Exam Begins

No comparison, no damage. The contrast between Ichinose's polite greeting and Totsuka's was simply too stark.

Faced with Ryuen's taunts, Katsuragi's expression turned grim, but he said nothing more. He forced himself to ignore Ryuen and focus on the scenery out at sea.

Seeing that his provocation hadn't had much effect, Ryuen frowned, his opinion of Katsuragi improving somewhat.

After exchanging a brief greeting with Sawahara, Ichinose and the others turned their attention to the island ahead. Time was tight, after all. The cruise ship circled the island once, and how much information they could gather during that time would presumably serve as the first test of each class's abilities.

The ship gradually drew closer to shore. According to the school's instructions, they had to change into tracksuits before setting foot on the Uninhabited Island. Although the island had been developed to some extent, it still wasn't entirely safe, and tracksuits would make it easier to move around.

By the time Ichinose and the other Class B students, along with the students from Class A, reached the deck, they had already changed. It looked like they were prepared.

After saying goodbye to Ichinose, Sawahara and Ryuen returned to their cabins to change into tracksuits.

"How was it? How much did you find?" Ryuen asked Sawahara about the results of his observations.

"I found eight promising spots. Two of them would make good bases," Sawahara replied as he pulled up his zipper.

"Ichinose and Katsuragi probably found some good spots too. They should have both found places that could serve as campsites."

"Tch. I underestimated that guy Katsuragi." Ryuen trusted Sawahara's assessment and clicked his tongue. He had deliberately taunted Katsuragi earlier to disrupt his train of thought, or even provoke him, but he hadn't expected Katsuragi to endure it.

"He is Class A's leader, after all." Sawahara wasn't surprised. "It's foolish to think you can beat your opponent with petty tricks."

"Hmph. I never expected to bring him down with that." Ryuen snorted, but said nothing more.

"We will soon be disembarking on the uninhabited island owned by our school. Please change into your tracksuits within thirty minutes, confirm that you have the required luggage, and bring your phones to the deck. Leave all other personal belongings in your cabins. As there will be no access to restrooms for a while after you land, please take care of that beforehand."

The ship's announcement sounded once again.

After changing, they returned to the deck, which was already packed with people.

The midsummer heat, combined with the unseasonable tracksuits, made standing there enough to leave them slightly dizzy.

"Next, students will disembark in order, beginning with Class A. Also, mobile phones are prohibited on the island. Please hand them to your homeroom teachers and then disembark."

A teacher in charge of maintaining order used a megaphone to direct the students as they got off the ship one by one.

They'd been told to bring their phones down, only to be asked to hand them over to their homeroom teachers? Sawahara thought it over. It seemed the use of Private Points on the island would be heavily restricted.

That wasn't good news. He had more than five million Private Points on hand, which meant the school was restricting his greatest advantage.

Oh well. I wasn't planning on spending many points during the exam anyway.

That was the only way he could console himself.

As he disembarked, Sawahara finally spotted Horikita's younger sister. She didn't seem to have much energy. Had she gotten so excited about the trip the night before, like an elementary school student going on a field trip, that she'd fallen ill the next day?

It took about thirty minutes for all the classes to disembark and gather on the beach.

There were no trees on the beach to shield them from the sun, so they had no choice but to endure its scorching rays while listening to the teachers speak.

"First of all, I'm glad you all arrived safely today. On the other hand, although only one student is affected, it's unfortunate that someone is unable to participate due to illness."

The teacher speaking was Mashima, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A.

At his words, Sawahara glanced at the noticeably smaller Class A group. No wonder the other side had chosen to make their move now. It was indeed a perfect opportunity.

Nearby, staff members began setting up a tent in preparation for the exam.

"Next, we will begin this year's Summer Special Exam."

"Huh? A Special Exam? What's going on?" The voice came from Class D. It was clear that Classes A and B had already caught wind of the Special Exam.

There was some commotion in Class C as well, but when the students saw Sawahara standing at the front with a confident air, they quickly settled down.

"The exam will last one week, starting now, and will end at noon on August 7. For the next week, you will live together as a group on this Uninhabited Island. That is the exam. I should also make it clear that this Special Exam is modeled on real corporate training programs. It is highly practical and realistic."

"Living on an uninhabited island—does that mean we won't be staying on the ship, but on this island?" The question came from Class B. Sawahara turned to look. It was a rather pretty girl who seemed a little pale.

"That's right. During the exam, you may not board the ship without a valid reason. You'll have to figure everything out for yourselves, from sleeping arrangements to food. When the exam begins, each class will be given two tents, two flashlights, and a box of matches. There's no limit on the amount of sunscreen you can use..."

Mashima continued explaining the rules, but one thing was obvious: there weren't nearly enough supplies.

Before Mashima could finish, complaints broke out in Class D. Sawahara vaguely remembered the boy; he'd been standing beside Ayanokoji earlier.

Still, complaining wouldn't do any good. The exam would go on regardless.

"The theme of this exam is freedom. Before it begins, the school will give each class 300 Special Exam Points, which can only be used for this exam. Since one Class A student is absent, Class A will receive 270 points." As he spoke, the homeroom teachers exchanged knowing looks and handed a booklet to each class leader.

"You can use these Special Exam Points to redeem water, food, tents, containers, and other daily necessities. We've also prepared plenty of recreational equipment for enjoying the ocean, which you can redeem as well."

Sawahara looked at the booklet in his hands. Just as Mashima had said, it contained just about everything, including jet skis and scuba gear.

"If you think carefully and plan how to spend your points, you'll be able to get through the week without any trouble," Mashima continued. "Of course, there are some basic rules for group living that you must follow, but none of them are difficult."

Just as he'd said, the theme of this exam was "freedom."

But since it was an exam, there would naturally be rewards and penalties.

"At the end of this Special Exam, each class's remaining points will be added to its Class Points. The results will be reflected when the summer exam ends."

That was the real nature of the exam. Rather than "freedom," its theme might be more accurately described as "knowing when to spend."

The moment Mashima finished speaking, heated discussions broke out among the classes.

"So if we just endure for a week, our Class Points will increase by a lot!"

"It's not that simple." Sawahara looked at the last page of the booklet, which listed the rules they had to follow during the exam.

"Students who are visibly unwell or seriously injured and are deemed by the school unable to continue the exam will incur a thirty-point deduction and be removed from the exam.

"Twenty points will be deducted for any act that pollutes the environment.

"Five points will be deducted for every student who misses the 8:00 a.m. or 8:00 p.m. roll call.

"If a student commits an act of violence or theft against another class, or damages their equipment, the student's class will be disqualified from the exam, and all the Private Points of the student involved will be confiscated."

"To monitor the students' physical condition, everyone must wear one of these waterproof electronic watches. Your homeroom teachers will hand them out shortly." Mashima held up the watch in his hand. "It can monitor your pulse, breathing rate, and other vital signs. If anything abnormal occurs, it will sound an alarm. The school will then determine that you are unable to continue the exam, deduct points, and remove you from it."

"Next is an additional rule for this exam. Each class must choose one leader, who will receive this magnetic card. The final page of the exam booklet explains how to use it.

"On the final day of the exam, you can guess the leaders of the other classes during roll call. You can ask your homeroom teachers about the specific rules. That's all for this exam."

Perhaps they knew it would be inhumane to leave the students baking under the scorching sun, so they didn't explain the rules in detail, allowing them to disperse quickly.

"Ichinose, could you wait a moment? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

After sending his classmates to rest in the shade nearby, and asking Ryuen to stop the Class D students, Sawahara stopped Ichinose.

"Huh? Is it something important?" Ichinose looked surprised, and a little troubled. Her classmates were all exhausted.

"It's about this exam," Sawahara said with a smile.

"Huh? So you're the Sawahara-kun Ichinose keeps talking about?" Hoshinomiya-sensei, Class B's homeroom teacher, came over and curiously sized Sawahara up.

"Mhm! He's a very handsome boy."

But after taking only a quick look at him, she went over and latched onto Chabashira-sensei from Class D.

"In that case, Ichinose, I'll take our class to the base we talked about earlier," Kanzaki interjected from beside them.

"Okay, that sounds good."

Things weren't nearly as harmonious on Ryuen's side.

"What the hell do you want now?" Class D wasn't pleased to see Ryuen approaching.

They hadn't forgotten that they'd been stuck eating wild vegetables for two months because of the contract Ryuen had made with them.

"Heh. Is that any way to treat the benefactor who helped you pass your last exam?" Ryuen said with a sneer.

"What kind of benefactor are you?" After the midterm exam, "Horikita" had gone over what happened with them. They'd struggled to pass because Class C had set a trap. They hadn't even considered that they'd had such a hard time because they hadn't studied seriously.

"You were the ones who set the trap."

"Heh." Ryuen neither accepted nor denied the accusation. He didn't know all the details of Sawahara's methods, but he didn't care either.

"Give up on this exam."

"Hah? Who'd listen to you?" Class D immediately shot back. Since the rules for this exam prohibited violence, they were much bolder about speaking up.

"You don't have to give up, if you don't want to. Just work your asses off and earn points for me."

"Are you kidding? The contract from last time only lasted until the end of the first semester," someone mocked him.

"Pfft, hahahaha! Are the idiots in Class D illiterate?" Ryuen clutched his stomach and laughed. Were the people in Class D clowns or something?

"Look closely. The contract says 'until the second semester,' which includes summer vacation." Ryuen took out the contract they'd signed earlier. Students weren't allowed to bring it to the island, but there was nothing wrong with having a teacher bring a copy. Sawahara had told Sakagami to bring a copy of the contract, and now it was coming in handy.

After hearing that and taking the contract to read it carefully, the Class D students' expressions darkened.

"What's this supposed to mean? We finally get the chance to earn some pocket money." Ike held his head and complained.

No matter how hard they tried to endure, wouldn't all the points they earned end up going to Ryuen?

"Looks like you finally understand." Ryuen stopped laughing at last. Trying to communicate with the idiots in Class D really wasn't easy.

"No matter how hard you try in this exam, it'll be a waste of effort. So just give up."

"No! This is our first chance to earn Class Points..." Horikita gritted her teeth, holding her right arm as she spoke.

"Not bad, that determination. Too bad it's meaningless. If ten people give up on the exam, all your Special Exam Points will be deducted." Ryuen looked at Horikita Suzune.

"So please give up on the exam and hand over Class D's Special Exam Points." Sawahara brought Ichinose over to the Class D group and spoke up.

"Who'd give you our points?" Yamauchi shouted. "We might as well spend them all ourselves!"

"Of course, you have a choice." Sawahara smiled and offered them two options. "If you give me your points, I can give every Class D student 10,000 points each month from now on. You've all been without points for a long time, haven't you? It must have been rough."

Sawahara's words made the Class D students hold their breath. Was life without points easy? Of course not. They'd been scraping by on free goods and the cafeteria's wild-vegetable set meals, with almost no entertainment at all. Their lives had been miserable.

His offer made them waver.

"Of course, you can choose to squander all your points instead. But then you won't get anything, and you'll still have to keep living without any points. It'll be just as hard."

In the end, Class D accepted Sawahara's proposal and handed over all their Special Exam Points... Well, not quite all of them.

"That bastard Koenji!" the Class 1-D students cursed the student who had returned to the ship early.

They also looked at Sawahara with concern, clearly worried that losing the Special Exam Points would make him change his mind.

"My promise still stands, but there won't be a second exception." Sawahara spoke up. Two hundred and seventy points would be more than enough anyway.

"Ichinose, I'm planning to sell Class D's Special Exam Points to Class B," Sawahara told her.

Ichinose asked solemnly, "What's the price?"

"From now on, Class B will provide me with 1.8 million Private Points each month." Sawahara laid out his terms.

"That's a bit too much." Ichinose smiled wryly. At that price, each person in Class B would have to give up 45,000 Private Points a month.

"That's not much. With these Special Exam Points, all three hundred of your original Special Exam Points can be converted into Class Points. You don't get many chances to exchange Private Points for Class Points like this," Sawahara said calmly.

For the students at this school, Class Points mattered more than Private Points.

Sawahara didn't see it that way. Rather than be a billionaire with little cash on hand, he'd rather be an investor with tens of millions in liquid assets.

That difference in perspective gave him more room to maneuver.

"Besides, I believe Class A will be interested in this proposal too."

"I... I need to discuss it with my classmates." Ichinose hesitated. She didn't want to pass up this opportunity, and she didn't want to let Class A pull further ahead either. But the huge sum still made her hesitate. There was one other thing troubling her, too.

"Sawahara-kun, if I agree, could you increase the amount of points you give the Class D students?"

"..." Sawahara fell silent. He hadn't expected Ichinose to make that request. "Ichinose, you really are too kind.

"Go discuss it with your classmates first, but please be quick."

When Ichinose returned, she had two more people with her: Kanzaki and Hoshinomiya, Class B's homeroom teacher.

"Sawahara-kun really is amazing. You managed to knock Class D out in one go!" As soon as Hoshinomiya arrived, she wrapped her arms around Sawahara's and looked excited.

Sawahara thought the teacher was a little strange. Wasn't she supposed to be happy that her own class had advanced, rather than that Class D had been eliminated?

"Hoshinomiya-sensei! I'm sorry, Sawahara-kun. Sorry for the trouble." Ichinose pulled Hoshinomiya away in embarrassment and apologized to Sawahara.

"It's fine." Sawahara shook his head to show he didn't mind.

"Ah, Ichinose, do you not want your teacher getting close to your Sawahara-kun?" Hoshinomiya put on a pitiful expression.

It looked like the two girls would be at it for a while, so Sawahara turned to Kanzaki.

"Kanzaki, what does your class think?"

"We can accept the deal, but the price is too high," Kanzaki said. He thought the deal was worth it, but still wanted to negotiate the price down. He couldn't just let the other party name whatever price they wanted.

In the end, after negotiations, Class B agreed to purchase Class D's Special Exam Points for 1.5 million points per month. They also agreed that the contract would be void if Class B couldn't afford the payments later on.

With Hoshinomiya smiling and Chabashira watching with pursed lips and a cold expression, the two sides signed the contract.

Ichinose and Kanzaki picked out the things they needed for their class. In fact, they'd already decided what to buy based on the location of their base before they came over.

Ignoring the Class D students who were already waiting to return to the cruise ship, Sawahara walked toward Horikita, who looked reluctant to accept what had happened.

"Horikita, still feeling dissatisfied? I have another proposal for you."

He wore a gentle smile, like a devil's.