Class A

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Class A (A班)
Alias(es)	First-Year Class B (initial designation); Second-Year Class A 1 14 237 268
Affiliation	Advanced Nurturing High School; second-year cohort 237 268
Occupation/Role	Top-ranked second-year competitive class; contender for Class A graduation benefits 3 14 240
Status	Active; retains a commanding lead while facing the prospect of coordinated challenges from the other second-year classes 268 318
Homeroom Teacher	Hoshinomiya Chie 3 48 271
Principal Leaders	Shiraishi Makoto and Ichinose Honami, supported by Kanzaki Ryuji and Katsuragi Kohei 57 58 76 219 273
Membership	Began the second year with 41 students; expanded to 44 after Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, and Sakura Airi transferred in 237 267 268
First Appearance	1
Novel	Class B: Starting from Scratch, Striving to Get Stronger

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
First-Year Class B	1	The class was initially assigned as Class B and received 100,000 private points per student.
First-Year Class A	12 14	Retained 980 class points in its first month and overtook the original Class A, becoming the first class in school history to rise a rank during its first month.
First-Year Uninhabited Island victory	68	Finished first with 460 retained exam points, reaching 1,710 class points against Class B's 1,230, Class C's 470, and Class D's 260.
Established Class A lead	113	Reached 2,010 class points; each student received 201,000 private points monthly.
First-Year Class A	196	Held 2,471 class points, ahead of Class B's 1,168, Class D's 136, and Class C's 64.
Katsuragi's recruitment	217 219	Spent 20 million private points to transfer Katsuragi Kohei from Class 1-B before the direct Class A–Class B special exam, strengthening its academic and strategic options.
Class A–Class B Special Exam	228	Lost the direct contest against Class B by 3–4 and surrendered 30 class points, reducing its total to 2,441; it nevertheless retained first place.
Second-Year Class A	237 240	Began the second year with 2,441 class points, maintaining a major lead over Class B's 1,298 points, Class C's 441 points, and Class D's 0 points.
Expanded Second-Year Class A	267 268	Paid 60 million private points to transfer Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, and Sakura Airi from Class 2-C, further strengthening its membership and strategic reach.
Joint wilderness-survival team	272 273	Cooperated with Class 2-C to form an elite six-person team and transferred Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Trial Card to Ichinose Honami, enabling a 1.5-times class-point reward if the team performed successfully.
Second-Year Uninhabited Island victory	300 316	Shiraishi's group reached first place during the exam and ultimately earned the first-place reward. The 300-class-point prize and 150-point Trial Card bonus were split equally with Class C, giving Class A 225 class points.
Strengthened leadership and continuing dominance	316 318	Shiraishi became the school's first student with an A-grade overall OAA evaluation. Class A's large lead remained the basis for Sakayanagi's proposed coordinated challenge with Classes C and D.

Background / History

The students who became the present Class A entered Advanced Nurturing High School as First-Year Class B. Shiraishi Makoto quickly identified the link between class points, class rank, monthly private-point deposits, and the exclusive benefits granted to Class A graduates. His early guidance allowed the class to act on the school's hidden system before most of its rivals understood it. 1 3 9

After revealing the system to the class during lunch, Shiraishi proposed establishing Class Funds to prepare for possible expulsions. The class entrusted him with managing those funds, while Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji supported the effort to consolidate the students behind a common strategy. 4

The class retained 980 points during its first month and surpassed the original Class A. Chabashira Sae identified this rise as an unprecedented first-month reversal, crediting a student from the former Class B with uncovering the school rules by the second day and consolidating the class. 12 14

The original Class A retained 950 points, making the initial reversal a difference of only 30 points. Mashima Tomoya described its performance as historically outstanding but judged the incoming Class B to be the strongest Class B in the school's history. Sakayanagi Arisu and Hashimoto Masayoshi nevertheless characterized their rival's success as luck while rallying their classmates to regain the lead. 13

Class A's leadership became centered on Shiraishi, with Ichinose Honami functioning as a second public leader. Their presence created uncertainty for opponents during the Uninhabited Island Exam, where other classes had to consider whether either of them—or an unknown classmate—held the leader card. 57 76

Following the first-year Class A–Class B special exam, the class remained in first despite a narrow 3–4 defeat and the loss of 30 class points. It subsequently entered its second year with 2,441 class points, an advantage that first-year students regarded as extraordinary given the class's initial Class B designation. 228 240

Before the end of its first year, Shiraishi transferred Katsuragi Kohei from Class B for 20 million private points. In its second year, Class A continued using its accumulated wealth to reshape its membership, spending another 60 million private points to bring Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, and Sakura Airi from Class 2-C into Class A. 217 219 267 268

The second-year wilderness-survival exam exposed limits to this financial advantage: Class A could not afford to guarantee every student's safety under rules preventing private-point transfers during the exam. It consequently combined financial safeguards, card exchanges, and an elite joint team with Class C. The joint team's eventual first-place finish supplied Class A with 225 additional class points. 271 273 316

Despite this cooperation, Class A's dominant position remained a target for its rivals. After the island exam, Sakayanagi declared that Class B would use every available means to challenge it, including alliances with Classes C and D. 318

Class Culture

Class A is characterized by cohesion, financial discipline, and trust in its strategists. Its students generally accept collective plans and maintain a cooperative atmosphere rather than relying on a single exceptional specialist. 48 57 68

• Students trusted Shiraishi to serve as the Uninhabited Island Exam leader without demanding an explanation for his decision. 57
• The class is described as having balanced abilities and strong unity, but comparatively few standout strengths. 48
• Its members contributed 30,000 private points to Shiraishi and 100,000 points to class funds from their monthly deposits, while retaining 70,000 points for personal use. 113
• Class A previously donated more than 200,000 private points to Class D, giving it a comparatively favorable relationship with that class. 28 59
• The class accepted Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura immediately after their transfers, aided by their existing connections with Class A students and Ichinose's prior efforts to integrate them socially. 267 268
• During the Privileged Person Exam, Ichinose and Kanzaki collected opinions individually, securing unanimous agreement to give Shiraishi the private points earned from the exam in recognition of his contributions. 80
• Shiraishi maintained that Class Funds should protect members of their own class rather than finance his personal concerns or students from other classes, refusing Kanzaki's offer to use them for an outside student's possible transfer. 80
• The class's kindness can create vulnerabilities. Shiraishi initially regarded its members as excessively benevolent, and his external protection together with Ichinose's internal coordination left ordinary students with a comparatively sheltered understanding of class competition. 2 49
• Shiina Hiyori's stay at the first-year island camp demonstrated the class's willingness to accept a helpful outsider despite its distrust of her class. She also recognized the unusual solidarity created by Shiraishi's leadership. 63 66
• Shiraishi's management encouraged stronger academic and physical development, but his tendency to handle problems himself left classmates with lower Adaptive Thinking scores than they might otherwise have developed. 237
• Before the second-year island exam, classmates accepted cooperation with Class C because preventing expulsions took priority over maintaining class rivalry. 273

Organization & Capabilities

Leadership Structure

Shiraishi Makoto is Class A's central strategist and de facto leader, while Ichinose Honami is recognized alongside him as a public face of the class. Kanzaki Ryuji serves as a key intelligence-gatherer and operational partner. 57 58 76

• Shiraishi became the official leader for the Uninhabited Island Exam and received the leader key card. 57
• Ichinose supported his field decisions, assisted with scouting, and handled communication with female students during later exams. 58 180
• Kanzaki conducted reconnaissance, reported on rival camps, and worked with Shiraishi and Ichinose on check-in operations. 58 59 60
• After transferring from Class B, Katsuragi reinforced Class A's competitive options; his mental arithmetic ability became a major asset in the direct Class A–Class B special exam. 219 228
• Kanzaki's judo expertise and Class A's relay strength gave the class reliable specialist options in the same exam. 219
• Shiraishi's authority is described as resting on his exceptional contributions and demonstrated strength, distinguishing it from Class B's faction-based leadership and Ryuen's coercive rule. 83
• During the Mixed Training Camp, Shiraishi left the main class formation to lead a separate mixed group, reducing the risk that Nagumo Miyabi could target his classmates through him. Kanzaki was entrusted with the main class group's performance. 184
• Shibata Sō and Ando Sayo helped organize Sports Festival training, while Ichinose and Shiraishi used their Student Council positions to gather information on opposing competitors. 113
• Shiraishi's Student Council presidency supplies institutional access and cross-grade influence alongside his class leadership. After the second-year island exam, his OAA evaluation rose to A (90), with Academic Ability A- (81), Physical Ability A (88), Adaptive Thinking A+ (99), and Social Contribution A+ (96). 246 316

Information Warfare

Class A's greatest advantage is its ability to identify rules, patterns, and leverage points before opponents can respond.

• Shiraishi deduced the school's core class-point system through observable clues and targeted teacher questions. 1 2 3
• During the Privileged Person Exam, Class A found the pattern behind group assignments and used its VIP information to identify the Monkey Group's privileged person. 79 81
• Shiraishi used Student Council authority to obtain surveillance footage of Class C's framing of Class D, purchasing the relevant clips for 50,000 private points. 45
• The class adjusted Sports Festival assignments using intelligence on opposing classes' competitors. 113 114
• Shiraishi later coordinated with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Nanase Tsubasa to investigate suspected White Room students while avoiding monitored school communication systems. 267
• After the cafeteria confrontation between Classes C and D, Shiraishi instructed classmates to travel in groups and record suspicious incidents, anticipating that Ryuen's provocations might eventually target Class A. 31
• During the first-year island exam, Shiraishi identified Ryuen's apparent surrender as a staged operation involving spies and leader-information trading. He later tracked Ryuen and intercepted Shiina to defeat the final stage of the leader-switching trap. 61 66
• Shiraishi suspected that the second-year island exam's supposedly random Special Card distribution had been arranged conveniently: Ayanokoji received Trial, Sakayanagi received Nullify, and Shiraishi received the Extra Member or Recruitment Card. 272
• Nanase maintained an outwardly ordinary relationship with Shiraishi and Ayanokoji while covertly monitoring the first-years. She reported Hosen Kazuomi's recruitment of Amasawa Ichika for the bounty operation against Ayanokoji. 274 278
• Shiraishi developed cooperation with Tsubaki Sakurako and Utsunomiya Riku through their investigation of Hatano's expulsion. During the island exam, he approved their meeting with first-year representatives concerning Yagami and Ayanokoji. 279 300

Resource Management

Class A converts its class-point advantage into operational security, exam preparation, and protection against expulsions.

• On the Uninhabited Island, it established a camp with bedding, a toilet area, food and water stockpiles, and controlled check-in routes. 58
• It limited check-ins to three humane time windows per day and planned to withdraw Shiraishi on the final day to prevent leader-deduction penalties. 59 66
• By the Additional Exam, Shiraishi had enough private points to consider protecting students facing expulsion. 180
• Class A later spent 20 million private points during the Additional Exam, leaving its finances vulnerable to another forced-expulsion event. 217
• By June of the second year, Class A had spent approximately 100 million private points across the Vote-Based Expulsion Exam, Katsuragi's transfer, and the transfers of Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura. Shiraishi retained 13 million private points after spending 60 million on the latter three transfers. 268
• Horikita Manabu's promise to transfer his class's remaining 37 million private points after the first-year final special exam gave Shiraishi the financial security needed to recruit Katsuragi without leaving Class A's emergency reserves exposed for several months. 217
• Ryuen's Zero-Point Strategy created opportunities to exchange class-point gains for private-point compensation. Shiraishi negotiated an 80% share for Ryuen's class, although the initial agreement still required class approval and school notarization. Ryuen remained willing to sell his class's services to other rivals at higher rates. 202 213
• Before the second-year island exam, Class A had approximately 48–50 million private points, short of the roughly 88 million needed to guarantee all 44 students' safety under the basic expulsion-avoidance arrangement. Transfers would be disabled during the exam, making each student's personal balance crucial. 271
• Shiraishi prioritized Halve Cards for vulnerable three-person groups, reducing an individual student's expulsion-avoidance payment from two million to one million private points. Large elite groups required fewer safeguards and lower individual payments. 271
• Class A arranged to trade its Free Ride Cards for Class C's unwanted Halve Cards. This matched Class A's survival needs with Class C's need for private-point income. 273
• Shiraishi gave Karuizawa and Sakura one million private points each before the exam. Kushida received no corresponding allocation because her existing Protection Points would be consumed first if she faced expulsion. 273

Competitive Performance

• Finished first in the Uninhabited Island Exam with 460 retained points. 68
• Defeated Class B in the Paper Shuffle Exam. 155
• Prioritized class-point gains during the Sports Festival and coordinated weak-athlete assignments with Class D. 113
• Maintained either first or second place in every first-year special exam through the end of the first year. 201
• Lost the subsequent direct special exam against Class B by a narrow 3–4 margin, losing 30 class points but preserving its first-place position with 2,441 points. 228
• Correctly identified all three opposing leaders in the first-year island exam, earning 150 points while preserving its own leader's secrecy and temporary base points. 68
• Its relay team previously won first place across all three grades, and Kanzaki's black belts in karate and judo made him a particularly strong one-on-one competitor. 219
• Its depth did not eliminate every specialist disadvantage: in the direct Class A–Class B contest, Class A's strongest individual subject performers lagged behind Class B's, losing one academic event by 337 points to 344. 224
• On day five of the second-year island exam, Shiraishi and Onodera Kayano each won an Open-Water Swimming Challenge worth 20 points, moving their joint group into first place overall. 300
• Won first place through its joint group with Class C, receiving 225 class points after the Trial Card bonus and equal division of rewards. Class C's separate 100-point deduction for Kouenji's last-place finish did not reduce Class A's share. 316

Second-Year Wilderness-Survival Strategy

Class A's preparation focused on two complementary objectives: having its strongest group compete for the top three and preventing weaker groups from being expelled. Effect Cards, personal private-point reserves, and cooperation with Class C were central to both aims. 271 273

The initial joint elite team contained three members from each class. Its balanced abilities allowed both classes to retain other strong students to help their more vulnerable classmates. 273

Member	Class	Team Position
Kanzaki Ryuji	Class 2-A	Boys' side
Katsuragi Kohei	Class 2-A	Boys' side
Hirata Yosuke	Class 2-C	Boys' side
Ichinose Honami	Class 2-A	Girls' side; Trial Card holder
Horikita Suzune	Class 2-C	Girls' side
Onodera Kayano	Class 2-C	Girls' side

The team and Ichinose's card assignment were finalized after Horikita confirmed Class C's approval. Class A and Class C equipped the team through cross-class card exchanges, prioritizing useful starting-resource, reward, and recovery effects rather than expulsion-payment reductions or Free Ride income. 273

• Shiraishi preferred Kushida to accompany Karuizawa and Sakura because her B-grade academic and physical abilities made her a suitable leader and protector. He also prepared safeguards against possible attacks by Yagami. 272
• The Trial Card was moved away from Ayanokoji because the twenty-million-private-point bounty made any team containing him a likely first-year target. 273
• For a first-place finish, the negotiated arrangement gave Class C the one-million-private-point prize and Class A the Protection Points; lower-placement rewards were to be divided evenly. 273
• Shiraishi possessed the Extra Member or Recruitment Card, whose special effect permitted its holder to join another group as a seventh member after the exam began without following the normal gender-ratio restriction. 271 272
• Once attacks endangered other second-year groups, Shiraishi and Ichinose accepted Sakayanagi's proposal for all four classes to locate Challenges without participant limits. Class B offered radios to support monitoring of Ayanokoji's group. 296
• Shiraishi was prepared to sacrifice movement-placement points when he believed reaching a group-capacity Challenge early would be more valuable. His group later skipped an impractical movement order while profiting from nearby swimming Challenges. 296 300

Relationships

• Shiraishi Makoto — Class leader and principal strategist; his deductions, negotiations, financial planning, and recruitment efforts drive Class A's rise. His later coordination of interclass teams, card trades, and expulsion safeguards helped secure the second-year island victory. 9 57 113 267 268 271 273 316
• Ichinose Honami — Public co-leader and trusted partner in scouting, class coordination, and Student Council-related work. She also helped prepare Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura for integration into Class A. In the second-year island exam, she joined the elite Class A–Class C team and received Ayanokoji's Trial Card. 57 58 113 267 268 273
• Kanzaki Ryuji — Intelligence operative and field partner who gathers information on rival classes and supports Shiraishi's plans. He led the main class formation when Shiraishi separated from it during the Mixed Training Camp and later joined the elite island team with Class C. 7 59 61 184 273
• Hoshinomiya Chie — Homeroom teacher; confirms rule-related deductions and witnesses Class A's contract with Class C. She explained the second-year wilderness exam's financial dangers and Effect Card system. Her personal hostility toward Chabashira also motivated earlier efforts to prevent Class D from challenging Class A. 3 17 48 271
• Class D — Cooperative neighbor and occasional ally; received private-point support from Class A and later coordinated Sports Festival assignments with it. These early references concern Chabashira's class, which subsequently became Class C; the later Class D under Ryuen pursued paid cooperation through the Zero-Point Strategy and partnered with Class B during the second-year island exam. 28 59 113 196 202 213 274
• Class C — Major hostile rival during the early first year; Class A exposed Ryuen Kakeru's framing scheme and secured a contract promising 300 future class points in exchange for noninterference in the Class C–Class D dispute. After the lower classes exchanged ranks, Horikita's Class 2-C became Class A's partner for an elite wilderness-survival team and card exchanges. 45 48 196 273
• Class B — Primary long-term rival, particularly under Sakayanagi Arisu's leadership. Class A was matched directly against it in a special exam and narrowly lost 3–4, though it remained far ahead in total class points. Class B later joined forces with Ryuen's class to oppose the Class A–Class C island alliance. 216 217 228 274
• Katsuragi Kohei — Former Class B leader transferred into Class A by Shiraishi; he sought an opportunity to challenge Sakayanagi and his former class, while providing Class A with valuable academic and strategic ability. He subsequently joined the elite team with Class C. 216 217 219 273
• Kushida Kikyo — Former Class 2-C student transferred into Class A alongside Karuizawa and Sakura. Her social connections and prior relationship with Ichinose eased her transition into the class. Shiraishi later regarded her balanced academic and physical abilities as suitable for protecting the other two during the island exam. 267 268 272
• Karuizawa Kei — Former Class 2-C student transferred into Class A for protection from further targeting and to consolidate her alliance with Shiraishi. He provided her with one million private points before the wilderness-survival exam. 267 268 273
• Sakura Airi — Former Class 2-C student transferred into Class A alongside Kushida and Karuizawa after becoming vulnerable to repeated expulsion targeting in her former class. Shiraishi provided her with one million private points as an island-exam safeguard. 267 268 273
• Nanase Tsubasa — First-year ally recruited to Shiraishi's side; she assists Shiraishi and Ayanokoji's investigation into potential White Room students. During the island preparations and exam, she covertly reported first-year movements and began traveling with Ayanokoji as part of Shiraishi's protective arrangements. 267 274 278 300
• Ayanokoji Kiyotaka — External strategic partner rather than a Class A member. Shiraishi originally offered protection from expulsion in exchange for Ayanokoji not actively pursuing Class A advancement, and the pair later reaffirmed a nonaggression arrangement. Ayanokoji declined a possible transfer into Class A, preferring to avoid attention and the social complications of leaving his classmates. 20 53 229
• Horikita Suzune — Formerly an adversarial Class D rival and later Class 2-C's negotiating representative. She accepted Shiraishi's proposal for the joint island team, reward sharing, and card exchanges after consulting her class. 61 68 273
• Sakayanagi Arisu — Rival strategist whose relationship with Shiraishi combines transactional cooperation and direct competition. After the second-year island exam, she threatened to coordinate Classes B, C, and D against Class A's substantial lead. 17 40 217 274 318
• Ryuen Kakeru — Early hostile rival whose schemes repeatedly challenged Class A, but also a negotiable partner when private-point income or mutual interests favored cooperation. Shiraishi helped prevent his withdrawal and secured promises of future assistance and secrecy concerning Ayanokoji. 126 162 202 213
• Shiina Hiyori — Stayed in Class A's first-year island camp as part of Ryuen's plan, becoming accepted through her helpful conduct and gaining respect for the class's unity. In the second-year exam, she joined Sakayanagi's opposing team partly because Shiraishi was its rival. 62 63 66 274
• Horikita Manabu — Upperclassman ally whose Student Council authority supported Shiraishi's investigations. His promised transfer of 37 million private points helped secure Class A's finances during Katsuragi's recruitment. 45 217

Story Role / Major Arcs

First-Month Reversal

Class A's foundation was laid when Shiraishi helped the then-Class B students uncover the school's evaluation system. Their disciplined response preserved 980 class points and allowed them to seize the Class A position almost immediately. 3 12 14

Shiraishi also proposed the Class Funds system during the class's first coordinated response to the hidden rules. The students' decision to entrust the funds to him established the financial discipline and internal trust that supported their later advancement. 4

The reversal displaced the original Class A despite its excellent 950-point result, intensifying competition with Sakayanagi and Katsuragi's class. The narrow initial gap contrasted sharply with the much larger lead Class A later established. 13 240

Class C Contract

After obtaining surveillance evidence of Class C's attempt to frame Class D, Shiraishi forced Ryuen into a formal agreement. Class A agreed not to interfere in the Class C–Class D conflict, while Class C committed to provide 300 class points in future exams. 45 48

Uninhabited Island Exam

Class A used reconnaissance, resource stockpiling, controlled check-ins, and leader concealment to dominate the island exam. Shiraishi formally served as leader, and the class ultimately placed first with 460 retained points. 57 58 59 68

Shiraishi obtained approximately 200 exam points' worth of practical supplies through Ryuen's class. Class A adjusted its daily routine to avoid dangerous nighttime journeys, maintaining three check-ins at the main camp and two at the other controlled locations. As nearby food supplies were exhausted, it reduced meals from three per day to two. 56 59 63

Shiina's arrival initially appeared to be a cooperative arrangement involving food and information trading, but she was also part of Ryuen's layered leader-switching strategy. Shiraishi followed the relevant movements and intercepted her during heavy rain, after which both withdrew to the cruise ship. This prevented her from becoming the final variable in Class C's deception. 62 66

Class A correctly identified the leaders of all three rival classes, gaining 150 points while keeping its own final leader concealed. Its total class points rose to 1,710, substantially widening the lead over its opponents. 68

Privileged Person Exam

Class A identified a pattern in the exam's group assignments and leveraged its VIP information to control the examination's outcome. Shiraishi attempted to sell Class A's three VIP identities to Class D while using the information advantage to identify VIPs in other groups. 79 81

Shiraishi offered the information for 800,000 private points per month and also approached Ryuen when Class D hesitated. Rather than depend on keeping its own VIPs hidden, Class A sought to monetize them before rivals uncovered the pattern. Kanzaki submitted the Monkey Group answer on Shiraishi's instructions, forcing the other classes to respond to Class A's demonstrated advantage. 79 80 81

Sports Festival and Paper Shuffle

The class used its point reserves to prepare systematically for the Sports Festival, sharing weak-athlete registrations with Class D while fielding its strongest competitors in nominated events. It later defeated Class B in the Paper Shuffle Exam. 113 155

First-Year Dominance and Katsuragi's Recruitment

By the later first-year period, Class A's lead had grown so large that Ryuen judged a normal class-point comeback impossible. With a direct Class A–Class B contest approaching, Shiraishi recruited Katsuragi from Class B to strengthen Class A and give him an opportunity to confront Sakayanagi. 201 216 217

Katsuragi's transfer was completed before the Class A–Class B contest, where he became one of Class A's key academic resources. 219

Shiraishi justified the recruitment through Katsuragi's overall ability, compatible ideals, and immediate usefulness against Class B. The 20-million-point purchase was made possible without an unacceptable emergency-fund gap by Horikita Manabu's promised financial support. 217

Direct Class A–Class B Special Exam

Class A faced Class B in a command-tower-controlled special exam that required careful event selection, lineup management, and one-way tactical communication. Although Class A prepared specialist advantages through Kanzaki's judo, its relay team, and a mental-arithmetic lineup strengthened by Katsuragi, it ultimately lost 3–4. 216 219 228

The defeat cost Class A 30 class points, lowering its total from 2,471 to 2,441. However, the margin over Class B remained substantial, preserving Class A's top position. 228

Second-Year Reinforcements

After entering the second year, Shiraishi expanded Class A through private-point transfers. Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura were moved from Class 2-C to Class 2-A for 60 million private points, both protecting them from further targeting and adding their abilities to Class A's already dominant structure. 267 268

The transfers brought Class A's cumulative expenditures to approximately 100 million private points when combined with its prior expulsion protections and Katsuragi's recruitment. 268

Second-Year Uninhabited Island Preparations

Hoshinomiya announced a harsher wilderness-survival exam scheduled for July 20 to August 3, followed by a luxury cruise vacation. Further briefings revealed that private-point transfers would be unavailable during the exam and that students would receive randomly allocated Effect Cards. These restrictions made Class A's accumulated wealth insufficient to guarantee universal protection without additional planning. 268 271

Shiraishi proposed cooperation with Horikita's Class C after recognizing that Ayanokoji's Trial Card could be wasted if bounty hunters targeted his team. The two classes formed a six-person elite group, transferred Trial to Ichinose, exchanged cards according to their differing financial needs, and allocated safeguards to vulnerable students. 272 273

Sakayanagi answered this alliance by cooperating with Ryuen's class and adding Yamada Albert and Shiina Hiyori to her own team. The second-year cohort nevertheless shared an interest in preventing the first- and third-years from taking the available class-point and private-point rewards. 274 276

Second-Year Island Victory and Protective Alliances

During the exam, attacks on vulnerable second-year groups encouraged broader cooperation. Shiraishi and Ichinose accepted Sakayanagi's proposal to search for Challenges without participant limits, while Class B supplied radios for monitoring Ayanokoji's group. Shiraishi also relied on group trust when proposing that they abandon a potentially less valuable movement objective to seek increased participant capacity. 296

On day five, Shiraishi and Onodera each won a 20-point Open-Water Swimming Challenge, bringing their group into first place overall. Shiraishi simultaneously coordinated with Nanase, Tsubaki, and Utsunomiya, using the pressure surrounding Ayanokoji to establish protective alliances rather than responding only through direct confrontation. 300

The joint group ultimately finished first. Its 300-class-point reward increased to 450 through the Trial Card, and equal division gave Class A 225 points. Class C separately lost 100 points because Kouenji finished last. Shiraishi's individual exam activity and confrontation with Yagami also raised his OAA overall evaluation to A (90), the first such evaluation achieved by a student at the school. 316

Renewed Multi-Class Challenge

After the island results, Sakayanagi declared that Class B would continue challenging Class A by every available method and would not hesitate to ally with Classes C and D. Class A's overwhelming lead supplied a common incentive for its rivals, although Ryuen's profit-oriented Zero-Point Strategy made his cooperation dependent on financial interests rather than who occupied the top rank. Shiraishi accepted the challenge. 318

Trivia

• Class A's rise from its original Class B designation was the first first-month class-rank reversal in Advanced Nurturing High School history. 14
• During the Uninhabited Island Exam, Class A's apparent dual leadership made its leader identity unusually difficult to deduce. 57
• Upperclassmen began viewing Shiraishi and, by extension, Class A as a force that had disrupted the school's balance of power after its early special-exam successes. 109
• First-year students considered Class A's 2,441-point total extraordinary because the class had begun as Class B and had surpassed every other class by a massive margin. 240
• Class A spent 60 million private points to transfer Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura simultaneously, one of the largest known uses of private points for class restructuring. 267 268
• Class A's second-year OAA roster initially contained 41 students, reflecting Katsuragi's addition before the three later transfers. 217 237 267
• Despite Class A's reputation and point lead, Class 2-B still had more students with B-grade or higher Academic Ability Ratings at the beginning of the second year. 240
• The class's financial advantage did not provide automatic protection in the second-year wilderness exam: its 48–50 million private points fell well short of the roughly 88 million required under the basic safety calculation. 271
• Class A's leader became the school's first student to receive an A-grade overall OAA evaluation after the second-year island exam. 316

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