simulations.]

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the hidden ending: Salvation]

[Salvation: Then let us make a promise here, to walk a long way together from now on.]

Author's Note on Launch

First, let me address the bounty set last week: ten chapters, 40,000 words. It basically hit the limit in three or four days. Thank you all for your support. From April 30th to May 5th, over six days, I updated a total of 62,000 words. Excluding the fixed daily update of 4,000 words, I added 38,000 words, meaning I basically finished the bounty before the official launch.

Next, let's talk about the situation with this book. First of all, I am honored that this Classroom of the Elite fanfiction has gained your favor. Because I have written so many words without actually entering the main plot of Classroom of the Elite, it is mainly semi-original descriptions surrounding the characters' experiences before entering high school. Since the original work doesn't cover much of this—for example, the part where Ichinose Honami steals something is just a brief summary of less than a thousand words—I don't know why some people said my chapters two, three, and four, totaling 11,000 words, were copied from the original work. The same goes for the plot related to Karuizawa Kei, which is basically scattered fragments and memories from the original work.

Therefore, when writing these characters, I try my best to make their actions consistent with their behavioral logic in the original work, and I will continue this writing style in the following chapters.

Regarding the third simulation, I can mostly accept the views in the comment section that it was "weird and crazy," "too jumpy," and "incomprehensible." Because I was too impatient while writing, wanting to speed up the plot progress without considering that the overly stream-of-consciousness style was ill-suited for the daily update format of web novels. Actually, I want to say that I simply didn't write it well; it doesn't count as stream-of-consciousness. I apologize again.

In the subsequent chapters, there will be no more superpower settings. After this failed attempt, I basically won't write this in a school-life setting again. I will keep the talents within a normal, controllable range, and the pacing and writing style will be readjusted to return to the delicate approach used in the second simulation.

In short, I hope to bring you a better reading experience in the second major arc after the launch. The first chapter after the launch will be updated around five or six o'clock this afternoon. Please support me!

As for the launch bounty, let me rest for two days. After updating 10,000 words a day for a week, I need a break.

Finally, I wish every reader of this book success in realizing their dreams. GKD.

Sakayanagi Arisu IF Route Side Story

The Ending Between You and Me

The person you like isn't "me," but "Ichinose Honami," right?

I realized this fact from the very beginning, and even used it as the foundation for a deception that lasted several years. In the beginning, I was merely playing the role of a "younger sister" like "Ichinose Honami" to stimulate Kitagawa Ryo. Should I say my acting was too successful?

The realistic fake forged that maidenly longing as well.

I have never agreed with the philosophy of the White Room. Humans do not become strong by stripping away emotions; humans become strong because of emotions.

Friendship, family, and love.

Using this to construct the image of a younger sister who needs to be protected and cannot do anything on her own.

At first, I was as stiff as a debutant actor, unable to even memorize my lines accurately. But gradually, I began to get used to having an existence that worked hard for my sake, praising him, complimenting him, stimulating him to go further, and squeezing out his potential and talent.

If you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.

"Big brother..."

Facing the boy buried in his studies on the screen, I read Ichinose Honami's letters to him—though he couldn't hear them—and copied the emotions within them onto myself.

A girl's affection is a simple and easy thing to imitate. When seeing him, one would be at a loss, afraid to make eye contact for more than three seconds. From gestures to movements, one must express signals of wanting to be cherished and loved.

"It's a simple matter, isn't it?"

Repeating and suggesting it over and over again, the origin no longer matters. Kitagawa Ryo and I built the most solid sibling relationship.

But it is truly incredible. Even though I could say all sorts of sweet things that exceeded the boundaries of our relationship naturally without needing to prepare lines in advance, my heart would not well up with even a hint of a girl's excitement or shyness.

After all, this is a story filled with hypocrisy and lies from beginning to end.

It was only after he escaped the White Room, escaped the fantasy I had woven for him, that I discovered this chilling fact.

"Ryo."

For the first time, I did not call him "big brother."

"I think, no, I really..."

I am very certain of the feelings in my heart.

He went to Ichinose Honami's side; this was the reality presented before my eyes.

[Let's tear everything down and start over.]

[Since I've already been dreaming for four long years, I might as well continue to turn a blind eye to the truth of the world and cover up reality with a fictional story.]

[This is the gentlest world for me, and I will hold him in my embrace.]

For Kitagawa Ryo, there were times when he still wanted to lie in a hot spring where he could stretch his limbs to his heart's content, soaking in the abundant hot water while enjoying a leisurely time.

He had heard that some people would soak in cold water after a hot bath, then stay in a sauna for a while, and finally jump back into the cold water; unable to understand such behavior, Kitagawa Ryo simply liked soaking in the hot spring to relax his body and mind. Once his body was hot enough that his blood felt slightly stirred, he would return to the changing room to dry off and head out. The middle-aged men in the changing room always liked to wrap a bath towel around their waists after their soak, downing a bottle of chilled milk with their left hand while keeping their right hand firmly planted on their hip. Kitagawa Ryo politely nodded to them as a greeting before leaving.

For a long time in the past, Kitagawa Ryo had been bathing in a rather cramped space—no, that couldn't even be called bathing; it was just a task of cleaning his body strictly according to a set order and time, just like the other test subjects.

After his parents passed away, he had spent roughly six years in the White Room, only being brought out by the Sakayanagi Family recently as the sole successful product.

"Is your body warmed up?"

The curtain at the entrance swayed gently, and as soon as Kitagawa Ryo stepped out, he heard the inquiry from Sakayanagi Arisu.

She was gazing at the night sky, which held only a half-crescent yellow moon and not a single star. Her body, warmed to its very core, turned toward him while she felt the occasional breeze blowing by.

Her face, flushed a light red just like Kitagawa Ryo's, turned in this direction. Her skin, which was usually a sickly pale white, was now slightly rosy, proving that her body had been sufficiently warmed. Although she had entered the period of secondary sexual development, her figure was still a long way from that of a mature woman, looking nothing like a high school student. With her deep purple eyes and surreal silver-white hair, she sometimes even gave people the illusion that she didn't truly exist—and because of this, Kitagawa Ryo often had the illusion that she might suddenly disappear one day.

Just like Eris who had suddenly fallen down the rabbit hole.

Even though she had only soaked for a short while due to her heart condition, there was still a shimmering, watery luster rolling in Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes, and her lips, filled with moisture, radiated a dewy glow like the petals of a cherry blossom.

"I'm warmed up. It's a hot spring that feels comfortable no matter how many times you soak in it."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in response. The two of them were currently on a summer vacation before the start of high school, located in Ibusuki, Kyushu.