Tanaka Yukishin instinctively made a snarky remark, then patiently kept reading.
Making a judgment without knowing the full picture? That was a little too much like a "great detective."
He wasn't that kind of person.
Chapter 2: Task 2
He scrolled straight to the bottom of the free information.
To his surprise, there was a countdown. He waited a few seconds for it to finish, and new text appeared.
"Perhaps the information wasn't enough to satisfy you. No problem. Your generous customer service representative has more options for you. Limited-time missions are now available."
Mission 1: [Become the Strongest]
Every man, even if only once in his life, has dreamed of becoming the strongest person in the world!
Become the publicly recognized strongest person in any field at your school. Upon completing the mission, you will receive a reward related to that field.
Mission 2: [The King Among Men]
You're a student. So, on your way to the top, there's one person you can't avoid: the pinnacle of the student body—the Student Council President.
Defeat the Student Council President and crush his will to resist. Make him give up his identity as the school's king, and awaken the "?" in his heart.
Upon completing the mission, you will receive beginner-level Magnetic Field Rotation.
Mission 3: [The Strong Are Free. So Unleash Your Desires and Do Whatever You Want]
Use your brain. I want to see rivers of blood.
Upon completing the mission, you will receive a reward based on your specific actions. (Can be completed repeatedly.)
Mission 4: [Students Should Act Like Students]
You're a Japanese High Schooler, so you know what to do, right? Exactly—be Yasashii.
Completing the mission will increase your charm.
Excellent. The missions fit perfectly with the stereotypical image of Customer Service in Tanaka Yukishin's mind: a troublemaker who loved watching the chaos unfold.
But as his one and only top supporter, Customer Service was generous with the rewards.
What else was there to say?
He just had to keep them happy.
"Customer Service, you're my hero."
"Customer Service, I adore you."
"I'll do my best to put on a show and make you smile."
He'd use whatever attitude they liked.
After finishing his little performance, Tanaka Yukishin resumed thinking.
Of the four missions, the other three weren't very difficult.
Only [The King Among Men] was beyond what he was willing to accept. He didn't even know whether there was a shortcut.
"Um, about Mission 2. What if I help a girl successfully run for Student Council President...?"
"That works too, but the 'Magnetic' in [Magnetic Field Rotation] will be replaced with the 'Feminine' in [Feminine Field Rotation]."
"You call that a reward? I'd turn into a woman!"
"Don't overthink it. The new [Feminine Field Rotation] is similar to a buff-type dual cultivation technique."
"That I can accept. So, what exactly does it do?"
"In writing, the effects activate once the conditions for the buff are met. The number of rotations determines the level of the effect.
"Buff conditions: For one rotation of Feminine Field Rotation, you need to fight one fixed female opponent once within 1x1 days. For two rotations, you need to fight two fixed female opponents twice each within 2x2 days...
"Buff effects: one rotation grants the strength of one person; two rotations grant the strength of two people, and so on. Important note: this must be a group battle, so one-on-one fights don't count. If you stop partway through, you have to start over."
Simple and straightforward: pure numerical boosts. And the activation conditions involved a kind of exercise that hormone-fueled teenage boys loved.
The upper limit was high, too. According to historical records, the legendary ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, once had three thousand partners in a single day and ascended to heaven in broad daylight.
The only problem was that, in modern society, a big party with everyone sleeping together was a little hard for him to pull off right now.
But Customer Service was generous enough to make him a little uneasy.
When he asked about it—
"Simple. Give them what they desire, and provide what they need."
"Who told you to be so cautious and timid? Other people start causing trouble as soon as they get a cheat. You're sitting here, peacefully cultivating, with a cheat that gives you an Only I Practice Law storyline."
In response to Tanaka Yukishin's question, Customer Service gave him a clear, frank answer.
Desire was difficult to control from any perspective.
Western philosophy: "It's like a boulder rolling down a mountain; once it starts, it can't be stopped."
Buddhism: "If you live apart from the world, it's nothing special to be free of desire and master your mind. If you can still do that after entering the world, then you're truly remarkable."
Taoism: "The mind is a monkey and the will a horse; easy to let loose, hard to rein in."
So my cheat customer service's approach was to play the long game.
The mission, the reward, and the reason for its generosity—it had told him everything.
The choice was his.
"Hey, strong boy. Looking at your perfect body, I can't hold back anymore. I'd love to discuss our exercise routines!"
"If it's you, you can surely tell that my muscles are pretty great too."
The sudden voice interrupted Tanaka Yukishin's conversation with Customer Service.
That mix of languages, ending with "BOY"—it had to be you.
That damn catchphrase made him think of Pegasus from Yu-Gi-Oh!
Why was Yu-Gi-Oh! getting mixed up in Only I Practice Law?
He turned around and saw that it was a blond narcissist.
But the blond did have reason to be narcissistic.
The thin trace of Dragon Bloodline in Tanaka Yukishin's veins had given him a body beyond ordinary people. After all his hard training as a Martial Arts Prodigy, he'd reached an incredible level, while his Aura of Hegemony granted him powerful mental strength and a way to wield his mental presence.
Together, the three allowed him to use his mental strength to do many incredible things.
It was somewhat like the Nen abilities in Hunter x Hunter.
But instead of life energy, or aura, its core was mental strength.
Its specific applications included telekinesis, a life-form radar, mental attacks, and repelling living things...
For more than ten years, Tanaka Yukishin had kept up his daily training.
And during his training, tens of thousands of lives, large and small, had willingly sacrificed themselves as fuel to make him stronger.
Most of them had been mosquitoes, insects, rats, and ants.
So, when Tanaka Yukishin sat down, he had already set up a mental pressure that grew stronger with every step closer.
Ordinary people would feel increasingly uncomfortable as they approached.
To have endured that and still come this close... I, Tanaka Yukishin, must call you the biggest muscle-lover I've ever met.
But now that you've come all the way to the back row, doesn't that mean we'll miss the classic opening scene of Classroom of the Elite—the busty, kindhearted JK fighting the blond narcissist?
Damn it, narcissist! How are you going to make it up to me?
In the anime's opening, the narcissist had sat in the priority seat because it was the closest one, setting off everything that followed.
Now he'd been drawn to the back row by muscles, and he'd broken with convention by loudly striking up a conversation in public. That was exactly the sort of thing someone selfish would do.
He'd probably seen how beautiful Tanaka's muscles were and wanted to make friends.
"Blondie, you're not bad. But this isn't the right place to chat. Let's exchange contact info when we get off, and talk another time."
Getting the response he wanted, Koenji Rokusuke sat down and closed his eyes to rest.
As time passed, the seats on the bus filled up.
When they reached the next stop, an old woman entered the bus, leaning on a cane and bent at the waist. Her hair was completely gray, and she trembled as she moved, as if she might fall over at any moment.
So, what sort of people were sitting in the priority seats now?
Oh, it was the trio of a balding old man, a kindly old woman, and a middle-aged office worker.
The atmosphere was clearly starting to shift, but the middle-aged office worker still didn't move.
If everyone could be considerate of an elderly woman, why couldn't they be considerate of an office worker?
To his surprise, though, there were still busybodies in Japan, where people tried their best not to inconvenience others.
Seeing the busty school-uniform JK in front of him open her mouth to speak, the middle-aged office worker got up on his own.
"Here, ma'am. Please take my seat."
He was a decent person. He didn't want to argue with anyone on the bus.
With no more fun to watch, Tanaka Yukishin turned his curiosity to his class assignment.
He didn't care which class he ended up in, but he had to remember that he was also a Child of Destiny.
So how would the Child of Destiny's good fortune arrange things?
And why was that class the best one for him, the most suitable out of the four?
He pulled the phone the school had given him from his pocket and checked his inbox, but there were no messages.
Could it be like an ordinary high school, where they posted the assignments on a bulletin board? That would be a poor fit for Advanced Nurturing, with its unique, everyone-gets-in admissions scandal.
Chapter 3: The Reason
After getting off the bus, Tanaka Yukishin took out his phone and exchanged contact information with the blond.
"My name is Koenji Rokusuke."
"Strong boy, how about we go check the class assignments on the bulletin board together?"
The Blond Narcissist eagerly invited him, but the Dragon-Blooded Martial God firmly turned him down.
But there was only one way to go, so in the end they walked together anyway.
The crowd surged beneath the bulletin board, students everywhere.
Using his mental strength to subtly influence those around him, Tanaka Yukishin easily made his way inside.
Class A—nope.
Class B—nope, either.
Class C—still no.
No need to check any further. Only Class D was left.
From what he could remember of the anime, Class D was the protagonist's class and the main point-of-view class.
But did that matter to me?
Not at all.
Completely baffled, Tanaka Yukishin couldn't even be bothered to attend the entrance ceremony. It was always the same.
The people onstage talked about him, while the people below thought about their own business.
Following the direction signs beside the bulletin board, Tanaka Yukishin went straight to Class D.
The classroom had forty seats, arranged in five rows and eight columns.
"Why was Class D so...?"
Customer Service had gotten sick of hearing him and told him the reason.
"Because there are more girls here. Didn't you see the free information I provided earlier?"
"That was pure nonsense. It was a complete waste of my life."
Before you continue