Chapter 211: The Super Troublesome Sports Festival!
"Silence!!
This is currently a class meeting.
Please save your romantic gossip for after class."
Chabashira-sensei slapped the lectern and shot Hikigaya a displeased glare.
"..."
Hikigaya expressed that he was entirely innocent.
Things like "romance" only existed in his dreams.
In reality, Kikyo was still avoiding him...
"Everyone has finished reading the materials, right?
This sports festival will adopt a Red vs. White group confrontation. Class A and Class D will form the Red Group, while Class B and Class C will form the White Group."
Everyone found this quite novel. In previous class competitions, it was usually a four-way free-for-all. No one expected it to be a two-on-two this time.
"Alright!
"Our teammate is Ichinose's class. We're so lucky!"
Judging by the joyful expressions on everyone's faces, Ichinose Honami's reputation throughout the entire grade was excellent.
Hikigaya thought to himself that with "pig teammates" like Class D, Class A was likely in for some terrible luck this time.
Conversely, with the White Group pairing Class B and Class C—given Sakayanagi's mind full of schemes and Ryuen's powerful initiative—Hikigaya could conclude that the White Group was bound to win a landslide victory in this sports festival.
"Yosh!
Finally, it's my turn to show what I can do!"
Led by Sudo Ken, the few students in class who excelled at sports were showing great enthusiasm for the upcoming festival. If they had even one-third of this drive when studying, they wouldn't be perpetually hovering on the edge of the failing line.
Hikigaya listlessly flipped through the materials in his hand.
As expected, this broken school's sports festival came with many troublesome rules.
"Please make sure to read the detailed rules of the festival carefully. I do not intend to explain them a second time," Chabashira-sensei warned seriously.
Hikigaya reached out to cover a yawn.
In his view, the rewards for this sports festival were exceptionally stingy. For example, in the Red vs. White confrontation, the losing group would be deducted 100 points, while the winning group simply wouldn't lose any points.
Aside from that, each class would also have a separate comprehensive score ranking.
The first-place class would receive 50 points, second place 0, third place a 50-point deduction, and fourth place a 100-point deduction.
To summarize: under the best-case scenario, a class could only gain 50 points; in the worst case, they would lose 200 points.
The rewards and losses of this exam were completely out of proportion. Hikigaya seriously suspected that the school felt the first-year class scores were too high, so they deliberately staged this "point-deduction exam" to suppress their scores and reduce budget expenditures. After all, Classes A, B, and C had all reached the 1000-point mark; the school had to shell out over 120 million yen every month. As for Class D, their ability to save the school budget remained very stable.
"What gives?
The rewards are so small, but the deductions are so large. This exam isn't reasonable at all!"
Unsurprisingly, someone began to complain.
"Speaking of which, Class D is already at 0 points. Even if we lose, there's nothing left to deduct, right?"
A significant portion of the class, based on Class D's current situation, couldn't find any motivation to try.
"Hey, hey!
Why are you saying such depressing things before we've even started?
Isn't there still the individual competition?"
These words actually hit the nail on the head. What slightly surprised Hikigaya was that the person saying something so sensible was actually Sudo Ken!
"Those who take first place in the individual events can get 5000 Private Points, along with a 3-point bonus to their written exam scores.
Second place gets 3000 points and 2 points; third place gets 1000 points and 1 point..."
5000 Private Points sounded mediocre; the incentive was limited. But the 3-point bonus for the written exam was extremely important!
Most people in Class D were academic failures who often danced on the edge of the passing grade. Although one could use points to "buy" grades, the price was 100,000 per point—it was practically robbery! A 3-point bonus was equivalent to 300,000 Private Points!!
"Oh!
In other words, the points we lack in the written exam, we can earn back through the sports festival!!"
The class's enthusiasm spiked instantly.
Horikita Suzune chose this ill-timed moment to pour cold water on them: "Those in the bottom three of an event, however, will have 5000, 3000, and 1000 Private Points deducted respectively, plus a deduction of 3, 2, and 1 point from their written exam scores... these deductions will be applied to the next midterm exam."
"Hiss—"
Hearing this, the students sucked in a breath of cold air, becoming panicked one by one. They were already bad students; with extra points being deducted, the risk of failing increased exponentially!!
"Everyone, please stay calm..."
After steadying her emotions, Kushida Kikyo quickly returned to normal. Naturally, she wouldn't miss the chance to oppose Horikita.
"There are thirteen types of events in the sports festival, with nine being individual competitions.
Meaning, in an ideal state, one could obtain up to 45,000 Private Points and a 27-point bonus for the written exam!
Additionally, the top three students with the highest overall scores across all competitions can receive 100,000, 50,000, and 30,000 Private Points respectively!!"
Kushida's words acted as a shot of adrenaline for Class D. Everyone was excited, fantasizing about a massive windfall of points.
"One last rule: students who rank in the bottom ten of the entire grade in overall scores will have 10 points deducted from their written exam results!"
This time, it was Hirata Yousuke pouring the cold water.
Everyone was used to Horikita Suzune being unable to read the room, so they didn't say anything to her.
But seeing the "golden boy" Hirata Yousuke say something so demoralizing with a cold face was truly difficult for them to process.
"This is reality!"
Hirata's icy gaze swept across the class.
"Those of you harboring delusions of luck, wake up!!"
Seeing this, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nodded inwardly.
The plan was proceeding smoothly... guiding Hirata Yousuke to become a "sheepdog" to control the Class D flock. He just hoped a certain someone wouldn't interfere again...
Ayanokouji turned to look toward Hikigaya's seat.
Hikigaya sensed it as well and glanced back out of the corner of his eye.
'This "pseudo-human" is plotting some shady operation again? I hope you have at least a shred of human decency left...'
"It seems everyone finally has some drive.
Then work hard!"
After her talk with Hikigaya that night, Chabashira-sensei had resolved her inner conflict and was no longer obsessed with reaching Class A. She was now fulfilling her duties as an ordinary homeroom teacher.
"By the way, there is one very important thing to add."
Chabashira-sensei took out a form. "This is the entry sheet for the sports festival, listing all the event details.
You must decide the order of participation and the roster yourselves. Turn it in to me once it's filled.
Bear in mind! Once the deadline passes, no changes to the roster will be permitted, regardless of the reason!"
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