Can Skip 1

After announcing all the details, Teacher Hoshinomiya clapped her hands with satisfaction, signaling that she was finished.

At last, Hoshinomiya Chie's speech—sugarcoated, yet every word as sharp as a knife—came to an end.

Majima Tomoya quietly let out a breath of relief, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the sweat-dampened folds of his tracksuit.

The sea breeze carried a salty heatwave across his face, but did nothing to dispel the gloom that had settled between his brows.

He watched Hoshinomiya lightly hop down from the podium, her smile vanishing at once as though she had shed a costume. What churned in his chest wasn't anger, but exhaustion.

She couldn't be allowed to remain Class A's homeroom teacher. His class had to take Class A back. Never had the thought felt so clear and resolute.

Another teacher promptly picked up a megaphone and directed everyone to gather around their homeroom teachers to hear further details.

The students from all four classes moved slowly, weighed down by complicated, hard-to-express feelings—a mix of confusion about the rules, longing for freedom, desire for points, and anxiety about survival. Like chess pieces tugged by invisible strings, they gathered around their respective class instructors.

The students of Class D, full of questions and newly fired up by the prospect of earning points, crowded around Teacher Chabashira Sae, whose expression remained stern.

"Starting next month, we'll have thirty thousand. Starting next month, we'll have thirty thousand. Starting next month, we'll have thirty thousand... I'm giving it everything I've got!" Kanji Ike chanted like he was casting a spell, waving his fists excitedly. He high-fived several equally pumped-up boys nearby and struck an exaggerated victory pose.

The air was thick with almost feverish anticipation.

The girls were caught up in the excitement, too. They gathered together, eagerly imagining what they could do once their points skyrocketed—no more forcing themselves to eat the unappetizing Free Meal Set, or using inferior daily necessities...

For Class D, which had long struggled at the bottom in Class Points, this "windfall" seemed like a long-cherished dream finally within reach.

"Just put up with it for a while. It's only a week without spending anything, right?" someone announced loudly. "Sounds easy enough!"

But was it really that simple? A flicker of doubt, like a faint electric current, quietly passed through a few people's minds, only to be swallowed up by the overwhelming temptation of those points.

Teacher Chabashira's voice cut through the brief commotion. "Everyone, come and collect your watches." Beside her sat a pile of supplies just taken out of cardboard boxes, and several workers in uniforms were helping distribute them.

The students stepped forward one by one and received sturdy-looking electronic watches.

"Do not remove your watch without permission before the exam ends," Teacher Chabashira said, her sharp gaze sweeping over them.

"Violations will be dealt with. This watch is not only a timer; it also has a built-in body-temperature sensor, pulse monitor, motion sensor, and GPS satellite positioning."

She paused and pointed to an inconspicuous red button on the side of the watch. "There's also an emergency call function here. If you're in a life-threatening situation, don't hesitate. Press it immediately."

"A-a life-threatening situation?" a girl stammered. "Teacher, there aren't... bears or anything on this island, are there?"

Chabashira replied without expression, "This is an exam. I can't answer any questions that might affect the results."

"Uh... That just makes it even scarier!" another student said, hunching his shoulders.

"I don't think we need to worry too much," Hirata Yosuke said, his gentle voice bringing a reassuring calm.

"If there were a risk of students being attacked by dangerous animals, the school would be taking on unimaginable liability. The main purpose of these sensors and the emergency call function should be to monitor our health and ensure a basic level of safety. After all, since the school has put us on an uninhabited island, safety must be its top priority."

His clear, well-reasoned explanation put most of the nervous students at ease.

Then a more pressing question came up. Horikita Suzune stepped forward and asked calmly, "Teacher Chabashira, the school said we'd be entirely responsible for ourselves this week. Does that mean that if we don't use points, we'll have to provide for all our own survival needs—including food, water, and shelter—and the school won't offer any additional assistance?"

"That's right." Chabashira nodded briskly. "The school won't interfere. Not enough drinking water, scarce food, nowhere to shelter—these are all part of the exam. You'll have to figure out how to overcome them yourselves. How you solve these problems is up to you." Her words were firm, cutting off any hope of relying on the school.

The students of Class D exchanged glances. No points at all? The excitement hadn't even had time to fade before reality doused them in cold water.

There were thirty-nine of them, but only two tents, each barely large enough for eight people. That meant at least twenty-three students would have nowhere to shelter from the elements.

And worse—there was only one simple toilet! Were they really supposed to sleep out in the open and make do with whatever they could find?

Still, the temptation of thirty thousand points was simply too powerful. Many gritted their teeth, convinced they could endure anything for this "fortune."

Someone hurriedly flipped through the thick guidebook. The "Penalty Clauses" at the end immediately caught everyone's attention:

Serious injury or illness resulting in withdrawal from the exam: 30 points deducted.

Polluting the environment: 20 points deducted.

Missing either of the two daily roll calls (8 a.m. and 8 p.m.): 5 points deducted per person per occurrence.

Violence, theft, or damaging another class's property: immediate disqualification from the class exam, and all Personal Points belonging to those responsible will be confiscated.

The last clause slammed shut like an icy iron gate, blocking the final escape route of the "just tough it out" strategy. They could endure hardship, but if someone collapsed because of the harsh conditions, polluted the grounds due to poor sanitation, or started a fight over resources, the consequences would be devastating.

"Looking at this... it probably won't work to avoid spending points altogether, will it?" Shinohara Gatsumi frowned, voicing what many were thinking. "For our safety and basic hygiene, we might... have to spend a little."

"I'm against giving in before we've even started!" Kanji Ike immediately objected. He could feel Shinohara's words wearing down everyone's resolve. "We should grit our teeth and endure as much as we can! Otherwise, what do we deserve those thirty thousand points for?"

Hirata tried to ease the tension. "Ike, I understand why you feel that way. But we have to be sensible. If someone really ends up in poor health because of this, that would be an irreversible loss..."

"Hirata, don't say things like that!" Ike interrupted him rudely. "If we don't give it everything we've got and grit our teeth through it, what's the point of this exam?!" The cracks within the class were becoming plain to see.

At this point, Horikita asked an important question. "Teacher Chabashira, where will roll call take place?"

"The instructor has to stay with the class," Chabashira explained. "Once you've chosen a campsite, report it to me. I'll set up our base there. Roll call will take place at the base."

She seemed to remember something she'd forgotten and walked over to another cardboard box. With a rip, she tore open the packing tape. "Also, this is how you'll take care of your bathroom needs." She took out some folded cardboard and accessories.

"Huh? What the hell is that?" Yamauchi Haruki stared at the pile with disgust.

"A portable toilet. Each class gets one. Use it properly." Chabashira began assembling it with practiced movements.

But the strongest resistance didn't come from Yamauchi. It came from a group of girls led by Shinohara Gatsumi.

"Wait!" Shinohara's voice was filled with incredulous resistance. "Do you mean... all of us have to use that?!"

"It's shared by both sexes." Teacher Chabashira didn't even look up as she continued working. "But we'll also provide a lightweight tent with a simple changing area to put around it, so you'll have privacy. There's no need to worry about anyone seeing you."

"That's not the point!" Shinohara's cheeks flushed red, and her voice grew unusually agitated. "On a cardboard box... We're supposed to go in a cardboard box?! I absolutely can't do that!" The other girls nodded vigorously, their faces full of instinctive revulsion and embarrassment.

Teacher Chabashira remained unmoved. She skillfully shaped the cardboard into a box, lined it with a blue plastic bag, then took out a thin white sheet. "This is an absorbent sheet. Place it over the waste to soak up moisture, hold its shape, and reduce odors. It can be reused. One bag holds about five uses. We'll provide an unlimited supply of plastic liners and absorbent sheets, so if you really can't stand it, you can change the bag after every use." She calmly demonstrated how to use it.

Even so, the girls showed no sign of relenting.

No matter how tempting the points were, overcoming a sense of shame rooted deep in their instincts and their serious concerns about hygiene was too difficult a psychological hurdle to clear.

Unease and argument once again filled the air, growing more intense by the moment.

"All right," Teacher Chabashira said loudly, suppressing the commotion before it could break out. "There are some important additional rules." She pointed to the guidebook:

Claiming a base: The designated leader must use their keycard. Each successfully claimed base is worth 1 point. You may freely use any base claimed by your own class.

Penalty for violations: Using another class's base without permission results in a 50-point deduction.

Leader's authority: Only the chosen leader may use the keycard. They may not be replaced without a valid reason.

Base reset: Every 8 hours, the claimed status of all bases resets.

Claiming limits: You may claim multiple bases that have not yet been claimed.

Seventh Day Guessing Game:

During the final roll call, you may guess another class's leader.

For each leader from another class you guess correctly, your class gains 50 points; the class whose leader was identified loses 50 points.

If you report someone as a leader and are wrong, you will be penalized 50 points.

If your class's leader is correctly identified, your class will lose all the extra points it has saved up so far.

"Your class must also choose a leader," Teacher Chabashira concluded. "It's up to you whether to compete for bases. If you don't get greedy, you can keep your identity secret, and no one will know who your leader is. But if you decide to compete, or want to avoid being identified, you'll have to choose someone. Report your decision to me, and I'll issue a keycard with their name on it. The deadline is the first roll call at eight tonight."

She paused, her voice carrying a hint of undeniable pressure. "If you still haven't decided by then, I'll choose someone at random. That's all."

After Teacher Chabashira left, Hirata Yosuke spoke first, trying to steer the discussion back on track. "We can discuss the leader later. The most urgent thing is to choose a campsite—do we stay on the beach, or go deeper into the forest to find somewhere more secluded? We can consider the bases after we've settled on a campsite."

He looked around at his classmates' varied expressions, hoping to find a starting point they could agree on.

Yet with the huge temptation of points, the grueling demands of survival, the awkwardness of privacy, and the challenges they couldn't foresee, Class D's road ahead was already strewn with obstacles.