A Tense Situation and a Close Score / Sakayanagi Arisu Won't Stop Provoking Him
Enthusiastic shouts frequently erupted from the ranks.
"Pull it back quickly!!!"
"Quick!"
"Push harder!!!"
With Hashiba Hikaru's explosive performance, the outcome of this [project] will no longer be in doubt.
The final score was 2-0.
The first victory was successfully secured by Class A of the First Year.
After witnessing this scene, Ichinose Honami, who was sitting in front of the computer, breathed a sigh of relief.
Through the screen, he saw the handsome young man surrounded by a crowd.
That was her man, and also the pillar of strength for Class A.
Chapter 659 A tense situation, a close score.
After winning the first game, the students in Class A of the First Year were overjoyed. Everyone knew that today's exam was crucial, and everyone was determined to do their best to help the class.
In the Multipurpose Classroom, Ichinose Honami could not see Sakayanagi Arisu's face, but she could hear her voice.
Even though she lost the first round, the silver-haired girl let out a slight laugh, which inevitably aroused her suspicion.
"So it's because of Classmate Hashiba after all, really~"
A pointed remark reached Ichinose Honami's ears, causing the girl to instinctively frown and feel displeased.
What did Classmate Sakayanagi mean by that?
There will be a three-minute break before the draw for the second round begins.
The proctors didn't pay attention to their idle chatter, so Ichinose Honami's voice involuntarily rose a few octaves.
"I've already made it quite clear, haven't I? If it weren't for Classmate Hashiba, you might not have won."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice did not carry a provocative tone; on the contrary, it was very calm, as if she were announcing some infallible truth.
"Since the start of the semester, Classmate Hashiba has consistently played a crucial role in the Special Exam. Without him, your class would never have made it this far."
"Classmate Sakayanagi always says things that are obvious. Hikaru is a core member of our class, so of course he should strive for victory for the class."
"That's not what I meant, of course. Never mind, let's prepare for the next match."
After saying this, Sakayanagi Arisu shut her mouth. She actually knew that Ichinose Honami understood the deeper meaning in her words, but she was just pretending not to.
"Understood."
A sharp glint flashed in Ichinose Honami's eyes. No matter what, the current match was more important. Anything Sakayanagi Arisu could be seen as a psychological attack, and she couldn't fall for it.
"The draw for the [items] of the second round has begun."
"Please pay attention, everyone."
Sakagami- sensei's voice remained emotionless, like that of a robot reciting lines.
After a while, the details of the second match were displayed on the screen.
[Modern Literature Exam]
Eight people are needed, and the time is fifty minutes.
Rules: Students will answer questions on Modern Literature within the first-grade curriculum by taking a test. The test will be set by the school, and the total scores will be tallied at the end.
Commander Tower: Can answer one question on behalf of the user.
This was the project submitted by Class B. When the competition project was announced, Ichinose Honami's heart beat a little faster. The girl felt a little nervous, her slender fingers gripping the mouse tightly, her knuckles turning white.
There are two reasons for the tension. First, although everyone in Class A received the information in advance and underwent several rounds of intensive study, Class B's academic ability has always been very high, and most of them do not have any obvious weaknesses in their studies. In other words, there are many people in Sakayanagi who can be of use.
Another point is that in the first round of the competition that just ended, 20 students from Class A have already participated, including Hashiba Hikaru and many of the class's elites.
According to the exam rules, students can only participate a second time if all students have already participated in the competition once. In other words, many students cannot participate in this round of the competition.
"Each class should begin selecting students to participate. Time is limited, so please be careful not to exceed the time limit."
Sakagami- sensei's voice rang out at the right moment, Ichinose Honami shook her head, calming herself down.
Sitting opposite her, Sakayanagi Arisu was clearly much more at ease. She quickly selected the eight people to participate in the competition, Ichinose Honami finally finished selecting her participants just before the countdown ended.
"The match begins."
On the large screen, Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu, and the two proctors could all see the situation in the examination room. In addition to the four homeroom teachers proctoring here, there were naturally two proctors at the examination site for each session.
During the academic exams, students from Class A and Class B were placed in two adjacent classrooms. Everyone was hunched over their desks, writing furiously, as time was limited and could not be wasted.
The pink-haired girl sitting in front of the computer also received the exam paper in real time. As the [Commander Tower], she was qualified to help answer one question.
However, judging from the current situation, everyone's problem-solving process has not been blocked, because the previous questions were not very difficult.
"Hmm..."
Although everyone answered the questions without getting stuck, in order to improve efficiency, Ichinose Honami chose to look at the questions from back to front, following the school's usual approach of placing the most difficult questions at the end.
The girl planned to solve the difficult problem first, so that if anyone encountered a problem, she could simply use the walkie-talkie to relay it to them.
Even if it only affects two or three points, as the [Commander Tower], I cannot give up on any game.
Time ticked by, and the exam lasted fifty minutes with a total score of 100.
When the students in Class A entered the latter half of the question-and-answer session, they all experienced some hesitation. Ichinose Honami noticed this and became extremely anxious.
In contrast, the surveillance footage from Class B showed that the eight students were working at a very even pace, with no one lingering on any particular question for an extended period. Sakayanagi Arisu didn't even seem to be answering the questions; she simply placed her test paper aside and stared at the screen with her chin resting on her hand.
"Question 38 is very difficult, the answer is..."
Sweat beaded on Ichinose Honami's smooth forehead; she had already noticed several people getting stuck on this question, clearly unable to solve it.
But the timer at the top of the screen wouldn't stop, and the ticking sound only made her more anxious. The pink-haired girl took a deep breath, and after hesitating several times, she moved the mouse and clicked the button to Intervention Right.
The answer is...
Intervention can only be carried out by inputting text into a computer, and then the text is converted into a mechanical voice that plays in the headphones of the participants on site.
The passing of answers was completed quickly, as it was part of the rules. The Class A students who received the answers could directly tell their teammates who were working on the problem together, and everyone filled in Ichinose Honami's answers and continued their work.
"Call..."
After seeing everyone fill in their answers, Ichinose Honami a sigh of relief, but the pressure in her heart still did not lessen, after all, there was not much time left, and there were still questions to be asked.
And so, the last moments slowly slipped away, and when the bell rang to signal the end of the book, Ichinose Honami's face darkened.
Because she already had a preliminary idea of who would win the match.
"The Modern Literature Exam is over. Now we will announce the score statistics."
"Class A's score is 675 points, and Class B's total score is 732 points. Class B wins."
As a result, the score became a 1-1 tie.
There are five more games to go. Whoever wins four games first will win this final battle for the first year.
Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu did not chat during their break this time; the two girls stared at their screens until the draw for the third match began.
"Now, let's proceed with the draw for the third event."
"The draw is over."
The competition item is a [History Exam]
Chapter 660 Sakayanagi Arisu will not give up provocation.
The third competition was a [History Exam].
[History Exam]
There are ten participants, and the answering time is one hour.
Rules: Students will answer history questions within the first-grade curriculum by taking a test. The test will be set by the school, and the total scores will be tallied.
Commander Tower: Allows you to answer two questions during the game.
In the third round of the draw, luck returned to Class A. This was an exam that Ichinose Honami and her classmates had decided on after careful consideration. Everyone's history grades were very good, which could be used as an advantage in the competition.
"Then, please begin selecting your participants."
After the first two rounds of competition, the two classes had sent out 28 people. The third match could only be selected from the remaining dozen or so people. The strategy of preserving strength was crucial, Ichinose Honami kept this in mind when selecting people.
Once this competition ends, in the fourth round, as long as there are more than three participants, the elite students from the class who have already appeared in the first round can return to the stage.
This includes Ichinose Honami's boyfriend, the absolute ace of Class A — Hashiba Hikaru.
"After this round of matches, Classmate Hashiba should be able to prepare for his second match, right?"
At this tense moment, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly spoke to Ichinose Honami.
"If we look at it according to the rules, that's indeed the case."
Ichinose Honami nodded. This kind of thing couldn't be hidden from Sakayanagi Arisu; it was just a very simple math problem.
"But luck still plays a part, doesn't it?"
Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes, a playful smile curving her lips. "What will you do if you draw the Pole Vault in the fourth round?"
"We have substitutes, so you don't need to worry about that, Classmate Sakayanagi."
Ichinose Honami responded coldly.
Originally, she wanted to keep Hashiba Hikaru in the later matches, but the boy firmly refused.
After all, three of the projects proposed by Sakayanagi Arisu were cultural exams, and two were mental challenges. Judging from the odds of being selected, if he were saved to play when he drew the Pole Vault later, he might be at a disadvantage for several rounds in the early stages.
Although it involves an element of luck, Hashiba Hikaru believes it's feasible, since choosing seven out of ten is a high probability.
"Then let's wait and see."
The selection of players for the third round has been completed. This time, all ten players were chosen by Ichinose Honami in advance. They are all players with excellent historical performances, and I hope they can win the third round smoothly.
After the competition started, the arrangement was similar to the previous round: ten students from each of the two classes took the test in two classrooms.
The proctors stood one in front of the other, Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu were both staring at the screen.
"It should be fine... Everyone has reviewed these question ranges and practiced many rounds of past exam questions."
Ichinose Honami scanned all the questions. History was a strong subject for Class A, and everyone answered the questions smoothly without any hesitation.
The pink-haired girl, relieved, felt much more at ease, but she still didn't stop flipping through the test papers in her hands. If anyone encountered any difficult questions, she would answer them immediately.
However, the expected situation did not occur. After the exam, the students in Class A who submitted their papers were all smiling, indicating that the exam had gone very smoothly.
"The History Exam is over. The scores are now being tallied."
"Class A's total score is 908 points, and Class B is 855 points. Class A wins."
The third match didn't produce much suspense, because history is a subject that everyone often strengthens and trains for, and most people can score 90 points. Even if the students in Class B don't have any obvious weaknesses, not having obvious strengths is also a weakness.
"The next round of the [project] lottery is about to begin, please be prepared."
After three exams, the current score is 2 to 1. Since it's a best-of-seven format, if we can win the first four games in one go, it won't matter if we lose all the remaining ones.
Ichinose Honami glanced at the 2:1 image on the large screen and felt a surge of restlessness.
Out of curiosity, the girl once secretly asked Hikaru Hashiba Hikaru Pole Vault training. The boy replied that he knew a height that even athletes would find difficult to reach, which meant that once he was chosen for the Pole Vault, there was no possibility of failure.
In other words, if they can win one more game, the rest will depend on the result of the draw.
"It's time to test our luck. I hope it really will turn out as you wish, Ichinose."
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the [Drawing Lotteries] flashing on the screen, her tone leisurely.
"Our class has always been very lucky."
"After all, the fact that Classmate Hashiba was assigned to your class when we enrolled already shows how lucky you are."
Sakayanagi Arisu always seemed to want to seize the opportunity to bring up this matter. Although it didn't have much effect, it really affected Ichinose Honami's emotions. Because of her anger, the girl's chest rose and fell slightly.
"... Let's wait and see."