The Million-Point Storm and the Gaze of the S System

Time slipped quietly into May. It should have been the season when cherry blossoms had fully fallen and fresh greenery was burgeoning, but the atmosphere in Class D of the first-year students at Advanced Nurturing High School was as if shrouded by an invisible haze, suffocatingly oppressive. On May 1st, the morning classroom had lost its usual clamor, the air thick with a restless, stifling unease.

"Hey... the points haven't been distributed yet, right?" Ike Kanji's voice carried obvious irritation, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, not a peep," Yamauchi Haruki chimed in, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the desk.

"Could it really be like the rumors say—that our Class D won't get a single point this month?" Sudo Ken's voice held disbelief tinged with a hint of panic.

"Impossible! The school has to give us at least a basic living allowance, right?" Karuizawa Kei frowned, her tone forceful, but her eyes betrayed worry.

"But the rules do say that if class points hit zero, personal point distribution stops..." Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses, calmly stating the harsh truth.

The murmurs burst like water droplets into hot oil, exploding across the classroom. Anxiety, complaints, speculation, even panic spread rapidly among the Class D students. Hirata Yosuke tried to calm everyone: "Everyone, settle down. Until the homeroom teacher officially explains things, any guesswork is meaningless." But his voice was quickly drowned out by the rising tide of noise.

Right in the center of this chaos, Kazama In sat quietly in his seat. Beneath his three-seven-parted black hair, his calm brows and eyes were as still as an ancient well. The few streaks of silver-white and dark red highlights at his temples caught the morning light streaming through the window, standing out strikingly and adding an eerie, mysterious air to his refined, cold profile. His fingertips idly scrolled across his phone screen, which clearly displayed his personal point balance: 1,022,360 points. In a Class D where points might now be zero, this number was nothing short of a dazzling mountain of gold.

He wasn't deliberately showing off, but he wasn't hiding it either. He subtly adjusted the angle of his phone, ensuring that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, sitting behind him, and Horikita Suzune, next to Ayanokoji, could clearly see that astonishing number if they paid just a little attention. He needed to test—to test the reactions of these two "anomalies" who stood out in Class D, to test how they processed information.

And sure enough.

When Horikita Suzune glanced over Kazama In's back once more, her eyes inadvertently caught the dizzying string of digits on his phone screen. Her cold, phoenix-like eyes widened instantly, her pupils contracting from extreme shock. Even with her strong will, far beyond her peers, she was shaken by this absurdly huge sum of points.

"Kazama...!?" A short, incredulous whisper escaped her lips uncontrollably.

This sound wasn't loud, but amid the class's overall anxiety, it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly drawing the attention of a small circle around her. Ike, Yamauchi, Sudo, and others instinctively followed Horikita's shocked gaze to Kazama In... and the phone still glowing in his hand!

The girl sitting in front of Kazama—a usually low-profile student named Wang Xiaomei—happened to clearly see the number due to her angle. She sharply sucked in a breath, and in a voice trembling with extreme shock, she said softly:

"O-one million points?! Kazama-kun?! Your points?!"

Though quiet, the whole class heard it.

"What?!"

"A million?!"

"You've got to be kidding?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Like a fuse lit on a powder keg, the entire Class D exploded! Everyone forgot their earlier worries about class points. All eyes—shocked, greedy, jealous, incredulous—focused like spotlights on Kazama In! The roar of voices nearly lifted the roof.

"Impossible! How could anyone in Class D have that many points!"

"Cheating! He must be cheating!"

"Kazama! What did you do?!"

"Spit it out!"

Sudo Ken slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Kazama In. Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki even crowded around Kazama's desk, their eyes fixed on his phone screen as if to confirm the number wasn't an illusion. Even Hirata Yosuke was completely stunned, utterly unable to grasp the situation. Karuizawa Kei's expression was complex, shock mixed with an indescribable curiosity.

Just as the chaos was about to spiral out of control—

Bang!

The classroom door was shoved open.

Chabashira Sae walked in expressionlessly. The sharp click of her heels on the floor cut through the noise like ice. Her piercing gaze swept across the room like a scalpel, finally landing precisely on the storm's center—the boy who, amid the class's accusations and turmoil, remained almost eerily calm: Kazama In.

The classroom fell silent instantly, leaving only heavy breathing. Everyone's eyes nervously darted between the homeroom teacher and Kazama In.

Chabashira Sae stepped up to the podium, placed both hands on it, and leaned forward slightly. She didn't start the homeroom meeting immediately. Instead, she stared at Kazama In and spoke in a penetrating tone laced with complex scrutiny:

"What's all the noise about?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. "The point issue will be explained during the homeroom. As for Kazama In-kun's personal points..." She paused, her gaze lingering longer on his unruffled face, as if assessing a troublesome weapon, "That's his own business. Since the school hasn't judged him in violation, they are legally obtained."

Her words doused some of the "cheating" accusations like cold water, but greater confusion and dissatisfaction still churned in everyone's minds. Why? How?

Chabashira's gaze swept the class, briefly pausing on Horikita Suzune, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hirata Yosuke, and others, before finally returning to Kazama In. She added with a hint of hidden meaning, her voice carrying a subtle depth: "If Class D wants to climb up, complaining and questioning won't help. What's needed are people who can see through the rules and have the ability to use them. Kazama-kun... is clearly one of them."

This sentence was like a bomb dropped into deep water! The homeroom teacher had just openly affirmed Kazama's value and even hinted that he had "seen through the rules"? The rules of the S System?!

"Seen through the rules?" Horikita Suzune keenly caught that phrase. Her gaze toward Kazama In grew sharper and more complex.

Kazama In finally moved. He slowly put away his phone, and facing the class's suspicious, jealous, and probing eyes, he stood up calmly. His movements were unhurried, as if the surrounding uproar had nothing to do with him.

"Chabashira-sensei is right," Kazama In said, his voice low and clear, reaching everyone's ears. "Points are the foundation of everything here. The rules are indeed like that—meritocracy, equivalent exchange."

He frankly acknowledged the importance of points and laid out the school's core logic. This composed attitude actually calmed some of the more agitated students.

"As for the source of my points," Kazama In's gaze swept over the most vocal doubters—Sudo, Ike, Yamauchi—and finally landed on the corner of the classroom, where Koenji Rokusuke sat leisurely admiring his own fingernails, as if completely detached from it all. "Koenji-kun."

Called out by name, Koenji Rokusuke raised an eyebrow slightly, finally deigning to lift his gaze from his perfect nails. His golden eyes, gleaming with an almost inhuman light, turned to Kazama In with keen interest.

"Beautiful Man," Kazama In used a slightly teasing nickname that Koenji didn't seem to mind, "I recall that the day before yesterday, in the afternoon, while pursuing 'beauty,' you happened to pass by the entrance of the Kendo Club dojo, didn't you? Could you please explain to our classmates what you saw there?"

Hearing this, Koenji Rokusuke curled his lips into a flamboyant and narcissistic arc. He stood up gracefully, stretching like a model, and spoke in his signature, operatic tone: "Oh my, oh my~ Kazama-kun speaks the truth. The pursuit of beauty is our eternal mission. At that time, I was lost in the geometric aesthetic composition formed by the interplay of light and shadow in the corridor. My feet were involuntarily drawn by the sound full of power and rhythm, leading me to the Kendo Club's door."

He looked around, his gaze carrying a condescending scrutiny, as if evaluating whether these "commoners" were worthy of hearing his account. "Within that sacred hall of the martial way, I witnessed with my own eyes a duel that could only be called art. Kazama-kun, like a lone wolf under the moon, with unparalleled precision and speed, engaged in several 'friendly' sparring sessions with the senior members of the Kendo Club. The beauty of his form, the exquisiteness of his movements—truly a perfect fusion of power and technique! As for the result..." Koenji spread his hands in an "obvious" dramatic gesture, "Naturally, Kazama-kun was the superior. As for that paltry million points, they were merely a token of appreciation expressed by those seniors for this splendid 'aesthetic display.'"

Koenji's testimony, though delivered in his characteristic flamboyant style, clearly painted the facts: Kazama In had earned those points fair and square through real strength in the Kendo Club! And the Kendo Club members had paid willingly!

"Kendo Club? He beat everyone?"

"Fifty thousand points each?!"

"No wonder..."

Though Koenji was eccentric, his disdain for lying was well-known in Class D. Coupled with his eyewitness account, the credibility was high. For a moment, the voices of doubt subsided, replaced by shock and disbelief. You could earn this many points just by fighting (sparring)? This completely overturned their understanding!

Hirata Yosuke seized the moment to step forward and stabilize the situation once more: "Everyone heard that! Kazama-kun earned his points through his own ability, fairly and within the rules! What we should be thinking about is how to improve ourselves, not questioning others! Right now, the most important thing is to listen to Chabashira-sensei's explanation about the class points!"

Yukimura Teruhiko also adjusted his glasses: "Hirata-kun is right. Differences in individual ability are an objective reality. Rather than being jealous, we should think about how to find ways to improve ourselves within the rules, like Kazama-kun."

Karuizawa Kei didn't speak, but the look she gave Kazama In had shifted—beyond her earlier scrutiny, there was now more wariness and a reassessment. This transfer student was even more unfathomable than she'd imagined.

Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi still felt frustrated and resentful, but with Hōsen's testimony and the persuasion from Hirata and Yukimura, they couldn't keep making a scene. They sat back down sullenly, though their gazes at Kazama In remained complicated.

The storm triggered by a million points was temporarily quelled by Hōsen's testimony and the efforts of Hirata and the others. But the atmosphere in the class grew more delicate. The mystery shrouding Kazama In and the invisible pressure of his overwhelming strength were deeply etched into the hearts of every Class D student.

Chabashira Sae watched the entire scene coldly from the sidelines. Only after the turmoil subsided did she begin the formal class meeting with an expressionless face, announcing the brutal truth: Class D's class points had dropped to zero, and personal points for the month would be suspended. This news struck like a final hammer blow, plunging Class D into the depths of despair. Yet throughout the announcement, Chabashira's gaze lingered faintly on Kazama In, as if evaluating a weapon that had just revealed a fraction of its power.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat behind Kazama In, taking it all in. His expressionless face belied a calm, analytical mind:

"Deliberately showing me and Horikita the points... was it to test our reactions? Or did he simply think we wouldn't spread the word?"

"Horikita's reaction was predictable—her shock was too obvious, and it directly ignited the situation."

"Hōsen's testimony was perfectly timed, clearing him of cheating suspicions, but it also fully exposed his strength and... wealth. That doesn't help him stay low-key."

"Chabashira's reaction... she seemed to already know Kazama In wasn't ordinary. That hint about 'seeing through the rules' was crucial. The S System... what exactly did Kazama In see through?"

"Finally... he used Hōsen's personality and the coincidence of the moment to successfully turn a crisis that could have spiraled out of control into a display of his own power. Though the process was somewhat passive, the result... was it what he wanted? To let everyone know his 'value' and 'ability'? Is that beneficial for uniting Class D? Or... does he have another agenda?"

Ayanokoji's gaze settled on Kazama In's straight back, like observing a suddenly illuminated, unpredictable piece on a complex chessboard. "Kazama In... is your goal really just to rise to Class A? Was this point storm a carefully orchestrated performance, or an opportunistic move after losing control?"

The bell signaling the end of the class meeting rang out like a horn of release, but it also marked the official beginning of Class D's hellish, point-less existence.

"Kazama In," Chabashira Sae's voice cut clearly through the noise of students packing up, carrying an undeniable tone of command, "come with me to the office."

Instantly, the atmosphere that had just begun to ease tightened again. The entire class's gaze refocused on Kazama In, filled with a complex mix of emotions—envy (for having a million points), awe (at his strength), curiosity (why the homeroom teacher was calling him alone), and even a hint of schadenfreude (was he in trouble with the teacher?).

Kazama In's expression remained calm, as if he had anticipated this. He stood up unhurriedly, ignoring the piercing stares, and stepped forward to follow Chabashira Sae's retreating figure out of the classroom.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched Kazama In disappear through the door, then glanced at Horikita Suzune beside him, her brow still furrowed in thought. He silently added to himself:

"Performance... or a test. Now the next act truly begins. Chabashira Sae... what information do you hold about the S System and Kazama In?"