Chapter 319 Mixed Training Camp Special Exam / Do You Like Haruka and Airi?
The New Year here was actually quite decent.
On New Year's Eve, Shimizu Akira made a point of watching several hours of the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen and even got to eat dumplings handmade by Horikita Suzune that night.
However, without the sound of firecrackers outside, it felt like something was missing.
"Japan doesn't have the custom of setting off firecrackers or fireworks on New Year's Eve; fireworks are mostly for summer festivals. But dumplings are very popular here—pan-fried, boiled, soup dumplings... many people eat them regularly. When I miss home, I often eat dumplings or Mapo Tofu," Wang Mei-Yu, sitting in the neighboring seat on the bus, answered his question softly.
"I see. Thank you, Wang-san." Akira finally understood.
"You're welcome. I asked the same question when I first arrived. If Shimizu-kun wants to try authentic Chinese cuisine, I know a very good shop. I can send you the address."
"Great, thank you."
"Don't mention it. During the Christmas party, I heard from Kikyo that you've helped her a lot. She's my good friend, so I'm happy to be able to help you too."
Today was January 4th, the first day of the third semester. At six in the morning, the school notified everyone to change into tracksuits, pack a change of clothes, and board a bus to go somewhere as a group. The trip would take about three hours.
Bus seats were arranged alphabetically by name, so Akira happened to be seated with Wang Mei-Yu. On the first day of school, many people were chatting about the New Year. When Akira mentioned his impressions of the holiday, Wang Mei-Yu, being Chinese, naturally explained things to him.
Akira withdrew his gaze, glanced around the packed bus, and then looked out the window. The vehicle was still cruising on the highway.
"As expected, another special exam is being held!"
"Heading to a strange place again..."
"I think it's okay!" Ike Kanji interjected happily. "I barely touched my winter break homework. Besides, this exam isn't taking up our vacation time; it's using school hours. In a sense, it's like a holiday!"
Hearing him say that, it actually made some sense. While winter break homework wasn't checked today, there was no escaping it later.
Speaking of which, Ike Kanji looked quite triumphant at the moment. It seemed that during Christmas, his progress with Shinohara Satsuki went quite smoothly.
'I'll ask him about it later when I have time.'
Just then, his phone vibrated. Akira picked it up and saw a message from Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida Kikyo: Akira-kun! Since I've already taken your "first time," you don't have to follow that request I made during the VIP special exam anymore!
'Eh? The promise!'
Akira had indeed promised to save all his "firsts" for Kikyo. But on Christmas Eve, everything that was meant to happen between them happened, so the original promise was technically fulfilled. Was he... liberated?
During the winter break, he had gone on several dates with his girlfriends and that tsundere cat, Horikita Suzune. However, they hadn't taken the final step yet.
'Let's see if there's a chance to deepen those relationships further.'
The screen lit up again.
Kushida Kikyo: Then I'll let Hasabe Haruka and Sakura Airi spend more time with you! Kushida Kikyo: Haruka is very obedient to me now~
'Wait, his girlfriend was really starting to arrange candidates for him, just like she said that night.'
Akira replied quickly.
Shimizu Akira: Er... you don't need to do that yet.
Kushida Kikyo: Don't you like them?
Shimizu Akira: Well... I have a good impression of them, but it hasn't reached the level of "liking" yet.
Hasabe always liked to tease him like an older sister, and Sakura's shy demeanor was very cute. To be honest, he had more physical contact with those two than emotional development. If measured by a favorability meter, they were probably around 70—still a stretch away from 80, which signifies "liking."
Kushida Kikyo: Don't you think they both have great figures? They're among the best in the first year. Don't you have... other thoughts?
Shimizu Akira: I admit they have great figures, but that's more of a basic physiological reaction. For me, I prefer a union with emotional feedback, like we had on Christmas.
He had always been the "pure love" type. Two people kissing and touching while whispering sweet things to each other, getting deeper step by step... that feeling was the best.
Both body and soul were comfortable.
Shimizu Akira: No rush. Actually, I was thinking about how to celebrate your birthday. Isn't it January 23rd?
Kushida Kikyo: ? You're preparing way too early!
Shimizu Akira: Not really, it's only 20 days away. Last time you gave me something as personal as your private diary; of course, I want to give you a meaningful gift in return.
On the other end, Kushida Kikyo looked at the screen and smiled helplessly. Her boyfriend was something else—20 days in advance isn't early? Spending 20 days thinking about a birthday gift was very "him." However, she had managed to find out his true opinion of those two.
Kushida Kikyo: Just watch how I arrange things for you!
'What arrangement? What is she planning now...' Akira's mouth twitched.
Shimizu Akira: ?
Kushida Kikyo: Not telling.
Kikyo was never one to be obedient. Even though she truly liked him, as long as it wasn't serious business, she would even keep things from Akira. During the VIP exam, she had designed Yamauchi Haruki's downfall entirely on her own.
But he couldn't micromanage her.
For Kushida Kikyo, besides being intimate with him, the process of manipulating others in social interactions was her way of releasing stress. To put it bluntly, or even a bit more harshly: Kushida Kikyo had a strong desire for dominance deep in her bones.
She enjoyed the feeling of secretly pulling at people's emotions and interfering with their choices, and she loved knowing people's secrets and pasts for a hidden sense of pleasure.
In other words, "Schadenfreude".
Viewed this way, his girlfriend was a textbook "villainess" type character. If this were an Isekai, she'd definitely be a Witch-level existence! But what could he do? He liked her.
He accepted these so-called flaws along with her. Regardless, this was much better than her secretly contacting other classes and betraying their own.
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.
.
At 8:00 AM, after the bus had been traveling for over an hour, three pieces of intel punctually surfaced in Akira's mind:
Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-D formulated the "800 Million Plan" shortly after school started. The goal is to accumulate a massive amount of private points so that the entire class can buy transfer slots and graduate from Class A together. Private points can be converted to cash at a very low exchange rate upon graduation for use outside the school. Nagumo Miyabi of Class 2-A plans to use this training camp special exam to take action against Shimizu Akira and Horikita Manabu.
'What?!' Akira was stunned.
Honestly, this was the first time since winter break that he felt truly shocked by the intel. Was it a joke? That Ryuen Kakeru—who loved bullying and valued violence above all—actually planned to save 800 million points to get the whole class into Class A?
Although it sounded like a fairy tale, the system's intel was never wrong. It had to be true.
He hadn't expected Ryuen to be so responsible toward his own classmates.
This perhaps explained why Ishizaki Daichi and Yamada Albert were so loyal to him. 'Foreshadowing revealed!'
But then again, 800 million points was way too much. Even if a class stayed at a solid 1,000 class points per month and no one spent a single point, a class would only get 4 million private points a month. All four classes combined would be 16 million. Over 36 months, that's only 576 million—and that's not even counting the school's frequent policies to slash class points. It looked like an impossible mission.
Akira knew he couldn't do it, and he had no intention of trying. For him, the current goal was simply to protect the people he cared about.
Regardless of whether Ryuen could finish his plan, this behavior made Akira see him in a new light.
He then looked at the second piece of intel.
'Oh? So private points are reclaimed by the school upon graduation, but the exchange rate is ridiculously low. This means private points can still be useful outside of this school, in a sense?'
The final piece was about Nagumo Miyabi. That guy was indeed planning to move against Horikita Manabu.
'Wait, why is my name on there too?'
Nagumo intended to strike at both of them simultaneously?
This Student Council President was getting a bit too arrogant.
.
.
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The bus traveled for another twenty minutes or so and entered a tunnel. Two or three minutes later, as the light brightened again, Chabashira Sae picked up a handheld microphone and walked to the driver's seat.
"Alright, settle down. I have an important announcement regarding the next steps."
"Wait, it's not an uninhabited island again, is it?"
"It is not an island," Chabashira explained coldly. "This is a new special exam called the 'Mixed Training Camp.' Simply put, it is an eight-day, seven-night cross-grade group activity. Rather than a survival test like the island, it is closer to a forest training format.
In other words, it is a collective activity aimed at promoting physical and mental health and fostering teamwork. Students who participate in clubs should be familiar with this format."
After the winter break, Chabashira Sae seemed much more stable than at the end of the second semester. She explained things seriously, appearing to have adjusted her mindset.
'A mixed training camp!'
Akira's impressions of those words mostly came from anime.
Especially sports series. The protagonists, in order to face a strong enemy, undergo closed training with their senpais to develop new moves and improve basic stats—that was the vibe.
It seemed this originally ordinary camp had been completely transformed into a special exam by the school.
This matched the information previously leaked by Horikita Manabu and Kiriyama Ikuto. The third semester was starting with a cross-grade joint exam.
Shortly after, Chabashira began distributing a stack of materials from the front row. A minute later, the materials reached Akira's hands. It was quite thick, about twenty pages. He flipped through it; the first dozen pages were detailed introductions of the camp location: lodging, large communal baths, the field, and a guide to the surrounding mountains.
The later pages were densely packed with the specific rules of the special exam.
"Next, I will explain the details of this exam. Please follow my pace and read the rules carefully. Now, turn to page X." Once the materials were distributed, Chabashira picked up a copy herself and began the lecture.
"The theme of this special exam is the growth task of 'Spirit, Social Skills, and Social Adaptability.' This is the core you must understand first."
"Huh? There's a theme?"
"Exactly. Every special exam has a theme. This is the aspect the school hopes you will grow in, and it is the reason for holding the exam. Let me ask a question—Sudo, do you remember the themes of the island exam and the VIP exam?"
"Eh?" Suddenly put on the spot, Sudo Ken scratched his head awkwardly.
"The island was... freedom? The VIP exam... I don't remember."
"Does anyone else remember?" Chabashira's gaze swept across the bus.
"The theme of the VIP exam should have been testing the ability for deep thinking," Hirata Yousuke answered after thinking for a moment.
"Correct. That's the right answer," Chabashira nodded.
"Themes are important. As long as you fully understand the theme before the exam starts, no matter how difficult the hurdles the school sets, you will be able to handle them more smoothly and pass. This is personal experience; whether you listen or not is up to you."
'Personal experience...'
Chabashira was likely recalling her own student days. But what she said made perfect sense.
The island exam tested freedom; everyone could act as they pleased, which is why Ryuen could come up with the "Zero Point Strategy," and Akira himself could use a recorder to set a trap.
The VIP exam tested deep thinking, hence the VIP rules designed to make classes gamble with information and reasoning. And this time, it was testing spirit, interpersonal relationships, and social adaptability...
"This seems like Kushida-san's forte! She knows so many people!"
"Right, right! With Kushida-san around, our class will definitely have a big advantage!"
"Hehe, not at all~ But I will definitely do my best for the class!"
Interpersonal relationships and social adaptability were indeed the areas where his girlfriend, Kikyo, excelled.
In the entire first year, only Honami could compete with her in this regard. It seemed he wouldn't have to worry much about those two for this exam; in fact, he could use them to exchange useful intel. This was good news.
Chabashira's explanation continued:
"Upon arrival, the school will first separate the boys and girls. Within each grade, you must discuss and freely form six groups.
There are upper and lower limits for the group size. The number is determined by the total number of students in the grade after the gender split. Assuming there are more than sixty
boys in a grade, each group must have 8 to 13 people; more than seventy, 9 to 14; more than eighty, 10 to 15. If there are fewer than sixty, other regulations apply.
The boys and girls of each grade will form six groups each, totaling twelve groups per grade.
One additional point: a group consisting of only one class is not permitted by the rules. Each group must be mixed with at least two or more classes, and the group composition must be discussed by all and reach a unanimous consensus with no objections."
"Being forced to form groups with other classes... feels a bit like the VIP exam!"
"Yeah, the model sounds quite similar."
Hearing these comments, Chabashira's expression turned serious as she shook her head.
"The difference is massive; do not get them confused. Everyone in this group is, without a doubt, a teammate. There are no roles with hidden identities. The entire group is one unit. It is like a temporary class that exists only for the duration of the forest school.
Though temporary, the curriculum will require you to live in close proximity. Starting with group lessons, cooking, laundry, bathing, sleeping... almost every aspect of daily life must be spent together. This is more like an extension of the 'Destiny Community' from the last Paper Shuffle exam—true solidarity. Do you understand?"
"I see..."
"Ugh... living with people from other classes..."
"We were just opponents in the last exam, and now we're suddenly teammates..."
Many students looked miserable. They weren't familiar with students from other classes, not to mention the many conflicts they'd had previously. Akira felt fine about it. Opponents change based on position and situation.
'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'—it's that simple.
Chabashira then provided detailed explanations for other aspects. Akira flipped through the materials while organizing the information based on her lecture.
First, this camp exam indeed included lessons, but unlike schoolwork, the content focused on moral cultivation, mental tempering, discipline, and enhancing autonomy. According to the schedule, the daily plan was: wake up and complete morning tasks, then practice Zen meditation in the dojo, clean up, eat breakfast, and take related courses in the classroom. After lunch, afternoon classes would continue, followed by another meditation session. Dinner, bath, then sleep.
Saturday was a half-day off, and Sunday was a full day of rest. For no reason whatsoever can anyone leave the group or change members. If a student leaves temporarily due to injury or illness, the group must find a way to make up for the vacancy that day.
Official forest school courses begin tomorrow morning and last until next Wednesday.
On the eighth day (Thursday), all grades will take the final exam simultaneously. The content of the final exam hasn't been disclosed, but Chabashira implied that as long as everyone follows the school's arrangements, studies hard, and cultivates their character, they should be able to pass.
Furthermore, this exam isn't limited to grouping within the grade. Once grade-level grouping is complete, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years must merge further to form six "Large Groups." Each Large Group will contain students from all three grades, totaling about thirty to forty people.
The final evaluation will be based on the average score of all members within these six Large Groups. Individual performance, group performance, and even the abilities of the upperclassmen in the Large Group will directly affect the overall outcome. No wonder the school emphasized social skills as key. If one person can coordinate the relationships within their own group and navigate the Large Group smoothly, the execution efficiency of the entire team will naturally skyrocket.
Looking at it this way, this exam felt like a tailor-made "bonus round" for Kikyo and Honami.
Next came the rewards and punishments corresponding to the rankings:
Top Three Rewards:
1st Place: 10,000 Private Points, 3 Class Points 2nd Place: 5,000 Private Points, 1 Class Point 3rd Place: 3,000 Private Points
Bottom Three Punishments:
4th Place: Deduction of 5,000 Private Points 5th Place: Deduction of 10,000 Private Points, 3 Class Points 6th Place: Deduction of 20,000 Private Points, 5 Class Points
Unlike previous special exams, even if a person's private points were deducted below zero, the school would record the negative value. Private or class points earned in subsequent exams would first be used to offset these negative points.
This exam also featured multipliers. The calculation was linked to the number of classes and people in the group:
Class Composition Multiplier:
Two classes: No multiplier Three classes: 2x Four classes: 3x
Population Multiplier:
10 people: 1x 11 people: 1.1x ...and so on 15 people: 1.5x
Multipliers only apply to the rewards for the top three; punishments for the bottom groups are not increased based on the number of people or classes. The final multiplier results will be rounded up.
Each group must also elect a "Responsible Person." This status only brings a 2x multiplier to the students of their own class. Theoretically, under the conditions of maximizing the population and class count, the highest possible reward per person is:
Private Points: 10,000 x 3 (Four Classes) x 1.5 (15 People) x 2 (Responsible Person Multiplier) = 90,000 Points Class Points: 3 x 3 x 1.5 x 2 = 27 Points
However, the Large Group in last place faces an additional penalty: Expulsion.
Of course, not everyone will be expelled. Only if the group's average score falls below the threshold set by the school will the Responsible Person of that group be expelled. This is the risk corresponding to the 2x multiplier of the Responsible Person role.
The Responsible Person is a mandatory role; if a group cannot decide on one, the school considers everyone as having forfeited the exam, and the entire group will be expelled. Additionally, the Responsible Person has a special right: when they are about to be expelled, they can designate another student in the group to be expelled with them as "joint responsibility." It's like the Hunter skill in Werewolf; you can take someone down with you.
Technically, the rules don't restrict the "take-down" target to other classes; one could theoretically choose a classmate. However, this joint responsibility only takes effect if the school identifies that student as one of the reasons the score fell below the threshold. If a group member participated normally in all classes and activities and scored well on the final exam, they usually won't be identified as responsible. In that case, even if the Responsible Person tries to force a designation, the school won't easily approve it.
"Finally, there is one more vital thing to tell you: any class that has an expelled student will receive an additional penalty. The penalty varies by exam. In this special exam, for every person expelled, the class points will decrease by 100."
"One hundred?! That much!"
"That's too brutal..."
"Falling to sixth place already deducts dozens of class points, and now there's more?!"
"Exactly. However, if you do not wish for someone to be expelled, you can choose to 'redeem' them—pay 20 million private points and an additional 300 class points, and you can save the student. Of course, this only rescinds the expulsion; the 100 class points previously deducted for the expulsion will not be restored."
"Then wouldn't that be a total loss of 400 class points?!"
"Wait, Chabashira-sensei, didn't you say last time that avoiding expulsion only costs 20 million private points?"
"That is why I just made it very clear that this is a special rule for this specific special exam. Usually, if you face expulsion accidentally, it is just 20 million; but the punishment mechanism for special exams can be adjusted every time," Chabashira replied calmly.
"Does anyone else have questions?"
Akira frowned and raised his hand.
"If someone wants to redeem a student, does it require the unanimous consent of the class? Or can it be done as long as someone has the points?"
"You just need to apply to me privately. After all, not everyone can come up with 20 million points; this kind of thing doesn't need to go through a class vote." Chabashira took a long look at Akira before answering slowly.
Akira secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If a unanimous vote was required, it would be hard for him to save anyone even if he had the points. It seemed that while the special exam added a clause for deducting class points, it was still similar to previous rules. But 400 points... the school was being really harsh. Or rather, this was the school's subtext: 'We strongly advise against you saving anyone.'
Hirata Yousuke looked grim.
"We should try our best to avoid any expulsions. According to the rules, as long as we participate seriously and perform well, even if we are designated for joint responsibility by the Responsible Person, the school should protect us. It's just... the risk of the Responsible Person position itself is... should our class try to avoid taking that role?" It was clear he sincerely wanted to protect everyone in the class.
"But being the Responsible Person has benefits. It allows other classmates in the group to get higher rewards. I believe we should strive for the position so we can get more class points," Horikita Suzune offered the opposite view.
"This special exam might be our best chance to catch up to Class B."
"We should divide into a group of 15 people covering four classes and have a student from our class as the Responsible Person to aim for first place!"
Suzune was indeed her usual self, viewing the acquisition of class points and promotion to Class A as the primary goals.
"It seems you have no more questions. However, I need to correct one thing... Horikita.
Currently, due to the expulsion of Yamauchi Haruki from Class 1-C, there are 79 boys and 80 girls in the first year. Therefore, the girls' groups will be 10 to 15 people each, but the boys' groups will be 9 to 14. The boys' groups cannot form a full 15-person group from the start. Do you understand?"
After finishing this supplement, Chabashira Sae sat back in her seat.
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