A New Exam

Chabashira had no intention of paying Ryuuen any attention. It was obvious she was in a bad mood.

Ryuuen was curious too. Was Class D's second-place result not good enough? She was actually hiding here, drinking alone. But Ryuuen was not the type to pester someone. Since Chabashira refused to acknowledge him, he could only take back the cocktail he had offered her.

Ryuuen left after only two drinks. A cocktail called Locomotive was too strong; another few glasses and he would be passed out. While there was little chance of someone taking advantage of him, Ryuuen still did not want anyone to see him in such an embarrassing state.

Alcohol could easily go to one's head. Drunk people always believed they were sober, and Ryuuen did not think he was drunk either.

"What an ugly sight, dragon boy."

Ryuuen had not expected to run into Kouenji at a time like this.

Schopenhauer mentioned in Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays: "A genius is someone who lives one floor above a madman."

In Ryuuen's eyes, there were only two people in this school who could truly be called geniuses. One was Ayanokoji, and the other was Kouenji.

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

"A debt? Your choice of words is as ugly as you are. I merely came to take what already belongs to me." Kouenji did not deny that he had come for the points.

"The phone's on me. Come and take it yourself if you can." Ryuuen provoked Kouenji. How could he take points from him without paying some kind of price? Still, Ryuuen had no intention of breaking his promise.

"If you wish to suffer a little pain, I shall indulge you."

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

The two stood face-to-face, their gazes clashing. The breath Ryuuen exhaled through his nose still carried the smell of alcohol.

It was as though a war thick with gunpowder was about to erupt.

Suddenly, Kouenji darted forward and swung a powerful punch at Ryuuen, only for Ryuuen to casually block it with his raised fist.

The two immediately pulled apart and traded rapid punches, striking left and right, grabbing and kicking. Their movements were so fast they were nearly impossible to follow. In an instant, Kouenji leaped backward, weaving away as he launched his own attacks, leaving Ryuuen no opening to strike. However, Ryuuen deliberately exposed a flaw. Proud Kouenji took the bait, and Ryuuen used that opening to leap into the air, twisting his body as he kicked the back of his opponent's head.

Caught off guard, Kouenji dropped to one knee.

That blow completely enraged Kouenji. His fist was about to strike Ryuuen in the face.

Ryuuen took out his phone and held it up before him, its screen 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 conglomerate family too, so you understand how businessmen handle things." Ryuuen had merely been testing Kouenji's strength. At this stage, he did not want to become enemies with him. If he pushed him to Ayanokoji's side, it would not benefit him in the slightest.

"Hmph." Kouenji was displeased, but he was very intelligent and knew what he should do. Taking out his phone, he received the one million points that belonged to him. "Ryuuen, there will come a day when you beg me for help."

Ryuuen smiled. He preferred Kouenji's attitude now. Before, Kouenji gave others nicknames purely because he looked down on them. He had always looked down on others from the position of a superior, but now Ryuuen had earned more of his respect.

At this school, points were also a part of one's strength. This strength was worthy of Kouenji's wariness.

Though the fight had not lasted long, Ryuuen had indeed worked up a sweat. He wanted to go back and take a cold shower.

The next day, Morofuji Rika brought Manabe and the others to pick on Karuizawa. Ryuuen knew Ayanokoji would not step in yet, so he intended to let the bullet fly a little longer.

Let the situation ferment a little more.

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

The rules of the exam were simple. First year students were divided into twelve groups, with thirteen to fifteen people in each group, and they had to discuss which member of their group was the benefactor.

Group members had to submit their answers thirty minutes before the exam ended. The school would announce each group's exam results after the exam was over.

There were four possible outcomes for the exam:

1. Aside from members of the benefactor's class, every group member correctly identified the benefactor. All group members would receive 500,000 Personal Points, while the benefactor would receive double that amount.

2. Aside from members of the benefactor's class, if any group member answered incorrectly, the benefactor alone would receive 500,000 Personal Points.

Note: Any group member who is not from the benefactor's class may act as a traitor and submit the benefactor's identity before the exam ends.

3. If a traitor successfully obtained information on the group's benefactor and submitted the answer, the traitor's class would gain 50 Class Points from the benefactor's class, while the traitor would receive 500,000 Personal Points.

4. If a traitor misidentified the benefactor, the benefactor's class would gain 50 Class Points from the traitor's class, while the benefactor would receive 500,000 Personal Points.

The rules were not complicated, and the school was quite generous with this exam. As long as no one was greedy, everyone could benefit from Outcome One.

But there was no need to think about it. What each class sought was definitely not shared prosperity. To maximize their gains, Outcome Three was what every class wanted most, or else they could make another class achieve Outcome Four.

After the exam began, members of each group would gather in the same room. Ayanokoji had been assigned to the Rabbit Group.

Rabbit Group members: three from Class A; Ichinose Honami and her two followers from Class B; Ibuki, Manabe, and three others from Class C; and Ayanokoji, Yukimura Teruhiko, Karuizawa Kei, and Sotomura Hideo from Class D.

Dragon Group members: Katsuragi from Class A; Ichinose's right-hand man, Kanzaki Ryuuji, from Class B; Kushida and Hirata from Class D; and Ryuuen and others from Class C.

The students from each class were scattered among the other groups as well.

The greatest beneficiary of this exam was Ryuuen. In the original story, he had relied on his absolute control over his class to gain a huge number of points in this exam. But what Ryuuen was thinking about now was how to make members of the other classes lose points, especially preventing Horikita and Ayanokoji from gaining large amounts of Personal Points.

If Horikita got the points, he would have to find another cook. Horikita would definitely come repay her debt at the first opportunity, and Ryuuen did not think he could keep a girl with perfect housekeeping skills around.

If Ayanokoji got the points, his influence over the exams would become even greater. Who knew what he would use those points for? Ryuuen could not be considered a genius, and he could not predict every step Ayanokoji would take.

The Benefactor Exam was really a game of finding patterns. As long as one found the right pattern, one could guess the correct list of benefactors. While allowing the students in each group to discuss, the school was also giving them time to discover that pattern.

After Ayanokoji and Horikita exchanged information about their groups, they discovered that aside from Ichinose, all the remaining class leaders had gathered in the Dragon Group. Given that arrangement, things would be very lively over in the Dragon Group. Ichinose's side would not have it easy either, since Ayanokoji was not aiming for Outcome One.

(The graduate entrance exam results are out. I wish all readers taking the exams success and hope every one of you gets accepted!)