AN: Sup guys! I'm here again with another update for this fic!
By the way, do you guys know that Google Docs has a character limit? (Yes, I'm using Google Docs to write this fic. Since it is easy to write and I can access it on my phone, tablet, or PC wherever I am.)
I discovered this while writing this Arc. I actually panicked when I suddenly couldn't type anything anymore...
I was surprised that there was a limit and that I actually reached it.
I didn't experience this before when I wrote Volume 1 and 2...
And I was like, aren't I only halfway done with Volume 3? How the heck did I hit such a limit?
Anyways, aside from that, I was on a roll writing this Arc. This was actually playing in my head for a long time. Even before I wrote the rewrite of Volume 1, I already had this Arc planned.
So, like me, I hope you will like this Arc!
Do share with me your thoughts about how this Arc does!
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???,???...
A groggy Hachiman felt his consciousness slowly return. His thoughts pieced themselves together as he assessed his surroundings.
'Where am I…?'
He blinked and stared at the canvas roof above him.
'Right… We camped by the roadside on our way to Nouki Town in Kuhanou Earldom. First night out since heading toward Ougoch Duchy.'
He closed his eyes again, still heavy with sleep—then caught the faint sound of someone breathing beside him.
His eyes snapped open.
Turning slightly, he saw the familiar faces of his male classmates—boys who had somehow become his friends over the past months.
Understanding dawned on him.
"…Right. Island Survival Special Exam. Courtesy of this wonderful school."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a helpless sigh.
Advanced Nurturing High School—ANHS for short—is the 'prestigious' school that Hachiman's meme body currently attends. It boasts a 100% employment and university entry rate. And with its thorough, state-directed teaching methods, it spares no effort in pursuing the nation's desired future.
At the moment, the school is conducting a special exam for their year—a week‑long deserted island survival test. So aside from Hachiman's Class B, the other classes—A, C, and D—are also camping somewhere across this island.
This situation began after the rather disastrous experiment conducted by Noah and Hajime using the 2nd Divine Key—Cosmic Juggernaut.
Their original goal had been to scan the Dimensional Sea, also known as the Sea of Quanta, in order to search for Bronya's sister, Seele. At the same time, Noah hoped to locate the coordinates of his home planet.
To do that, they planned to use the Divine Key's parallel-dimension observation function, checking whether the positions of worlds in parallel dimensions matched the coordinates in their own reality.
To test the system, Hachiman volunteered as the subject. He believed he carried the lowest risk. Noah and Hajime might be powerful, but they were still human… well, Hajime is technically a Herrscher, but that was beside the point!
Ahem. Since Hachiman was a Memetic Entity, he could slip past dimensional walls far more easily than normal beings. Combined with the defensive capabilities of his Geo Astral Emblem, he was confident he could handle the process safely.
In the end, seeing that they couldn't stop him—and perhaps hoping they might even find a way to save his soul from remaining as the Great Seal of Nyx forever—Noah and Hajime reluctantly proceeded with the experiment.
After mirroring the three versions of Hachiman—the soul acting as the Great Seal in his home world, the memetic Hachiman traveling with them, and the Hachiman from the parallel dimension—they finally gathered the data they needed. The results confirmed that although history diverged slightly between worlds, the coordinates themselves were identical.
Unfortunately… a small mishap occurred.
Because of Hachiman's deep connection to the Path of Remembrance after bathing in Fuli's gaze, the Hachiman from the parallel world was "refracted" into this reality.
Sadly, the parallel Hachiman had died in the same way as their own. His soul had already become the Great Seal as well—but unlike their Hachiman, he had never turned into a memetic entity. Without the crew present to intervene, he had truly died in every sense.
When the world detected the paradox—three separate Hachimans existing in the same plane, with one originating from a foreign dimension—it attempted to correct the anomaly. To protect the integrity of reality, the world's laws began moving to erase all three of them.
Seeing that Hachiman was about to be erased by the world, the panicking Noah and Hajime made a desperate decision. They linked the Hachiman Soul from the Great Seal and the Memetic Entity Hachiman to the empty body of parallel Hachiman, forcing the three into a single existence.
Miraculously, it worked.
They managed to preserve Hachiman's continued existence. Because of that, Hachiman can exist in three different places at the same time.
Memory Hachiman continues traveling with the crew. Soul Hachiman remains as the Great Seal. And Body Hachiman lives a normal life back on his home planet.
Which leads to a rather strange side effect.
This process works whenever Memory Hachiman falls asleep; his consciousness transfers to Body Hachiman to take control of that body. The opposite also works the same way. Once the Body Hachiman fell asleep, his consciousness returns at the Memory Hachiman with the crew.
This strange phenomenon eventually earned him the nickname—Dream Hachiman.
After graduating from Shujin Academy Junior High and after his name was finally cleared of the false assault accusation involving that politician, he successfully enrolled in ANHS. It was also the fulfillment of a promise he had made years ago with Arisu: to attend her father's school together.
"Honestly," Hachiman once muttered after realizing the situation, "I feel like I'm working three jobs while only getting one salary."
'Six months have already passed, and I'm still not used to the sudden transfer of consciousness from my main self to this meme body.'
He shook his head once to clear the lingering haze of sleep, then carefully pushed himself up and stepped out of the tent.
The moment he stepped out, his eyes squinted against the early morning sunlight. He carefully closed the tent flap behind him, making sure not to disturb his still-sleeping classmates.
He cracked his neck and stretched his back to loosen the stiffness, taking a slow breath in. The air smelled of salt and sea breeze—fresh, clean, and oddly calming.
His gaze swept across their camp, checking each corner to make sure everyone was fine. Following his suggestion, their class chose the seaside cabin as their main base. It had most of what they needed: a bathroom, firewood, cooking space, sleeping areas—and most importantly, a medical kit. It was also close enough to the sea for them to catch fish whenever necessary.
'Though the medical kit got "lost" after a fish got lured by it…'
A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he relished how bad this trap would affect a certain someone.
'No, no. Easy there, Hachiman. Scheming first thing in the morning isn't good for your mental health.'
He continued walking around the camp, checking whether their supplies were still intact and noting anything that needed to be replenished or gathered. Seeing that most things were in order, he headed toward the sea where they had set up their fish trap, hoping it had yielded something for breakfast.
Someone was already there.
"Good morning, Kanzaki. You're early," Hachiman called out, making the boy turn toward him.
"Good morning, Hikigaya. Doing your rounds already?" Kanzaki replied with a small grin.
Kanzaki Ryuji—one of the two guys Hachiman was closest to in class—also acted as an advisor to both him and Ichinose Honami, the class representatives.
"Yeah. My body just wakes up automatically when it's time to check the bases," Hachiman said with a shrug. "Guess I've gotten used to island life in three days."
Kanzaki laughed. "Looks like I'm not the only one adapting."
"So, how's the haul? Enough for everyone until dinner? Or at least lunch?"
Kanzaki's expression twitched slightly. "Breakfast, yes. There'll be a little left for lunch… but dinner's out of the question."
He let out a sigh as he delivered the report.
"I see…" Hachiman exhaled lightly. "Then we'll have to get creative with today's meals."
"We may even have to burn some of the food reserves we secured using Class D's points."
"Well, we need to make sure everyone's needs are met. I don't want anyone to get sick."
Hachiman answered without hesitation. To him, his classmates' well‑being came first; everything else was secondary. He knew how they were—good‑natured to a fault. They would smile, endure their own discomfort, and pretend they were fine just so they wouldn't slow anyone down.
'Seriously… what am I supposed to do with these kids?'
"Ahahaha, as expected of the 'Father' of Class B. Always thinking about everyone else."
Kanzaki said it with a teasing grin, as if he could hear Hachiman's thoughts.
"Urrrggghhh…"
Hachiman groaned and looked away.
"…I'll go for my run. I'll be back before the roll call."
Since he couldn't win this one, he chose to retreat. Without another word, he started preparing to update the bases they were occupying.
"Take care."
Kanzaki watched him go, shaking his head slightly.
Awkward, stubborn… but always looking out for everyone. It was hard not to admire that.
When they first met on the very first day of class, Kanzaki had assumed Hachiman was just another quiet, introverted guy who didn't want to be bothered.
However, that impression changed during their first homeroom. In just a few exchanges with their teacher, Hoshimiya Chie, Hachiman calmly analyzed and broke down the structure of the S-System with unsettling accuracy.
Because of that, their class was able to act immediately. From day one, they secured a significant head start over the other classes. Within a single week, they had gathered almost every key piece of information about how the school operated.
Then, on the first day of the following month, Hoshimiya-sensei finally revealed the truth behind the system. The class listened in stunned silence as they realized something—almost everything Hachiman had deduced earlier was correct, or was at least ninety percent of it.
The result? The gap between their class and Class A was just around fifty class points.
And the best part?
Class A had spent around a million points to obtain information from their homeroom teacher.
Class B hadn't spent a single point.
It was a decisive win.
With admiration pouring in from all sides, Hachiman was appointed as the class representative alongside Ichinose Honami, who was already widely respected within their class.
Whether he liked it or not, he ended up leading the class. Under his planning, they secured more than enough points to maintain everyone's basic standard of living while also setting aside a separate emergency fund, just in case something went wrong.
With Hachiman and Honami's pacifist nature—and their reluctance to strike first—they focused on keeping everyone's needs met. So for the past months, they endured the open provocations from Class C and the pressure from Class A.
They did make one move during the last exam—helping Class D counter Class C. It gave them leverage, since Class D now owed Class B a favor. A favor they used on this exam was to have Class D spend their points to buy Class B food supplies.
But Class C took it as an insult and responded with petty harassment, targeting them whenever possible.
Hachiman watched it all. He saw how his classmates were treated, yet even then, they only smiled and insisted they were fine.
That was the last straw.
This exam, he decided, he would deal with Class C properly. Not just push back, but crush them if he had to. And at the same time, dragging Class A into it, to send a message.
Being a pacifist didn't mean we're pushovers.
'And from the rumors circulating… Hikigaya is close to two members of Class A. Sayanagi-san and Kamuro-san. And Shiina-san from Class C.'
Kanzaki exhaled.
If things escalated, Hachiman might end up hurting those connections himself just to protect their class.
"…I just hope that after this, your friendships with them won't be affected."
Kanzaki murmured under his breath, hoping the cost of this decision wouldn't be higher than Hachiman expected.
—---
Hachiman ran at full speed—well, at least as fast as this human body allowed—circling the island to update their class bases while casually occupying any unclaimed ones he came across.
"Hmm… even if this body limits my true strength, it's still at the upper range of normal humans," he muttered. "But since it's configured as 'normal'… I still get tired. And thirsty."
Before long, he stopped by a nearby river. He crouched down, scooped up some water, sniffed it, then took a small sip—gargled—and spat it out.
"The river water tastes fine… but should I risk it?" He crossed his arms, thinking. "I should've listened to Honami and brought a water bottle."
He sighed and scooped up water again with both hands, only to pause at the last second.
"…Forget it. It'd be embarrassing if I ended up with a stomachache over this."
Instead, he splashed the cool water over his face, washing away the sweat. Feeling a little refreshed, he resumed his run toward camp.
Along the way, he spotted a banana tree.
"That'll help."
Seeing it as a good addition to their food supply, he accelerated and used the momentum to climb up the trunk.
Once at the top, he grabbed onto a sturdy leaf for balance. He examined the weak point of the stem holding the bananas and carefully bent it, applying steady pressure.
After about a minute, it snapped.
The sudden weight nearly pulled him off balance.
"—Whoa."
He caught his balance just in time, holding the haul before he could fall along with it.
He let out a breath of relief when he didn't fall. But just as he was about to jump down, he spotted a familiar figure moving around below, scavenging for food.
Kamuro Masumi.
An acquaintance? A friend? Someone in between? Was a member of Class A—the same person Kanzaki had mentioned earlier.
He met her on his very first day at Advanced Nurturing High School. It wasn't some dramatic boy-meets-girl moment. After their first homeroom, he had decided to explore the campus and look for clues about the S-System.
And because a certain pink-haired girl—his… well… 'intimate close friend' from Shujin Academy Junior High, Ichinose Honami—trusted him far too much, she had walked up to his desk and asked what they should do to gather information about their new school.
When he looked up, not only Honami but the entire class was staring at him, waiting for instructions.
He didn't have much of a choice.
So he assigned tasks and slipped away to observe the upperclassmen himself. Honami followed him, and the two conveniently "got lost" around the second- and third-year blocks.
That was how he first noticed the class point numbers posted around the campus—and how differently the upperclassmen lived depending on their standings.
Unfortunately, their little investigation ended abruptly when the student council president caught them wandering where they shouldn't be.
After leaving the upperclassmen block, Hachiman and Honami headed back to the dorms. On the way, they passed a convenience store. Around that time, he had received a message from his childhood friend—if you could even call her that—Sayanagi Arisu. She had declared she would cook dinner in his dorm room to celebrate their admission.
Before entering the store, he texted her.
"Need anything?"
Her reply came almost instantly.
"Eggs for tomorrow's breakfast. And drinks for tonight."
Simple. Direct. Very Arisu.
So Hachiman bought what she asked for. That was also when he noticed the so-called "free" items displayed inside the store—another detail that deepened his suspicions about how this school truly operated.
And that little detour was how he met Kamuro Masumi.
She was trying to steal a beer.
At that moment, Hachiman could only groan internally.
'Of course. Why wouldn't I get dragged into something like this?'
As he casually walked past her, he leaned slightly and whispered,
"You should wait a few more years before trying to get drunk."
Masumi flinched and spun toward him, eyes wide. But Hachiman simply continued to the cashier, paid for his items, and left as if nothing had happened. He rejoined Honami outside, and the two returned to the dorms.
In the following days, however, he noticed something odd.
Masumi was following him.
Even Arisu had teased him about it.
"You've acquired a pet, Hachiman."
So he confronted her.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Masumi grit her teeth and snapped back in a low voice.
"You know I tried to steal. That means you can report me whenever you want. So just say it. What are your demands?"
Hachiman blinked.
"…Demands?"
"Don't play dumb! If my life's in your hands, just tell me what I have to do to keep you quiet!"
"I wasn't planning to do anything at all, though?"
Masumi stared at him like a fool.
"You won't?!"
Strangely enough, it sounded almost… disappointed.
At that moment, Hachiman briefly wondered if she might actually be a masochist.
Since Masumi didn't believe him—or rather, since it sounded like she actually wanted him to "use" her for something—and considering she and Arisu were both in Class A, Hachiman eventually gave her a condition.
"If you really feel that guilty," he had said, "then keep an eye on Arisu. Help her out when needed. Her health isn't exactly the best."
And just like that, Kamuro Masumi ended up shadowing Sayanagi Arisu almost every day, assisting her with whatever she needed.
Of course, Arisu never let that opportunity go to waste to tease him.
"You've gotten us quite the capable pet, Hachiman," Arisu said lightly.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PET?!" Masumi snapped.
"Please don't call her a pet… at least call her a maid," Hachiman replied flatly.
"W-what?! Y-yo-you are actually looking at me like that?! Pervert! Disgusting! Trash! Hachiman!" Masumi shot back, her face bright red.
"Hey, hey! Don't use my name as an insult!"
—
Back to the present.
Adjusting his grip on the bananas, Hachiman calculated the distance to the ground where his acquaintance stood. Without hesitation, he jumped.
'It's just a few meters. It's not like I'm not diving from a 200-floor maze like last time.'
"Yo, Kamuro. Looking for food as well?"
"KYAAAAAAA!!"
He landed with a solid thud beside her, startling her badly.
Her body reacted on instinct.
A fist shot straight toward him.
"Kya, huh? That's probably the most girlish shriek I've ever heard from you." Hachiman said as he sidestepped smoothly, avoiding the punch.
"HIKIGAYA, YOU BASTARD! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME BY GIVING ME A HEART ATTACK?!"
Masumi glared at him and threw another punch.
"Haah? What are you even saying? You're the one who is trying to kill me right now!" he shot back while dodging again.
After a short exchange of missed punches, Kamuro finally stopped, breathing heavily. She shot him an irritated look.
"Tsk. You really are a terrible guy. I don't get what Sayanagi sees in you. No—wait. You're both the same type. Good at cornering people."
"Oi! Don't say it like that! That's pure slander, you know?!"
Masumi ignored his complaint and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. I'm leaving."
"Ah—wait. Take half of these. You're looking for food too, right?"
Hachiman stopped her before she could leave and snapped the banana stem in half, handing Masumi a portion.
"…Just how did you even get this much?"
He didn't answer. He simply shrugged at her wide‑eyed stare.
"I'd love to talk with you more, but roll call's coming up. We should head back." He put the remaining bananas on his shoulder. "Be careful on your way back, okay? See you later."
"Hey! Wait!!"
Of course, he didn't.
He had already resumed running toward his class camp.
"Damn it, Hikigaya! At least wait for me to say thank you!!"
Masumi stomped her foot, trying to ignore the heat creeping onto her cheeks.
"…I'll remember this grudge, you jerk!"
—----
Back at the Class B camp…
The good kids of Class B had already woken up and gathered near their bonfire for the morning roll call. Their homeroom teacher, Hoshimiya Chie, stood nearby, waiting for the right time to begin.
Ichinose Honami, sipping coconut water, scanned the crowd of her classmates and noticed someone missing.
"Huh? Has Hachiman not come back yet?"
Her simple question made everyone pause and look around.
"…He's not here."
"Wasn't he just doing his morning run?"
"He should've been back by now, right?"
"He didn't get into trouble, did he?"
Honami lowered the coconut, concern flashing across her face. "Normally he'd be back before roll call…"
Hoshimiya Chie, watching her students murmur anxiously, couldn't help but smile wryly.
"…Since when did everyone develop a Hikigaya-kun sensor?"
"That's not it, Sensei."
"He just… usually comes back early."
"Yeah, it feels weird when he's not here."
"And if he collapses somewhere from overworking himself again?"
"Don't say scary things like that!"
The camp grew noisier as more students started voicing their worries, each one talking over the other.
Just as Kanzaki was about to step forward and calm everyone down, Hachiman suddenly dropped from above and landed smoothly beside Honami, startling the entire camp.
"Huh? What's all the noise about?" he asked casually, ignoring the stunned expressions around him. "Oh, right—Shibata, Kanzaki. Take these. Found some bananas during my run."
"...O-oh."
"You… seriously…"
"Thanks."
Already somewhat used to Hachiman's ridiculous displays of ability, the two boys accepted the banana stem without making too much of a fuss.
"So what's going on, Honami? …Ah, good timing. I'm actually pretty thirsty."
Only then did he notice the coconut in her hands. Without thinking too much about it—and because he was genuinely thirsty—he took it from her and drank straight from it.
"?!"
Honami's face instantly turned bright red.
He had just drunk from the very same coconut she had been sipping moments earlier.
"Ah!! That was refreshing!"
Completely oblivious to the stares around him, Hachiman let out a satisfied exclamation after finishing the coconut.
"H-Ha-Hachiman…!"
"Hmm? Yeah?"
"Y-you… j-just w-what do you think you're doing…?"
"Huh? Are you okay, Honami? You're really red. Do you have a fever?"
Not trusting her voice, Honami could only shake her head. When he leaned a little closer to check her temperature, she instinctively stepped back.
"Ah… sorry. I leaned in without thinking. I'm still sweaty from my run." Hachiman scratched his cheek, misunderstanding the situation completely.
"N-no…" Honami tried to respond, but her thoughts short-circuited from embarrassment.
'SHE DIDN'T STEP BACK BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU BLOCKHEAD!!' Everyone around silently screamed.
"It's okay, Honami. I understand. No need to force yourself." Hachiman lifted a hand to gently stop her from speaking, nodding like some enlightened sage. "I'll just take a quick shower and be right back."
'You didn't understand a single thing at all!!!'
From Honami to the rest of the class, everyone screamed internally as they watched the unbelievably dense Hachiman walk toward the shared shower.
Honami's legs finally gave out, and she slowly sank to the ground, covering her burning face with both hands.
"Honami-chan, are you okay?"
"It's okay, Ichinose-san. You can always get back at Hikigaya-kun later… make him the one who flusters instead."
Shiranami Chihiro and Amikura Mako gently patted her back, offering comfort and a very questionable encouragement.
So today's battle?
It was Ichinose Honami's loss.
Another flawless victory for Hikigaya Hachiman.
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