Core Attributes

Your Core Attributes are your lifeline at this school.

Protect them, hide them, do not let them be known, unless you must.

If at any point all seven of your Core Attributes are revealed—you will be immediately expelled.

If you're expelled from this school, we cannot protect you from the consequences of your actions. All criminal charges will be brought against you, and there will be nothing we can do.

Your Core Attributes are your weapons.

Don't lose them all.

• ───────────────── •

There was a small message on our phones before we were given access to the main Preseqta software. The screen quickly transitioned, as smoothly as any app could be. It was clear that the school wasn't shy with its budget.

Core attributes—it was a somewhat interesting concept.

Reading the message, everyone moved to separate areas of the room, some even ran outside. They were all covering their phones with everything they could. It made sense after all, if someone saw the Core Attributes on their screen, it would be all over before it even started.

I decided to stay in my seat.

I didn't care that much anyways.

Scrolling to the next page, there was a quick facial identification lock screen before my Core Attributes were displayed. There were seven distinct categories, as expected. I had a quick look at all of them, there was nothing that surprised me, I already fully understood my capabilities and skills. It wasn't like the school was going to discover anything that I didn't already know.

The categories were: Pure Intelligence, Athletic Ability, Appearance, Interpersonal Skills, Combat Strength, Spatial Reasoning and Courage. They were all given as scores out of one-hundred, although there didn't seem to be a clear scale for the values.

On the page after that, there was a tab called Balance, although nothing was displayed on it at the moment.

"Everyone, once you're done looking at your Core Attributes, you're free to go to recess. We're going to have class as normal after that. If you have any questions regarding the system, take it up with me at the end of the day."

After a little while, people began leaving the classroom, frantically discussing the newly-implemented ranking network.

…

Sitting on the windowsill, Tobiichi closed her phone and looked down at me. She was swinging her legs, tapping the edge of the wall. The window was half-open, so a light breeze brushed inside, swaying her hair in the wind.

"So, this is like a game. Are you excited, Kizutaka?"

Whilst everyone else in the class was worriedly contemplating the stakes that this system raised, Tobiichi was listlessly stretching her arms in the air.

"Not particularly."

Hopping down, she walked over to me, placing her arms around my shoulders. She peered over my head, looking at the empty black screen of my phone.

"I'm going to find out all of your Core Attributes, Kizutaka~"

I began getting out of my seat.

"Why would you want to do that."

She laughed a little.

"Otherwise, you'll never look my way. It seems you don't even see me as a person, let alone a love interest."

I tried to pull her arms off of my body, however, it only made her grab on tighter.

"Just go have fun with someone else."

I could feel her breath on my ear.

"No~. It has to be you, Kizutaka. I'll make you look my way, no matter what it takes."

I sighed.

Nudging her away, I began making my way out of the classroom. I slid my phone into my pocket as walked through the hall.

Tobiichi Luna.

Even someone like me could see that she was almost the perfect girl. With a face that made countless boys fall in love, she had the figure of a true idol—a small button nose, large brown eyes, bright red lips and long, glimmering hair. To say that she was pretty would've been a genuine understatement. To any person who made eye contact with her, she had a cheeky gaze that'd make them blush. To

She had a smile that even I could notice.

However, I still had no feelings for her.

Walking down the hall, there was suddenly a notification on my phone. Taking it out of my pocket again, I noticed that the school had announced something on their app.

—The Balance feature has been unlocked. All students has been given a balance of 10 tokens. These tokens can be redeemed during a special exam for benefits. Spend them wisely, it will be very difficult to gather more.

Special exams? That was another new concept that the school had managed to sneak into their announcement. I guess they were really trying to challenge us.

As I walked past one of the neighbouring classes, I could hear the subtle voice of several students inside.

"—this is our chance to bring down Tsukumo. His rich father can't save him from expulsion, it's finally time to teach that prick a lesson."

"—but how are we going to get his Core Attributes?"

"—just steal his phone or something. Or we could set up cameras around the student council room. I'm sure he'll definitely open up his phone at some point in time in there."

…

I guess people were already plotting.

It was pretty obvious that there was much more to the system than simply attempting to sneak a peak at someone's phone. There were going to be methods of getting them, most likely through the new special exams that the school seemed to be planning.

It would be extremely unwise for someone to bring out their Core Attributes in public.

Most people would likely never open their Core Attributes profile every again, not without a very good reason at least.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my back.

I turned around to see Akechi Hana and Shimizu Goro.

"Rin, what are you doing? Walking all by yourself again? Didn't I tell you, you can hang out with us! Hana and I have been looking for you everywhere!"

"That's right, Kizutaka-senpai! We're all friends, and we'll keep looking for you every time until you decide to chill with us!"

"Uh."

"No uh's! This is what friends do."

I didn't have anything against building a friendship. My body simply rejected such a concept, especially in the environment of this school.

Friends were a weak point that could be targeted.

Although, I guess I could play along, to see if I'd ever like it.