It Was All the Main God's Hand

"Our class's grades and evaluations will affect the points you receive each month. So will your tardiness, leaving early, and playing on your phones during class."

"After a whole month of scrutiny..."

She wrote a huge "0" on the blackboard, then turned around and folded her arms as she looked at the pale-faced dregs before her.

"You've already lost every point you started with."

"To manage that in just one month... Heh. You really are a bunch of Class D losers."

The lively classroom had instantly turned ice-cold. Everyone looked as though they couldn't accept reality.

Chabashira Sae tapped the blackboard again.

"However..."

"Since this is the first time this has happened since the school was founded, the school has decided to give you defective products a chance to make up for it."

"Tonight, there will be a Special Exam."

A Special Exam?

At the words, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow.

"Only one person from each class may participate."

"The score that person earns will be added to the class's evaluation at a ratio of 1:10."

"Most importantly—since this is the first exam of its kind, the points you earn this time will count toward last month's evaluation."

"In other words, every point will earn each of you a thousand points!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the lifeless Class D erupted!

They could earn points?

And turn them straight into money?

"Really, sensei?!" Sudo shot to his feet. "We get money just for taking the exam?"

"That's right." Chabashira Sae nodded. "But only if you earn points."

"Well, then..."

She surveyed the class, finally putting the question to the students whose eyes were gleaming:

"Who wants to sign up for tonight?"

Note ①—The Dictator Button: This button was designed for future dictators. Press it, and anyone who opposes you disappears—or rather, they "never existed in the first place." But in truth, it's meant to make dictators reflect by showing them what loneliness looks like. The people can still be brought back.

Note ②—Liar 800: After drinking it, everything you say becomes a lie. Perfect for April Fools' Day.

Chapter 8: It Was All the Main God's Hand

### "One point is a thousand points? Then if you get a hundred points, that's a hundred thousand!"

"No way! There's actually a deal like this... Trust me, we'll go from bicycles to motorcycles!"

"Hah? With your failing PE grade? If anyone's going, it should be me!"

"If you don't want to die, shut up! This is about the whole class's living expenses!"

The D Class classroom was filled with one argument after another.

But it was only natural.

At this school, where you could buy anything with points, the tempting promise Chabashira Sae had laid out was enough to drive these free-spending freshmen, with no savings to their names, into a frenzy.

Su Wei propped his chin on one hand, lightly sliding his finger across his phone screen.

I'm telling you, sneaking a look at your phone at school is the best. Anyone else get it?

Just then, a Line message popped up at the top of the screen.

Kikyo: "This sounds a lot like yesterday's Black Sphere Exam~ (.oˇ?ˇo.) But there's only one spot. Su Wei, do you think we should sign up?"

Su Wei looked up.

His gaze passed through the crowd, as if they shared a silent understanding.

Kushida Kikyo, who was turned sideways and pretending to listen to Hirata, happened to glance back at that very moment.

Their eyes met.

The girl blinked her expressive eyes, as if asking for his opinion.

Hoh, so this is the calm confidence of an old-school artist?

Su Wei looked away and casually tapped out a reply.

"Up to you. I think I'll wait and see for now."

Less than two seconds after he sent it, her reply popped up.

"Then I'll wait and see too~"

"But if we have to take an exam every day, isn't that way too often? Even if we each have three lives, a class of forty people couldn't keep that up... There seem to be a lot of upperclassmen. I wonder if they have some trick for staying alive?"

It was only because the game had just launched. Who knew what would happen later?

The corner of Su Wei's mouth lifted.

"Why not just ask them? It wouldn't hurt to spend some points on information like this."

After sending that, he stopped replying.

Nearby, Kushida Kikyo glanced at her phone, pressed her lips together in thought, then sent back a "well-behaved nod.jpg."

The bell rang.

Like an NPC who had finished his quest, Chabashira Sae left with her lesson plans without another word.

Once the homeroom teacher was gone, the classroom erupted.

"Everyone, settle down for a moment!"

Hirata Yosuke, the class's natural leader, stepped forward at once.

"About who gets the spot for this exam, I think we need to discuss it properly. This concerns..."

Hirata was still trying to keep order.

But Kushida Kikyo unexpectedly left her little circle and walked straight over to Su Wei without hesitation.

"Um, Su Wei. I was thinking about it just now."

She lowered her voice deliberately, and with her leaning posture, it looked from a distance as if she were whispering something private.

"We don't have many points to begin with. Maybe we could split the cost of buying information with Ryuen, Ichinose, and the others?"

Su Wei gave a slight nod. "That's a good idea."

Kushida sprang into action at once.

Soon, she had created a five-person group called [Black Sphere Mutual Aid Society (Tentative)].

She tagged everyone and briefly explained her idea.

Then the chat went quiet for a few seconds.

Perhaps because she hadn't been much help during yesterday's exam, Ichinose Honami was the first to respond.

"...Actually, I happen to know a second-year student. Maybe I could ask him to look into it for us? If we need points, I'll do my best to contribute."

Feibo really was too much of an angel. She knew it was a trap and still jumped right in.

That was only because Classroom of the Elite was a mainstream series, and Su Wei had used an item to alter Miyabi Nagumo's sexual orientation, awakening the woman within him.

Otherwise, wouldn't Ichinose really look like she'd walked straight out of a boys' love doujin?

At that moment, Sakayanagi Arisu chimed in.

"Hehe. I wonder if everyone remembers that before the exam began, the Black Sphere called us the 'first Qualified Ones.' And with technology this far ahead of its time... Is it possible that we really are the only pioneers?"

Ryuen Kakeru immediately replied:

"Do whatever you want. Just don't drag me into it!"

With that, he left the group chat.

Kushida Kikyo looked up at Su Wei with her big, watery eyes and complained softly, sounding a little hurt.

"Ryuen doesn't seem very easy to get along with."

"Even though we're all in this together."

"People don't share one another's joys and sorrows."

"You'll get used to it." Su Wei turned off his screen and said casually, "But if Sakayanagi's guess is right and we really are the first..."

"Then this exam probably isn't just for us first-years."

"Maybe we can use that information gap to our advantage."

Kushida Kikyo paused, then seemed to catch on. Her eyes lit up.

"You mean... sell information to the upperclassmen who are about to take the Black Sphere Exam?!"

Exactly. At this school, where points reigned supreme, information was money!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, her earlier hurt feelings already forgotten.

"But since the exam's tonight, we'll have to hurry. And we need to consider the risk of Ichinose and the others leaking the information..."

"Don't worry, Su Wei. Leave it to me! I'll handle everything!"

Watching Kushida Kikyo rush off in a hurry, Su Wei gave a slight nod.

She was a sweet-talking schemer, but at least she wasn't stupid. She'd caught on to what he meant. A little nudge, and she could be a useful tool.

Still... what a shame.

She wasn't on tonight's exam roster.

After all, they were still in the testing phase.

To keep the instance under control, Su Wei had set the initial rules as follows:

The four-person group, including him, would be permanent participants, with an absolute head start.

In the actual exam, besides them, the format would be "one person per class" plus "one randomly selected person from the entire school."

Kushida Kikyo had naturally been the lucky guinea pig last night.

But, just like those terrible gacha games...

There was no such thing as true randomness.

Every probability shifted at the Main God's hand.

As for tonight's "random spot," Su Wei already had someone in mind. Kushida wasn't going to get it.

"Well, since no one has any objections..."

Hirata Yosuke's voice from the podium pulled Su Wei's thoughts back.

After some bickering, Class D had decided who would take the exam that night.

Beside the podium stood a girl with long, straight black hair, arms folded across her chest and an air that warned everyone to stay away. Her expression was cold and proud.

"I'll get the points back. I'll prove to you who's right."

As expected, it was Horikita...

This armored-up little Yukinoshita was overconfident and lacked empathy when dealing with people. She wasn't close to anyone in the class, either.

But with nobody knowing what kind of exam awaited them,

her top-five score in the opening exam really did make her look formidable.

It remained to be seen whether she could keep a straight face when she saw a roomful of Evil Spirits.

It was kind of exciting.

Hopefully, she'd last a while.