Huh?
On the way to the elective classroom,
You En looked through his Student Terminal. Out of habit, he tapped into his personal profile to check it. There was a new entry:
"Swimming lv0 (Beginner)"
Interesting.
You En grew even more certain of his guess.
If the information had been entered manually, it would have been practically impossible. A dozen or so people couldn't have done it with such precision.
Unless they assembled a team of dozens, or even hundreds, to monitor the students around the clock. But that wasn't realistic.
The only explanation was that each student's personal profile updated automatically based on their circumstances.
When he arrived outside the elective classroom,
a girl's short blue hair fluttered gently, revealing a clean, open forehead and unruly eyes. She wore a short skirt and short socks, her fair thighs giving her a look that was both beautiful and healthy, radiating the passion of youth.
You En recognized her. Wasn't that Little Ibuki?
Ibuki Mio looked over and asked bluntly,
"Which class are you in?"
"Class D."
Would someone from Class D really spend points on an elective?
Ibuki was puzzled. Maybe, like her, he was interested in a survival course.
She asked, "How many classes did you sign up for?"
You En stopped a short distance away, close enough to talk without making her uncomfortable.
"You mean this Wilderness Survival class? I signed up for all of them."
"All of them?!"
To be honest, Ibuki felt she'd already been impulsive enough, spending 20,000 points on an elective when she had no idea how good the teaching would be.
But compared to the guy in front of her, that was nothing.
"Wait,"
She caught what he'd just said. "This Wilderness Survival class? You mean you signed up for other electives too? The Sailor Course?"
"Yeah."
You En nodded.
Ibuki thought something was off. "Both of them cost 140,000 points, and we only get 100,000 starting points... You actually borrowed points from someone?!"
In her eyes, You En, who had signed up for everything right away, and the student willing to lend him points were both pretty irrational.
"You've got guts."
Ibuki had to admit she admired his "courage," though she thought he was being reckless.
"How do you usually manage meals?"
You En replied, "The free food in the cafeteria."
Ibuki had only just asked when she realized the answer herself. Her blue-violet eyes widened.
"You eat that pig slop every day?! Uh... I mean, that free food?"
You En smiled. Waiting didn't have to be boring. The girl in front of him had a rather striking air about her, and every expression she made was cute.
"Calling it pig slop is a bit much. The food's actually pretty expensive. It's basically a nutritious meal."
After eating at the cafeteria for a few days, You En had confirmed that the free food was probably tailored to his personal circumstances. They'd just made it taste awful on purpose.
Ibuki showed obvious disgust at the food. She didn't care whether it was nutritious or not; if it tasted that bad, they were obviously doing it to gross people out.
"I didn't mean it wasn't nutritious. It just tastes awful."
"You're right. It is pretty bad, but it's not so terrible. Who knows, one day we might have to eat something even harder to swallow."
You En said it offhandedly, but there was something behind his words.
Ibuki rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps rise. Out of curiosity, she'd tried ordering it once, but the smell alone had put her off. In the end, she hadn't dared to take even a single bite and had left it untouched.
At the thought that she might have to eat something even more disgusting,
she stiffened her slender neck and declared stubbornly,
"Even if that day really comes, I'd rather starve to death than take a single bite."
You En looked ready to enjoy the show.
"I'll remember that. I'll be waiting for the day you say it's actually delicious."
"No chance!"
Ibuki Mio declared resolutely. "If I eat it, I'll bark like a puppy."
That got You En interested.
"Then how about we make a bet?"
"Sure. The question is, what can you put up as a wager?"
Ibuki looked as though there was no way she could lose.
"You decide. What do you think would be worth it?"
Ibuki sized You En up. Her first impression of him was that he seemed pretty interesting. His personality wasn't annoying, and he was handsome—at least, much better-looking than the bunch of oddballs in her class.
"You've signed up for so many classes, so I guess you're out of points.
"All right, then. If I win, you have to bark like a puppy three times. If I lose, I'll do it."
"Sure. That's fair."
You En held out his right hand.
Ibuki smiled competitively and reached out to shake it.
"Don't back out."
"You too."
They smiled at each other.
Ibuki was just about to ask the boy's name.
"Hello, you two."
A beautiful girl with pink hair appeared in the hallway, accompanied by a timid girl with short, grayish-beige hair.
Seeing You En and Ibuki holding hands,
Ichinose Honami asked openly,
"Did I come at a bad time? Am I interrupting you?"
"Ichinose?!"
Seeing who it was, Ibuki clearly bristled with hostility and forgot to let go.
You En gently caught her wrist with his left hand and slipped his right hand free.
He said to Ichinose, "Sorry, don't get the wrong idea. We're just making friends."
"Making friends?"
Ichinose's lips curved into a bright smile, as if she accepted his explanation. Then she seemed to think of something.
"Can I join you?"
"Who is she? Do you know her?"
You En asked Ibuki beside him.
"Ichinose Honami, first place in the entrance exam."
Ibuki was on guard as she warned You En, "She's the leader of Class B. You'd better be careful."
"Oh, hello."
You En was about to introduce himself to Ichinose, but then he thought of something and turned to Ibuki.
"I'm You En Tiandai. I still don't know your name."
Ibuki didn't think much of it. "Ibuki Mio. Just call me Ibuki."
"Then you can call me You En."
"You really only just met?"
Ichinose Honami realized that You En had been telling the truth. She'd noticed how considerate he was from his little gesture just now, and felt a touch of goodwill toward him. She held out her hand too.
"Ichinose Honami. It's nice to meet you both. Can we be friends?"
"No."
Ibuki Mio was cautious. Rather than a bristling kitten, she looked more like a hunting dog that had spotted an enemy.
"I do feel lucky,"
You En said with a smile as he gently shook Ichinose's hand.
"Looks like I picked the right class. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met such beautiful girls."
As he shook Ichinose's hand, he felt two glares aimed at him from different directions.
You En looked at the short-haired girl beside Ichinose. She had to be Shiranami Chihiro, the one who had a crush on Little Fatty Bo.
"And who's this?"
Although Shiranami Chihiro had just been glaring at You En's hand, she didn't dare meet his eyes. She edged slightly behind Ichinose.
"Oh, sorry. She's a little shy."
Ichinose Honami turned and said a few comforting words to her, then faced the other two with a smile.
"If she does anything wrong, just tell me. I'll find a way to apologize."
You En understood and greeted her warmly.
"Hello, Shiranami."
Shiranami Chihiro hesitated, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.
She couldn't help it. The boy in front of her was really handsome, and people always judged each other by their looks at first.
"You're all early,"
said an old man who looked nearly sixty. His face was covered in wrinkles, and his hands were thick with calluses. His gaze swept over them.
"It's good to be prepared."
He opened the door. "Come in. Since you're here, I'll explain a few things first, so you don't have to stand around waiting."
Just then, a girl hurried around the corner.
You En had noticed her earlier: Masumi Kamuro from Class A. She enjoyed the thrill of petty theft, and while he'd been talking with Ibuki, she'd been lingering near the corner.
The survival instructor, his face lined with wrinkles, smiled kindly and praised her.
"It's good to be observant too, Kamuro."
Masumi Kamuro nodded coolly without replying. She didn't seem to be in a very good mood.
The survival instructor didn't mind.
"Now that everyone's here, let's get started."
You En went in with the girls. The classroom was vast, large enough to fit a soccer field. A curtain in the middle seemed to divide it from another section.
He suddenly realized that, aside from him, everyone who'd come to this Wilderness Survival class was a girl. Shouldn't there have been more people?
Thinking it over,
Ibuki from Class C had come because she was interested.
Ichinose from Class B had probably decided on her own that the course might be useful, but no one else had been willing to come, so she'd had to attend herself. Shiranami had come along with her.
As for Kamuro from Class A, judging by how unwilling she looked, she'd probably been forced to come—coerced by some little demon.
You En thought his guess was probably right, but he asked anyway to make sure.
"I know why Ibuki signed up. What about the rest of you? Why did you take this class?"
Kamuro had no intention of answering him.
Ichinose glanced at the instructor apologetically. "I'd planned to have everyone in my class sign up for one or two classes, but most of them disagreed. They thought the classes might be expensive and not have any practical value, so I decided to check it out first myself."
When she finished, she bowed slightly to the instructor. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean anything by it."
The survival instructor shook his head.
"That's all right. You're a good student, and more people signed up for my class this year than for most others."
Then he looked at You En.
"Let me introduce myself. I served as a special forces soldier in the British Parachute Regiment, and I was also stationed in Afghanistan as a British Army captain.
"I've trekked through the tropical rainforests of Peru. I've been to a deserted island in the South Pacific, the African desert, Indonesia, Belize, Canada, Iraq, and many other places. I've even survived alone on an uninhabited island for more than ninety days."
As soon as he finished,
"You're Edward?!"
Ibuki Mio exclaimed excitedly, like she'd just met a celebrity, and gave his full name.
"Edward Stafford Grylls?!"
"Edward?"
You En thought the name sounded familiar. Then it hit him: wasn't that the full name of Bear Grylls?
He looked up again at the old man in front of him.
The man before them was unquestionably a survival expert—an expert among experts.
The school had actually brought someone like him in to teach them?
And judging by the man's appearance, he seemed to have been teaching here for a long time.
The original Classroom of the Elite could never have been this capable!
You En felt as though everything was about to fall into place. He didn't know the whole story yet, but he was probably the only one in his year preparing for what was coming.
Edward closed the classroom door and came over to them.
"All right, let's begin."
They were all looking forward to it, especially Ibuki.
Even Kamuro, who'd been forced to attend, felt that it might not be a waste after all.
After all, there was hardly anyone in the world who hadn't heard of Bear Grylls.
Before you continue