[Why does Nagumo keep throwing paper?]
[He said he would throw paper, but does that mean he'll only throw paper?]
[If he just changed it up a little, he could win!]
The other students present were completely baffled, having no idea what Nagumo Miyabi was trying to do.
Meanwhile, Nagumo Miyabi himself was equally puzzled.
Even though he had anticipated all possible moves from Saiki, he still ended up losing to him.
Just how many steps ahead had Saiki thought?
'Actually, I didn't think that far ahead. I just needed to be one step ahead of you.'
Saiki answered in his mind.
"Saiki... why do you keep throwing scissors?"
Finally, Nagumo Miyabi voiced the question that had been bothering him.
He was desperate to understand why the man he had acknowledged would do such a thing.
But Saiki simply replied indifferently:
"Because you said you would keep throwing paper, so I chose scissors."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Nagumo Miyabi was momentarily stunned.
After receiving points from the teacher, Saiki prepared to leave the area. The teacher in charge of the task had already finished counting and returned to the starting point.
However, just as he was about to leave, the third-year students immediately surrounded Saiki.
"Saiki-kun, could you wait a moment? We have something to discuss with you."
Kiriyama Ikuto stepped forward, blocking Saiki's path.
[We absolutely can't let Saiki leave like this. Keeping him here is our best chance! As long as he doesn't leave, we can limit his score!]
Kiriyama Ikuto thought to himself.
But for Saiki, it didn't matter. If he wasted too much time here, Tsukishiro Tokinari would surely arrive, and then Kiriyama Ikuto wouldn't be able to restrict him anymore.
"You can't just leave without our permission..."
"Let him go."
At that moment, Nagumo Miyabi's voice suddenly rang out from the other side.
Nagumo Miyabi adjusted his expression, smiled, and looked up, saying:
"Saiki-kun, you're free to go to whichever task or designated area you want next."
"Hey, Nagumo, this is a great opportunity to restrict his movements!"
Kiriyama Ikuto shouted excitedly.
"Not just Saiki, but Koenji Rokusuke is still running around too!"
"Kiriyama, are you questioning my orders?"
Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Kiriyama Ikuto, and a heavy pressure instantly filled the air.
"I... I didn't mean that. I just wanted to..."
"If that's the case, then just stand aside and watch quietly. My patience with you is running thin, Kiriyama."
"Understood."
Kiriyama Ikuto nodded and silently stepped aside.
Nagumo Miyabi then shifted his attention to Saiki:
"I apologize for my vice president's unnecessary actions. But since I promised you a fair competition in this exam, I won't go back on my word. Third-year students won't restrict your movements. You're free to take whatever actions you want next—though, if I happen to be interested in the same task, we might have a second round of competition~"
Nagumo Miyabi's meaning was clear: he intended to continue competing with Saiki in the upcoming exams.
This was also good news for Saiki.
If he and Nagumo Miyabi took different tasks, both would likely earn the highest scores, and the winner would be determined by factors like task quality, quantity, and points earned.
But if they both participated in the same task, the gap between their scores would gradually widen.
For Saiki, this was the fastest way to secure first place.
Nagumo Miyabi also wanted to use this opportunity to widen the gap between himself and Saiki.
...
Saiki then headed toward the other tasks, slightly increasing his pace.
The others, including Nagumo Miyabi, had to exert themselves just to keep up with Saiki's speed.
Although Nagumo Miyabi's physical abilities weren't top-tier, he was still among the best in the third year. However, after following Saiki for a while, he was soon out of breath.
[This guy's physical abilities... are they really this terrifying? I never noticed before... Does this mean they were holding back during the sports festival?!]
[Damn it... damn it...]
[This guy is probably even scarier than Horikita-senpai...]
Saiki could hear the others' internal complaints about him, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't completely hide his abilities anymore.
However, to be fair, Saiki had only shown less than one percent of his true abilities.
And even that was enough to leave the other students in the dust.
Soon, Saiki and the other students arrived at the locations of the other tasks and began the exams.
...
A few hours passed quickly, and several tasks were completed.
Saiki had taken first place in all of them, defeating Nagumo Miyabi.
This left Nagumo Miyabi questioning his life choices.
He knew Saiki was hiding his talents, but he never expected Saiki's true abilities to be at this level.
Whether it was academic or physical tasks, Nagumo Miyabi couldn't win against Saiki.
As the exams continued, Nagumo Miyabi's scores were gradually overtaken by Saiki.
Soon, the public ranking list changed again.
Nagumo Miyabi still held first place.
But now, second place wasn't Koenji Rokusuke—it was Saiki, with only a single-digit difference between them.
Koenji Rokusuke, in third place, was only two points behind Saiki. To others, this gap was almost negligible.
In reality, this was due to Kiriyama Ikuto's behind-the-scenes actions. He had sent people to restrict Koenji Rokusuke's scoring. While they couldn't limit his movements, monopolizing his tasks reduced Koenji Rokusuke's scoring efficiency.
Although Kiriyama Ikuto's actions were approved by Nagumo Miyabi, in Nagumo Miyabi's eyes, Koenji Rokusuke wasn't his rival. His only target was Saiki.
Finally, only one task remained for the day.
Combat.
Type: Wrestling
Participants: Two
The two competitors would wrestle in a ring, with the winner determined by technical points.
The specific points were as follows:
One Point:
Moving behind the opponent and taking them down to the mat, controlling them so that three points touch the ground (two hands and one knee, or two knees and one hand);
Using a correct move while standing or kneeling without putting the opponent in a dangerous position (both shoulders and back touching the ground simultaneously);
Moving behind the opponent and controlling them;
Preventing the opponent from facing the mat, with one or both hands supporting the mat;
Successfully executing a move despite the opponent's foul;
The opponent stepping out of bounds, avoiding a grip, refusing a correct starting position, using a foul move, or engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct;
Two Points:
During a kneeling position, using a correct move to put the opponent in a dangerous position or momentarily pinning both shoulders to the ground;
Causing the opponent's shoulders to roll;
The opponent stepping out of bounds to escape control while in a dangerous position;
Five Points:
...
The wrestling match would be decided in one round, divided into two periods. The total match time was six minutes, with each period lasting three minutes and a 30-second break in between.
If the point difference exceeded ten points, the match would end.
If one competitor was deemed unable to continue, the match would end.
...
Saiki looked at the extensive list of rules and felt a bit speechless.
He had originally planned to skip this task.
But since it was located near his next designated area, skipping it would surely raise suspicions.
Moreover, the task offered a substantial number of points.
The winner would receive a full 15 points.
The loser would get nothing.
Saiki quickly arrived at the task location. Thanks to Nagumo Miyabi's prior arrangements, no students from other grades were present. However, only Saiki had arrived so far; Nagumo Miyabi and the others were still far behind.
The teacher in charge of this task was none other than Chabashira Sae.
"Saiki, you're the first one here, as expected..."
Chabashira Sae swallowed hard, looking at Saiki with a strange and surprised expression.
After all, she had been keeping an eye on Saiki's recent performance.
Initially, she hadn't expected Koenji Rokusuke to take this exam so seriously.
But for her, this was definitely a good thing. If Koenji Rokusuke could secure a decent ranking, Class 2-A would gain an even greater lead.
However, something even more surprising had happened recently.
That was Saiki's sudden rise.
She never expected Saiki to break into the top three in just a few days, even challenging the first-place position.
Through GPS signals, Chabashira Sae knew that Saiki and Nagumo Miyabi had crossed paths and guessed that they were competing.
Chabashira Sae knew that Nagumo Miyabi was a special student, one of the most capable in the school's history.
But based on the scores, he had lost to Saiki multiple times.
This made Chabashira Sae realize just how terrifying the person before her truly was.
Saiki was the truly underestimated student in the class.
"Yeah."
Saiki nodded at Chabashira Sae.
He was well aware of her curiosity and confusion.
But as long as she didn't ask, he couldn't say much.
"Saiki, your abilities are truly astonishing. Have you been hiding your strength all this time?"
Finally, after Saiki completed his registration, Chabashira Sae couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer and asked.
"Well... in a sense, yes."
Saiki pondered his response.
He knew that if he secured first place in this exam, his hidden abilities would be exposed, and his peaceful days would be over.
Not only that, but others would surely question why he had hidden his strength in the first place.
Although... Saiki was still hiding his true abilities.
Regardless, he needed a convincing excuse.
"In a sense?"
Saiki's mind raced, and he thought of an excuse he had used before.
When in doubt, blame Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"That's right, Ayanokoji told me to do it."
Saiki immediately said.
"Sensei, you already know that Ayanokoji isn't an ordinary student, right?"
"Hmm..."
This time, Chabashira Sae didn't play dumb. She nodded.
"But why would he tell you to hide your strength?"
"To ensure we could graduate as Class A. When we were in Class D, he believed our class lacked the motivation to rise. If we revealed our abilities too early, we might be targeted by other students..."
Saiki quickly fabricated a lie.
After all, he was the person who truly understood Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's thoughts better than anyone else—literally.
Saiki guessed at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's possible strategies and came up with this explanation.
"...So in the end, Ayanokoji told me to act as the class's secret weapon, to hide my abilities as much as possible at first."
"But why are you showing your strength now?"
'Because the island is going to explode soon, and this still isn't my true ability.'
Saiki thought to himself, but he continued to answer:
"Ayanokoji said that now that we've become Class A, we've grown over the past year. To ensure we graduate as Class A, we need to widen the point gap with other classes as much as possible. So I no longer need to hide my abilities."
"I see..."
Chabashira Sae was half-convinced by Saiki's explanation.
Given the current situation, his explanation was fairly credible. If it was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, it was entirely possible that he had planned this from the start.
[But if Saiki was really hiding his abilities, why was he placed in Class D initially?]
Just as Saiki was struggling to keep up the act, footsteps approached the task area.
However, it wasn't Nagumo Miyabi.