Wu Qiao sat in the back row of Class D, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the desk. His gaze seemed to drift across the clear blue sky outside the window, but in truth, he was examining the flashy system panel in his mind.
If this had happened ten years ago, being transported to another world might have excited him so much he couldn't sleep for three days. But now, aside from a stomachache at the sight of the bizarrely styled "Path Madman System," he felt nothing.
The system interface floated across his retinas, eighteen card faces like Tarot Cards shimmering with an eerie light. They were the Paths governed by the Aeons—and the source of his power in the future.
"Path of Destruction... Since the universe is destined to end in heat death, why not burn through the world sooner?" Wu Qiao silently recited the Path's description, the corner of his mouth twitching. In other words, it was a mass-murdering antisocial personality. Pass.
"The Hunt? That's chasing down your enemies and hacking them apart. Nihility? That's hacking yourself apart. Elation?"
His gaze lingered for a moment on the Path of Elation. Aha really was a fun-loving lunatic, but Wu Qiao didn't think he was ready to turn his life into a circus that could go off the rails at any moment.
By comparison, he preferred to play it safe.
"Path of Erudition. Nous be praised—knowledge is power, and that makes perfect sense. Or maybe Remembrance? Fuli's cold, detached observer vibe is nice too. And if all else fails, big sister Yaoshi of Abundance can keep me safe."
Wu Qiao sighed and refocused on the classroom.
This was Advanced Nurturing High School, Class D, a place for all the "defective products."
Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, had just left the classroom, leaving behind a roomful of troublemakers who still had no idea what was going on. Ken Sudō and Kanji Ike were arguing in the back; Matsuda was in the corner, wearing headphones and acting cool; and Koenji Rokusuke looked thoroughly displeased.
"Hopeless." Wu Qiao had already sentenced Class D to death in his mind. "This is a hell-difficulty start. I'd better just latch onto someone strong."
His gaze settled on a seat in the corner of the classroom.
According to the original story, a brown-haired boy with eyes like the abyss should have been sitting there—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
The guy who had avoiding trouble hardwired into his DNA.
But now, sitting there was a girl with long brown hair and skin so pale it was almost translucent, quietly reading a paperback novel.
Ayanokoji Kiyoha.
That's right. Ayanokoji had gone from a guy to a girl!
The first time Wu Qiao saw her, he'd been so shocked he couldn't put it into words. Her gender had changed, but that otherworldly, transparent quality—and the deep, unfathomable cunning hidden beneath her calm exterior—were exactly the same.
"I can't beat her, outplay her, or afford to provoke her."
Wu Qiao listed the "three things he couldn't do" in his mind. Physically, he was just an ordinary high schooler. His intelligence had improved a little after two days of grinding experience on the Path of Erudition, but trying to compete with a monster like her would still be suicide.
"I'll just wait until Ayanokoji gets Class D up to Class A, then find a way to coast into graduation." Wu Qiao made up his mind. His strategy for now was simple: keep his head down and don't stir up trouble! Well, unless the system came through for him.
The lunch bell rang, and the classroom erupted into noise.
Wu Qiao closed his textbook and glanced at Ayanokoji Kiyoha, who was quietly packing her bag.
If he'd decided to latch onto someone strong, he'd better commit. At this stage, Ayanokoji Kiyoha was still observing the world, learning about an "ordinary high school life." This was the perfect time to approach her and build some rapport.
"Hey, Ayanokoji, want to go to the cafeteria together?" Wu Qiao walked over, trying to sound like an ordinary classmate.
Ayanokoji Kiyoha looked up. Her dark brown eyes rested calmly on Wu Qiao for two seconds before she gave a slight nod, closed her book, and stood. "Sure."
Her voice was cool and flat.
They left the classroom one after the other and joined the flow of students in the hallway.
As they walked, Wu Qiao tried to figure out how to steer the conversation. Should he bring up the school system? Or that so-called S System?
No, that would be too deliberate. It was safer to start with an everyday topic like food.
"I heard today's special in the cafeteria is the Special Hamburg Steak. It might be gone if we get there too late," Wu Qiao said casually.
"Mm," Ayanokoji Kiyoha replied flatly.
Just as they rounded the stairwell and were about to head downstairs, a pink-haired figure suddenly darted in from the side and stopped right in front of them.
Wu Qiao halted, nearly bumping into her.
She was a girl with long pink hair and a smile bright enough to chase away the gloom.
Ichinose Honami, the heart of Class B and the school's universally beloved good girl.
"Oh, if it isn't Wu Qiao from Class D!"
Ichinose Honami clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. Her bright eyes examined Wu Qiao with interest, as though she'd found some rare treasure.
What unsettled Wu Qiao most was that she completely ignored Ayanokoji Kiyoha standing beside him.
Under normal circumstances, someone like Ichinose would politely greet both of them.
"Um... do we know each other?" Wu Qiao felt a little uneasy under her gaze and instinctively took half a step back.
Ichinose Honami tilted her head, still wearing that harmless smile. But her words made Wu Qiao's heart skip a beat. "Would you be interested in buying some information? The price is definitely reasonable! I have information on whether we'll still get one hundred thousand Personal Points next month."
Wu Qiao's pupils contracted slightly.
Was this in the original story?
He quickly searched his memory for the plot. Ichinose was indeed an information broker, but at this point, the core rule that "Class Points determine Personal Points" should still have been a secret known to only a handful of people.
Ichinose was smart, but she shouldn't have been actively approaching someone from Class D to sell that kind of information on the second day of school, let alone in a way that was so unlike her.
More importantly, why was she only watching him?
Ayanokoji Kiyoha seemed to sense the strange atmosphere too. She turned her head slightly, her gaze shifting between Ichinose and Wu Qiao. She said nothing, but Wu Qiao could tell she was assessing the situation.
He couldn't show weakness.
Wu Qiao took a deep breath, his mind racing. If she'd brought up the subject, he might as well play along.
"The first month is a conduct exam," Wu Qiao said calmly. His voice wasn't loud, but Ichinose heard him clearly. "Each class starts with one thousand Class Points. Violating school rules—for example, using your phone in class or showing up late—costs your class points. Your Personal Points are one hundred times your class's points. So whether we get one hundred thousand next month depends entirely on how we behave this month."
That was the bait Ichinose had offered—and a test.
Wu Qiao chose to lay his cards on the table.
Ichinose Honami's smile froze.
Her eyes widened, and a look of shock so convincing it seemed genuine spread across her face.
"So that's how it is..." Ichinose murmured. Then, as if she'd convinced herself of something, her expression grew complicated. "You already knew, Wu Qiao? If you knew, why didn't you tell your class?"
"I can't."
Wu Qiao shrugged and gestured toward the Class D classroom behind him, looking helpless. "You've seen it yourself, Ichinose. Class D has too many problem students. Sudō flies off the handle at the drop of a hat. Ike and the others only think about girls. Karuizawa and her friends are completely caught up in the joy of having a huge pile of points. And Koenji is a weirdo who does whatever he wants. I can't keep them in line, and there's no point telling them."
That was half true and half false. It suited Class D's situation and Wu Qiao's desire to keep his head down.
Ichinose Honami stared at Wu Qiao for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed softly. "You know my name too, Wu Qiao. I don't think I introduced myself."
Wu Qiao's heart sank.
Damn, he'd let it slip. He'd called her by name in the heat of the moment.
"Uh, well..." Wu Qiao was about to make something up.
"Could we exchange contact information?" Ichinose Honami pulled out her Student Terminal. The screen showed the friend request page.
She asked gently, as if she were just seeking his permission, but the look in her eyes seemed capable of seeing right through people. Wu Qiao knew he couldn't dodge her.
This woman definitely had something going on!
"...Sure."
Wu Qiao took out his terminal and scanned hers.
"Then it's settled. Let's keep in touch, Wu Qiao."
Ichinose Honami put her terminal away, satisfied, waved at the two of them, and turned to leave. Only when her figure disappeared at the end of the hallway did the pressure of being targeted by some invisible force finally fade.
"That girl is interesting." Ayanokoji Kiyoha, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. She turned and looked deeply at Wu Qiao. "You know more than I expected."
"Likewise." Wu Qiao laughed it off. "You didn't say anything either, Ayanokoji. Come on, or we'll miss the Hamburg Steak."
At the other end of the hallway, around the corner by the restrooms.
Ichinose Honami leaned against the wall, her radiant smile vanishing without a trace.
She let out a long breath, like she'd just finished a marathon. She looked completely drained.
"Phew... That scared me. I almost blew it."
Ichinose patted her chest. After making sure no one was around, she quickly summoned a virtual screen in front of her.
[Life Simulator]
The interface unfolded, and lines of text appeared on the screen.
[Simulations: 0]
[Talent Points: 5]
"View," Ichinose thought.
She looked over the simulation record from yesterday, checking whether she'd remembered it correctly.
It was the simulation about Wu Qiao.
The first half, and even most of the second half, had been perfectly normal. Wu Qiao acted like a slightly clever, somewhat mysterious student from Class D. He played a part in the conflict between Class D and Class B, and the two of them even became pretty good friends.
But the ending... took a sudden turn.
Ichinose's fingers trembled slightly as she scrolled to the bottom of the record.
[Second year: Miyabi Nagumo joined forces with the school's top brass to pressure Wu Qiao and try to expel him.]
[Wu Qiao's expulsion failed.]
[The next day, Wu Qiao underwent an unexplained change in personality. He was no longer mild-mannered and suddenly displayed a terrifying, almost godlike power of control.]
[He slaughtered a large number of the school's top brass. Within a week, he went to the Prime Minister, the Commander of the US Naval Forces Japan, and even contacted the top brass of the United Nations through some means.]
[No one knew what had happened. Everyone inexplicably signed a peace treaty.]
[A year later, Wu Qiao was elected First Speaker of the Earth Federation, known as the "Planetary President." Then he left Earth.]
[Simulation ended.]
Reading this, Ichinose felt a chill run down her spine.
The "Tyrant" from the later part of the simulation, standing at the peak of the world and looking down on everyone with cold eyes, able to throw the global situation into turmoil with a single thought—was that really the same Wu Qiao who now seemed a little lazy and only wanted to eat a Hamburg Steak in the cafeteria?
That lofty, inhuman detachment made Ichinose feel suffocated.
"What happened in between? Why did he suddenly become Blackened?"
Ichinose closed the interface and leaned against the cold wall, staring blankly at the ceiling.
There weren't many clues in the simulation. The trigger for Wu Qiao's Blackening seemed to be Miyabi Nagumo and the school targeting him maliciously. He'd found this childish game so disgusting that he'd simply flipped the table.
"Good... It hasn't started yet."
Ichinose clenched her fists, a determined look flashing in her eyes.
"Now that I know what's coming, I absolutely can't let that happen."
She remembered how Wu Qiao had complained helplessly about his classmates from Class D when she'd met him.
"He probably just wants to enjoy a normal school life."
Wu Qiao's shrug as he'd tried to mask his awkwardness came to mind, and a genuine smile unconsciously curled her lips.
"I absolutely, absolutely can't let him go berserk again. Even if it's for world peace, I have to get on his good side first."
She straightened her skirt and put her energetic smile back on before stepping out of the shadows.
"Let's go to the cafeteria first. I heard today's special is the Special Hamburg Steak. I wonder if I'll run into Wu Qiao."
On the way to the cafeteria, Wu Qiao suddenly sneezed.
"Ah-choo!"
"What's wrong?" Ayanokoji Kiyoha was taking small sips of tea across from him. She asked calmly.
"Nothing. I just feel like something troublesome has its eye on me. Hopefully, it's just my imagination."
He had no idea that from that moment on, his peaceful school life had already gone completely off track.