Chapter 053: The Terrifying Class A, 1666 Points, Are They Even Human!
After all, this was encouraging news, wasn't it?
Kaneda hadn't held particularly high expectations for this exam in the first place, but looking at it now, they had actually become Class B just like that.
Therefore.
"Although it's only a 25-point advantage, class rankings are determined exactly by evaluation points, so we will be changing our class sign very soon," Kaneda said.
Ishizaki Daichi turned his head and looked at Kaneda Satoru. "Then does this mean we can celebrate?"
Kaneda Satoru shook his head. "Not yet. A 25-point lead can easily be overturned in a single exam. And—" He paused, his gaze landing on Hiyori, "Class B won't just sit still and wait for death. Especially since they dropped down from Class A and have now been overtaken by us, so if they lose, they will find a way to win it back."
In other words, although they were Class B right now, it might just be a temporary, one-month trial experience of Class B.
These words caused Ishizaki's smile to freeze for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
"What's there to be afraid of! We have Ryuen, we have Shiina, we have Albert, we have Ibuki! For next month's exam, we just need to beat them one more time!" Ishizaki clamored.
But Ryuen didn't look at him.
Because, with a 25-point gap, wouldn't they easily get fucked by Katsuragi and the others?
All it would take is a written exam.
Furthermore.
The penalty for the bottom rankings in the Sports Festival was a deduction of 10 points from all subjects in the next written exam.
So Ryuen felt that the next written exam would likely be exactly that—a written exam.
Thus.
For their original Class C, which was a cluster of academic underachievers, it would be agonizing. Therefore, it really might just be a one-month Class B experience.
However, he wasn't about to say such mood-killing words out loud right now.
But he was indeed contemplating.
Contemplating.
Relying on class competition to charge upward through class rankings based on evaluation points—could this path really lead to Class A? Because right now, they had only luckily beaten Class B by 25 points.
However.
Do not forget, in the end, only graduating as Class A grants all the rewards from the school.
And the current first-year Class A had 1666 points!
1666 points!
Meanwhile, the current original Class C only had 650 points, a difference of 1016 points.
Yes.
Not 25 points, not 100 points, but 1016 points.
This truly was a despair-inducing number.
Even if they caught up by 100 points every month, it would still take ten months. And they only had a little over two years left. It wasn't that they couldn't catch up, it was just too slow. So slow that on this path, they could be interrupted by other matters at any moment.
Especially since Hikigaya couldn't possibly give them such a beautiful opportunity to gain +100 points every month.
Therefore.
Even if they had luckily moved up a class right now, Ryuen's mood wasn't happy at all!
Ryuen withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and looked at his own hand.
He recalled that plan—800 million, the entire class promoting to Class A together. An astronomical figure that they might never be able to scrape together. But this path was more direct than climbing up through evaluation points.
After all, Hikigaya was too terrifying.
This was also something he had experienced firsthand during this exam.
Because although the Red Team won the Red and White confrontation right now, Hikigaya's Class A also won.
Then Class D lost, losing big, losing terribly.
But just thinking about it, what would the situation have been if Hikigaya hadn't intervened?
According to the information obtained from the traitor in Class D.
Class D's participation roster wasn't intentionally leaked to him by Ayanokouji; rather, Hirata had intentionally leaked it to Ayanokouji, and Hirata... was acting under Hikigaya's instructions.
So Hikigaya had been playing chess right from the start.
And even he was merely a chess piece on Hikigaya's chessboard!
So.
How to fight this?
Ryuen felt the difficulty had become even greater.
In that case, taking the 800 million route only required points.
20 million per person, 40 people meant 800 million. If they could scrape together this sum of money before the end of the second year, Class C could directly promote to Class A, skipping all intermediate processes.
But 800 million—how to scrape it together?
Ryuen closed his eyes. During the deserted island exam, Hikigaya Hachiman had made 99 million. One semester, one exam, one person. If Class C could also have an opportunity like that to harvest tens of millions from an exam, they could gather enough for 800 million in just a few exams. But there was only one Hikigaya Hachiman.
And this had exploited the ambition of both himself and Katsuragi wanting to reach Class A.
So, this kind of opportunity definitely wouldn't come often.
At the same time, he wasn't Hikigaya Hachiman; he didn't have the kind of brain that could calculate everything down to a tee. What he had were fists, ruthlessness, and a heart that refused to admit defeat.
Fuck!
Ryuen instantly felt his mood grow even worse.
Thus, Ryuen shoved his hands back into his pockets.
"Shiina." Ryuen spoke.
Hiyori raised her head.
"For next month's exam, we must win."
Hiyori looked at him and nodded. "I know."
In Ryuen's view, reaching Class A was too difficult, but disgusting Class B was still doable.
And at this moment.
Inside Class B's tent.
The atmosphere was much heavier than in Class C.
It was a suffocating heaviness, as if something was pressing down on everyone's chest, unable to be removed or pushed away.
Because.
The final match had concluded.
Which meant the Sports Festival was also about to end. Therefore, the scores were out.
Katsuragi Kohei stood in the middle of the tent holding his phone. His expression looked calm, but Totsuka Yahiko noticed that his hand was trembling slightly.
Clearly, Katsuragi-kun's heart was filled with vexation.
Meanwhile, no one around spoke. Some lowered their heads, some turned away, and some just stood there, not knowing what to say.
"In the 1200-meter relay, Ayanokouji's speed was indeed very fast." A boy's voice came from the crowd, carrying a trace of emotional sighing. "Chasing from second-to-last place to fourth place—this kind of explosive power can't be found in a second person across the entire first-year volume."
"What's the use of being fast?" Another voice chimed in, carrying clear dissatisfaction. "Class D is still at the bottom. No matter how fast he is, he can't save Class D. And no matter how fast he ran, he didn't get first place."
That boy opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but found that he didn't know what to say. Ayanokouji was indeed fast, but he indeed didn't get first place. Putting these two facts together left people unsure whether to admire him or ridicule him.
"Compared to Ayanokouji," Morishita Ai's voice came from a corner of the tent, carrying a trace of helplessness, "have you guys noticed that our class's evaluation points are lower than Class C's?"
The tent went silent for a moment. Everyone's eyes turned toward her.
Morishita Ai leaned against a folding chair, her purplish-blue long hair draped over her shoulders, holding a notebook in her hand which had the final evaluation points of the four classes written on it. Her expression wasn't very good; her brow was furrowed, and her lips were pursed.
"Class A has 1666 points, Class C has 650 points, and our class has 625 points." Morishita Ai said in a somewhat muffled tone, "Class C is 25 points higher than us."
The tent went quiet again. That kind of quiet wasn't silence; it was shock.
"What do you mean?" A boy's voice came from the back of the crowd, "Are you saying—we've been overtaken by Class C?"
Morishita Ai nodded, "In terms of evaluation points, we are now the first-year Class C."
"So we aren't Class B anymore but Class C now?" A student blurted out in surprise.
No one answered.
Because the answer was too obvious; it didn't need an answer.
Totsuka Yahiko's face turned very ugly. He stood next to Katsuragi, his fingers tightening against the side seam of his sports pants. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but glanced at Katsuragi's expression and swallowed his words back down.
Katsuragi didn't speak, standing there motionlessly. His expression didn't show any change, but having known him for so long, Totsuka knew what was hidden beneath that calm face.
"Katsuragi-kun." Totsuka finally spoke, his voice very low, "We..."
"I know." Katsuragi interrupted him.
He took a deep breath, then he raised his head and looked at everyone present. His expression was still that composed manner, but his gaze was heavier than usual.
"We lost the Red and White confrontation, ranked second in the school year, and spending 8 million points to buy off the third-year Class C to throw the match didn't achieve the expected results." Katsuragi's voice was very steady, but every word felt like a needle stabbing into himself, "These are my responsibilities. I will not evade them."
No one spoke.
"Class C exceeding us by 25 points is a fact." Katsuragi continued, "In next month's exam, if we can't chase back these 25 points, we will continue to be stepped on by Class C. We might even be pulled further and further apart."
At this time, a boy's voice came out from the crowd, carrying a trace of unwillingness. "Katsuragi-kun, we spent 8 million, and the result was still a loss. For next month's exam, are we going to continue spending? Our savings of points have basically been spent like this. Or rather, next, should everyone pool together their living expenses too? For the next exam, I really don't want to lose anymore."
Katsuragi went silent for a second. "Points must be used on the cutting edge. It's not that spending more guarantees a win. As for pooling points into class funds, it depends on what the next special exam is. If needed, in order to reclaim our position, my recommendation is that it is necessary."
That boy opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but the person next to him tugged his sleeve, and he shut his mouth.
Katsuragi withdrew his gaze and scanned around the tent. His gaze swept past those silent, depressed, and bewildered faces, and then he pulled it back.
"This month's exam has already ended. For next month's exam, we must chase back the points we lost." Katsuragi's voice became a bit louder than before, "No matter who the opponent is, no matter what the rules are, we must win."
No one echoed him.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, it was that they didn't dare to.
Because Class A had 1666 points, Class C had 650 points, and Class B had 625 points.
The original Class C was fine, it was just 25 points.
They knew.
A smile.
But.
The current Class A where Hikigaya was located was leading them by over 1000 points. Over 1000 points was not something that could be caught up in a single exam. It even made people feel a sense of despair.
Although no one said this out loud, everyone was thinking it in their hearts.
Everyone was feeling despair.
Meanwhile, Morishita Ai leaned against the folding chair, looked at Katsuragi's back, and sighed softly.
She recalled what Sakayanagi had said before the Sports Festival began—"This time for the Sports Festival, the Red Group will win."
At that time, she thought Sakayanagi was merely analyzing the situation. Now she knew, Sakayanagi wasn't analyzing; she was stating a fact. Because she knew Hikigaya Hachiman would win. She knew right from the start.
So to speak, relying on Katsuragi-kun for the class won't work.
Consequently.
Morishita Ai's gaze shifted away from Katsuragi and fell upon a corner of the tent. Sakayanagi Arisu sat there, her cane resting against the side of her chair, her expression very calm, with even a faint, light smile hanging on the corner of her lips.
The gazes of several Class B students also fell upon Sakayanagi. She had resigned from the position of class representative after the VIP exam, handing the class over to Katsuragi. Now Katsuragi had also failed. If Katsuragi were to step down as well, could she come back?
And while this thought spun around in the minds of a few people, no one voiced it.
Sakayanagi felt those gazes. Yet, she did not look up.
She was thinking about Hikigaya Hachiman.
Before the Sports Festival ended, Hachiman had spoken to her.
"If you want to take power, it's simple. Do you want me to strike Katsuragi down?"
At that time, she thought he was just joking, or testing her. Now she knew, he wasn't joking, and he wasn't testing.
He was stating a fact.
He had known long ago that Katsuragi would lose, knowing it since before the Sports Festival even began.
Albeit she also knew, knowing that Katsuragi's strategy wouldn't win when going up against Hikigaya-kun.
And now.
It wasn't a joke; rather, he had already struck Katsuragi down, without requiring her to do anything at all.
Hikigaya Hachiman is truly a terrifying man.
Sakayanagi leaned against the back of her chair.
Although right now, as long as she stood up, the students in the class would re-welcome her with respect, and even Katsuragi would take responsibility for the failure of this exam and yield his position.
But.
She didn't do so.
Because.
In class competition, they couldn't win.
At least while Hikigaya Hachiman was still in Class A, they couldn't win.
It wasn't that Class B wasn't strong enough; it was that Class A was too strong. It wasn't a strength in capability, but a strength in strategy. Every exam, every layout, every decision—he walked ahead of everyone. And he didn't even need to take the field personally; he only needed to sit inside the tent and watch those people follow his script.
Sakayanagi closed her eyes.
She recalled what she had said to Kamuro before the Sports Festival started—"We can transfer classes. Scrape together 20 million points and transfer to Class A."
At that time, Kamuro thought she was joking.
What about now?
Sakayanagi opened her eyes. It wasn't a joke; it was a retreat route.
And if it was like this for Class B.
Inside Class D's tent, the atmosphere was heavier than Class B's.
Oh no, this shouldn't be called heavy, but suffocating.
Several students gathered together, holding their phones, with a screenshot of a report card on the screens. The numbers jumped before their eyes, and everyone's expression looked quite bad. Some stepped on the ground, some leaned against folding chairs, some lowered their heads, and some turned away.
"Minus 270 points." Yukimura Teruhiko's voice came out from the crowd, "This is Class D's current evaluation points."
No one spoke.
Minus 270 points.
In the history of Advanced Nurturing High School, there had never been a class whose evaluation points were a negative number.
Class D had created a record, but not the kind to be proud of.
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