Little Ibuki and Little Fatty Bo

Huh?

On the way to the elective classroom, You En scrolled through his student terminal, habitually tapping into his personal panel to take a look. There was a new entry on it.

"Swimming Lv0 (Beginner)"

Interesting.

You En grew more certain of his guess.

Because if it were manually entered, it would be basically impossible—there's no way a dozen or so people could achieve such precision.

Unless they formed a team of dozens or even hundreds, dedicated to monitoring students 24/7, but that was unrealistic.

It could only be the personal panel automatically reflecting the student's situation.

Arriving at the door of the elective classroom, A girl's short blue hair fluttered gently, revealing a refreshing forehead and unrestrained brows. She wore a short skirt and short socks, her fair legs giving off both an aesthetic and healthy vibe, evoking the passion of youth.

You En recognized her—wasn't this Little Ibuki?

Ibuki Mio looked over and asked directly, "Which class are you from?"

"Class D."

Class D would spend points on electives too?

Ibuki was puzzled. Maybe, like her, he was really interested in survival-type courses?

She asked, "How many did you sign up for?"

You En walked to a spot near her, keeping a distance that wouldn't feel intrusive.

"You mean this Wilderness Survival course? I maxed it out."

"Maxed it out?!"

Ibuki had to admit, she thought she was already impulsive enough—spending 20,000 points on an elective whose teaching quality was unknown.

But compared to the person in front of her, it was nothing.

"Wait a second,"

She caught onto that sentence. "This Wilderness Survival course? You mean you signed up for other electives too—that Sailor Course?"

"Yeah."

You En nodded.

Ibuki felt something was off. "The two together are 140,000 points, and the starting points are only 100,000... You actually borrowed points from someone?!"

In her view, You En, who had gone all-in from the start, and the student willing to lend him points, were both not very rational.

"You're something."

Ibuki had to acknowledge his "courage," but inwardly she thought it was a bit reckless.

"How do you handle meals normally?"

You En replied, "The free food in the cafeteria."

Ibuki had just asked when she figured it out herself, her blue-violet eyes trembling slightly.

"You eat that pig slop every day?! Uh... those free meals?"

You En smiled, finding that waiting wasn't so boring. The somewhat spirited girl had all sorts of cute expressions.

"Saying it's pig slop is too much. Those meals are actually pretty expensive—they're essentially nutritional rations."

After eating in the cafeteria for a few days, You En had confirmed that the free food was likely tailored to his personal condition, just deliberately made to taste awful.

Ibuki showed obvious disgust at the food. She didn't care about nutrition or lack thereof—she just thought making it so unpalatable was intentionally disgusting.

"I'm not talking about nutrition, just that it's terrible."

"You're right, it is pretty bad. But it's okay—maybe one day we'll eat something even harder to swallow."

You En said it casually, with a hint of meaning.

Ibuki rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps rise. Out of curiosity, she had ordered it once, but the smell alone had turned her off. In the end, she didn't even dare try a single bite and just left it there.

Thinking about possibly eating even more disgusting food, Her slender neck stiffened as she said stubbornly, "Even if that day comes, I'd rather starve than take a single bite."

You En looked like he was ready to enjoy the show.

"I'll remember that. I'm just waiting for the day you say 'it's actually good.'"

"Impossible!"

Ibuki Mio declared resolutely. "If I eat it, I'm a dog."

She said that, and You En perked up.

"How about we make a bet?"

"Sure, but what can you put up as a wager?"

Ibuki looked like she couldn't possibly lose.

"You decide. What do you think is worth it?"

Ibuki sized him up. Her first impression of this guy was pretty interesting—his personality wasn't annoying, and he was good-looking, at least better than the misfits in her class.

"With all those courses you signed up for, you probably don't have any points left. How about this: if I win, you bark three times like a dog too. If I lose, I'll do it."

"Fair enough."

You En extended his right hand.

Ibuki grinned competitively and reached out to shake it.

"Don't cheat."

"You're the one."

They exchanged a smile.

Ibuki was about to ask for his name.

"Hey there."

A beautiful girl with long pink hair appeared in the hallway, accompanied by a timid-looking girl with short, ash-gray hair.

Seeing You En and Ibuki still clasping hands, Ichinose Honami asked openly, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Ichinose?!"

Facing the newcomer, Ibuki showed clear hostility, momentarily forgetting to let go.

You En gently gripped her wrist with his left hand and pulled his right hand free.

He said to Ichinose, "Sorry, don't get the wrong idea. She and I were just making friends."

"Making friends, huh?"

Ichinose's lips curved into a bright smile, as if accepting that explanation. Then, as if something occurred to her, "Can I join in?"

"Who is she? Do you know her?"

You En asked Ibuki beside him.

"Ichinose Honami, first place in the entrance exam,"

Ibuki said warily, warning him, "She's the leader of Class B. Be careful."

"Oh, hello."

You En was about to introduce himself to Ichinose, but then thought of something and turned to Ibuki, "I'm You En Tiandai. I don't even know your name yet."

Ibuki didn't overthink it. "Ibuki Mio. Just call me Ibuki."

"Then you can call me You En."

"You really just met?"

Ichinose Honami realized he'd been telling the truth. She'd noticed his thoughtfulness from the little gesture earlier and felt a flicker of goodwill. She extended her hand, "Ichinose Honami. Nice to meet you both. Can we be friends?"

"No."

Ibuki Mio was cautious. She looked less like a spooked kitten and more like a hound that had spotted an enemy.

"I think I'm pretty lucky too,"

You En said, lightly shaking Ichinose's hand with a smile, "Looks like signing up for this course was the right call, or I wouldn't have met such beautiful ladies."

As he shook Ichinose's hand, he felt two rays of glare boring into him from different directions.

You En looked at the short-haired girl beside Ichinose. This must be Shiranami Chihiro, the one who liked Little Fatty Bo.

"And this is?"

Shiranami Chihiro had been glaring at his hand, but she didn't dare meet his eyes, shrinking slightly behind Ichinose.

"Oh, sorry, she's shy around strangers,"

Ichinose Honami turned to reassure her for a moment, then faced the two again, smiling.

"If she does anything wrong, you can tell me, and I'll find a way to apologize."

You En nodded in understanding and greeted her quite amiably, "Hello there, Shiranami."

Shiranami Chihiro hesitated, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

There was no helping it—the boy in front of her was really handsome, and first impressions between people always came down to looks.

"You're here quite early,"

An old man of about sixty, his face covered in wrinkles and his hands thick with calluses, swept his gaze over the group, "It's good to prepare ahead of time."

He opened the door. "Come in. Since you're here, I'll explain things to you first, so you don't have to wait outside."

Just then, a girl quickly walked around the corner.

You En had noticed her earlier—Kamuro Masumi from Class A, who enjoyed the thrill of petty theft. When he was talking to Ibuki, she'd been lurking around that corner.

The survival class teacher, his face lined with wrinkles, smiled warmly and praised, "It's good to be observant, Kamuro."

Kamuro Masumi gave a cold nod without responding, looking like she was in a bad mood.

The survival teacher didn't mind.

"Since everyone's here, let's start the lesson directly."

You En walked in with the girls. The classroom was vast, spacious enough to fit a football field, with a curtain dividing off another space in the middle.

He suddenly realized that aside from himself, everyone in this wilderness survival class was female. That couldn't be right, could it?

He thought it over.

Ibuki from Class C had come out of her own interest.

Class B was likely Ichinose's own judgment that the course might be useful, but no one else wanted to come, so she had to, and Shiranami was just keeping her company.

As for Kamuro from Class A, judging by her reluctant expression, she'd probably been forced to come by some little demon.

You En figured his reasoning was sound, but to confirm, he asked, "I know why Ibuki's here. Why did you all sign up for this class?"

Kamuro didn't bother answering him.

Ichinose glanced apologetically at the teacher. "I originally planned to have everyone in my class sign up for a lesson or two, but most didn't agree—they thought it was expensive and probably useless. So I had to come check it out first."

With that, she gave the teacher a slight bow. "Sorry, teacher. I didn't mean anything by it."

The survival teacher shook his head.

"It's fine. You're a good student. And this year, I actually have a decent number of sign-ups."

He then looked at You En.

"Let me introduce myself. I once served as a special forces soldier in the British SAS, and as a British Army captain, I was stationed in Afghanistan.

I've trekked through the Peruvian rainforest, survived on a deserted island in the South Pacific, traveled from the African desert to Indonesia, Belize, Canada, Iraq, and other places. I've also lived alone on an uninhabited island for over ninety days."

As soon as he finished, "You're Edbell?!"

Ibuki Mio exclaimed excitedly, like she'd met a huge celebrity, blurting out his full name, "Edbell Stafford Grylls?!"

"Edbell?"

You En found the name familiar. Thinking it over, wasn't that a mix of Ed and Bear Grylls?

He looked up at the old man before him.

This man was definitely a master of survival—maybe even the master of masters.

And someone like this had been hired by the school to teach them?

Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have been a teacher here all along.

The original Classroom of the Elite could never have had this kind of pull!

You En felt like everything was starting to connect. He didn't know the full picture, but he was probably the only one in the entire grade preparing for that event.

Edbell closed the classroom door and came over to them.

"Alright, let's start the lesson."

Everyone looked forward to it, especially Ibuki.

Even Kamuro, who'd been forced to attend, felt like it wasn't a loss.

After all, in this world, almost no one didn't know the name "Bear Grylls."