The world was a silent, gray tomb. [14 Seconds Remaining].
Akira didn't waste a heartbeat. He dashed toward Kenji, who was frozen in a mid-laugh pose, his mouth wide open like a landed fish. With a swift tug, Akira unbuckled Kenji's expensive leather belt and pulled his trousers down to his ankles.
"Since you like the attention so much, Kenji-kun, let's give them a real show," Akira chuckled.
[09 Seconds Remaining].
He turned his gaze toward the chalkboard. Haruka, the Class President, was standing there with a piece of chalk frozen an inch from the board. Up close, her skin looked like porcelain. Akira felt his "Shameless" instincts flare up. He leaned in, his heart thumping. He didn't do anything—he couldn't risk the points yet—but he gently took the chalk from her hand and wrote in massive, loopy letters across her neat math notes:
"KENJI WEARS STRAWBERRY PRINT BOXERS."
[03 Seconds Remaining].
He scrambled back to his seat, tucking the golden watch into his pocket just as his lungs felt the sudden rush of air.
CLICK.
"—is... is so... wait, what?" Kenji's laugh cut off into a strangled gasp.
A cold breeze hit his legs. He looked down. His pants were a crumpled heap around his sneakers. The entire class stared in horrific, stunned silence at his bright red, strawberry-patterned underwear.
"KYAAAAAA!" a girl in the front row screamed.
"Kenji! What is the meaning of this?!" the teacher roared, his face turning a shade of purple that matched Kenji's boxers.
But the real kicker was the chalkboard. Haruka turned around, her eyes widening as she read the giant message. She looked at the board, then at Kenji's waist, then back at the board. Her face turned a deep, volcanic crimson.
"You... you pervert!" she yelled, hurling a heavy textbook directly at Kenji's head. THWACK!
[SHAMELESS POINTS EARNED: +200] [REASON: Causing a public scandal and framed 'accidental' harassment.]
Akira buried his face in his desk, shaking. To the rest of the class, it looked like he was crying from the shock. In reality, he was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
This tool is dangerous, Akira thought, a dark, playful glint in his eyes. I'm still broke, I'm still a loser, but for the first time in my life... I'm the one holding the remote control.
As the chaos escalated and Kenji tried to waddle away with his pants still down, the System screen flickered again.
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: OBJECT ISOLATION] [Description: You can now unfreeze one item or person while time is stopped. Cost: 50 Points/sec.]
Akira's grin widened. If he could unfreeze people... the possibilities for his 800-chapter journey were just becoming infinite.