Classroom of the Elite: I Can Issue Master's Tasks

Kikyo Kushida took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She still needed one final test.

"Redeem [Stress-Relief Gum]."

The instant she spoke, Kikyo Kushida slipped a hand into her school uniform pocket.

A piece of gum appeared in her palm the next second.

Without hesitation, she tipped her head back and swallowed it.

An indescribable sensation surged from deep within her body. Kikyo Kushida felt as if she were floating on a cloud.

Light as air. Utterly comfortable.

"Mmm..."

"So that's how it works..."

Volume One: You Insult People Like You're Flirting

Meanwhile...

As Kikyo Kushida's state of mind underwent a dramatic change, Nangong Cheng was taking a closer look at the Reversal System.

As a longtime webnovel reader, he knew exactly what a system was.

There was no point racking his brain over conspiracy theories. What could anyone want from an ordinary guy whose only asset was his looks?

He might as well enjoy it.

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

[Core ability: Master's Task (Lv. 1)]

[Experience: 10/50]

[Current number of eligible task recipients: 2 (Horikita Suzune, Kikyo Kushida)]

[Tasks remaining today: 2 (Three tasks may be issued per day; unfinished tasks do not count toward the limit)]

[Points held: 100]

"So there's a limit on how many tasks I can issue each day... But that should rise as the ability levels up. I might even unlock new permissions."

"The number of eligible recipients isn't a problem. Classroom of the Elite has a fair number of prominent female characters. I probably won't run out of people to give tasks to."

After that quick assessment, Nangong Cheng turned his attention to the exchange shop. The rewards were what mattered, after all.

[Basic Cooking]

[Intermediate Combat]

[Advanced Bedroom Arts]

The skills from modern slice-of-life stories were tempting. Classroom of the Elite would become increasingly focused on strength later on, and his first priority was keeping himself safe.

Nangong Cheng scrolled down, then his eyes widened.

[Anywhere Door]

[Four-Dimensional Space Bag]

[Time Machine]

[Friendship Ring]

[Super Glove]

Hold on, man.

Did you raid Doraemon's inventory?

All right. You did good.

Then Nangong Cheng thought of something and asked, "Can task recipients use points to buy these items too?"

He was worried about a possible uprising.

After all, this system looked tailor-made for a mastermind lurking behind the scenes. If his cover was blown...

[Subsystem holders cannot harm the main system's host in any way.]

That answer confirmed they could.

Nangong Cheng thought it over and decided he could live with it. As long as he won them all over, any attempt to turn the tables on him would just become part of their life as a couple.

"Next stop, Advanced Nurturing."

"Please board and exit in an orderly manner."

The announcement suddenly rang through the bus.

Nangong Cheng was in no hurry to get off.

He strolled along at the back of the crowd, among the last passengers to disembark.

Horikita Suzune was among them too.

"You looked at me on the bus just now. What was that supposed to mean?"

Here it comes.

As Nangong Cheng considered what task to give Horikita Suzune, he delivered the response he had prepared.

"Aren't you being a little too sensitive?"

"People get looked at when they're out in public. It's unavoidable... But by your logic, is no one allowed to look at you?"

Horikita Suzune frowned.

She had no intention of letting him twist her words like that.

"I won't dispute the first part. As for the rest... Hmph. You looked at me deliberately."

"I've seen that look far too many times since I was little."

Nangong Cheng shrugged.

He had no interest in a pointless argument with the newly enrolled Horikita Suzune. He could just issue the task.

[Ding! Binding Perfect Life System...]

Huh? What the hell?

Horikita Suzune instantly went on guard.

[Task issued: Your rebuttal has left the boy speechless. Strip away his last pretense with these words: "Do you like me?"]

[Complete the task to earn points, which can be exchanged for items in the shop.]

[Failure penalty: Embrace the boy in front of you like a romantic partner for 30 seconds.]

What was that supposed to mean?

Confusion flashed through Horikita Suzune's eyes.

She might have felt offended by the way this boy had looked at her, but she had never imagined it had anything to do with that.

And what on earth was this thing?

[59... 58... 57]

A countdown had appeared in her field of vision.

Was this boy playing a prank on her?

Horikita Suzune had dealt with that sort of thing before. By conventional standards, she was undeniably a beautiful girl.

Immature boys were always trying to catch her attention, sometimes with behavior that amounted to bullying.

Others might have put up with it, but Horikita Suzune never had. She had long since developed a reliable way of dealing with boys like that.

"You can drop the act. I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'll warn you one last time—"

"Leave me alone, or you'll regret it."

Oh, that sharp tongue of hers hadn't changed.

No. Don't laugh yet.

Nangong Cheng watched Horikita Suzune turn and walk away while silently counting down in his head.

[10... 9... 8... 7]

The numbers in her field of vision turned a terrifying crimson. Horikita Suzune continued to ignore them, striding resolutely toward the school building.

But the instant the countdown reached zero, an even more chilling crimson message appeared on the panel—

[Task failed!]

[Compulsory penalty commencing.]

"Heh..."

Horikita Suzune instinctively tried to curl her lip and add a mocking remark, only to discover that she had lost control of her body.

Her pupils contracted. The words caught in her throat as she could only "watch" herself turn around, walk back to the boy, and spread her arms—

No! Stop! I can't!

About to throw herself at a boy in full view of everyone like some shameless girl with a crush, Horikita Suzune screamed inwardly.

But all she could do was watch her arms wrap around his neck, pulling their bodies flush together.

Her face went red—with anger.

His hands were not behaving themselves at all. If they hadn't been standing right outside the school gates, Horikita Suzune dreaded to think what else he might have done.

Thirty seconds was not long.

But to Horikita Suzune, those thirty seconds felt agonizingly endless.

Even when the notification sounded to mark the end of the penalty, she did not immediately come to her senses.

"What's this supposed to mean?"

"If you don't let go, I have a feeling we'll end up in a school forum gossip post on our very first day."

Nangong Cheng would have liked to keep enjoying the soft warmth of the beautiful girl against him, but he needed to say something.

"You scumbag!"

Horikita Suzune's brain finally rebooted.

She jerked away and swung her hand without hesitation, aiming a slap at his face.

Nangong Cheng had anticipated it. He easily caught her wrist, a maddening grin spreading across his face.

"You know, when you insult someone, it sounds like you're flirting."

"Besides, you're the one who threw yourself at me. I didn't do anything to you."

"So please, show a little restraint."

Volume One: McDonald's and the Heroine of a Light Novel

The scene outside the school gates, which looked suspiciously like a couple's quarrel, caused quite a stir.

The two at its center were both strikingly attractive—maybe not a picture-perfect couple, but the sort of people who drew attention just by walking down the street.

Nangong Cheng intended to stop there.

He had given Horikita Suzune the task partly to put her in her place and partly to test how forceful the system's penalties were.

He was quite pleased with the result.

"Keep making a scene and you might draw the student council's attention. You don't want to become famous at school on your first day, do you?"

That one sentence stopped Horikita Suzune cold.

She forced down the anger that had been about to erupt. After shooting him a vicious glare, the beautiful girl turned and hurried away from the scene.

Nangong Cheng stretched.