"He's famous, bruh. His name is Chris. And he... is from Class A."

  Rondo stared in disbelief.

  "F-from Class A?!"

  Theo nodded. "That's right. I'll tell you more about him later. See ya." He gave Rondo's shoulder a quick pat.

  "Hey, wait!" Rondo tried to chase after him, but stopped in his tracks when he realized Theo had already sprinted quite a distance away. "Weird. This has to be some kind of trick. I need to figure this out."

  Picking up his pace, Rondo hurried down the hall. A few minutes later, he arrived at his classroom. He stood at the entrance, glancing around until a harsh whisper caught his attention.

  "Psst, hey!" Kenta was waving at him from the back of the room. Rondo smiled and made his way over, taking the empty seat beside him.

  "Lucky you got here on time. If you were any later, someone else probably would have taken this seat," Kenta said.

  "Hehe, I ended up sleeping pretty soundly last night."

  Mr. Ken strolled into the classroom, carrying a cup of tea. He set the cup down on the front desk and turned to face his students. Flashing a wide smile, he rolled up his sleeves slightly.

  "Is everyone ready?"

  "Yes, sir," the students of Class E replied in unison.

  "Alright, hello and good morning to my beloved Class E students. Has everyone had their breakfast today?"

  A loud chorus of "Yes" echoed through the room, though a few scattered voices muttered a quiet "No."

  Mr. Ken frowned. "Oh? It seems some of you haven't eaten yet. Why is that? Did you wake up late? Were you afraid of missing class? What happened? Tell me."

  His eyes scanned the room from left to right before landing on a specific target. "You."

  Rondo looked around confusedly. "Me?" he asked, pointing at himself.

  "Yes, you, Rondo. Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

  Rondo offered a polite smile. "I did, sir."

  "Good. Keep it up. Don't let yourself go hun-"

  *Ding dong

  Mr. Ken and the rest of Class E turned toward the entrance. Sora appeared in the doorway, stepping slowly into the room.

  "You, come here for a second, my four-eyed angel."

  Sora lowered her head, gave a small nod, and shuffled over to Mr. Ken. Standing at the front of the room, she instantly became the center of attention for the entirety of Class E. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on the floor, refusing to look at anyone.

  "Could you introduce yourself? What is your name?"

  Sora's lips trembled. "S-s-s-Sora. Sora Haruki..."

  Rondo nudged Kenta with his elbow. "Hey, isn't she-"

  "Quiet," Kenta cut him off, his tone uncharacteristically sharp.

  "Alright, Sora. Did you have breakfast this morning?" Mr. Ken asked.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Sora simply replied with a tiny nod.

  "That's good, then. Do you have a seatmate?"

  Sora nodded her head again.

  "Very well. Please go sit with your seatmate, Sora."

  Sora walked quickly to the empty chair next to Tira. Tira greeted her with a warm, wide smile. Mr. Ken took a small sip of water from his cup, then turned his attention back to the students.

  "Okay, let's start with some good news to get your spirits up. The good news is, you no longer need to complete productive activities first to unlock the GP sharing feature. All students in Nexhile can now share their GP unconditionally. However, the bad news is..."

  Class E fell silent, anxiously waiting for Mr. Ken to finish his sentence. Mr. Ken's eyes darted left and right before a grin spread across his face.

  "Ahaha, you all look so tense. The bad news is that some GP costs have increased, specifically for entertainment and recreation in the Entertainment District. And the price increase is roughly around..."

  The students held their breath once again. A few people started whispering, creating a low murmur of nervous chatter across the room. Mr. Ken's smile grew even wider.

  "The price increase is roughly around... 0 GP. Ahaha. Well? I bet that scared you for a second, didn't it?"

  The entire class erupted into cheers, with a few students whistling joyfully as if they had just won a minor victory. Mr. Ken quickly waved his hands downward, signaling them to calm down until the chaotic celebration slowly faded out.

  "This was the result of a discussion between the teachers and the owner of this school last night. Now, in exchange for this, I want you all to put even more effort into being productive. Doing something as minimal as reading a book for 15 minutes, or doing a light workout for 8 reps is enough. Do that every day as your attendance. I won't be teaching you any actual lessons in this classroom. This class exists purely so you can gather and get to know your fellow Class E peers. You are the ones who have to study independently."

  Tira raised a hand into the air.

  "Yes, you with the short hair. Please stand up."

  Tira stood up from her desk. "I wanted to ask, sir, will there be exams later?"

  Mr. Ken snapped his fingers. "Oh, right. I almost forgot. Yes, there will be. But the exact details of the exams and what type they will be are still strictly classified. At the end of class today, I will give you 3 keywords. It'll be up to you to research and study everything related to those 3 keywords. Thank you for the little reminder, Tira. You may sit back down."

  Tira took her seat.

  "Alright, are there any other questions?"

  Rondo raised his hand.

  "You, with the hair parted on the right. Please stand up."

  Rondo stood up from his chair. "I have a question, sir. Yesterday's broadcast stated that Classes A through E were all completely equal. But earlier, out on my way... I saw a very popular Class A student who looked like a very contrast to everyone else. Um, does that mean Class E is actually at the bottom right now?"

  Mr. Ken snapped his fingers once again. "Okay, about that. A very good question. Thank you for bringing up such an interesting point. But, you should probably sit down first."

  Rondo sank back into his seat. Kenta nudged him, whispering, "You've got a lot of nerve asking that. But, yeah... I guess I'm pretty curious too."

  "If I didn't, it would be bugging me for my entire time at this school. That's why I figured it was better to just ask right away, even if it's a bit embarrassing, hehe," Rondo whispered back.

  Mr. Ken took a deep breath. "So, regarding the differences between each class, yes, they do exist. However, you need to understand that this system isn't active during the first semester. What I mean is, right now, the class divisions don't mean anything. But it will be a completely different story once your exams are over and your report card grades are finalized. At that point, you will be placed into a class that accurately reflects your scores. And... if you manage to reach Class A or B after this semester ends, then... you will receive GP boosters, shopping discounts, and... top priority for upgrading your homes here in Nexhile."

  A wave of awe washed over Class E at the revelation. Mr. Ken let out a faint chuckle.

  "Well? Sounds appealing, doesn't it? Therefore, you need to decide what your goals are. Organize your lives here as best as you possibly can. Cause the evaluations aren't just based on your exams alone. Your daily activities will also heavily influence your final grades."

  *Beep beep

  Mr. Ken glanced down at his Orla on his wrist, which was now flashing with an incoming alert.

  "I think that's enough from me for today. Are there any more questions?"

  The classroom was dead silent.

  "Alright then. The exam codes for this semester are: money, city, and prison. I won't be seeing you in this classroom tomorrow. This isn't a routine schedule. However, any future announcements will be sent directly to your Orla. If you have any questions, feel free to chat with me through your Orla. Thank you, see you at our next meeting."

  Mr. Ken stepped out of the classroom. The students immediately started slinging their bags over their shoulders.

  "So... why exactly did they give us these bags full of notebooks, pencils, pens, and erasers anyway?" Rondo asked, looking over at Kenta.

  Kenta simply shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows. It really is a weird school."

  Kenta and Rondo straightened out their chairs and desks. Tira walked over to join them.

  "Hey guys, where do you wanna go today?"

  "I'm probably just gonna walk around, explore a bit, and get some fresh air. No idea about Kenta, though," Rondo replied.

  Kenta glanced at Tira. "I don't know, I think I might hit up the food court first."

  Tira burst into laughter. "Pfft, so you were the starving one Mr. Ken was talking about? Hahaha!"

  The corner of Kenta's mouth twitched upward. "Heh, I wasn't the one who admitted to it..."

  Tira laughed even harder. "Wahaha, that just makes it worse! Now you're admitting you lied about it!"

  Rondo let out a heavy sigh, a deadpan look washing over his face. "Here we go again with the cat and mouse..."

  As Kenta and Tira continued trading teasing insults back and forth, Rondo ignored them completely and simply walked right out the classroom door. Sora, watching Rondo leave, glanced around the room, looking utterly confused.

  Slipping the strap of her bag over her right arm, Sora hurried out of the classroom, her eyes glued to the floor.

  Tira, noticing Sora's rapid departure, immediately turned her head. "Sora! Where are you going?" Tira grabbed her own bag off the chair and rushed out the door to chase after her.

  "Oi, wait up!" Kenta shouted, suddenly finding himself entirely alone in the classroom.

  He quickly snatched up his bag. As he did, his eyes accidentally landed on a book lying abandoned on the floor. He leaned down, picked it up, and brought it to eye level.

  "This is... a manga book..."

  Kenta flipped the cover open. His eyes widened as he stared at the very first page.

  "Sora... Haruki?"