In fact, I can add unlimited points

The key lies in this grouping process.

For example, anyone in the class who gets into the same group as Shun Aragaki doesn't need to worry at all; they're guaranteed to win before the exam even starts.

But if the last and second-to-last students in the class team up, the final result is hard to predict.

"If the quiz determines the group assignments, then what exactly does PaperShuffle consist of?"

As Shun Aragaki stood up to ask a question, the other noises in the classroom immediately disappeared, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Hoshinomiya, who was tilting his head and smiling.

"There are a total of eight subjects to be tested, each with a full score of 100 points. Each subject has 50 questions, for a total of 400 questions."

"Also, there are two types of failing grades this time. The first type is similar to the previous passing grades, with a minimum passing score of 60 points for all subjects. If a student fails to reach 60 points in one subject, both students will have to drop out of school."

"This 60 points refers to the combined score of the two people. For example, if Aragaki and Honami become partners, even if Aragaki only scores 0 points, as long as Honami scores 60 points, it will be fine."

Emmm...that's such a low requirement!

A combined score of 60 is considered passing, but no one in Class A scores below 80.

Therefore, the impact of this expulsion rule on their class is negligible.

Thinking of this, everyone in the class relaxed a lot.

Seeing this, Hoshinomiya stopped keeping him in suspense and went on to explain the second passing grade.

"Then there's the newly added expulsion criteria, which sets a passing score for the total score. For example, if all eight subjects score above 60, but the combined total score of the two partners is below the second passing score, they will also be deemed to have failed and will have to withdraw from school together."

"This sounds ominous, but what exactly is the passing score?"

Shun Aragaki calmly inquired, "If it's too high, I don't believe that only one or two groups of students in Class C and Class D drop out each year because of it."

“I’m sorry, the school hasn’t made a decision on this yet,” Hoshinomiya shrugged, making a regretful gesture, “but the passing score in previous years has been around 700 points, so it won’t differ too much.”

Oh, I see. That does sound easy.

With 8 subjects, you have a total of 800 points. If you team up with your partner, the total score doubles to 1600.

Among the students in Class A, nearly half are outstanding students with an average score of over 90 in all subjects. They can achieve the goal of 700 by their own efforts and with normal performance.

Now that the two of you are working together to calculate the total score, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

"Just a reminder, this special exam will be held over two days, with four subjects each day. The order of the subjects will be announced later."

"If you are unable to attend due to physical discomfort, the school will review the validity of your absence. If the absence is valid, the school will estimate your score from past exam results. However, if the absence is not valid, it will be treated as an absence and your score for all subjects will be 0. Please take note."

Upon hearing this, Shun Aragaki subconsciously looked in the direction of Arisu Sakayanagi. Compared to the fact that missing the exam on the deserted island only resulted in the deduction of temporary points, and missing the sports festival resulted in the deduction of class evaluation points, the cost of missing this PaperShuffle was far too high.

However, even if the girl has a congenital heart disease, she should be fine for two days of exams. Moreover, even if she is unwell, it must be justified. Therefore, we should not consider her health condition.

"Then there's the matter of punishment in formal exams. Naturally, cheating is prohibited in exams. Anyone who cheats is immediately disqualified from the exam and expelled along with their partner. This applies not only to this exam, but to all midterms and finals."

This has been stated before, but teachers always remind us of it again before each midterm and final exam.

The students in Class A could pass the test with their own abilities, so there was no need for them to use cheating methods.

However, it is also necessary to guard against being framed by other classes, since being caught cheating means expulsion. If this rule is used properly, it can indeed be used to eliminate competitors.

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

If not, Shun Aragaki felt he didn't need to do anything and could simply let everyone in the class do as they pleased.

But it shouldn't be that boring, right? It's just two people teaming up and changing the passing score. Can this kind of lazy competition really be considered a special exam?

"There is one more thing, that is, all the questions for this exam need to be created by you yourselves."

"Then you decide for yourselves which of the other three classes to send this paper to. The four classes will compete against each other. After the results are released, the average scores of the classes will be compared. The winning class will be able to take 50 class evaluation points from the losing class."

“Compare class average scores,” Shun Aragaki raised an eyebrow, “Why not compare total scores?”

Hoshinomiya smiled but did not answer.

The students in the classroom burst into laughter. If it really came down to comparing total scores, Class A could crush any other class just by the number of students. There was no need to even compare them.

The school would not be so foolish.

"Ahem~ Anyway, if Class A attacks Class D and then is attacked by Class B, as long as our average score is higher than theirs, we can get 50 points from each of these two classes."

"If Class A attacks Class D at the same time, and Class D also attacks Class A, then the class evaluation score will change by 100 points. Although this is rare, if the average scores of both sides are the same, then nothing will happen."

"Finally, if both classes nominate the same class, then representatives from both classes will have to draw lots to decide."

At this, many people in the class looked thoughtful.

With students creating their own questions and different classes challenging each other, it does indeed feel a bit like a special exam.

But shouldn't there be clear restrictions on this kind of thing?

Otherwise, if a class sets up a problem that is absolutely unsolvable, or uses knowledge that is only taught in university, wouldn't the difficulty of the exam suddenly become hellish?

"Teacher, how does the school set limits on the scope and specific content of the exam questions?"

Shun Aragaki, resting his chin on his hand, posed a hypothetical question: "For example, could I use textbooks from other schools or even other countries to create exam questions?"

If such operations are allowed, then each class could simply take high school exam papers from remote, small countries and use them directly. In that case, a large number of students in the attacked class would definitely be expelled for failing the exams... after all, they can't even understand the text.

However, this kind of thing is of course not allowed—

"Ahem~ Little Aragaki's mind is really quick, but that won't do. Although you are allowed to create your own questions, the school will also check the questions. If there is any content that goes beyond the scope of the textbook, the reviewer will revise it."

"In other words, the exam papers you create must be limited to the learning scope of the second semester of the first year of advanced development, and those exam questions without answers will absolutely not pass."

Therefore, it seems that PaperShuffle is testing the students' ability to create questions, that is, observing whether everyone can effectively shift from the perspective of a problem solver to that of a question creator.

It sounds interesting, but the problem is that all three first-year classes are under Shun Aragaki's command.

If he wanted, he could easily pick any opponent from Class C or Class D and then create his own exam paper.

At that time, we can just create some questions about what 1+1 equals, and everyone can easily get full marks.

"With the four classes competing for points in the exams within the grade... let's just go straight for Class B."

Shun Aragaki calmly stated his decision: "Class C and Class D will attack each other. It doesn't matter who wins or loses, or even if it ends in a draw."

The meat will eventually rot in the pot.

From Shun Aragaki's perspective, the evaluation scores of the two classes increased and decreased, but the final total score remained the same, so it made no difference to him.

As for Class A, they naturally launched a frontal assault, relying on sheer strength to suppress the original Class A.

"We've been going through several months of tutoring since the start of the semester. Surely you all have the confidence to face the challenge head-on?"

If such a thing were to happen, then Shun Aragaki would really have to put a lot of pressure on his classmates.

He doesn't mind being seen as someone who can carry others to new heights, but in exchange, his subordinates should at least meet some of the most basic quality requirements, right?

If someone is truly a black sheep like the defective product in Class D, then it would be better to let him take matters into his own hands and expel them from school.

"I agree with Aragaki's decision. It's time to test everyone's true strength. Using Class B as our opponent is the best option."

Ryuji Kanzaki also made a statement.

Even if choosing Class C or Class D guarantees a win, they should still target Class B, the only class that poses a real threat.

After all, they were the strongest among the first-year students, so how could they avoid the sharp edge of their defeated opponents!

"Hehe~ The class is on a roll, we should definitely press them hard and completely crush Class B, who still hasn't given up."

These words were spoken by Sakayanagi Arisu. The sickly girl clearly had a radical style and was ruthless towards her original class, wishing she could reset its evaluation score to zero and plunge it into a zero-score hell that was even more humiliating than Class D.

"Then let's choose Class B," Ichinose Honami said energetically, clenching her little fist. "I believe everyone will definitely not lose."

At this stage, both Class C and Class D are subordinate to Class A, so the pink-haired girl naturally wouldn't suggest doing something to harm her teammates. Therefore, she can only make things difficult for the students in Class B who are still persevering.

In this way, the will of the class's management team was easily unified, and the other students naturally had no objections.

"So, this time we don't need any strategy, we're just going to go head-to-head with Class B?"

"It seems pretty good. Let's let the school see if their initial class assignment was right or wrong."

"I have no objection and have been looking forward to this for a long time. I have long wanted to have such an opportunity to test my progress since I enrolled in the Advanced Education Program."

The members of Class A all looked relaxed, having no doubts about Aragaki Shun's decision.

Aren't they just a bunch of defeated opponents?

In a direct confrontation, the other side is the challenger and has no right to make them feel fearful!

Seeing this inspiring scene, Hoshinomiya Chie was also particularly pleased, adding with a smile:

"In short, these are the rules. When creating exam questions, it is acceptable to do so by relying solely on students in the class, by consulting with teachers, by consulting with students from other classes or higher grades, or even by utilizing the internet. There are no special restrictions."

"As long as the exam questions are acceptable to the school, whether they are easy or difficult, the content is not limited. In case we are unable to complete the production of the exam paper and answers, there are backup measures in place."

"After the submission deadline, we will use the test papers prepared in advance by the school to give to the other class. But you should be aware that the difficulty of the test papers set by the school will be very low. Once it gets to this point, it is basically a defeat without a fight."

Looking around at the audience below the stage and seeing that they all expressed understanding, Hoshinomiya Chie proceeded to give a concluding speech—

"That concludes the explanation of the rules for the quiz and PaperShuffle. The rest is up to you to figure out."

"Today's lesson is now over. You are all free to discuss and take action."

After speaking, the homeroom teacher stretched, pulled up a chair, sat down, propped his chin up, and looked utterly bored, clearly leaving all the students in Class A free to do as they pleased.

The group exchanged glances with their classmates, then looked in Aragaki Shun's direction in unison, ready to follow instructions.

"There is still more than a month before the exam, and we need to create a total of 400 questions. Time will be a bit tight, so we need to identify a few key question creators first."

Ensuring the difficulty of the questions while completing the exam before the submission deadline is quite demanding.

If one person is to create the questions, he would need to create 10 to 15 questions a day. Although the more people creating the questions, the easier it would be, the quality of the questions would become uneven. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a balance.

"By the way, in order to test your true abilities, I will not be part of the question-setting team this time. I will only review the results you submit, and I will submit them to the school after they are approved."

If he has to handle all these trivial matters, then are all the talented people in the class, including those invited from other classes, just sitting around doing nothing?

After saying that, Shun Aragaki instructed Chie Hoshinomiya: "Hoshinomiya-sensei, please make sure that I am the only one qualified to submit the PaperShuffle exam this time. If anyone else does anything extra, please refuse them and contact me immediately."

“Huh? This doesn’t seem to be in accordance with the rules,” Hoshinomiya said, tapping her chin with her index finger. “But if everyone agrees, then I, as the teacher, will have no choice but to comply.”

"That's certainly the case. After all, the easiest way to win this exam is to find a way to get the exam paper from your opponent in advance."

Ryuji Kanzaki chimed in, "No one in Class A would betray the class, but we're worried that Ryuen and his friends in Class B might pull some tricks, so having Aragaki submit the exam paper is the safest option."

The students in the class naturally did not object to this.

Then Honami Ichinose stood up and expressed her doubts: "Next week's quiz will determine the groups for the special exam, so how exactly will they be divided?"

"That's a great question, but the teacher can't answer it."

He looked up and gestured to the camera on the ceiling, indicating that he was powerless to help.

"There's no need to worry about that. The teacher just mentioned that in previous years only one or two groups were expelled in PaperShuffle, so it's likely that all classes are teamed up between top-ranking students and lower-ranking students."

"Otherwise, based on the grades of Class C and Class D, if the groups are randomly assigned, it wouldn't be surprising if more than a dozen people were expelled at once."

That's easy to understand. The first-place winner in the quiz will team up with the last-place winner, the second-place winner with the second-to-last, and so on.

Only this grouping method can balance the strength of each group and reduce the number of students dropping out.

"Shiina-san is so beautiful and smart, teacher, I don't know anything about her."

Hoshinomiya clapped his hands in delight, seemingly trying to change the subject, but he had essentially accepted the correctness of Shiina's guess.

In this way, all doubts become clear, and all that is needed is to confirm the question-setting group.

This isn't a difficult decision, after all, there are really a lot of top students in Class A, such as Ichinose Honami, who is second in the whole grade and only behind Aragaki Shun, Kanzaki Ryuji, who is in charge of tutoring, Shiina Hiyori, who is very smart, and Sakayanagi Arisu... These people are all capable of taking on important responsibilities.

But Shun Aragaki's choice was not them, but an unexpected one.

"Let Xiaomei be in charge of the question-setting team!"

As an international student from mainland China, this is precisely the kind of stage this girl excels at.

276. The excruciatingly difficult "May 3rd" textbook; an inescapable storm of terror.

It's not Ichinose, nor Ryuji Kanzaki, nor Hiyori Shiina, nor Arisu Sakayanagi.

Shun Aragaki's final choice was surprisingly Wang Meiyu!

The students in the class looked at each other, all with some doubt as they turned their gazes toward the gentle girl with dark blue twin ponytails.

The other person also looked surprised, their lips slightly parted, their eyes full of astonishment.

"Huh? Me?"

It was obvious that the girl was not very confident in herself, which made the other students in the class who were watching her a little worried.

It's not that Wang Meiyu's grades are bad.