Chapter 81: Interesting...

At 7:27 AM, Carl stood at the entrance of Arasaka Academy.

There were three minutes left before class started—plenty of time.

After scanning in and confirming his identity at the gate, Carl walked into the academy.

Wearing the Arasaka Academy uniform, despite it being a suit, it was surprisingly comfortable to walk in—completely unrestrictive. He wondered if it had been specially designed that way.

It took him two minutes to reach his assigned classroom.

Upon stepping inside, he immediately scanned the room—excluding himself, there were about ten other students. Judging by their appearance, they were all around his age, but from their awkward movements and the way they fidgeted with their uniforms, it was clear that they, like him, were temporary students attending Arasaka Academy for an "educational experience."

"A separate class just for temporary students? Makes sense."

Carl had no intention of making small talk with the other nervous newcomers.

His eyes swept across the 100-square-meter classroom, quickly locating his assigned seat.

The classroom was structured into four rows and five columns, housing a total of twenty reclining immersion pods. Arasaka Academy's education system required students to lie down and connect to a VR-like learning system, similar to a braindance.

"So, lying down makes immersion into the system easier?"

Carl thought about how braindances worked—laying down did indeed reduce side effects like headaches and nausea after disconnection.

His assigned seat was Row 4, Column 4.

"Not bad."

While the other students were hesitantly inspecting their assigned pods, Carl had already laid down on his without hesitation.

Surprisingly, the cushioned support was soft—it was pretty damn comfortable.

Tick.

The clock hit 7:30 AM—class time.

"Good morning, students."

At the front of the classroom, a holographic AI projection appeared—a bald female figure.

"So this is the AI instructor of Arasaka Academy?"

Raising an eyebrow, Carl half-listened to the AI's welcome speech about the learning process, while simultaneously messaging Oliver and Jack through a private comms channel.

Carl:

I'm already lying down. This chair is actually really comfortable. We should buy something like this for ourselves—wonder if Arasaka sells them.

Jack:

How's it going? Getting along with your classmates? Settling in okay?

Carl:

Getting along? Bro, class just started. Also, my classroom is full of temporary students like me. If I wanna scope out the rich kids, I'll have to check out the other classrooms during break. I was hoping to share a class with some corporate heirs, but I guess that was wishful thinking.

Oliver:

Will you have enough time between classes?

Carl:

Yeah, breaks are actually pretty long. Forty minutes of class, then a twenty-minute break. Plus, there's a lunch break. This is honestly the most relaxed school schedule I've ever seen. I almost can't believe this place is run by Arasaka. Maybe it's because all the students here are rich kids—so they get a cushy schedule?

Oliver:

But I heard Arasaka Academy encourages students to compete for the highest grades. Someone even joked that at the finish line of their rat race, all they get is a graduation certificate.

Carl:

Maybe... that's exactly why the schedule is so "relaxed."

The easier and more leisurely the school experience, the more time students had to compete and overachieve in their own free time.

After all, these were all corporate heirs—they wouldn't be learning anything meaningful in class.

If you wanted to outshine your peers, it sure as hell wouldn't be by studying in class.

Let's be real—if you wanted extra study material, just bribe the faculty with more money. That's how you get ahead.

Studying during break time... huh. That's pretty ironic.

Lying on the learning pod, chatting with Oliver and Jack about Arasaka Academy, time flew by quickly.

Or rather, the AI instructor, just like the staff member who guided Carl yesterday, kept droning on about rules. It was the kind of mind-numbing repetition that Carl could easily tune out.

In the end, the entire 40-minute class was nothing but rule recitation—not a single useful lesson was taught.

"Damn, that was lazy. Even if this is just a 'trial class' for temporary students, we still paid for this. Do they really need to repeat the rules for a full 40 minutes?"

As soon as the class ended, while the other students were still memorizing the rules, afraid of forgetting them, Carl was already stepping off the learning pod with a casual thud.

The AI instructor had vanished—it wouldn't return for another 20 minutes.

That was plenty of time for Carl to explore the academy and observe other classes.

He wasn't worried about standing out—after all, he was posing as a street kid trying to climb the corporate ladder. Acting a little rough around the edges, not caring too much about rules, might actually make him blend in better.

A reckless stray dog, desperate to become a corporate pet, but too undisciplined to even sit still for one class—it was the perfect disguise.

Leaving the classroom, Carl didn't start snooping around right away.

If the school administration was monitoring new students, a fresh recruit like him suddenly poking around for info would definitely raise suspicion.

What he needed to do was...

"Hmm... where's the bathroom again?"

Muttering to himself just loud enough to be heard, as if he'd forgotten the way, Carl turned a corner.

From the other side of the hallway, he heard soft footsteps approaching.

Two seconds later.

Adjusting his stride, just slightly slowing his pace, Carl timed his step perfectly—

Just as the footsteps rounded the corner, they collided into him.

Thump.

A light impact—and Carl's perception slowed down as he focused his senses.

He saw her clearly—the person who had bumped into him.

A girl with deep blue hair, tied into a single ponytail.

Quick assessment.

Looks? Average.

Face implants? Small plating on both cheeks—unknown function.

Eyes? Purple—probably cybernetic.

Expression? Surprise.

Nothing particularly remarkable, but she could serve as a starting point for social interaction.

As this thought crossed his mind, Carl noticed something else—

Another gaze.

A boy, walking just behind the blue-haired girl, punk-style black hair.

Visually, nothing stood out—aside from two cybernetic scars on his face.

Carl didn't spot any Sandevistan mods on him, yet...

Despite Carl slowing his perception of time, that boy's gaze had still found him.

Sharp reflexes.

A good sense for his surroundings.

The world sped back up to normal speed.

The blue-haired girl let out a startled "ah!" as she fell to the ground.

Carl's eyes met the punk-haired boy's for a brief second—

Then, they both looked away.

The boy kept walking—as if nothing had happened.

Carl, however, smiled and offered his hand to the girl on the floor.

"Sorry about that. You alright?"

His face was friendly—but inside, he was intrigued.

Not by the girl.

But by the boy's instincts.

Interesting.