After the cruise ship finished circling the island—
[Attention all first-year students, in thirty minutes, please change into your sportswear and gather on the deck. Make sure to check your luggage. Aside from your phone, leave all personal belongings in your room.]
The announcement echoed throughout the ship. But just like before, most people didn't find anything strange about it. Only a few felt that something was off, though they couldn't put their finger on what it was.
After reminding Sakura about a few things, Hikigaya returned to his room. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, then closed his eyes, trying to recall everything he had just seen and memorized.
The details of the island were crystal clear in his mind. He opened his eyes and, within thirty seconds, sketched a rough outline of the island. Then, he pulled up the compass data he had just saved on his phone and spent a few more minutes marking key landmarks he had noticed.
In less than five minutes, a simple but functional map of the island was complete.
"It might look rough, but the coordinates and directions are spot on. Looks like you've got some solid map-making skills, Pochi Boy."
A sudden voice startled Hikigaya.
Koenji?
Hikigaya had been so focused on drawing that he hadn't even noticed when Koenji returned to the room.
Before Hikigaya could say anything, Koenji left just as quickly as he had appeared, like a passing breeze—completely unreadable.
As for what Koenji said, well... it was true. Hikigaya had spent time in the library copying dozens of books on cartography. Without that preparation, making this quick sketch wouldn't have been possible.
Soon, the hallway outside grew noisy as students returned to their rooms. Hikigaya's two other roommates also came back. Without hesitation, Hikigaya crumpled his map and tossed it into the trash. After taking a quick shower, he headed to the deck for the meeting.
Under the open sky, the scorching sun burned down on them. As the last few students gathered, Hikigaya finally noticed Horikita arriving late. He also noticed that something seemed off about her.
"This is rare. You're actually arriving just on time."
He made a casual remark, but surprisingly, there was no icy retort from Horikita. It was as if she hadn't even heard him.
Despite the harsh sunlight making many students sweat in their sportswear, Horikita was rubbing her arms like she was feeling cold.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I—I'm fine."
Standing under the blazing sun, Horikita seemed to finally warm up a little. She finally noticed Hikigaya's concern and instinctively answered.
"It's just a reaction from the magic phase."
Horikita shut down whatever Hikigaya was about to say in one sentence. There was no way he could verify what kind of "magic" it was, right?
"As long as you can take responsibility for your own body, that's fine."
After saying that, Hikigaya stopped paying attention to this stubborn little donkey.
[Bringing phones to the island is not allowed. All students must hand in their phones to their homeroom teachers. Disembarkation will proceed in order, starting with Class A. No loud noises or horseplay are permitted on the way down.]
A male teacher's voice came from the front, most likely amplified by a speaker.
At this point, many students from other classes finally realized something was off. Meanwhile, the students from Class D were either still complaining or eagerly looking forward to playing on the beach after getting off the ship.
Hikigaya instinctively turned back to glance at Horikita, only to see her resting with her eyes closed.
The disembarkation process was unusually slow. The main reason was that each student was thoroughly inspected by the teachers for any personal belongings before leaving the ship.
After about thirty minutes, all first-year students from the four classes had finally set foot on the shore. Mashima-sensei, the homeroom teacher of Class A, held a speaker in his hand. Many students who had already sensed something unusual were listening attentively, while students from Class D—like the infamous idiot duo—were grumbling things like,
"Why aren't we dismissed yet?"
"From this moment on, the first special exam of the year officially begins."
Mashima-sensei's cold voice spread across the beach through the speaker. He then began explaining what this "special exam" was all about.
Simply put, each class would have to survive together on this uninhabited island for seven days. The school would only provide basic supplies like tents, flashlights, and matches—everything else would be up to the students to figure out.
As expected, the first ones to complain were from Class D. Naturally, it was the idiot duo again, with Ike yelling out complaints. However, he was immediately shut down by Mashima-sensei with a harsh scolding, as if the word "loser" had been carved onto his forehead. He shrank back like a turtle, too embarrassed to say another word.
After witnessing Ike get put in his place, the other students also stopped complaining.
"Next, I'll explain the rules for this special exam. These rules are the foundation for how this uninhabited island test will work. First, each class will be given 300 special points..."
Mashima-sensei began reading out the details of the exam.
To put it simply, each class would receive 300 special points, which could be used to buy survival supplies, entertainment, or other tools on the island. How the points were spent would be up to each class, and at the end of the seven days, any remaining special points would be added to the class's overall score.
The moment this rule was announced, many students gasped. This was the first time since the start of the school year that there was a clear opportunity to increase their class points!
Previously, midterms and final exams had affected class points, but the results were never publicly disclosed, and any increases were very limited.
This was also the first test of its kind, separate from regular academic exams. For classes like C and D, which struggled academically, this was a golden opportunity!
After that, Mashima-sensei dismissed the students, and each homeroom teacher began explaining additional details about the exam.
Chabashira-sensei first handed out wristwatches designed to track students' physical condition and location. She also gave a thick guidebook to Hirata before going over the rules regarding penalties and violations.
Most of the penalty rules were reasonable, but the consequences for breaking them were extremely severe. Theft, violence, and destruction were strictly forbidden. Anyone caught breaking these rules would not only have their class disqualified from the exam but also lose all of their private points.
一 一 一 一 一
You can read 30 advanced Chapters on
pat reon.com/GMadman
一 一 一 一 一