Chapter 2 : Opening of the Uninhabited Island Exam

At 8:40 AM, the ship began to slow down for disembarkation.

That meant that the special examination on the uninhabited island was about to begin.

In this special exam, a total of 157 groups were formed, ranging from one to four people in each group.

Breaking it down, there were 36 groups consisting of 4 people, 81 groups consisting of 3 people, 32 groups consisting of 2 people, and 8 soloers. Five out of 157 groups will drop out.

The tension ever so slowly rose, both for students that were cooperating with other classes and those going solo. The first thing to do was to strike up a conversation with a person close to you. Even if you were in a different class, there were no rules prohibiting you from talking to students from other classes, so you could chat with anyone you wanted to. It seemed that some people were busily chatting away while others stayed cautious of the other students. The starting point of all the students was going to be from D9.

On the first and last day, there wouldn't be randomly designated areas. A total of 12 squares (2 squares in the north, south, east, and west directions, and one on each diagonal) represented the range of selection for each new designated area, given it wasn't randomly assigned.

However, since the lower second square was off the map, it would initially be somewhere around a total of 11 areas.

On the first day of a special examination, students that were not used to the island structure should've first gotten acclimated to the environment.

With the announcement, we waited for the boat to disembark with our luggage, which had been given to us a short while ago.

I chose to pay for a tent, two liters of water, three bottles of 500mL water, 12 portable meals, a flashlight, a mobile battery, a pot, a lighter, and a few sets of paper cups, for a total of 4960 points. I bought only the minimum amount of toiletries as well, as well as a backpack. In the case where I won extra items from tasks, I'd have enough space to fit

them into my bag. I wouldn't have to worry about carrying it all around haphazardly. The order of landing on the uninhabited island was the same as the briefing from the day before, starting with the first-year students.

After the first-years got off, it would be 9:00 AM, and the first designated area would likely be announced.

This was supposed to give the first-years a little bit of an advantage.

The second and third-years, on the other hand, were at a small disadvantage.

Furthermore, Class D had the greatest disadvantage, because Class A students got off first while Class D had to get off last.

The total time difference was about 15 to 30 minutes, but when it came to finding areas to set up camp, it was going to be pretty rough either way.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?"

While I was waiting to disembark, Horikita approached me from behind, carrying a backpack.

"I'm fine. What about you? Have you made sure you're perfectly in shape?"

"You're blaming me for something that happened last year..." "I'm not blaming you. Just messing around."

"Pretty sure it's the same thing," she replied with a revolted tone. "Looks like you've got a lot of time to spare for the upcoming

special exam."

"Jittering around at this point won't help. It's more of a waste of

energy. Oh, have you heard about the third-year boy falling sick?" "Yeah, I heard. I'm glad none of our classmates got sick."

If you were sick at the start of the examination, you'd be forced to retire without participating in this special exam. The third-year student who got sentenced to retirement would be in the infirmary or hospital room until they felt better. Even after recovering, he could only stay on board and wish his fellow group well. Fortunately, the boy who retired was in a group of three. It was fortunate that he wasn't going solo, which would have caused him to be expelled immediately. I'd say it was a blessing that none of us faced instant expulsion. I was certain that group would fare well, but for the other grades, such a problem would cause quite a bit of trouble.

The first-year students had almost finished disembarking and it was

time for the second-year students to get off. It was nine o'clock in the morning when the first alert sounded from my watch.

It wasn't just me. All the students around me took out their tablets and started checking the details all at once. If we only started to act after disembarking, we would've lost precious time.

The first area I was heading to was D7, which was north of where we were going to start.

Tilting her tablet to let me see better, Horikita revealed her designated area.

"I'm F9. Looks like it's different from yours."

"I guess so."

Since the students' starting point was the same, even if the

designated areas were different, there was a good chance that the area between me and a few other classmates would be close. However, it looked like I'd be going a completely different route from Horikita.

There were a total of 12 different tables. If all of the designated areas were different each time, there would always be about 13 pairs of opponents to compete against. Still, in theory, I expected the designated areas to overlap many times.

Anyway, even if I didn't make it into the top three groups, it would still be important to build up one point at a time.

You wouldn't want to get swept up in random area designations that came out of nowhere.

"I'm not going to worry about you anymore. At least, try to take one of the higher spots in the rankings."

"As much as I'd like to, it would be hilarious if I was the only one to get kicked out of school for this."

I answered as I tucked the tablet into my backpack.

"That would be... frankly annoying. Also, I loaned you some points the other day. I don't want you to forget that. But why were you lacking points?"

What other reasons are there? I tilted my head purposely.

"I made a contract with Kushida, and that caused some trouble for me with my balance, so I can't do anything about it."

"That's unfortunate."

When I needed to pay for a sudden expense, I just couldn't get

enough money. Even the funds to protect Kei from the expulsion penalty couldn't have been raised on my own.

"Don't take it easy yourself. The girls are going to have a pretty tough fight on their own. You'll have to join some group early on or create a situation where you can bring someone in yourself."

"I'll take that as good advice."

The way she spoke was suspicious, but I didn't need to be too worried.

Unlike a year ago, the Horikita today would be able to draw the lines on her own limitations.

"That being said, the conditions for joining groups certainly seems strict, so you need to be a little careful."

"It'll be fine."

The later the group merging occurs, the bigger a problem it becomes.

But if we could get it up to the maximum number of people early on, it would work in our favor until the end of the test. It was a significant factor to get 6 points just from reaching one designated area. If a student with an Increase Card joined in, the group would get 7 points. Even if they worked hard to collect one point individually, this could make an unimaginable difference.

The first-year students, who had left the ship first, did not hesitate to begin their departure at a quick pace. Since no challenges had appeared yet, the second and third-year students decided to do the same. They all were forced to aim for the designated areas first.

After landing in the harbor, I decided not to leave in a hurry and watched the whole procession go by.

It'd be necessary for me to start moving in an hour and a half or so to reach my designated area, but a quick calculation revealed that it would take only about 30 minutes. There was no problem in waiting for a bit. The next designated area was at 1 o'clock anyway. There wouldn't be a difference in the value of the one point that I could obtain whether I reached it before or after 2 hours.

"No second-year group seems to be in a hurry. It won't be a good idea to compete for the first designated area. I tried to chase after them in a hurry, but there was more than a 10-minute difference between me and the first-year students in the front. It'll take a lot of energy to close that gap."

I was approached again by Horikita, who just only landed on the island.

"Naturally, rushing straight into the island without thinking is a bad move."

The first-year D class should've been trying to scout our enemies, especially Class 2-A, but I saw no sign of them planning to do so.

"It's still hot... I'm glad I have my hat ready. Will you be okay?"

"I couldn't afford to put points on buying a hat. I'll do something about it."

As we were having this conversation, a man briskly walked by our side.

The man had been smiling contemptuously, looking like he was going to enjoy the grueling two weeks that were about to take place, as much as he could.

"Do you think he's going to take this special exam seriously?" Horikita asked as she stared at the man who walked past us—Kouenji.

"Now that I've made a bet with him, I have no idea if he'll really consider doing this seriously."

"It's a 50-50 chance. We'll have to see if Koenji decides to take action or not."

Kouenji agreed to Horikita's deal—in which if he didn't get first place in this special exam, Kouenji would help the class in future special exams. But this promise was never set in stone. There was no compulsion, so in the off-chance that Kouenji didn't keep his side of the deal, the story would end there.

But if he betrayed Horikita's trust, who was becoming more and more recognized as a leader in our class, Kouenji wouldn't be able to get much-needed cooperation if he ran into troublesome exams in the future.

It wouldn't be advantageous for Kouenji at that point.

I decided to keep an eye on Kouenji's performance in this special exam.

"Let's go! I'm going to aim for number one!"

A male student ran from a distance towards the sandy beach. It was Ishizaki, from Class 2-B. He was free to shout, but Nishino trailed behind him slowly without making noise. In addition, Hiyori watched them from behind, smiling pleasantly.

"Hey, come on, Nishino! Hiyori, you too."

"Don't be so giddy. Can't you feel how hot it is? We talked about this last year, I remember."

"Well, isn't that one of the best things about Ishizaki?"

While following up, Hiyori looked at Nishino with a somewhat dismayed look on her face.

Nishino was isolated from her class, but Hiyori had brought her together to join up with Ishizaki and the others.

"If we don't start now, we won't get anywhere anytime soon! Come on, let's go already!"

"Are you that serious about rushing out? Don't do that, it's a waste of your strength."

"Hey, hey, hey!!!!!"

Nishino's and Hiyori's reserved attitudes contrasted with Ishizaki, who was full of motivation.

"Why don't you just go on ahead?"

"But then we won't get the most out of the order arrival rewards! Besides, you'd be in trouble if you got lost."

For now, we could only see our own positions with the GPS function. Even within the group, it was only on the sixth day that the GPS search ban would be lifted, which would give us the ability to know where the other students were.

If they got separated before then, they would have a hard time meeting back up again.

Ishizaki had nobody else to support him, so he had no choice but to return to Nishino and Hiyori to stay together.

I understood his desire to start immediately, but there was no merit in doing so right after the opening of the examination.

"There you are!"

Without warning, a strong, angry voice reached my ears.

The owner of that voice approached Horikita, glaring at her with all

their might.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? I don't want anything. I'm just here to let you

know that I won't be losing to you this time...!"

It seemed that Ibuki had come all the way out here just to say that.

She immediately proceeded to walk off to the northern direction by herself.

"I wonder if she understands the difficulty of this exam at all..."

"Her motivation seems pretty high. It's good to have a rival."

I said that to toy with her, and Horikita gave a deep and deliberate

sigh.

"But I don't consider myself as her rival at all. For now, she's going

north and I'm east. It looks like we're going to different designated areas, so that's a relief."

If we had to travel to the same area, there was a chance we'd see each other during other hours of the day.

This was one of the few advantages of being in a solo group in this island exam; since you didn't have to rely on other group members, your legs were the only key to victory.

"Well, I'd better get going."

Horikita firmly placed her hat on and set off for her designated area. Shortly after starting to walk, for some reason, Horikita looked back. She looked at me as though she had something more to say, but soon turned away and continued walking again.

After seeing some of the students head off, I decided to turn around and check on the third-year students. It was a good time to start disembarking, but none of them seemed to be passing me.

I turned around and found a group of third-years just walking towards me. I didn't see any outwardly flustered students at all, and I could see from a distance that they were far calmer than the first and second-year students.

I scanned the vicinity to try and find Nagumo. The number of people disembarking was from the range of Class B and Class C students, but there was no sign of Miyabi Nagumo anywhere.

While I was looking for him, the third-year students caught up and passed by me.

"You're still at the starting point, Ayanokouji."

Someone said that to me as I turned to look back at the third-years again.

"Good morning, Kiryuuin-senpai. I don't think that's particularly unusual. There are a lot of groups that are trying to work out their own strategies at the starting point of the exam."

"But you're alone, aren't you? If you're going to think about anything, it should be while you're walking."

She questioned the fact that I was still staying at the starting point.

I knew she wasn't any normal person, but as expected, her sharpness was far from lacking.

"If there's anything you want, just let me know."

"No thank you. Kiryuuin-senpai is a third-year student, and an enemy to us second-year students."

I politely declined, and she didn't say anything else as she met my gaze.

"It's quite a sight to see the whole school scattered on an uninhabited island, don't you think? Even if there are more than 400 of them, on the island, they're all rendered as trash to me."

Kiryuuin spoke leisurely as she watched the students advance onto the island.

Even though she was a third-year student, she decided to take this uninhabited island exam alone.

It wasn't going to be an easy fight, but she did not show any kind of anxiety or impatience.

In fact, she even seemed to be looking forward to it.

"By the way, what's your first designated area?"

"It's D7."

"Oh? I guess that means your first designated area is the same as

mine."

Kiryuuin grinned in amusement.

"Please go easy on me."

"I'm leaving now. Are you going to come with me?"

"No, I'll refrain from doing so. I don't think I'll be able to keep up

with my senpai's pace."

"We'll find out whether that's true or not soon enough."

Without saying anything more, Kiryuuin walked off to the beach

alone.

Then, I stayed there for a little while, but in the end, I did not see

Nagumo.

A few minutes after Kiryuuin had left, I decided to take a step

towards the sandy beach as well.

For now, it was best to take it easy and head to the first designated

area.

One of the key points of this special exam was that it was best not to

miss a single point in reaching the designated areas.

In the event that you weren't able to get a good score, you'd need to

get at least 5 or 10 points at once by obtaining the arrival order rewards. Conversely, you could also get points by winning tasks, but that included other factors, such as a reasonable amount of physical

strength, academic ability, and luck depending on the task and how you planned to fend against your rivals. That's why building up one point at a time was a crucial, if not trivial, strategy.

I decided to take out my tablet again and look at the map.

The map was divided into 100 squares in total, with each square being 500 meters long and 700 meters wide.

My first objective was to reach D7 from D9. Since I was already near the center of D9, there'd only be a distance of about 750 meters if I connected it in a straight line.

By taking an estimated time of 1 minute for every 80 meters walked—excluding any external factors—I should've been able to reach the destination in 9 minutes. But the path was neither flat nor straight. The road there may have been blocked by trees, steep slopes and cliffs. This would cause me to slow down more than usual. The island's highest point was nearly 300 meters above sea level, so I was likely to encounter a few slopes. In addition, the longer the journey took, the greater the strain on my back due to my backpack, which would also lead to stamina loss.

I'd say the journey was going to last about three times longer than my expected calculations, so even if it all went well, it would take at least 30 minutes. Since I was going to be on a roadless path, I wouldn't have been surprised if it took more than an hour.

The designated area was moved four times each day, except on the first and last day. There was a possibility that the route would repeat multiple times. For that, I'd have to keep track of how I traveled and how long I'd been in each place.

1

The flat road soon came to an end, with dense trees approaching.

I walked into the forest, remembering my experience on the

uninhabited island last year.

I wasn't very aware of this last year when we acted together as a

class, but it's far from easy to make progress through dense forest. Walking straight, as expected, would've been difficult to begin with. The footholds were rougher than I'd imagined, and there were still

traces of human presence at the huge port, despite it being a while ago. Even with only a light dusting, one could string up giant webs made by spiders that must've been several centimeters long. As a matter of course, a number of these awaited us, which was hellish for students who were not fond of insects. I recalled that wildlife warnings were

included in the manual.

It was impossible to find the shortest route to your destination, and

if you took a detour, you'd lose your sense of direction without question. It was even more difficult to reach the designated area if you were empty-handed.

This was only made possible by the tablet I now had in my hand.

It played a big part on this uninhabited island, allowing me to see where I was at all times.

If I followed the GPS, I would always find a way out.

Well, at least for this first one, the odds of getting lost without a tablet were low.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted several groups of people making their way through the forest.

I could hear the voices of the people in front of me. As a matter of course, the first destination for all the students would basically follow the same route. If I followed the students walking shortly in front of me, I would've been able to reduce the risk of getting injured or getting involved in mishaps such as insect bites.

Only a small number of groups would have the courage to suddenly rush into the unexplored forest.

The students, who had abandoned the first arrival order rewards, freely continued to walk forward.

Then, a group of students stopped a little ahead and started looking at their tablet, and I managed to make out the figures of Akito, Airi and Haruka. They seemed to be discussing some things while observing their surroundings.

As I got closer, I could hear them exchanging ideas about the next designated area.

"Are you guys discussing the next designated area?"

I called out to them, and they all nodded almost simultaneously. "Our first area was D8, which we've already reached."

D8 was right next to the starting point, so they should've already

gotten the arrival bonus points. I didn't need to ask about their results,

but I was pretty sure it was three points in total for the arrival bonus, one for each of them.

"The beach was too hot and there were barely any covers from the sun. I was just guessing where the next designated area will be while we consulted."

Certainly, it was better to think about where the next designated area was going to be.

"Where's your area located, Kiyotaka?"

"One area north, at D7."

"Well, I'm sure there are quite a few students already ahead, but

one point is still one point."

"If we were at the same table, we could have worked together..." Airi muttered softly in disappointment.

There were surprisingly many parts of this test that allowed

cooperation between different groups.

That was because we could complement each other in some ways,

such as sharing food and lending and borrowing tools. If the tables were the same, the designated areas would also be the same, so it would certainly have been easier to accompany them.

Of course, there were also adverse effects. As the number of people in a group increased, it naturally became more difficult to keep pace since each person would have different opinions. Inevitably, it would increase the competition, as well as cause issues. For example, what was the ideal decision to make if you ran into a task where only one group member could participate? If you didn't discuss it in advance, there was a high possibility of arguments breaking out.

For once, I could say that we were lucky not to have the same tables. You absolutely had to avoid working with any person that would slow you down. To me, it was a blessing, since it would have taken me a bit of time to try and deny a request to join their team.

"There are 12 different routes. It seems that we won't group up together easily. For the time being, I'll try to get to the designated area as soon as possible."

"Right. It's better not to waste any time."

"I will miss you a bit, though. I hope we can meet up somewhere where we can relax."

Akito sent me out on that note. Haruka and Airi also waved their hands to see me off. I turned my back on the three and decided to

continue heading for D7.

I continued walking at a slow pace, and after about 30 minutes, I

reached the first designated area.

Shortly after, my watch made a small noise.

I could easily see the notification that told me I was given one point

as an arrival bonus.

The alert volume could've been adjusted, but I decided to leave it

as it was. I opened my tablet to make sure, and found a point from the designated area arrival bonus left in the history tab.

Each area didn't look very large when you looked at it from a map, so it was normal to think that you'd see someone at any time upon arrival, but the reality was completely different.

Even if there were many students in all directions, it would've been difficult to see them since they had the dense foliage as cover.

I couldn't see anyone else, but I was pretty sure a lot of them were in the same area.

When it came to that, they were probably a bit deeper in. Perhaps they were thinking about the next designated area and moving to the center to collect useful information.

If I thought about it like that, I should've also looked for an open area, since it would open up vision for clarity.

As expected, a large number of students had gathered to hang out in one area. The next designated area was a competition for all grades. It's natural that we'd try to increase our chances of winning, even if it was only by 1%. Furthermore, the only way to narrow down who their rivals were at the same table was to see them in person.

By repeating the number of meetings, you could get a general idea of what to expect from your rivals.

There were 29 people visible, including myself. As far as I could see here, I thought it was safe to assume that most students were actually staying in the same area.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-senpai."

While I was checking out the number of students nearby, one noticed me from up front and approached me. It was Tsubasa Nanase, a Class 1-D student. I wasn't sure if she was in the same group as Amasawa and Housen, who may have been out for a stroll nearby or were out of the area entirely.

"What happened to the other two? Isn't a group supposed to

generally work together? Especially since it is only the beginning of the exam."

I'd see what Nanase's reaction was while asking her in this manner.

"I decided to look around while we're all separated. I came to see how many other groups are here."

In other words, she was doing the same thing as me.

Nanase seemed to have a better grasp of the other rivaling groups than me, who unfortunately arrived late.

Nanase was still a bit of a mystery to me. For now, I decided that it would not be a good idea to stay longer.

"I think I'm going to move on now. It never hurts to have a look around, you know."

"Yeah. I'm sure it's not easy for you to be alone, so please take care of yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Breezily, she left and walked towards the clump of first-years.

After finishing the conversation with Nanase, I changed places for a bit and decided to drop my backpack and sit there as I took out my tablet, since I didn't want to waste any more energy.

It took about 50 minutes in total to reach the designated area. I had more than 3 hours before the next designated area appeared, but the tasks were going to be revealed soon.

10:00 AM arrived while I was checking the time in detail.

I quickly checked the location, content, and rewards of the tasks that were displayed all at once on the map.

Depending on the situation, one would make a choice between aiming for the next designated area, or the next task.

Firstly, there were a total of 14 tasks available. In D7, where I was staying, a red dot appeared in the upper left-hand corner, which was the closest task to me. The students in my field of vision could be seen walking to the northwest, checking the contents of the tasks while they walked.

The challenge shown was "Start a Fire." There were no rewards for second place and below. The task that appeared at the center of E7, albeit at a slightly greater distance, was an English test. This one was open to two players in the same group, with the winner getting 5 points, the runner-up getting 3 points, and the second runner-up getting only 1 point.

There seemed to be more students heading there rather than the "Start a Fire" task.

It wasn't easy to start a fire without the appropriate tools and experience, so it became more of an untested zone. The more natural progression was for the students to head to the English test, which I had determined I could do with certainty.

There was a "Geography Test" in D8, but only one group was heading there.

It could be said that the accessibility of the task determined the number of students who would congregate around it.

D8, which seemed to have already attracted students from another table, was going to take a long time to get to, no matter how many squares away it was. I wouldn't be able to beat the students in the local area in getting there first.

The registration period for every assignment was 60 minutes, but they could fill up much quicker than that.

Also, opening up the distance a little, one realistic location to go to was the task in C6.

The "Grip Strength Test" was to be contested by both men and women. The registration time was set to 120 minutes, which was clearly much longer.

I could get there by going directly from where I was, but I expected it to be overflowing with the students left over from the fire-making task. Furthermore, if the next designated area appeared to the east, a long-distance trek would be required.

The farthest out of the 14 tasks, one of which appeared in G3, was categorized as a "Miscellaneous" task.

It was a high-scoring task with one person from each group being allowed to participate, and the winner received 10 points. With a time limit of 180 minutes, I might not have been able to reach it, and on the off-chance that I did go, I'd probably miss the next designated area, which would cause additional problems.

However, on the upper hand, I could easily get hold of 10 points by fishing, which was the main content of the task.

"This is quite an interesting exam."

You were allowed to make any choice you wanted to, depending on

how you strategized.

Since there were 3 hours left before the next designated area was

going to be announced, I decided to get up and go for the grip strength task in C6. Students who went to see if they could participate in the fire- making task would inevitably lose a little time. I had the ability to outsmart a few groups using that knowledge.

Then, I walked around and carefully checked each of the tasks that I wasn't planning to participate in, just in case it became useful later on.

2

"Yoo-hoo, Ayanokouji-kun~"

It took me 40 minutes to reach the task at C6, where the homeroom

teacher of Class 2-C, Hoshinomiya-sensei, waited under a tent to avoid the hot sun while waving at me.

Furthermore, nearly 20 students, ranging from first to third-years, could be seen around the area.

"Unfortunately for Ayanokouji-kun, the task already started 5 minutes ago."

In addition to Hoshinomiya-sensei, there was one other adult male who I was unfamiliar with, and he was in the process of explaining the assignment to the assembled students.

"I'm afraid so."

In that case, there was no point in staying here anymore. I didn't like being involved with Hoshinomiya-sensei too much, so I tried to leave, but she firmly grabbed my arm.

"You don't have to hurry. You're free to look around, you know."

"Perhaps it's a bit problematic for a teacher to be wasting a student's time just for their own convenience, don't you agree?"

"Oh, that's a bit much, isn't it? There's still plenty of time left!"

I was sure this teacher was well aware of the nature of this test, where a split-second decision could make the difference between a win and a loss, yet she didn't want me to leave...

"My designated area was D7. The next designated area may be someplace far away from C6. If that happens, I'll have to throw away the order of arrival rewards, so will you take responsibility for that?"

When I said this much, as expected of Hoshinomiya-sensei, she hurriedly let go of my arm and took a fair bit of distance from me.

"Oh my, please don't be so mean to me, Ayanokouji-kun. I just wanted to chat with you for a while. I'm not terribly happy with this, but will you hear me out?"

Despite letting go of my arm, she still planned to continue the conversation.

I had no choice but to go along with Hoshinomiya-sensei's request for a bit.

"This is the first time since the year-end exams that I've talked with Ayanokouji-kun. We haven't chatted one-on-one like this in a while."

"Yes, indeed."

For Hoshinomiya-sensei, who knew how I did things, it was not difficult to imagine that she would be even more cautious because of my perfect score in mathematics.

"But you've been getting a lot of attention lately! I thought you were someone who didn't like to stand out."

"I don't like it as well."

"Then, why did you get a perfect score for mathematics? I myself couldn't even solve it. I think it's unusual for you to have solved such a problem so easily. "

Was it because she was rivals with Chabashira-sensei? It's understandable that their feud would continue to this point, but I felt that all her attention was always directed towards me.

"I guess so. I'm sure there are more than a few students in the school who can solve those kinds of problems."

"Uh? I wonder if there really is another... hypothetically? Even if there were a few, I would've guessed they would be from Class A or B. But what class is Ayanokouji-kun? Yes—3, 2, 1—that's right, it's Class D! And I know it's not a good way of saying it, but it's a class that attracts so many defective children that it's ridiculed as being a problematic class. Is it right to admit that there is a student with a ton of specs like Ayanokouji-kun mixed in with those defective ones?"

"I don't know what you think of us, but I believe there are enough good students in Class 2-D to make a difference. Have you taken a look at Class 1-D? Because I think they excel in a lot of things compared to other students from different classes."

I didn't know much about the various circumstances of the third- year students, so I didn't dare to mention them here.

"Ummm, yes, but... I guess the school's policies have changed a bit

since last year, haven't they?"

No, I wouldn't even know if she asked me.

In the midst of all the idle talk, a third-year student, Oshio Oga,

began to measure his grip strength in front of me. They would probably go in order of registration. One of my classmates, Sudou, was among them. The fact that Ike and Hondou were not present suggested that Sudou was either on his own, or arrived here ahead of them to make sure he got a position in the task.

"I'm sure there are students who are good at their respective skills, but they aren't good enough to keep the class together. In Ayanokouji- kun's case, I get the impression that you're changing your surroundings."

Changing my surroundings, huh? It was highly unlikely that she'd be able to feel it, seeing as how she was merely observing as an external party.

She seemed to know a lot about our situation.

I was sure she'd gathered a lot of information without me knowing. "I can't afford it anymore. This is my first experience dropping to

Class C. I mean, with Class A competing with Class B, and Class C competing with Class D, there should not have been anything wrong~!" If that was the case, then that equilibrium had certainly been twisted.

"I thought we would be able to reach Class A this time..."

She showed explicit dissatisfaction with her class, which was led by Ichinose.

"Isn't it your job to do something about it?"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear that."

Gesturing to emphasize this, she covered both her ears with her

hands.

She gave off the impression of an adult who hadn't fully matured,

or rather a child with the body of an adult.

"Ah, yes! Here's a groundbreaking idea from the sensei! Katsuragi-

kun transferred to Class B, so why doesn't Ayanokouji-kun also transfer to our class like he did? "

It wasn't groundbreaking at all. In fact, even Ishizaki could've come up with this idea.

"You should know what my answer is."

"You're going to aim for Class A together with us, right?"

Then, she reached out for my arm again. Her movements seemed

almost habitual, but she stopped himself just before she made contact. She shook her head to restrain herself, muttering she had just been

warned earlier.

"I doubt I'll be able to afford 20 million points before graduation.

And even if I could come up with that kind of money out of my own pocket, there's no telling at this point in time which class would survive as Class A. Don't you think it's wise to wait until the end to see what happens?"

And no student would ever think of going to Hoshinomiya-sensei's class, let alone the class that had just fallen to Class C from Class B.

"Well, you didn't have to be so rude about it..."

If you had earned the right to change classes by yourself, it was inevitable that you'd only use it right before graduating in your third year.

Even if there had been records of students moving classes, it was merely them being hooked, like Katsuragi was, but... there just weren't any good enough students who would want to go to a lower class, so such proposals were usually rejected. Even if they did agree, whether or not one person could make the whole class move up to Class A was another story.

The group of people got all excited at once in front of me.

Oshio, who I believe got the runner-up position, had a frustrated look on his face.

"Sudou-kun has changed a lot, hasn't he? I wonder what changed him."

"For the record, it wasn't me..."

I may have been a part of it, but it was essentially Horikita who changed Sudou the most.

Everyone completed their grip strength tests, but no one was able to beat Sudou's record for first place.

This meant Sudou's group received five points early outside of the designated area points.

They probably had 8 points in total. That was a large difference from my single point.

As soon as the assignment was finished, the students dispersed in unison.

Undoubtedly, the students were now going to search for more tasks, like migratory birds flying from stopover to stopover.

"I suppose I'll start moving now."

As expected, she couldn't keep me back any longer, so Hoshinomiya-sensei decided to send me off.

"There's still two weeks until the exam is over. I'm going to be running around a lot, so I might see you again."

I decided to leave, thinking that I didn't want to see her a second time, if possible.

3

After that, I went to do two other tasks, but both ended without me being able to participate because of the immediate rush of students. The second designated area at 1 PM was B7, but I only received an arrival bonus. The third designated area, reached a short time ago, was D7, which was the same as the first designated area, and I also only received an arrival bonus.

After two trips, I racked up a solid two points. The total score of three points I got on the first day was enough to put me in the bottom half of the standings.

Still, there was no need to be pessimistic. On the first day of the test, students were not scattered all over the uninhabited island. There were too many competitors to do anything. Even if I tried to force it, it would have been difficult to score points by myself, and my water supply had already been exhausted.

"Senpai."

I completed three basic actions that day, and it was time to prepare for the next day.

In a similar place to where we met in the morning, I encountered Nanase again.

"It's the second time now."

"Yes. It's a coincidence."

Once again, Nanase seemed to be acting alone, and Housen and

Amasawa were nowhere to be found.

"How was your day?"

"I got three points. That's all I could do. How about you?"

"For the designated area, the three of us scored eight points, but I

didn't make it to the second designated area in time. I got first place in the task I participated in, though, so that's a total of 13 points."

"You're off to a good start."

She said she hadn't reached the designated area in time once, but it wasn't a big deal since she was in a group of two or more people. If someone else made it into the top 3 order arrivals, it would've been advantageous. It seemed like a good idea to get a lot of points by spending time in other areas, like Nanase.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. Again."

We parted ways after our conversation, which was similar to a status report on both our groups.

The time was just before 5 PM. I began to walk quietly through the forest, trying to decide on a suitable spot for sleeping. The temperature inside the tent would inevitably be quite high when exposed to the sun.

It'd be problematic if I chose a bad spot for my tent, because it was quite possible that the heat was going to remain in the air well into the night.

Ideally, I was looking for a place that was not under direct sunlight.

I headed east from D7 and stopped around the area of E7 as night approached.

More than 500 people must have been staying on the uninhabited island, including students and teachers and exam administration staff. Still, without new designated areas or tasks to perform, a lot of the nighttime was going to be spent without bumping into anyone. That's just how deep the forest is, I surmised.

Feeling the heat and humidity, I decided to set up my tent in a slightly open area. I took out two liters of water from my backpack and poured it into a paper cup. Drinking directly from the spout would cause the bacteria in the cavity of my mouth to transfer into the bottle. If left at a high temperature, it could cause mold and mildew to develop. This was one of the things that you shouldn't do in this test, as you risked getting sick from something so trivial.

Nevertheless, bottled water did not last long. If I wanted to drink water in the best condition, I would have used it all up on that day. However, I chose not to do that, as the future was still uncertain.

It wasn't hard to get by on the first two days with the food and water you initially bought, but the grind would begin after the third day when people began to run out of food. Some strategies involved doing tasks

to get participation prizes regardless if you won or not, but as far as I saw on my tablet, there were only a few tasks that gave you a prize for participation. It was clear that the competition for entries would be higher than other tasks.

I opened my tablet, which showed the number of tasks done today by all the groups. In total, 68 tasks were completed thus far.

I didn't know if the students were able to participate in all of them, but there were 14 times where they had the opportunity to get mineral water.

That was about 20% of the total number of tasks, which did not seem like many opportunities.

However, what I found interesting were the tasks called "Contest," which could've been viewed as a relief measure for the students.

The winners were evaluated based on their order of arrival, and 2 liters of water were given to the first student that arrived, with the second student receiving 1.5 liters and the third student receiving 1 liter. The fourth to thirtieth students to arrive were given 500ml of water.

However, the points gained were not many: three points for first place, two for second and one for third.

But it was still a vital task that kept students supplied with safe water regardless of their abilities.

And it was also interesting how 8 out of 14 of the tasks were of this "contest" type. In addition to being held eight times on the first day under the same conditions, the areas and time periods where they appeared were also the same. If this continued after the second day,then...

I wouldn't have to worry too much about my water supply issue if that type of task kept appearing consistently.

After finishing my portable meal, brushing my teeth and using the toilet, I entered the tent and decided to lie down. This was also to reduce wasting unnecessary physical strength so as to prepare for the next day.

From the second day onwards, I could get around to scoring points by completing a few tasks and getting the necessary things I needed in earnest.

4

I fell asleep early, but woke up in the middle of the night.

The outside that could be seen through the gaps in the mesh fabric was pitch black, and I could barely see what was directly in front of me. All I could hear were the sounds of insects buzzing and the sound

of something running through the grass.

When it came to camping in the deep woods, it was a battle against

solitude.

It was a pretty harsh environment for individual female student

groups like Horikita or Ibuki.

Even preparing a toilet to use was a hassle.

But above all... I stayed in the tent and breathed quietly.

There was no doubt that Deputy Chairman Tsukishiro was trying to

expel me in this examination.

If he wanted to do that, then he needed to get me into the bottom 5

groups.

But that strategy was too unrealistic.

I was in control of whether or not I got points. Even though all the

students were fighting hard, if I moved through the areas and steadily completed tasks, I'd at least avoid sinking to the bottom five groups. If that were the case, they'd try to set up an unorthodox strategy to unhinge me.

It was unlikely that he could cause my watch to malfunction, but was it possible to cause the system to prevent me from getting points? If Tsukishiro manipulated both my wristwatch and tablet, then the points scored on my tablet could also be manipulated.

Of course, if the points displayed on my tablet and the points I had actually collected were vastly different, I always had the option of filing a complaint to the school. I didn't think Tsukishiro would want that situation. Even if I did lose a certain number of points from the past three days, it was still possible to catch up. Plus, filing a complaint against him would cause others, such as Mashima-sensei, not to trust him. If he was going to launch such a half-hearted strategy, he might as well attack from a different direction.

If I were on Tsukishiro's side, I would try to figure out the best way to get my opponent expelled.

One possibility was that he would use the White Room student and cause me to retire due to foul actions or poor health. If the injury was

severe enough to break, say, my arm, the school would immediately deem me unable to continue.

In other words, I was likely to be attacked in this forest, where there was less surveillance amongst the school staff.

That was the most straightforward and sure-fire way to expel me from this school.

Even if someone inflicted some kind of injury on me, it would be difficult to judge whether it was done by a human or not.

And if it were someone from the White Room, they'd definitely have the skills to make it look like an accidental injury.