Fern looked at me.

“Please don’t tell anyone, especially not Erika.”

“Why not.”

“Because, she’ll freak out. And I don’t want to drag anyone else into this mess. I only talked to you about this because you seem pretty… stoic.”

Ah, well that was a pretty commendable reason. Although from my understanding of Erika, she did seem like someone who’d be able to help in a situation like this. Maybe I just don’t know her well enough.

“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone about this.”

He smiled a little.

“Thanks Akira.”

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

A few days passed.

POINTS

Your current points: 174,234

Current Rank: #47,835

I had begun to climb the ranks a little. It was probably due to the fact that my spending habits were probably more minimalistic than most other students. They might’ve been investing their Points on more minions as well.

Sumire looked down at me from my table, holding her phone casually in her hand.

“The school hasn’t sent any new messages in a while, isn’t that a bit suspicious, Akira?”

“I suppose so.”

Was it that suspicious though? It’s natural to have more instructions during the ‘orientation’ period.

FIELDS

[Wood Minion] x1

[Poultry Minion] x1

[Star Minion] x20

[Lesser Bank Minion] x5

[Bee Minion] x2

I managed to get another [Bee Minion], which was pretty interesting. It seemed that the rate that it produced more was faster than I expected.

“What caste are you in, Akira?”

“A pretty low one.”

She sighed.

“Aren’t you going to try to go up the system? There are benefits as you go up.”

“I’m just not that interested, I guess.”

For the first time in a while, a notification appeared from the school.

“Speak of the devil~.”

-

From: TAG Administration

We hope that you have all been settling into the school comfortably. Following our schedule, the EXAM app has been unlocked on your phones. Various notifications will be displayed here. The first one has just been sent, please ensure you read it promptly.

Please note that you will be immediately expelled if your number of Points falls below zero at any point in your schooling.

-

“An exam?” I thought.

“I assume it’s the same as those special exercises we had.”

I looked at our newly-unlocked EXAM app.

EXAM PORTAL

[1 NEW exam]

…

I clicked on the attractive little box.

Gladiator Special Exam

All students will be designated a single opponent which is determined through various calculations regarding affinity.

To pass the exam, simply defeat your opponent in the duel.

If you pass the exam in the first duel, you will receive a Special Point Booster.

If you lose the duel, you will be designated another opponent. If you lose more than THREE duels, you will lose 250,000 Points.

***

Your opponent: Kamura Tsukamichi

Time of duel: 8pm - Arena 13

***

Hold on a second, this was someone who was on the caste leaderboards. He had dropped a few ranks since the first time I checked, but he was still a large holder of Points. Like all the other members of Caste One, he could only have gathered so many through the help of others.

—When things get complicated, people look for leaders to follow.

He was simply one of those leaders, I guess.

“Well, this is interesting, isn’t it, Akira~”

“I guess this was coming sooner or later.”

Sumire smiled a little before making her way to my bed.

…

“Say, why don’t we have a duel, Akira.”

She had the usual mischievous smile, though her gaze was oddly aggressive. It was like she was about to reprimand me for spilling milk.

“Why would we do that.”

“Just to practice for the duels, you know?”

“That sounds like a lot of effort.”

She laughed a little.

“Aha, well, do you want to look at all the abilities? I assume you haven’t gotten any yet since you haven’t done any duels.”

“Yeah, I might have a look.”

*

The sound of students walking through the halls had been travelling into my room for the last few hours. I guess my duel was one of the later ones.

“What time is your duel at, Akira?”

“Eight.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, is yours on a different day?”

“Mine’s tomorrow.”

It seemed that they didn’t all run on the same day. It could’ve been a logistical issue, but it seemed a little weird, for a school of this size.

Kamura Tsukamichi.

I’d seen that name before. It was written in a very small font on a placard outside a hospital room I saw a long time ago.

I didn’t have any relation to him though. Still, he was pretty highly-ranked on the caste system so he probably had quite a few abilities up his sleeve. I bought some a little while in an attempt to make some synergies, just to give myself some hope in the upcoming duel. I had no gauge on his strength, or anyone’s for that matter.

POINTS

Your current points: 61,386

Current Rank: #71,937

Maybe I should’ve participated in {Rank Challenges}. I guess it’s too late now. Just based on the ranks, quite a lot of students were probably investing in abilities at the moment. I’m surprised my rank wasn’t lower.

Sumire was twirling her hair around her finger.

“What’s up, staring at me because of my beauty?”

“I was zoned out. I didn’t even realise I was looking at you.”

“That’s what they all say~. You want to get some food before you go?”

“Probably not, I’m not that hungry right now.”

She stretched her arms a little, while glancing at me suspiciously.

“Are you going to stay in my room while I’m at the duel?” I asked.

“Yeah, where else would I go?”

At this point, there was no use in persuasion. She can look after my room, I suppose.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give your room a little clean while you’re gone.”

“My room is already clean.”

“The bathroom floor is wet, you know.”

“That’s from you. You were the last one who showered in it.”

She laughed.

“Don’t sweat the details.”