Full Marks

Hoshinomiya-sensei's sweet voice still echoed through the classroom, the weight of the sudden point decrease and Class D's zero points skillfully stirred by the hope and pressure woven into her words. The students of Class B wore varied expressions—some eagerly ready, some silently resolved, others still processing the shock of the information.

Just then, instead of announcing the end of the morning meeting, Hoshinomiya-sensei picked up the folder that had been sitting on the podium. Her smile remained bright, but her movements carried a new formality.

"Alright, that's enough about points for now," she said, pulling a stack of pristine test papers from the folder. "Since we still have a bit of morning meeting time left, let's go ahead and handle the results from last month's 'little' end-of-month quiz~" Her tone was light, as if discussing something trivial, but the faint warmth of "working together" that had just been kindled in the classroom cooled instantly.

Test papers! That "quiz" most had regarded as a nightmare!

The relaxed atmosphere vanished, replaced by a silence mixed with curiosity, anxiety, and lingering dread. Shibata Kaede exaggeratedly mouthed "Yaba" (bad), Kojou Yume nervously twisted her fingers, and Kanzaki Ryuji subconsciously adjusted his glasses, his sharp eyes locked onto the papers. Even Ichinose Honami, who had just reignited her fighting spirit, looked at the stack with a hint of gravity in her gaze—the shadow of those three problems on the back was still vivid.

"Come on, pass the papers out," Hoshinomiya-sensei said, handing the tests to the students in the front row. The rustling of paper being passed around was starkly clear in the silent classroom, like the prelude to a verdict.

The test paper soon reached Shimiya Kuki's desk. He calmly flipped it open. The page was neat, the handwriting clear and forceful. The basic questions at the front went without saying; on the back—beneath the tricky spatial geometry cutting problem was a concise, precise three-dimensional diagram and derivation formulas; beside the chaotic momentum conservation problem was a clearly established equation and solving process; even the obscure philosophical English passage analysis was filled with well-organized, insightful commentary. There was almost no trace of erasure.

At the same time, murmurs and groans rose and fell across the room.

"Ah... just as I thought..."

"The last three problems are completely blank..."

"I only wrote something for English; math and physics were beyond me."

"Same here, I couldn't even understand the physics problem statement..."

Kanzaki Ryuji stared at his own paper, brows furrowed. He had attempted all three problems, filling the math and physics sections with complex calculations and the English part with considerable analysis. But now, he was quickly circling a certain step with a ruler and scratch paper, as if verifying whether his reasoning had a flaw. Ichinose Honami looked at her paper—only English and math attempted, the physics section completely blank—and let out a soft sigh, a resigned but honest smile on her face.

Once all the papers were handed out and the classroom had quieted down a bit, Hoshinomiya-sensei picked up a piece of chalk, turned to the blackboard, and wrote several lines:

April End-of-Month Exam Results

- Highest Score: 100 points - Average Score: 87 points - 90+ points: 12 students - 80-89 points: 15 students - 70-79 points: 10 students - 60-69 points: 3 students - Failing: 0 students

"Wow! An average of 87?!"

"Twelve people scored over 90?!"

"Who got the perfect 100?"

"Those last three problems were so hard, and someone still got full marks? Are they a monster?"

The chatter exploded instantly, this time mixing shock with a newfound recognition of the class's overall strength. All eyes swept across the room like searchlights, and eventually, most of them involuntarily focused on Shimiya Kuki—the test paper with the back side filled with neat answers had already drawn enough attention during the passing.

Hoshinomiya-sensei seemed pleased with the reaction. She clapped her hands, beaming as she looked at Shimiya Kuki. "That's right! The only perfect score on this quiz is our classmate, Shimiya Kuki! Let's give him a round of applause~" She started clapping first.

The applause was much warmer than before, still tinged with shock, but also carrying recognition and admiration for this absolute display of ability. Shibata Kaede turned around directly. "Hey hey hey! Shimiya! You solved all three of those last problems?! You could even understand that physics question?! That's insane!"

Under everyone's gaze, Shimiya Kuki remained calm. "Mm. The problems were tricky, but still within the scope of understanding."

Just then, Ichinose Honami walked over with her own paper, a look of sincere admiration and curiosity on her face. "Shimiya-kun, congratulations on the perfect score! That's really amazing! That physics problem... I couldn't even fully understand the question, let alone solve it. How did you do it?" She pointed at her blank physics section, making no attempt to hide her weakness.

"It's mainly about stripping away redundant information and establishing a core model," Shimiya Kuki replied succinctly. "The problem statement seemed chaotic, but the core conservation relationship was clear."

Kanzaki Ryuji also approached, his expression serious with the earnestness of academic discussion. He held out his physics paper, covered in calculations, pointing to a complex derivation step. "Shimiya-kun, regarding the establishment of the momentum conservation equation, I used a non-inertial frame, but I feel this conversion condition isn't rigorous enough. What was your approach? Could you share it?" His sharp eyes showed he had doubts about his own solution and was eager for confirmation from the perfect scorer.

Shimiya Kuki glanced at Kanzaki's steps and said calmly, "There's no need to introduce a non-inertial frame. The key is correctly identifying the effective force direction of the system under non-standard conditions. Setting up a Cartesian coordinate system directly is simpler." He casually drew a quick diagram in the blank space of Kanzaki's scratch paper, marking a few key vectors.

Kanzaki Ryuji stared at the concise, clear diagram and annotations. His pupils contracted slightly, then he fell into thought. A moment later, he came to and murmured, "I see... I overcomplicated it. Effective force analysis... got it." His tone carried the relief of a knot untied and deeper admiration, and the way he looked at Shimiya Kuki gained a new weight.

The surrounding students watched the exchange among these top three, especially how Kanzaki and Ichinose both took the initiative to consult Shimiya. The shock of the perfect score and the pride in their class's strength intertwined. Class B's academic ability was indeed not to be underestimated.

Hoshinomiya-sensei had been watching with a smile the whole time. When the exchange subsided, she spoke again, her voice still sweet, carrying clear approval. "Alright, alright, everyone quiet down~" She looked around the class, a genuine smile on her face. "Teacher is very, very happy! Everyone's academic foundation is really solid! An average of 87 points, twelve students above 90, the majority above 80, and no failures—this fully proves that our Class B's overall strength is excellent!"

Her words made many students straighten their backs, proud smiles appearing on their faces. Especially after the blow of the point reduction, this academic affirmation felt particularly precious.

"Mhm~ As expected of everyone!" Hoshinomiya-sensei nodded happily. But then, her tone shifted as lightly as a feather, her smile unchanged, but her eyes carrying a hint of concern. "However, Teacher also noticed that a few students have quite obvious subject imbalances." Her gaze seemed to casually, encouragingly sweep over a few specific students, as well as those with more corrections on their math papers or relatively lower scores.

"Having weak subjects might not matter much in small quizzes," Hoshinomiya-sensei's voice remained gentle, but her next words rang clearly in everyone's ears. "But, everyone, remember that the midterm exams and final exams are real, decisive, school-wide major exams!"

She paused, letting the weight of "decisive" and "major exams" press heavily on everyone's hearts, before continuing in that sweet, almost cruel tone:

"If, in these important exams, you unfortunately fail a subject..." Her smile remained flawless, her amber eyes curving like crescent moons. "...you will be judged by the school as having 'academic insufficiency' and face the risk of expulsion."

"Expulsion?!" The word hit like ice water, instantly extinguishing the pride and warmth that had just risen from the test results. The air in the classroom seemed to freeze. The shadow of Class D's zero points hadn't faded, and the threat of "expulsion" now tightened like an iron chain around everyone's nerves! Even Kanzaki Ryuji and Ichinose Honami stiffened.

"So," Hoshinomiya-sensei said, as if not noticing the sudden change in everyone's expressions, still in that light but undeniable tone, "for everyone to study and live here peacefully, for the honor and points of our Class B, and even more, to avoid being expelled—" Her gaze focused on the students with weak subjects, then swept across the whole class with expectation. "—please make sure to start now, working hard to make up for your weaknesses! Excellent students should help those around you who need it, and progress together! Teacher believes that a united Class B can overcome all difficulties and grow stronger!"

Her words fell, and the class dismissal bell rang right on time. But this bell no longer meant a brief respite; it sounded more like a call to action. The sunlight still streamed brightly into the classroom, but the air was no longer filled with ease or pride—it carried the urgency of academic pressure and the icy chill of the sword of "expulsion" hanging overhead. The halo of a perfect score, under the pressure of survival, felt distant and heavy. Everyone clearly realized that the leisurely adaptation period was truly over. The real academic war, one that determined who stayed and who left, had officially begun with the sound of this bell.