Chapter 002 Unfair Treatment / Is This Person a White Room Assassin?
Thinking it over, for a first-year freshman, even having no personal points for three months wasn't actually a major issue. After all, this school provided all kinds of free facilities, meals, and basic supplies.
Based on the calculation that the highest monthly Class Points since enrollment could be 1,000, even if a student messed up with their upperclassman partner and their total score fell below 500, the maximum loss would only be around 300,000 personal points.
However, Shimizu Akira still felt there was something fishy about it. He couldn't help but raise his hand to ask a question:
"Since the first-year freshmen have only just been enrolled for a semester and are already being required to partner with us second-years for a special exam—and the rules explicitly mention Class Points—does this mean they no longer need to take the Behavioral Norms Exam?"
When they first started school, all information regarding such matters was deliberately suppressed by the school authorities.
Chabashira-sensei nodded and explained, "This year's first-year class indeed did not undergo a Behavioral Norms Exam. At the start of the term, the school directly notified the students of some of the school's special rules."
"Hey, that's too sly!"
"And they don't even face expulsion for this special exam!"
"We had to take that exam for a whole month!"
Many people in Second-Year Class B felt they were being treated unfairly. Back then, they had over 400 Class Points deducted at once because of that Behavioral Norms Exam. If it weren't for the fact that they rented the surveillance cameras, they would have almost ended up with zero points. Since enrollment, that was the exam with the harshest deductions.
Why did the freshmen get to skip it entirely, while they had to endure it for a full month back then?
Chabashira Sae shook her head.
"Freshmen generally aren't involved in expulsion protocols during their first few special exams; this is a long-standing tradition of the school. Just like your Uninhabited Island exam back then—as long as no rules were broken, no one would be expelled.
However, this special exam was arranged rather hastily. This is the first time I've seen the school rush to have freshmen participate in a special exam just one week after the start of the term. But you can rest assured: the initial points for all four first-year classes are 800 points. In a sense, this can be considered a different kind of balance."
Shimizu Akira recalled the past. Indeed, their first special exam didn't start until the first semester was completely over. However, he felt that the earlier special exams started, the better. At least that way, everyone would realize the importance of personal points and Class Points sooner.
But speaking of which, since they skipped the Behavioral Norms Exam, were the initial points for all four first-year classes really exactly 800?
If so, it might actually be bad news for First-Year Class A. Given their class's overall academic ability, they should have been able to steadily maintain over 900 Class Points. The situation for First-Year Class B was likely similar.
But for Class C and Class D, this was undoubtedly a godsend. Especially for First-Year Class D—last year, Chabashira-sensei mentioned that the average initial points for Class D were only around 300. Now, they suddenly had an extra 500 points for free; how could they not be happy?
The students couldn't help but feel that this wasn't much of a "balance" at all. If their class had only lost 200 Class Points back then, they might have already become Class A. Add to that the discrepancy in punishments for scoring below 500, and the gap in treatment between the two grade levels was simply too large.
"Unfair!"
"Yeah! It's too unfair! The treatment between grades is too different!"
"That old man Tsukishiro is discriminating again!"
"Koenji?! Don't you have anything to say?"
Someone couldn't help but turn their gaze toward Koenji Rokusuke. After all, last time, it was because of his family's intervention that Tsukishiro suffered a major loss.
"Hehe, do not look at me with such pitiful eyes." Koenji Rokusuke tucked away his small hand mirror and said listlessly, "I contributed to the class vote, and I carried you all once during the event selection exam, didn't I? Regrettably, this doesn't involve me, and I have no interest! Furthermore, after entering the second year, I plan to rest for at least three months. Hirata-boy already agreed to this."
Hirata Yosuke took over the conversation somewhat awkwardly.
"Well... I didn't think his request was unreasonable, so I agreed."
"Is that so!" "Ugh!"
Those few people were left speechless. Hirata's approach wasn't wrong.
Koenji really had made a huge contribution to the class last time. For a man who worshipped freedom like him, being willing to "rest" for only three months was already quite restrained.
Shimizu Akira couldn't help but rub his forehead.
Why were there several people in class starting to rely on Koenji Rokusuke? It had become a habit of dependency. Looking closely, these few people were usually the ones who didn't contribute much to the class and mostly slacked off during special exams.
Horikita Suzune looked at them and suddenly realized a problem. Although the class had now risen to Second-Year Class B, their overall quality and ability still had a certain gap compared to Ichinose Honami's Second-Year Class D. This was perhaps the drawback of rising to Class B too quickly.
However, the special exam was still in the rule-explanation phase. Horikita Suzune cleared her throat to bring the topic back on track: "So, what are the specific conditions for forming a partnership? Are there any restrictions? Can this information be disclosed immediately?"
Chabashira-sensei explained, "The team is considered formed once it is reviewed and approved in the OAA system. Once a team is successfully formed, it cannot be dissolved."
From that perspective, the rules were quite strict. Everyone only had one chance to choose. The electronic screen displayed the methods and rules for deciding partners:
You can only send a partnership application to a student you want to partner with via OAA once per day (if not accepted, the application resets after 24 hours). If the other party accepts the application, the partnership is established and cannot be dissolved. o Exceptions: Withdrawal from school, serious illness, or other force majeure.
Once a pair is confirmed, the information on OAA will synchronize at 8:00 AM the next day, and they can no longer accept new applications. o The specific partner will not be publicly displayed.
Having only one application attempt per day meant that if you weren't certain the other person would accept, you might waste 24 hours for nothing.
"If the pairing is not completed by the day of the exam, the school will randomly assign partners at 8:00 AM that morning. In such cases, the total score of both partners will be deducted by 5% as a penalty. Furthermore, since there is one more student in the first year than in the second year, that extra student will have their score multiplied by two to fill the gap, but they will also be subjected to the 5% penalty. Therefore, you don't need to worry about a lack of motivation from the first-years; in the end, there will definitely be one freshman left without a partner," Chabashira-sensei said slowly.
The design of the rules was quite thorough. That 5% deduction was meant to fully motivate all students in both the first and second years.
"What about the exam range and difficulty?" another classmate asked.
"There will be many difficult questions! You can use this standard as a specific reference."
As Chabashira spoke, a score prediction table based on academic ability appeared on the screen:
Academic Rank E: 150 ~ 200 points Academic Rank D: 200 ~ 250 points Academic Rank C: 250 ~ 300 points Academic Rank B: Around 350 points Academic Rank A: Around 400 points
It was actually quite difficult. Even if your academic ability was Rank A, you couldn't get a perfect score at all.
"By the way, I have one very important thing to tell you." Chabashira-sensei's expression turned serious as she added another key rule. "The 'under 500 points' condition includes exactly 500 points. In other words, even if your individual performance is outstanding and your score is perfect, as long as your partner gets 0 points, you will still be judged as failing to reach the target score and will face expulsion."
"No way!"
"That's a total trap!"
"Doesn't that mean we're completely at the mercy of the first-years?!"
Wails immediately broke out below the podium. As long as a first-year partner pulled a few stunts, they could cause their paired second-year student to be expelled directly. Since the first-year's punishment was relatively light, the initiative for this special exam was actually entirely in the hands of the freshmen.
Of course, the rules explicitly added that any student judged to have intentionally answered incorrectly, manipulated, or lowered their score would be expelled regardless of their grade. Those who forced a third party to score low would also be expelled.
"Wait, sensei!" Ike Kanji couldn't help but raise his hand to ask, "No matter how bad a student's grades are, they wouldn't get a 0, right? That clearly falls into the category of intentionally failing! If a partner is expelled for misconduct, the student paired with them shouldn't be involved; they should count as passing!"
However, Chabashira-sensei shook her head.
"Regrettably, the school has not established such a rule. Therefore, according to current regulations, the paired student will likewise be expelled."
The classroom fell completely silent. In other words, if a first-year truly chose to "self-destruct," they would definitely take a second-year down with them.
"…"
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Lunch Break
Shimizu Akira opened the class group chat and saw a new message from Chabashira-sensei regarding the five subjects and range for this exam: Mathematics, Japanese, English, Social Studies, and Chemistry.
Only five subjects... considering previous exams usually covered seven. However, this was likely an adjustment made to synchronize with the first-year curriculum.
Horikita Suzune looked at him: "Regarding this special exam, do you have a fastest, most secure method? I know you already have an idea."
Shimizu Akira couldn't help but twitch his lips. His girlfriend really liked giving him difficult tasks.
"Is there a reward?" he asked casually.
Suzune rolled her eyes at him, having grown used to her boyfriend's bargaining style.
"Yes. I can cook the dishes you like for the rest of this month."
That wasn't bad. Coincidentally, Shimizu Akira had been craving some lately.
He thought for a moment and spoke slowly: "The fastest and best way is actually very simple! Just go to the first year and find any class to cooperate with."
"Huh? That's it?" Suzune was a bit surprised.
"Don't we need to consider how many Rank E or Rank D students we have, how many Rank B or Rank A the other side has, and the matching issues? What if the cooperating class is First-Year Class D? Are you sure everyone can be successfully paired and pass?"
"I've already looked at the ratings for all of First-Year Class D; the situation isn't as bad as you think," Shimizu explained. "Their distribution of students across ratings is very close to ours. We just need to pair our Rank A students with their Rank E students, Rank B with Rank D, Rank C with Rank C... that way, every combination is guaranteed to get over 500 points."
This batch of freshmen was much better than he had imagined.
"Maybe you're overthinking it. This special exam, besides the 'cross-grade pairing' aspect, is essentially very similar to last year's pairing exam. As long as we use the 'strong leading the weak' matching strategy, the problem is solved." He spread his hands.
Ultimately, this was just a variation of that exam from last year.
Horikita Suzune fell into deep thought. It seemed that was indeed the case; she had overcomplicated it.
"Then is there anything we need to watch out for?"
"Of course, three things."
"First, it's only the first week of school. In the four first-year classes, there might not be a clear class leader yet, just like our Class D at the start. So, cooperating isn't actually that easy." "Second, the first-years don't face the risk of expulsion. No matter what, the initiative is to some extent in the hands of the freshmen. If we want to cooperate smoothly, we might have to pay a price—most likely personal points." "Third, our class currently only has 39 people because Yamauchi Haruki has been expelled. So no matter which class we cooperate with, there will definitely be one first-year left who can't be paired. This is an unavoidable factor."
Horikita Suzune looked conflicted. "Personally, I don't really want to use personal points to bribe freshmen. After all, our class hasn't even saved a single point of class funds until now."
This was indeed the biggest pain point for Second-Year Class B at the moment. Unlike other classes, all personal points were held individually, and the class's public funds were always zero.
"Then you'll have to exchange other benefits," Shimizu Akira said. "For example, allowing them to adjust the pairing combinations within a controllable range, or promising to help their class at some point in the future. Other classes won't just sit idly by."
In fact, the idea of cooperating with an entire class was likely something Shiina Hiyori, Sakayanagi Arisu, and even Ichinose Honami could think of. To secure better conditions, the other side might proactively offer personal points as a bargaining chip. When that happened, they would need to show other chips that could move the opponent.
Horikita Suzune rubbed her temples. Just as she was about to say something, both of their phones received notification sounds at the same time.
Shimizu Akira opened it and found that Ichinose Honami had posted a notice in the newly established cross-grade general chat room:
"Today from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, a first and second-year exchange meeting will be held in the gymnasium. Students who can afford the time are encouraged to attend."
"Ichinose-san moves so fast! She's already started setting the stage. Class D's mobility is stronger than I imagined," Suzune sighed softly.
Shimizu Akira thought for a bit: "I'll go over and take a look. Want to come along?"
Suzune thought for a few seconds and shook her head. "I won't go. When it comes to social skills, I don't think I can beat Ichinose. There should be classes that won't attend; I might look into talking to them."
"Alright." Shimizu Akira nodded.
It was just as well. He personally felt that the students who would attend the exchange meeting were likely those who weren't very confident in their own academic ability and wanted to proactively find opportunities.
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After School
Shimizu Akira opened his phone and found several partnership applications from first-year on the OAA app. After all, his academic ability was Rank A!
However, since he didn't know them at all, he rejected them all with one click. To be honest, with his Rank A academic ability, he really didn't have to worry about not finding a partner in this cross-grade cooperative exam.
Suzune, Kikyo, and Honami, those top students, should also find it quite easy. What truly needed worry were the four of them: Haruka, Airi, Kei, and Masumi.
Thinking of this, Shimizu Akira remembered the intelligence from the first day of school about someone knowing Kikyo's dark history. He'd ask Kikyo later to see if there were any freshmen she recognized.
Coincidentally, Ike Kanji, Sudo Ken, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka also planned to go to the gym to check things out. The four of them set off together.
"Seriously, having everyone's abilities digitized and made public like this... why do I feel like it's actually a bad thing?" On the way, Ike Kanji couldn't help but grumble.
"A bad thing? How so? Now everyone's ability values are clear at a glance. Just check their OAA and you know roughly what level they are!" Sudo Ken scratched his head.
"That's exactly why it's weird!" Ike immediately countered.
"Normally, this kind of information should only be known after two people have spent time together and gradually gotten to know each other. Now it's like playing a game where you can see the other person's stats at a glance... it feels like there's no privacy between people anymore. Like, if someone suddenly runs up to befriend you, how do you know if they sincerely want to know you, or just because your physical ability rating is high?"
"This..." Sudo Ken was suddenly at a loss for words.
Indeed, once all data was made public, the act of making friends seemed to be covered in a layer of utilitarianism.
"What do you think, Ayanokouji?" Shimizu Akira turned his head to look at the "Masterpiece."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's gaze swept across the first-year students occasionally passing by on both sides of the corridor. "Digitization itself is neither good nor bad. It just makes the judgments and labels that already existed between people more explicit."
Ike Kanji frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Previously, if you saw someone very good at sports, you'd think they have good stamina; if you met someone with excellent grades, you'd silently label them a top student," Ayanokouji said.
"OAA just puts those assessments that were originally going on in the mind onto a screen."
Sudo Ken thought it over. "Isn't that more hurtful? Before, you could at least pretend you didn't know."
"Perhaps." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka sounded a bit optimistic—this was something Shimizu Akira had taught him. "But from another perspective, it also makes people clearer about their own position. Knowing where you're lacking tells you where to put in effort.
As for making friends... someone who truly wants to know you won't approach you just because of a number. Similarly, if the other person really only looks at data, then seeing through them early might not be a bad thing."
Shimizu Akira listened and laughed involuntarily.
Unknowingly, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had indeed grown quite a bit. Now his analysis of problems and conclusions were quite multi-faceted.
Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken also nodded, and the two of them unconsciously quickened their pace and walked ahead. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, however, slowed his pace slightly to walk side-by-side with Shimizu Akira.
"Among the new students this time, there should be an assassin from the White Room mixed in," he said in a low voice.
"Since you're also from the White Room, do you know how to identify someone who came from there? Do they have any obvious characteristics?" Shimizu Akira asked as the opportunity arose.
"Hmm... perhaps there is one." Ayanokouji replied calmly.
"The diet inside the White Room is strictly controlled, from the details to the total amount. It's almost impossible for someone raised in that environment to have an obese physique. Therefore, a fat person definitely cannot be the White Room assassin."
Shimizu Akira fell silent for a few seconds after hearing this. That was basically saying nothing. Was this guy joking?
"Don't you guys have some kind of tattoo-like mark on your bodies? The kind used to indicate White Room origin?" he tried asking again.
"No." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka answered as if it were natural.
"Shimizu, have you been watching too many TV dramas? The White Room is not an illegal organization; it won't mark bodies with brands or burns."
'Who said anything about brands! It's a tattoo! The kind on the arm or back—isn't that a common setting? Although it hurts a bit... but don't mysterious organizations like yours usually follow that trope?'
"However," Ayanokouji added calmly, "strong physical fitness, balanced and prominent abilities in all aspects, poor adaptation to campus life, and a lack of facial expressions—these are indeed common characteristics of those from the White Room."
Shimizu Akira raised his hand to rub his forehead. All in all, this was likely the extent of the information regarding the White Room assassin.
When Shimizu Akira and the others arrived at the gymnasium, they found that the number of attendees wasn't very large. The total of first and second-years combined was less than a hundred. Among them, twenty or thirty were from Ichinose Honami's Second-Year Class D. Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A and Ryuen Kakeru from Class C hadn't shown their faces at all.
It seemed that, just as he had expected, those who proactively came here were mostly students who weren't very confident in their own academic ability.
Shimizu Akira scanned the first-year students in the hall, identifying them against the OAA data on his phone. Sure enough, many of them had academic abilities below Rank D, and there were even a few at E-.
However, Ichinose Honami seemed completely unconcerned by this. She still wore a smile, proactively making small talk with the first-year juniors, and only spoke about daily life, not mentioning the special exam at all.
Honami soon noticed Shimizu Akira's presence and was about to come over to say hello, but Shimizu Akira quickly waved his hand, signaling her to keep busy. Even as a couple, he didn't like interrupting her while she was working.
"Someone has been observing us," came Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's calm voice from behind.
"Who?" Shimizu Akira immediately followed up.
"Seven o'clock direction, the girl biting a lollipop," Ayanokouji replied.
Shimizu Akira looked in that direction. Sure enough, a girl with short yellow hair was leaning against the wall, a lollipop in her mouth. Her face had no expression, her posture was lazy, and her eyes swept over here once more.
Wait. Didn't Ayanokouji just say that people from the White Room often show very little emotion?
Could it be this kouhai? Whether she was or wasn't, at the very least, she was definitely suspicious!
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