Sports Festival

That morning, during homeroom, Class D's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, still dressed in her black uniform, highlighted the key points.

Then a sheet of information lit up, introducing the Sports Festival rules and team assignments.

Two Sets of Rules

[Large Teams]

1. The entire school would be divided into the Red Team and the White Team for the Sports Festival. Classes A and D would be on the Red Team, and Classes B and C on the White Team. Each class would earn points by winning its matchups.

2. In the event of a landslide defeat in the overall Sports Festival, every class on the losing large team would lose 100 Class Points.

3. Individual events would not be divided by grade, while team events would be limited to competitors within the same grade. Team members could only be chosen from classes on the same large team.

[Point Rewards]

1. Individual events would award points based on each competitor's ranking. These points could only be used for the Sports Festival.

First place: 15 points,

Second place: 12 points,

Third place: 10 points,

Fourth place: 8 points,

Fifth place: 7 points

Eleventh place: 1 point. [Points decreased in sequence.]

2. To prevent classes from competing halfheartedly, rewards and penalties would be given to students based on their rankings in individual events.

First place: 5,000 Private Points.

Second place: 3,000 Private Points.

Third place: 1,000 Private Points.

Last place: a penalty of 1,000 Private Points.

3. The winning team in each team event would receive 500 points, which could only be used for the Sports Festival.

4. To encourage students from different classes to showcase their strengths in their best events, additional points would be awarded for individual events in which they excelled. These points could only be used for the Sports Festival.

First place: an additional 50 points,

Second place: an additional 30 points,

Third place: an additional 15 points,

Fourth place: an additional 10 points.

From fifth place onward, the reward would decrease by 2 points for each rank.

5. Outstanding Student Award: The student with the most points across all Sports Festival events would receive 100,000 Private Points. The student with the most points in each grade would receive 10,000 Private Points.

6. To prevent students from competing halfheartedly, the ten students with the lowest point totals in each grade would have 10 points deducted from their scores on the next official exam.

7. The relay event, a combination of team and individual competition, was Advanced Nurturing High School's premier event. It had long been popular with students and received considerable attention. The point rewards would be tripled.

8. Sports Festival rosters could only be submitted once. Any substitute would cost 100,000 points.

[Class Rewards]

To encourage classes to do their best, in addition to the overall large-team results, classes in each grade would be ranked by the points they contributed to the Sports Festival.

Individual Points + Team Points

First place: the class would receive 50 Class Points,

Second place: no Class Points would be awarded,

Third place: the class would lose 50 Class Points.

Fourth place: the class would lose 100 Class Points.

Events for Everyone

1. 100-meter sprint

2. 110-meter hurdles

3. 200-meter race

4. Ball-throwing competition

5. Team tug-of-war

6. Cavalry battle

7. Three-legged race

8. High jump

9. Pole Toppling Competition

Optional Events

10. Scavenger hunt race

11. Four-way tug-of-war

12. Mixed-gender pairs three-legged race

13. Schoolwide mixed-gender 4×100-meter relay, with three boys and one girl.

"If we make the relay our specialty event, (65 points) × 3 = 195 points. That's still not as good as winning an ordinary team event."

"Don't we get a reward for winning the Class Points this time? Why do we lose so many points if we lose?"

"If Class D loses this time, we'll lose 200 points. We're doomed."

"Winning the large-team competition isn't enough. We also have to avoid coming last. The school really isn't giving us any chance."

The students began grumbling, one after another.

"This time, I'm going to take first place in every event."

Sudo loudly proclaimed his victory. Since he was a muscle-bound gorilla with nothing but muscles in his head, this exam would finally give him a chance to redeem himself.

"I'm going to enter every event this time."

"Sudo, you'll finally be useful."

Ayanokoji remarked.

Ah, I'd been hoping to coast through the Sports Festival. Coming last and losing 10 points won't affect me, but I don't mind getting a little exercise.

Nagami smoothed his side-parted hair with water.

"I think the better strategy for the roster is Tian Ji's horse-racing strategy. It'll give us a better chance of winning the large-team competition. If we have the fitter students enter more events, their chances of placing near the top will obviously go down."

Horikita made her suggestion.

"But won't that put the students who come last at risk on the exam? I think Horikita's suggestion is too heartless."

Karuizawa objected.

Everyone chimed in, but neither side managed to convince the other.

Physical Education Fitness Test

Hirata held a hand dynamometer and tested everyone's strength to decide how to divide them into groups.

Sudo eagerly stepped forward, wanting to show off his manliness.

The boys let out impressed murmurs at 82.5 kilograms.

"I really am unbeatable now."

"Would you like to give it a try, Nagami?" Hirata asked.

Hirata had heard about the face-to-basketball game the Three Idiots had played with Nagami before summer vacation, but given Nagami's usual air of invisibility and lack of sociability, he hadn't pressed him for details.

"Then I'll just give it a light squeeze."

As an ordinary boxer, he could easily manage 100 kilograms. The hand grippers in his apartment drawer were usually rated for 150 kilograms or more.

He easily squeezed it, slowly controlling his strength until it reached 100 kilograms, then stopped applying pressure.

"100.3 kilograms. Nagami, you're really impressive."

"I don't think anyone in the whole grade has a stronger grip."

"Could that rumor about him being a violent thug be true?"

The students chattered among themselves.

"Koenji, do you want to give it a try?"

"Not interested. A hand gripper isn't beautiful at all." Koenji stood off to one side, trimming his nails with a nail clipper as he spoke.

"What a pity, with muscles that beautiful."

"It's your turn, Ayanokoji." Nagami handed him the hand gripper.

Ayanokoji then squeezed it to 65 kilograms.

"Your grip's pretty strong too. Yamauchi and Ike only managed 45 kilograms," Nagami complimented him.

"With a grip that strong, we should put you down for the Pole Toppling Competition." Hirata added his name to the list.

"Let's start training after school! We'll get ready for the Sports Festival a month from now."

"Sounds good!"

"Sounds good!"

"I have to go to the Student Council. Excuse me," Nagami said.

In a corner of the sports field, Kushida hid away to answer a call.

"What's going on, Kushida? You were so eager to betray the class last time. Taking a picture of the roster should be no big deal for you."

"I've changed my mind. I'm not betraying the class this time."

"Oh? What do you think would happen to Class D if I told them you were the traitor in the VIP Exam? Just imagining it is hilarious."

"Go ahead, then. This damn world can do whatever it wants. I'm done playing along."

With that, Kushida hung up and stood in the corner of the sports field.

"Come on, go faster! You're almost at the finish line!" Sudo shouted as he led the pack.

After training, everyone gathered to drink water and chat. Their faces were tired but content.

"Kushida, how are you feeling? Does your stomach still hurt?" Wang Meili asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better. I'll be right over."