Discussion on the Bus, Grouping Is Important / The Key to Scoring Is Making Good Use of the Rules

"That's right."

The boy's tone turned serious as he said, "This must be the school's idea—to have us establish cooperative relationships with other classes, and we can't refuse."

"This is such a hassle."

Some people sighed, but there was nothing they could do.

475

Chapter 475 Discussion on the Bus: Grouping is a Big Deal

After Hashiba Hikaru explained the conditions for forced cooperation, everyone in Class A of the First Year had a change in expression.

Although students usually interact with Student Council from other classes during their school life, they may still have some psychological barriers when it comes to collaborating on Special Exam.

"Do you think there might be another possibility?"

At this moment, Shibata seemed to have thought of something, "Since the minimum number of students is ten, and the minimum number of classes is two, wouldn't it still work if we added one student from another class?"

"Yeah, that would reduce the pressure a lot, right?"

"No."

Faced with this idea, Hashiba Hikaru shook her head again, her expression very serious.

"Let's put ourselves in each other's shoes. Would anyone want to join a group where everyone except themselves is from another class? If there are many classes, it's fine, but if everyone else is from the same class, wouldn't that put more pressure on that person?"

Upon hearing his words, everyone immediately understood that this was unlikely. No one would willingly enter a group consisting entirely of other classes, as it would make them feel very insecure.

"Instead of that, please continue explaining the rules and precautions, since the group size is divided into upper and lower limits, the rules might be related to that."

Hashiba Hikaru looked up at the smiling Chie Hoshinomiya and inquired about the details of the rules.

"Okay, let me continue explaining to you."

The young female teacher smiled and continued, "Each group will only be formed for this Special Exam, like a temporary class, and everyone will study the course content together."

"In addition, from cooking to washing clothes, bathing to going to bed, you will all spend time together, just like belonging to one big family, experiencing the daily life of communal living."

"What?"

"They even shower and sleep together?"

Inevitably, when Chie Hoshinomiya stated these conditions, even though the students in Class A of the First Year were generally easy to get along with, they still let out a series of groans, and some of the girls immediately looked very upset.

"Living with my classmates is fine, but living with students from other classes is really hard for me to accept."

"Yes, isn't that a bit too harsh?"

Even after the Sports Festival with its Red and White Grouping, and after getting used to Special Exam and Class Evaluation Points, no one wanted to get too involved with students from other classes in such competition.

"The final decision on how the school will determine the results of the Special Exam will be made at the comprehensive exam held on the last day of the Forest School. A rough outline of the exam content is on page seven of the materials; you can take a look first."

The Hoshinomiya simply ignored everyone's complaints and continued explaining the rules.

Everyone turned to the corresponding section in the manual and saw the detailed information.

The exam's subject names are quite abstract, including [morality], [mental training], [rules], and [autonomy], among others.

Unlike typical projects that you would immediately think of, this content is something you would never encounter in school.

The more troublesome thing is that while school academic and physical education tests have specific scores and answers as the criteria for judgment, these tests do not mention how they will be conducted or even the criteria for evaluation.

Hashiba Hikaru looked at the listed schedule with a serious expression.

[Upon waking up, I first complete the morning meditation, then meditate in the Dojo, finish the cleaning tasks, and then have breakfast.]

[Studying various subjects in the classroom, having lunch, then receiving the afternoon's lessons, followed by more meditation.]

[After the second round of meditation, I had dinner, then took a shower and went to bed.]

It is worth noting that this eight-day, seven-night event naturally includes Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is a half-day of classes in the morning, while Sunday is a true day off.

"This schedule is just a rough outline. A more detailed schedule will be announced once we arrive at the destination. I cannot tell you the order in which the exams will be held on the last day at the moment, so please pay attention."

Chie Hoshinomiya looked at the students on the bus. This was a very special exam. It not only tested everyone's ability to interact with people from other classes, but more importantly, it tested their adaptability. It was like [meditation]; the posture and timing depended on how the students handled it.

"There's one more thing I need to emphasize: everyone must think carefully when deciding on group members, because all six groups must work together to get through a week of intensive training. No matter the reason, you can't change group members midway. If someone gets sick and can't continue, then the remaining people must fill the vacancy and the exam must be conducted as if that person were still there."

This statement contains many implications. If a partner falls ill or hostility arises among group members, the group will gradually fall apart during the exam process, until it faces utter failure.

After glancing at the specific schedule, Hashiba Hikaru memorized the details.

The formal courses at the Forest School will begin tomorrow, Friday, and continue until next Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, there will be a comprehensive exam for all grades, followed by a final grade assessment.

"It seems everyone has digested this information. I'll continue."

Chie Hoshinomiya glanced at Hashiba Hikaru, who was deep in thought, and then spoke.

"Once the six groups for first grade are created, they will be combined with the Second Year and third-grade groups that were established at the same time. In short, the students from first to third grade will be grouped together, turning the six groups into six larger groups."

"Does everyone understand what I mean?"

"Clear."

Everyone thought quickly and immediately understood the school's design: there were three grades, and after the students were dispersed, new groups were created. Was this what they meant by interacting with the older students?

"The exam results will be evaluated based on the average score of all members in the six large groups, so the performance of members from other grades within the same group will also have a significant impact."

"This is the key to carefully selecting the groups."

Hashiba Hikaru memorized all these rules. Unlike ordinary exams and competitions, which focus on academic ability, comprehensive qualities are the most crucial selection criterion. The key to victory is to assemble outstanding members in both her group and the larger group.

476

Chapter 476 The key to scoring is making good use of the rules.

When Chie Hoshinomiya explained the rules to everyone on the bus, both men and women listened attentively.

The key figures in Class A of the First Year, such as Ichinose Honami, and Kanzaki Ryuji Ando Sayo, were all deep in thought. After all, each round of Special Exam was a battlefield for the students, a place where they absolutely could not let their guard down.

Everyone is thinking about the group assignments. After all, this Special Exam is different from previous ones where decisions were made within the class. It incorporates many uncertain factors, and since it's mandated to include members from other classes, there will naturally be a lot of uncertainty.

Only by overcoming these challenges can we better understand the situation within the group.

Moreover, this is not just about overall academic performance in the competition. In the eyes of the second and third-year students, the weaker first-year students will obviously be excluded. After all, the second and third-year students also want to win, which is unavoidable.

"I've already given you a general overview of the exam; now we're about to move on to the most crucial part."

After explaining everything related to the exam, Chie Hoshinomiya was about to move on to the most important part. Everyone knew perfectly well that what she was going to talk about next was how to obtain the Class Evaluation Points, which was the most crucial part of every Special Exam.

"For the groups with the highest average scores, the school will pay all students in the group their individual points and corresponding Class Evaluation Points. However, students ranked fourth through sixth will have their Private Points and Class Evaluation Points deducted."

"The details of the additions and subtractions are in the manual; you can take a look first."

The manual contains very detailed written explanations of the specific rewards for the Special Exam, almost like charts, which fully explain the impact of winning or losing.

First, the winning team, with the following basic rewards.

[First Place: Awarded 10,000 Private Points, and 3 points in Class Evaluation Points]

[Second Place: Awarded 5000 Private Points, and 1 point in Class Evaluation Points]

[Third Place: Awarded 3000 Private Points, no Class Evaluation Points reward]

All of the above rewards will be distributed equally among all members of the winning group, regardless of the number of members; the reward amount will be the same.

The rules are explained in detail, making it easy to imagine the final rewards. After all, everyone only cares about their own class. If the minimum number of people in a group is ten, then the final reward will be determined based on how many students from different classes are in that group.

For example, if all nine people in a group are from the same class, and one person is from another class, in this most "ideal" case, the class would receive 27 Class Evaluation Points. However, this limit is too high, especially considering the penalties.

Then comes the losing group, with the following basic penalties.

[Fourth place: 5000 Private Points deducted]

[Fifth Place: 10,000 Private Points deducted, 3 points deducted from Class Evaluation Points]

[Sixth Place: 20,000 Private Points deducted, 5 points deducted from Class Evaluation Points]

The punishments are actually twice as severe as the rewards, because the number of people in the group will not be exactly the same, so the rewards and punishments will be vastly different.

Furthermore, this exam has an additional restriction: Private Points and Class Evaluation Points cannot fall below 0. Once the amount lost reaches the limit, it will result in a Deficit, which seems to be reflected in the rewards obtained in the exam, causing some concern.

Besides the rules regarding rewards and punishments, Hashiba Hikaru quickly discovered a very important additional rule, Chie Hoshinomiya stated directly.

"The exam includes a reward multiplier mechanism, with the specific evaluation criteria based on the number of people in the group and the number of classes. However, this mechanism only applies to the first to third place groups; groups that are penalized will not receive these benefits."

The explanation of the doubling mechanism was crucial for the students taking the exam, and everyone stared intently at the text.

[If the group consists of students from only two classes, the score is the basic score. If the group consists of students from three classes, the score doubles. And if the group consists of students from four classes, the bonus score triples.]

[The multiplier for the total number of people will also change: ten people equals one multiplier, fifteen people equals 1.5 multipliers, and if there are only nine people, then the final multiplier will be 0.9.]

This is a special case. After all, if a member of the group is eliminated due to illness when the final scores are calculated, this condition will be applied.

With these conditions in mind, the first-place team can receive the highest reward under the most ideal circumstances: a team consisting of four classes with a maximum of 15 members. In this case, each person's reward would be 4.5 times the normal amount.

The Private Points reward will become 45,000, while the Class Evaluation Points will be 14 points.

This is a reward for one person; the more class members in the group, the better the final Class Evaluation Points will look.

However, just as everyone was starting to have some fantasies, Chie Hoshinomiya revealed an even more chilling piece of information.

"As for the final additional rule—the group that comes in last will face the most severe penalty."

"Hiss!"

"What kind of punishment? It can't be that..., can it...?"

Upon hearing about the severe punishment, every student's expression changed. After all, it had already appeared in the previous Special Exam, and those two words were conditions that none of the students in Class A of the First Year were willing to accept.

"The punishment is expulsion from school."

"Is that really the case? But it shouldn't be everyone, otherwise, if the last large group has thirty or forty people, it would be too exaggerated for them all to drop out, wouldn't it?"

"That's natural."

Chie Hoshinomiya smiled slightly, "When ranking the groups at the end, we'll use the group average score as a reference. If a group's score falls below the average, the group's [leader] will be expelled."

"How will the person in charge make this decision?"

Hashiba Hikaru heard the key point and immediately raised her hand.

"The person in charge will be discussed and decided within the group after it is formed. Please take note."

"OK."

After lowering his arm, the boy's gaze became profound. This kind of exam rule really was in line with the school's consistent characteristics. The person in charge had to bear the risk of expulsion, but there were also advantages.

The last rule states that students in the same class as the person in charge will receive double the pay.

But the risk of dropping out of school... is something not many people are willing to take.

477

Chapter 477 The girls' request to meet.

After the basic rules regarding rewards and punishments were clarified, everyone knew that the choice of this [person in charge] was crucial. Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the Class A members on the bus and felt that many eyes were on her.

"By the way, there's a corresponding restriction regarding the rules on withdrawal: if anyone withdraws during this Special Exam, their class will lose 100 Class Evaluation Points for each person who withdraws. If the Class Points, the score will be recalculated later when adding points."

Although the [person in charge] ultimately receives double the points, they must bear the risk of being expelled. Just as the reward is doubled, the punishment for failure is equally terrifying.

"Alright, that concludes the basic exam instructions. More detailed information can be found in the manual."

Chie Hoshinomiya said slowly, "Everyone must cherish this time and take this opportunity to write this down."

"But I have another question to ask."

Ichinose Honami seemed to have thought of something; her expression was very serious when she raised her hand.

"Oh, what's the problem Ichinose?"

Chie Hoshinomiya's lips curled up slightly.

"If any students drop out during this Special Exam, can we use our 20 million Private Points to save them?"

These words immediately made everyone in Class A of the First Year tense. Since the start of the school year, everyone had been accumulating points. So far, Ichinose Honami, the class representative, had almost accumulated 40 million points, which was enough for two people.

"It's possible, but because it's Special Exam, there will be new additional conditions regarding the punishment."

Chie Hoshinomiya responded calmly, "If we really want to save the students in the class who are facing expulsion, in addition to paying 20 million Private Points, we also need to pay an extra 300 Class Evaluation Points."