Chapter 1 : A Spectrum of Strategies

July 20th. An uninhabited island, stuck in an everlasting summer, with the blue sky high above, and the sea so clear and endless. This was where the students would be spending the next two weeks of their lives. On a cloudless night, the sky would be filled with stars...a sight so incredibly breath-taking.

And under that blanket of twinkling lights, we would be talking with friends as well as cuddling with our lovers. We'd dance and frolic around a fire, memories which would become an imprint upon the pages of our youth. From this alone, you'd be forgiven in thinking that this was going to be a summer vacation filled with fun that everyone would envy. However, for the students of the Advanced Nurturing High School, this uninhabited island was going to be the site of an important exam.

"According to Mashima-sensei, this uninhabited island is much bigger than the likes of the previous one from last year," Yousuke Hirata said, standing next to me.

Certainly, the scale of this uninhabited island exam was considerably larger than last year's exam, not to mention that the content of the exam had been scaled up as well.

"Even if it's just two weeks of surviving, there is a high chance of some students retiring from the test."

"Yeah. I think there's a good chance of unforeseen developments. I believe our priority should be obtaining water."

The heat from the sheer humidity could even be felt from the ship here.

The scorching sun had heated up the sandy beaches of the island, and continued blazing over us. Being that it was this late in July, the recorded temperature had nearly reached 40 degrees Celsius. As far as Yousuke was concerned, we were required to stay hydrated and watch out for heat strokes. As the island approached our views, the full extent of the island's expanse began to be revealed, bit by bit.

"I wonder, have people lived here before?"

"Maybe."

The well-maintained port, which exuded a jarring contrast to the rest of the uninhabited island, was slowly approaching. The ship was heading straight for the port without circling the perimeter of the island. As the seconds ticked down till the start of the special exam, Yousuke tightly gripped the deck railing, despite wearing a soft expression on his face.

In these coming two weeks, the entire situation of the school was going to change greatly. The positions of the classes in each year would shift, students from every grade would be expelled from school, none of it was unexpected. It was entirely possible that we might reside in a completely different environment from the second semester onwards. That was far from a desirable development for Yousuke, who only hopes for peace. It was no wonder he'd unconsciously holed himself up.

Finally, an announcement was made to prepare for disembarking.

"Are you ready, Yousuke?" I spoke in a stronger tone, while getting ready to face the inevitability of the soon to be shattered peace.

"I know I won't be getting the best of everything," he said as he nodded once, looking uneasily into my eyes.

"I'll do my best to make sure you don't have any regrets. That's the best I can do for the class."

I didn't want anyone to be expelled from this school either. But it just wasn't possible to reduce the chances of our classmates becoming potential victims to zero. With that in mind, we left the deck of the ship.

1

The day before touchdown on the uninhabited island; July 19th, 12:36 AM. The 12-story luxury liner, San Venus, sailed southwest across the open ocean. My girlfriend, Kei Karuizawa, greeted me with a wave of her hand from the rear of the deck, where very few people gathered. After making sure nobody else was around, we stood side-by-side and stared out at the sea.

"The view is amazing..."

The sun shone on the water, making it sparkle like an encrusted

jewel, and our gazes were transfixed by its beauty. Kei then narrowed her eyes, looking at the clear water with a soothed gaze.

"Haven't we already seen the same thing last year?"

"I mean, I did see it for a bit, but the view was second compared to spending time with my friends on the luxury ship," she confessed, embarrassed.

Well, it's not unreasonable. For many students, this would be their first time on a luxury cruise ship. You'd rather play around on board than sitting back and taking in the scenery. The San Venus, the cruise ship that we're taking this year, can carry over 700 passengers, and is even said to be the third-largest Japanese ship. Starting from the entrance lobby on the fifth floor located right on the deck, the floors above were equipped with a movie theater, a swimming pool, gyms, cafes, restaurants, bathhouses, and even a game corner. The facilities were just as good as, or in some cases better than last year's luxury liner. It'd take more than a day or two to fully enjoy them all. Of course, there were also mandatory facilities, such as a doctor's office, hospital rooms, and even a system for any unforeseen circumstances.

"I wonder if it's safe to have a date in this place, in the middle of the day..." Kei said as she looked around restlessly.

"I can't guarantee that we won't be spotted by anyone, but I'm certain we'll be fine for now."

The venues providing lunch opened at 11:00 AM today, though only for the first-year students. This early lunch was because of a briefing session that will start at noon. On the other hand, second and third-years had a slight delay, and as such their lunch session began at noon. Many students were still enjoying the delicious food provided to us. Because of that, this period before 1:00 PM was one of the very few moments for us to be alone together.

"There are a lot of people here this year, so I'm wondering if I should explain my absence in advance."

"It may be plausible, but that's not the only option."

The scheduled time for the briefing was considerably longer than last year, clocking in at an hour. Perhaps they wouldn't be doing the briefing on the beach, considering the blazing heat of the sun. If all of us were to listen to the briefing for an extended amount of time under direct sunlight, there would undoubtedly be some students who would faint due to heatstroke. Better to be safe than sorry.

"It still doesn't feel quite right..."

"It's not every day you get a chance to go on a cruise ship. It's perfectly fine if you feel a bit seasick." I replied calmly and analytically, but Kei only sighed in dismay.

"I'm not talking about that. It's the fact that I'm dating you, Kiyotaka... You're smart, don't get me wrong, but you're not good at this at all."

Kei and I had been dating since spring break of this year. Several months had already passed, but we still hadn't gone out on an actual date before. If we were a normal high school couple, then we'd either travel to school together or go home together after school every day, However, since we hadn't told anyone that we were dating yet, the frequency of our dates was lower than expected. Being alone with each other also proved to be a challenge, as we had to meet up in secret. Did that also mean had an extremely limited chance of taking our relationship to the next step?

"What about you, Kiyotaka? Do you feel that the time we spend together is genuine?"

"I don't know. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"Oh, come on."

Kei and I had become lovers—that I was certain of. But even now,

it wasn't like anything had drastically changed.

"I couldn't imagine the two of us meeting out here in the open, not

for a long time."

"Things happen, I suppose."

Kei sighed and stared at the distant horizon.

"Depending on the contents of the special exam, there might be

some things I'd like to ask you to do for me."

"I get it. I'll do what I can to help."

The main reason I called for Kei was to tell her this. However, since

the students could use their phones until the end of the day, the necessary exchanges could easily be performed. I didn't really need to take the risk by physically meeting with her, but it was interesting to see that the reason behind my actions were just because of the fact that we were lovebirds. Soon afterwards, an announcement was made on board, stating that the first round of briefings was over.

"Looks like the first-years are done. I can't go together with you, so I'll go ahead first."

Since it would be suspicious for us to be walking together, Kei took the lead and went back to the main part of the cruise ship first, and I went in the same direction some moments later. After a bit of a walk, I reached the movie theater, where the second and first-year students were flowing in opposite directions. When I entered the theater, I was told that there weren't any specified seats for each student, so I sat wherever I wanted.

Some students sat at whichever seat was free, while others sat together with their close friends, but the ones that stood out were the large groups. It was a natural maneuver, since it was far more efficient to exchange thoughts with the group members they'd be fighting with for the next two weeks. I was attending the meeting by myself, so I naturally sat in a gap between two groups of people. My seat wasn't at the front of the theater, but rather towards the back, where I could remain conspicuous.

"...Ah. Now this is a predicament."

Only loners would think of escaping to such gaps between groups of people, and so the unfortunate coincidence happened yet again: the person sitting beside me was none other than Mio Ibuki, a Class 2-B student.

"You didn't do that on purpose, did you?"

"Of course not."

I guess it was simply due to us having parallel thoughts as "loners". "I'm going to sit somewhere else, so don't you dare follow me." Alas, she couldn't stand being near me, so she stood up and went to

find a different seat, straying a good distance away from me. Of course, it wasn't my business to stop her from doing so, but many of the seats were already starting to fill up. No matter where you went, many chippering groups had already claimed those seats. Ibuki froze as she noticed the situation as well. There was no escape for loners. She had no choice but to go for the empty seat one one away from mine, but it was promptly stolen by Class 2-A's Hayato Kitou. Ibuki cursed, not even attempting to hide her dissatisfaction, but Kitou didn't respond and merely folded his arms impassively. She had two choices: either come back and sit with me or stay stuck in the middle of a large group.

After pondering for a bit, Ibuki decided to take the seat next to me. As a result, Ibuki ended up having to sit between Kitou and I, but... even with that, she hated being among the groups far more. This special

exam, however, would force everyone to form groups, so it was inevitable that she'd stay alone anyway. Prying my attention away from Ibuki, I focused on the rules of the uninhabited island exam, thus ignoring the earlier interaction I had with her. I turned my sight to the flurry of activity ahead.

"Alright, I'll be explaining the rules of the special exam on the uninhabited island now."

Just like last year, Mashima-sensei, the teacher of Class 2-A, was explaining the rules of the exam. Standing in front of the screen, he proceeded to talk using a microphone.

"You'll be staying on the uninhabited island for two weeks, starting from tomorrow. As with last year's uninhabited island exam, the basic rules state that all students can live as their will desires on the island. If a student is injured, falls sick, or breaks any of the rules during the exam period, they will be forced to retire without hesitation. Remember that optional small groups of up to three students can be formed, but after the start of the special exam, small groups will be allowed to gather and form large groups of up to six people, under certain conditions. If all members of a group retire from the exam, the respective group will be disqualified, and the ranking of the group will be determined. All students who reside in groups that have been ranked as the bottom five will be subject to expulsion.

"However, this expulsion can be prevented by paying private points, which costs six million points per small group, or two million points per member, if there are three members in the group. The more people in one group, the less each person must pay, but only those who are able to pay will receive relief from expulsion. The number of students with enough points are very limited, so it would be of little consequence to those students who could pay up. Also, the bottom three groups will have their class points lost, adding on with the expulsion. Not only will they be expelled from school, but they'd also be dragging the rest of the class down with them, causing trouble for the rest of their classmates. Therefore, the mutual goal of all groups is to avoid falling into the bottom five rankings at all costs.

"You're going to be away on an uninhabited island for two whole weeks starting tomorrow, but the preparations are just as important as the process, so listen well."

So far, no explanation had been given on how the "rankings" were

determined.

"Each group will be fighting to collect 'points,' which will be the

deciding factor for the final rankings."

More than 150 students watched as the giant screen of the movie

theater changed.

Overview of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam

1.) A survival test in which all groups compete by collecting points for a period of two weeks.

2.) If all members in a group withdraw from the exam, the group will be immediately disqualified.

(All points collected will be nullified, thus fixing the rank of the group at the bottom.)

This meant that even if you collected a lot of points, it would all be for naught if everyone in the group retired. Collecting points was important, but the highest priority was to stand tall and avoid retiring until the end of the exam. Then, a map of the uninhabited island that we would be landing on was displayed along with a summary. The map was marked with intersecting lines that stretched vertically and horizontally, which divided the whole island into squares.

"There are two ways to collect points: the first way is done through the 'basic movement' rule, where you will be instructed to travel to a specified area out of the 100 marked squares at regular intervals. For example, let's say the starting point is D9, and the specified area is C8. The first group to arrive at the designated area will be awarded 10 points, the second group 5 points, and the third group 3 points, as an 'arrival order reward.' Furthermore, all groups that successfully arrive at the designated area—including the first three—will receive 1 point as an 'arrival bonus.' If a group of three reaches an area first, they will receive 10 points as the arrival order reward, in addition to the 3 combined points as the arrival bonus. In this situation, a total of 13 points will be awarded to the group. If the same thing happens for a group of two, then they will receive 2 points as the arrival bonus, totaling to 12 points only.

"This risks some groups doing obscene things in order to arrive at an area. However, that cannot be justified as the exam is held on an

uninhabited island, and not in a city under the protection of the law. It's easy to predict the obstacles that will come with the venue of the exam. Unexpectedly, there is a high chance of being injured. No matter how fast and how many points you rack up, if the entire group retires, you'll inevitably be disqualified at that point. The points you worked so hard to collect will all be rushed down the drain.

"Three announcements will be made on the first and last day of the exam, instructing you to go to a specified area; but for the other 12 days, four announcements will be made instead. The announcements will be given from 7 AM - 9 AM, then from 9 AM - 11 AM, followed by a two- hour break, and then the evening announcements from 1 PM - 3 PM, and finally from 3 PM - 5 PM. Two hour-long periods are given for you to travel to the designated area for you to gain points. The fact that the last period ends at 5 PM shows the school's consideration of the dangers of moving around at night.

"If a group fails to reach their designated areas three times in a row, they will lose one point. If the group misses it a fourth time, then two more points will be deducted; and the same pattern goes for consecutive misses, increasing by one extra deducted point for each extra failure. However, if the group manages to reach a designated area during the time period, the miss count will be reset to 0. If you're not able to move around due to exhaustion, you will not be able to catch up, resulting in your group losing points.

"On the other hand, if you were to set up camp at the starting point without moving at all, you'd only be able to collect points in the designated areas near you and be able to spend the rest of the two weeks in bliss. Even if you were to try something like that, you wouldn't be able to score points. Let's say that there had been no groups that completely retired at the end of the exam—that would result in your group sinking to the bottommost ranks and be expelled from school, not to mention penalizing your whole class. As a counter to this, if someone from one group reaches the designated area, the whole group will be safe. This means not everyone in the group must reach the designated area. Of course, you will get fewer points in the form of arrival bonuses, since only one person was able to reach the designated area."

The students all buzzed as soon as the explanations were given. If only one of the three people from a group made it to a designated area, the group would be given one arrival bonus point. This gave an

overwhelming advantage to groups who had more members in terms of point collection. Those who were participating alone or in pairs would inevitably receive less, even if the amount of strain they underwent was the same as a larger group.

"But there is a caveat. In regards to the arrival order reward which is given to the first three groups that arrive at a designated area, the rewards will only be given if, and only if, there have been no retirees from the group, and all members of the group have reached the area. The last group member that arrives at the area will determine the placement of the arrival order."

This rule seemed perfectly reasonable. If only one person in a group was needed to reap the points of designated areas, then the group could utilize the loophole, in which they chose the strongest group member to complete the task of reaching areas.

On the other hand, a group could evenly spread out on the whole island and wait for designated areas to appear. This would eliminate the chances of winning for smaller groups almost entirely. However, by ranking the groups based on the last person to arrive, smaller groups would be given an opportunity to combat this strategy.

But even if you considered those factors, larger groups still had a hand over the smaller ones.

"There are also some areas on the map which are obviously impossible to reach. These would include B1, C1, F10, G10, and a few more. These areas are completely above the sea, and thus will not be chosen as designated areas."

The unreachable areas on the screen were then highlighted in red, excluding them from the map.

"There is a rule that governs the designation of areas: three times out of four, the designated area will be reassigned within two squares in either the vertical and horizontal directions; whereas, for diagonal reassignments, the area will only appear one square away."

It didn't seem terribly difficult to move two squares in the four cardinal directions, or simply one diagonally

Since you were given two hours to move, there would be ample time for groups to move between areas.

However, the designated areas were set four times a day.

That meant, for one out of the four designations, the rule stated previously didn't apply.

"An exception to this rule is made once per day, in which the area will be randomly designated. However, keep in mind that the random area assignment will never happen twice in a row; for example, if the random assignment happens on the last period of one day, the first area assignment for the next day will not be random."

Sure, it was only once per day that the random assignment occurred, but since the designation was completely unpredictable, it posed a major problem.

If you had to move from the northernmost point of the island to the southernmost point, you wouldn't be able to reach the area within two hours.

No matter how strong you may be, you'd be swept up by the sheer impossibility of such a distance.

If you even tried to do it, you'd run out of stamina, or have an accident that makes it impossible for you to move. If you weren't able to reach the next area by then, and the next area afterwards and so on, you would not only continually lose points after failing to reach it three times in a row, but also be unable to catch up for the rest of the exam.

If this happened, it would be incredibly hard to collect points, let alone keep them from plummeting.

This would be a very frightening factor to bear in mind.

To strain yourself and catch up with every designated area, or to avoid danger and move through caution? An impromptu decision would be required depending on the abilities of each group.

"Again, the same area cannot be specified twice in succession, but it may alternate between two areas, such as D2, then D3, then D2 again, and so on. Furthermore, note that if you are already in a designated area while the announcement is made, you will only receive the 1 arrival bonus point, but none of the arrival order rewards."

In other words, if you were aiming for arrival order rewards, poor planning of movements could also be a risk.

To receive all the reward points, there would be two plausible options: stay in the final designated area, or move out of the area and move two squares diagonally based on the map. This would put you out of the set range, but the risk of already stepping on a randomly selected area was inevitable.

"These are the basic rules for the first method of scoring points. I'll show you an overview of it now."

Overview of the Basic Movement Rules

1.) Designated areas are announced four times a day (only three times for the first and last days with no random designations)

Time periods to reach the areas are 7:00-9:00 AM, 9:00-11:00 AM, 1:00-3:00 PM, 3:00-5:00 PM

2.) Designated areas follow a rule, which limits chosen areas to 1 square diagonally from the starting point, and 2 squares for the front, rear, right and left movements - rule is followed 3 times a day.

One period every day will have a randomly designated area, where the location of the area is unknown.

(A random designation never happens twice in a row.)

3.) The first group to arrive in an area receives 10 points, the second group gets 5 points, and third place gets 3 points.

(Only rewarded for groups that have arrived with all members.)

4.) Everyone that reaches the designated area within the time period will receive one point as an arrival bonus.

5.) If a student is already on a designated area, they will receive one point, but will not receive the arrival order rewards.

6.) A penalty is given to groups that are unable to reach the designated areas three times in a row or more. Points will be deducted in increasing magnitude depending on the number of times the group fails to reach the area.

(However, once you reach the designated area, the cumulative deduction will be reset to zero.)

The overview displayed on the screen was exactly as Mashima- sensei described.

"Before I explain to you the other method to obtain points, I want you to take a look at this."

Mashima-sensei received something from Hoshinomiya-sensei, the homeroom teacher of Class 2-C, who had just shown up.

He raised his hand and showed the audience what looked like a digital watch.

"The students will be required to wear this watch from the start of the exam, all the way until the end. In addition to that, you'll be given a tablet that works with the watch, but I'll explain that later."

An enlarged version of the watch appeared on the screen, showing its functions in detail.

"This watch not only lets you check the time, but is also an essential tool for your points. The points gained from the methods will all be calculated based on this watch. Additionally, there is also a convenient function where the messages announcing newly designated areas are displayed. Since it is possible that some watches may experience lag, please note that your obtained point may become invalid if you enter the area just before the time ends or if you decide to exit the area immediately. For that, please make sure to check whether or not your watch has notified you of new points gained."

So basically, if you didn't have one of those watches on you, you simply couldn't participate in the exam.

"In addition to that, the school staff is able to constantly monitor the body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, sleep duration and stress levels of students who are wearing this watch; a 'warning alert' will sound out if any of the respective items crosses a specific threshold."

Mashima-sensei then gave the microphone to Hoshinomiya-sensei and began wearing the watch. It seemed the watch was not intended to be worn by yourself, as it took some help—and a special tool, even— to properly get it on his wrist.

After Mashima-sensei finished putting on the watch, the screen displayed his heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature, all in real time, just as he had mentioned earlier.

This meant that the school would be able to monitor the healthiness of every student at once.

"Here's an example. Let's say your body temperature has increased to more than 38 degrees Celsius—"

As if on cue, a high-pitched alert began to resound from the watch.

"This is a warning alert. It's designed to go off for five seconds in order to warn you."

After five seconds, the high-pitched alert sound stops.

"However, if you continue to exceed those thresholds, the warning alert will sound again after 10 minutes."

The second warning alert was triggered by force for the test. It was louder than the alert before.

Even so, the alert stopped after 5 seconds as well.

"This is my second warning alert. However, if your body still continues to exceed the maximum line, then—"

For the third time now, the high-pitched alert sounded. This time, however, it was much more ear-splitting compared to the previous two. "At this point, it will change into an 'emergency alert' instead of a warning alert. If you are in this state, you will be required to take a medical check-up at the starting point within the next 24 hours. If you ignore it or fail to arrive, you will be penalized, such as a forced

retirement, depending on the situation.

"The emergency alert will continue to ring unless you manually turn

it off, and if you haven't turned it off after five minutes, the faculty and medical staff will rush to the scene using the help of GPS."

This meant that, should you happen to be seriously injured, become unable to move, or are unconscious, help would be on the way. The most important thing, of course, was to not raise an alarm unless absolutely necessary.

"Ah, and as you've seen earlier when I was wearing the watch, special tools are required to attach it and remove it from my wrist, in order to prevent tampering during the test. If the watch is forcibly removed in any way, shape, or form, the point scoring system will immediately cease to function for the student."

If you got sick or something inconvenient happened, you wouldn't be able to have someone else take off your watch in order to score some points for you, which would be an inevitable way of cheating if not for the security functions.

"Moreover, if your watch is physically damaged due to a strong impact, or if a part of the watch malfunctions for any reason, even if it is within normal limits of use, the point scoring function will be turned off. In such cases, you will have to come to the starting point to get it replaced."

Although you wouldn't get penalized if your watch broke, it would still hurt you in other ways, such as losing points that you should've been able to score. Plus, it would be very time-consuming to return to the starting point in order to replace the watch.

"Now that we have an overview of the watches, let's go back to the

basic movements. During the test, not all groups will be going to the same designated areas. There are twelve different 'tables' inside this watch. For example, let's say my watch consists of Table A. The first designated area is D8, then D7, and then C6. On the other hand, if the watch that Hoshinomiya-sensei wears is of Table B, then her designated areas will be different, such as being assigned D10 for the first area instead, then E9 for the next, and F8 afterwards."

This was my first concern when I heard about the designated areas.

If the exam was just a sort of task where all groups just kept going to the same destination, it would become a hectic battle to get to the designated area first.

But if there were 12 different routes, then the whole test would obviously be very different.

Those with Table A would only compete with Table A, but at the same time, might overlap with, say, Table B or C. All these little competitions would be going on at the same time simultaneously.

In three days' time, the groups would be scattered all over the uninhabited island.

"Of course, everyone in the same group will have the same table. If you form a large group during the exam, there will be no qualms, as everyone will be reassigned with the same table."

Conversely, the presence of the 12 different routes makes it impossible to collect points through basic moves with students that received different tables.

Looking down at my left wrist, I imagined myself wearing the watch. If the watch had been tampered with in some way, Tsukishiro could deliberately cause it to malfunction and prevent me from scoring points properly. However, this move can only be used so many times.

Once or twice— it'd be a coincidence, but if it broke three or more times, it would definitely be suspicious. They'd only make a move once or twice. That might prevent me from reaching the top rankings, but if I just kept scoring points steadily, I hopefully wouldn't end up in the bottom half of the rankings.

I guess I'd have to keep the threat in mind, but I wouldn't be too alarmed if it did happen.

Overview of Watches

• The school has access to a health monitoring system on the watch

24/7.

• If any abnormalities are detected in the watch, the point scoring system will stop functioning, and a replacement is required.

• Health abnormalities will be alerted to the wearer. Warning alerts may be ignored, but if an emergency alert rings, the wearer must go back to the starting point.

(Failure to arrive within 24 hours will result in forced retirement.)

• There exists 12 different tables—one per watch—and the order of the designated areas will differ for each table.

• If the emergency alert goes off for five minutes straight without stopping, the medical team will rush to the scene.

(If the wearer's heart stops beating or blood pressure plummets, the staff are required to get the student out immediately.)

This method of collecting points by travelling to designated areas was open to all healthy students, but physical ability, such as walking/running speed and stamina, would become a major factor in obtaining the arrival order rewards. This meant that students who were not confident in their physical abilities would have little chances of winning.

This implied that there were other ways to obtain points, likely based more on critical thinking.

"Next, I'm going to explain the second method of scoring points. It will be all about completing 'tasks' that are placed throughout the whole island. The tasks may be performed at various locations at any given time, ranging from 7 AM to 5 PM. These tasks will be divided into 100 areas, but sometimes more than one task may be completed in the same area. We'll have a look at them first."

An example of the tasks was shown on the screen.

A red dot appeared in one section of the C3 area.

"This red dot, which can only be seen on the tablet, will have a task

set up there. The students cannot predict when this red dot will appear, where it will appear or what kind of task it will be. You'll only know when you see it on your tablet."

Task:

Category:

No. of participants:

Deadline:

Victory conditions:

Math Test

Academic Ability

1 person

(only one person from a group may enter)

After 10 people have registered Students will compete for points within the designated time

(Content of test varies from grade to grade, but the difficulty level is adjusted to the same degree.)

Participation requirements: Enter within 60 minutes of the task's appearance

Rewards: First place: 5 points Second place: 3 points

Third place: 1 point

+ One days' worth of food for the victor

Task:

Category:

No. of participants:

Deadline:

Victory conditions:

Shot Put

Physical Ability

3 or more

(a group of 4 or more people can only participate with 3 entries) After 6 groups have registered Average distance of thrown shot between 3 players

Participation requirements: Enter within 30 minutes of the task's appearance

Rewards: First place: 10 points Second place: 5 points

Third place: 3 point

+ All groups may choose a prize as a participation award

Task:

Category:

No. of participants:

Deadline:

Victory conditions:

Rewards:

Fishing

Miscellaneous

2 or more

(a group of 3 or more people can only participate with 2 entries) After 8 groups have registered

The student who catches the largest fish within one hour wins

First place: 15 points

Participation requirements: Enter within 120 minutes of the task's appearance

"The skills that are required for the tasks are made up of 40% academic ability, 30% physical ability and 30% miscellaneous. The miscellaneous tasks vary widely, from those that require very specific skills to those that simply require luck. Of course, the same task can be done multiple times."

I was curious as to what other method would be in play here, but I would never have thought they'd go this far.

With these, other areas aside from physical ability would also matter a lot.

Still, the fact that 30% of the tasks were related to physical ability slightly upset that balance.

"There will always be a teacher or faculty member in charge of the tasks at whatever location it appears in. You may request to register via your wristwatch and tablet."

Whether it was the basic movements or the tasks, the rules would be harsher for groups with a smaller number of people.

"As you can see in the tablet, you can spot where the tasks are located and all the information related to it, including the participation requirements. And don't forget that at the end of each task, information regarding the tasks will disappear from the tablet."

Even when the task was being carried out, it was still displayed as available for participation. This meant that you could arrive at a task

and not be able to participate since the number of participants had already reached the maximum amount.

"From day four onwards, large groups will be allowed to form, and only through the rewards from tasks will the formation of large groups be possible. This means that, if you take first place in a task, an extra three slots will be open for your group; two extra slots for second place, and one extra slot for third place. At present, if solo players want to create a large group of six people, they will have to take both first and second place at least once; in the case of large groups that are made up of trios, getting first place is ideal to open up slots for all six members. Also, once the maximum limit has been opened to all six people, the group will no longer be able to receive extra slot rewards anymore."

I'd seen the term "large group" used several times, and only now did they explain how the groups would be formed. Even if you weren't able to win points, being able to increase the number of people in your group was an important factor.

"If you are able to win a task, thereby allowing you to increase the maximum capacity of group members, you can invite in the extra players by linking your wristwatches, which will allow another group to join you. The other group will have to accept the link in order to join your group. Link approval will take about 10 seconds, during which the link can be cancelled."

If the extra slots opened up and a large group was formed, the tables for any new members would be reassigned accordingly.

"However, there won't be many tasks where the maximum capacity of members per group can be increased. Only about 20% to 30% of all the groups will get the right to do so. Points can be collected through the two aforementioned methods, and groups from all grades will be pitted against one another for the overall rankings. If a combination of groups happens to occur, the points of both groups will be averaged and replaced."

This meant that it was possible to save students who were falling into a difficult situation by bringing them into a group, but you would also have to consider the implications of helping them. If a solo player that had 30 points joined a group of five players that had 120 points, their points averaged out to 75 points. As long as the points from each group were not the same, the newly combined one would have a lower average every single time.

However, since increasing the maximum number of students would give them an overwhelming advantage in the long run, a temporary decrease in points was not so much of a problem.

Still, for students who were working alone, it would be even more difficult for them to catch up.

Unless you were an incredibly kind person, there was little-to-no advantage to bringing in a student with low points into your group.

Overview of Tasks

• Tasks will appear at any time from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. (Tasks start at 10 AM for the first day; ends at 3 PM on the last day.)

• The tasks are divided into 3 categories, and tasks with similar contents may appear several times.

(40% academic, 30% physical, and 30% miscellaneous.)

• It is impossible to predict the time and location of appearance for the tasks. It is necessary to visit the site of the task to learn of its contents and availability.

• The top participants will receive points, food, and rewards to increase the maximum number of people in their group.

Anyhow, just by listening to the rules of this special exam, it all seemed to be relatively simple.

All you had to do is move repeatedly to designated areas and complete tasks to accumulate points.

"Next, I would like to invite the Deputy Chairman, Mr. Tsukishiro, to address all of you."

After saying that, Mashima-sensei handed the microphone to Tsukishiro, who showed up on cue.

With the usual thin smile across his face, Tsukishiro took one slow scan of the second-year students.

"Greetings, students. I am Deputy Chairman Tskishiro. This uninhabited island special exam will be a large-scale test that has never been done before. Naturally, I advise you all to brace yourselves, but please do not forget to be aware of your responsibilities as students."

While he gave his speech, Tsukishiro locked his gaze on me for just

a moment.

He stiffened very slightly, though other students did not notice.

"I would like to explain one thing to you students. The school, as

your direct aide, will monitor your safeness to the highest extent possible. However, even with our fullest abilities, not everything can be fully monitored in this uninhabited island exam. One issue that seems to arise particularly frequently is gender sensitivity."

When Tsukishiro began to speak of such things, I noticed that the school faculty seemed a little upset.

"If any sexual harassment occurs, we will severely punish you without hesitation, including expulsion from the school. If we find that your actions have malicious intent behind them, we will also report you to the police. Please do not forget that."

That was only common sense, but the school was naturally required to address the severity of performing such actions.

Expulsion was already quite a big problem, but when the word "police" was uttered, you certainly won't be thinking of making such a mistake.

"And one more thing. The longer you stay on the uninhabited island, the more stress and frustration you will face. Food and water supply shortages may sometimes lead to skirmishes between students. And that—to a certain extent—I'm willing to allow it."

Hearing those words, it was the school faculty—not the students— who became strongly upset.

Tsukishiro's speech proves to be very different from the school's usual policy.

Mashima-sensei approached Tsukishiro and whispered in his ear.

Looking at the two of them, I could read something along the lines of "I don't want to make selfish remarks, but..."

After listening to all of Mashima-sensei's words, Tsukishiro asked him to step back with a gentle wave.

"It seems I have been asked to retract my statement regarding the disputes that will arise between the students."

Without concealing the contents of Mashima-sensei's words, Tsukishiro spoke blatantly.

"However, I won't withdraw what I said. For whatever reason, it is practically impossible for the school to intervene in every little problem that the students have. Trouble is bound to happen, after all."

Mashima-sensei's expression turned grim when he heard that statement.

"Of course, me allowing skirmishes does not necessarily mean I recommend it. We will only acknowledge problems that stem from accidents, and the school will intervene without reservation in any trouble that we deem to be malicious. Looting and use of a person's belongings without their consent cannot be overlooked in the rules, and in some cases will result in immediate withdrawal from the exam, and even expulsion from the school."

It could be said that students were not allowed complete and utter freedom.

The director's personal warning may have tightened the hearts of all the students.

But at the same time, it could be seen as a challenge to me.

"That's all from me. I ask you to behave in a manner befitting a student of the Advanced Nurturing High School."

After that short speech, Tsukishiro quickly handed the microphone back to Mashima-sensei.

"Thank you very much, Deputy Chairman Tsukishiro. Lastly, I would like to address the living necessities on the uninhabited island, such as food and tools. For now, I will explain the points required for shopping that can only be used exclusively on the uninhabited island."

While Mashima-sensei gave the briefing with his microphone, a cart carrying a large amount of goods was pushed onto the stage.

"You will be given 5,000 points that are used to purchase any item you want from the list here. Students with the Preceding Card will receive an extra 2,500 points."

Beginning with those words, a thick manual was passed around from the front.

It seemed to be a catalogue of products that were available for purchase in this exam.

Although it would require a fair bit of funding to prepare such a large number of products, I spotted some that were manufactured by some big-shot corporations, while others by manufacturers that I'd never heard of. I believed most of these were provided in the form of sponsorships. Other than being directly controlled by the government, did the school also function as beta product testers for future manufacturers?

"The purchasable items are all listed in the manual which is being distributed now. You can discuss what you want to buy or decide for yourself—it's all up to you. We will be accepting purchases from now until 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, but if you want to, you can spare some points for yourself. Additional purchases can be made at the shop on the port of the uninhabited island before the start of the exam. However, the price for purchases there will be doubled, so keep that in mind."

You could leave some points to buy water, food and other emergency supplies, but the doubled price would not come cheap.

"Additionally, shower rooms and washrooms can be used free of charge at the starting point, and from the second day onwards, there will be places to rehydrate, so make use of it when you stop by one. As for the water, however, you are not permitted to bring it away, so you'll have to drink it on the spot."

It would be reassuring for students to have a place to stop by if they were running low on important needs.

"We will be distributing amenities such as toothbrushes and underwear for free. If we run out of stock, we'll provide as many as you need back at the starting point."

Also, it seemed that essential items such as portable toilets, insect repellent, sunscreen, sanitary products and the like would be distributed free of charge.

First of all, I wanted to take a closer look at the list of products and prices in the distributed manuals. From tents to fishing rods, walkie- talkies, food and water—the list of items available for purchase seemed to have increased a lot since last year. As usual, there was a full range of equipment available for various situations, including stylish swimsuits, beach balls, and various inflatable toys. In addition to that, some of the items also seemed to have a daily rental system, and by paying a certain amount of points, you could rent them cheaply if necessary.

However, for two weeks of living on an uninhabited island, the issue of food and water supplies was absolutely unavoidable.

This was especially the case for drinking water, which would be the most essential item among the lot. You could get a 500mL bottle of water for 100 points, a 1 litre bottle for 150 points, and 2 litres for 250 points. Doubling this would be quite expensive.

Some of the products were bottle-type water purifiers. Since it was dangerous to drink river water directly, the water needed to be first boiled and disinfected to make it safe to drink. Instead of going through such a tedious process, one could instead use a purifier. The product description said it could eliminate 99.9% or more of E. coli, bacteria, echinococcus, and other germs. The price was far from cheap, however, at 4,000 points. A student fighting alone wouldn't be able to buy it at all. For a group of three people, however, this device could filter about 150 litres of water, so they'd only need one bottle. Of course, many students would still feel uncomfortable drinking water from the river, since there was no guarantee of avoiding the risk of infection completely. In the unlikely event that the water purifier were to break or become lost, it would be of no use at that point.

It seemed we were also allowed to choose one backpack free of charge, ranging from small 20cm3 ones to a large one which has over 80cm3 of space. The larger ones were convenient for carrying simply because they could hold a larger capacity, but you needed to choose carefully as the prices varied. Also, if the backpack didn't fit your body shape, it would put substantial strain on your back.

Meat and fish were also available for purchase, but they were expensive and did not last very long. Even if you used a cooler or ice box, the meat and fish would expire in a day. Therefore, canned goods were the most practical.

Other than that, a wide range of foodstuffs was also available, from grilled chicken to luncheon meat, as well as vegetables, sauteed burdock, corn and pork soup. These were cheaper than portable food, but they took a while to eat. In the interest of moving quickly, portable food would be more convenient.

Next, a tent for one person cost 1,000 points, a tent for two or three cost 1,500 points, and the tent for six cost 2,500 points. The higher the number of people, the more cost effective it would be. However, buying a tent for a large number of people from the start involved risks. If you couldn't get into a group, you'd only be wasting points, and you also had to bear the burden of carrying an overly large tent.

It was also strictly prohibited for girls and boys to sleep in the same tent.

So even if you had a tent that allowed six people to sleep in at the same time, you wouldn't get to use it to its fullest potential if your group

consisted of two genders.

As the students busily read through the manuals, Mashima-sensei

had something to add.

"Let's say Group A wants to give some of their food to Group B and

Group C, which are completely unrelated. Will that be possible? Yes. It's part of the school's policy to allow students to do whatever they want with the things they've gotten."

This meant the act of sharing food with other groups was permitted. There was no need to do so with other grades, but you always had the option of lending a helping hand. This held especially true if a classmate's group was in trouble. Still, there was no guarantee that food was going to be an abundant enough resource that you could share it around so easily.

"You will also be provided with a tablet, along with the wristwatch. Tablets are essential for basic information, so you can charge them while you are doing tasks or at the starting point. The tablet's functions will be displayed on the screen here."

Overview of Tablets

• A small tablet is provided to all students.

• Students can browse the map of the uninhabited island, check designated areas and their current position in real time.

• The location of tasks and detailed information regarding its task can also be checked.

• Students can check the rankings of the top and bottom 10 groups from the 4th day to the end of the 12th day of the exam.

(A breakdown of the total points is also available for the top 10 and the bottom 10 groups, along with the student's own group.)

• A GPS function, which will reveal the location of any student, will be available on the sixth day onwards.

(To access the function, 1 point has to be paid.)

• In some cases, the school will send a message when a problem that affects the entire exam occurs.

• Tablets can be recharged at the starting point or at specific locations when the battery is low.

(If the map application is used continuously, the battery life will last about 8 hours.)

It was nice not to have to worry about constantly charging the tablet's battery, but it was safer to buy a portable battery anyway since the tablet would use up energy even while not in use. It would be fatal if you couldn't use the tablet that kept track of your location. Besides, even if you charged the tablet at the start of the exam, you wouldn't be able to move around while it was charging, which would just become a lost opportunity.

The next section said the tablet had the ability to show the rankings of the top 10 and bottom 10 groups in the exam. This would be a very useful feature for analyzing how the top 10 groups were gathering points and why the bottom 10 groups sank so low. I guess I'd better tread carefully based on this feature and not get too attached.

Of course, one should keep in mind that it wouldn't be available to use on the first to third day as well as the last two days of the exam period.

Also, from the sixth day, the function to track the location of all students would be available. It was likely going to play an active role as a tool for joining groups or finding lost companions. However, this function had drawbacks as expected; It would eat away at your points every time you confirmed the location of a student.

"We've arranged sample items to show how much can fit inside each type of backpack. You can also directly check the quality of the items there, so please feel free to have a look at your leisure. The display will be in a separate room from now until midnight."

It seemed that was the end of the briefing, since Mashima-sensei turned off his microphone.

Students began to gather in front of the room to check the items on display.

As I stared at the scene, I wondered what I should do. I'd like to have a look as well, but I just didn't have enough courage to jump into that crowd.

The same may have been true for Ibuki, who seemed to be staring blankly ahead.

I wasn't sure if she had noticed me checking on her at first but Ibuki suddenly glared at me.

"What?"

"What can I say? It's just that we're both so reclusive. It's hard for me to join that crowd."

"Huh? Don't lump us together. Get away from me."

She wasn't happy about being treated as kindred.

Ibuki jumped into the crowd with a condescending hop to her step.

From one seat over, Kitou continued looking quietly at his manual as though he hadn't noticed the situation.

Like Ibuki and I, Kitou was fighting alone, and the choice of items could make a difference between night and day.

I was impressed by the way he competed against Sudou in the basketball event during the final special exam at the end of the previous school year. Even now, he was still a member of the basketball club, and continued to train hard. The fact that he was able to give Sudou a run for his money revealed a glimpse of his true physical prowess.

He would be an opponent that you could never be too careful about, no matter what your strategy was.

"Hiya—hurraaaaaaah!"

A scream resounded from up ahead: it was from Ishizaki, a Class 2- B student. It looked as if his knees were half-broken due to the enormous backpack on his back.

"What's he doing?"

A nearby student asked another onlooker.

"Looks like he put too many water bottles into his backpack."

He seemed to have thought about a strategy to take the most bottles

of water as possible, but it proved to be too heavy. Water was certainly precious, but it wasn't good to carry it all at once. Even if he were to avoid climbing any mountains, the weight of all that water would definitely become an enemy. It was important to siphon off every bit of mass—even the tiniest gram—so that you could move with maximum efficiency.

In other words, you should only bring the necessary amount of water with you. The only way to collect more was to filter it out from rainwater or river water, or by winning bottles of water in tasks.

If you were in a solid group, one viable strategy was to assign a person who would carry the water for you. It was a good strategy if you chose to stay in one place for a long time. Of course, depending on how you tackled this exam, the tools and quantity of goods you needed varied.

There was no such thing as a universally correct answer.

I broke down the rules of this special exam in my head and reassembled it from the beginning.

A two-week-long uninhabited island exam where we would be competing for points to determine our rankings. The key was that no matter how many points you scored, if your whole group withdrew from the exam, you'd be disqualified. The top 10 and bottom 10 groups would be disclosed on the fourth day of the test, until the twelfth. Furthermore, from day 6 onwards, you had the opportunity to track the position of any student at any time by spending 1 point.

I had to make a comprehensive assessment, and pick the items that would serve as my lifeline for the rest of the exam.