In fact, I can add unlimited points

—[If the group consists of members from two classes, the rewards for the top three teams remain unchanged;]

—[If the group consists of members from three classes, both types of point rewards will be doubled;]

— [If the group consists of members from four classes, the number of members is tripled;]

Furthermore, based on the multiplication mechanism, if the total number of people in the group is large, the multiplier can be increased further.

—【The multiplier remains unchanged when the group has 10 members, increases to 11 when there are 1.1 members, and reaches a maximum of 15 times when there are 1.5 members. As a special case, if the group consists of 9 members, the multiplier is 0.9.】

Based on this calculation model, theoretically, the highest reward for the first place is 3 times that of the four classes combined, multiplied by 15 times that of the maximum of 1.5 people. Since the decimal point needs to be rounded, each group member corresponds to 45,000 personal points and a class evaluation score of 14.

This is quite good, both for the individual and the class.

Not to mention, there's also a later setting regarding the so-called person in charge:

—[Each group must have a leader. The group members' compensation will be doubled if the leader is from the same class.]

In this way, if the 12 students from Class A are paired with one member each from Class B, C, and D to form a group of 15, and the Class A member is in charge, and they win first place... then Class A can theoretically obtain 108 million personal points and 336 class evaluation points.

This is for the girls' side. The boys' group has even fewer people in total, with a maximum of 14 people per group. The theoretical maximum value is only 92 personal points, which is the evaluation score for class 286.

In other words, the combined first place in the boys' group and the girls' group alone accounts for more than 600 class evaluation points.

The school's investment in this mixed-gender accommodation program appears to be quite substantial.

Of course, given their highly developed habits, since they've been given so many benefits, they'll definitely want to dig a few pitfalls in order to be happy.

"It should be noted that the group leader not only brings a lot of benefits to the class, but also bears the greatest risk in this exam."

As she said this, Hoshinomiya Chie kept her gaze fixed on Aragaki Shun.

Because she knew that, given her students' temperaments, she would definitely be the one in charge.

However, for their first-year Class A, this risk would at most cause some point losses. As long as there are no personnel issues, it is indeed not a big deal.

"The group that ranks last in this exam will be expelled. Of course, it won't be the entire group that will be expelled. The rule is that if any subgroup in the group has an average score lower than the school's average score line, the group leader will be expelled."

Being in the last place in the group, and having the group average score below the school's passing grade, requires meeting both conditions to trigger expulsion, which doesn't seem so easy.

"In addition, when the person in charge is expelled from school, he can be held jointly liable and a member of the group can be expelled as well, which means dragging someone down with him."

Upon hearing this, most of the students in Class A on the bus looked dumbfounded.

A few people, like Sakayanagi Arisu and Kanzaki Ryuji, had a glint in their eyes, as if they had thought of some rather interesting strategy.

A mysterious smile also appeared on Shun Aragaki's face—

If a student is in charge, they can deliberately drag down the group's average score and eventually drag others down with them; if a student from Class B of Grade 1 is in charge, they can similarly instruct other group members to deliberately drag the group down, forcing them to drop out of school.

According to the rules of this special exam, you either have to find a way to get more rewards, or you have to outdo the enemy leader and drag them down.

For some poor classes, this is truly full of malice.

311. Class B, where students are not allowed to join groups and are facing expulsion.

Of course, to say that the rules of this mixed training camp are specifically targeted at certain poor classes is just a joke.

The key issue is that both Shun Aragaki and Class A are too wealthy.

With the option of using the "burial" mechanic, they could easily trade one student from Class B for another using their ample personal points.

But if Class A can easily come up with 20 million to lift the expulsion penalty, what about Class B? Do they have that kind of financial backing?

“Hoshinomiya-sensei,” Kanzaki Ryuji, the class’s villain, immediately stood up and asked after exchanging a glance with Aragaki Shun, “I would like to know if there are any restrictions on the process of dragging people down with you?”

If there are no restrictions at all, then don't blame them for taking this opportunity to severely weaken Class B once again.

Seeing the excited look in her student's eyes, Hoshinomiya Chie naturally understood what she meant, but she could only shrug and make a regretful face.

"Ugh~ It involves the most severe punishment of expulsion. Advanced Education is quite cautious in this regard, so naturally not just anyone can arbitrarily find someone to be dragged down by joint liability."

"Joint liability can only be established if the school acknowledges that the student was one of the reasons why the group's score was below the passing mark. In other words, if it wasn't intentional failure to pass or refusal to participate in the exam, there would be no problem."

Tsk tsk~ That sounds a bit disappointing. It seems the school has also taken into account the overwhelming advantage of Class A in the first year.

The saying goes that money makes the world go round. In this school, having plenty of personal points gives you an advantage in special exams. If there were no restrictions at all, first-year students wouldn't need to take any exams at all.

However, that's pretty much the case now. After all, with three against one, no matter what kind of special exam it is, Class B's chances of winning are slim.

The key assessment targets in the third semester of each academic year are actually the third-year students who are only a few months away from graduation. In addition, the mixed-gender dormitory is an annual event, and the school cannot cancel this special exam that all students in the school must participate in just because of the situation of the first-year students.

In the end, all we could do was watch as Class B of Grade 1 continued to suffer.

"Then there's another very important thing: classes with dropouts will be punished accordingly. Although the punishment will vary depending on the exam, if a dropout occurs in this exam, 100 points will be deducted from the class's evaluation score for each dropout."

The homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya, made it very clear that the class's decision-makers should be cautious about using the "expulsion with death" mechanism.

While Class A's reputation certainly allows them to use personal points to cancel expulsion, the price is simply too high—

The requirements for canceling expulsion are the same for every grade level in principle. Helping a student who has dropped out requires 20 million personal points and an additional 300 class evaluation points. If either type of point is insufficient, assistance cannot be provided.

Moreover, this is merely a relief measure; the punishment incurred upon expulsion will not be eliminated.

In other words, to help dropouts in this mixed-study exam, one needs to prepare at least 400 class evaluation scores and 20 million personal points.

"That concludes the exam instructions. Does anyone have any questions? Please ask them while there's still time."

As soon as those words were spoken, not only Hoshinomiya Chie, but all the students on the bus subconsciously turned their gazes to Aragaki Shun, clearly wanting to know what the class leader thought.

"So, how was the group leader chosen?"

"The school's idea is to let all members discuss in advance within their groups and decide for themselves who to choose."

Hoshinomiya Chie clapped her hands, deliberately acting cute as she reminded him:

"Make sure it's decided by tomorrow morning. If the group can't decide who will be in charge, the group will be disqualified on the spot. That means all members of the group will be forced to drop out of school."

Of course, in the past, there were no foolish groups that were expelled from school because the person in charge could not be determined.

After all, even if no one is willing to risk dropping out of school, they can eventually decide who is the unlucky one by drawing lots or playing rock-paper-scissors.

For Class A of Grade 1, it doesn't matter whether they are in charge or not, so there is no need to worry about such an unusual possibility.

"One last question: since the boys and girls will be completely separated, what specific restrictions will there be, and will there be opportunities for them to stay in touch during the process?"

“Hmm~ That’s a good question,” Hoshinomiya Chie winked deliberately, a knowing smile appearing on her face. “Is Aragaki reluctant to be separated from her lover? It’s a pity that you two will be living apart for most of the week. During your rest time and after school, you are not allowed to go out without permission.”

"The information also includes photos. Our destination, the Forest School, has two buildings. Boys use the main building, and the other building is for girls. Boys and girls can eat in the school cafeteria together for only one hour each day. Only during this time will the school not issue any instructions and will allow you to move around freely. Do you understand what I mean?"

“Understood.” Shun Aragaki nodded meticulously, ignoring Hoshinomiya’s teasing, and turned to look at Honami Ichinose and Hiyori Shiina.

"I'll leave the girls' side to Honami and Hiyori. I'll also send messages to Manabe and Ibuki from Class C, and Karuizawa and Kushida from Class D, asking them to lead their classes to cooperate with you during the exams."

"Our goal is to use Class A as the core, with Classes C and D as support, and try to get the top three rewards at the highest possible multiplier. As for Class B, it should be fine to let them bear most of the punishment."

Since the men and women are separated, it's impossible for Shun Aragaki to keep track of the women's situation all the time.

However, the strongest girls in the first year have either become members of Class A or become his subordinates, and there are not many outstanding girls left in Class B who can hold their own.

Compared to the boys who have to face Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Koenji Rokusuke, Katsuragi Kohei, and Ryuen Sho, the girls actually have an easier time making a breakthrough.

With Honami Ichinose and Hiyori Shiina leading the exams, and with Arisu Uesaka, Masumi Kamuro, Miki Yamamura, and Suzune Horikita by their side, reaping the greatest benefits shouldn't be difficult.

"For the second-year students, I suggest contacting Kiryuin Kaede. For the third-year students, go find Tachibana Akane-senpai. Once the group is set up and you're going to merge it with the upperclassmen into a larger group, you can ask them for their opinions as needed."

"Also, during your one hour of free time each day, everyone must gather together. If you encounter any problems during the exam that you can't solve, report them to me immediately. Don't be silly and try to tough it out on your own! Understand?"

Faced with Shun Aragaki's caring request, the two girls naturally did not refuse and expressed their attitude in their own ways.

In this way, there shouldn't be any major problems with the girls' group. Even if something unexpected happens, Shun Aragaki will be able to respond appropriately based on the warnings brought by his intuition.

As for the boys' group, he can make arrangements after they get off the bus and meet up with the other three classes.

And so, everyone on the bus watched quietly as Shun Aragaki used his phone to send messages to female representatives from other classes, such as Kikyo Kushida, Megumi Karuizawa, Shiho Manabe, and Mio Ibuki, and also contacted upperclassmen like Akane Tachibana and Fuuka Kiryuin, asking them to help each other as much as possible during the mixed training camp.

"All right."

Shun Aragaki put away his phone and looked at Ichinose, Shiina, Horikita, and the others in front of him.

"There shouldn't be any problems with the first year students. Class A of the third year can be trusted with Akane's cooperation. Kiryuin is a bit unstable, but the students in her class have signed contracts with me, so no one should dare to deliberately cause trouble for you."

Such a high-reward exam is a rare opportunity, so naturally I want to seize it and earn more personal points and class evaluation scores.

The class was very optimistic, believing that under Shun Aragaki's leadership, this would be another victory without any suspense.

Finally, Hoshinomiya Chie, seeing that he had already arranged the work, clapped her hands to remind everyone that the bus would be arriving at the station soon.

"Once we arrive at the location, the school will collect the materials. Also, you are prohibited from using your mobile phone for this week, and you must hand it in afterwards."

"You are generally allowed to bring in your daily necessities and toys, but food is not allowed. I suggest you finish your food before you arrive at your destination, otherwise you will have to throw it in the trash. That's all I wanted to say. I hope you have a pleasant week ahead and everything goes well."

After hearing this final explanation, none of the people on the bus showed any exaggerated reaction.

Although it is indeed difficult for high school students to not use their phones for a week, they had already experienced it once during the exam period on the deserted island, so they were not surprised this time.

More importantly, the morale boost from a hundred victories is enough to face anything. Given Class A's current state, they can completely ignore this insignificant problem.

.........

The bus exited the highway and slowly drove up the paved mountain road.

Soon, all the students arrived at the forest school located at the finish line.

Before getting off the bus, Hoshinomiya Chie asked everyone to hand over their cell phones and other personal items that were not allowed to be brought in.

"Ouch~ It's so cold!"

Perhaps because the destination was in a mountainous area, it was even colder here than when we left the school, and many of the Class A students who had just gotten off the bus couldn't help but shiver.

"Please wait here for a few minutes. Once everyone is here, all students will go to the specially assigned classrooms to form small groups. After the rooms are assigned, we will have lunch. There are no other arrangements in the afternoon, so you are free to do as you please."

As soon as I stepped off the bus, two unfamiliar faculty members, whom I didn't usually interact with, ran over from a short distance away. They were probably the people specifically responsible for welcoming me to this special exam.

There were no troublemakers among the students in Class A. Led by Shun Aragaki and Kanzaki, the boys all walked together to a place a little away from the bus and waited patiently.

"Should we say it's highly advanced? A normal forest school wouldn't be this large..."

The place where everyone got off the bus was a wide open space, like a playground. Looking into the depths of the mountains from here, you could see two conspicuous old school buildings.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a school capable of accommodating hundreds of students; it's incredibly large.

Afterwards, the girls got off the bus one by one. Just as Hoshinomiya Chie had reminded them, once all the Class A members had confirmed that they had stepped off the bus, the two faculty members asked them to line up. One of the female faculty members quickly led all the girls away.

The boys' group, led by another faculty member, went together to the large school building known as the main building.

As soon as they stepped into the building, they were greeted by a strong aroma of wood.

Without a doubt, this is the kind of old wooden school building that's been around for a while.

It must have taken a lot of effort to cultivate and maintain it, resulting in a very good appearance and an overall comfortable, nostalgic style.

Led by the faculty and staff in charge of welcoming them, the boys from Class A passed through rooms that looked like classrooms and finally arrived at a place that looked like a gymnasium.

It's worth mentioning that their class was the first to arrive. Several minutes later, the boys from Class B, Class C, and Class D arrived in turn.

All I can say is that this is indeed a highly developed style of doing things.

Before long, all the male students in the school were gathered in the gymnasium.

A man who appeared to be a teacher from another grade came on stage and greeted the students with a microphone.

"Having already explained things on the bus, I assume everyone has their own understanding of the exam content. Therefore, I won't go into further detail here."

"Next, we will give everyone time and space to divide into groups. Each grade should discuss and divide into 6 groups. In addition, we will arrange time and space for everyone to form large groups at 8 pm this afternoon. That's the basic plan. Regarding any supplementary matters, whether it's large groups or small groups, the school will not participate in the discussion or make any arbitration on your behalf."

After issuing simple instructions, the school decisively relinquished control.

Many teachers quietly moved to a corner of the gymnasium to minimize their presence, seemingly having no intention of participating in the group activities; they remained there simply to prevent any accidents from happening.

Seeing this, the different grades tacitly distanced themselves from each other, seemingly wanting to follow the teacher's instructions and decide on the groups for each grade first.

Upon seeing this, Shun Aragaki beckoned, and Satoru Kaneda and Daichi Ishizaki from Class C, and Yosuke Hirata and Teruhiko Yukimura from Class D, all arrived with their respective core members.

Faced with this perilous situation of getting off to a bad start, Katsuragi Kohei, Ryuen Sho, and Koenji from Class B of the first year all looked grim, but had no choice but to come over and gather.

Otherwise, according to the rules of this special exam, Class A, Class C, and Class D could easily team up and eliminate Class B.

At that time, it's hard to say what the consequences will be for Class B, which won't even be able to form a group, let alone elect a leader.

"How about we try it out? If your class still can't join a certain group by 8 p.m., what kind of punishment will the school give?"

Looking leisurely at the latecomers, Koenji and the others, Aragaki Shun's eyes flashed with curiosity.

Although it's impossible for the school to expel all the boys in a class before the exams even begin.

But what if?

Anyway, nothing will happen to Class A, so giving it a try is definitely worth it!