Meanwhile, the exams for Class C and Class D were proceeding simultaneously.
"The combined results show Class D with 532 points and Class C with 446 points. Class D wins the second event."
Hearing Mashima Tomonari's announcement, Kushida Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief.
Their class had won two consecutive events - it was practically a perfect start.
"Terrible luck, huh? So far it's been all your events."
As if unaffected by the pressure, Ryuen Kakeru showed Kushida Kikyo his usual smile.
For this exam, Class C didn't even bother pretending - all their chosen events were about fighting.
Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, Kendo, and Wrestling - these were the events Ryuen Kakeru personally selected, filling them out without hesitation earlier.
Kushida Kikyo suspected he chose these simply because they were at the top of the list - he just wanted to save effort and didn't care what they were.
"Hehe, I've heard good luck is also a key factor in winning."
Kushida Kikyo put on her little angel act, her face full of innocent smiles.
What a joke - how could she not show innocent smiles to Ryuen Kakeru? This guy had given her a full 2 million points!
"That's true."
Ryuen Kakeru turned to Mashima Tomonari, "Teacher, please hurry to the next event. Everyone's waiting to finish this quickly."
Mashima Tomonari glanced at Kushida Kikyo, who nodded slightly.
Soon, the third event was displayed.
Karate.
Kushida Kikyo slowly withdrew her smile - they had finally drawn a Class C event.
The events Class D had chosen were English Exam, Math Exam, Basketball, Typing Skills, and Archery.
Horikita Suzune's thinking was simple - since Ryuen Kakeru was clearly challenging Class D to a direct competition, she might as well skip practicing his events and focus on training their own instead.
You fight your way, I'll fight mine - it all came down to whose events got drawn more often.
The worst outcome would be drawing five consecutive Class C events - no matter how hard they tried, Class D would have difficulty winning.
However, Horikita Suzune considered this impossible - the probability was too low. It was more likely both sides would draw three or four of their own events.
This way, Class D would have a chance to win.
The best outcome would be Class D drawing four or five of their own events, followed by drawing three, and then winning one of Class C's events.
Of course, besides probability, another key aspect of this exam was the reasonable allocation of human resources.
Horikita Suzune had prepared multiple plans, allowing Kushida Kikyo to adopt the most reasonable approach based on the situation.
As long as it wasn't the worst-case scenario, Horikita Suzune believed their chances of winning were better than Ryuen Kakeru's.
In fact, Class D had already drawn two of their own events consecutively.
The first event was Typing Skills - they had a science nerd named Hokamura Hideo on their side, so they sent him up to type furiously, and sure enough, they won.
The second event just now was the English Exam, which gathered top students led by Wang Meiyu. Since Class C of the first year likely hadn't reviewed, they secured another victory.
The consecutive successes steadied Kushida Kikyo's confidence.
Even if it were Class C's Karate event now, she wouldn't panic.
"Alright, it's finally our turn, Kushida. Want to pick a few people you dislike to step into the ring?"
Ryuen Kakeru casually selected several students.
The rules of Karate were simple: anything was allowed except for direct strikes against the opponent.
Moreover, it was an elimination format—only one student could make it to the end.
"Eh, no way, I wouldn't do something like that."
Kushida Kikyo restrained her desire and refrained from putting Horikita Suzune in.
Instead, she threw a few boys into the mix.
However, she knew these boys were just cannon fodder. Very few in the class understood Karate, with only Horikita Suzune being skilled at it.
Even if they practiced for a week, they probably still couldn't beat Class C of the first year. It was better to just give up.
As expected, the boys Kushida Kikyo sent up were quickly beaten to the point of kneeling and begging for mercy.
She couldn't even bring herself to use the Command Tower's intervention—which allowed any match to be replayed.
"The third event goes to Class C."
Mashima Tomonari flipped the scoreboard, similar to those used in many ball games. The current score was 2:1.
"Tsk tsk, what a terrible performance. Why didn't you send out Sudo from your class?"
Ryuen Kakeru seemed to be taunting, "When it comes to who can take the most beating, I only remember him."
"Ryuen-kun, saying things like that will make people dislike you, you know?"
Kushida Kikyo suppressed her anger, wearing a smile that held no warmth. "Everyone still remembers what you did with the drugging incident."
Although she wasn't particularly invested in the class, Ryuen Kakeru's constant mockery was enough to make even the most patient person angry.
Ryuen Kakeru didn't care at all. The angrier Kushida Kikyo got, the more it amused him, as if he were teasing a cat or a dog.
If he could provoke this Command Tower, it might yield some unexpected results.
"Mashima-sensei, another one, please."
With a slightly flippant tone, Ryuen Kakeru acted as if he were switching TV channels, treating it all like a comedy show on screen.
Mashima Tomonari pressed the lottery button expressionlessly, and the screen began flashing the next event.
Basketball.
'Perfect.'
Kushida Kikyo immediately breathed a sigh of relief—this was their class's event.
To secure this victory, they had compiled a list of students in the class, noting who excelled at what and which events were most likely to yield wins.
Miyake Akito was skilled in Archery, Hokamura Hideo in computers, Onodera Kayano in swimming and sprinting, and Sudo Ken's specialty was basketball—reportedly with qualifications to compete at the national level.
For caution's sake, Horikita Suzune had included basketball, hoping Sudo Ken and a few other athletic boys could secure a win.
Thus, Kushida Kikyo unhesitatingly submitted the names of Onodera Kayano, Makita Susumu, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and others.
Ryuen Kakeru, of course, noticed this and remarked, "My, my, what a fearsome strong team. Not only are you lucky, but you're also sharp-minded. Is Horikita guiding you?"
"Yes, all our class's strategies are thanks to Horikita-san's efforts."
As a little angel, Kushida Kikyo has a gentle side, but naturally also possesses a thorny side.
"She hopes to win the match fairly and squarely, rather than resorting to petty tricks."
Although she genuinely dislikes Horikita Suzune as a person.
"I see. It seems my chances of winning here are quite slim."
Ryuen Kakeru casually submitted several names while speaking discouraging words, yet his eyes showed no trace of defeatism, still maintaining considerable composure.
On their screens, the basketball match quickly began.
Kushida Kikyo stared intently at the match footage.
They hadn't deployed Sudo Ken immediately, instead keeping him as a reserve player.
The Command Tower's intervention method allowed substituting one player at any time.
If Class 1-D could smoothly win the match, Sudo Ken could be preserved as combat strength.
If unexpected situations arose, deploying him wouldn't matter either.
The players Ryuen Kakeru sent were Daichi Ishizaki and several other boys who seemed somewhat skilled at basketball, creating an almost evenly matched situation between both sides.
"Hey, this looks a bit dangerous, Kushida. Want to bring up your class's ace?"
Ryuen Kakeru wore a teasing smile. "At this rate, it's completely unclear who'll be the final winner."
The basketball match lasted twenty minutes, with the first half being only ten minutes that would pass quickly.
Kushida Kikyo had to make a decision within this short time, especially when the scores were close.
Ryuen Kakeru watched her troubled expression with amusement.
As expected, she decided to deploy Sudo Ken during the second half.
The current score was 2-1. Winning one more match would make it 3-1, and another victory after that would mean final triumph.
Kushida Kikyo had no reason not to stake Sudo Ken. Class 1-D currently had no choice - they couldn't afford to lose.
Just as predicted, shortly after Sudo Ken took the court, Class 1-C's formation collapsed, allowing Sudo Ken to charge through unimpeded and secure the final victory.
"The result is twenty to twelve, Class D's victory."
With Mashima Tomonari's announcement, Kushida Kikyo couldn't help but show a slight smile.
Whatever the case, they just needed one more win.
However, her smile immediately vanished.
"Next event: Judo."
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