Classroom of the Elite: Surviving with the Intel System — Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Rules of the S-SystemYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

After Shimizu Akira finished his lunch, he happened to cross paths with Ichinose Honami in the corridor. She had just finished delivering a can of beer to her homeroom teacher, and the two fell into step together, heading toward the second-year classrooms.

“Shimizu-kun…” Ichinose broke the comfortable silence, her tone conversational. “If I remember correctly, you’re the student who nearly got into a fight with a classmate during the entrance ceremony, right?”

“That’s me,” Akira admitted frankly, though a flicker of surprise crossed his mind. He hadn’t expected a minor altercation in Class D to reach the ears of students in other classes so quickly.

“I thought so!” Ichinose’s voice brightened, carrying a supportive warmth. “Honestly, that Yamauchi-kun was saying some incredibly mean things to the girls in your class. I think your stance was completely justified! It’s just…” She tilted her head slightly, offering a gentle, disarming smile. “Since we’re high school students now, maybe you could consider solutions that don’t involve resorting to violence?”

Akira couldn’t help but be secretly impressed. It was only the first day of classes, yet this girl from Class B already knew the internal dynamics of Class D like the back of her hand. Was it merely a coincidence, or was she actively gathering intelligence?

He re-evaluated the girl walking beside him. Compared to Horikita Suzune’s icy, distant demeanor, Ichinose Honami possessed a natural, terrifyingly effective charisma. She wove interpersonal networks effortlessly, grasping every subtle detail. Her phrasing was masterful—she didn’t condemn his impulsiveness outright. Instead, she validated his motives before gently offering her advice, ensuring her point landed without causing offense. It was a textbook display of high emotional intelligence.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Akira nodded, conceding the point.

“Really?” Ichinose beamed, her tone light and breezy. “In that case, Shimizu-kun, why don’t we exchange contact information? We might need to get in touch with each other in the future.”

She made the suggestion so naturally it felt like an afterthought. Just like that, Akira secured his third contact in the school.

The two of them strolled toward the second-year Class D classroom. Along the way, Akira casually mentioned the name of the upperclassman he was looking for. Since it was still the lunch break, the classroom was mostly empty.

“Oh my, if it isn’t Ichinose-kouhai,” a female student greeted with a friendly smile as they approached.

“Senpai!” Ichinose responded with practiced warmth. “Actually, I came to your class today because I was hoping to find someone named…”

Before Akira even had to step forward, the girl identified as ‘Yamamura-senpai’ was already standing right in front of them. She was exactly the target he needed.

“Yamamura-senpai, do you have a moment to speak in private?” Ichinose smiled, smoothly guiding the older girl toward a secluded corner of the hallway. Her movements were so fluid it seemed entirely premeditated.

“Well then, Shimizu-kun, I’ll leave the rest to you.” She offered Akira a polite nod and turned away, her departure clean and decisive, not lingering for a word of thanks.

Akira glanced at the time on his phone. Barely twenty minutes had passed since he first bumped into Ichinose. Subtracting the time she spent dealing with her teacher’s beer, it had taken her less than ten minutes to locate his target and set up the meeting.

This terrifying social efficiency made him click his tongue in quiet amazement. Her flawless execution didn’t belong to a high schooler. She hadn’t needed him to signal for privacy; she simply read the room, created the perfect opening, and withdrew before her presence could become intrusive.

‘It’s almost like she can read minds…’

Watching her retreating figure, Akira finally understood what it meant to master the social art of silent cultivation.

But business came first. Akira shifted his attention to the female upperclassman, his gaze lingering briefly on the meager, cheap lunch she was holding.

“Senpai, the Class Points distributed this month… they aren’t quite enough to get by, are they?” he asked, his voice smooth and measured. “Are you interested in making a deal?”and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Yamamura’s fingers twitched, her grip tightening on her food. She looked up sharply, alarm flashing in her eyes. “You… you’re just a freshman, right? To have already figured out the point rules on the second day… are you from Class A?”

Her voice trembled with a mix of shock and heavy vigilance. Her eyes darted down the corridor, instinctively checking the surroundings to ensure no one was eavesdropping.

Noticing her tension, Akira kept his voice low and reassuring. “Are you worried about being seen, Senpai? Please relax. There’s no one else around.”

“It’s not just the people…” Yamamura whispered nervously. “The school’s surveillance system is everywhere. If the School Administration catches us making this kind of transaction, Class Points will be deducted directly.”

“Class Points?” Akira tilted his head, perfectly feigning a look of mild confusion.

Seeing his reaction, the upperclassman suddenly lifted her chin, sensing an opportunity. “If you want to know the details, transfer 30,000 Private Points to me first.”

“10,000,” Akira countered, his expression entirely unreadable.

“I’m taking a huge risk here!” she hissed, her voice pitching up with desperate excitement. “At least 20,000!”

“10,000,” Akira repeated, his tone flat and unyielding.

“…You damn freshman…” Yamamura glared at him, grinding her teeth. After a tense standoff, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “…Fine. Deal. Transfer the points first, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

The transaction was completed, and Akira successfully extracted the crucial intelligence he needed from Yamamura. Combining her explanation with the basic class assignment and point distribution mechanics, he mentally organized the S-System into five core rules:

First: The school operated on a “Class Points” ranking system, featuring dynamic promotion and demotion. If Class D’s total points ever exceeded Class C’s, the two classes would automatically swap ranks.

Second: Class Points were directly tied to a student’s personal livelihood. The School Administration converted Class Points into Private Points at a strict 1:100 ratio, distributing the funds on the first day of every month.

Third: At the start of the academic year, every class was granted a default pool of 1,000 Class Points. However, the first month served as a strict evaluation of daily conduct. Any infractions—tardiness, truancy, talking in class, or general misconduct—caught on camera would be tallied up and result in massive point deductions at the end of the month.

Fourth: While the punishment system was brutal, there were avenues for redemption. The school held regular special exams and events where high-performing classes could earn bonus points. Yet, when Yamamura mentioned this, her tone dripped with bitterness; for the defective Class D, these opportunities were often nothing more than a mirage.

Fifth: Explicitly revealing the mechanics of the S-System to newly enrolled freshmen was strictly prohibited. If the surveillance network caught an upperclassman leaking the information, their class would suffer a severe point penalty.

Because of this final rule, students in Classes A, B, and C kept their mouths firmly shut. But the ecosystem of Class D was a different beast entirely. When personal survival was on the line, class solidarity crumbled. A desperate fraction of Class D upperclassmen were willing to risk the penalties to sell information in the shadows.

If the School Administration hadn’t enforced such a strict ban, the impoverished second and third-year Class D students would have likely cornered the freshmen on day one, auctioning off every scrap of data they possessed. After all, the School Administration’s true goal was to force the freshmen to discover the rules through independent exploration; direct information brokering disrupted that intended cultivation process.

However, as long as the students avoided the cameras and conducted their small-scale transactions in the school’s blind spots, the authorities were willing to turn a blind eye.You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.