Classroom Of The Elite Year 2 Volume 9

Chapter 6: The Expected and the Beyond Expectations

Finally, two days left in the second term.

Today is the day of the Special Cooperative Written Test, a direct confrontation with A Class.

Although there are some special rules, it is mostly the same as the usual mid-term and final tests.

Many of the students with Academic Ability C or below have been studying in the classroom since the morning, using as much time as they can spare.

Keisei and Horikita, the instructors who had already finished all their studies in advance, were watching over the students and giving them some advice and making careful final checks.

Many of the students think that the most difficult Special Test is on its way, but that's not true.

As the saying goes, "80% is in the preparation", and most of the preparations have been completed.

The attitude and the focus towards the Special Test.

Compared to these, the test itself is only about one-fifth of the workload.

When it's over, you notice that it wasn't that big of a deal after all.

The test procedure is based on the sheet that Horikita had submitted to Chabashira last night, which lays out the order in which everyone will take the test.

Since everyone is allowed to solve any question out of the 100 questions, some might think that the order is not that important.

However, the order is very important. 10 minutes are allotted to each participant, including the time when leaving the room.

This is a good amount of time to solve problems, but it's definitely not enough to read and understand all of the 100 questions.

If a student with low Academic Ability struggles to read and comprehend a problem, not only will they not be able to find five easy problems and write down the answers, but they will also probably make easy mistakes due to running out of time.

Therefore, the order in which the problems are solved is the key to reducing this probability.

Less than five minutes remaining until the bell rings to signal the start of the test.

While everyone was feeling a strong sense of tension, Kouenji was the only one who remained the same.

According to Horikita's prior confirmation, she could not tell if Kouenji was serious or not.

He simply replied that he had the right to do whatever he wanted.

Horikita, who understood that the strategy she had worked so hard to put together would be ruined if Kouenji alone disturbed it, made a wise offer.

She decided to have Kouenji be the last student to solve problems.

At that point, 98 problems out of 100 would already be filled in and 2 would be left for him.

Even if Kouenji, who is originally in the B rank in Academic Ability, cannot answer the two problems, the loss is 4 points. It's unlikely to be a big blow.

Further, since they are the last two problems, even if he did not answer them, it would not be a violation of the rules, as we could pass it off as him being unable to solve the problems rather than doing it on purpose.

Whether he decides to solve the problems, leave them blank or makes a mistake, there is no risk.

Kouenji earnestly agreed to that proposal. If the class is going to go up by 50 points if we win, then Kouenji shouldn't have any opposition to solving the problems correctly.

Rather, if we lose the 50 points we could gain because of him, then the private points Kouenji himself could collect would decrease.

Since it's impossible to estimate Kouenji's conduct based on common sense alone, Horikita had no choice but to use the strategy I just described.

The test will certainly not be easy.

Although I can't be optimistic, the conditions for victory are on our side.

The pressure on the students with low Academic Ability in A Class will be great.

The leader of the class, Sakyanagi is probably planning a strategy, but each student will take the test alone in the room, and the nature of the surveillance will make it impossible to find a different way of fighting.

I can also say that it's impossible to make the low Academic Ability students solve all the questions.

In other words, all that can be done by a class is to raise their current fighting strength to the highest possible level, and then rearrange the order in such a way to maximize their strength.

Or, like Ryuuen, to directly harass the others outside the test.

There are some rough methods such as making a secret agreement to intentionally create a loss of points, but all of the results in this test will be public.

If one makes a blatant mistake, they will run the risk of being detected as a traitor, and above all, there is no guarantee that a class can win by buying out one or two people.

In a school full of students who are always doing their best, it is kind of an accident that entities like me and Kouenji, who have not received a proper evaluation in the OAA are mixed in.

The fact that one with lower evaluated Academic Ability than the reality can get a few points is significant.

I can say that there are several conditions in place that are favourable for the Horikita class.

With the guidance of Chabashira-sensei after the bell rang, we moved to the Special Test building and started waiting.

We then followed the order created by Horikita and started solving the questions one by one in the next classroom.

All we need to do is to repeat this until the last one, Kouenji.

Under the supervision of the teacher, students are not allowed to bring in tools or cellphones.

Chatting is also forbidden, and everyone is to wait for their turn in silence.

All that remains to be seen now is whether or not the students will be able to show off what they've learned without losing to stress.