Personal Terminal... Skill Panel?!

"So it's Class D."

You En looked at the class plaque reading "1st Year Class D" and, following the seating chart posted by the entrance, found his seat.

It wasn't by the window or in the last row, but the second-to-last row, second-to-last column.

That is, diagonally above Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's seat, and directly in front of Horikita Suzune.

"What a coincidence."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took the initiative to greet the two.

But neither of them paid him any attention.

Did they not hear him?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought it unlikely and greeted them again.

Horikita Suzune held her book without even turning her head.

"Hey, you in front, someone's greeting you."

You En turned back, somewhat surprised.

"Isn't he hitting on you?"

Horikita Suzune raised an eyebrow.

"Then you reject him for me."

"?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt like he had become part of a game between the two, the only outsider.

But since he had already spoken, he figured he should at least establish some basic contact.

He moved his chair between them. "I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. And you?"

You En glanced at Ayanokoji. He didn't actually dislike Ayanokoji, the "original protagonist"—he neither liked nor hated him. It was just that he found him troublesome. As everyone knew, protagonists were always magnets for drama.

"You En Tiandai. Just call me You En."

"Horikita Suzune."

Horikita Suzune said her name while looking at You En.

"Nyaa~ Suzune-chan, what a cute name."

"You?"

Horikita Suzune's whole body jolted as if shocked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just a relapse of my second-dimension disease."

You En turned back and flopped onto his desk, playing dead. As a transmigrator and professional NEET, he hadn't been to school in too long.

He had to admit... school was really boring.

He shouldn't have come in the first place. Wouldn't it have been better to stay home, play games, and sleep in?

Horikita Suzune watched the motionless salted fish in front of her, which didn't turn over for a long time, before finally turning to look at Ayanokoji.

She saw that he, too, was staring at You En in front.

"Do you know him?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook his head. "No."

He had never seen such an odd person. The aura this guy gave off now was utterly useless, like he was marinated in salt.

It made you wonder if this was really the same person who had said those things on the bus.

"I'm going to read now."

Horikita Suzune gave him the cold shoulder.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't intend to push it. He had come for You En anyway. Since the conversation was over, there was no need to shamelessly linger.

He returned to his seat and covertly observed the whole class.

The class quickly split into small cliques. For example, that tea-haired girl from the bus had already gathered a circle around her.

The blond guy was there too, combing his hair with a mirror, standing out just as much as You En.

In such a noisy classroom, some were beautiful alone, some were playing dead alone, and some were reading alone. Was this the education system outside, different from the White Room? Truly unique.

But he still had to keep a low profile.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood up and walked toward the three idiots he had been observing for a while. He just wanted a peaceful life. He'd blend in with these ordinary people.

"Here it comes, here it comes."

Horikita Suzune looked up. Somehow, You En had already sat up, his face full of excitement.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm watching people play the pig."

"Play the pig?"

Kushida Kikyo closed her book, looking toward Ayanokoji and the trio of boys pointing at the female classmates and cracking dirty jokes. With a hint of disdain, she said, "Do they even need to play it?"

You En was about to say a few words when the classroom door slid open.

A teacher with long red hair walked in, her locks flowing like burning flames.

She stepped up to the podium, gazing at the students who had been chattering and causing a ruckus. A faint smile crept across her face—not anger, not mockery, but contempt and disdain, laced with a trace of barely perceptible pity.

"I'm your homeroom teacher and 'guide,' Chabashira Sae. For the next three years... I hope you can last three years. If you do, I'll be quite pleased."

She shook her head. "Forget it, I don't hold any expectations for you either. The opening ceremony is in the gymnasium in an hour. Look over these materials."

Chabashira Sae pulled a stack of documents and student ID cards from the drawer and tossed them carelessly onto the desk.

"Divide them among yourselves. You can ask me questions, but it's best if you don't."

After this display, the classroom fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder noise.

You En sensed something was off.

The red-haired Chabashira Sae—in the original work, she had black hair. Had she dyed it?

Two student ID cards were passed over from the front by classmates. He took them and handed Horikita Suzune's card to her.

Calling them student ID cards was just a formality; they were actually specially made phones.

You En pressed down on his, and the screen lit up. Was this a fingerprint unlock?

[Student ID: s01t004753 Student Name: You En Tiandai S-Points: 100000 Unlocked Functions: "Personal Panel" "Academy Store"]

Sure enough, it was 100,000 points.

You En felt a slight sense of relief.

But what was this "Personal Panel" below?

He tapped to expand it.

"Language Lv2 (Chinese Lv2, Japanese Lv2, English Lv1; two languages at professional level, one language usable for daily conversation)"

"Creation Lv3 (Light Novel Lv3, Master Level)"

"Communication Lv2 (Affinity Lv2, Persuasion Lv2, Teaching Lv0)"

"Exam-Taking Lv2 (Written Exam Lv2, Physical Test Lv0)"

"Driving Lv0 (Modern Lv0, Beginner Level)"

"Skills not yet started are not displayed."

A bad feeling coiled around his heart once more.

You En sensed something was wrong. A crucial point was that his Chinese ability had barely ever been exposed in this life.

Moreover, he had hardly attended school in this life. The days he'd spent on campus could be counted on his fingers and toes. For the school's entrance exam, he'd just scribbled down answers for the written portion without any review.

Where had the school gotten information about his exam-taking ability?

If this panel truly reflected a person's real abilities, then this school couldn't possibly be the Classroom of the Elite from the novel he knew so well.

"Hey, are you guys seeing this personal panel?!"

Ike Kanji shouted loudly. He was one of the three idiots.

"I only have a Language Lv1,"

Yamauchi Haruki said just as loudly. "Besides Japanese, I've got Rumor-Mongering Lv1. Seriously, when have I ever spread rumors?!"

A female classmate who looked like she came from a well-off family said, "I've been playing piano at an amateur level 10 for years. Why is it only at beginner level? This has to be a random assessment."

Kushida Kikyo opened her personal panel, then instantly shut off her phone, clutching it tightly and taking a deep breath.

"Communication Lv1 (Deception Lv1, Affinity Lv1)"

Those glaring words kept stabbing into her mind like needles.

She absolutely could not let anyone see this. Absolutely not.

You En shifted his gaze away from Kushida Kikyo's face. It seemed this panel truly reflected a person's real abilities. He turned to the black-haired girl and said, "Little Suzune, can I take a look at your panel?"

"How boring."

Horikita Suzune hadn't planned on checking it, but since he brought it up, she tapped it open and placed it on the desk. Ayanokoji, curious, leaned over to peek, but she shot him a fierce glare that sent him retreating.

"Language Lv1 (Japanese Lv1, Chinese Lv1, English Lv1, German Lv1, Russian Lv1, Portuguese Lv0, Spanish Lv0)"

"Yoga Lv2 (Professional)""Exam Prep Lv1 (Written Lv1, Physical Lv1, Mastery)""Tea Ceremony Lv1 (Mastery)""Jujitsu Lv1 (Mastery)""Karate Lv0 (Beginner)""Brocon Lv0 (Beginner)"

You En looked up and met Horikita Suzune's gaze.

Damn, even brocon counts as a skill? What level does that have to be?

Horikita Suzune was confused at first, then looked down and carefully read her personal panel. When she spotted that last skill, she completely "petrified."

"Th-this thing has to be broken! Absolutely broken!"

The black-haired girl denied it frantically. Anyone could see she was guilty as hell.

Horikita Suzune saw the meme-worthy, ridiculous look in You En's eyes, snatched her phone back, suppressed her shame and anger, and said coldly, "What kind of crappy school is this!"

Can't push her any further.

You En reached out toward Ayanokoji.

"Ayanokoji, let me see your panel too."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka exited his personal panel, closed the interface, and put away his phone.

"No... I... I have a really bad skill."

As he spoke, he glanced at Horikita Suzune.

"A skill you can't let a girl know about, got it, got it."

You En understood perfectly. This guy was fabricating having that kind of skill just to avoid exposing his true strength. He was committed.

But would the White Room actually train skills in that area?

Curious. Still wanted to see.

"Show me in private later?"

"Cough."

Horikita Suzune glared at him.

"Don't rush. I'll show you guys my panel."

You En didn't have anything to hide for now anyway.

"Lv3... Master?!"

Horikita Suzune couldn't help blurting out. She didn't know what "Master" really meant, but she knew she didn't have a single Master-level skill. Even her most proud exam skill was only "Exam Prep Lv1." The other guy had that same skill too, and it was higher than hers. Aside from that, only the yoga she'd been practicing had reached a professional level.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't say much, just chimed in with agreement. But inside, his heart stirred. Because his skills were also only at the professional level—not a single Master-level one.

But that was strange. In some fields, his other skills had already defeated "so-called masters." He was as professional as it got.

So why did the panel only show "Professional"?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought for a moment, then snapped back to attention and added, "Impressive. You probably wouldn't even need to come to this school to find a good job or position with that skill."

You En looked at this guy. In the whole class, aside from him, the only ones with Lv3 skills were probably this guy and Handsome Bro.

He was a bit behind them for now.

But no matter. If this school was really what he imagined—not the Classroom of the Elite from his past life's novels, but what he guessed it to be—

The True Classroom of the Elite.

Then catching up or surpassing them...

Wasn't out of the question.

PS:

Lv0 Beginner: Officially entered one branch of a skill in this field. A level anyone can reach with consistent practice. Corresponding talent can shorten the time needed to enter.

Lv1 Mastery: Achieved mastery in one branch of a skill in this field. Depending on the skill, requires months to years of study and practice. Corresponding talent can shorten practice time.

Lv2 Professional: Achieved professional-level accomplishments in one branch of this field. Can take this as a career, make a living, and be competent in corresponding positions. Requires some talent and hard work to achieve. Those with weaker talent may spend their whole lives unable to reach professional level.

Lv3 Master: Pioneered a new school in this field and leads it alone, unmatched. Those without talent can never reach this domain. Those with talent need not only effort but also some luck.

Lv4 Unlocked.

Lv5 Unlocked.