Kurusu Akira had a dream.
He dreamt he was sitting in a classroom at Tokyo University, where an exam was being held.
A senior, whose face he couldn't quite make out, paced back and forth at the podium, then instructed him, looking at the test paper in front of him.
Remember this well, he's not an ordinary test-taker, he's a test-taker with cheats, a test-taker who got into Kyoto University with raw scores in his previous life...
Then the exam bell rang, and countless complex and obscure questions surged out from the test paper, overwhelming Kurusu Akira.
Facing such a desperate situation, the only name Kurusu Akira could call upon was the one hidden in his subconscious—
"Dioscuri."
Boom.
A thunderous sound reverberated in the room.
Kurusu Akira opened his eyes with a jolt.
He saw his Persona playing the black electric guitar by the window.
Countless currents flowed through its fingertips, combining into a deafening roar. Faintly, he could see lightning-like patterns glowing on the guitar's black body.
"Stop," Kurusu Akira grabbed the constantly vibrating alarm clock from under his pillow, ready to throw it.
Dioscuri immediately raised its hands, no longer touching the guitar.
Kurusu Akira's first reaction was, "My Persona is out of control?!"
But then, he understood that his Persona had undergone a secondary awakening.
From "Nameless" to Dioscuri, it represented the vast cognition belonging to Kurusu Akira gradually correcting the power of "heart" remaining in this body.
This was somewhat similar to the setting in the Bleach manga, where all Shinigami initially wielded Zanpakuto in an identical initial form, like a blank slate called an "Asauchi." Once they began to temper their souls into the "Asauchi" and completed the initial forging, they would obtain a named, unique Zanpakuto that belonged only to them.
Kurusu Akira looked at Dioscuri, and five attribute entries immediately appeared in his mind regarding it: [Can be summoned in reality without conditions, using musical instruments as a medium, capable of influencing reality to a certain extent], [Cannot be seen by ordinary people], [Ability to save and read user's memories], [Excellent growth potential].
Not just these.
He found that this "entry" in his mind could actually turn pages, which meant it already possessed a considerable degree of combat ability.
Then, a strange data panel, like those from traditional Japanese RPGs, appeared:
-
"Dioscuri"
—Sons of the King of Gods, Zeus, guardians of sailors, twin gods soaring through the cosmos.
Arcana: Faith
Strength 15
Magic 30
Endurance 25
Speed 50
Luck 15
Special Skills: [Performance Across Storms and Tsunamis], [St. Elmo's Fire]
-
Kurusu Akira turned off the incessantly ringing alarm clock in his hand and began to change his clothes.
It was still early, so he needed to quickly go downstairs to clean the shop, and also roast, check, and label the coffee beans.
The fact that his Persona could undergo a second awakening so quickly was indeed somewhat surprising to him.
But it was only to the extent of "somewhat surprising."
More than the awakening of his Persona, he was more concerned about the report card that would be issued today.
Three days had passed since the "stressful" entrance exam, and Kurusu Akira's daily life had become leisurely again.
Working part-time, playing games, and reading novels and manga for a while each day, time flowed by unknowingly, and it was already the day the exam results were announced.
He had long since removed the Togawa Family's phone number from his blacklist, but they hadn't contacted Kurusu Akira again since that late night.
Kurusu Akira, having changed his clothes, walked down the stairs.
The birth of "Dioscuri" gave him more confidence to face the debts inherited by the original owner of this body... Originally, he would have worried about causing irreparable severe injuries to ordinary people. Now, with this ability to ignore conditions and influence reality, the "Yakuza" of the underworld could no longer forcibly collect debts from him.
Kurusu Akira was confident he could subdue all of them without causing any injuries.
Now, to forcibly demand debt from him, at least three squads of riot police with live ammunition would need to form a encirclement.
Based on past experience, with suitable terrain, he could even subdue all of them without injury before the riot police called for backup.
The price would be potentially fainting from exhaustion afterwards.
Speaking of which, all of this was based on the premise of "deliberately holding back to avoid causing injuries that might severely affect the other party's future life." If he went all out, even without "Dioscuri," Kurusu Akira was confident he could clear out an entire block's worth of gang forces within an hour, although that would completely violate the various principles of the Velvet Room.
In any case, the above approach is not advisable.
Moreover, he didn't think a debt of 10 million yen would warrant such a large deployment of riot police...
100 billion yen would be more like it.
No, that's not right. Given the current state of this country, if he really managed to owe 100 billion yen, they'd probably treat him like an ancestor.
Kurusu Akira picked up the sponge mop, filled a plastic bucket with water, and skillfully began to clean the floor.
By the time Sakura Sojiro entered the shop with fresh eggs and beef, he had just finished wiping the counter and was rinsing the rag in the sink.
"Sakura-san actually bought beef."
Kurusu Akira looked at the plastic bag in Sakura Sojiro's hand.
In Japan, the meat of such livestock is very expensive.
"I took a customer's suggestion tonight and plan to try making beef curry." Sakura Sojiro remembered Kurusu Akira saying he didn't eat beef.
"Can I come taste it tonight?"
"I remember you said you don't eat beef." Sakura Sojiro looked at Kurusu Akira, smiling somewhat helplessly, "Alright, remember to come back early, otherwise the beef will be sold out."
"Oh, right, today's the day your entrance exam results are announced, isn't it?"
"Nina said she completely bombed it, how about you?"
"Me? I guess it went pretty well, after all, I was actively reviewing those few days." Kurusu Akira picked up his backpack from the sofa and shuffled his feet towards the shop exit.
In fact, there were no textbooks inside at all, only various manga books.
"Remember to bring your report card back tonight for my signature."
Sakura Sojiro's instructions blurred as the shop door opened and closed.
----------------
At 8:12 AM, the panel lights emitting a cool white glow illuminated one by one in the lobby of the teaching building. The student council advisor was about to post the opening test rank list on the bulletin board.
A group of students, some nervous, some dejected, some despairing, waited outside the lobby for the rankings to be announced.
After all, report cards always get sent home. Since death is inevitable sooner or later, rather than living in anxious anticipation, it's better to get it over with quickly.
The sun rose from the buildings behind them.
Thousands of light veils lifted, dyeing the corridor between the courtyard and the lobby with magnificent rose-red and golden hues, as a half-dot of light slowly ascended. In a few minutes, the morning sun, round and solemn, leapt from the dark clouds, its rays splendid and illuminating a thousand miles.
Soon, a plump figure, whose face appeared dignified and serene in the sunlight, possessing the divine grace of a Bodhisattva, approached with a thick stack of printed papers. He looked at the students waiting outside the lobby, and immediately his face showed a look of sorrow.
Alas.
His sigh seemed to have reached the depths of everyone's hearts.
Then the advisor took out thumbtacks one by one and hung the ranking list on the bulletin board.
Everyone swarmed forward, crowding the space around the bulletin board until it was packed solid.
Mishima Yuki and Sakamoto Ryuji were among them.
"Ryuji! I'm counting on you!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" As a sports specialist, Sakamoto Ryuji, relying on his excellent physical prowess, forcefully pushed open a path through the crowd, allowing himself and Mishima Yuki to get to the very front.
"Damn it!" Suddenly, someone nearby shouted in frustration, startling the two who were already feeling a bit guilty.
"Why was this exam so difficult?!" The shouting boy saw his results, then painfully knelt by the wall, his face filled with despair and sorrow.
"From math to English, I was completely ravaged beyond recognition!!!"
Immediately, voices of agreement arose from around them.
Sakamoto Ryuji and Mishima Yuki exchanged glances, secretly relieved.
"Let me see, Mishima… Mishima…"
Mishima Yuki stared at the ranking list, searching for his position from bottom to top, and indeed, he was at the very bottom.
"Eh, Math 7 points, Japanese 22 points, English 35 points, Geography/World History 38 points... Overall rank 212, out of 240 people in the whole grade. Eh, isn't this completely rotten?!"
Sakamoto Ryuji, standing next to him, dared not utter a sound.
Sakamoto Ryuji was scrutinizing his scores for each subject with a suspicious and appraising gaze, "Math 0 points, didn't guess a single multiple-choice question correctly, which was expected;
Japanese 17 points, after all, insane question types like haiku interpretation are not written for humans, skip;
English 8 points, lucky to have guessed a few multiple-choice questions correctly, but I don't study foreign languages, next…
What about the easiest subject, Civics? 25 points, well, failure always runs through life… I'll try harder next time! Sakamoto Ryuji."
The sports specialist had just completed a practiced "self-hypnosis" when he immediately heard a heartbreaking scream erupt beside him.
"Look at that name!"
Someone stretched out a hand and pointed to the very top of the list.
Mishima Yuki and Sakamoto Ryuji both looked up, their mouths agape in unison. This was the moment their worldview collapsed.
[Name: Amamiya Ren]
[Class: 2-D]
[Math: 100, 1/240;
Japanese: 98, 1/240;
English: 100, 1/240;
Geography/World History: 92, 1/240
...Total score 689, overall rank 1/240.]
Then looking at the second in the grade below the name "Amamiya Ren"...
Damn! How could the second in the grade be nearly 200 points behind him?!
The experience of battling together at the internet cafe after school seemed to become a false fantasy in an instant.
"There are more non-existent memories now…" A pale Mishima Yuki actually let out a sound close to a wail.
"Everyone, this time, you must strive to get full marks in as many subjects as possible." The original words he spoke when he first met Kurusu Akira at the internet cafe now echoed in his ears with extreme clarity.
Out of a total of seven subjects, Kurusu Akira only lost eleven points combined.
"Did he really not cheat?!" A short-haired girl beside them suddenly cried out in despair.
Someone recognized her; she was the second in the grade on the ranking list, a genius highly regarded by countless teachers and believed to be absolutely capable of entering Kyoto Imperial University.
She was also known for her diligent studies, having as many as six tutoring sessions after school every day. It was said that the exercise books she had completed since childhood, stacked together, could reach five meters high, and due to studying all night, she herself seemed to be just barely 1.5 meters tall...
And today, she was beaten by a poor boy who transferred from the countryside and probably never had tutoring in high school, with a terrifying score difference of nearly two hundred points.
----------------
AM 8:36.
Shujin High School.
"Eh, so many people."
The black-haired boy, carrying a single-shoulder bag, stood outside the teaching building's lobby, looking at the crowded scene inside, and somewhat troubled, he scratched his messy, unkempt hair.
"How am I going to see my results now?"
"I can help you look," a kind student council member beside him said. "Tell me your name, I just took a picture of the ranking list."
"Second year, Amamiya Ren."
"Okay, second year, Amamiya… Ren?! The Amamiya Ren who scored 689 points?!!" A rather awkward high-pitched voice.
He wasn't from Kansai, but the shock made him sound like he was.
Kurusu Akira watched the other person retreat step by step as if seeing a ghost, somewhat bewildered.
He felt he had made quite a few mistakes this time, for example, accidentally losing one point in Civics, not being confident about a haiku interpretation question in Japanese, and possibly getting one true/false question and a few fill-in-the-blank/multiple-choice questions wrong in World History/Geography because he had just started learning it…
This exam only covered all subjects from the first year of high school and did not meet the standards for a deviation score test; many question types involved overlapping knowledge points.
However, some questions should have reached the difficulty level of entrance exams for top-tier universities. Overall, his performance this time was quite commendable.
…
The above statements all occurred half an hour later during math class.
Ito Misui respectfully invited Kurusu Akira to the podium, asking him to share his mental process during the exam with his classmates.
When Kurusu Akira returned to his seat, he found Iseri Nina beside him bowing and scraping, almost performing a disciple-taking ritual towards him.
Throughout the morning, the name "Amamiya Ren" had caused a sensation across the entire Shujin High School.
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