Chapter 258: Expulsion! And More Expulsion!
"Sensei, I want to protest!
This reckless exam is just too unreasonable!"
The first one to snap was Yukimura Teruhiko, one of the class's academic elites.
According to the rules of the matching exam, even if he performed perfectly, if he were matched with a student at the very bottom, he would likely be dragged down and expelled along with them.
For someone like him who was devoted to his studies, being expelled because of exam results would be a lifelong disgrace!
"Protest denied.
Instead of worrying about your partner's grades here, why not find a way to help them improve?"
Chabashira Sae's words were full of suggestive guidance.
By now, Hikigaya had already seen through the essence of this exam.
It was nothing more than a test of the students' ability to cooperate.
In the real world, work inevitably involves collaborating with colleagues, and it is highly likely that one will encounter coworkers whose skills are insufficient. In such moments, you need to communicate and find a way to solve the problem together.
For a loner accustomed to fighting solo, this was undoubtedly a challenge of significant difficulty.
Hikigaya and Horikita Suzune exchanged a knowing glance.
"Suzune, this exam is disadvantageous for you."
"Hmph~ I could say the same to you!"
The members of Class D were abuzz with discussion. Many had already begun shamelessly trying to suck up to the few honor students in the class, fantasizing that partnering with a good student would make the exam easy. However, this fantasy was immediately shattered by Chabashira Sae's next words.
"Your exam partners are not decided by you; the specific method will be announced after the mini-quiz."
The most unsettling part was this kind of ambiguous rule.
"Wait, Chabashira-sensei.
If it's two-person matching, our class has 37 people. How is that calculated?"
Hirata Yousuke truly was constantly looking out for the class collective.
"No need to worry. For the person who draws an odd number, their total score will be their own score multiplied by two. If they fail to reach the passing line, then they alone will be expelled."
Chabashira Sae explained.
Hikigaya thought to himself that drawing an odd number might actually be a stroke of luck. After all, his own grades were controllable, but a "pig teammate" was a different story!
Beyond that, he thought of an extreme possibility.
What if a teammate deliberately slacked off, or even skipped the exam entirely, resulting in 0 points for all subjects? According to the total passing line, he would have to score a perfect 100 in all eight subjects just to be safe. That was pure hell!
"This special exam is called 'Paper Shuffle.' Based on the results of previous years, almost three or four pairs of matched students end up being expelled.
Furthermore, most of those expelled come from Class D. I'm not saying this to scare you."
At this point, Chabashira Sae's expression turned serious. Back then, her own Class D had also lost a pair in this special exam, which dealt an extremely heavy blow to the class morale!
"...No wonder there are fewer people in the upperclassmen's classes."
Kushida Kikyo murmured to herself. Having a wide social circle, she knew quite a bit about the senior grades.
"In addition, the questions for this final exam will be created by you yourselves.
Of course, the test papers are for a class other than your own to take.
The question-setters are the attackers, and the test-takers are the defenders.
The final result is determined by comparing the total scores of the two classes. The winning class will seize 50 Class Points from the losing class.
For example, if Class A attacks Class B while simultaneously being attacked by Class C—if Class A wins both in offense and defense, they can gain 100 Class Points. This is easy to understand, right?"
Chabashira Sae provided a detailed explanation.
Hikigaya immediately realized that if two classes attacked each other, the final exam result would suddenly create a 200-point gap between the two classes! It was a massive gamble!
"Also, for this final exam, no form of absence is accepted."
"Wait a minute, what happens if someone gets sick? That's force majeure!"
"Then it's a pity; the matched partner will have to take the exam alone... Heh~ real-world work won't stop a project just because of your personal reasons. You'll have to overcome this yourselves."
As usual, this school had transplanted the operating principles of society into the campus. However, from the perspective of a social experiment, it was indeed reasonable.
After all, the taxpayers' money wasn't being spent for nothing; with three years of tuition and fees waived plus private points for spending, students enjoying such great benefits had to give something back.
"Finally, regarding absolute prohibitions during the exam: cheaters will be expelled immediately, and their matched partner will be expelled along with them."
This rule was excessively harsh.
In a normal school, if a cheater is caught, the exam results are usually invalidated, followed by public criticism and punishment—at most, a suspension. Direct expulsion is rare, let alone dragging down an innocent partner.
That made no sense! The fact that Advanced Nurturing High School enforced this rule only suggested the school's background was deeper than imagined.
They likely had a powerful legal team to fend off lawsuits from parents.
"Eight subjects, 50 multiple-choice questions per subject—a total of 400 questions to be completed within a month."
If it were only multiple-choice, it lowered the difficulty slightly for both the setters and the takers.
"Of course, don't think about deliberately creating weird questions that exceed the current syllabus or play word games.
Subject teachers will strictly review all questions to ensure the papers do not exceed the scope of the first year of high school."
Chabashira Sae's words allowed the underachievers of Class D to breathe a small sigh of relief. If there were no upper limit, an honor student could easily crush them with some "simple" problems!
"To complete four hundred questions within a month... it is indeed quite urgent."
Horikita Suzune rested her chin on her hand, her brow furrowed.
"Listen to you—you're not planning to finish all the questions by yourself, are you?"
Hikigaya couldn't help but comment.
"Increasing the number of question-setters will only lower the quality of the test paper."
Horikita Suzune's answer showed that she truly was considering doing it all alone.
"I can help with setting the questions too!"
Yukimura Teruhiko expressed his refusal to back down.
"In short, it's up to you. If you cannot complete the questions within the specified time...
Or if the difficulty of the questions is too high and exceeds the syllabus...
The school will substitute them with pre-prepared exam papers."
Normal exam papers usually come with some "freebie" questions. In other words, using the school-provided paper was no different from admitting defeat.
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