<h4>Chapter 424: Chapter 2: Last Exam for the First Year</h4>
March 8th.
Within ss C, Chabashira would soon be announcing the final special exam of the year.
There were thirty-nine desks in the ssroom.
There had been forty just a few days ago, but that had been taken for granted and now, one of them was gone.
This was because Yamauchi Haruki had been expelled.
It wasn''t just ss C who had faced this. Manabe from ss D and Yahiko from ss A had been as well.
There was no doubt that these expulsions had left a mark on the entire first-year student body.
Any hopes that there might have been a way out had beenpletely shattered.
Before they could get past the shock and sorrow of everything that had happened, time continued to march forward.
At the sound of the bell, homeroom had begun for the day and Chabashira walked into the room.
The ssroom waspletely void of idle chatter.
"-Without any further ado, I will now announce the final special exam."
Chabashira began exining the details of the first year''s final special exam.
Just as I had predicted, nobody was willing to say anything about Yamauchi.
Ike and Sudō, his closest friends, were probably trying their best toe to terms with reality.
"We will be finishing off the year with one final special exam where you''ll be asked to show off a culmination of everything that you''ve learned up until now, including knowledge, physical ability, cooperation, and maybe even a little bit of luck. In short, all of you will need to demonstrate the full extent of your potential."
Normally, Chabashira would''ve been flooded with a tidal wave of questions andints from Ike''s general direction.
However, Ike was just listening to her quietly.
Most likely, he was wary of the fact that he may very well be next in line for expulsion.
"The special exam is called the ''Event Selection Exam'', an exam where each ss willpete in terms of theirprehensive ability. The ss you''ll bepeting against will be decided in ordance with the rules, simr to how it was during the Paper Shuffle exam."
The Event Selection Exam. I couldn''t help but wonder what this final special of the school year would be about.
"To start things off, I''ll use these cards to make the exnation easier for all of you to understand. There are ten white cards and a certain number of yellow ones, modeled after the number of students in the ss."
As she spoke, Chabashira attached each of the nk cards onto the ckboard and lined them up.
Each card was roughly the same size as a ying card. While the ten white cards had nothing written on them, each of the yellow cards seemed to have a student''s name written on them.
Altogether, forty-eight cards had been attached to the ckboard.
There was one less yellow card than there were students in our ss. This seemed like it was probably going to be significant.
"To start things out, I''ll exin the purpose of these ten white cards. The lot of you''ll have to talk things out with one another and decide on ten events that you''d like to do, which you will write down on these cards."
As soon as she said this, Ike let show a somewhat difficult expression.
Having noticed how he was struggling to avoid interrupting her exnation, Chabashira spoke up again, her wordsced with amusement.
"If there''s something on your mind, why don''t you speak up?"
"N-no, it''s just... don''t you get angry at us when we interrupt you while you''re still talking?"
Ike was obviously feeling distraught over this.
"Either way, I just can''t get ahold of myself unless you get this nonsense off your chest."
In the past, Chabashira would pretty much only take questions at the end, but this time, it seemed like she was fine with hearing him out halfway through.
Many of our ssmates turned their attention toward him.
Although he was puzzled with her change in attitude, Ike proceeded to voice his doubts.
"Then, uhm... uhh... What did you mean by events, exactly?"
"Writing, Shogi, ying Cards, Baseball... You''re free to write down any events you think you can win at. It''s also up to you toe up with the rules for how each event will y out."
"Eh? We''re allowed to choose whatever we want?"
Despite the fact that she had said it was up to us to decide, it didn''t seem to be clicking with Ike and the others.
"While you''re allowed to choose what you want to choose, there are still some restrictions. For instance, if you were to choose an obscure contest or game that not many people are familiar with, nobody but the proposers would have any chance of winning. In addition, the rules of the event must also be fair and easy to understand. Therefore, after you''ve submitted your events, the school will judge whether or not they''re appropriate, and act as the final say in the matter."
Certainly, most people would have no chances of winning if peculiar rules were implemented, or if they had chosen excessively obscure sports or games that would only favor a small set of dedicated enthusiasts.
That said, I still wondered if there was more to the restrictions on the rules than this.
"Additionally, the rules must have regtions to prevent neutral oues. In the game of Go, for example, if both sides have the same score from territory and enemy captures, the game ends in a draw. In which case, the white side, as a concession for being the yer who went second, would be given an additional half-point and win the game. In Shogi, as another example, it may seem impossible for the game to end in a draw at first, but it does happen on rare asions, like when both kings are positioned in their respective promotion zones. If this happens, the game is in a deadlock and the winner is the yer with more pieces in y. You will be required toe up with detailed rules like these ahead of time. If you submit an event without including tiebreakers to prevent the potential neutral oues, then it will be rejected."
Events that ensure somebodyes out on top, while also not being overly obscure.
Even though there were countless options to choose from, it seemed that, to some extent, it was restricted to stay within the scope of a student.
"Well, let''s try illustrating it using an easy-to-understand example. Ike. What are you good at? Anything''s fine, so just say it."
"Uh... What am I good at...?"
Ike began to think, seemingly unable toe up with something on the spot.
"I-I guess I''m pretty good at stuff like rock-paper-scissors?"
After hearing such a ridiculous answer, the rest of the ss was unable to hold back theirughter.
Nevertheless, Chabashira took it seriously and wrote ''rock-paper-scissors'' on one of the white cards.
"Okay, so let''s suppose you chose rock-paper-scissors as one of the events."
Not having expected that she would take his answer seriously, Ike and the rest of the ss were left with dumbfounded expressions.
"So then, what are the rules?"
"Uhm... Best three out of five?"
Chabashira wrote Ike''s rule on the bottom of the card.
"The event is well-known, and the rules are clear and simple. There would be no reason for the school to reject it."
"S-she had no problem with it..."
Although it was an event that came about from a sloppy answer, the school didn''t seem to have any problem with it.
"Now, just repeat this nine more times and you''ll be done."
Chabashira picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the ckboard.
"This is the schedule for the exam, which is also something important for you to keep in mind. It will be roughly divided into three phases."
Chabashira-sensei took the chalk and wrote it on the ckboard.
"The exam schedule is also very important. This special exam is roughly divided into three stages:"
Special Exams:
March 8, the day of the announcement of the special exam. On the same day, determine the ss'' opponent.
March 15, determine 10 events. Announce 10 events and their respective rules.
March 22, the ''election day'' special exam day.
"B-But sensei, wouldn''t it take way too long for us topete over twenty events?"
"On the day of the exam, each ss will narrow down their ten events to their top five choices and submit those. In other words, there will be ten events, not twenty."
At this point, Horikita spoke up.
"So basically, five of the ten events are just bluffs... meant as false information for us to mislead our opponents?"
"I suppose the events can y that role too. Of the chosen ten events, seven of them will be randomly selected by an automated system prepared by the school. That''s how it will work."
Without denying anything, Chabashira confirmed Horikita''s assertion.
Compared to previous special exams, it seemed as though this one will span over a longer period of time.
I could assume that they had chosen to hold seven events because they wanted to ensure that there was a tiebreaker.
Since there wouldn''t be any draws, it led me to wonder if the winner would be decided by the first ss to get four wins out of the seven events.
"Even if the oue is decided before all the events happen, the exam will continue until the final event ends. This is because the oue of each event will influence the change in ss points. In other words, even if the winners and losers have been determined, thepetition will continue until the very end. The deadline for getting your ten events finalized will be Sunday the 14th at the end of the day. Your events will need to be checked over by the school, so it would be safer for all of you to have each event checked as soon as you decide on it."
"What happens if we don''t manage toe up with ten events by the 14th?"
"If that happens, the school will fill in the gaps with pre-arranged events. That said, you shouldn''t assume these ones will be favorable toward you. The events would probably end up doing more harm than good."
It looked like we definitely needed toe up with all of our events, no matter what.
"Another important thing to note is that you''re not allowed to submit the same event twice. Suppose you''ve submitted a ser event that determines the oue by best two out of three. If you try to submit another ser event with different rules where the oue is decided by a penalty kick, it will be rejected. I advise you to keep this in mind."
"Is it possible for us to retract an event after we''ve submitted it?"
"That won''t be allowed."
"Then... are there any restrictions on who, or how many times somebody can participate in the events on the day of the exam?"
"Certain portions of the rules you''ll have to follow will probably be difficult to understand with just a verbal exnation, so the school prepared this handout containing the specific details. Feel free to make copies of it afterward. It should have the answers you''re looking for, Horikita."
It would''ve been nice if the school had prepared a copy for each of us, but it was possible that they hadn''t done so intentionally.
With a single copy, the entire ss would have to gather together to look at it all at the same time.
In that way, it would likely end up sparking conversation amongst everyone.
"I already wrote this on the ckboard, but the ten events you end up choosing will be ryed to the opposing ss on the 15th. After all, it''s hard to hold a fairpetition if your opponents don''t know what kind of events and rules you chose."
In other words, we had roughly one week to study, practice, formte ns, and do any other preparation we might need.
It''s also quite likely that there will be a battle of trying to figure out the other ss''s preferred events on the day of the exam.
"Also, after the exam on the 22nd finishes, you''ll have the 23rd off. After the graduation ceremony on the 24th and the closing ceremony on the 25th, you''ll be free to enjoy your spring break to your heart''s content."
I figured that our motivation moving forward would be highly dependent on whether or not we ended up losing or winning.
At any rate, I was able to grasp the general idea of the Event Selection Exam.
However-
Based on Chabashira''s expression, there still seemed to be something important she hadn''t mentioned yet.
"There''s still another important part to this besides choosing the events. In order to properly manage such arge number of people, you''ll need to select somebody to y the role ofmander. Bear in mind that thismander won''t be able to directly participate in the events."
"Commander...?"
This seemed to be the reason why there were only thirty-eight yellow cards.
"It''s an important role for somebody that needs to be able to adapt on the fly. You can think of it as a supporting role that participates in every event, acting as a lifeline. For example, they can substitute for a missing yer or solve difficult problems that arise. This isn''t just limited to sports either. Themander would be given the means to intervene with games like Shogi or Go as well."
It wasn''t just about the foundational ability of the students. The contributions made by themander were also important.
"How exactly themander is involved in everything will also be up to you. Using rock-paper-scissors as an example... you cane up with rules like: ''Themander can join in one time at their own discretion'' or ''Themander can swap out the student participating in the match''. It''s up to you."
This meant that interventions from themanders would generally be allowed as long as they''re fair.
In something like baseball or ser, giving themander the ability to switch out the yers would be like assigning them the role of head coach for the team.
Through all seven events, the involvement of themander was probably going to be a major part of the entire exam.
"Commanders will be granted private points when the ss emerges victorious, but at the same time, they''ll have to bear the consequences when the ss faces defeat. Indeed, when a ss loses, themander will be held liable and be expelled from the school."
It seemed like the loser would be forcibly expelled this time too.
"In this special exam, having amander will be crucial. Moving forward without one won''t be permitted. If you talk it through with each other and still can''t decide on one,e and speak with me about it and I''ll pick someone appropriate for the role."
Once again, we had to nominate one person to take the heat.
The protection point I had got my hands on during the provisional special exam seemed like it would be a big hassle now.
I was well aware that many of my ssmates were already looking at or thinking of me.
A protection point was the only feasible way for us to override an expulsion.
By appointing me, the holder of the only protection point, asmander of the ss, we''d be able to avoid any expulsions even if we ended up losing the exam.
That said...
Were they really fine with having me be themander so that everyone can avoid the risk of expulsion?
Or, would they ask an excellent student like Horikita to be themander in order to maximize our chances of winning? Our ssmates would probably be fine with either.
If somebody other than me were to volunteer to take the position, most of them probably wouldn''t object to it.
At the same time, if nobody wants to do it themselves, everyone''s expectations would probably be put on me.
Horikita spoke up again.
"How will our opponent be decided?"
"After each ss selects theirmanders, they will be expected to meet up in the multipurpose room after school today. There will probably be a raffle where themander of one ss is given the option to choose who their opponents will be. You should decide ahead of time on who you''ll choose if you win the raffle."
From what she said, the raffle winner would get to choose the ss they wanted, and the remaining two sses would be matched up automatically.
"Then, we should choose ss D, right? Our chances of winning against them would be much higher!"
"It''s true that, given that they''ve got rtively worse coordination, you would probably be more sessful if you chose to go against a ss that has resigned itself to a position like ss D. However, going against those of a lower rank is not necessarily the most advantageous choice to make."
Chabashira was implying that, if that were the case, odds are all three sses would inevitably try to choose ss D. ss D would certainly be the easiest to deal with now that Ryuuen was no longer in charge.
"In this exam, what matters is knowing which ss is best suited to be your opponent. It''s incredibly important that you leverage the strengths and weaknesses of each of the other sses."
Going up against ss A or ss B wouldn''t necessarily mean that it''s hopeless for us.
We would have decent enough chances of winning as long as we choose events that favor us.
That said, the higher ranked the ss, the more formidable an opponent they would be. It''s unavoidable.
Despite Chabashira''s advice, not a single one of us was smiling.
Even Horikita was lost in thought over the possibilities, wondering if we could beat ss A or ss B in our current state.
"Seems like my words weren''t veryforting. In that case, let''s try facing reality. If it so happens that you lose and ss D wins... you''ll probably go back to being at the bottom once again."
Chabashira picked up the chalk again and began to write down the current ss point distribution on the ckboard.
ss Points as of March 1st:
ss A – 1001 points
ss B – 640 points
ss C – 377 points
ss D – 318 points
ss C and ss D were neck and neck. We have managed to rise up to ss C over the course of the past year, but at thest moment, we would end up dropping back down to ss D if we lose.
Essentially, for our ss, the goal was to hold onto our position through whatever means necessary.
"As for how the exam will affect ss points... Each event will increase or decrease your ss points by 30 points. As examples, you''ll get 210 ss points if you win all seven matches. If you win five and lose two, you''ll get 90. These points wille directly from the opposing ss. Furthermore, the ss thates out on top will be granted 100 points from the school as a reward."
In other words, we could earn a maximum of 310 ss points.
Being able to snatch ss points away from our opponent by winning events was another big thing to keep in mind. So far we hadn''t been given an opportunity to make a dent in the ss points of the higher ranking sses even if we wanted to, but now it was possible to close the gap all in one go. Depending on the matchups and the results, we may very well rise up to ss B or drop down to ss D.
"If your opponent doesn''t have enough ss points, the school will temporarily make up the difference and provide them the missing points. In other words, sses with negative ss points will appear to have 0 on the surface, but they''ll still be responsible for reimbursing the school for the deficitter on."
From what it sounded like, this meant that ss points could invisibly drop below 0.
Either way, every ss had more than 210 points, so that didn''t seem like it was something we had to worry about this time at least.