Once the deeper rules of the school were revealed, the entire Class 1-B fell into a heavy silence.
The school's educational philosophy—one that resembled a survival-of-the-fittest system—was shocking, leaving many unsure of how to respond.
According to Hoshinomiya-sensei, only Class 1-A was guaranteed a secure path to graduation. The other classes had no such certainty.
It didn't take much imagination to understand what this meant—an intense, unforgiving class competition.
At first glance, Class 1-B was positioned advantageously. As long as they could surpass Class 1-A, they would seize victory. But based on the school's class placement rules, the students in Class 1-A were undeniably the most well-rounded and capable. Overcoming them would be no easy feat.
And they weren't the only threat.
The two lower-ranked classes, Class 1-C and Class 1-D, wouldn't sit idly by either. If they wanted to climb the ranks, the natural stepping stone in their way was Class 1-B.
With that in mind, if Class 1-B wanted to move up, they couldn't just focus on surpassing Class 1-A—they had to prevent the other two classes from overtaking them as well.
This was, without a doubt, exactly what the school intended.
A system that forced all students to compete at their absolute limits.
---
Seated at her desk, Ichinose could sense the tense atmosphere settling over the class.
Seeing her classmates looking uneasy, her strong sense of responsibility was immediately triggered—she wanted to step up and lead.
However, just as she was about to take action, her seatmate, Hikaru, stood up first.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, we don't have any more classes this morning, correct?"
"That's right," Hoshinomiya replied with a smile. "After this homeroom session, you're all free to return to your dorms. Formal lessons will begin tomorrow according to your schedules."
"In that case, could you spare a moment? There's something I'd like to discuss with the class."
Hoshinomiya tilted her head slightly, clearly intrigued by Hikaru's proactive attitude.
"You want to take the stage?" she asked playfully. "Alright, go ahead. But since you're taking up class time, you'll have to help me move some teaching materials later, okay?"
"..."
Hikaru fell silent for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.
Although he wasn't particularly strong, there was something he absolutely needed to confirm with Hoshinomiya-sensei, so she had to be present.
"I can help with that too," Ichinose quickly added.
Since the start of homeroom, she had been looking for a chance to speak with her seatmate. Not just out of curiosity, but for the sake of Class 1-B's future.
"Alright, then it's settled. You two will help me later," Hoshinomiya nodded.
She had already noticed earlier—aside from Hikaru, Ichinose was another standout student in Class 1-B.
A girl who could command influence on the very first day of school was no ordinary student.
"Sensei, I'd like to borrow the blackboard."
Hikaru stepped to the front of the classroom and picked up a piece of chalk.
His classmates immediately shifted their focus to him.
After all, it was Hikaru who had uncovered the hidden rules of the school just moments ago. Naturally, everyone was curious about what he would say next.
"What I want to discuss is simple—class competition."
Hikaru deliberately spoke in a serious tone.
This wasn't something he usually did, but if he wanted to increase Ichinose's stock value, he had no other choice.
Just a moment ago, after Ichinose's stock price rose to 50 points, Hikaru had used a special item from the Trading Shop:
---
[Stock Analyzer]
Cost: 1 unit of capital per use (limit: 5 per month)
Effect: Analyzes the characteristics of a listed stock and provides strategies to increase its value while minimizing risks.
After using it on the pink-haired girl beside him, the system provided a detailed report:
Ichinose Honami Stock
Stock Traits: A girl trusted by her classmates. Gentle and kind, she stands up against injustice and speaks out with courage. Though she maintains friendly relationships with everyone, very few truly understand her.
Stock Growth Strategy: Help Class 1-B rise in ranking, unite the class, and prevent classmates from being expelled.
Stock Price Drop Risks: Lying to her, acting against the class's interests, or betraying her trust.
With this knowledge in mind, Hikaru decided to act first.
"After listening to Hoshinomiya-sensei's explanation, I believe everyone here should now understand what matters most in this school."
He turned to the blackboard and wrote two key terms:
Class Points and Private Points.
"These two factors determine everything."
"Our class just spent 2,000,000 Private Points to obtain knowledge of the school's hidden rules. That was a huge expense, and it could impact our future competitiveness."
"Yeah, half of our class's Private Points were wiped out in one go..."
"I was thinking the same thing..."
Some students murmured in agreement. It was clear that a significant number of Class 1-B students shared similar concerns.
Hikaru ignored the background chatter and continued.
"That's why I believe we need to maximize the value of the points we spent and minimize our losses."
"You have a plan?"
The question came from So Shibata, a short-haired athletic student. Hikaru recalled that he had been in a sports club during middle school and had spoken to Ichinose before.
"Yes, I call it The Phased Points Harvesting Plan."
Hikaru wrote the name on the board.
"And the key to executing it? Selling the school's rules."
"Selling the rules?"
Ichinose frowned slightly.
"Are you suggesting that we resell the information we bought to students from other classes?"
"Exactly."
"But aren't the classes competing against each other? If we sell them the rules, wouldn't that eliminate our advantage?"
"That's the difference between a direct sale and a controlled transaction."
Hikaru wrote A, B, C, D on the board, then explained further.
"If my guess is correct, the advantage of knowing the rules will only last for one month. Once the next round of Private Points is distributed, teachers will likely explain the system to their students anyway."
"Our advantage will disappear either way."
"Right, Hoshinomiya-sensei?"
"That's correct," Hoshinomiya affirmed, looking amused as she let him take the lead.
"So our goal is to use this one-month window to maximize our profit from the information gap."
Hikaru pointed at the letter "A."
"Class 1-A students are the most elite. Even if they don't know the hidden rules yet, their behavior isn't likely to violate school regulations often."
"By next month, their deductions will be minimal—maybe just a few Class Points."
"In other words, knowing the rules won't actually change their behavior."
A purple-haired male student suddenly caught on.
"In that case, we can sell the rules to Class 1-A without worrying about them getting ahead of us. We get our points back, and they gain nothing!"
"Exactly."
Hikaru smiled. Finally, someone was catching on.
"And to ensure they don't turn around and resell the rules to other classes..."
He turned back to Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"Earlier, you mentioned a special method of enforcing agreements, right?"
Hoshinomiya's eyes gleamed with interest.
"You're talking about Contracts, aren't you?"
"Correct," Hikaru grinned.
"We'll require Class 1-A to sign a contract—forbidding them from reselling the information."
"And just like that, our first profit cycle is complete."
As the realization settled in, Ichinose's stock price updated.
[Ichinose Honami acknowledges your strategy. Stock price +10. Current stock price: 60.]