But for Class 1-D, this special exam was hardly good news.
Housen worshipped violence and possessed astonishing stamina.
If Housen were still around, he could have competed with the upperclassmen for a top-three spot.
But that was no longer possible.
"Then, regarding this special exam, my suggestion is that we first-years join forces," Takuya Yagami said. "If we end up at the bottom, we definitely won't be able to deal with it."
The first-years had actually received some preferential treatment as well.
For example, upperclassmen could form teams of up to three, while first-years could form teams of four. Once the exam officially began, they could even form groups of up to eight.
More people naturally meant more convenience and advantages.
Even if one person could not beat the others, they could overwhelm them with numbers.
It was a human-wave tactic.
"And we can't possibly hand over that huge number of points as the price of avoiding expulsion."
The bottom five groups would all be expelled. To avoid expulsion, each group had to pay six million points.
But as freshmen, no one could afford such an enormous sum.
If they did not want their classmates expelled, they could only pay up, but they had no money. There really was no way around it. Still, there was one other option: borrowing money.
Utsunomiya, a student from Class B, had plenty to say on that subject.
After all, they had just issued a thirty-million-point promissory note to senior Oreki.
So—
They had initially thought they could rely on their own abilities and make a push, but now they had fallen into trouble again.
"Nanase, why do you seem so distracted?" Sakurako Haru, who had arrived with Utsunomiya, suddenly asked.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Tsubasa Nanase.
"This special exam..." Nanase said.