Chapter 3

[Skills: Starvation Lv5 (max), Breath-holding Lv5 (max), Staying up Late Lv5 (max), Gaming Lv5 (max), Swimming Lv3 (34%), Running Lv2 (46%), Diving Lv1 (31%), Chinese Language Lv2 (63%)...]

[Talents: Photosynthesis, Divine Hand, Aquatic Lung, Insomniac]

Looking at the four fully leveled skills on the skill board, Rei felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him.

This is what it feels like to become stronger.

"Good morning, Makoto-san."

"Good morning, Misaki-san."

Listening to the continuous greetings from his classmates, along with the healthy, exposed long legs beneath their uniforms, Rei walked towards the school building with a content heart.

A small fist lightly tapped Rei's back. With his extraordinary perception, Rei had long sensed who the person behind him was. In a non-malicious situation, Rei saw no reason to stop them.

Sure enough, Riko's lively laughter reached Rei's ears.

"Good morning, Rei-kun!"

"Good morning... we just saw each other a moment ago."

"Please join the basketball team!"

"I decline."

"Join, join, join, please join!" Riko repeated four times in a row, but Rei's answer remained the same, a refusal.

In this world, there was no Seirin City High School. The high school Riko attended was the same as Rei's, a prestigious high school in Tokyo, Souto High (don't dwell on why Souto High moved from Chiba).

"If you don't know how to play basketball, it's completely fine. With your talent, Rei-kun, you'll quickly get the hang of it. At the very least, you can do high backflips. Even if your height is lacking, grabbing rebounds won't be a problem!" Riko spoke up.

Rei's physical talent was like an untapped treasure. Riko believed that even NBA players didn't explode with athleticism the way Rei did.

It wasn't just basketball; this body seemed to be made for sports!

Rei sighed. Was it because he couldn't play basketball? Or Was he afraid of turning people into basketballs?

Not to mention, if he threw a punch, even a cow would be beaten to death.

Let alone grabbing rebounds; if someone tripped, they'd probably be crushed to powder.

"I'm still not interested."

"Alright." Seeing that Rei remained unmoved, Riko had no choice but to let go of the idea. Everyone had their own thoughts, and she couldn't force Rei to do anything.

However...

"If you ever want to exercise, you can come to the gym where my father works. We have all kinds of equipment and even a swimming pool. It's dangerous to swim alone in the lake in the early morning." Riko suggested.

Rei nodded. That was indeed a problem. Not because it was dangerous, but because many strength exercises were inconvenient to do alone. He watched as Riko went to her own classroom before entering his own.

As soon as he entered the classroom, two large hands hooked onto Rei's shoulders.

A face slowly approached Rei's, and what was originally a handsome visage contorted into a completely different style. "Rei-kun, what was that just now? Was it a human? Or an alien? Masaka... you rascal! Have you already abandoned the organization and become a damn normie with a girlfriend?"

With that said, Kitahara Iori (from Grand Blue) clutched his heart with one hand and covered his face with the other, plunging himself into agony.

"Name: Aida Riko, age: 18, birthday: February 5th, zodiac sign: Aquarius, class president of the neighboring class, and also the coach of the school basketball team. In front of my eyes, which have evolved from human eyes to analyzing eyes, her height, weight, and three-dimensional measurements are no secret. Height: 156cm, weight... pfft."

Before the words could finish,

A hook punch slammed straight into Matsuda Motoharu's (HighSchool DxD) stomach just as he was about to speak.

An intervention.

The one who struck was Riko.

"When it comes to discussing weight, even if you're far away, I can hear it."

She retracted her fist and smiled politely before leaving.

It wasn't surprising that Riko acted so promptly. As soon as she took a couple of steps forward, these two troublemaking friends started talking rubbish, completely without any pretense.

Rei sat in the last row by the window, on his designated seat. "Not a girlfriend, just happened to run into someone today."

Looking at his two friends who were eager but lacked any romantic prospects, Rei sighed again. This kind of talk was way beyond their scope.

Though he had experienced bullying at school before due to his introverted nature, Rei still had two decent friends. Of course, they were also part of the marginalized group.

"I see... we believe in you!" x2

Shizuka Hiratsuka (OreGairu) entered the classroom,

After scanning the room and seeing that most people were present, she spoke up, "Alright, I have an announcement. Our class is welcoming two new students today. One is a transfer student from another school, and the other has been on a three-year hiatus and is just joining the class for the first time."

"?"

Say it again!

The entire class instantly burst into discussion.

"Ms. Shizuka, is it a boy or a girl?"

"If it's a girl, is she cute?"

"If it's a handsome guy, that's fine too. I hope we get a few more handsome guys."

"Even if there are handsome guys, it's not your turn. In my opinion, it should be two beautiful girls, one with white hair, the other a white-haired loli... yes, it must be white hair!"

"Huh? White hair? It should be like Eri Eri from Class 3, with golden twin tails!"

"You heretics! Class 2's Yukino with her straight black hair is the best!!!"

"What about pink hair? Isn't there anyone who likes pink hair? Pink hair is high-tier!"

"No way, pink hair is just black hair dyed pink!"

Hearing the voices in the classroom, Shizuka Hiratsuka rubbed her forehead and then slammed her iron fist onto the podium.

"Baam!!!"

It even produced a sonic wave.

"Quiet!"

The once noisy environment instantly fell silent.

Shizuka scanned the room with a menacing gaze, then nodded in satisfaction. Although she lacked authority on regular days, as long as her fist was big, her words carried weight.

"All right, now let's have the students come in and introduce themselves."

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ai Hoshino (from Oshi No Ko), please take good care of me."

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