Classroom of the Elite, I Can Add Points Infinitely Chapter 23

"It was originally one hundred thousand, but considering you're the first to apply this way and have provided the school with a new frame of reference, we've waived a portion of the private points."

"So, does that mean every standard notarization from here on out will cost one hundred thousand private points?"

Aragaki Shun let out a soft "tsk." He could only conclude that it was far too easy for those who set the rules to rake in money.

However, this was equivalent to the processing fees paid when registering a company in the outside world. At least, compared to the mountain of steps required out there, he only needed to hand the materials to Chie Hoshinomiya without having to run all over the place.

"According to the school, the private points aren't the main issue. The point is that the class rules you and the entirety of Class B established don't contain any clauses that put the school in a difficult position. The school acknowledges that these rules are beneficial to the growth of Class B students, so they are looking forward to seeing where you all end up."

Chie Hoshinomiya shook her head to focus, beginning to relay the school's message to Aragaki Shun.

"If there are similar rules that need notarization in the future, besides needing the signatures of the entire class and submitting private points, the most important thing is that those rules cannot violate the school's various fundamental guidelines and must align with the school's purpose of cultivating talent."

In short, they could draw a smaller circle for their class within the circle of rules drawn by the school, but they couldn't use that to pull any stunts or attempt to break out of the circle.

"That goes without saying. I never harbored any illusions that I could use this method to get the school to grant more favors."

"A slightly more formal organization simply requires the construction of sound rules and regulations."

"And isn't it only natural that those who join the organization midway must also abide by its established order?"

"Burning bridges, are we?" Chie Hoshinomiya toyed with the Class B rules in her hand, having just had Kanzaki Ryuji transfer the corresponding private points, and finally couldn't help but quip: "First you toss those two troublemakers into Class A and Class C, and just as the other classes realize the utility of the Transfer Ticket, you've already blocked that path."

Once these rules and regulations were notarized by the school, if other classes wanted to spend two million private points to use a temporary Transfer Ticket to send someone over to cause trouble, the school would inform them of these rules belonging to Class B.

When that time came, the expressions on those people's faces would surely be exceptionally ugly!

Of course, because students who used a Transfer Ticket were completely bound to the transferred class for one month, if they really expelled them, Class B itself would also lose quite a few class points.

But would anyone really be willing to risk expulsion just to come to Class B and drag them down, all for the sake of giving their original class a slight advantage?

What on earth would be the point of that?

Unless Arisu Sakayanagi or Koenji Rokusuke promised them a brighter future after expulsion, no one with a sound mind would do something so self-destructive and pointless.

Of course, if he really encountered such a situation where someone was bought off by outside interests, Aragaki Shun wouldn't mind telling the other party: If they can make you live comfortably outside of school, do I not possess the same power? Why don't you consider whether it's easier to destroy or to protect?

"I didn't buy the Transfer Ticket in the first place to drag all four classes down to zero points so we could all wallow in the mud together!"

Aragaki Shun rolled his eyes. "I am simply warmly welcoming every piece of excellent talent to join Class B and strive for the future with us."

From this perspective, it was more appropriate to view the Class B rules as a company contract, where various benefits, protections, and accountability for breach of contract were clearly written out.

If a transfer student felt it was a good fit, they were more than welcome to join them!

If they felt it wasn't a fit, after the one-month internship period ended, Aragaki Shun could only express that the relationship between a class and a student was a mutual choice; if they weren't meant to be, then it was best to part on good terms.

If they didn't want either of those, then what were they here for?

Are you going to dare to say you're just here to sabotage?

Then, I'm sorry: at minimum, you'll pay compensation in private points, and at maximum, you'll receive an expulsion warning.

Although the school encouraged competition, they still had a reputation to maintain. Spies were something every class did in secret, but since Class B had now established these rules, it was only reasonable and logical for everything to be executed according to them.

This could also be considered an early adaptation to society, which was perfectly in line with the school's long-standing philosophy of talent cultivation.

48. Deepening Roots Internally, Undermining Foundations Externally

"Oh~ 'warmly welcoming every piece of excellent talent to join Class B'?"

Chie Hoshinomiya let out a surprised sound, then immediately understood what Aragaki Shun meant.

"So the external strategy you've chosen for Class B is poaching?"

"That's normal, isn't it?"

Aragaki Shun asked his homeroom teacher with a smile.

"Isn't it the norm for different companies to poach each other's talent? Every time an opponent loses a pillar, our strength increases by a fraction!"

"Only by constantly widening the gap can we ensure that no matter what special exams the school sets, Class B will remain invincible."

In Aragaki Shun's eyes, attending an experimental school like Advanced Nurturing High School and pouring all one's energy into the special exams set by the school, pinning one's hopes on increasing class points through exams to eventually graduate from Class A... this mindset couldn't be called meaningless, but it was certainly too passive and seemed to have the priorities inverted.

On one hand, the people designing the special exams were, after all, official staff of Advanced Nurturing, and humans inevitably have their own biases and preferences.

Aragaki Shun couldn't be certain what kind of talent the rule-makers envisioned as representing Advanced Nurturing.

What if they felt a certain class's situation better fit the school's definition of talent and intentionally set exams with obvious biases?

Or, assuming all the exam creators at Advanced Nurturing High School were impartial and selfless and treated all four classes equally, what if the talent they had in mind needed to possess traits like endurance, willingness to sacrifice, or selfishness? What then?

Would they have to specifically cater to the exam creators' mindset, distorting their own will just to become "talent" that met the requirements of Advanced Nurturing?

That's nonsense. They came to Advanced Nurturing for a better future, not to bury their present!

On the other hand, they would only be at this school for three years.

Three years is certainly not short, but they still have thirty, forty, or even more years ahead of them.

The benefits Advanced Nurturing High School provides for graduating from Class A are very precious, and for most students from ordinary or even impoverished backgrounds, this is a dream opportunity that could allow them to change their social class.

But that still doesn't change the fact that it's merely a stepping stone.

The school's promise is tempting, but it only allows graduates to choose the prestigious universities they want to attend or the top companies they want to work for; it cannot replace the act of studying and graduating from university or getting promoted at a top company.

There used to be many companies in Sakurajima that practiced a lifetime employment system, but as the times have developed, this system has become precarious, and more and more companies have begun to lay off employees they can no longer afford.

That is why an individual student's core strength is what matters most. Otherwise, even if they are carried by a class leader into Class A, will they truly be able to adapt to the environment of top-tier universities and prestigious companies after graduation?

Aragaki Shun had no intention of dragging a group of dead weight through the special exams.

In his view, for the "stepping stone" that is Kodo Ikusei Senior High School to be used to its full potential, the prerequisite is that the graduates of his year's Class A must be strong enough to be fully qualified for the goals he has chosen.

The best-case scenario is that even without the school's recommendation, he would still be able to get into his desired university and enter his target company on his own merits.

If he can grow to that level, the school's promise becomes irrelevant. At that point, he would simply treat his graduation from Kodo Ikusei Senior High School as a business card, using its connections to bolster his future.

This is the overall strategy Aragaki Shun has formulated for everyone in Class B:

--Internally, take root and strengthen the foundation. Utilize the school's top-tier faculty and abundant educational resources to reinforce the core strength of the students in the class.

--Externally, poach talent. Find ways to connect with elite individuals in other classes and use the 20 million points required for a class transfer to pull them into Class B.

In this way, even if Class B falls behind in class points, the class will be a collection of the strongest, most capable students in the first year. If the other classes are left with nothing but bottom-feeders, does the school really have a choice?

Of course, if such an ideal state is truly achieved, Class B will only widen the gap in strength compared to the other classes like a snowball effect. In such a situation, falling behind in class points won't be an easy task either.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind.

As his mental stat reached 10 points and Erudition reached level 4, the speed of Aragaki Shun's thinking had reached a limit that was difficult for ordinary people to attain.

So, even though he had thought about so much, only a few seconds had passed in reality. Chie Hoshinomiya hadn't even noticed her student was distracted before she heard him make another request:

"Chie-sensei, have you arranged the tutoring? I feel that the sooner this is done, the better. We can't let everyone in the class get too carried away with playing and forget about their previous study habits."

Knowing that school lets out at three in the afternoon for free time, do you have any idea how shocking this educational system is to someone who struggled through the hell of the college entrance exams in a past life?

Aragaki Shun expressed that he could not stand to see his classmates being so slack.

His requirements weren't high; he just wanted the twenty students ranked lowest in academic and physical ability to spend more time on tutoring each week to fill in their gaps. As for the top twenty, he would let them continue to strengthen themselves along their own goals.

"It really is a blessing for everyone in the class to have a leader like you!"

Chie Hoshinomiya's exclamation was half-playful and half-admiring. After all, young people always yearn for fun, and it is usually only their parents who think about forcing them to study various things.

However, Chie truly felt that Aragaki Shun was taking great pains for his classmates, even though he didn't need to go this far at all.

When she first entered Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, all the students in the grade were busy scheming for a spot in Class A. In her years as a teacher at this school, she had never seen a leader who put so much thought into the future of their classmates.

Looking at these arrangements by Aragaki Shun, Chie inexplicably felt that graduating from Class A didn't even seem that important anymore.

If we had only...

Forcing down the wild thoughts in her mind, Chie Hoshinomiya returned to her usual lively state. She pressed her fingertips together and made a cute gesture in front of her chest to act adorable for her student.

"Teacher loves diligent and hardworking children the most. The school is also happy to see everyone taking the initiative to improve themselves, so tutoring is absolutely no problem."

"The school will arrange the best tutors for everyone. This is top-tier treatment that would normally cost a huge amount of money outside, but considering the basic needs of cultivating talent at this school, the administration is willing to offer everyone a significant discount."

"Therefore, it only costs 10,000 personal points per person per month to easily access the highest-quality tutoring resources. Isn't that a pleasant surprise?"

It wasn't much of a surprise; he only knew that the class fund really couldn't withstand such spending, as 400,000 points were gone again every month.

49. Ichinose wants to save up 20 million first

Even though he lamented that the class funds were disappearing like water, what had to be spent still had to be spent.

According to Aragaki Shun's understanding, the money an average high school student in Sakurajima spends on interest clubs and tutoring classes is roughly around 20,000 yen per month.

It's just that Kodo Ikusei Senior High School is a closed campus, so it's impossible for students to go outside to find their own tutoring classes.

Therefore, the school has to arrange these tutors itself.

Coupled with the fact that the school already bears the responsibility of educating them over these three years, and the school encourages such spontaneous self-improvement... under these various considerations, the school had indeed waived a considerable portion of the costs required for tutoring.

"It's not a discount given because I'm the first to apply, but for the sake of the school's need to cultivate talent. In other words, the school already had a system in place for tutoring classes?"

However, most of Aragaki Shun's attention was not on the cost, but rather on curiosity about whether the seniors had similar needs, which was why the school's response was so quick this time.

Aragaki Shun was confident that as long as he paid the points, the school would definitely agree to the request for tutoring classes.

But if this were the first time such a request had been made, the school would have had to temporarily arrange various tutors. It was impossible for them to have already determined the monthly tutoring fees the moment he asked Chie Hoshinomiya to apply.

"That goes without saying. Isn't it a common phenomenon in our country for students to attend tutoring classes and interest clubs after school?"

Chie Hoshinomiya put her hands on her hips and retorted.

"Among the students who have entered this school in the past, there have been many who had strict requirements for their own grades, or who didn't hold out hope for graduating from Class A and wanted to take exams on their own like students in the outside world. Naturally, the school introduced these services to meet their wishes."

Kodo Ikusei Senior High School still cares about its reputation.

Even though the school's promise is only attainable by graduating from Class A, this does not mean they will completely abandon the students in the other three classes.

If they really did that, and after three years the students from the other three classes graduated with grades not even as good as those of normal high school students, leaving them unable to apply for universities or jobs on their own, how would the school explain to society that they were raising 120 "cripples" every year?

Therefore, even in this special school, the administration still has strict requirements for every student's academic ability. The fact that failing midterm or final exams leads to immediate expulsion is the best reflection of this.

But to ensure the grades of every student, Kodo Ikusei naturally has to prepare the same treatment that high school students in the outside world can receive.

Therefore, the school certainly couldn't be without arrangements for tutoring classes, which play an important role in further education in Sakurajima.

And considering that most students who need tutoring classes are likely in Class C and Class D, where personal points are inevitably tight, the school even specifically waived a lot of fees in this regard.

This could also be considered a hint from Kodo Ikusei Senior High School—if you feel you have no hope of graduating from Class A, then work as hard as other high school students outside, and applying to the universities you want to attend on your own is also a path.

Given this, Kodo Ikusei Senior High School provides tuition-free enrollment, monthly living stipends, room and board, and access to the highest quality educational resources; even without the various benefits promised only upon graduation from Class A, it still guarantees everything a normal high school student needs, which is, by any measure, more than generous.

Under these circumstances, it is naturally even easier to have students from other classes sign non-disclosure agreements after graduation.

After all, no matter how they calculate it, they aren't losing anything, are they?

Even if their parents were to learn of this information, it is unlikely they would complain to the school, as three years of tuition and living expenses for a normal high school student amount to a significant sum of money.

Aragaki Shun pondered the school's various considerations in his heart, but without showing a hint of it on his face, he returned to the classroom podium.

"You've all heard it: 10,000 points per person per month for tutoring will be deducted from the class funds. What does everyone think?"

Actually, it's not great at all!

Although they really wanted to say that, due to the authority of their leader, Aragaki Shun, the students in the class could only accept this tutoring plan with bitter faces, no matter how dejected they felt.

If they hadn't come to Kodo Ikusei, they would have had to go to tutoring, and now that they are at Kodo Ikusei, they still have to go to tutoring; how does it feel like they aren't in a boarding school at all, but still at home facing their parents?

"Um, Aragaki-kun."

He had thought the matter was settled, but to his surprise, Ichinose Honami suddenly stood up.

Aragaki Shun fixed his gaze on her, wanting to know what else she had to say.

"I think improving everyone's grades and physical fitness is very useful, but is it really necessary to spend 400,000 in class funds every month? In fact, if we all tutor each other after school, we should be able to prevent anyone from dropping out due to failing midterm or final exams."

The pink-haired girl actually felt that what Aragaki Shun was doing was simply perfect, a level she couldn't hope to reach, which made her look up to him.

Having such a serious, responsible, and capable leader in the class was truly the greatest fortune.

However—

"Aren't there many people in the second and third years who dropped out because of special exams? Should we save our private points and accumulate 20 million first, just in case?"

"With nearly 2 million in class funds coming in every month, we could save up 20 million in ten months at most. Wouldn't it be better to sign the students up for tutoring classes then?"

"Before that, we can organize study groups and have enthusiastic, high-achieving students help those who are struggling. I have a lot of confidence in this area; I'm sure we can help everyone safely cross the passing line."

This was more than just having confidence.