Island Landing

"It's quite a sight..." Ying gazed at the island and sighed.

"It certainly is. It's a shame I can't go ashore, but I should be happy I could at least come aboard the ship," Sakayanagi said.

More and more students gathered on the deck. They all marveled at the island's beauty and the school's generosity.

But it was all a facade. How could the school be so kind? It was just cover for the Special Exam. At the thought, Ying shook his head without thinking.

"Did you notice something, Byakuya?" Sakayanagi asked when she saw him shake his head.

"Nothing... I just thought it was great that we were circling the island now, so we could get a better look at the scenery," Ying said.

"Hehe, I'll stay on the cruise ship and enjoy your performance." With that, Kamuro helped Sakayanagi back inside. Along the way, Sakayanagi gave Hashimoto some instructions...

"We will soon be disembarking on an uninhabited island owned by the school. Please change into your sportswear within 30 minutes, check that you have the required bags and luggage, and then gather on the deck with your terminals. Leave all other personal belongings in your rooms. Since you can still use the restrooms for now, please take care of your needs."

After an announcement like that came over the ship's speakers, Ying hurried back to the dormitory, changed into his sportswear, and headed to the deck.

"We're about to set foot on the island! I'm so excited!" Hamaguchi, who shared a dorm room with Ying, changed and joined him, bubbling with excitement.

"Yeah, it's definitely something to look forward to," Shibata agreed.

"But why aren't you saying anything, Ying? You're usually the most excited at times like this," Beppu asked.

"Nothing. I'm just mourning the grueling seven days ahead," Ying replied.

The others were a little puzzled, but just put it down to Ying acting weird again.

As the ship drew closer to the island, the first-years' excitement reached its peak.

"Now, Class A will disembark first, in order. Also, terminals are not allowed on the island. Please hand yours to your homeroom teacher before disembarking."

At the teachers' command, delivered through a megaphone, the students filed down the cruise ship's stairs.

"This sun is scorching! Can I still go back to the ship and put on sunscreen?" Hamaguchi complained.

"Why not look for some aloe on the island and rub it on later?" Ying suggested.

"Are you messing with me? Isn't wild aloe poisonous?" Hamaguchi said, at a loss.

"All right, all right. We're about to take Class B's attendance. Ichinose, could you do it for me?" said Hoshinomiya-sensei, Class B's homeroom teacher. She didn't look drunk, but she was still pretty lazy.

Not long after Ichinose finished taking attendance, Mashima, Class A's homeroom teacher, stepped up to the white podium.

"Everyone has arrived safely, except for one student. Now, we'll begin this year's first Special Exam. I'll explain the rules..."

Then Mashima mercilessly announced a fact that shocked all the first-years.

"Survive on an uninhabited island for seven days? Are you kidding me?"

"What about our summer vacation?!"

Quite a few students couldn't help shouting complaints when they first heard about the Special Exam.

But it was all in vain. They had no choice but to listen to all the rules.

To sum it up, each class would have to survive on the uninhabited island for seven days. Each class would start with 300 points, which could be used to purchase supplies. Any points left after seven days would be added to the class's Class Points.

There was one other crucial part of the exam: each class would have a leader, who would receive a key card. Checking in at various checkpoints around the island over the seven days would earn a large number of bonus points. At the end of the seven days, the classes would also have the chance to guess who the other classes' leaders were.

A class that correctly guessed a leader would earn 50 points. A wrong guess would cost them 50 points. If a leader's identity was revealed, all the bonus points they had earned would be wiped out.

There were also rules for surviving on the uninhabited island. Any class that broke them would lose points.

"Class B, you all understand the rules, right? Once you've chosen your leader, let me know. I'll go check on Sae first," Hoshinomiya-sensei said, then hurried toward Class D.

"Class B, you all understand the rules, right?" Ichinose looked around. When everyone nodded, she continued,

"We can earn a lot of points in this exam. If Class B can win, we'll jump straight to Class A, so I think we should carefully work out a strategy."

Class B and Class A were only 60 Class Points apart. If Class B did well in this exam, they would become Class A next semester.

"So, now we need to discuss who should be the leader," Ichinose said, taking charge.

"Obviously, it should be Ichinose," one student said.

"Are you stupid? Everyone in the other classes knows Ichinose is our class representative. What if we choose her as the leader and the other classes guess correctly?" another student said.

"Yeah, then who should we pick?" The first student fell into thought.

"Byakuya, do you have any ideas?" Ichinose suddenly asked Ying.

Ying was still rummaging through his dusty memories, trying to find any useful information.

"Uh, how about we just let Hoshinomiya-sensei choose?" Ying said.

"Right! If we let the teacher choose randomly, the other classes won't be able to guess!"

"I think Byakuya's suggestion is great. The whole class can check in together, so even if the other classes see us, they won't know who the leader is," Ichinose agreed.

"Yeah, we agree too."

And so Class B settled on how to choose their leader. Next, they began organizing the students to explore the island and choose a base camp.

Just then, an unexpected male student approached them.

"Ichinose, would you like to make a deal with Class C?" Ryuen had come looking for them as soon as he entered the forest.

"What are you trying to do? The rules clearly say we can't interfere with other classes," Hamaguchi said, instantly tensing up.

"Hehe, I just want to use points to offer Class B some benefits. The bargaining chip is the agreement between Classes B and C. What do you say?" Ryuen asked Ichinose.

After thinking for a moment, Ichinose agreed to hear what Ryuen was offering.

Earlier, based on information from the school, Classes B and C had signed an agreement. One of its clauses read, "If direct conflict occurs between classes, Class C must not act against Class B."

Ryuen hadn't been sure whether the school would actually hold such competitions in the future, so he hadn't been in a hurry to destroy the agreement.

But this Special Exam was like a wake-up call, warning him that there would be many more Special Exams in the future. If so, the sooner the agreement was destroyed, the more it would benefit Class C.

He had already thought of a way to win this exam outright, and this was the perfect chance to destroy the agreement.

In the end, Class C offered Class B supplies worth 100 points in exchange for destroying their agreement.

The deal also benefited Class B. Classes A and B weren't far apart in Class Points, so every point saved could be the deciding factor between them. There was no guarantee they'd get a better opportunity later, either. Saving 100 points meant Class B would have at least 100 more points than before.

"There's flat ground and a river here. Why don't we set up Class B's base camp here?" Ichinose suggested when they reached a suitable spot.

After that, Class B began purchasing essential survival supplies, such as tents and portable toilets. They spent 130 points in total, but only 30 of those came from their own points.

"Now that we've set up camp, we can start thinking about dinner," Ichinose said, and everyone looked troubled.

Ying grinned. He knew it was time for him to step up. His memories of the White Room weren't for nothing; he had plenty of survival skills.

"Wait here." As he spoke, Ying started searching the nearby bushes.

"Lucky us, there's a whole patch nearby. These oblong, purplish-black berries are haskap berries. They're a little sour, but edible." Then he picked a few and put them in his mouth.

"Urgh! So sour!" Ying said, but kept eating anyway.

"Mm, they taste pretty good." Ying turned toward the voice and saw Hamaguchi and the others eating apples.

"Wait, why would you waste points buying apples?" Ying couldn't help feeling it was a shame.

"Huh? Who said we bought them? These are wild apples from an orchard Beppu just found nearby," Hamaguchi retorted.

Ying looked over. Well, would you look at that—a man-made island even had a wild orchard. Why not throw in a wild village, too?

"Everyone, come quick! There's a wild village here!"

Ying: What the hell?