The examination hall trembled with quiet tension.
Over 133 students sat in perfect rows, each spaced exactly ten inches apart. The only sounds were the soft scratch of pencils, the rhythmic turning of pages, and the occasional snap of a broken point being sharpened. The air was thick with pressure—so thick it felt like a drug slowly filling the lungs of every student inside.
This was Hoshima Academy, one of the most prestigious schools built on a remote artificial island—an academy designed to draw out the "true value" of its students.
A school for elites.
A school for stars.
A school that devoured the weak.
No one dared to look at anyone else. Sweat dripped, hands trembled, and minds raced to solve the near-insoluble problems laid before them.
Then, in the center of the hall, a girl with short yellow hair quietly stood up and raised her hand.
The lecturer blinked, startled.
"You… you're finished?"
She nodded. "Yes. I am done."
A wave of whispers swept through the hall.
"She finished already?"
"No way."
"Must be one of the elites planted to intimidate us…"
"She's too fast!"
Ignoring the murmurs, the girl calmly walked to the invigilator's table. On it lay a school ID, a phone, and a name tag—prizes awaiting anyone who completed the exam.
She picked up the items labeled with her name. Along with them was a sealed letter containing an academy map and the location of her assigned room.
Without hesitation, she exited the hall and stood by the corner outside, waiting.
---
Six hours later, the exam finally ended. Exhausted students poured out of the hall to retrieve their name tags, IDs, and letters.
A boy with black hair and glasses approached the yellow-haired girl.
He stopped in front of her, pushing his glasses up slightly.
"Ami—Ami Kō," he said. "First to finish, huh? Not surprised. Come on, let's go."
The girl—Ami—smiled and hurried after him.
All around them, students wandered the academy's open courtyard. A few stood near the edge, staring wide-eyed at the ocean. Only now were they realizing where they were:
An isolated school on an island, far removed from the real world.
The academy was designed to shape students psychologically—breaking them, rebuilding them, and turning them into society's "finest."
---
Not far from the crowd, on an old bench beneath a shaded corner, a lone boy sat with his head resting back. Most students had noticed him earlier.
"Wasn't he sitting there when we went in?"
"Did he even take the exam?"
"No way. Anyone who skipped the exam would be expelled instantly."
"Then what is he doing?"
The yellow-haired girl and the boy with glasses walked past him.
Only then did the mysterious student finally stand up, dusting off his uniform.
He held a letter—the same type every student received. He read it silently, then folded it once and tossed it toward a bin without expression.
He checked his school phone. It contained only four apps:
Payments, Messages, Calls, and the School System.
A notification flashed.
> CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENT UPDATED:
Your Class — T.E
T.E. The lowest class in the academy's ranking system.
Moments later, the same announcement echoed through the entire school. Every student received their class allocation, and silence spread across the compound.
The island school had spoken.
Their new lives were about to begin.
The boy wandered across the school grounds with the expression of someone who had no idea he had entered a battlefield.
His phone hung loosely in his hand as he walked, trying to piece together what was happening.
Anyone looking at him would immediately know—
he understood nothing.
And he didn't bother hiding it.
He turned a corner quietly… and froze.
There, a girl with long black hair was crouched down, picking something up from the ground.
Curious, the boy stepped closer, but remained hidden at the edge of the corridor.
He watched silently.
The girl suddenly slipped a phone out from inside her shoe.
Then she took the official school phone and tucked it neatly into her stocking.
She straightened her uniform in one smooth motion, as if nothing had happened.
Just as she began walking away, another student approached.
"Nami!" the student called—someone from Class Alpha.
The girl waved cheerfully and ran ahead.
The boy stepped out from his hiding place.
He stretched, jumped twice, and slapped both his cheeks lightly.
He thought to himself:
This isn't a school for me to get involved in.
I just need to be myself… whatever that means.
With that, he headed toward the boys' quarters—though in this academy, "quarters" didn't matter.
Class T.E., the lowest rank, was assigned to a single block near the outer edge of the maze-like campus.
The building was massive—nearly twenty stories tall.
He stared up at it for a moment before entering. Inside, there were only two options:
An elevator.
And a staircase.
He glanced at both.
Then, without hesitation, he rejected the elevator and began climbing the stairs—
all the way to the 19th floor.
Unbeknownst to him, someone else had been right behind.
The girl from earlier—Nami—had also walked in.
She saw the boy standing in front of the stairs, ignoring the elevator entirely.
Who does that? she thought.
She entered the elevator, rode it up, and stepped out onto the 19th floor…
only to find the same boy already standing in front of Room 00.
Her eyes widened slightly.
How did he get here so fast…?
But she said nothing. She simply opened her own door and went inside.
The boy glanced at her, then unlocked his room.
He tossed his clothes into a corner, collapsed onto the bed, closed his eyes—
And instantly fell asleep.
---
The Next Morning
The school bell rang across the island, its echo shaking every dorm window.
All the students rose from their beds, preparing for their first official day at Hoshima Academy.
The boy woke, stretched lazily, cooked a quick meal—simple noodles—and ate before heading out.
In the hallway, Nami spotted him again.
She watched him for a moment, puzzled.
How can someone like him… be in a school like this?
She stepped into the elevator.
He, once again, took the stairs.