COTE: Popularity System

"Actually..."

Himeno Yuki, sitting next to the two class leaders, suddenly spoke up, saying with some hesitation, "I think no matter what Kanzaki-san did back then, Takada-san wouldn't have agreed."

Honami and Ryūji were slightly taken aback by her words.

"Yuki-san, could you elaborate on your perspective?" Ichinose Honami looked confusedly at the girl beside her.

"Well..."

Himeno Yuki paused, then began to explain her thoughts. "During the exam, didn't Takada-san and I go out together to gather information? We talked about a lot of exam-related things back then."

"He said more than once that it's okay to fail occasionally, and there's no need to give up even if Class B pulls ahead in points. He even used Horikita-san from Class D as an example."

Kanzaki Ryūji furrowed his brow, his voice low. "So, you think that Takada-san never intended to help the class from the very beginning?"

Himeno Yuki nodded slightly. "He also said that the class was approaching the exam with a half-hearted attitude, making it impossible to achieve good results."

Kanzaki Ryūji froze for a moment, then sighed deeply. "Although I want to refute that, it seems we have nothing to say."

As the Deserted Island Exam progressed, he also realized this point. Whether it was the election of the leader or the decision to accept Kaneda Satoru, it all indicated that the class was not taking the special exam seriously.

If the direction is wrong, then no matter how hard they try to move forward, they are just heading down the wrong path.

If Class B hadn't inexplicably only received 120 points, then they, Class A, would have been second to last in this exam. It could be called a complete failure.

"Indeed, there's no way to refute it." Ichinose Honami said, lowering her gaze helplessly.

What Kanzaki Ryūji could figure out, Ichinose Honami naturally also noticed. At the same time, she also understood what Himeno Yuki truly wanted to say.

"Yuki-san, based on what you just said, Takada-san noticed from the beginning that our attitude toward the Special Exam wasn't serious enough, and we needed a defeat to change our mindset."

"So, no matter what choice Kanzaki-san made back then, he would have ultimately refused to provide help? Is that what you mean?"

Himeno Yuki's eyes brightened, and she nodded quickly.

Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what she wanted to say.

Kanzaki Ryūji frowned. "But if it was just to correct our attitude, that's too dangerous. Our class could have been left far behind by Class B in this exam. Honestly, if Class B hadn't had their leader guessed, we might have been trailing by over 400 points."

After speaking, Kanzaki Ryūji thought of something, and his pupils constricted.

Who guessed Class B's leader?

Class D.

Who told Class D the identity of Class B's leader?

Takada Hikaru!

"Could it be... while giving us a lesson, he deliberately made sure the two classes wouldn't fall too far behind each other?" Kanzaki Ryūji realized.

He originally thought Takada Hikaru's actions were just to earn points. But his true intention was actually to protect Class A from being distanced by its rivals.

Himeno Yuki nodded and continued, "Also, Takada-san specifically asked Hoshinomiya-sensei and learned that even if a class leader is guessed multiple times, only 50 points would be deducted."

"If he had also told Class D our class's leader, he could have earned hundreds of thousands more points, and Class A wouldn't have suffered much more loss, but he didn't do that."

Himeno Yuki added, "I think what Takada-san wanted to convey is that he won't betray us."

"So that's how it is..."

After receiving her confirmation, Honami's gaze softened, and a smile appeared on her face. "Takada-san has been concerned about the class all along. He truly went to great lengths."

He is immensely capable and could reach Class A on his own, yet he neither abandoned nor betrayed his class, even expending so much effort to help his classmates improve.

To be Takada-san's classmate is truly fortunate.

[Ichinose Honami: Money-Giving Guy did this for the class!]

[Money-Giving Guy: Yes, that's exactly what I thought.]

[Class D: Oh, right, right, right.]

The discussion among Ichinose Honami and the others was naturally made into an animation and seen by the audience.

At the same time, Takada Hikaru's character design was further perfected.

Seeing the Popularity Points on his system panel soaring, Takada Hikaru pondered for a moment and finally decided to purchase the new item refreshed in the System Mall in August.

[Presence Adjustment]

[Description: You can freely control your sense of presence. If you set your presence to 0, no one will notice you even if you rush into a women's bathroom full of girls. This is a skill that peeping toms absolutely cannot miss.]

[Price: 5 million Popularity Points]

Compared to the previously exchanged skills, the price of Presence Adjustment was ridiculously expensive.

Takada Hikaru's previously accumulated Popularity Points were actually not enough.

If he hadn't personally directed the scene of one person toying with four classes during the Deserted Island Exam, he wouldn't have been able to exchange for this skill.

'The item for next month won't cost over 10 million, will it?'

If so, that would be a shame.

From the first month's [God on the Board] requiring only 20,000 Popularity Points, to now [Presence Adjustment] requiring 5 million Popularity Points, the items provided by the System Mall have a trend of becoming increasingly expensive.

At this rate, he won't be able to buy all the items each month.

Although the school has started to have first-year students participate in special exams, the number of times is limited, and they are not as cleverly designed as the Deserted Island Exam and the upcoming Special Exam on the Cruise Ship.

Going forward, it will be difficult for him to collect more Popularity Points.

Unless there are other ways to gain Popularity Points.

[Detecting that the host's popularity ranks first in the animation!]

[Congratulations to the host for qualifying for a "Personal Spin-off"!]

Takada Hikaru was slightly stunned.

Personal spin-off?

A personal spin-off like A Certain Scientific Railgun?

In the history of animation, occasionally some supporting characters gain too much popularity, leading animation production teams to create spin-offs specifically for them.

The most typical example is Misaka Mikoto from A Certain Magical Index. Her personal spin-off, A Certain Scientific Railgun, even had a greater impact in terms of animation than the main series.

'Making my personal spin-off now... There isn't much plot to portray, is there?' Takada Hikaru felt a bit strange.

If it were already the second year of high school, then there should be enough plot for his spin-off. But currently, only the first semester of the first year has been completed, and not even all the special exams of the first semester have been experienced. If a spin-off were released now, it would most likely be a bland, uneventful narrative.

By then, let alone increasing popularity, it would be good if the audience didn't dislike it.

[The plot of the personal spin-off can be arranged by the host himself.]

As if it knew Takada Hikaru's concerns, the system's voice once again sounded in his mind.

'I write the plot myself?' Takada Hikaru's eyes lit up.

If that's the case, then there's too much room for maneuver.

After transmigrating, he still frequently read NovelFires. He was adept at various tropes of showing off and slapping faces.

If he could be responsible for his own personal spin-off, he would certainly be able to ensure that each episode had high-energy reversals, and leave suspense at the end, guaranteeing to whet the audience's appetite and turn them into ruthless update-demanding machines.