And yes, this is a rewrite
Hopefully I can publish 3 chaps a day.
Sunday is break 🥸
Chapter 1: Hikigaya, You're on Screen!
"Tick… tick…"
Time passed slowly. In a dimly lit room, a teenager sat typing away at his keyboard.
"Miracle Walker! He's still farming!"
"You don't even want to jungle anymore!"
"His mother gave it to him! His mother gave it to him!"
"Total failure!"
The sound of another base explosion echoed from his headset. He had lost yet again—and by now, he had lost count of how many games today.
"Sammy, what are you doing? Don't you want to live anymore?"
The voices of his friends kept flooding through the headphones, loud and mocking. Sam slowly pulled them off. He had tried his hardest to turn the game around, but… the result never changed.
As soon as he removed the headphones, silence fell. Only the ticking of the clock beside him remained.
Taking a deep breath, Sam gathered his courage and put the headset back on, ready to face more complaints.
"Tick… tick…"
But this time, his friends' voices were gone.
"Hello? Did you guys go mute after getting beaten?"
[DING…]
[Scanning host's physical condition…]
[Implanting Editing System…]
"Wait, what the hell?!"
Sam called out his friends' names again, but no response came through the headset.
He yanked it off, convinced he was just hearing things.
But then, the voice returned—clear and cold.
[Scanning host… 3…2…1… confirmed.]
[Host: Sam Gardner. Reward mechanism generating.]
"Oh my god…"
Sam's legs trembled uncontrollably. Summoning what courage he had, he rushed for the door.
Bang!
He grabbed the handle, but no matter how hard he pulled, the door was tightly locked.
[Congratulations. You have successfully awakened the Editing System.]
[Mission: Edit a video. If your work satisfies the audience, you will receive a great reward—and leave this world.]
Sam froze. The door wouldn't budge no matter what he tried. Finally, he slumped back into his chair.
The game screen was gone, replaced by a fully loaded editing software.
According to the voice, he had to create a video that satisfied everyone, or else… he might never get out of here.
A huge bonus was also on the line.
That meant he couldn't just make any random video. If the audience didn't like it, not only would he earn nothing, he might stay trapped in this room forever.
After a moment of thought, his gaze settled on a certain character—someone calm, sharp, even called a "monster of rationality." If he made a video about this young man being thrown into another world, it would definitely grab attention.
"It's you. I choose you, Hikigaya Hachiman!"
There was no time to lose. He began editing.
---
Aniverse
Meanwhile, at the Service Club…
They were discussing how to handle Isshiki Iroha's latest request.
With Hikigaya Hachiman's help, Isshiki had recently become student council president. In return, he had promised to take responsibility if she ran into trouble.
And so, here they were.
Of course, Hikigaya knew Isshiki wasn't the only one responsible. He, too, had a role to play.
He had already decided to take on the commission personally.
Just as he was about to speak, a strange voice rang in the ears of all four present—
[Chat group being established…]
"Senpai, did you hear that just now?"
"…I heard it."
"Yeah, me too."
"Uh-huh."
The room fell silent. Then, their phones vibrated all at once.
Hikigaya pulled his phone from his pocket. Normally, his messages came only from his parents or Komachi. But this… was different.
No messages from family. Only a brand-new notification.
Someone had dragged him into a group chat.
Yuigahama quickly checked hers as well.
"Look, we're all in this chat group!"
Sure enough, Hikigaya saw that not only Yukinoshita, Isshiki, and Yuigahama were listed, but also Hayama, Haruno, Zaimokuza, and nearly every classmate.
What is this, some kind of prank?
At the same time, messages began pouring in.
Horikita Suzune: "It seems everyone heard those strange words."
Sudo: "I thought I was hallucinating just now."
Ichinose Honami: "This group is huge. It looks like almost our entire school is here."
Satou Kazuma: "School? Don't kid yourselves. We're all from different worlds. Summoned here, maybe."
That's right—Subaru Natsuki, Kazuma Satou, and the others quickly realized the truth.
They had already experienced transmigration before. Something like this didn't surprise them anymore.
Still—
Another world, and now a mysterious group chat? What's the point of this?
Before anyone could make sense of it, the voice returned once more:
[Now playing: Hikigaya Hachiman in Classroom of the Elite]
[Starting…]
In the Service Club, Hikigaya coughed violently. He had wanted to remain a detached observer, but instead… all eyes were suddenly on him.
Yukinoshita Yukino turned away, hiding her face. She didn't want Hikigaya to see her expression right now.
"…Your presence isn't that low, you know. Stop lying to yourself."
"This is just an accident. Even if I become the center of attention, people will forget me soon enough."
But Yukinoshita's words didn't change Hikigaya's mind. From beginning to end, he never thought he had done anything wrong.
The room's atmosphere chilled again.
And then—
A projection appeared in the clubroom, a video playing before their very eyes.
Hikigaya's face stiffened.
A prank video? On me?