Classroom of the Elite: I can assign Master's Tasks

"No, no, no. Of course I wouldn't stay in Class D if I had a choice, but I have my own pace."

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm certainly not going to play the saint and babysit everyone."

"..."

Horikita Suzune was already frowning.

Admittedly, she didn't think much of the students in Class D either, and after learning how this school worked, she understood exactly what Class D meant. Still, she felt Nangong Cheng was being a little extreme.

"So, am I to understand that you intend to leave the class behind and move up to Class A alone?"

"But the personal points required for that aren't something one person can scrape together. Besides, no one at this school has ever succeeded."

Nangong Cheng said nothing, merely smiling.

Horikita Suzune's frown deepened.

Her brother had told her to observe Nangong Cheng and see how he did things, yet this was the answer she got?

"Let me guess what you're thinking... After learning the truth behind your placement in Class D, you must have disagreed with the school's assessment of you. So you want to prove yourself."

"And reaching Class A would be the most convincing proof."

Nangong Cheng took another sip of coffee, then settled back like a boss. "But there are two ways to reach Class A—bring your class along, or go alone."

"If I'm not mistaken, you're thinking of the first option, right?"

Horikita Suzune nodded without hesitation.

Although the way she had always operated made her better suited to the second option, she felt the first would be a greater achievement.

Of course, the fact that nobody had ever succeeded with the second option also played a part.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"First, no one at this school has ever successfully used personal points to graduate from Class A, which shows that the school fundamentally doesn't support that route of advancement. So, with an information advantage in hand, why wouldn't we use it to narrow the gap between Class D and Class A, laying the groundwork for our class to catch up in points later?"

Nangong Cheng shook his head with a smile.

He had thought that learning the truth about this school a month early would make Horikita Suzune behave differently from her original portrayal, but...

It seemed he had still overestimated the newly enrolled Horikita Suzune.

"You have a point, and I have to admit that your reasoning isn't exactly wrong. But that's—"

"A loser's way of thinking."

Remember this. I'll only teach you once

"!!!"

Horikita Suzune's breathing immediately quickened.

Since meeting Nangong Cheng, she had experienced more emotional upheaval in these few days than she had in the past several years.

Before, she could have called his remarks snide digs and mockery, but now he was openly insulting her.

"Don't forget where you stand. The school put you in Class D too. What gives you the right to call me a loser?"

Nangong Cheng shifted in his seat, lacing his hands together on the table in Commander Ikari's signature pose.

"What a naive thing to say, Horikita."

"Just as no two leaves in this world are identical, no two people are exactly alike."

"So there are differences between ordinary people, differences between Class D students, and differences even between the Class A students the school considers outstanding."

The sneer on Horikita Suzune's face gradually disappeared.

She admitted that Nangong Cheng had a point.

However.

"So you think you're better than me, even though you were placed in Class D too?"

Nangong Cheng nodded, then shook his head.

In truth, if he hadn't known the anime Classroom of the Elite and didn't have a system backing him up, he really would have fallen short of Horikita Suzune in certain concrete qualifications.

But those hypotheticals didn't apply now.

"Whether someone is outstanding... That isn't something you can define in sweeping terms, just as you can't simply judge whether someone is good or bad."

Nangong Cheng lifted his coffee cup and drained it.

By conventional standards, Horikita Suzune was indeed an outstanding student, but as an individual functioning within a social group, she failed.

"If you obsess over that, you can easily end up distorting everything about who you are."

"The reason I called your reasoning a loser's way of thinking is simple. First, that approach is too idealistic and conservative for Class D. Second, your current abilities fall far short of what you'd need to lead the class."

Naturally, Horikita Suzune wasn't convinced.

But Nangong Cheng hadn't expected to persuade her with talk alone. He wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, after all.

"Still, since we're already here, while I'm not interested in working with you for now, I'll give you a live demonstration in return for the information you provided."

Setting down his cup, Nangong Cheng stood.

"When you get back, remember to write down all the information you know. Three copies."

"Tomorrow, I'll show you what it really means to make the most of an information advantage."

With that, he left.

Horikita Suzune sat there in silence for a long time.

Only when a café employee came over to ask her to settle the bill did she come back to her senses.

"Tomorrow..."

"Then let's see what this so-called 'winner's mindset' of yours actually looks like."

That evening.

After leaving the café, Nangong Cheng had walked around almost the entire school, noting the surveillance blind spots before returning to his dorm.

He opened his panel to take stock of the day's gains.

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

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

[Experience: (30/50)]

[Current number of available task targets: 7 (Horikita Suzune, Kikyo Kushida, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu)]

[Remaining task assignments: 0 (Three tasks may be assigned per day. Uncompleted tasks do not count toward this limit.)]

[Points held: 400]

Considering this was only his first day, Nangong Cheng had no complaints. Sooner or later, the snowball would get rolling, and then everyone would have a bright future!

"I still can't afford the good stuff."

Nangong Cheng filtered the selection, but nothing he could currently redeem particularly interested him.

Something like [Basic Combat] was too lackluster to want, yet too useful to dismiss. It might help against Ryuuen, but it probably wouldn't cut it against Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

He might as well try a different approach.

"System, filter for items that can enhance physical attributes. No point limit."

As soon as he finished speaking, the translucent blue panel before him changed.

Nangong Cheng quickly zeroed in on the only item on the list within his reach.

[Perfect-Version Gene Enhancement Serum: Enhances basic attributes such as strength, speed, and stamina upon consumption, with no side effects.]

[Note 1: This serum must be taken in three doses. After all three doses, physical attributes will be enhanced across the board to the limits of human capability.]

[Note 2: Points required for the first/second/third redemption: 500/5,000/50,000.]

This was the choice that best suited his current circumstances.

After all, given the power levels in a slice-of-life anime setting, Nangong Cheng felt there was no need to overcomplicate things. If all he wanted was to protect himself, peak human capability would be more than enough.

"A little effort tomorrow, and I can drink the first bottle. The sooner I use it, the sooner I can relax."

The next day.

Nangong Cheng got up early and brought Horikita Suzune to the entrance of the first-year Class A classroom.

As students the school had deemed outstanding, Class A's overall caliber really was much higher than that of the three lower classes.

There were still about thirty minutes until morning self-study, yet the classroom was already nearly full.

"Excuse me, could you let me through?"

A girl's delicate voice came from behind him.

Nangong Cheng turned his head and saw that familiar silver-white hair and cane.

He stepped aside, but the instant the girl's left foot crossed the classroom threshold, he suddenly spoke. "Since you're a Class A student, please pass this along to your classmates."

"I have a business proposition for Class A. Since it concerns your class's future, I'd prefer you send a representative to discuss it with me."

Sakayanagi Arisu's hand and foot stopped moving.

She turned to meet the gaze of the boy at the door, curiosity and appraisal in her eyes.

"May I have your name?"

"Nangong. And this is Horikita."

Nangong Cheng was tempted to introduce himself as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, but Sakayanagi Arisu had met the real person. She certainly wouldn't fall for that.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Horikita Suzune beside him, a thoughtful look flickering through her eyes.

"My name is Sakayanagi Arisu. A pleasure to meet you."

"Our class doesn't currently have a student who can represent everyone, but if you don't mind, Nangong, you could discuss it with me directly."

"If this deal truly is important to Class A, perhaps I can help you persuade them."

Nangong Cheng rubbed his chin.

If it's Sakayanagi Arisu... That works too.

He was going to assign her a task anyway.

"Then please wait a moment. I contacted your homeroom teacher, Mr. Mashima, in advance. He should be here any moment."

Speak of the devil.

Tomoya Mashima appeared at the classroom door with a briefcase tucked under his arm. His expression was stern, his eyes carrying a subtle hint of scrutiny as he looked at Nangong Cheng and Horikita Suzune.

"Nangong Cheng, from first-year Class D?"

"Whatever your business is, please finish it promptly. Don't disrupt this morning's self-study."

The corners of Nangong Cheng's mouth curved upward. He showed no concern for the implication behind Tomoya Mashima's deliberate mention of his Class D status.

He took the sheet filled with information from Horikita Suzune beside him and handed it over.

"Mr. Mashima, please verify this information about Advanced Nurturing. If there are no issues, I'll formally propose a deal to Class A."

Sakayanagi Arisu: Big brother, I fell down.jpg

After receiving a call the previous evening from the student before him, who had introduced himself as "Nangong Cheng," Tomoya Mashima had felt an uneasy premonition.

And now, that premonition had come true.

The thin sheet of paper in his hand seemed to weigh a ton. A single glance was enough for Tomoya Mashima to understand exactly what Nangong Cheng intended to do.

He was also deeply shocked.