The afternoon sun began its descent, casting the long shadows of the students across the athletic track, which had transformed into a bloodless battlefield. The autumn wind, which should have been cool, now felt like it was burning their lungs, carrying with it the thick scent of sweat, dust, and psychological tension.
On the giant scoreboard, the Red Team's numbers had just experienced a massive surge thanks to Ryuen Kakeru's absolute execution in the Three-Legged Race. Fear began to creep onto the faces of several students from Class 1-C and Class 1-A. However, beneath the canopy of Class 1-B's tent, the atmosphere was entirely the opposite. Absolute composure reigned over the area, originating from a single young man who was handing out mineral water bottles with the friendly smile typical of a teacher.
"Attention to all students!" The committee's voice through the loudspeakers cut through the hum of conversation in the stadium. "The Eleventh Recommended-Only Event will commence shortly! This event is the Scavenger Hunt! Each class is requested to send their representatives to the starting line!"
The Scavenger Hunt was a competition that did not rely purely on physical prowess. It was an arena that tested luck, reaction speed, and social networking. In the middle of the field, the committee had placed several wooden boxes containing hundreds of rolled-up instruction papers. The system was called 'The Paper Slip'—each participant had to run to the box, draw a random slip of paper, and read the instructions. Written on that paper was a specific "item" or "person criteria" that the participant was required to bring back to the finish line.
"Koroizumi-kun, this event is highly risky," whispered Horikita Suzune, staring at the event guide. "If the instruction is simple like 'running shoes,' pure speed will win. But if the instruction is 'a bald teacher' or 'a French dictionary,' even the fastest student will be trapped searching through the crowd. Who are we going to deploy?"
Seiji Koroizumi smiled faintly, turning his body to face the lineup of Class 1-B students. "We are deploying the functional Shadow group."
Names like Sakura Airi, Hasebe Haruka, Sotomura Hideo, Ike Kanji, and Yamauchi Haruki were called forward. Those who had thus far only sat observing, holding their breath due to their limited physical capacities, now exchanged tense glances.
"W-Wait a minute, Koroizumi!" Ike protested weakly, his face paling. "This representative event carries huge points! First place is a thousand points! If we go out there and fail... our points will be overtaken by Ryuen!"
"It is highly likely that you will fail, and that doesn't matter in the slightest," Seiji answered with an incredibly relaxed, cheerful tone, ignoring the shocked stares from the entire class. He patted Sotomura and Ike's shoulders in turn. "Do you see Sudou, Hirata, and our Vanguard line? Their muscles require absolute decompression time before the final two events. This Scavenger Hunt is a brief pause for them to cool their engines."
Seiji bent down slightly, looking at Sakura Airi's anxious face with a warm, comforting smile. "This event relies on luck. Run however you like, search for the items to the best of your ability, and do not burden your minds with the scoreboard. Enjoy the festival, Shadows. You are the shield of time for this class."
The tension in the shoulders of those five students instantly melted away. Their leader did not demand victory; he only demanded that they participate safely. With firm nods, Ike and his friends stepped toward the track.
Tweeeet!
The whistle blew. The first heat of the Scavenger Hunt erupted into chaos. Ike Kanji ran as fast as he could toward the boxes in the center of the field, grabbed a slip of paper, and opened it.
"Someone who has been rejected after confessing their love?!" Ike screamed hysterically reading his paper, his head spinning wildly, searching for prey in the stands. He ran in a panic toward Class C, trying to grab random people, only to be rejected outright.
In another corner, Sakura Airi received a paper that read "Telephoto Lens Camera." The shy girl jogged with ragged breaths, utterly confused and too terrified to borrow one from the fierce-looking documentation committee members. Sotomura Hideo received the instruction "A student with a zero score on the English quiz," causing him to run laps around the field looking for an idiot, only to waste precious time.
As Seiji had predicted, the lack of aggressive social networking and pure speed made it difficult for the Shadow lineup to break through the chaos.
Across from them, Class 1-D's lineup, still packed with full-stamina monsters, maneuvered brutally. They intimidated students from other classes into handing over the required items, snatching victory by force. Class 1-C, under Sakayanagi's remote command, responded with decent precision, utilizing their elite connections to find items and criteria people quickly, securing second place. The exhausted Class 1-A could only drag themselves into third place.
That chaos lasted for two consecutive heats. The final results were printed clearly and cruelly on the digital screen.
[Accumulated Results - Event 11: Scavenger Hunt]
Heat 1: Class 1-D (1st Place: +1000), Class 1-C (2nd Place: +200), Class 1-A (3rd Place: +50), Class 1-B (4th Place: -50)Heat 2: Class 1-D (1st Place: +1000), Class 1-C (2nd Place: +200), Class 1-A (3rd Place: +50), Class 1-B (4th Place: -50)
Total Addition:Red Team (D & A): +2,100 PointsWhite Team (B & C): +300 Points
The screen blinked, spitting out a scoreboard update that instantly made half the stadium hold its breath.
============================================================ PROVISIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL SCOREBOARD
RED FACTION : 21,300 Points (Leading)
WHITE FACTION : 20,300 Points (Trailing)
============================================================
"Kukuku... hahahaha!" Ryuen Kakeru's laughter erupted from the Class D tent, echoing across the field. He pointed at the scoreboard with unbearable arrogance. "Look at that, Koroizumi! Your passive defense is shattered into pieces! You voluntarily threw away the points in this arena, and now Class D is officially stepping on your heads!"
A minor panic began to spread across the faces of the Class 1-B students. Falling a thousand points behind this close to the end of the festival was a nightmare scenario.
However, Seiji Koroizumi merely stood casually, his arms crossed over his chest. His pitch-black eyes stared at Ryuen like a scenario director watching his opponent step right into the trap he had laid from the very beginning.
"Rest time is over," Seiji said softly. His voice wasn't loud, yet somehow it pierced the ears of every member of his class with absolute clarity. "Sudou. Hirata. Miyake. The Vanguard, rise. Your muscle decompression is at one hundred percent. It's time to flip the scoreboard."
"Attention!" The committee broadcasted again, this time with a far more spirited tone. "The Twelfth Recommended-Only Event: Four-Way Tug of War!"
The center field was quickly cleared. The committee rolled out an unusual, giant tug-of-war rope. The rope did not form a straight line, but was tied together at a central point, forming a giant "X".
"The rules of the Four-Way Tug of War!" The committee read the guidelines as the class representatives began entering the arena. "Four classes will occupy four different corners of the field, holding one end of this crossed rope formation! At each corner, there is a boundary line. A class is declared the Winner if they successfully pull the central point of the rope past their own boundary line. Conversely, a class is declared Eliminated if they are unable to withstand the pull and are dragged forward across their front boundary line toward the center!"
This event was divided into two sessions. The first session called forth the pillars of strength from each class. Albert Yamada became the anchor for Class D, standing as solid as a rocky mountain. Class A deployed the remnants of their large-built students, whose legs were already trembling slightly. Class C set up a static defensive formation. And in Class B's corner, Sudou Ken stood as the main anchor, supported by Hirata, Miyake, and their class's finest lineup of physical strength.
"Listen to me carefully," Seiji whispered as he gathered The Vanguard before they gripped the rope. "This is not a test of pure muscle. This is applied physics. Because there are four directions of pull, Ryuen will undoubtedly instruct Albert not to pull straight back, but to pull diagonally, utilizing the remaining strength of Class A as a friction foothold."
Sudou's eyes narrowed. "Then what should we do, Koroizumi? Pull harder than that foreign monster?"
"No. We will use his momentum to destroy him," Seiji smiled, a faint smirk that suddenly made the air around them feel colder. "When the whistle blows, take your stances and pull with only 60% of your strength. Let Albert and Class D exert 100% of their power to drag Class A and C. The very second Class D reaches the peak of their static pull... Hirata will yell 'Now!'."
Seiji looked straight into the eyes of his troops. "At that exact second, all of you will simultaneously release your pull. Step half a pace forward, slackening the rope extremely for exactly half a second. Make Class D lose their balancing foothold. When they stagger backward due to the sudden loss of resistance... yank that rope with 200% of your explosive power."
Tweeeet!
The whistle blew. Tension exploded.
"Pull, Albert!" roared Ryuen from the sidelines.
The giant of Class D groaned, his biceps bulging. The rope creaked horrifyingly. In less than ten seconds, the exhausted Class A was instantly dragged forward tragically. The tips of their shoes crossed the front boundary line.
Peet! Class A Eliminated!
Now it was a three-way battle. Class D threw their entire center of gravity into pulling Class B and C. Albert leaned his body backward, exerting one hundred percent of his brute strength, certain that his victory was absolute. The rope slowly shifted toward Class D's territory.
At the end of Class B's rope, Sudou gritted his teeth. He stared at Hirata, who stood in front of him. Hirata's eyes widened, reading the tension of the rope as it reached its absolute peak.
"NOW!" Hirata yelled, splitting the air.
In a synchronization that seemed impossible, every member of the Class 1-B team simultaneously loosened their grip and stepped one full pace forward.
The rope, which had been taut as a steel cable, suddenly slacked. The disappearance of dozens of kilograms of retaining weight in the blink of an eye created a reverse slingshot effect. Albert Yamada and the entire Class D lineup, who were leaning backward at their absolute maximum, suddenly lost their balance. They staggered violently backward, their feet slipping as they desperately searched for a foothold on the loose sand.
Class D's formation completely shattered in chaos.
"PULL!!!" roared Sudou.
Before Class D had a chance to correct their stances, Class B, who had already locked in a perfect foothold, detonated one hundred percent of their thigh and back muscle strength in unison. That brutal synchronized pull yanked the crossed rope with terrifying force.
Albert was dragged forward, his face displaying pure astonishment. The other Class D students were dragged down, tumbling onto the sand. The X-shaped center point of the rope shot rapidly toward Class B's territory, crossing their boundary line decisively.
Prweeeet!
"The Winner of the First Session, Class 1-B!"
"B-Bastards! What did you do?!" Ishizaki yelled from the ground, staring at the severe rope burns on his palms.
That physical illusion tactic was applied once again in the Second Session. Class B let their opponents drain their energy against static resistance, then broke their momentum with lightning-fast slack, before finishing them off with a lethal counter-pull. Class D, relying entirely on brute muscle without harmony, was utterly helpless against such a mechanical strategy.
The giant digital screen blinked again, spitting out numbers that inverted reality.
[Accumulated Results - Event 12: Four-Way Tug of War]
Session 1: Class 1-B (1st Place: +1000), Class 1-C (2nd Place: +200), Class 1-D (3rd Place: +50), Class 1-A (4th Place: -50)Session 2: Class 1-B (1st Place: +1000), Class 1-C (2nd Place: +200), Class 1-D (3rd Place: +50), Class 1-A (4th Place: -50)
Total Addition:White Team (B & C): +2,400 PointsRed Team (D & A): 0 Net Points(The +100 addition from D was entirely consumed by the -100 penalty from A).
============================================================ PROVISIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL SCOREBOARD
WHITE FACTION : 22,700 Points (Leading)
RED FACTION : 21,300 Points (Trailing)
============================================================
The stadium instantly froze. The point coup Ryuen had boasted about lasted for less than twenty minutes before being pulverized back into dust by a single tactical pull from Seiji.
Ryuen stood frozen on the sidelines. His smirk vanished without a trace. He stared at the numbers on the screen, then stared at the figure of Koroizumi Seiji, who merely stood casually with one hand in his trouser pocket. Seiji's calmness was not the calmness of someone resigned to falling behind in the earlier Scavenger Hunt; it was the absolute composure of an apex predator playing with its prey.
"You did that on purpose," Ryuen hissed from afar, his eyes narrowing sharply, radiating a cold glare full of dense hostility. "You threw the 11th event just so my troops would get a big head and walk into this Tug of War arena with a careless formation."
Seiji did not answer. He merely shrugged slowly, responding to Ryuen's glare with the warm smile typical of a teacher.
However, before Ryuen had a chance to retort, the static from the stadium's main loudspeakers broadcasted once more. This time, the voice was accompanied by tense instrumental music that gave every student goosebumps.
"Attention to all students and attendees!" The committee's voice echoed with unparalleled weight. "We have arrived at the end of the festival. The scoreboard will be frozen! The Thirteenth Event... The Pinnacle Event and the Ultimate Decider of this year's Sports Festival: The All-Generation Relay will commence shortly!"
The spectator stands erupted in wild cheers. This was the only event where Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 were merged into a single faction team to run across the same arena.
"Listen closely!" the committee continued with a voice trembling with pressure. "Because this is the final event, the school administration has decided to assign extreme point weights to determine the true ruler of this festival. The faction that crosses this final finish line will be awarded +5,000 Pure Faction Points!"
+5,000 points. That number far exceeded the total points of all the previous recommended events combined. Whoever snatched this ribbon would be instantly crowned the absolute Overall Champion, simultaneously wiping out all previous match results.
In the Class B tent, Seiji Koroizumi took a deep breath, then executed a shoulder stretch that made the muscles beneath his white sports uniform shirt pull taut. He pulled the hem of his shirt up slightly to ensure a comfortable fit, then adjusted his collar—a small action that drastically changed his aura. The body posture he had been hiding behind his casual demeanor was now clearly visible; upright, solid, and filled with a muscular control impossible for an ordinary high school student to possess.
He turned his head toward the far end of the track, where Student Council President Horikita Manabu was already standing with a terrifying aura of dominance, preparing as the final runner from the third-year cohort for the White Team.
"Your hard work is finished, everyone," Seiji said, his voice flowing lightly, as if he had just concluded a casual discussion session in the teachers' lounge.
He began to walk casually toward the track, leaving Suzune, Hirata, and Ayanokouji completely silent—not out of reverence, but because they had just realized that the figure they had been calling 'Seiji' had just decided to stop playing around.
Seiji turned his head slightly, offering a wide smile. "Now, allow me to step onto the field directly. I have one final extra lesson I must conclude before this festival closes."
------------------------------
"Like my work? Catch up to Chapter 69 over on my Patreon!"
P - Gem_Blanks
Thank you so much for your support — you make all of this worthwhile.)