The First-Year's Final Exam: A Free-for-All? (Continued)

"Of course! We've been through months without a single Private Points."

So, at Hirata's suggestion, and with the agreement of Shuichi Kanda and Kushida Kikyo, the students in the class had no objections, including Kouenji.

Because he also had a lot of points, and he hadn't handed over his points during the VIP Exam, he got 1 million from Nagumo through gambling during the summer vacation.

"Hirata, you'll be in charge of keeping these points."

Hirata was taken aback by Shuichi Kanda's suggestion, then nodded, followed by a look of hesitation on his face.

"Any other questions?"

"I'm wondering if we could abolish the 'candidate for dropping out' label on Ike, Sotomura, and Ayanokoji."

Hirata's words immediately excited Ike and Sotomura, while Ayanokoji remained expressionless.

"No way!" Shuichi Kanda immediately refused Hirata. "Sotomura and Ayanokoji are fine, but Ike's previous behavior, to put it bluntly, means that even if he gets expelled, he can't blame anyone else."

"But..."

"I know what you're worried about." Shuichi Kanda didn't give Hirata a chance to speak. "I'll agree to your request. As long as they don't continue to do anything that harms the class or drags the class down, I won't abandon them."

Even if the school issues another exam that forces students to drop out, I will do everything in my power to save every student in the class.

The confidence that Shuichi Kanda exuded was palpable to all the students in the class. Does this mean that as long as one contributes to the class, there's no risk of being expelled?

After understanding Shuichi Kanda meant, the students in the class felt refreshed.

"Hirata." After hearing Shuichi Kanda's words, Ike immediately stood up. "Please don't speak up for me. I should take responsibility for my own mistakes, and I will try my best to contribute to the class in the future."

Chi's speech impressed many in the class; was this still the same somewhat timid Chi?

The fact that he could make such a manly statement made even Shuichi Kanda wondered if he had been possessed.

"I hope you can do it. As long as you become a student who benefits the class, I will certainly keep my word."

Shuichi Kanda glanced at him, then said nothing more.

"It seems you're recovering quite well."

Just as Shuichi Kanda and his group finished, Chabashira-sensei pushed open the door and walked in.

In fact, she had arrived long ago, but seeing that the classroom seemed to be having a meeting, she waited at the door for a while and eavesdropped.

"Um, teacher, may I ask about Yamauchi...?"

"Yamauchi has already withdrawn from this school, but the school will arrange for him to attend another high school. However, other schools don't offer the same all-inclusive tuition and room and board."

After briefly explaining what happened to Yamauchi, Chabashira-sensei walked onto the podium.

"Go back to your seat, Hirata."

After dismissing Hirata, Chabashira-sensei turned his back and wrote a large character on the blackboard.

"Next, as agreed before, we will officially announce the final Special Exam for first-year students— the Selection Exam."

As soon as Chabashira-sensei finished speaking, Hirata immediately returned to his seat, and the other students in the class also became serious.

Although the students were still unsettled, the final exam wouldn't wait for them to calm down.

Although they had just seen Yamauchi off, they couldn't let their guard down in preparing for the exams just because Yamauchi had dropped out.

What if this exam leads to expulsion again? They can't afford to be careless.

However, dropping out of school in the Yamauchi wasn't without its advantages.

In the past, although Hirata and Horikita would form study groups before each exam, most people would think that it was okay and they could just cram at the last minute.

However, dropping Yamauchi made them fully realize the reality: failing the exams would indeed lead to expulsion.

The school is not joking about expulsion.

After writing down the questions for the final exam, Chabashira-sensei looked at the students below. Sure enough, most of them looked confused, not understanding what it meant.

Even the Chabashira was dissatisfied with this matter.

The newcomer, Tsukishiro, not only immediately joined such an unconventional exam, but also used the latest exam system in the first-year exam.

Mashima, who was also a first-year homeroom teacher, was given a pay cut simply for arguing with the other party; it was practically dictatorial.

Suppressing his dissatisfaction with that guy, Chabashira began explaining about the final exams for this year.

"This is a Special Exam to summarize the entire school year, and it will require you to demonstrate the combined results of your learning so far, such as intelligence, physical ability, teamwork, or luck—in short, you must unleash all your potential."

Chabashira-sensei's tone carried an indescribable seriousness.

Perhaps sensing this, everyone listened quietly to the teacher's speech.

However, the students were still somewhat confused about what Chabashira-sensei was saying, wondering what exactly the exam would be about.

Intelligence? Physical strength? And luck?

What the heck is that?!

"Originally, this exam was going to be the same as the paper shooting Huff naked e exam, where the opposing classes would be decided first, and then the exam would take place. However, some changes occurred... so the four classes will take turns fighting each other."

Alternate turns?

What does this mean?

Is this some kind of free-for-all?

And, was it originally like that?

What unexpected event occurred in between?

"It'll be easier to talk about that later. Let me first introduce the exam content to you."

As she spoke, Chabashira-sensei took out a stack of cards, and then took out five white cards from them.

"These five white cards represent the items that each class can choose." Then, Chabashira-sensei took out a stack of yellow cards. "These are the yellow cards representing the students."

She then pasted the cards, which were about the same size as playing cards, onto the blackboard one by one.

There are five white cards and thirty-eight yellow cards in total.

The white cards were blank, while the yellow cards had each student's name written on them.

It's just a little strange...

"Teacher, my card isn't on it." Shuichi Kanda his hand and asked.

"Your eyesight is really sharp," Chabashira-sensei remarked, then pulled out another card and waved it around. "Your card is here."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for why I didn't put your card up, you'll understand in a moment."

"First, I want to explain these five white cards. You will discuss them with each other and write down five 'items' that you can decide on yourself."

The project had been mentioned twice already, and the students continued to look at each other, unsure of its meaning.

Seeing the students' expressions, Chabashira-sensei smiled and said considerately, "If there's anything you're concerned about, you can ask now."

The students were taken aback. Generally, Chabashira-sensei would only accept questions at the end, but now he was allowing students to ask questions in the middle of the session.

Well, Shuichi Kanda is an exception; no one dares to ask, and no one dares to say.

However, with Chabashira-sensei's approval, Kanji Ike seemed to feel he should be more proactive, so he immediately asked a question.

"So, um... what project are you referring to?"

"Written test, Shogi, poker, baseball—just write down whatever you think you can win, then write these on cards. You'll also be responsible for deciding the winner and the rules. However, please note that each class can only choose five games."

Decide on your own project?

Upon hearing this, many students immediately looked confused.

"So, the projects you decide on are entirely up to you?"

"That's right. However, although it's said to be free, there are still a few rules for deciding on projects. The rules for projects must be fair and easy to understand. For example, written tests, Shogi, races, and football are all acceptable."

However, if you choose a niche competition or game that most people don't know about, and that no one except the proposer has a chance of winning, it will be rejected.

Therefore, after you submit your project proposal, the school will determine its appropriateness and whether to adopt it.

In other words, it's virtually impossible to outsmart someone.

The final interpretation rests with the school, and they will surely prevent such situations from happening again.

At that moment, Horikita, who was standing to the side, suddenly raised his hand and asked to speak.

"Chabashira-sensei, what should we do if a tie occurs?"

"Draws are not allowed in this exam. To avoid this situation, we need to set rules in advance. I'll use Chess as an example." Chabashira-sensei said, writing on a blank card. " In Chess, White goes first. If the game is judged to be a draw, then Black wins."

The rules for forcing a draw can also be modified; these are all up to you to consider. In short, a winner must be decided, otherwise the project will not be adopted."

Below the Chess card, she added the rule, "In a draw, the side unable to make a move loses."

A draw can be considered the essence of Chess. When one side is not in check but has no legal move to make, the game ends in a draw.

Therefore, the side with the advantage should avoid forcing a draw, while the side with the disadvantage should try its best to create opportunities to force a draw.

The higher the skill level of a match, the higher the draw rate. A draw rate of over 70% is very common, so there is usually no single game that determines the winner. Sometimes a tournament can last for several days.

However, this exam will obviously not last for several days, so if someone does choose Chess, it will definitely be a single game to determine the winner.

"By next week, the five events for each class and their corresponding rules will be finalized and announced. The official exam date is two weeks from now, and all events must be completed on that day."

"As for the project itself... Chi, what are you good at? Anything is fine, tell me."

Chi, who was suddenly called out, was a little taken aback, and then hesitated for a moment.

"Me, me?"

"Anything is fine, just name one."

"How about rock- Rock Paper Scissors?"

Ike said something that left the students in the class speechless, but what was even more speechless was that Chabashira-sensei actually accepted the project that Ike had mentioned.

"Rock Paper Scissors, sure." With that, Chabashira-sensei wrote 'Rock Paper Scissors' on a card, then looked at Ike and asked, "What rules do you plan to set?"

"Um... well, let's start by winning three rounds to secure the win?"

Chi asked tentatively.

Chabashira-sensei wrote this rule down under the project description.

"Almost everyone knows about this project, and the rules are very simple and clear. The school has no reason not to adopt it."

"This... this works?"

The students in the class looked at each other, feeling that this exam seemed rather frivolous.

"Then it's just a matter of repeating the process until you select five entries."

Chabashira-sensei picked up the chalk and wrote on the blackboard.

"The exam schedule is also very important. It will be roughly divided into three phases."

March 8th – the day the Special Exam was announced.

March 15 – Five categories of competition were determined, and their rules were announced.

March 22nd – the day of the Selection Exam.

"But, teacher, if each of the four classes has five events, that's a whopping twenty events that day. Will we have enough time?"

"Not all of these items will appear during the exam; special battle rules will be used. Let me think... at most, I'll select fifteen items."

Shuichi Kanda also became interested; what were the special battle rules?

As mentioned before, it will be an exam taken by all four classes together. So what exactly are the rules?

Shuichi Kanda very interested.

"In addition, a class cannot apply for two identical projects. For example, a team football match and a basketball shooting contest cannot coexist. Once a project is submitted, it cannot be changed."

Furthermore, if you cannot decide on a project before the deadline, the school will assign one, which I don't think is what you want."

That's for sure. Projects designated by the school have no control over them, and winning or losing basically depends entirely on luck.

So no matter how difficult it is, you must submit five projects before the deadline.

"In addition, the school has prepared a document detailing the specifics of the project. You can make copies as needed later; feel free to use it."

"Then, the exams on the 22nd will end, and the holiday will begin on the 23rd. After the graduation ceremony on the 24th and the closing ceremony on the 25th, you will rightfully begin your spring break."

Regarding the project itself, Chabashira-sensei has explained it very clearly, but the students are still completely confused about the battle rules.