The Exam Begins, and an Unexpected Group Appears.

Hashiba Hikaru thought for a moment, "What about Sakayanagi's movements?"

"Classmate Sakayanagi doesn't seem to care about the situation in Class B's boys' group at all; he hasn't given Hashimoto any orders."

"That's quite interesting. I remember there are several girls in Classmate Sakayanagi's group who are in the same class as Nagumo, right? Doesn't she care at all?"

"We haven't considered that yet, but after Ryuen agreed to the conditions, many students in Class C have already clarified their action plans. If they hold others back, the effect will definitely be quite good."

Although Kanzaki Ryuji dislikes Ryuen Kakeru, it would certainly be advantageous for them if the other party could control the boys in his class to hinder Nagumo and Katsuragi.

"Then let's wait and see."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Kanzaki Ryuji's serious face. "Thank you for your hard work, Kanzaki. I still need to talk to Classmate Sakayanagi; her ideas should be quite interesting."

"Okay, I'll go back to work."

After parting ways with Kanzaki Ryuji, Hashiba Hikaru approached Kamuro Masumi during lunch to discuss her plans to meet with Sakayanagi. She also sought out Horikita Manabu to hear about his activities over the past few days.

"Hashiba- kun?"

Horikita Manabu sat in his seat and continued eating his lunch without pausing his chopsticks after the boy approached.

"How's the matter with Horikita-senpai going?"

"It's alright. The specific arrangements have all been communicated, and I believe they will make a better judgment."

After learning that Miyabi Nagumo's target was Tachibana, Horikita Manabu quickly devised a very simple plan—an exchange of benefits.

As the previous Student Council President, Horikita Manabu knew long ago that Miyabi Nagumo controlled the transactions within the grade, and that his ability to control the girls to act according to his wishes was most likely due to bribery.

Given this, the most efficient solution to turn the situation around is to use a more straightforward and unpretentious exchange of benefits. This involves selecting specific targets and using incentives to appease them.

Anyway, with the exam over, he still has room to handle the follow-up arrangements, as long as he can ensure that the large group that Ju is in charge of can successfully complete the exam.

After all, only the group that comes in last place will be punished with expulsion by the [person in charge]; the others will only have points deducted.

"That's good. I have faith in the abilities of the third-year seniors, and I hope we can all achieve satisfactory results."

"Yes."

After exchanging pleasantries, Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the surrounding crowd out of the corner of his eye. His initiative in striking up a conversation with Horikita Manabu in such a conspicuous place as the cafeteria was obviously intentional. There might be Miyabi Nagumo's spies among the crowd, but it didn't matter; this was exactly the effect the boy wanted.

"Then I'll be going now."

Take care.

Because Ichinose Honami was very busy today, Hashiba Hikaru didn't have lunch with his girlfriend at noon. After a quick lunch, he received a reply from Kamuro Masumi around 1 p. m., in Sakayanagi Arisu agreed to meet.

The two met this time in a secluded open space near the school building. Wooden tables and chairs were placed next to the manicured lawn. When Hashiba Hikaru was brought there by Kamuro Masumi, the silver-haired girl was sitting in the seat with utmost elegance.

"Good afternoon, Classmate Sakayanagi."

Good afternoon, Classmate Hashiba.

After exchanging greetings, Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to sit down next to her.

"How interesting, Classmate Hashiba, you've come to see me again today. Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the boy sitting beside her, her eyes smiling.

"It's a very simple thing, and I think Classmate Sakayanagi will definitely be interested."

"Is that so?"

Sakayanagi Arisu asked another question, "Is it related to this exam?"

"Before we get down to business, what I'm more concerned about is whether Classmate Sakayanagi will feel pressured if the boys led by Katsuragi perform better than you this time?"

Hashiba Hikaru asked this question deliberately, wanting to know if she knew about Hashimoto acting as a contact.

"Of course not. This time, the boys and girls are taking the exam separately. I think this is a good opportunity for Katsuragi to redeem himself."

Sakayanagi Arisu nodded slightly, indicating that it was something the other party should do.

"I see."

Hashiba Hikaru had been carefully observing the other person's expression, and after getting a general idea of what was going on, the boy suddenly laughed.

"For this exam, I'd like to make a bet with Classmate Sakayanagi."

"What bet?"

Sakayanagi Arisu raised her head, and the girl seemed to have taken a liking to him, staring intently at his handsome and elegant face.

"If our class gets a higher overall score than Classmate Sakayanagi in this exam, then we'll consider ourselves winners, okay?"

"Comparing scores? That's certainly a straightforward method, but what are the stakes?"

Sakayanagi Arisu thought for a moment. She actually knew that Hashiba Hikaru was fully aware that she had taken the initiative to challenge Ichinose Honami, but she was still playing along with him.

"If we lose, I can pay Classmate Sakayanagi's class two million Private Points."

Hashiba Hikaru laid out his conditions again. Although he wasn't sure if his girlfriend would lose in the end, he felt it was necessary to prepare for the worst. The boy was very confident that the boys' final gains would be much higher than those of Class B.

"Hmm... Private Points?"

Sakayanagi Arisu looked up, a slight thought crossing her mind. "But I don't have enough points to pay Classmate Hashiba. If I lose, can we use another condition instead?"

"Alright, please speak freely Classmate Sakayanagi."

Hashiba Hikaru had no objection to this.

"If we lose, I can grant Classmate Hashiba one request."

The silver-haired girl smiled slightly and shared her thoughts.

"Well..."

"Does Classmate Hashiba think it's inappropriate?"

"No, then let's leave it at that."

It's a deal.

"Good."

509

Chapter 509 The exam begins, and an unexpected group emerges.

The final day of the Forest School arrived, and the exam day finally came.

Regardless of what happens in between, when the exam arrives, all students will be tested on the exam items to see the results of their training during this period.

During the week they spent together, some groups overcame the barriers between different classes and became a united team, while others developed irreconcilable conflicts and were on the verge of falling apart.

In addition, based on the final exam rankings, each group will face the choice of receiving a reward or being punished. Only the group that receives a reward can be considered worthy of their collective effort.

How does everyone feel?

At six o'clock in the morning, Hashiba Hikaru finished his last round of morning exercise. He changed into clean clothes and stood in the dormitory, observing everyone's expressions.

"I feel pretty good. The exam is today, and I believe we will reap the rewards we deserve."

Shibata touched his hair; as an athletic young man, he was very confident about this kind of test.

"Yes, let's cheer each other on!"

"Keep it up, everyone!!!"

The fifteen people in the group stood in a circle in the dormitory's large communal sleeping area and began encouraging each other.

During this process, Hashiba Hikaru also took another look at Shimazaki, a student from Class B of the First Year. After the operation began at Ryuen, Shimazaki was quite cooperative during the training for the next two days, at least he didn't blatantly slack off during training.

"In any case, I'm very happy to be in this group with you all. Let's take the exam without any regrets!"

Hashiba Hikaru voice, "Go for it!"

"Come on!!!"

After giving them a pep talk, Hashiba Hikaru led her group towards the exam location, as they had been notified in advance and knew where it was.

When they arrived, the Second Year and third grade students were already there. Although the large group had students from all three grades, the exams were still conducted according to the group and grade level. After all, there were too many people, and if everyone took the exam at the same time, there wouldn't be enough exam rooms to accommodate them all.

After all the students in the group had arrived, the teacher in charge of proctoring stood on the podium and announced the specific exam content.

The exam content was similar to Hashiba Hikaru's guess, consisting of four parts: [Zen], [speech], [Road relay race], and [Written Exam].

Hashiba Hikaru had already thought of the first three things, and the content of the Written Exam was also within his expectations. After all, the teacher really taught knowledge in class every day, which meant that there would be test content.

Regarding the Written Exam, Hashiba Hikaru was quite confident, since most of the students in her group were from Class A and Class B, whose academic abilities were guaranteed, so there shouldn't be any problem with her scores.

"Next, the first-year students will begin with a [Zen] test, after which they will enter the classroom for a [Written Exam],"

The proctor announced the exam procedure for first graders, "Then we'll have the [Road Relay Race], and finally the [speech]. Please remember the exam procedure. Being late or absent will have a huge impact on the exam results, so please pay attention."

After announcing the arrangements for the first grade, the teacher then announced the arrangements for the Second Year and third grade students, whose exams were scheduled to be staggered. The Second Year would start their exams with the [Road Relay Race], while the third graders would start with the [Speech].

It seems that Miyabi Nagumo's luck isn't very good.

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly. He glanced at his System Panel. After such a long period of consistent training, the [Physical Enhancement Serum] he had used earlier had achieved quite good results.

[Physical Enhancement Serum in effect: Current level Lv.5, 168/700]

The boy glanced at his attribute panel again.

[Character Information]

[Name: Hashiba Hikaru]

[Intelligence: 7]

[Charm:8]

[Stamina:7]

[Trading Market Points: 19600]

[Skills Mastered: Combat Techniques (Proficient), Wilderness Survival (Master), Potential Burst (Proficient), Songwriting (Master), Mastery of All Chess), Investment and Wealth Management (Master)]

"Let's begin then."

After the exam began, Hashiba Hikaru and the members of her group rushed into the Dojo where they had first practiced meditation. Since it was a group of first-year students taking the exam together, there were quite a few people there.

"Now, we will begin the meditation test. There are two scoring criteria: etiquette and movements upon entering the Dojo, and whether there is any fidgeting during meditation."

"After your meditation session, please remain in your respective classrooms and wait for further instructions. Now, students whose names are called, please line up and proceed to the examination center in that order to take the exam."

Upon hearing this, the members of each group were taken aback.

Everyone initially thought they would take the exam together with their group members, but unexpectedly, the rule this time was that all the students would be scattered and then regrouped.

This is bound to cause unease.

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin, understanding the school's intentions.

"Group One: Class A- Kanzaki Ryuji, Class B- Shimazaki Kazunari, Class C -Komiya Kingo..."

When the teacher started calling out names, the boys were surprised, but regardless of whether they were flustered, they had come this far and there was no room for hesitation. They lined up and walked to the examination center.

Hashiba Hikaru stood in the line, his gaze fixed on the students of Class C, because someone was about to fulfill their promise.

"The exam begins!"

Around the Dojo, many teachers stood with boards and pens, and there were also very conspicuous black cameras inside the dojo, presumably to capture more detailed information and ensure the accuracy of the judging, just like at the Sports Festival.

"Hold on, hold on and don't move..."

"My legs hurt so much, but I have to bear it."

"I can't move! Damn it!"

The boys were all having different thoughts. After all, everyone wanted to get a higher score, and this was the first round of the test. If they failed in the first battle, it would definitely affect their morale for the rest of the test.

"Look, that guy doesn't look like he can hold on much longer!"

Someone spoke up next to Hashiba Hikaru.

In the examination room, a student from Class C of the First Year suddenly swayed, and his position shifted drastically. Just as the students watching gasped in shock, Hashiba Hikaru smiled.

It seems that Ryuen has indeed got the boys in Class C under control. The boy who was fidgeting was a student in Class C who was in the same group as Katsuragi Kohei. What's even more interesting is that Katsuragi Kohei's group Nagumo are in the same large group.

Among the exam rules, the most frightening thing is naturally the final [expulsion] penalty. If the group's final overall score is lower than the average score, the [person in charge] will face expulsion. However, if all scores are above the average, the groups ranked fourth to sixth will still be penalized, but it is much better than [expulsion].

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the teachers who immediately jotted down the movements on the whiteboard, her heart filled with anticipation for the final result.