Sakayanagi Arisu's Rapid Mental Calculation / This Is the Extent of Your Limits
After a few casual words, Mr. Sakagami's instructions came through: the results of the fourth draw were in, and it was an [English Exam].
[English Exam]
There are eight participants, and the session lasts one hour.
Rules: Students will answer English questions within the first-grade curriculum by taking a test. The test will be set by the school, and the final scores will be tallied.
Commander Tower: You can answer one question during the game.
"Looks like you guys are really lucky."
After seeing the results of the fourth game, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled and congratulated the girl sitting opposite her whose face she couldn't see.
"Thank you for your kind words, Classmate Sakayanagi."
"Now, please select the participants for the competition."
The benefit of luck is that the gamble paid off. The fourth round had eight players, which exceeded the total number of students in the class. Therefore, this round would allow students who had previously played to appear again.
Ichinose Honami's gaze swept over the student avatars that had lit up again, and she calmly analyzed the situation in her mind.
Because Hashiba Hikaru Class A's most crucial ace, he won't be sent out for this [English Exam] for the time being in order to better help the class score points.
Up to this point, neither Class B's chess match nor Class A's Pole Vault match had been drawn by the school. Both of these were crucial one-on-one competitions, carrying significant weight and enough to influence the final outcome of the Special Exam.
In order to achieve victory, we need to wait a little longer.
After a period of selection, Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu successfully submitted their names for the competition, and the fourth round of the match officially began.
In the classroom, students from both classes opened their test papers and began to answer the questions.
The English questions are actually quite difficult for students with limited knowledge, but Ichinose Honami has organized many English tutoring classes.
Moreover, among the people he added this time were Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki, both of whom have very high English scores and can aim for scores above 90. The other people are also quite strong, so it's definitely worth a try.
Another hour has passed.
During the exam Ichinose Honami also used her [Commander Tower] privileges to help answer a relatively difficult reading comprehension question. Although it was only worth two points, it added up to sixteen points in the total score.
"The English Exam is over. We will now tally the scores."
Ichinose Honami's heart began to pound wildly. If she could win this round, and if she drew [Pole Vault] later, then Class A would definitely win.
"Class A's total score is 885 points, while Class B's is..."
Nine hundred and one points.
Class B wins.
"..."
When the results were announced, the pink-haired girl was taken aback.
The score difference was exactly sixteen points. Even though she helped answer a difficult question, she still couldn't catch up with the overall academic ability of Class B.
The score became 2-2, returning to a tie.
"Looks like we were luckier; we guessed a lot of the questions correctly."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled gently.
"Congratulations... Classmate Sakayanagi."
Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, her hand holding the mouse trembling slightly.
Chapter 661 Sakayanagi Arisu's Rapid Mental Calculation
After the score became tied at 2-2, Ichinose Honami's emotions clearly fluctuated considerably.
The competitions proposed by Class B are all mentally taxing, and the students in Class A have no advantage in this area; the recently concluded English Exam is a prime example.
The girl stared blankly at the fifth round of the lottery on the screen, her heart pounding in her chest. If Class B chose the same project again, their current favorable situation could be reversed.
The images on the big screen kept changing, finally settling on the competition name, which both girls saw.
The fifth competition is [Rapid Mental Math]
[Rapid Mental Math]
The competition consists of two participants and lasts for thirty minutes.
Rules: The competition will be based on mental arithmetic, with the class of students who achieves the highest accuracy and speed in answering questions winning the competition.
Commander Tower: Allows you to change the answer to any question.
My bad feeling came true; the fifth round really was the project submitted by Class B.
Ichinose Honami's expression immediately turned grim, but she couldn't afford to be distracted at this moment, because she still needed to submit the list of participants, and her time to think was limited.
Because they already knew about Class B's [project], when they first started discussing it, Class A didn't have many people who could participate in the brain teasers category. Their ace, Hashiba Hikaru, and the very intelligent Ichinose Honami couldn't participate at this time, so they had to settle for second best.
"Then let's send them on..."
The pink-haired girl dragged the portraits of two students into the dotted frame of the competition; one was Minami Kozue, and the other was Himeno Yuki.
Although they are two girls, their math scores and mental arithmetic abilities have been proven. After learning about the competition, the two underwent intensive training, Ichinose Honami has confidence in them.
The person wearing the walkie-talkie, Himeno Yuki, is very familiar with Ichinose Honami. Although they cannot communicate by voice, their tacit understanding can still convey more information through cold text.
Sakayanagi Arisu sent Katsuragi Kohei and Tamiya Emi as his representatives. Katsuragi, who was wearing a walkie-talkie, was the one who would definitely not hold back in this class showdown, even though he and Sakayanagi Arisu didn't get along at all.
"There are ten questions in total, with increasing difficulty as you go further, but the points awarded also increase. If the highest scores are tied, an overtime round will be held until one side answers incorrectly."
Sakagami- sensei began to read out the detailed rules, because this competition was not about tallying the total score of both sides, but about seeing who had the highest score. Even if a teammate's answer was mediocre, as long as the other person could get first place, they could still represent the class to win.
Inside the pre-arranged examination room, four tables and chairs were arranged in pairs, with proctors standing on either side. The contestants from the two classes sat on either side, staring at the screen in the middle.
The screen will display the content of each question according to the time. The test taker needs to write down the answer quickly and submit it to the teacher for grading.
According to the rules submitted by Class B, the [Commander Tower] can only interfere with one question. If sorted by difficulty, this power will probably only be exercised in the later questions.
This was true for both Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami. When it came to this round, the silver-haired girl's expression became noticeably serious, and her previous lazy look had completely disappeared.
"Then, the competition officially begins."
At Mr. Sakagami's command, the first question appeared on the big screen.
[One digit, three numbers, five seconds.]
This is a hint about the question. It indicates that the numbers appearing are single digits. There are three numbers in total that need to be calculated mentally, and you have five seconds to do so.
[6, 9, 1.]
As soon as the three numbers appeared on the big screen, the four contestants, as well as Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami sitting in front of their computer screens, quickly calculated the answer in their minds.
This is the first question, and it's very easy.
As time went by, the difficulty of the questions gradually increased.
By the third and fourth questions, the questions had changed to two-digit numbers and required calculating the sum of six numbers. This meant that everyone had to be much faster, and any mistakes were unacceptable because the thinking time was limited.
Among the four students in the examination room, Himeno Yuki's thinking speed was still very fast. Even though the remaining time for the prompts was very short, she did not fall behind in submitting her answers, and all of them were correct.
The same was true for Katsuragi Kohei on the other side. Even on the fifth question, a three-digit number with six digits and only four and a half seconds of calculation time, both of them could give an answer in three to four seconds.
However, the increasing difficulty of the questions left no time for everyone to react. When we got to the seventh question, the question contained a three-digit number, twelve digits, and three and a half seconds. Although there were more numbers, the thinking time was greatly reduced.
This is the ultimate test of mental fortitude.
When they reached the seventh question, Minami Kozue was clearly struggling, while Himeno Yuki pressed her hand to her head, her forehead covered in sweat. She was trying hard to do the mental calculations, and her breathing became rapid.
Meanwhile, Ichinose Honami, sitting in front of the computer, was also in an awkward situation. She was also focused on calculating while everyone else was doing the problems. As the "Commander Tower," the girl wanted to provide support when everyone couldn't answer, but she was already struggling at this point.
The eighth question is a three-digit number with fifteen digits, and you have three seconds to answer it.
Rows of numbers began to flash on the screen, and the pink-haired girl and the two girls from Class A on the scene were struggling. Just scanning all the numbers took time, not to mention the time needed for mental arithmetic.
"This is way too difficult..."
A deep sense of frustration welled up in Ichinose Honami's heart because she hadn't been able to solve the eighth problem, nor had Himeno Yuki and Minami Kozue, who were also present.
The ninth question, a three-digit number with fifteen digits, had a time limit of 2.5 seconds.
"..."
As the question flashed by, Himeno Yuki and Minami Kozue exchanged bewildered glances. Not only them, but Katsuragi Kohei across from them also had a livid face. Although he was intelligent, he was indeed unable to keep up with such high-pressure difficulty.
Just as Ichinose Honami was staring blankly at the screen, the ethereal voice of Sakayanagi Arisu came from the other side.
"It seems Ichinose won't be able to answer question nine."
"You..."
"That's right, I'm going to exercise my rights."
The silver-haired girl had been observing the situation. When the ninth question appeared, all four contestants were stunned. If she intervened at this moment, Class B could end the competition.
"Please provide a hint from the Commander Tower. What is the question you wish to answer?"
After receiving the signal, Professor Sakagami asked the question in a businesslike tone.
"Question 9."
Sakayanagi Arisu quickly typed her answer into the computer screen. When it reached Katsuragi Kohei's earpiece, the bald man was slightly taken aback, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
As he bent down to write down the answer, the answer to question ten immediately appeared on the big screen.
A three-digit number with fifteen digits; the answering time is 1.5 seconds.
Numbers flashed, appearing and disappearing repeatedly, leaving the classroom completely silent.
This time, everyone didn't even get to read the whole question before the hints ended, making it impossible to do any calculations.
"The match is over."
Sakagami Kazuma's indifferent voice rang out beside Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu.
Chapter 662 Your Limits Are Nothing More Than This.
"The results are now announced. The first place winner is Katsuragi Kohei, who answered nine out of ten questions. Class B wins."
As Ichinose Honami had predicted, she only managed to answer the eighth question at most, and the answer to the ninth question, including the girl's, was something neither of the two girls present could answer, so they had to concede defeat in this round.
Although unwilling, the match continued in round after round. The pink-haired girl gritted her teeth and kept staring at the screen, waiting for the next [project] draw.
The score is now 3 to 2. If Class B wins the next game, the final showdown will end in victory for Class B. Although the class rankings will not change, Ichinose Honami does not want this to happen.
After all, that bet...
Although she herself did not agree, Hashiba Hikaru overheard it with her own ears. Sakayanagi Arisu made no attempt to hide her lust for her boyfriend, and the pink-haired girl could not give away such information.
"The draw for the [item] of the sixth match has begun."
"Please pay attention, everyone."
The images on the big screen started flashing again. This time, Ichinose Honami was even more nervous. The girl's pretty face turned a little pale, and her starry eyes stared unblinkingly at the screen.
If we get another project submitted by Class B this time, then we're in real trouble.
"It seems Ichinose is quite nervous, but Classmate Hashiba still has a second chance to play. No matter what the next match is, he can guarantee your class's victory, right?"
Sakayanagi Arisu was in a great mood. When she saw the words "[Rapid Mental Math]" appear on the big screen, she knew she was going to win this round.
Because Ichinose Honami has absolutely no chance of winning against her.
As she predicted, things unfolded as she expected. Now, all she needed was to win one more game, and the outcome of this exam would be decided.
Sakayanagi was really looking forward to seeing what Hashiba Hikaru's expression would be after Class A lost.
Will he feel sorry for his girlfriend after her defeat, or will he talk to her about the competition?
Regardless, the silver-haired girl found it to be a very interesting scene.
She was getting impatient.
"Perhaps, let's see what the specifics of the competition are first."
Ichinose Honami could hear the elation in Sakayanagi Arisu's voice, which amplified the girl's sense of frustration.
As the [Commander Tower], she leads her class in the competition. If Class A loses in the end, even if the students in the class don't hold her accountable, the girl can't really pretend that nothing happened.