Chapter 232

--[If the group consists of members from two classes, the rewards for the top three remain unchanged;]

--[If the group consists of members from three classes, both types of point rewards are doubled;]

--[If the group consists of members from four classes, the number of members is tripled;]

Furthermore, based on the multiplication mechanism, if the total number of people in the group is large, the multiplier can be increased further.

--[The multiplier remains unchanged when the group has 10 members, increases to 1.1 when there are 11 members, and reaches a maximum of 1.5 times when there are 15 members. As a special case, if the group consists of 9 members, the multiplier is 0.9.]

Based on this calculation model, theoretically, the highest reward for the first place is 3 times that of the four classes combined, multiplied by 1.5 times that of the maximum of 15 people. Since rounding is required after the decimal point, each group member would have 45,000 Private Points and Class Evaluation Points of 14.

This is quite good, both for the individual and the class.

Not to mention, there's also a later setting regarding the so-called person in charge:

--[Each group must have a leader. The group members' compensation will be doubled if the leader is from the same class.]

In this way, if the 12 students from Class A are paired with one member each from Class D to form a group of 15, and the Class A member is in charge, and they win first place... then Class A can theoretically obtain 1.08 million Private Points and 336 Class Evaluation Points.

This is for the girls' side; the boys' group has even fewer people, with a maximum of 14 people per group. The theoretical maximum is only 920,000 Private Points, which is Class Evaluation Points 286.

In other words, the combined first place in the boys' group and the girls' group alone accounts for more than 600 Class Evaluation Points.

The school's investment in this Mixed Training Camp appears to be quite substantial.

Of course, given their Advanced Nurturing habits, since they've been given so many benefits, they'll definitely want to dig a few pitfalls in order to be happy.

"It's important to note that the group leader not only brings numerous benefits to the class, but also bears the greatest risk in this exam."

As she said this, Chie Hoshinomiya kept her gaze fixed on Aragaki Shun.

Because she knew that, given her students' temperaments, she would definitely be the one in charge.

However, for their Class 1-A, this risk would at most cause some point losses. As long as there are no personnel issues, it is indeed not a big deal.

"The group that ranks last in this exam will face expulsion. Of course, it won't be all members expelled. The rule is that if any subgroup within that group has an average score lower than the school's designated average score, the group leader will be expelled."

Being in the last-ranked group, and having a group average score below the school's passing grade—meeting both of these conditions simultaneously to trigger expulsion—seems like it's not so easy.

"Furthermore, when the person in charge is expelled, they can be held jointly liable by selecting one member of the group to be expelled as well, essentially dragging someone down with them."

Upon hearing this, most of the students in Class A on the bus stared in disbelief.

A few individuals, Sakayanagi Arisu and Kanzaki Ryuji, had a glint in their eyes, as if they had come up with some rather interesting strategy.

A mysterious smile also appeared on Aragaki Shun's face.

If someone is in charge, they can deliberately drag down the group's average score and eventually drag others down with them; if Class 1-B is in charge, they can similarly instruct other group members to deliberately drag the group down, forcing them to drop out of school.

According to the rules of this Special Exam, you either have to find a way to get more rewards, or you have to outdo the enemy leader by dragging them down.

For some poor classes, this is truly full of malice.

311. Class B, where students are not allowed to join groups and are facing expulsion?

Of course, to say that the rules of this Mixed Training Camp are specifically targeted at certain poor classes is just a joke.

The key issue is that both Aragaki Shun and Class A are too wealthy.

Given the existence of the "burial" mechanic, they could easily use their abundant Private Points to trade one student for one with a student from Class B.

But if Class A can easily come up with 20 million to have their expulsion punishment lifted, what about Class B? Do they have that kind of financial backing?

"Hoshinomiya-sensei," Aragaki Shun Kanzaki Ryuji, the class's villain, immediately stood up and asked after exchanging a glance with Aragaki Shun, "I would like to know, are there any restrictions on the process of dragging people down with you?"

If there are no restrictions whatsoever, then don't blame them for taking this opportunity to severely weaken Class B once again.

Seeing the excited look in her student's eyes, Chie Hoshinomiya naturally understood what she meant, but she could only shrug and feign regret.

"Ugh~ When it comes to the most severe punishment of expulsion, Advanced Nurturing is quite cautious in this regard, and naturally, not just anyone can arbitrarily find someone to suffer the consequences through joint liability."

"Joint liability can only be established if the school acknowledges that the student was one of the reasons why the group's score was below the passing mark. In other words, if it wasn't intentional failure to pass or refusal to participate in the exam, there wouldn't be any problem."

Tsk tsk~ That sounds a bit disappointing. It seems the school has also taken into account the overwhelming advantage of Class 1-A.

The saying goes, "Money makes the world go round." In this school, having plenty of Private Points gives you an advantage in Special Exam. If there were no restrictions, first-year students wouldn't need to take any exams at all.

But that's pretty much the case now. After all, with three against one, no matter what kind of Special Exam it is, Class B's chances of winning are slim.

The key assessment targets in the third semester of each academic year are actually the Third Year students who are only a few months away from graduation. In addition, the Mixed Training Camp is an annual event, and the school cannot cancel this Special Exam that all students in the school must participate in just because of the situation of the first-year students.

In the end, all we could do was watch Class 1-B continued to suffer.

"Then there's another very important matter: classes with dropouts will be punished accordingly. Although the details of the punishment will vary depending on the exam, for each dropout in this exam, the Class Evaluation Points will be deducted 100 points."

The Hoshinomiya, made it very clear that the class's decision-makers should be cautious about using the "expulsion and burial" mechanism.

While Class A's reputation certainly allows them to use Private Points to cancel the expulsion penalty, the price is simply too high.

The requirements for canceling expulsion are the same for all grades in principle. Assisting a student who has dropped out requires 20 million Private Points and an additional 300 Class Evaluation Points. If either type of point is insufficient, assistance cannot be provided.

Moreover, this is merely a relief measure; the punishment incurred upon expulsion will not be eliminated.

In other words, to help a student who has dropped out of school in this Mixed Training Camp Exam, one needs to prepare at least 400 Class Evaluation Points and Twenty Million Personal Points.

"That concludes the exam instructions. Does anyone have any questions? Please ask them while there's still time."

As soon as those words were spoken, not only Chie Hoshinomiya, but all the students on the bus subconsciously turned their gazes to Aragaki Shun, clearly wanting to know what the class leader thought.

"So, how was the group leader chosen?"

"The school's idea is to let all members discuss it within their groups beforehand and decide for themselves who to choose."

Chie Hoshinomiya clapped her hands, deliberately acting cute as she reminded him:

"Make sure everything is decided by tomorrow morning. If the group can't decide who will be in charge, the group will be disqualified on the spot. That means all members of the group will be forced to withdraw from school."

Of course, in the past, there were no foolish groups that were expelled from school because the person in charge could not be determined.

After all, even if no one is willing to risk dropping out, they can eventually decide who the unlucky one is through a draw or rock-paper-scissors.

For Class 1-A, it doesn't matter whether they are in charge or not, so there's naturally no need to worry about such an unusual possibility.

"One last question: since the boys and girls will be separated, what specific restrictions will there be, and will there be opportunities for them to stay in touch?"

"Hmm~ That's a good question," Chie Hoshinomiya winked deliberately, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "Is Aragaki reluctant to be separated from her lover? It's a pity you'll be living apart for most of the week, and you're not allowed to go out during your breaks and after school without permission."

"The information also includes photos. Our destination, the Forest School, has two buildings. Boys use the main building, and the other building is for girls. Boys and girls can eat in the school cafeteria together for only one hour each day. Only during this time will the school not issue any instructions and will allow you to move around freely. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Understood." Aragaki Shun nodded meticulously, ignoring Hoshinomiya's teasing, and turned to look at Ichinose Honami and Shiina Hiyori.

"I'll leave the girls' side to Honami and Hiyori. I'll also send messages to Manabe and Ibuki from Class C, Ibuki Karuizawa and Kushida from Class D, asking them to lead their classes in cooperating with you during the exams."

"Our goal is to use Class A as the core, with Class C and Class D as support, to secure the top three rewards at the highest possible multiplier. As for Class B, it shouldn't be a problem to let them bear most of the punishment."

Since the men and women are separated, it's impossible for Aragaki Shun to keep track of the women's situation all the time.

However, the strongest girls in the first year have either become members of Class A or become his subordinates, and there are not many outstanding girls left in Class B who can hold their own.

Compared to the boys who have to face Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Koenji Rokusuke, Katsuragi Kohei, and Ryuen Kakeru, the girls actually have an easier time making a breakthrough.

With Ichinose Honami and Shiina Hiyori leading the exams, and with the help of Sakayanagi Arisu, Kamuro Masumi, Yamamura Miki, and Horikita Suzune, reaping the greatest benefits shouldn't be difficult.

"For the second-year students, I suggest contacting Kiryuuin Fuuka; for the Third Year students, go find Tachibana Akane -senpai. Once the groups are formed and you're ready to merge them with the upperclassmen into larger groups, you can ask them for their opinions."

"Also, during your one hour of free time each day, everyone must gather together. If you encounter any problems during the exam that you can't solve, report them to me immediately. Don't be silly and try to tough it out on your own! Understand?"

Faced with Aragaki Shun's caring request, the two girls naturally did not refuse and expressed their attitude in their own ways.

In this way, there shouldn't be any major problems with the girls' group. Even if something unexpected happens, Aragaki Shun will be able to respond appropriately based on his intuition.

As for the boys' group, he can make arrangements after they get off the bus and meet up with the other three classes.

And so, everyone on the bus watched quietly as Aragaki Shun used his phone to send messages to female representatives from other classes, such as Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, Manabe Shiho, and Ibuki Mio, and also contacted upperclassmen like Tachibana Akane Kiryuuin Fuuka, asking them to help each other as much as possible during the Mixed Training Camp.

"Alright."

Aragaki Shun put away his phone and looked at Ichinose, Shiina, Horikita, and the others in front of him.

"There shouldn't be any problems with the first-year students. Class A of the Third Year can be trusted with Tachibana Akane- senpai's cooperation. Kiryuuin is a bit unstable, but the students in her class have signed contracts with me, so no one should dare to deliberately cause trouble for you."

Such a high-reward exam is a rare opportunity, so naturally I want to seize it and earn more Private Points and Class Evaluation Points.

The class was very optimistic, believing that under Aragaki Shun's leadership, this would be another victory without any suspense.

Finally, Chie Hoshinomiya, seeing that he had already arranged the work, clapped her hands to remind everyone that the bus would be arriving at the station soon.

"The school will collect the materials once we arrive at the destination. Also, cell phones are prohibited for this week, and they must be handed in afterwards."

"You are generally allowed to bring in most of your personal belongings and toys, but food is not allowed. I suggest you finish your food before you arrive at your destination, otherwise you will have to throw it in the trash. That's all I wanted to say. I hope you have a pleasant week ahead and everything goes well."

After hearing this final explanation, none of the passengers on the bus showed any exaggerated reaction.

Although it might be tough for high school students to be banned from using their phones for a week, they had already experienced it once during their Uninhabited Island Exam, so they weren't surprised this time.

More importantly, the morale boosted by a hundred victories is enough to face anything. Given Class A's current state, they can completely ignore this insignificant problem.

The bus exited the highway and slowly drove up the paved mountain road.

Soon, all the students arrived at the Forest School located at the finish line.

Before getting off the bus, Chie Hoshinomiya asked everyone to hand over their cell phones and other personal items that were not allowed to be brought in.

"Ouch~ It's so cold!"

Perhaps because the destination was in a mountainous area, it was even colder here than when we left the school, and many of the Class A students who had just gotten off the bus couldn't help but shiver.

"Please wait here for a few minutes. Once everyone is here, all students will go to the specially assigned classrooms to form small groups. After the room assignments are complete, we will have lunch. There are no other arrangements for the afternoon; you are free to do as you please."

As soon as I stepped off the bus, two unfamiliar faculty members ran over from a short distance away. They were probably the people specifically responsible for welcoming me to this Special Exam.

There were no troublemakers among the students in Class A. Led by Aragaki Shun and Kanzaki, the boys all walked together to a place a little away from the bus and waited patiently.

"Should we say it's Advanced Nurturing? A normal Forest School wouldn't be this large..."

The place where everyone got off the bus was a spacious area like a playground. Looking into the depths of the mountains from here, two conspicuous Old School Building could be seen at a glance.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a school capable of accommodating hundreds of students; it's incredibly large.

Afterwards, the girls got off the bus one by one. Just as Chie Hoshinomiya had reminded them, once all the Class A members had confirmed that they had exited the bus, the two faculty members asked them to line up. One of the female faculty members quickly led all the girls away.

The boys' group, led by another faculty member, headed to the large school building known as the main building.

As soon as they stepped into the building, they were greeted by a rich aroma of wood.

Without a doubt, this is one of those old-fashioned wooden school buildings.

It must have taken a lot of effort to cultivate and maintain Advanced Nurturing, resulting in a very good appearance and an overall comfortable, nostalgic feel.

Led by the faculty and staff in charge of welcoming them, the boys from Class A passed through rooms that looked like classrooms and finally arrived at a place that resembled Gymnasium.

It's worth mentioning that their class was the first to arrive. Several minutes later, the boys from Class B, Class C, and Class D arrived in turn.

It can only be said that this is indeed Advanced Nurturing style of doing things.

Before long, all the male students in the school were gathered in the Gymnasium.

A man, who appeared to be a teacher from another grade, went on stage and greeted the students with a microphone.

"Having already explained things on the bus, I assume everyone has their own understanding of the exam content. Therefore, I won't go into further detail here."

"Now, we'll give everyone time and space to divide into groups. Each grade should discuss and form six groups. Also, we'll arrange time and space for everyone to form larger groups at 8 PM this afternoon. That's the basic plan. Regarding any supplementary matters, whether it's large groups or small groups, the school will not participate in the discussion, nor will it act as an arbitrator."

After issuing a brief instruction, the school decisively relinquished control.

Many teachers quietly moved to a corner of the Gymnasium to minimize their presence, seemingly having no intention of participating in the group assignments; they remained there simply to prevent any unexpected incidents.

Seeing this, the different grades tacitly distanced themselves from each other, seemingly wanting to follow the teacher's instructions and first decide on the groups for each grade.

Seeing this, Aragaki Shun beckoned, and Satoru Kaneda Satoru and Ishizaki Daichi from Class 1-C, and Yosuke Hirata and Yukimura Teruhiko from Class 1-D, all rushed over with their respective core members.

Faced with this perilous situation of getting off to a bad start, Katsuragi Kohei, Ryuen Kakeru, Koenji from Class 1-B all looked grim, but had no choice but to come over and gather.

Otherwise, according to the rules of this Special Exam, Class A, Class C, and Class D could easily team up and eliminate Class B.

At that point, it's hard to say what will happen to Class B, who won't even be able to form a group, let alone elect a leader.

"How about we try it out? If your class still can't join a certain group by 8 PM, what kind of punishment will the school give?"

Looking leisurely at the latecomers, Koenji and the others, Aragaki Shun's eyes flashed with curiosity.

Although it's impossible for the school to expel all the boys in a class before the exams even begin.

But what if?

Anyway, nothing will happen to Class A, so giving it a try is definitely worth it!