After seg his access to the swimming pool, that night, Hikaru spent another 100,000 Private Points to purchase a new dose of the [Athletic Booster], leaving his funds dangerously low—only 7,000 points remained.

  Currently, he held two stocks: the high-valued [Iose Honami Stock] and the steadily increasing [Kushida Kikyo Stock], which had now reached 40 points. If he could push it up to 50, he would finally have enough funds to purchase [Mastery in Martial Arts], a skill he had been eyeing for a while.

  After testing it twice already, Hikaru was fident that as long as he tinued leveraging Suzune, Kushida would take the initiative on her own.

  As for [Iose Honami Stock], while it hadn’t increased in a while, it remained highly valued. Since Special Exams hadn’t even started yet, it was best to hold onto it for now. There was no telling if even more valuable skills might appear irading Shop] ter—cashing out too soon would be a waste.

  Bringing up his stoterface, he reviewed his holdings:

  [Iose Honami Stock]

  Current Stock Price: 150

  Shares Held: 5,000

  [Kushida Kikyo Stock]

  Current Stock Price: 40

  Shares Held: 5,000

  Other stocks like [Chabashira Sae Stock], [Horikita Suzuock], and [Shiina Hiyori Stock] had high initial prices. Hikaru had to ensure he had enough liquidity before making additional iments—getting stuck with no funds could be disastrous.

  "Funds are tight. Once I cash out the Kushida Kikyo stock, I o decide on my iment immediately."

  ---

  May 4th—Ryūen’s Return to Css

  Tassed quickly, bringing them to May 4th—the day Ryūen Kakeru returo css.

  In the now-demoted Css 1-D, a palpable tension filled the air.

  Though most students had gradually aowledged Ibuki as the de facto leader in his absence, Ryūen’s return was an uable factor. No one knew what he nning or what he would do .

  At 8:10 AM, the door finally swung open.

  A tall figure with fiery red hair stood at the entrance, lingering as his gaze swept over the metalliamepte outside—where it now clearly read “1-D”.

  > “Css 1-D, huh? Hah... One month was all it took for you guys to fall to the bottom. Looks like you did a great job under Ibuki’s leadership.”

  His voice dripped with mockery.

  Ryūen strolled into the with his usual arrogance, his smirk directed straight at Ibuki.

  She wasn’t oo take insults lightly. She stood up, her sharp gre meeting his with urained hostility.

  “You think I’m the reason we lost points? Who do you think caused the penalty in the first pce?”

  “If I recall correctly, that would be yht?” Ryūen shot back with a cold smile. “Making deals with another css, setting up your own cssmates to be suspended... and theing weled back as a ‘leader.’ How ridiculous.”

  “You—!”

  Ibuki ched her fists, her small face torted with anger.

  Sensing the tension, Hiyori quickly stepped in to mediate.

  “Ibuki, calm down. We all supported your decision at the time, and there’s nothing Ryūen say to ge that.”

  “Besides,” Hiyori tinued, her voice calm but firm. “Ryūen, you were the one who started a fight on the first day. Did you really think that wouldn’t result in a penalty?”

  Ryūen simply grinned, his fidenwavering.

  “A necessary sacrifice. If I had full trol over the css, we’d already be on our way to A-Css.”

  Ibuki scoffed.

  “What a joke. Are you dreaming in broad daylight?”

  “No, I’m dead serious.” Ryūen took a step closer, his pierg gaze log onto Ibuki’s. “Not that it matters if you believe me. I’m here to issue a challenge.”

  “A challenge?”

  “You stole the position of css representative while I was gone. Naturally, I’m going to take it back.”

  “Hah! You think it’s that easy? Leadership is determined by the css vote. You’d need everyone’s support.”

  “I know,” Ryūen said coolly. “Which is why I’ve already made my move.”

  His words made Ibuki frown.

  “You think I spent a month sitting around in my dorm? I’ve pnned everything.”

  Turning away from Ibuki, Ryūen addressed the entire css.

  “Since we’re at the bottom, the only way left is up. We’ll take dowher csses one by one, until we stand at the top.”

  Ibuki folded her arms.

  “What kind of ridiculous scheme are you pnning this time?”

  “That,” Ryūen smirked, “is cssified.”

  Ibuki scoffed again.

  “You’re full of shit. All you know how to do is start fights. There’s no way you came up with some brilliant pn.”

  Ryūen’s smirk widened as he g Ishizaki and Komiya, his two most loyal subordinates.

  “You remember my orders, right?”

  “Of course, Ryūen. This is your eback mission—we won’t fail.” Ishizaki thumped his chest.

  “We’ll make sure everything goes acc to pn.” Komiya nodded.

  Satisfied, Ryūen turned back toward the door.

  “The’s begin.”

  As he left the , Ibuki ched her fists.

  “That bastard is definitely up to something.”

  “It’s fine,” Hiyori reassured her. “If he actually helps the css, then we be either way.”

  Ibuki clicked her tongue.

  “Tch. Like hell I’d ever trust him to do something for the css.”

  Meanwhile, just outside, Ryūen walked fidently, his hands in his pockets.

  “So, Hashima Hikaru’s css is now A-Css, huh? Talk about unlucky.”

  His expression darkened, rese fshing in his eyes.

  “That bastard was the reason I got suspended. Because of him, I lost a month—aire month where I could have solidified my power.”

  His hands ched into fists.

  “Don’t worry, Hikaru. I learned a lot from our st enter. And this time—”

  A twisted grin spread across his face.

  “—I’ll drag you straight into hell.”

  ~~~

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