A Twist of Fate

"This project has concluded. First place: Kitagawa Ryo; second place: Horikita Suzune; third place Ichinose Honami. The prize points have been distributed."

Hashimoto Masayoshi swallowed hard, and before anyone else could react and was still in shock, he immediately opened the group's leaderboard.

Kitagawa Ryo's group, which was originally in the second half of the competition, amassed 3,000 points in this one project, propelling them to ninth place.

And what's even more critical is that the rankings of all three groups in Class A, who failed to achieve anything in this round of research, have all slipped to varying degrees.

This is only natural, because in this highly competitive environment, if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

In particular, the Hashimoto Masayoshi group, which was previously ranked second, had a very high scoring efficiency, scoring a considerable number of points in almost every subject, which is why they were able to maintain their ranking.

But after this gap in the round, their group's position had dropped to fourth.

Then, under Hashimoto Masayoshi's watchful eye, Ken Sudō's team, which was originally in fifth place, gained 1,200 points, moving up one place to fourth, while Hashimoto Masayoshi's team, whose score was the same as yesterday's settlement, was pulled down one place.

Hashimoto Masayoshi quickly looked up; Kitagawa Ryo's group had already disappeared into the forest.

Something seems... definitely not right.

Chapter 165: A Twist of Fate

"Okay, I understand."

Katsuragi Kohei ended his communication with Hashimoto Masayoshi with a somewhat somber expression. After four or five days on the Uninhabited Island, he already looked tired, and now he was even more worried.

"What happened? Why would Hashimoto -kun spend points to call you?"

Kushida Kikyo, who was in the same group as Katsuragi Kohei, asked with great interest. As a classmate, she was well aware of Hashimoto Masayoshi's somewhat cynical personality.

"It's Kitagawa Ryo's group from Class D."

Katsuragi Kohei touched his bald head, which was now somewhat dull in color and no longer as shiny as before, and his expression turned serious:

"This morning, Hashimoto's group ran into their group during the project, and in the end, all three places in that project were taken by members of Kitagawa Ryo's group. They got a whopping 3,000 points for just one project."

"It's possible to occasionally encounter a topic you're particularly good at, isn't it?"

Hirata Yosuke, standing next to Katsuragi Kohei, raised his eyes slightly:

"Didn't Kangping and I once take the top two spots in a research project?"

"If that's all there is to it, then it's not so bad."

Katsuragi Kohei pressed his temples, as if trying to speed up his thinking:

"However, in the second project that followed, Hashimoto's group encountered Kitagawa Ryo's group."

"The first task was [Olympiad Math Test], and the second task was [Three-Point Shooting]. The former was academic, and the latter was athletic. The only difference from the first task was that, in addition to Kitagawa Ryo's group, Sudo Group from Class D and Ishizaki Group from Class C also appeared there."

"The final three are Kitagawa, Sudo, and Komiya."

Hirata Yosuke listened and nodded:

"Besides Kitagawa, the other two are members of the Basketball Club, so there's really nothing we can do about Hashimoto losing."

"But it's too much of a coincidence."

"Since the Uninhabited Island Exam, Hashimoto and his team have never failed to achieve anything on two consecutive projects like this."

Kamuro Masumi pointed to her watch:

"It's almost afternoon, which means they haven't earned a single point all morning."

"Even its ranking has dropped to seventh place."

"If I'm not mistaken, Kitagawa Ryo's group is deliberately targeting us."

Katsuragi Kohei nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"That's what I was thinking too."

"It's normal for them to start their operation today. After all, with the two rounds of restricted areas being established, our area of movement has become much smaller. Moreover, with the added communication capabilities, intelligence exchange is much more convenient."

Although each communication costs 100 points, if used well, the benefits can far exceed that 100.

"So what do we do next? Should we avoid them?"

Kushida Kikyo's eyes flickered. Kitagawa Ryo, Horikita Suzune, and Ichinose Honami, who were in Kitagawa Ryo's group, were all students she had known since middle school, even classmates. She was well aware of how outstanding these three were.

Even now, she still doesn't understand why these three were assigned to Class D.

At least when facing them, Kushida Kikyo didn't feel that her status as a member of Class A was anything to be proud of.

"Wait a moment."

However, Katsuragi Kohei did not answer the question directly. Instead, he frowned, walked away by himself, and tapped his watch, seemingly communicating with someone.

However, because they deliberately lowered their voices and were some distance apart, Hirata Yosuke and the others couldn't hear who the other person was or what they were talking about.

After a while, Katsuragi Kohei, having ended the communication, looked somewhat relaxed. He stroked his clean-shaven chin with his large, rough hand and said:

"Let's go directly to Karuizawa or Kanzaki and Shibata's group in Class B."

"..."

The plan proposed by Katsuragi Kohei surprised the remaining three members of the group. After exchanging glances for a moment, Kushida Kikyo was the first to raise her hand:

Could you tell me why?

Kamuro Masumi Hirata Yosuke also looked puzzled, waiting for Katsuragi Kohei's explanation.

Katsuragi Kohei patiently began to explain:

"This doesn't mean we definitely can't beat Kitagawa Ryo and his team on certain topics, but if we do that, our team's scoring efficiency will definitely decrease."

Katsuragi Kohei's tone was full of confidence.

"Class D has consistently ranked last since arriving on the island. Their only way to win this Uninhabited Island Exam and gain Class Points is to improve their group ranking."

"Don't forget, the group that ranks first in the group only gains 300 Class Points, but the class that ranks last will also lose 300 Class Points."

At this point, Katsuragi Kohei grinned and chuckled.

"Although Class D's Class Points have always been zero, it has actually helped them avoid a lot of trouble in a way. Those who have nothing to lose have nothing to fear, since the school can't possibly deduct their Class Points to a negative number."

"Judging from the current trend, it's already predictable that Class D will end up at the bottom. If none of their groups make it into the top three, then it's just a matter of deducting 300 points from their zero score. It makes no difference whether they get it or not."

"In other words, even if Kitagawa Ryo's team does manage to get first place in the group rankings, they will only get a few million Private Points, and the three hundred Class Points they worked so hard to earn will be deducted immediately."

Katsuragi Kohei and calmly analyzed the situation:

"Actually, we all know very well that even our Class A can't possibly sweep the top three spots in the group rankings."

"Because our class doesn't have a single special card, and the [Reinforcement] special card can almost guarantee that we'll create a top-three team in the end."

"To maximize the effectiveness of [Reinforcement], cardholders must form teams of their own. Of the forty-four teams this time, only Ayanokoji, Karuizawa from Class B, and Ryuen from Class C are in solo teams."

"The card Ayanokoji has isn't [Reinforcement], which means this special card is most likely in the hands of the remaining two. Ryuen has also cooperated with our Class A, although it's possible they're trying to lull us into a false sense of security. But in my opinion, this [Reinforcement] card should be in Karuizawa's hands."

Before the start of this Uninhabited Island Exam, the difference in Class Points between Class A and Class B was less than one hundred points.

"That's right. From the very beginning, our only real opponent on the Uninhabited Island was Class 1-B."

"Like I said, I even hope that Kitagawa Group can make it into the top three. First place doesn't matter, as long as Class B's team doesn't get too high a ranking."

After listening to Katsuragi Kohei's explanation, Hirata Yosuke and the others also showed expressions of understanding.

Indeed, just as Katsuragi Kohei said, thanks to the dual leaderboard system, Class A, which consistently ranks first in the class leaderboard, can actually look at the group rankings from a different perspective.

"And don't forget, the second, third, and fourth-to-last groups will also have some Class Points deducted."

"Even the worst group in our Class A is only seventh from the bottom."

Katsuragi Kohei nodded and added, glancing down at his watch. Remembering the message Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had given him in the communication, he pondered for a moment before speaking:

"I've already received the news, I'm going straight to Karuizawa now."

"As for Kitagawa Ryo, let them divide up the spoils first."

With nearly twenty minutes to go before the start of the [Singing] lesson, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka checked the time while reviewing the lesson description once more.

[Type: Other]

[There is no limit to the number of participants in each group. Registration will close one hour after the number of participants reaches twelve or after the topic is announced.]

[Victory Condition: The player who gets the highest score in the KTV rating system within the time limit wins]

[Remuneration:

First place: 1000 points

Second place: 800 points

Third place: 600 points]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka isn't actually good at singing, and the rewards here aren't particularly generous.

He cast his gaze across the distance to the girls on the other side, among them was Karuizawa Kei from Class B, who was also one of the reasons Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had come here.

Katsuragi Kohei has already received his message and should be able to get here soon, since this place isn't far from where they are.

It doesn't matter if I can't sign up, as long as I can keep up with Karuizawa Kei's trail.

The other party seemed to have noticed the spying, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka casually shifted his gaze, pretending to be examining the complete set of karaoke equipment placed in the center of the cleared Matoba.

With microphones, speakers, and a large screen, it does have a bit of a karaoke (KTV) feel to it.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had been to such places a few times with Kushida Kikyo before, but he had never sung a song. Each time, he would either make excuses that his throat was sore or politely let others go first and then stay in a corner until the end.

There were no Singing lessons taught in the White Room. In fact, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself found it hard to imagine that he could stand confidently in the center of the colorful lights and sing like Kushida Kikyo, since his own tone of voice was usually very flat.

While Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was pondering topics like singing, Karuizawa Kei was also chatting enthusiastically with Sakura Airi beside her.

"This is the first time we've encountered something like this since the start of the Uninhabited Island Exam."

"Because as soon as I saw the topic of Singing, I guessed that Airi would come here."

Thanks to the time they spent together in the Theater Troupe, Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi were quite close. Without any awkwardness, Karuizawa Megumi leaned on Sakura Airi's shoulder and asked:

Why are you alone? Where are the other students in your group?

"Amasawa went to another project, it seems to be related to swimming. I don't know where she gets so much stamina, the key is that she's always first or second."

Sakura Airi shook her head helplessly. Actually, having been a full-time idol for several years before enrolling in school, she was not weak in terms of physical strength. After all, she had to maintain high-intensity training, so her physical strength and fitness were definitely better than that of ordinary girls.

But now it seems like she's the one holding everyone back.

"I see."

Karuizawa Kei nodded, then immediately smiled again:

"Airi the [Singing] category this time. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've heard Airi sing."

"No, just like Hui said, I haven't sung much since I enrolled."

Sakura Airi tilted her head and smiled:

"Actually, my initial skill level was just like that; it was all the result of gradual practice."

"But just like Ryo said, maybe I was meant to be on the idol stage from the start, and it's great that I didn't let him down in the end."

As Sakura Airi spoke, she recalled the situation at the time:

"However, we did encounter many difficulties at the beginning, including various extreme comments online."

"Back then, Hui even showed me her Twitter messages, saying something like, 'What's there to care about? I've been getting way more criticism than you have before.'"

Hearing Sakura Airi recount what had happened before, Karuizawa Kei nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't really remember how people criticized me back then, but I liked and remembered most of the compliments they gave me later."

Sakura Airi also chuckled:

Is it really that real?

Of course.

Karuizawa Kei pouted:

"Although I quite enjoy digging up old comments on forums now, I just repost them."

"To be honest, Liang also bears some responsibility for the severe criticism I received back then."

"When he first entered the industry, he was truly in it purely for the money. It's no exaggeration to say that this was how things worked in your idol circle."