The last thing I remember was the white-hot feeling as the pleasure in my lower half was enveloped in a warm coffin of pure bliss.
It wasn't a literal coffin... not yet, but the kind of feeling overload that makes you forget your own name.
Ungh... what the fuck! How- Oh, God. Fuck. How'd she improve this much so fast?
My girlfriend, Jasmine, had been… well, let's just say she was... particularly motivated that night.
I felt myself getting close, the erratic pounding of my heart, like it wants to break out of my chest, a clear indication of the impending climax I'm about to undergo.
My vision went white while my lungs seized, and for a second I thought I'd reached nirvana with the sheer amount of pleasure I was experiencing.
Then, the unexpected happened as it usually does. The pleasure turned into a sharp, fixed stabbing in my chest, and the world simply... stopped.
I died at the moment I nutted. Talk about a 'happy ending' taken way too literally.
My consciousness didn't drift in a void for long, and instead of pearly gates or hellfire like I'd expected, I felt the sensation of hardwood pressing against my cheek and the smell of industrial-grade floor wax like the kind my mom uses in her cleaning business.
What the hell...
What's goin on?
I felt heavy, but not the heaviness of a corpse, but the sluggish weight of a deep sleep. I blinked. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead.
Where am I? Jaz?
I tried to sit up, but my motor skills were lagging worse than Golden Era Fortnite on 4G WiFi.
Yeah, okay, lets just... stay down. Yeah. Just... stay down...
I was slumped over a desk, but not the familiar desk at the accounting firm back in Vegas.
Instead it was a, smooth, laminated school-like desk which made me frown heavily in confusion.
What the fuck...
Around me, the low hum of chatter in an unfamiliar and yet somehow still familiar language which I recognized instantly as Japanese due to my minor hobby watchimg anime.
I didn't move. I stayed pinned to the desk, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Wait, I have a heart? I thought I went out in a blaze of glory, I think, slightly annoyed that didn't get the macho ending I would've preferred.
But then, I remembered my ending was anything but macho. I died a 34 year old virgin after getting head so good I died mid-nut.
Pathetic...
As I lay there mentally cringing at my weak as sex skills, a sudden, violent rush of information slammed into my head at full power.
It wasn't painful per se, but it was uncomfortably intrusive, like a high-speed download directly into my frontal lobe withiut any preparation or expectation.
The result was... I wasn't just me anymore. I was Korey Knightley.
The memories stitched themselves into my mind. I was American, born and raised under the neon lights and hooker haven of Las Vegas.
My father, a man with more ambition than luck, though that may be a major catalyst for his rise as a billionaire, had married a Japanese woman four years ago after he 'Fell in love at first sight'.
Riiiiiiiight. Okay, Pops. She's bad, I'll give you that though...
We'd moved to Tokyo, and through a series of bureaucratic hoops and a sudden flair for linguistics, I had become a full-fledged Japanese citizen, despite my father staying American to preserve his assets and influence in Vegas.
But there was more. The memories of this body's Korey were… unremarkable.
Average grades, a quiet demeanor, and a strange, stroke-of-luck acceptance into a very specific school.
I opened my eyes just a crack, looking at the uniform sleeve covering my arm. It was a distinct maroon blazer.
No friggin way. No way! Haha!
I knew this uniform! I'd spent dozens of Saturday nights binge-watching this exact aesthetic.
This was the Advanced Nurturing High School uniform! This was the world of Classroom of the Elite!
A surge of adrenaline, far cleaner than the one that had killed me, shot through my veins. I was in one of my favorite animes. I was a student in a cutthroat social experiment where points were currency and the person sitting next to you was likely plotting your academic downfall.
But luckily, I was a gamer. I was a fan and if the tropes held true, I wasn't just here to pass history class. Plus I have the entire plot until early season three practically memorized!
Haha! Hahaha!
System? I called out in the silence of my mind, clutching at the hope that usually accompanied these Transmigration scenarios.
System, are you there?
Absolute Silence.
Goddamit.
My heart sank faster than the titanic ever could. Was I really Transmigration to be just an average guy in a high-stakes psychological thriller?
I didn't have Ayanokoji's cold intellect or Koenji's physical freakishness. If I was in COTE to be known as just Korey the Vegas Kid, I was going to get chewed up and spat out by the S-System before the first month's points were even deposited.
Please, I pleaded. I literally died for this.
[DING]!
The sound was like a pin dropping in perfect silence in a dramatic movie scene.
A holographic screen, visible only to me, shimmered into existence against the backdrop of my eyelids.
[Three Skills Unlocked & Fused to Host!]
{10x Cashback}: Any and every expenditure of your personal wealth, cash, cryptocurrencies, or physical materials, you instantly gain 10x the value spent. Funds are stored in an untraceable bank account accessible at will.
{Absolute Biokinesis}: Alter any form of biological matter into whatever form you desire. Warning: Complex alterations require physical stamina.
{Adaptive Resurrection}: Death is a temporary state. Upon expiration, you immediately resurrect with absolute immunity to the cause of death (including abstract concepts: old age, drowning, mental deterioration). You will be forever evolving, and immortal by default.
[Items Gained: {Untraceable Bank Account} and {Untraceable Black Card}]
My breath catches, and a dumb grin soreads on my face.
This wasn't just a golden finger. This was a golden hand of God. In a school where Private Points were the only thing that mattered, I had a 10x multiplier on wealth.
In a school where physical ability and appearance were tools of manipulation, I could rewrite my own goddamn DNA. And the resurrection? That was the ultimate safety net.
After all, Ayanokoji and Tyuen are borderline sci-fi. It's never too bad ti have failsafes...
[Notice: Majority of the Host's skills and possessions are passive. System existence deemed unwarranted. Self-destructing in 10... 9...]
Wait, what? Don't leave!
[8... 7... Enjoy your new life, Host!]
The screen flickered and vanished with a final, quiet chime leaving me alone, though I felt anything but.
But I did feel... different. My body felt electric, like I can do anything.
I bolted upright in excitement, my chair screeching against the floor.
The sudden movement was like a gunshot in the relatively quiet classroom, drawing all eyes to me.
"Ah!"
A small, startled cry came from my immediate left and I immediately turned my head, still buzzing from the System encounter, only to find myself staring into a pair of wide, startled eyes behind red-rimmed glasses.
It was Sakura Airi.
Her pink hair was slightly disheveled, and she was clutching her chest, which, as the anime had accurately portrayed, was quite substantial, drawing my gaze as they swayed slightly as she recoiled from my sudden movement.
Her face was pale with shock, her timid nature making her look like a rabbit that had just seen a wolf wake up.
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry!" I said, the words tumbling out in fluent Japanese. I reflexively rubbed the back of my head, giving her a sheepish, lopsided grin. "I just woke up and... well, I'm a bit nervous. First day jitters, you know?"
I was lying through my teeth, of course. I wasn't even remotely nervous. I was just high on the realization that I was basically a god in a school uniform.
No, not basically. I am. I'M HIM! HIMOTHY FUCKING HIMMS. THREE TIME HIMMY AWARD WINNER!!!
Sakura didn't respond immediately, and oddly, her face began to turn a shade of red that rivaled the trim on our uniforms.
She stared at me with her mouth slightly agape, her eyes darting from my eyes to my lips and back again.
She looked like she was about to short-circuit with how red she was, causing mild alarm bells to ring in my head, akthough my intuition told me it wasn't bad.
I frowned slightly, confused by her intensity. I looked around the room and noticed a strange phenomenon.
It wasn't just Sakura. Several other girls in the middle rows who had been whispering or checking their phoneswere dead silent at me. One was absent-mindedly chewing her pen, while another was staring at me with a blush so fierce it looked painful.
Even some of the guys were casting long, bewildered glances my way, although a few were annoyed, while others were sporting thinly veiled looks of envy.
What, the hell? Do I have something on my face? That would be just what I needed.
I turned toward the large windows on the right side of the classroom where the golden morning sun was hitting the glass just right, creating a dark, reflective surface.
I looked at my reflection, and for a second, I didn't recognize the person staring back.
The Fuck!?!?
Is that me? I wo.der, just as shocked as the rest of them.
The Korey from my new memories had been a good-looking kid, sure, but the person in the glass was something else entirely.
It was as if the Absolute Biokinesisskill had looked at my base DNA and decided to optimize it the moment it fused.
My jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, and my skin was flawless, possessing a healthy, sun-kissed glow that screamed American Trust Fund Baby rather than shut-in student.
My hair was a deep, rich chestnut that caught the light in waves, and my eyes...
Good god...
My eyes are a piercing, icy blue that seemed to hold a hint of a permanent, confident smirk.
I wasn't just handsome I looked like a masterpiece sculpted by an ancient Greek master who had been tasked with creating the ultimate idol statue.
I was impossibly attractive. I was a walking, talking distraction, that looked so good I nearly wanted to punch myself when I saw the confident smirk I was making subconsciously.
I look exactly like the people I hated in my last life, I think. But I have to admit... it feels different when I'm on this side of it...
Well, I thought, a slow, predatory grin spreading across my new face, this is going to make the social engineering part of this school a whole lot easier.
I turned back to Sakura, who was still frozen. I gave her a wink. A genuine, 'don't worry about it' wink, and she actually squeaked, ducking her head behind her long bangs to hide her face that was crimson.
Suddenly, the classroom door slid open with a sharp, authoritative clack
Instantly killing the chatter and breaking the moment.
A gorgeous woman stepped in, her heels clicking rhythmically against the floor.
She wore a sharp suit, her black hair tied back in a high ponytail that swayed with every step.
Her expression was one of cold, professional indifference, which looked so damn hot on her.
Sae Chabashira. The homeroom teacher of Class 1-D.
In a total summary... Mommy.
She walked to the podium, her eyes sweeping over the room though they lingered on me for a fraction of a second, long enough for me to see a tiny, almost imperceptible flicker of surprise in her cold gaze before she settled her stare on the class as a whole.
"I am Sae Chabashira," she began, her voice cool and devoid of warmth. "I am the homeroom teacher for Class 1-D. At this school, there are no seat changes for the duration of the year. You will stay where you are."
She picked up a stack of orientation guides.
"This school is unlike any other in the world. It is run by the government to foster the leaders of tomorrow. Here, merit is everything."
I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. I knew this speech. I knew the pointsreveal was coming. I knew that everyone in this room currently thought they were sitting on a gold mine of 100,000 yen a month, not realizing they were being judged on every whisper and every yawn.
But as I looked around the room, catching the eyes of Horikita sitting stoically in the back and Ayanokoji looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, I realized something.
In the original story, Class D was the 'defective' class. They were the underdogs.
But... they didn't have an American-born, biokinetic, immortal cornucopia of wealth in the middle of the seating chart.
I reached into my pocket and felt the cold, sharp edge of the Untraceable Black Card, which I could summon for regular purchases, or store in my system subsiace at will.
A 10x cashback on every point spent? Please. If I played this right, I wouldn't just be a student I would be the shadow bank of the entire academy.
Chabashira-sensei began explaining the S-System, the points, and the school's facilities. I watched her, but my mind was already three steps ahead.
Alright, Tokyo Nurturing Academy, I thought, my heart thumping with a new kind of excitement. Let's see how you handle a player who can't lose.
I caught Sakura looking at me again from the corner of her eye and when I looked back, she didn't look away quite as fast this time.
She just gave a tiny, trembling smile.
I smiled back. My old life was over. My new godly life was just beginning, and I really can't wait to see how much fun this world is.
"Now," Chabashira-sensei said, slamming her hand on the podium to silence the rising excitement about the 100,000-point allowance. "We will begin the first lesson. Open your books."
The canon had officially kicked off, but as the first few hours of school droned on, I found it increasingly difficult to pay attention to the basic curriculum.
My mind was racing a mile a minute.
The 10x Cashback was the real game-changer here. In this school, Private Points or Ppt (1 point = 1 yen) were the lifeblood of survival.
You could buy anything, literally anything if you had the points.
Better food, exam answers, even points toward moving up a class.
If I spent 100,000 points on a luxury meal or some high-end tech gadget, the system would immediately deposit 1,000,000 points into my untraceable account.
It was an infinite money glitch in a world where money was power.
But... I have to be careful, I think. The school monitors everything. If a student from Class D suddenly starts throwing around millions of points, the Student Council and the Board would be on me in a heartbeat.
Although the untraceable nature of the account was my shield, I still needed to act with a modicum of discretion.
Then there was the Biokinesis, which seems broken if I know how to use it properly.
I looked down at my hands. They were perfect, long, elegant fingers that looked like they belonged to a concert pianist rather than a student.
Pushing useless thoughts aside, I focused my mind, imagining a small change.
I willed the skin on my palm to become slightly more callous, just to test the limit.
A slight warmth instantly spreads through my hand, and although it didn't hurt, I felt my stamina dip, albiet just a fraction.
I looked down and examined it. The skin was tougher and thicker and with a mental nod of satisfaction, I reversed it.
Incredible.
I could change my fingerprints or change my retinal patterns, rendering any effective means of forensic or DNA related tracking moot.
I could even, if I wanted to, change my height or muscle density.
And in a school that used physical tests and surveillance as primary tools of evaluation, I was a ghost.
I could be anyone and I could be anywhere.
And the Adaptive Resurrection... well, I didn't plan on testing that one anytime soon, but knowing I couldn't die of old age or mental affliction was a massive relief.
This school was famous for breaking people's spirits and although I was confident, I can't guarantee that it wouldn't happen to me.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the morning sessions and the start of lunch, also serving as tbe catalyst to jerk me from my neverending thoughts.
The classroom instantly erupted into movement with most students ecstatic about their new 'wealth'.
"One hundred thousand points! I'm going to buy Tears of the Kingdom! "
"Let's go to the cafe! I heard the parfaits are amazing!"
I saw Yamauchi and Ike already making plans to spend their points on nonsense.
I saw Kushida, the class 'angel' already surrounded by a group of admirers, her smile bright and perfectly practiced, though her gaze occasionally flicked to me.
And then there was Ayanokoji. He was standing up, looking as plain and bored as ever.
He started walking toward the door, likely heading for the convenience store or the cafeteria to observe from the sidelines.
I stood up, stretching my limbs. My new body felt incredibly limber.
"Um... K-Knightley-kun? "
I turned. Sakura was standing there, her fingers fidgeting with the strap of her bag. She looked like she wanted to disappear into the floorboards, but she was forcing herself to speak to me.
"Yes, Sakura-san?" I asked, keeping my voice smooth and friendly.
"Are you... are you going to the cafeteria?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "I... I don't really know anyone yet, and..."
She trailed off, her face turning that familiar shade of crimson that might just be her trademark... well, other than her huge boinkers, but I digress.
I looked at her, doing my best to not make it pervy. In the original series, Sakura was a loner, eventually becoming a target because of her Gravure Idol secret and her inability to stand up for herself. She was vulnerable.
But... she was also loyal. And in this school, loyalty was a rare commodity.
And her being sexy doesn't hurt, I think, smothering the grin attempting to form before it can do so.
"I was just heading there," I said, giving her a warm smile that made her breath audibly hitch, much to my amusement. "Why don't we go together? I'm hopeless at cuisine, so maybe we can figure out the best stuff on the menu together."
"R-Really? You'd... you'd go with me?"
"Of course. We're classmates, aren't we?"
I walked toward her, and as I passed her desk, I could smell the faint scent of vanilla mixed with oranges, coming from her in small wafts.
Damn. That combo go crazy, I think, trying not to pull a Joe Biden and start sniffing high school girls.
(A/N: Sleepy Joe lol)
She followed me, although her steps hesitant but hurried, as if she was afraid I'd change my mind.
As we walked out into the hallway, I felt the eyes of the other students on us. Or rather... on me.
The whispers followed us like a wake.
"Who is that guy?"
"He's in Class D? No way, he looks like a prince."
"Is he a model?"
Ahhhh, I think inwardly. So this is how you felt, Daniel Park...
Chuckking internally, I ignored them as I had a bigger goal. I needed to test the 10x Cashback.
We arrived at the Keyaki Mall, the massive shopping complex on campus filled with boutiques, restaurants, and tech stores each more tempting than the last, reeling in weaker willed students like Yamauchi and Ike like a fish on a lure.
"Where would you like to eat?" I asked Sakura.
"Oh, anywhere is fine! I... I don't want to be a bother," she said, looking at the floor.
"How about that sashimi spot over there?" I pointed to a high-end looking place. The prices on the menu outside were steep... about 5,000 points for a lunch set.
For a normal student, that was a significant chunk of their daily budget if they wanted to make the 100,000 last.
"That's... that's really expensive, Knightley-kun," she whispered.
"It's on me," I said, pulling out my student ID, which functioned as the point card.
"Consider it a celebration for our first day."
"I can't let you do that!"
"I insist." I gave her a look. Not a mean one, but one that was firm and confident and she crumbled immediately, her shoulders dropping as she nodded shyly.
We sat down, and I ordered the three most expensive sets on the menu.
Sakura ordered something modest, but I told the waiter to upgrade hers to the premium set as well.
When the bill came, it was 12,000 points.
Grinning, I swiped my card, drawing an odd look from the man handlimg our bill, but he just shook his head and let it go.
Transaction complete.
Immediately, I felt a vibration, not from a phone, but a mental notification.
[Cashback Triggered: 120,000 Points deposited into your Untraceable Bank Account.]
A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth as the reveation that I had just spent 12,000 points and earned 120,000.
I was richer now than I was when I walked into the restaurant, and it made me giddy, though I did my best to control my outward expression.
"Is the food okay?" Sakura asked, looking at me with concern.
"It's perfect," I said, trying the sashimi directly in frintbof me, chewing slowly
"In fact, Sakura-san, I think this is going to be a very, very good year."
She smiled then, a real smile, one that reached her eyes.
"I'm glad. I was really scared about coming here... but you make it feel a little less scary."
I looked at her, and for a moment, the outside observer part of my brain shut off.
She was just a girl, scared and alone in a shark tank.
"Don't worry," I said, my voice dropping an octave, carrying a weight of sincerity that surprisingly, I actually felt. "As long as you're with me, you don't have to be scared of anything in this school. I promise."
Her eyes widened, and for a second, I thought she might actually faint, but she just nodded, her face glowing.
As we finished our meal, I looked out the window of the restaurant and saw Ayanokoji walking by, his hands in his pockets and his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, though only I know he was taking in everything at once.
He was the masterpiece of the White Room which turned him inti the ultimate human, but... he was ultimately still playing by the rules of the world which were far below me at this point, and will only continue to get further as time goes on.
I leaned back, feeling the power humming in my veins. I had the money, the body, and I had the ultimate 'get out of jail free' card in the firm of Adaptive Resurrection.
The world of Classroom of the Elite was about to find out what happens when you let a Vegas high-roller into a game of low-stakes poker...
Ahhh, I sigh, a grin forming on my face. So much fun already. It can only go uphill from here, right?
Turning to Sakura, I smile gently, chuckling at her near instant reaction if blushing.
"Ready to head back?" I asked.
"Yes, Knightley-kun."She says, her shy voice audibly content.
We stood up and walked out, the prince and the timid girl.
The first day wasn't even over yet, and I already owned the board, and I want to see how the class reacts when the points drop to zero next month.
I want to see Horikita's face when she realizes she's not the smartest person in the room and really I want to see if Ayanokoji can ever truly be surprised.
But for now, I had a class to conquer. One point at a time...
[CHAPTER END]