Chapter 259

The students in Class A were speechless. From twenty to ten and then to seven, it was truly a series of drastic changes.

Is this Selection Exam testing the intelligence gathering and counter-surveillance awareness of the students in each class?

"Do we have to compete in all seven events?"

Ichinose Honami raised her hand and asked, "Normally, as long as you win four matches, the outcome should be decided, right?"

However, Chie Hoshinomiya's answer was no.

"Even if the winner is decided halfway through the seven events, the competition will still continue until the last event, because the Matoba wins each class makes will affect their Class Evaluation Points. In short, even if a class has won four, five, or even six consecutive games, the competition will continue until the very last moment."

"Also, the 14th of this month is the final day for deciding on the ten projects. Since the approval of a project depends on the school's confirmation, everyone needs to hurry. If we still can't finalize the ten projects by the deadline, our class will have to use the projects that the school has prepared as alternatives."

It's easy to see that this kind of alternative project is definitely not an area where Class A excels.

If you don't want the school to deliberately cause trouble for your class, then you need to manage your time well and finalize all the projects as early as possible.

"By the way, students in the same class cannot log in to two identical projects. Please don't just change the format of your area of expertise and submit it as a different project."

For example, in football, the first team to score two points can be considered a competition, but even if the rules are changed to a head-to-head battle to determine the winner, it still cannot be approved because the content is redundant.

Next, Chie Hoshinomiya emphasized that once a project is decided, it cannot be canceled, and asked everyone to be careful when submitting it, because there is no chance to back out.

Many regulations are difficult to clarify through verbal explanations alone, so the school prepared a document detailing the specific requirements.

"You can read the rest of the project rules yourselves. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the teacher."

After passing on the relevant materials, the class teacher of Class A seemed to want to take a shortcut, simply glossing over the clauses in the document and then moving on to the last key point.

"As mentioned before, this assessment can also be called the [Commander Exam]. Therefore, in order to coordinate the large number of students, each class must prepare a [Commander Tower]. Please remember that Commander Tower cannot directly participate in the competition events."

The Commander Tower can only coordinate and act as a commander, but cannot directly participate in the project, which sounds like a rather special position.

The key question is, to what extent can the Commander Tower actually exercise its authority in each project?

If it's a written exam or a chess game—competitions that require intelligence and academic ability—can the Commander Tower simply announce the answers from outside the arena?

Chie Hoshinomiya's response to this was--

"Sure. This is a crucial responsibility that requires quick thinking and adaptability; you can think of it as the lifeline for intervening in and assisting all projects."

"Such as replacing students or solving unsolvable problems, not limited to sports, even in Go and Shogi, the Commander Tower is given room to intervene..."

In short, the methods of intervention by the Commander Tower and the extent to which it can intervene are also determined by the class submitting the project.

As long as the scope of intervention is fair to both parties, the school will not deliberately oppose it.

For example, if the assessment item is rock-paper-scissors, it can be set to either [the Commander Tower can participate at any time and make only one rock-paper-scissors move] or [students can be substituted for others in the rock-paper-scissors game].

Having figured this out, all the students in Class A instinctively looked at Aragaki Shun.

Given the class monitor's style, he would definitely take on the responsibility and lead the charge during Special Exam, so the choice of the Commander Tower of Class A is practically a no-brainer.

"Then our strategy is to extend the Commander Tower's interference range to the maximum possible!"

Aragaki Shun smiled and said without any pressure, "I have enough confidence in my abilities. No matter what project we face, as long as I am allowed sufficient intervention, victory is inevitable!"

This sounded arrogant, as if it regarded everyone in other classes as worthless, but none of the students in Class A doubted it.

After all, this was the prestige that came from the boy's repeated victories, something that the bunch of scoundrels in Class B could never match.

Moreover, not only her classmates, but also Chie Hoshinomiya herself didn't think that her invincible students would encounter any problems.

"By the way, in this Special Exam, the member of the Commander Tower on the losing side will be expelled... However, if it's Aragaki, then this rule should be ignored."

It's another case of forcing the loser to drop out of school.

According to Tsukishiro Tsunenari's idea, the Protection Point available to the first-place winner in the last Class Vote should actually be used here.

Unfortunately, none of the top students from the four first-grade classes chose this thing.

As a result, barring any unforeseen circumstances, two more members from the failing classes will be forced to leave Advanced Nurturing in this Selection Exam.

Class A was unaffected by this, so the pressure shifted to the three lower-ranked classes.

"In this Special Exam, the Commander Tower's position is indispensable. If you cannot select Commander Tower within the stipulated time, the school will randomly appoint a student from the class to fill the position. I suggest that things should not escalate to that point."

In the classroom of Class 1-C, Sakagami Kazuma was explaining the detailed rules of the Selection Exam.

"Then there are changes to the Class Evaluation Points. Each win or loss will add or subtract 30 points. If there are seven consecutive wins, it's 210 points; if there are five wins and two losses, it's 90 points, which are taken by the winner from the loser. At the same time, the school will also deduct 100 evaluation points from the losing class for each loss."

"In addition, as a reward, the winning team's Commander Tower will receive 500,000 Private Points as a reward from the school at the end of each event."

In other words, the winning class can receive a maximum of 210 evaluation points and 3.5 million Private Points, while the losing class will be penalized with 310 Class Evaluation Points.

The rules regarding Private Points were specifically added by Aragaki Shun as the Student Council President.

As expected, Chairman Tsukishiro directly passed the test—first-year students would have to stay in Advanced Nurturing for another 24 months. Compared to the 100 Class Evaluation Points, the 3.5 million Private Points were still more valuable. This special exam barely achieved the school's goal of reducing the total score of first-year students.

After explaining these rules, Sakagami Kazuma looked at the many students below the stage, a strange glint in his eyes.

"If possible, I still hope you can try your best. Even if you can't beat Class A, you should at least be able to surpass Class B in this Special Exam, right?"

As the class teacher of Class C said this, her face seemed to be glowing, as if she could already imagine the wonderful scene of her class being promoted to Class B next month, and herself being promoted and given a raise as a result.

This isn't just him daydreaming!

It's important to know that currently, Class B's evaluation score is 1646, while Class C's is 1368, a difference of only 278 points.

If the draw goes smoothly, as long as Class B loses to Class A and Class C defeats Class D, he will immediately become the homeroom teacher of Class B next month.

This is his biggest goal in this competition.

He definitely won't have a chance to get promoted to A, but if he can hold onto his position as the homeroom teacher of Class B for the next two years, then after this year's students graduate, he can start directly from Class 1-B.

Based on the patterns of the past two years, the original Class B was actually more effective at integrating the entire grade than the original Class A.

I hope that one day I'll also find a bargain.

I don't Aragaki Shun a weirdo like Miyabi Nagumo, but someone like Masahiro Nagumo would be nice too.

343. Katsuragi volunteers as Commander Tower; seeking justice for Totsuka Yahiko.

The students in Class 1-C were unaware that their homeroom teacher was already fantasizing about starting directly from Class B in the next cohort, and then, like Hoshinomiya, advancing again by taking advantage of loopholes.

They are currently facing a top-tier problem and simply don't have the time to pay attention to Sakagami Kazuma's thoughts.

This Selection Exam requires someone to act as the Commander Tower to coordinate the overall situation. However, if the class loses in the competition, the student who became the Commander Tower will face expulsion from the school.

So the question is, in this situation, who should be in Commander Tower of Class C? Would anyone be willing to step forward and risk expulsion?

Thinking about this, the men and women in the classroom looked at each other, all staring blankly at each other, but after several minutes, no one took the initiative to take over the position of Commander Tower.

Ultimately, after Ibuki Mio transferred to Class C Manabe Shiho and Kaneda Satoru exchanged a glance and chose to postpone the matter.

"I'll ask Aragaki-kun after school. Until then, feel free to tell me if you have any ideas, but please don't make any decisions on your own or do anything reckless."

Faced with Manabe Shiho's warning, the delinquents and gyaru of Class C discussed it and, unsurprisingly, all agreed to obey.

Since Shiina Hiyori transferred to Class A and Ryuen Kakeru ran away to Class B, most of the students in this class have been like headless flies, unable to find their way when faced with Special Exam. As a result, they have become accustomed to obeying the orders of the spokesperson appointed by Aragaki Shun in the class.

At least, as long as students diligently follow the Student Council President's instructions during the exams, even if some dropouts still occur after the results are released, the Leader of Class A will provide appropriate compensation, ensuring that those who drop out Advanced Nurturing and don't end up with nothing.

If it was Aragaki Shun's order, then some of the lower-ranking students in Class C would still be willing to take on the Commander Tower and risk being expelled.

Their only concern was this Special Exam; Class A seemed to have no need for Class C students, so would Aragaki Shun still be willing to take on the 20 million yen compensation after the Commander Tower withdrew?

Let's wait for news...

Class 1-D.

"The Selection Exam will conclude on the 22nd, and all classes will be suspended on the 23rd. After the graduation ceremony on the 24th and the closing ceremony on the 25th, you will be able to rightfully begin your spring break."

On the podium, Chabashira Sae explained the rules of this Special Exam to all the students in the classroom, and also announced the spring break.

Perhaps in her view, for these hopeless Class D students, a holiday was more important than Special Exam.

While this is indeed the case, the motivation for taking a holiday will certainly differ depending on whether the outcome is a victory or a defeat.

After all, this exam carries the risk of expulsion. Furthermore, if they lose, their Class Evaluation Points will drop, and even if they remain in the Advanced Nurturing, their living expenses will be significantly reduced... This is terrible news for the Class D students who just want to lie down and do nothing.

So they all instinctively turned their gazes toward Kushida Kikyo Yosuke Hirata.

With Karuizawa Kei having transferred to another class, these two are undoubtedly the absolute core of Class D.

"Everyone, please wait patiently for a while. Hirata and I will go to see Aragaki- san later, and then we can discuss the selection of the Commander Tower."

Clearly, even Kushida, on whom everyone in the class had placed their hopes, had no intention of stepping forward and taking over the Commander Tower position.

She's not crazy!

Class 1-D only has 30 students. No matter which class they are drawn into, their chances of winning are slim. At this point, what difference does it make whether they become the Commander Tower or voluntarily drop out?

Even considering her character's image, Kushida Kikyo still didn't feel she needed to sacrifice herself to that extent.

So naturally, she directly used Aragaki Shun as an excuse, stating that as an appendage of Class A, Class D could not arbitrarily decide on Special Exam strategies.

Another Class D, Yosuke Hirata, expressed the same sentiment.

For him now, the class is indeed important, but unfortunately, he has even greater goals to achieve. Therefore, even though he is being watched with anticipation by the whole class, Hirata can only feel apologetic in his heart rather than choose to stand up and sacrifice himself.

As a result, the other members of Class D could only accept reality and wait anxiously for the two to seek instructions from the Leader of Class A.

Class 1-B.

After Mashima Tomoya finished explaining the general rules, the entire classroom fell silent.

Sensing the strange atmosphere, Katsuragi Kohei sighed with a hint of melancholy. He subconsciously wanted to instruct Totsuka Yahiko beside him, but when he looked over, he realized that his close friend had been expelled from school the day before yesterday.

The Moderate Faction leader of Class B fell silent until a densely packed document was passed to him from the desk in front of him. Only then did he regain his composure and look down at the paper in front of him.

As can be seen from the main heading in the first column, the following sections contain supplementary rules for determining the exam items.

• Projects that are too niche, too complex, or have restrictive rules:

--[If the domain classification is too specific, it may not be approved.]

--[If written tests are treated as projects, the school will create questions to maintain fairness.]

--[The project prohibits any behavior that deviates from or alters the fundamental rules.]

Regarding available facilities:

--[On the day of Special Exam, the Commander Tower will conduct the exams in the multi-purpose classroom. In addition, most school facilities, such as the Gymnasium, playground, music room, and science classrooms, are generally available, although there are some exceptions.]

Regarding project limitations and time constraints:

--[Items deemed to have identical content can only be used by each class. Additionally, items that require too much time to digest or have no time limit may also be excluded.]

Regarding the number of participants:

--[The required number of test takers, excluding substitutes, must be different for each of the ten applied programs.]

--[The minimum number of participants is one, and the maximum number is twenty (including substitutes, the total number of participants shall not exceed twenty).]

--[Including substitutes, a class can register for a maximum of two events with more than ten participants.]

• Regarding participation requirements:

--[Each student may participate in one event, but may not participate in more than one event.]

--[However, students may participate in more than one exam only if all students have participated in all exam items.]

• Regarding the duties of the Commander Tower:

--[The Commander Tower has the authority to intervene in seven projects. How to intervene will be decided by the class that decides on the project. Intervention will only be implemented after approval from the school.]

It can be roughly divided into six categories.

Each project has between one and twenty participants, including substitutes, and the number of participants in each application project cannot be the same.

In principle, a person cannot participate in two projects at the same time. However, there are only 35 students in Class 1-B. If all members finish one round in two projects, depending on the situation, there may be students who need to participate in a second or third round.

But this would turn it into a pure team competition. For example, if one event requires 20 people and another requires 15, can Class B's team outperform Class A's, given the same scale?

It's obvious that the probability is slim— Class B only has 35 students because Class B only has 35 students in total, but Class A can easily select the top 35 students from its 52 students to compete against Class B.

From this perspective, it's really difficult to win in team competitions. Perhaps Class B should focus more on individual strength in their submissions?

"..."

The Baldy suddenly realized that Class B would lose even more miserably in the individual events.