On Saturday morning, warm sunlight filtered through wispy clouds and fell across the Artificial Island of Advanced Nurturing.
Golden patches of light blanketed the lawns, and even the glass curtain walls of the school buildings reflected a soft glow. The air carried the freshness of early morning, mingled with the faint fragrance of grass and trees.
For the students at the school, who were used to being disciplined, a weekend morning like this was never wasted.
Boys in athletic wear jogged along the track, their footsteps steady and strong. Girls with backpacks headed to the library in groups of two or three, claiming window seats to study ahead.
Some girls had arranged to go shopping together. Already dressed and carrying small backpacks, they gathered beneath their dormitory building, chattering excitedly about where to go.
The campus gradually came to life. Figures hurried back and forth everywhere, and the place filled with energy.
But Room 501 in the first-year dormitory building was steeped in a silence completely at odds with the world outside.
The lights were off. A few shafts of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the cushions scattered across the floor and an empty glass by the desk.
Akiyama Shin was sprawled facedown at the computer desk, his arms cushioning his chin like a pillow. Strands of hair fell over his forehead, hiding one eye, and his breathing was deep and even.
The intense mental work he had put in the night before had clearly drained all his energy. He hadn't even had the strength to get up and go back to bed.
Horikita Suzune was sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed. Her head tilted slightly to one side, and her waist-length black hair spilled over her shoulders and across the floor like a waterfall. The braid tied with a white bow had come loose, and its ribbon lay across her arm. Her brows were faintly furrowed, as though she were still working through a difficult problem in her sleep, while her lips were pressed tight with her usual stubbornness.
Kushida Kikyo seemed far less concerned with appearances. She had simply stretched out on her side on the floor, resting her head on Horikita Suzune's lap.
Her golden-brown hair spread out around her, with a few strands caught against Horikita Suzune's pale thigh.
Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and a slight smile lingered on her lips, as though she were having a sweet dream. Her breathing was light and steady, and she slept especially soundly.
The three of them slept in positions that looked a little disheveled but suggested a certain unspoken understanding. They had worked through the entire night on the betting plan that was about to shake up the campus. Even their dreams were probably full of code and rules.
Time slipped quietly by as they slept. Outside, the sun climbed higher, moving from morning toward its zenith. Before they knew it, noon had arrived.
And in that brief half-day, an invisible storm of information had already swept across the entire campus at astonishing speed.
The Campus Midterm Trivia Betting Site that Akiyama Shin had built overnight was like a boulder tossed into a still lake, sending towering waves rippling outward.
More importantly, the school-granted permission to build subsidiary websites came with an official stamp of approval, while the publisher's identity was completely concealed. At first glance, most students naturally assumed the site was an official school activity.
After all, who besides the school could connect directly to the Student ID Card System and access student information?
The official Campus Network forum was instantly flooded with posts. One thread after another about the betting site sprang up like mushrooms after rain, and the excitement kept building. Within just a few hours, the pinned Hot Post had racked up over ten thousand views.
[Hot Post] Shocking! The school's running a midterm betting pool? Is the ten-million-point prize pool for real?!
OP: As the title says! I just saw it on the Campus Network. The site looks super legit, and you can log in and place bets directly with your student card! Anyone brave enough to try it yet? Let me know how it goes!
Reply 1: I just logged in! The rules are a little complicated, but it looks incredibly exciting! S-Rank has ten-to-one odds. If you win, you'll be set!
Reply 2: The school would run something like this? Doesn't seem very trustworthy... Isn't this basically gambling? Didn't the school always ban stuff like this?
Reply 3: Don't be so stubborn. It says it's for fun! And you're betting points, not cash! How is that gambling...? Besides, it connects to the Student ID Card System... The school must have given it the green light!
Reply 4: What if it's some kind of scam site?
What if I can't get my points back after putting them in? I don't want to be the sucker who gets fleeced.
Reply 5: Come on! The Student ID Card System is one of the school's core systems! There's no way an outsider could hack it! If the site can connect directly, then it's either official or someone got permission from the school. It should be safe, right?
Reply 6: I've already tried it out with a small bet of 100 points! I bet on first-year S-Rank, just for fun. If I win, I'll make a fortune; if I lose, it's only the cost of a drink!
Reply 7: Haha, I'm in! I bet on second-year A-Rank. My brother's a second-year, and he ranked ninth last time. I'm betting with him again this time!
Reply 8: Could someone put together a list of the top students in each year? Besides Horikita Suzune, who's strong in the first year? Who were the top few in the second-year OAA rankings again?
Reply 9: I think it's pretty credible. The rules even have measures to prevent people from gaming the system. Whoever made the site clearly knows what they're doing. It doesn't look like some random scam.
[Discussion] A rational analysis: Is the Midterm Betting Website really run by the school?
OP: I'm inclined to think the school is behind it, or at least has approved it! Three reasons!
1. The permissions are way too high-level! The site can connect directly to the student information database and access each year's students' class and name information, making it easier to choose who to bet on. Ordinary students couldn't get access like that!
2. The rules are well thought out! From the betting tiers to the prize pool distribution and the anti-fraud clauses, everything is clear and carefully considered. This wasn't thrown together on a whim!
3. The timing is too perfect! It went live exactly two weeks before the Midterm Exam. The school is probably trying to make the exam more fun this way, or... maybe use the opportunity to take back some of the students' points?
Reply 1: The OP makes a good case, but I asked our homeroom teacher, and he said he knew nothing about this activity. If the school were behind it, how could the homeroom teachers not know?
Reply 2: Maybe the school's upper administration is handling it directly. There's no need to notify every homeroom teacher. It's just a fun activity, not an official exam arrangement.
Reply 3: Whoever's behind it, the ten-million-point prize pool is too tempting!
I'm ready to put in 500 points and test my luck. If I win, I won't have to worry about points for the rest of the month!
Reply 4: Could it have been set up by an upper-year student? After all, students in the second year and above have the OAA System and can see the rankings. They'd have an easier time rigging things.
Page after page of posts refreshed. Some people excitedly shared their betting strategies, while others carefully analyzed the risks.
Some were just there to watch the show, but there was no denying it: the words "ten-million-point prize pool" struck a chord with the gambler inside everyone.
For most students, a few hundred or even a thousand points wasn't much. Even if they lost, it would only mean missing a few extra meals or shopping trips. But if they got lucky and hit a high-odds option like S-Rank or A-Rank, their payout would multiply by dozens or even hundreds. Few people could truly resist the temptation to win big with a small stake.
On top of that, the website was impressively complete. It let students check basic information on students in every year, making it easy to choose their targets. The publisher's identity was hidden, giving the site an air of mystery.
Its launch had coincided with the Midterm Exam, perfectly tapping into students' interest in exam rankings.
All of this rapidly boosted the site's credibility. More and more students set aside their concerns and began placing bets.
The platform's total stakes also climbed quietly, rising from a few thousand points to tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands.
Meanwhile, in a private room at an elegantly decorated café on campus, several core members of the Sakayanagi Faction in Class B sat gathered around a table. The room was quiet, but the atmosphere was tinged with tension.
The faint aroma of black tea drifted through the room. Sunlight filtered in through the blinds, casting mottled shadows across the table.
Hashimoto Masayoshi, his blond hair tied into a short braid and his manner carrying a roguish charm, was the first to break the silence. With a hint of excitement in his eyes, he looked toward Sakayanagi Arisu at the head of the table.
"Princess, what do you make of that betting site that suddenly appeared?"
"Could it be some new scheme from the school?"
Kito Hayato, with his long dark-blue hair and fierce-looking face, folded his arms across his chest. His brows drew together, and his tone was calm and assured.
"I think it's more likely to be the school. If an upper-year student were behind it, they would have had plenty of chances to do it earlier. There'd be no reason to wait until now. Besides, an ordinary student couldn't possibly get permission to build a site like this, let alone connect it to the student information database."
Nishikawa Ryoko, who wore glasses and had her hair in two braids, immediately nodded in agreement.
"Kito's right. The permissions are key."
"The school has always kept a tight rein on the Campus Network. Anyone who can get permission to build a subsidiary website and connect it to the core system must be more than an ordinary student."
Shiraishi Asuka, whose golden hair fell in soft waves and who looked a little airheaded, held her straw, uncertain. After a long pause, she added in a quiet voice,
"Um... Didn't our homeroom teacher say that points can be used to buy any resource at the school...?"
"So... in theory, you could buy permission to build a website with points too... right?"
Her voice was soft, but perfectly clear.
"Still... the number of points it would take to get permission at this level must be enormous. I doubt an ordinary student could afford it."
She often seemed absentminded, but when it mattered, her comments always hit the nail on the head.
Sakayanagi Arisu gently set down her teacup. Her silver hair fell over her shoulders, veiling part of her face. A glint of keen insight flashed in her eyes, though she wore a gentle smile.
"Shiraishi makes a good point."
"Whether the publisher is the school or a student, this is certainly an interesting little game."
She paused and glanced around at those present. Her voice remained gentle, but carried an unmistakable authority.
"If anyone in our class is interested, they may participate in moderation, as a way to ease the tension before the exam. But everyone must stay rational. No one is to risk a large number of points."
"Yes, Princess!"
They answered together, their voices respectful.
Elsewhere.
On a park bench, Kamuro Masumi and Morishita Ran stared at their phone screens as if they could bore holes through them, their faces full of anxiety.
Kamuro Masumi tossed her phone onto the bench and grabbed her purple hair with both hands. Her brows were knotted, and her foot absently nudged a pebble on the ground. Her voice was full of frustration.
"Still can't get through!"
"What the hell is Akiyama doing?! I've been calling since this morning... He still won't answer!"
From the moment she first saw the betting site, she'd been certain it was Akiyama Shin's work. The meticulous rules, the perfect timing, and the ambition behind it—there was no one else at school who could have come up with it.
Morishita Ran's hair was a messy nest, but her eyes sparkled. Her grip turned her phone pale, and her voice was full of admiration and anxiety, her chuunibyou tendencies on full display!
"That's right...! This has to be a fateful game of chess laid out by King Arthur! Only he has the courage and the wisdom to set the whole campus in motion!"
She pressed the call button again. The cold recording still informed her that the person she was calling was temporarily unavailable. Reluctantly, she hung up and looked at Kamuro Masumi with a plaintive expression.
"But... why won't the king receive his loyal Observer and knight? Are we not worthy of joining this great plan?"
Kamuro Masumi took a deep breath, trying to calm her frustration, though her brows remained knitted.
"He'd usually be up by now..."
"Could he have stayed up all night?"
At the thought of staying up all night, her cheeks inexplicably turned a little red. She quickly shook her head, trying to banish those ridiculous thoughts.
"No, no... Even if he'd stayed up all night, he wouldn't ignore his phone for the whole day, would he? Did something go wrong with the plan?"
She couldn't help thinking of Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo. Lately, she'd often seen Akiyama Shin walking around with the two of them at school. They seemed especially close.
Could it be... that Akiyama Shin had brought them into the plan too?
Had all three of them stayed up working last night, and were they now catching up on sleep—which was why no one was answering?
Once the thought occurred to her, she couldn't push it away. Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips, feeling a little unsettled. She didn't think Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo were qualified to take part in Akiyama Shin's core plans, but a strong premonition told her that her guess was probably right.
Knowing the answer but being unable to confirm it felt like a cat pawing at her heart. It made her itch, but there was nothing she could do about it.
In a quiet private room at another café, Honami Ichinose and Ryuji Kanzaki sat across from each other.
Two steaming cups of coffee sat on the table, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of coffee.
The room was softly lit. Outside, green plants swayed in the breeze, bringing a touch of life to the scene.
Ryuji Kanzaki placed both hands on the table. His expression serious, he got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
"Ichinose, I think that betting site that suddenly appeared is probably Akiyama-kun's handiwork again."
Honami Ichinose rested her chin in her hands. Her long pink hair fell smoothly over her arms, and her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked her wide eyes. A smile that was both amused and helpless appeared on her face.
"Kanzaki-kun... why do you always think Akiyama-kun is behind everything?"
She paused, a note of admiration in her voice.
"Besides, even if he really did make the site... wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"It proves just how capable he is. Coming up with a plan like that and actually putting it into action..."
"That's really impressive..."
"I'm not trying to make an enemy of him."
Ryuji Kanzaki quickly explained, his tone earnest. He lightly tapped the betting site open on his phone.
"Quite the opposite. I admire his ability and nerve. From the information trading at the start of the school year, to Class D's Zero Point Plan, and now this betting site that has the whole school talking... If he really was behind all of it, his ability to plan and his courage are beyond anything we imagined."
"I'm telling you what I suspect because I want you to understand Akiyama-kun's abilities more clearly."
"Our class may have dealings or even cooperate with him in the future. If that happens, we'll need to stay alert at all times. We mustn't let our admiration make us lower our guard, or we could fall into his schemes without realizing it and cause irreparable harm to our class."
Honami Ichinose's smile faded, and her expression grew serious. She nodded gently.
"I understand your concern, Kanzaki-kun."
She lowered her eyes and spoke softly.
"I know Akiyama-kun is very capable. Sometimes... I even find him a little scary..."
"It's as if he always has countless plans hidden in his mind, and every step is carefully calculated."
"But I still think Akiyama-kun is a very sweet, kind person."
She lifted her head, her tone sincere.
"And as long as we treat Akiyama-kun with sincerity and kindness... at least he won't deliberately hurt our class... right? Besides, all of this is just speculation for now. There's no proof he's behind it~"
She was naturally kind, but by no means foolish.
She took Kanzaki's warning to heart, but deep down, she was still willing to believe in people's good intentions.
Ryuji Kanzaki saw the clarity in her eyes and knew she understood. He said no more, simply picked up his phone and opened the betting site again. His estimation of Akiyama Shin had quietly risen another notch.
Meanwhile, Ryuen Kakeru, Ishizaki Daichi, and Albert from Class C were sitting in an open space behind the classroom building.
Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes. His red hair fell carelessly over his shoulders, and his face wore its usual air of defiance and amusement.
His fingers slid across the phone screen as he browsed the rules of the betting site.
Ishizaki Daichi scratched his head, looking uncertainly at Ryuen Kakeru as he waited for instructions.
"Ryuen, the site's gotten huge. Should we join in? Quite a few people in our class are already talking about it. They're all asking what you think."
Albert stood nearby, tall as a mountain, his arms folded across his chest. He didn't say a word, silently serving as Ryuen's bodyguard.
Ryuen Kakeru gave a scoff, a sly curve lifting the corner of his mouth as calculation flickered in his eyes.
"Join in? Why not? It'd be a shame to miss out on such an entertaining activity."
He looked up at Ishizaki Daichi, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Tell everyone in class they can play around with their own spending money, just to see what it's like. But if anyone gets hooked and bets all their living expenses until they're broke... they're on their own."
He knew there was definitely something complicated behind the site. Whoever was behind it had managed to get permission from the school and design a remarkably complete set of rules. It was either someone in the school's upper administration or an extremely troublesome opponent.
Letting the class participate would satisfy everyone's interest, but it would also let him observe the site's operation through their bets and see whether he could find a loophole. If he could get leverage on whoever was behind it, or find a weakness to exploit, he might even make a profit—and give the person behind the site a warning.
The sunlight grew more intense, shining into every corner of Advanced Nurturing High School.
The students' conversations, phone notifications, and sounds of bets being placed came together in an unstoppable tide that swept across every corner of campus.
Ambition.
Greed.
Wishful thinking.
Anticipation.
All of it was set ablaze that Saturday afternoon.
A ten-million-point betting pool involving the whole school had taken shape.
The Age of Big Bets had officially begun!
Before you continue