A New Exam

Chabashira clearly wasn't in a good mood; she didn't want to deal with Ryuuen.

Ryuuen was curious too. Wasn't Class D's second-place finish good enough? Why was she hiding here, drinking alone? But Ryuuen wasn't one to pester people. Since Chabashira wouldn't engage with him, he took back the cocktail he'd offered her.

Ryuuen only had two drinks before leaving. The Locomotive cocktail was too strong; a few more and he'd be passed out. While there wasn't much risk of being taken advantage of, Ryuuen still didn't want anyone to see him in such a state.

Alcohol easily goes to one's head, and drunk people always think they're sober. Ryuuen didn't feel drunk either.

"How ugly, dragon boy."

Ryuuen hadn't expected to run into Kouenji at that moment.

Schopenhauer's Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays states: Genius is one who lives one floor above madness.

In Ryuuen's eyes, only two people in this school truly deserved to be called geniuses: one was Ayanokoji, and the other was Kouenji.

"You're here to collect a debt, aren't you?" Ryuuen waved his hand, his knuckles cracking.

"Collect a debt? Your phrasing is as ugly as you are. I'm just here to take what's rightfully mine." Kouenji didn't deny he was there for the Points.

"My phone's right here. Try and take it yourself." Ryuuen provoked Kouenji. How could he get Points from him without some kind of price? However, Ryuuen didn't intend to break his word.

"If you want a beating, I'll oblige you."

"Then try it. Don't keep me waiting!"

The two stood face to face, eyes locked, Ryuuen's breath still smelling of alcohol.

It was like a highly charged battle was about to begin.

Suddenly, Kouenji quickly moved forward, throwing a powerful strike at Ryuuen, but Ryuuen easily blocked it with a raised fist.

The two immediately pulled apart, exchanging rapid blows, punching with both hands, kicking and grappling. Their movements were so fast they were almost impossible to follow. Kouenji suddenly leaped back, dodging and launching individual attacks, leaving no opening for Ryuuen. However, Ryuuen intentionally feigned an opening. The arrogant Kouenji fell for it. Ryuuen used the opening to jump into the air, flipping his body and delivering a kick to his opponent's back of the head.

Kouenji was caught off guard and dropped to one knee.

This thoroughly enraged Kouenji, and a fist was about to land on Ryuuen's face.

Ryuuen pulled out his phone and held it up, displaying his balance.

Kouenji's fist stopped in front of the phone. "It seems I asked for too little."

"Greed isn't good. Being on good terms with me won't hurt you, Kouenji. You're from a zaibatsu family too; you know how merchants operate." Ryuuen had only been testing Kouenji's strength just now. At this stage, Ryuuen didn't want to make an enemy of him. If he pushed Kouenji towards Ayanokoji, it wouldn't benefit him at all.

"Hmph." Kouenji was annoyed, but his mind was sharp, and he knew what he needed to do. Taking out his own phone, Kouenji received his one million Points. "Ryuuen, there'll be a day you'll come begging me."

Ryuuen smiled. He preferred Kouenji's current attitude. Before, Kouenji's nicknames for others were purely out of disdain; he always looked down on people from a superior position. Now, Ryuuen had gained more respect in his heart.

In this school, Points were also a form of power, and that power was enough to make Kouenji wary.

Although the fight wasn't very long, Ryuuen had definitely worked up a sweat and wanted to go back for a cold shower.

The next day, Morofuji Rika took Manabe and her group to pick a fight with Karuizawa Kei. Ryuuen knew Ayanokoji wouldn't intervene at this point, so he decided to let things play out.

He wanted the situation to ferment further.

It came much faster than expected. The school sent a message to every student: the Benefactor Exam was about to begin.

The exam rules were simple: First-Year students were divided into 12 groups, each with 13-15 people, to discuss "which member within the group is the Beneficiary."

Group members had to submit their answer within thirty minutes before the exam ended. The school would announce the results of each group after the exam concluded.

There were four possible outcomes for the exam:

1. If all group members, excluding the Beneficiary's class members, correctly identified the Beneficiary's identity, all group members would receive 500,000 personal Points, and the Beneficiary's Points would double.

2. If any group member, excluding the Beneficiary's class members, answered incorrectly, the Beneficiary alone would receive 500,000 personal Points.

Note: The exam allowed any group member who was not from the Beneficiary's class to be a "Traitor" and submit the Beneficiary's identity before the exam ended.

3. If a "Traitor" successfully obtained the Beneficiary's information within the group and submitted the answer, the "Traitor's" class would receive 50 class Points from the Beneficiary's class, and the "Traitor" themselves would receive 500,000 personal Points.

4. If a "Traitor" misidentified the Beneficiary, the Beneficiary's class would receive 50 class Points from the "Traitor's" class, and the Beneficiary themselves would receive 500,000 personal Points.

The rules weren't complicated, and the school was generous in this exam. As long as one wasn't too greedy, everyone could benefit from Outcome 1.

But there was no doubt that each class wouldn't just aim for common prosperity. To maximize their benefits, Outcome 3 was what each class truly wanted, or to have other classes achieve Outcome 4.

After the exam began, members of each group gathered in the same room. Ayanokoji was assigned to the Rabbit Group.

Rabbit Group members: three from Class A, Ichinose Honami and her two followers from Class B, Ibuki and Manabe (four people total) from Class C, and from Class D were Ayanokoji, Yukimura Teruhiko, Karuizawa Kei, and Sotomura Hideo.

Dragon Group members: Katsuragi from Class A, Kanzaki Ryuuji (Ichinose Honami's second-in-command) from Class B, Kushida and Hirata from Class D, and Ryuuen and others from Class C.

Other groups had students from various classes scattered among them.

The biggest beneficiary of this exam was Ryuuen. In the original story, Ryuuen gained a large number of Points in this exam by absolutely dominating his class. However, at this moment, Ryuuen was thinking about how to make members of other classes lose Points, especially preventing Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji from getting a lot of personal Points.

If Horikita got Points, he'd have to find a new cook. Horikita would definitely come to repay him immediately, and Ryuuen didn't think he could keep this girl who was perfect at housework.

If Ayanokoji got Points, his influence on the exam would become even greater. Who knew what he would do with those Points? Ryuuen didn't consider himself a genius, and he couldn't predict Ayanokoji's every move.

The Benefactor Exam was actually a pattern-finding game. As long as the correct pattern was found, the correct Beneficiary list could be guessed. While the school gave students time to discuss, it also gave them time to discover this pattern.

After Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune exchanged group information, they realized that, besides Ichinose Honami, all the remaining class leaders were gathered in the Dragon Group. Given this outcome, the Dragon Group would be very lively, and Ichinose Honami wouldn't have an easy time either, as Ayanokoji wasn't aiming for Outcome 1.

(The postgraduate exam results are out! I wish all my fellow readers who took the exam great success and hope you all passed!)