The Additional Exam and Protection Points.

After three semesters of study, the students in Class A are now under much less psychological pressure.

After all, everyone has been studying hard since the start of the semester. Under Ichinose Honami's initiative, many regular study groups hold study meetings frequently to identify and fill in gaps in each other's knowledge and learn from each other's strengths, helping everyone to make progress in different subjects.

When the exam ended and it was time for Thursday's class meeting, everyone stared intently at Chie Hoshinomiya as she walked into the classroom carrying a white paper roll.

"Looks like everyone's really looking forward to today's exam results. Honestly, let the teacher take a break."

The young female teacher was just like any other girl her age, with a sweet voice and playful movements.

"Teacher, stop keeping me in suspense and just announce the results! I couldn't sleep at all last night!"

"That's right, that's right. Let me see if there's any improvement compared to the Midterm Exam."

"Yes, please announce it soon, teacher!"

The students in Class A had long since become close friends with Chie Hoshinomiya, and there was no sense of distance between teacher and students. This atmosphere was unique to Class A, and the young female teacher appreciated it and deliberately guided everyone to continue to maintain this relaxed atmosphere.

"Okay, okay, I'll announce everyone's results right away!"

Chie Hoshinomiya smiled slightly. Having personally handled everyone's exam papers, the female teacher was in a good mood, knowing full well the students' performance. After all, the excellence of Class A was directly linked to her salary.

The next moment, a ranking of exam scores with everyone's names on it was posted on the blackboard.

Everyone's eyes quickly focused, trying to find their own name or the names of other students they cared about as quickly as possible.

"Wow, Classmate Hashiba got first place again! That's amazing!"

"Ichinose is amazing too, only 6 points lower than Classmate Hashiba, what a terrifying pair!"

"I improved by two places since last time, hahaha!"

"Hey, Sumida, how come you're better at math than me?"

"Damn those popular people!!!"

Everyone expressed their opinions, and the classroom became noisy.

Since Class A's overall performance was already quite good, there was absolutely no case of scores below the average. Chie Hoshinomiya could guess without even doing the calculations that the lowest score was still much higher than the average.

"Hikari, you're number one again! That's amazing!"

The pink-haired girl looked at her boyfriend sitting next to her. He had won first place in several major exams in a row, and had scored full marks in many subjects.

"After all, the Final Exam are very important, so we have to study hard."

Hashiba Hikaru waved his hand, showing that he was always confident in the boy who took the Written Exam and wouldn't care about such issues.

Instead of focusing on his exam scores, he is now putting all his energy into planning the new department of the Student Council. The proposal is due soon because Sakayanagi Narimori is about to leave the school.

Just then, Chie Hoshinomiya, who was standing on the podium, clapped her hands, attracting the attention of all the students with her crisp applause.

"Um, students, please be quiet for a moment. I have something important to tell you."

Upon hearing this, the classroom of Class A quickly fell silent. Although everyone maintained a relatively close teacher-student distance with Chie Hoshinomiya, it didn't mean they would act recklessly. Basically, they would carry out the signal immediately.

After the classroom had completely quieted down, the young female teacher looked at everyone with a smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Now that the Final Exam are over, there are still about two weeks left until the end of the Third Semester. Some astute students should have already figured out the school's intentions, right?"

"Huh, what does this mean?"

"Normally, spring break follows the Final Exam, so why are there two more weeks? Use your little brains to think about it."

"Could it be...?"

"I've thought of a bad possibility."

The crowd erupted in noise again, and as Hashiba Hikaru listened to their speculations and discussions, she immediately realized what was happening. At that moment, as if telepathically connected, Chie Hoshinomiya called out his name.

"Classmate Hashiba, what do you think the school's intentions are?"

The young female teacher smiled as she looked at her class's star student, the boy who was her most cherished student. If it weren't for him, everything that Class A had today would be gone.

"I think the school will probably hold a Special Exam before spring break, right?"

Hashiba Hikaru stood up and gave her answer firmly.

"That's right!"

Chie Hoshinomiya snapped her fingers coolly and smiled at her classmates.

"Just as Classmate Hashiba predicted, the last special exam for first-year students will be held next month. It's a large-scale Special Exam, and as is customary in previous years, spring break will follow after this Special Exam. Then everyone will move up to the Second Year and become seniors that the new students can trust."

"Is that really how it is?"

"Another major Special Exam, really. The Final Exam are already over."

Upon hearing Chie Hoshinomiya's affirmation, the students in the classroom all changed their expressions.

In any case, the Special Exam and the Written Exam are completely different because the rules of the Special Exam are very complicated, and the factors for success involve many aspects. Even though everyone has experienced so many Special Exam, they are still very resistant to them.

"No matter what, as long as Classmate Hashiba continues to lead us, there shouldn't be any problems!"

"And Ichinose, we must believe in their abilities!"

"That's right, that's right!!!"

Although they had heard the announcement of the Special Exam, students soon brought up the names of Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami. As the backbone and core decision-makers of Class A, they always carried the hopes of everyone.

"I will work hard and lead everyone to continue winning!"

The pink-haired girl, representing the class, stood up with a resolute expression and conveyed her fighting spirit to everyone.

"Me too, let's work hard together!"

Hashiba Hikaru also needed to maintain appearances, so he stood up and made a loud statement to reassure everyone.

However, after hearing the announcement about the Special Exam, the boy felt a vague sense of unease.

"I hope it's just my imagination."

No one heard the voice in his heart.

Chapter 576 Additional Exam and Protection Point.

The sudden announcement of the upcoming Special Exam immediately dampened the joy everyone felt for their improved Final Exam results. Instead, students were preoccupied with what kind of massive exam it was and how to handle any potentially challenging situations.

This tense atmosphere continued until the class meeting the next day. When Chie Hoshinomiya changed into her relatively serious black office lady uniform, the students were all taken aback.

"Wait, what's going on? Wasn't the Special Exam supposed to be next month?"

"Yes, why does Hoshinomiya-sensei look so serious?"

Everyone whispered in hushed tones, wondering why Chie Hoshinomiya had changed into the black uniform she only wore when announcing the Special Exam rules, and why the gentle expression on her face had vanished, replaced by one filled with pressure.

"Excuse me, everyone, please be quiet for a moment."

Upon entering the classroom, the tense atmosphere emanating from the young female teacher once again transformed into invisible pressure, causing a sense of unease among the students in Class A.

"Students, the school announced something very important today, and I must tell you about it now."

Chie Hoshinomiya was usually mild-mannered, spoke in a low voice. It was unclear whether this matter had affected her emotions; the female teacher's face was unreadable.

"What is it, teacher?"

"This is a very important matter, so please listen carefully to what I have to say."

"The final Special Exam for first-year students will be held on the 8th of next month. This remains unchanged. Just as I told you yesterday, the Special Exam will begin on March 8th. I will announce the specific rules on that day. After completing this Special Exam, you will all be promoted to the Second Year. This will not change."

Chie Hoshinomiya spoke calmly and slowly, but her tone remained serious throughout.

"However, the situation today is somewhat different from last year, and the school has made timely adjustments to adapt to these differences."

"Adjustment?"

"Could they be changing some rules?"

Shibata Sou scratched his head, his voice quite loud as he muttered to himself, and many people heard him.

"After the Final Exam this year, not a single student dropped out of the first year. Even though the Final Exam for the Third Semester were over, no one dropped out. This is the first time such a thing has happened since the school was founded."

"What's the meaning?"

As Hoshinomiya explained, the students in Class A reacted quite strongly. Wasn't it a good thing that no one dropped out? Why was this situation being emphasized so seriously?

"Teacher, isn't it a good thing that no one has dropped out? It means we are all students who meet the school's standards, so why is your reaction so strange?"

Ichinose Honami, who wanted to graduate with the entire class, raised her hand and asked a question on the spot.

"Yes, so far no one has dropped out, which does show that everyone is performing very well. However, the school's point is that this is not in line with the original plan, which is why they are taking this [anomaly] so seriously."

"You're not suggesting that the school doesn't want no one to drop out, are you?"

Hashiba Hikaru's expression turned somewhat grim as he spoke behind Ichinose Honami.

"I'm not clear about the school's specific thinking, but since an unusual result has occurred that is different from previous years, the school has also provided a temporary solution to this situation."

Chie Hoshinomiya glanced at Hashiba Hikaru and spoke slowly.

"Considering that no first-year students have dropped out, the school has decided to hold an additional Addition Special Exam starting today as a special response strategy."

"What?"

"Such a thing is possible!!!"

"Is the school trying to force some of us to drop out?"

After hearing Chie Hoshinomiya's explanation, everyone in Class A felt indignant to varying degrees. Wasn't the school trying to force students to drop out? That was going too far!

Just as everyone was expressing their dissatisfaction, Chie Hoshinomiya wrote an explanation about this Additional Exam on the blackboard and continued to explain it to everyone.

"The school's rule is that only students who pass this Addition Special Exam are eligible to participate in the final large-scale Special Exam of the year. Does everyone understand?"

At this point, the young female teacher showed a look of helplessness on her face, as if she wanted to vent her frustrations.

"Please don't look at me like that. Actually, the teachers don't like this Additional Exam either, but there's nothing we can do. Once the school made the decision, all we teachers can do is pass it on."

What are the specific rules?

Seeing Chie Hoshinomiya's expression, Hashiba Hikaru didn't waste any words and immediately asked the most crucial question.

"Please rest assured about this. The Additional Exam does not involve academic or athletic ability. The content of the exam is very simple and may only take a little time for students to complete. After completing this on the day of the exam, you can go home. Anyone can do it easily."

Upon hearing Hashiba Hikaru's question, Chie Hoshinomiya smiled instead.

"Then please tell us the specific exam plan, teacher. Since it can't be changed now, we want to know the rules as soon as possible so we can come up with a solution."

As the class representative, Ichinose Honami, after feeling her boyfriend's gaze, immediately set an example and made a very important statement.

"That's natural."

Chie Hoshinomiya turned around and wrote the names of those taking the exam on the blackboard.

[Class Vote]

"The rules for this Additional Exam are not complicated. The school needs everyone to evaluate their classmates over the next four days, then select three students worthy of praise and three students worthy of criticism. Finally, a vote will be held on the day of the exam, and the exam will be over once the voting is completed."

She explained the specific content of the exam, but everyone was somewhat confused.

Simply selecting students worthy of praise and criticism would indeed be difficult for Class A, which has a strong sense of teamwork. However, the school's elaborate implementation of Additional Exam couldn't possibly be just for students to fill in a few names, could it?

"Wait, is it just filling in a few names? Is the Additional Exam really that simple?"

"If it's just a matter of writing names, what's the final result of accumulating Praise Vote and Criticism Vote? What's the difference between having more and fewer votes?"

I will explain this matter shortly.

Chie Hoshinomiya's gaze swept over the students in the classroom, and she wrote down an explanation of a rule with chalk.

"The key to this exam lies in the number of Praise Vote and Criticism Vote. Students who accumulate a large number of Praise Vote will receive a very special reward from the school. This reward is not Private Points, but on a new system called 'Protection Point.'"

"Huh?"

The unfamiliar term left everyone puzzled, but Hoshinomiya's next sentence made the students' expressions even more interesting.

"The so-called 'Protection Point' are special rights that can be used to Nullify situations resulting in expulsion, whether it's failing an exam or being eliminated during Special Exam. As long as you have these 'Protection Point,' you can Nullify situations as many times as you have."

"What?"

"There's actually something like this?!"

The classroom of Class A was immediately filled with an uproar.