In the prompt bar of the “image computer,” an exclamation-mark warning labeled “Class in Session” popped up mercilessly.
It was a reminder issued by the school’s monitoring robots.
They were said to have been carefully tuned in tone and wording to be as “humanized” as possible, in order to care for students’ mental states.
No one would be publicly shamed by the teacher for small things like tardiness or dozing off.
However, to me right now, this thoughtfulness had instead become an unnecessary burden.
The reason was simple —
Last night had been far too exhausting.
Every joint in my body felt as if it had been dismantled and hastily reassembled.
It operated with dull and stiff movements.
If I were a robot, what I needed most right now would not be class, but several buckets of old-fashioned machine oil.
Preferably the kind with a strong smell and thick enough to make the parts run smoothly again.
Naturally, I chose to hide in the corner of the very last row of the classroom.
I tried to give my exhausted eyes the rest they deserved.
Yet that supposedly gentle warning sound grew louder each time.
It was as if reminding me:
“Even if you keep trying to escape, this is still class.”
The humanized reminder had ultimately turned into an annoying noise.
— And so, a familiar voice sounded beside my ear.
“Only by becoming strong in Blue Hearts: Arena Online, or BHAO for short, can one earn respect.”
“And the way to become strong, aside from innately obtaining extremely powerful abilities, is none other than constantly battling and honing one’s own skills.”
Tanaka-sensei’s voice was like a fly buzzing around one’s ear on a summer afternoon.
It was impossible to shake off.
— Irritating and utterly meaningless.
At least to my brain right now, it was almost torture.
Yet even so, I could not escape it at all.
“And students like Yae Yoruichi here, who possess utterly useless support abilities yet refuse to study hard —”
He deliberately paused, as if waiting for something.
“Should have been eliminated by society long ago!”
“Becoming useless laborers or being sent to confinement facilities is the proper fate for people like you!”
In the next second, piercing laughter exploded in the classroom.
Pfft… hahaha!
Ugly mocking laughter rose and fell one after another.
It was as if someone were deliberately pounding on my eardrums.
Compared to the students’ jeering, Tanaka-sensei’s matter-of-fact declaration felt even heavier.
I had no choice but to prop up my body with both hands.
I looked like a zombie crawling out of a grave as I barely sat upright.
“Yae! Yo! Ru! Ichi!”
“Yes — Tanaka-sensei, is there something you need?”
I lifted my eyelids almost purely by willpower.
In the next instant, that ferocious face barged mercilessly into my vision.
An overly wide nose bridge, a face round like a baked flatbread —
If this creature were put in a zoo, it might blend right in with the gorillas.
But the oppressive pressure it gave off was absolutely no less than that of an enraged rhinoceros.
Ah… this is the worst.
While my heart instinctively shrank back from the other party’s aura, it also began to issue silent complaints about the hopeless campus life ahead.
“Immediately — right now — go stand in the hallway as punishment!”
“Use all your extra time to complete beginner training inside BHAO!”
“Don’t come to school just to sleep all day!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Tch, even your answers lack energy!”
“Sure enough, a bottom-tier student!”
“Yes, yes…”
Mocking laughter from all directions rang out once more.
Some people even pointed and gestured without any attempt to hide it.
I dragged my feet out of the classroom.
I finally chose a quiet spot along the wall and leaned my body against it.
Aah—
I opened my mouth and lazily yawned, exhaling the languid air into the atmosphere along with it.
Ironically, this yawn actually made me a little more awake.
Of course, only “a little.”
“The hallway really is much quieter than the classroom…”
The moment the words left my mouth, my eyes stubbornly closed again.
— 2064.
As if without any warning, a company called The Earth Ring appeared on Earth.
They devoted themselves to researching virtual reality technology’s effects on human consciousness.
They attempted to apply it to broader fields.
In the end, they succeeded.
A mobile terminal direct-connect game called Blue Hearts: Arena Online (Canglan Zhixin) became their most representative achievement.
The way to enter BHAO was exceptionally simple.
One only needed to use the signal from one mobile terminal to connect with another.
Combat could begin immediately.
The system would simulate the character image closest to the player based on their appearance, physique, and psychological tendencies from the database.
It would grant corresponding abilities according to the character’s traits.
Afterward, every player would receive a certain number of initial points.
These points could be used to upgrade equipment, strengthen the character, or enhance any permitted items —
Once the points reached zero, one would forever remain at the initial level.
One would be unable to advance any further.
Every match would stake a corresponding number of points.
The winner took all.
The loser lost everything.
This was the original form of BHAO.
After that, The Earth Ring company made multiple improvements.
The world of BHAO continued to expand.
And what truly changed everything was a nearly insane new concept.
As long as a mobile terminal connected to public Wi-Fi, players could enter a collective battle area.
In that area, time was completely detached from the real world —
No matter how long one stayed inside, upon returning to reality, time would still remain at the moment before entry.
It was as if time itself had been temporarily frozen.
Some guessed that The Earth Ring had mastered time-stop technology.
Others believed they had merely cleverly utilized a certain perceptual region of the human brain.
Regardless of the truth, this technology was far too precious to humanity.
Thus, BHAO became the highest-priority subject in the education system.
The strength or weakness of one’s character directly equated to one’s value in real society.
Those unable to use BHAO, or whose levels were too low, would eventually be eliminated.
They could only sink to the bottom of society.
They would labor for The Earth Ring’s system maintenance and dark workshops.
They would barely maintain any meaning to their existence.
— Becoming laborers or the confined.
……
A gloating gaze vaguely brushed against my left cheek.
It was not to wake me.
It was simply to confirm whether I had slept enough.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you planning to laugh at me too — as my best friend?”
The moment I opened my eyes, a blinding gold flooded my vision.
I almost wanted to close them immediately and flee back into darkness.
But I endured the discomfort and forcibly dragged my mind back to reality.
“Should I start with ‘hahaha’ or ‘pfft’ or something?”
“Of course not!”
“Listen to this—!”
That eager expression was just as annoying as his head full of dazzling blond hair.
A handsome face that pissed me off.
Even if I punched him right now, it probably wouldn’t be enough to vent my frustration.
Yet he was still —
In this school that treated BHAO as its glory, my only best friend.
Makura Heita.
“Did you watch the witch show last night?”
I repeated it back to him in almost the exact same tone.
“Wow!”
“Right?!”
“It was super cool!”
“The witch was just too cute— Eh?”
“How did you know I was going to say that?!”
Heita showed a childish look of disbelief.
“Because your desk, your locker, and even — your lunchbox are all plastered with her pictures.”
“You disgusting lolicon.”
I mercilessly delivered the finishing blow.
Sure enough, he showed a dejected expression that still wouldn’t actually hurt him.
“Yoruichi, you’re too naive!”
“She’s the most charming character in BHAO!”
“My goddess—!”
“Get away from me!”
“What kind of perverted move is that!”
I subconsciously pushed him away.
“I wasn’t talking about you!”
“How could your ‘warrior’ character that can’t even use weapons compare to the radiant Lady Witch!”
“…Radiant?”
I really couldn’t understand this perverted way of praising.
“Yes, yes… my little warrior is still at zero level right now.”
“Of course it can’t compare to the witch.”
That was the truth.
“Ah~ I want to be stepped on by the witch, and then aah—”
“Shut up.”
Just as Heita’s perverted syndrome was about to fully erupt, an ominous premonition made me subconsciously look toward the end of the hallway.
That was the staircase leading to the upper grades.
And right now, three tall figures were blocking it.
“You’re Yae Yoruichi, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“The famous good-for-nothing, huh.”
“Come duel with me — direct connect in BHAO.”
He grinned.
“Stake your five hundred points.”