In fact, I can add unlimited points

Could it be that this exam is really just a competition between the various groups?

Is the school trying to limit his influence to one large group in this way, and then give the lower-ranked classes in the other eleven large groups a chance to win?

It can't be that simple.

"I want to know if there is a pattern to the selection of personnel within each major group, and since the twelve major groups are named using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, are there any other connections between them?"

Shun Aragaki asked a question that most likely wouldn't be answered.

But that's okay, sometimes not answering is also an answer.

As expected, Majima Tomoya remained silent for a moment before changing the subject.

"According to the requirements of this exam, you will need to use your own thinking skills to obtain more specific information."

"You have been assigned to group [Mao]. Here is the list of group members. Please return this paper when you leave the room, so if you feel it is necessary, please write it down here first."

The class teacher of Class B handed over a piece of paper the size of a postcard, on which was written the group name and the names of a total of fourteen people.

In addition, although the group name is "卯", the same meaning "兔" is also written in parentheses on the paper.

In other words, it is indeed grouped according to the twelve zodiac animals.

The rabbit group members shown above include—

[Class A: Shun Aragaki, Tetsuya Hamaguchi, Ryota Beppu.

Class B: Shigeru Takemoto, Koji Machida, Takuro Morishige.

Class C: Mio Ibuki, Shiho Manabe, Nami Yabuna, Saki Yamashita.

Class D: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Karuizawa Megumi, Sotomura Hideo, Yukimura Teruhiko. 】

Class B consists entirely of ordinary students he doesn't know well, Class C has four students who can all be considered his allies, Class D has a few students like Karuizawa Megumi who need no introduction, and the most crucial one should be Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

As expected, I ended up in this group, probably because of the other person.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be right for Ryuji Kanzaki and Honami Ichinose to be in the same group, but he, the class leader, is the one who gets sent to the frontier, right?

Furthermore, Majima Tomoya's hint was quite interesting: he had to return the paper when leaving the room, so he could only write it down here first.

In other words, this list is actually quite important?

"As a general rule, for this special exam, you can ignore the relationship between Class A and Class D for now. I'm telling you upfront, doing this will be a shortcut to passing the exam."

"From now on, you will no longer be in Class A, but will operate as the Rabbit Group. The results of the exams will be determined individually for each group."

After Majima Tomoya finished speaking, he gestured for Aragaki Shun and the others to look at the documents that had been placed on the table.

"Each group in the special exam has only four possible outcomes. The exam is designed so that it will definitely result in one of the four outcomes, with no exceptions. To make it easier for you to understand, the school has also prepared materials listing the outcomes."

"However, this document is also prohibited from being taken out or photographed. Please make sure to check this beforehand."

Shun Aragaki took the documents and saw that they were filled with densely packed rules, making them look particularly complicated.

[Special Examination Instructions for Summer Cruises]

This exam uses the "preferential treatment" students assigned to each group as a baseline. By answering the questions to the school using the prescribed method, one of four possible outcomes will be guaranteed.

—[The school will send out emails to all students at 8:00 AM on the day the exam begins, and will also inform those selected as "preferential candidates" of their selection.]

—The exam schedule is from tomorrow until 9 PM four days later (including one day of complete freedom).

— [Group members are required to meet twice a day at a designated time in a designated room for a one-hour discussion.]

—The discussion content is entirely left to the group's autonomy.

—[Regarding the answer section, after the exam, the school will only accept answers to "Who is the recipient of preferential treatment?" between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM on the same day. Furthermore, each person can only answer the question once.]

—[The school only accepts answers submitted by students using their own mobile phones to send emails to the designated mailbox.]

—【Those receiving preferential treatment are not entitled to send answers via email.】

—Answers outside of your own Ganzhi (stem-branch) group will be considered invalid.

—The school will send detailed exam results to all students via email at 11 PM on the last day.

These things were written out prominently on paper as basic rules.

The paper also contained more detailed information, such as rules and prohibitions.

Compared to the test on the uninhabited island, this test has more regulations and detailed precautions.

However, what's more important is what follows: the four predetermined outcomes that Majima Tomoya mentioned.

—【Result 1: If everyone answers correctly, except for the group members who are eligible for preferential treatment and students belonging to the preferential treatment class, the school will pay points to all group members individually. (Students belonging to the preferential treatment class will each receive the same number of points.)】

—【Result Two: Excluding the recipients and their classmates, if any group member fails to answer or answers incorrectly, the school will pay the recipients 500,000 personal points.】

If we only consider these two aspects, this exam, as the name suggests, is simply a preferential treatment given by the school.

Simply being selected as a patron means you'll gain a large number of personal points, regardless of the outcome.

It's obvious that the school wouldn't arrange a special exam just to give money away.

"There's one key point in this exam; once you understand it, there's nothing to worry about."

Seeing this, Ms. Mashima began to provide further explanation in the same tone:

"The key point is the existence of the 'preferential treatment recipient.' The name of this preferential treatment recipient is the answer to the exam."

"It's very simple. For example, Aragaki, assuming you are selected as a preferential recipient, then the Rabbit Team's answer will be [Aragaki Shun].

"After that, all you need to do is share the answers with all the group members. Then, after the exam ends at 9 p.m. on the third day, the school will only accept answers between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., so all the group members just need to write down [Shun Aragaki] and send the letter to the school."

"This way, the Rabbit Group will pass and be guaranteed to be the top result. All group members will receive a reward of 500,000 points—that's how the exam is structured. As a reward for leading the group to the top result, the school will even double the reward to one million points."

Upon hearing this, Shun Aragaki's eyes narrowed.

So that's how it is; the school really did come here specifically to give away money.

There are 160 students in the entire first grade. Even excluding Sakayanagi Arisu who was suspended, there are still 159 students. If each student receives 50 yen, plus the 12 students receiving preferential treatment, there would be an extra 50 yen...

"Class monitor?" Hamaguchi Tetsuya and Beppu Ryota looked at Aragaki Shun, their expressions somewhat excited.

He nodded and waved for the two to wait a moment, as Majima Tomoya's explanation was clearly not over yet.

"Next is the second outcome, which is when the student who was notified by the school to be a privileged student does not tell anyone about it, or induces others to choose a fake privileged student, and the true nature is not exposed until the end of the exam."

"As it is written literally, only those who receive preferential treatment will be awarded points, and the amount is 500,000 points."

Compared to result one, this option seems rather stingy; at least Shun Aragaki would definitely not consider it.

It's no wonder that this second special exam was named the "Preferential Treatment Exam".

These two results alone demonstrate the extent of the advantages given to those who received preferential treatment during this examination.

According to Majima Tomoya, there are four possible outcomes, and theoretically, there are still two outcomes yet to be determined.

If nothing unexpected happens, the remaining two outcomes should be related to punishment.

Otherwise, this exam would simply be a benefit for the privileged, allowing them to manipulate the outcome at will, whether it's result one or result two.

"Do you understand the two results I just explained? Because if you don't understand these, you can't proceed."

After seeing all three students in Class A nod, Majima Tomoya continued:

"As I just explained, there will only be one privileged individual in the group. However, if the privileged individual's identity is revealed immediately, new third and fourth outcomes will occur."

"Both of these results are written on the back of the document; you can turn it over now."

Shun Aragaki knew the important part was coming, so he turned the paper over and saw the new content on it—

[Only the following two options are open for submission 24 hours a day during the exam. Additionally, submissions are also accepted for the 30 minutes following the end of the exam. However, regardless of the time period, incorrect answers will result in penalties.]

—【Result 3: If someone other than the privileged student tells the school the answer before the exam ends and answers correctly, the class to which the student belongs will receive 50 class evaluation points, and the school will pay the person who answered correctly 500,000 personal points.

Conversely, classes whose preferential treatment is discovered will be penalized with a deduction of fifty points from their class evaluation score. The group exam will end at this point.

Furthermore, if a student in the same class as a student receiving preferential treatment answers correctly, the school will consider the answer invalid and continue the exam.

Shinjuku Shun suddenly understood this.

It seems that a backstab mechanism has been added. If the backstab is successful, the personal points that should belong to the preferential recipient will be transferred to the respondent.

On the other hand, because the respondent recognizes the preferential treatment recipient's identity, their class can also steal fifty class evaluation points from the preferential treatment recipient's class.

In this situation, under normal circumstances, the person receiving preferential treatment would definitely try their best to hide their identity, making it difficult to achieve outcome one.

—【Result 4: If someone other than the privileged student reveals their answer to the school before the exam ends and answers incorrectly, the class to which the student belongs will be penalized by losing fifty class evaluation points.

The recipient of the preferential treatment will receive 500,000 personal points, and their class will also receive 50 class evaluation points. The exam will end when an incorrect answer is made.

Furthermore, if a classmate of a student receiving preferential treatment answers incorrectly, their answer will be considered invalid and will not be processed.

This result was clearly set up to prevent large group members from trying their luck. If there were no penalty, then members who were not in favor could simply answer with any name.

However, if you answer incorrectly now, the class of the student receiving preferential treatment will take away fifty evaluation points.

Are there any other rules?

After understanding these two results, Shun Aragaki calmly looked at Tomoya Majima.

If this is the whole picture of this special exam, then it's far too easy for him.

The homeroom teacher of Class B was slightly moved, but still spoke calmly:

"The school also considered the issue of anonymity this time. At the end of the exam, the school will only announce the results for each group, as well as the increase or decrease in points for each class. In other words, we will not disclose the names of the winners or the respondents."

"Also, if you wish, we can temporarily issue you a temporary ID for remittances, or allow you to withdraw funds in installments. As long as you remain silent, there will be no suspicion of being discovered after the exam. Of course, if you have no need to hide anything, you can also collect your points openly and honestly."

Oh, it's about anonymity and temporary IDs.

Simply put, it's a tool that encourages privileged individuals to hoard their points or helps those who are answering questions finish off their tasks.

After all, if an ordinary student suddenly gets 500,000 personal points, it's easy for them to be talked about by classmates and even students from other classes.

If the person receiving preferential treatment is successfully betrayed by the respondent, the money that should have been theirs is stolen, and it's quite normal for the two to develop a hostile relationship.

So the school thoughtfully provided anonymity.

To some extent, it can be seen as a straightforward encouragement for everyone to let loose and do their own thing.

"The results of the third and fourth items are different from the other two, which is why they are recorded on the back. These are all the rules for this exam. There are also some prohibited items in the materials, which you can look at yourself."

Results one and two involve tens of millions of individual points, while results three and four may cause changes in the evaluation scores of 600 classes.

Regardless of which direction a student chooses to take, the final outcome could potentially alter the entire landscape of the first grade.

For this reason, the rules set by the school are much stricter than those for the exam on the deserted island.

The list of prohibited items is quite extensive: things like stealing other people's phones, using threats or intimidation to confirm information about preferential treatment recipients, and even using other people's phones to send out answers without authorization are all forbidden.

In cases of serious offenses, the school has clearly stated that expulsion will be imposed directly.

Furthermore, the school explicitly stated that it would conduct a thorough investigation if any suspicious activity was discovered.

On the other hand, lying about being threatened could also lead to expulsion from school.

The remaining rules are: students must be dismissed immediately after the final exam and are prohibited from talking to students from other classes for a certain period of time.

Violating this rule could result in expulsion from school.

In short, it seems the school only allows them to play Werewolf to find favored players; any other gray-area methods will be severely punished if discovered.

“Starting tomorrow, you will need to go to the rooms designated by the school at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the same day. Each room will have a sign with the name of your group on it.”

"When you first meet, please be sure to introduce yourselves in the room. Once you enter the room, you will generally not be allowed to leave the room during the exam period."

"We suggest you use the restroom before going there. If you can't hold it in or feel unwell, please contact your class advisor immediately and make an application."

This is also mentioned in the instructions. In short, at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., all group members must go to the designated room and stay for one hour.

As for what they need to do during this hour... the school doesn't make any requirements in that regard.

Whether it's playing games, spying, or remaining silent, it's all the students' own freedom.

"There is also the issue of fairness in the school's selection process. The preferential treatment recipients in the large group will be seriously adjusted. Regardless of whether they are selected as preferential treatment recipients or not, we will not accept any requests for changes."

"Furthermore, all acts of copying, forwarding, or altering emails sent from the school are strictly prohibited. Please understand this point."

After saying this, Majima Tomoya breathed a sigh of relief and then signaled them to disperse.

It seems the rules will need to be explained to members of other groups later, and the class advisor also asked them to leave the room as soon as possible.

Shun Aragaki responded that it was unnecessary, as the special exam could already be considered over.

Want to play Werewolf?