100,000 Points and Self-Introductions

The classroom filled with new students was permeated by barely contained excitement, born from their bright hopes for university life ahead.

Tatsuya Sakuya began quietly surveying the Class 1-D classroom.

This institution, reputed to be Sakura Nation's finest school, had spared no expense on its facilities.

From the spacious, brightly lit tiered classroom to the high-end custom desks and chairs designed for ergonomics, everything displayed the immense wealth behind it.

Sakuya's seat was by the window in the second-to-last row.

This was the exclusive "throne" of countless anime protagonists, and also the best vantage point for taking in the entire room.

As the saying went, back row by the window—the king's homeland.

Sakuya casually stuffed his backpack into the desk drawer and, maintaining a relaxed posture, completed his initial reconnaissance of the surroundings.

A light breeze carrying a faint scent of citrus and lavender drifted over from his left.

Sakuya glanced at his neighbor from the corner of his eye.

She was a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair and delicate features.

Sitting upright, she held a foreign novel in her hands and read with complete focus. An icy aura of "keep strangers away" surrounded her, utterly isolating her from the noisy environment around her.

Horikita Suzune.

Sakuya gave her a mental assessment: a proud academic elitist. Everyone else was chatting, but Horikita was reading Crime and Punishment. That was certainly something.

As someone planning to enjoy a university life rich in resources, he naturally wanted as many personal points as possible, and personal points were tied to class points.

If he wanted to rise from Class 1-D to Class 1-A, Horikita was a rare asset—and someone worth bringing over to his side.

The commotion in the classroom did not last long.

"Click, click, click."

The crisp sound of high heels came from the hallway. As the classroom door opened, a cool, beautiful female teacher in a black business suit, her hair tied into a neat ponytail, walked in. She slammed the documents in her hand onto the podium and swept her blade-sharp gaze across the room. The once-noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

"Looks like you have all found your seats. I am Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-D. For the next three years until you graduate, I will be responsible for you, barring any unforeseen circumstances."

Chabashira's voice was crisp and cold, without even a trace of the warmth expected from a new homeroom teacher.

"This school operates under a fully closed management system. Contact with the outside world is strictly prohibited during your enrollment. However, to meet your daily needs, the campus has a variety of commercial facilities, offering everything from daily necessities to entertainment. Almost everything in this school can be bought with points."

As she spoke, Chabashira turned around and pinned a poster bearing the words "S System" onto the blackboard.

"To make purchases on campus easier, the school has established the S Point System. Your student ID serves as a credit card, and the points on it are the sole currency used at this school. One point equals one yen. By linking it to your phone, you can make online payments and purchases."

Chabashira's tone remained completely flat. "The school has already distributed your points for the first month. From now on, points will be issued punctually at this time every month—that is, on the first day of every month."

"100,000?!"

"100,000 yen per month?"

The Class 1-D classroom instantly erupted.

"This school is practically heaven! I'm going to buy all the game consoles and cartridges I've ever wanted!"

"That's amazing! Let's go shopping after class. I heard Keyaki Mall even sells high-end cosmetics!"

Sakuya did not get swept up in the frenzy over 100,000 points. His mind was racing.

There were forty students in a class, each receiving 100,000 points. Class 1-D alone cost four million per month, and four first-year classes meant sixteen million.

Just then—

"Quiet!"

Chabashira knocked on the blackboard, ruthlessly interrupting the students' fantasies. "Go buy whatever you want after class. As future classmates, you would do well to use the remaining time to get acquainted with one another. All right, do as you please."

With that, she left the classroom cleanly and decisively.

The moment the homeroom teacher left, the atmosphere in the classroom became lively again.

"Um, since the teacher said so, why don't we introduce ourselves? How about I start?"

A handsome boy with neat, center-parted short hair stood up. He had an exceptionally approachable air about him.

He introduced himself. "My name is Hirata Yousuke. I like all kinds of sports, but soccer was my favorite in high school. I plan to join the soccer club in university too. I'm happy to meet everyone, and I hope we can become good friends and spend a wonderful three years together."

With Hirata taking the lead, the mood in the class immediately brightened, and quite a few girls' eyes began to sparkle.

Next, a cute short-haired girl stood up as well. With her hands folded in front of her skirt, her petite body swayed slightly as she spoke.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Kushida Kikyou. None of my high school classmates ended up in the same class as me. My goal is to become friends with every single person in the class, so whether you run into any trouble or just want someone to talk to, please feel free to come find me anytime!"

With just a few simple words, Kushida instantly won over the hearts of most of the class.

Yet as Kushida stood by her seat and enjoyed the gazes around her, she was calculating wildly inside: Good. Just like this. I'll win everyone's favor as quickly as possible and become an indispensable core member of the class.

With the two social butterflies taking the lead, the atmosphere in the classroom became extraordinarily enthusiastic.

"Um, um, my name is Ike Kanji. I'm always recruiting girlfriends, you know. Cute girls are my favorite." A boy with spiky hair made no attempt to hide his adolescent desires, drawing a round of giggles from several girls.

"Ahem, my name is Yamauchi Haruki." Another boy stood up, forcibly putting on a handsome pose. "I was a regular at the national table tennis championships throughout middle and high school. If any cute girls like sports, feel free to come challenge me anytime."

His spirit soared into the heavens. Was this Jiahao's final form—the Ultra Instinct Hao?

Watching the scene from his seat, Sakuya nearly lost it.

"Welcome, welcome. Then let's invite the next student to introduce themselves."

Hirata had clearly managed to keep a straight face through the Hao-style speeches of several Jiahaos.

A red-haired boy who looked like a delinquent stood up impatiently. "What are we, little kids? We don't need any damn self-introductions. If you want to get to know someone, go get to know them yourself."

Sudo Ken had expected Hirata to debate him from some lofty moral position, but Hirata did not. "I mean no harm. I just want everyone to understand each other better. After all, we'll be in the same class for three years."

Some of the girls began complaining about Sudo's terrible attitude:

"He's so scary!"

"It's only a self-introduction. It's not going to hurt anyone."

"What a boring monkey."

An extremely arrogant voice came from the other side of the classroom.

A blond-haired boy with his legs propped high atop his desk mocked them while grooming his hair.

"My name is Kouenji Rokusuke. I am destined to stand at the pinnacle of this university. And by the way, I despise ugly things."

Several hot-tempered boys immediately slapped their desks, deeply dissatisfied with Kouenji's remarks.

Just as Hirata tried to step in and smooth things over, the girl sitting beside Sakuya suddenly stood up.

"I think it's boring too."

Her words were not only directed at Kouenji, but also at Hirata on the podium. "Making friends should be based on equality between both sides. I don't see how being friends with people whose minds contain nothing but games and points would benefit my university life. My name is Horikita Suzune. If there's nothing important, please do not speak to me."

After these towering figures stirred things up, the originally warm self-introduction session instantly became tense and confrontational, thick with the smell of gunpowder.

"My name is Wang Meiyu. I'm an international student from Dragon Nation."

"My name is Matsushita Chiaki."

"My name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. There isn't really anything I'm especially good at—or rather, I'm a little good at everything. I want to live a quiet university life."

At last, it was Sakuya's turn. He was sitting beside Horikita.

"I am Tatsuya Sakuya."

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you at this university. I look forward to your guidance over the next three years."

Sakuya was fairly satisfied with his introduction.

However—

The classroom did not erupt into the perfunctory applause he had expected, nor did anyone respond.

There was dead silence—an awkward lull so complete that even breathing could be heard.

Sakuya was having a little trouble holding it together inside. Am I that intimidating?

Was "I am" too embarrassingly chuuni? Or was this university's sense of taste just different from what I understood?

After a long and agonizing five seconds, Sakuya swiftly reconciled with himself. He simply did not dwell on things.

Everyone must have been busy with their own affairs. Right, everyone had things to do. They just hadn't heard his introduction.

Ding.

"Students, please arrive at the athletic field within thirty minutes to attend the freshman entrance ceremony. Assemble in the areas designated for your respective classes."

An announcement rang out through the hallway.

Sakuya did not immediately get moving after hearing the announcement, because the stairwells would be packed at first. Everyone would crowd the stairs, making traffic terribly inefficient.

I came to Advanced Nurturing High School to do only three things: make money, make money, and make fucking money!

No, that wasn't right. The purpose of making money was to eat well, drink well, and... well, only with money could he enjoy a wonderful university life.