Once Asakusa Tōru realized that there was no way he could defeat Amasawa Ichika in the short term, he gave up on continuing to waste time inside the White Gym.
By simply choosing to pause the current course in his mind, he could immediately interrupt the ongoing fight, withdraw from the White Gym, and return to his real-world dormitory.
The gym membership card was still in his hand. Despite having been beaten up by Amasawa Ichika for quite some time inside the White Gym, hardly any time seemed to have passed in reality.
He casually took out his personal terminal, opened the stopwatch, and once again entered the White Gym.
Six minutes later, when he returned to reality, only one second had passed on the terminal.
Just as indicated by the name of the membership card, the time flow ratio inside the White Gym was 1:365.
"…That's interesting," Asakusa Tōru raised his eyebrow. "But is it just combat training?"
Every time he entered the White Gym, Amasawa Ichika—or rather, a humanoid replica possessing her appearance and strength—would decisively launch an attack at him. Once he was knocked down, everything would reset again.
From the perspective of accumulating real combat experience, this was probably very effective.
But whether it could truly be considered "fitness," and whether training performed in a non-real environment could be transferred to the physical body—this wasn't explicitly stated in the membership card's description.
Still, considering that this was called a gym rather than something like a "combat technique training chamber," Asakusa Tōru decided he could safely assume that the results of training in the gym would manifest in reality.
The real issue was that this membership card was an annual pass.
"Complete one year's worth of training within a total of one day. After the course ends, you may choose to convert the membership card into a graduation certificate."
That was how the effect was described.
So the question was—
If he were foolish enough to use up all the available time without ever defeating Amasawa Ichika, would he still receive a graduation certificate?
The moment the thought surfaced, text appeared before his eyes once again.
[If the full course is not completed, you may choose to convert the membership card into a completion certificate]
Nothing else changed. Only this brief line was added to the detailed description of the effect.
"Oh ho, there's supplementary clarification too?"
As the black-and-white text gradually faded, Asakusa Tōru couldn't help grinning. "That's pretty wild."
"But no matter how you look at it, a graduation certificate is better than a completion certificate, right?"
Asakusa Tōru knew he wasn't a genius, but he also didn't consider himself an idiot.
A 365x time acceleration was extremely powerful, and an endlessly resetting practical combat space was incredibly strong.
But he believed that an S-rank reward shouldn't stop there.
There had to be more to uncover.
Even though he had been thoroughly beaten by a beautiful girl inside the gym, his real-world body showed no obvious fatigue. For the time being, he couldn't tell whether that was because the duration was too short or because that was simply how the membership card worked.
In any case, he decided to soak in the gym for three minutes before going to sleep.
No—
He should say 1,095 minutes.
Multiply by 365.
...
The next day.
Year 1, Class B.
After replenishing the energy he hadn't been able to make up for the night before in the cafeteria—devouring his meal with gusto—Asakusa Tōru finally arrived at his classroom.
Last night, he had spent three minutes engaging in prolonged "deep interaction" with "Amasawa Ichika," successfully confirming that the White Gym wasn't merely a practical combat simulation space, but a gym whose training results genuinely transferred onto the body.
His body had truly memorized the responses, gradually undergoing steady, progressive changes.
However, the gym membership card clearly didn't include meals.
Once the training session ended, an unmistakable wave of hunger surged forth, his body craving more energy to solidify the enhancement.
Asakusa Tōru should have replenished that energy last night, but unfortunately, Advanced Nurturing High School didn't offer late-night meals—the cafeteria closed at nine—so he could only make do at the convenience store.
But convenience store food really wasn't suitable for heavy eating. Whether in terms of cost performance or taste, it fell short. And although his body craved energy, his stomach couldn't handle more than its load limit.
That was why he had eaten again this morning.
Looks like he'd be turning into a big eater for quite a while.
"Morning~"
"Good morning."
"Mm-hmm, good morning, good morning."
The moment he entered Class B, a thick atmosphere of friendliness among classmates washed over him. Harmonious, amicable, extremely cozy—so bright it hardly felt like a Japanese high school.
Asakusa Tōru casually raised his hand.
"Morning."
"Mor—… huh?"
The short brown-haired girl reflexively turned her head to respond, but the greeting caught in her throat and refused to come out.
Because the Asakusa Tōru in front of her was someone she couldn't find anywhere in her memory.
Wait—who is he?
Is he even our classmate?
A sense of confusion welled up.
Her brows furrowed slightly, the flower-shaped hairpin swaying gently with her hair. No matter how hard she tried, Shiraha Chihiro couldn't find any trace of this person in her memory.
Asakusa Tōru didn't pay any attention to her strange reaction. He simply found his own seat and sat down.
Perhaps because Shiraha Chihiro's reaction was too obvious, the surrounding classmates followed her gaze and noticed Asakusa Tōru as well.
Especially the seat he had taken.
"Hey, look—wasn't that seat…"
"Didn't Hoshinomiya-sensei say he gave up enrollment…?"
"Did something happen, so he was late by a day?"
"I think his name was… Asakusa-kun?"
"Should we say hi?"
"You go, I'm scared."
"But if he didn't come yesterday and no one talks to him today, he'll be lonely, right…"
The class's idle chatter quickly turned into discussion about Asakusa Tōru, quiet whispers centering the topic on him.
However, compared to malicious gossip, they seemed more inclined toward kind speculation.
"Asakusa… kun…"
Ichinose Honami turned her head to look at him, gently biting her lower lip, her face full of hesitation.
Should she go say hello?
Ask why he was absent yesterday?
Ask why he was together with the C Class students?
Or ask…
Just as Ichinose Honami hesitated, the door to Class B opened.
"Good morning, everyone. Feeling energetic today? Yaaawn…"
Yawning, Hoshinomiya Chie leisurely walked into the classroom.