Day One
Sienna's POV
Katsuragi took the lead with a measured pace, moving with purpose. Before long, we arrived at an opening—a cave situated on higher ground.
He instructed everyone to scout for potential spots we could claim. According to the handbook given to us, the rules were as follows:
Basic Rules
1. Starting Points
Each class begins with 300 S-points.
S-points can be used to purchase items listed in the manual.
Bonus points earned by fulfilling certain conditions during the test will be added only after the test ends and cannot be used during the test.
2. Leadership and Guessing
Each class must designate one student as their leader.
Leaders cannot be changed unless a valid reason is provided.
On the final day of the test, each class can attempt to identify the leaders of the other classes:
Correct guess: The class earns 50 bonus points.
Incorrect guess: The class loses 50 points.
If a class's leader is correctly identified:
The class loses 50 points.
They forfeit all bonus points earned during the test.
3. Occupation of Test Grounds
Certain locations on the island can be occupied under specific conditions:
A special key card is required to claim a spot.
Only the designated leader can use the key card.
Each occupied spot grants 1 bonus point to the class.
Occupation rights expire every 8 hours. Renewing an occupation grants another bonus point.
Using an occupied spot without permission results in a 50-point penalty.
4. Penalties
Health/Injury:
If a student can't continue due to poor health or injury:
30-point penalty
Immediate retirement from the test
Environmental Pollution: 20-point penalty
Roll Call Absences: 5-point penalty per absence (8 AM & 8 PM daily)
Severe Violations:
Violence, theft, or destruction of another class's property results in:
Immediate failure of the offending student's class.
Forfeiture of all private points belonging to the student responsible.
The rules were clear, but most students brushed them off as just another layer of school bureaucracy. However, these additional rules could determine victory—or expose the true purpose of the exam.
Katsuragi's defensive and cautious nature became evident once again. He gathered his followers into a separate group, effectively splitting Class A into two factions: Sakayanagi's group and his own. His actions carried a deeper meaning than what appeared on the surface.
Standing beside Katsuragi was Yahiko, followed by Koji Machida, Kenya Yoshida, and Koharu Yano. These four were his most trusted allies—a laughably small number compared to Sakayanagi's faction.
I approached Ai Matsushita.
"Do you have any idea why Katsuragi wants us scouting for spots? Isn't that the leader's job?"
"No idea," she replied, lazily blinking. "But if I had to guess... he doesn't want us to know who the leader of our class is."
"Of course… that makes sense."
So Katsuragi was actively hiding the leader's identity? Logical. If Sakayanagi got wind of it, she'd undoubtedly use her faction to ruin his plans.
"Hey, Ai." I lowered my voice slightly. "Why don't we elevate Sakayanagi's standing—solidify her position as the class leader?"
Ai raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "Elevate her standing? How?"
"It's obvious Katsuragi doesn't want Sakayanagi's faction interfering. But what if she's already placed someone to sabotage him? The best way to counter that… is through the student cards."
"I see what you're saying…" Ai mused. "Katsuragi's caution is controlling him again. So what's your plan? Doing exactly that?"
"I'm not sure… What do you think?"
Ai was incredibly observant. Feigning ignorance was better than feeding her the answer. Letting her draw her own conclusions allowed me to operate under the radar.
"Hmmm… Sure. Why not? Sounds like a great plan."
With that, we followed Katsuragi's orders. His faction claimed the cave, while the rest of us scattered, searching the island.
---
Island Exploration
Several trails led to different locations. One led to a clean river, clear enough to drink from. Hashimoto bent down, scooped up some water, and gave us a thumbs-up.
Some of the boys immediately turned their focus to fishing, their hunting instincts kicking in. Even with sharpened sticks, they barely managed to catch ten fish.
"Ah, shit. This is a pain," Hashimoto muttered, rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, this isn't worth it. I'm exhausted," another boy groaned.
"Why don't we actually do what Katsuragi asked?" Kamuro suggested.
Hashimoto sighed. "Not interested. Right now, I just want food."
I checked my watch. 2:30 PM.
"We should head back," I suggested.
"Uhhh, say…" A quiet voice spoke up. A girl with faded brown hair, Miki Yamamura, peeked out from behind a tree. "You think Katsuragi just doesn't want us to know the leader?"
"Don't stress about it, Miki-Miki," I reassured her. "We should still familiarize ourselves with the island."
"Balls. Absolute balls," she mumbled absentmindedly. "I'm hungry. I don't wanna die."
"Jesus Christ. Dramatic much?" Ai muttered, prompting a few chuckles.
"Yeah, it's just day one, dude."
Despite her timid nature, Miki was remarkably skilled at moving unnoticed—almost like a real-life ninja.
---
Return to Camp
After some aimless wandering, we returned to the cave. Katsuragi's faction had already set up the school-issued tents.
Hashimoto clicked his tongue. "You don't expect us to squeeze in like sardines, do you?"
Koji Machida shrugged. "Then sleep outside. Enjoy the fresh air. Share your blood with mosquitoes. Meanwhile, the rest of us will enjoy the tents."
Miki stiffened, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. "…T-The fuck?" she mumbled.
Hashimoto scowled. "Shut the hell up, Koji Machida. I wasn't talking to you."
Kosei Sanada raised a hand. "Look, I get it. We're tired and pissed off about the exam. But Katsuragi, these tents couldn't fit a toddler. Three more would suffice."
"Whoa, whoa! Three is kinda crazy. What are you trying to do—store dead bodies?"
Kosei pushed his glasses up. "I'm just saying the obvious, right, Hayato?"
Everyone turned to Hayato Kito, who only grumbled in response.
Kosei smirked. "See? He agrees with me."
Ai sighed. "Why am I lumped with the likes of you?"
"People would kill to be in Class A, and this is what we're arguing about?" Hashimoto grumbled.
Ai ignored him entirely. "When I was little, I wanted to live in a tree like Tarzan. Maybe I'll try it tonight."
Everyone exchanged glances, struggling to comprehend this eccentric girl. Even I found myself caught in the mix.
Troublesome.
___
My wristwatch lay dim, its processors drowned by water. I wondered if the wristwatch given to us by the school was water-resistant. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
The manual stated that removing the wristwatch would result in penalties. Although unspecified, I suspected they were too insignificant to be mentioned, but I remained suspicious nonetheless.
I also wanted to examine the watch and see if I could use the GPS to my advantage. However, to do that, I would have to disassemble it into its component parts for observation, which I couldn't risk due to the unknown penalty.
By damaging the watch, I could bend the rule that pertained to it. There was no mention of a scenario where the watch was damaged—only when it was removed before the school permitted it.
A loophole. But could it be exploited?
I made my way to the beach. In my vision, Mashima-sensei was seated, his expression relaxed, but upon noticing my presence, he narrowed his eyes.
"Is there a way I can help you, Sienna Langley?" he inquired.
"Of course, sir. But there's a problem. You see, my wristwatch is damaged, possibly from water when I went to the stream for a bath. I assumed it was waterproof since the school insisted we never take it off."
After explaining my predicament, Mr. Mashima nodded in understanding before answering.
"I see. There's no problem. We'll issue another one immediately," he replied swiftly.
"But I thought the handbook mentioned something about—"
"It's nothing to be concerned about. It specifically states that removing the wristwatch leads to penalties, not if it was damaged. However, it's surprising—they are supposed to be water-resistant."
"I guess mine is one in a million."
Mashima-sensei ignored my joke and went to retrieve a new one. Soon enough, he returned.
"Take care of this one, alright? If not, it'll cost you points."
I took the wristwatch and strapped it to my wrist. "I forgot to ask, Mashima-sensei—what penalties are there if the wristwatch is removed without permission?"
"Deduction of all the involved student's points."
I see. It was that severe, yet they didn't bother to explain it to the students. It wasn't even in the handbook.
"I see... That wouldn't be good. I'll be sure to take care of this one."
He nodded and returned to his seat. In turn, I headed back toward our base.
---
Taking a detour, I went in the opposite direction due to curiosity about something I wanted to test. I might be perceived as suspicious by the rest, which is why I did it away from others.
I took the wristwatch that I told Mashima-sensei was no longer functioning and disassembled it with a hunting knife, carefully removing the screws. My eyes stayed peeled, searching for the GPS tracker hidden within. Finally, I spotted it. Relatively small, it was hard to detect. While I had told Mashima-sensei that the watch was damaged by water, I had first taken it off to ensure the GPS tracker remained intact.
This will be useful later, I thought to myself.
Heading back to camp to check on my teammates… it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.
Hashimoto still looked bitter about Katsuragi forcing them into hardships without stating his reasons. The tension was palpable.
Ai Morishita was poking Miki, who was sleeping peacefully. She liked to act as if she were dead. Hayato Kito, on the other hand, was staring into nothingness.
Katsuragi and his faction sat separately in silence. Yahiko was nowhere to be found—probably off relieving himself.
I turned back without making my presence known and made my way to find Yahiko, who was already approaching the base.
"Hey, Yahiko."
"Uhhh... hey?"
His body language was uncertain and uncomfortable, as if he were unsure whether he should be speaking with me. We had only spoken once or twice before.
"You don't seem comfortable... so I think I'll leave you alone, you know, give you some space—"
"N-no, it's fine. What is it you wanna talk about?"
"Nothing, really. I just noticed you were the only one not at the base, so I decided to check on you… is that weird?"
"N-n-no, it's fine." He rubbed his head awkwardly. I looked at him with a more serious expression.
"I've got a question for you, Yahiko."
"Huh? What's up?"
"Do you think Katsuragi is capable?"
"Of course! It's no surprise that Katsuragi is far superior to Sakayanagi—"
I cut him off at the mention of Sakayanagi. "I didn't ask if he was better than Sakayanagi, did I? I asked if you believe in his abilities, his morals, his methods."
"That's… Yes. Katsuragi doesn't let his classmates down. He'll find a way to uplift his class and everyone around him through dignified methods, staying true to his noble morals."
Beautifully said.
"I see…"
Yahiko gazed at his feet before continuing. "That's why I follow him—because I support his morals and methods for achieving victory."
"You know, I was never a Sakayanagi faction member. I'm somewhat in between. I was skeptical of Sakayanagi's methods—she's playfully brutal and has a rigid ideology."
Yahiko looked at me, confused, as I continued. "That's why I wanted to join Katsuragi. He's a good person—upright and noble—something Sakayanagi lacks."
Yahiko's eyes lit up in satisfaction as he smiled at me brightly. "Oh really? I never thought you were considering joining us. I assumed you were part of Sakayanagi's group."
"Quite the opposite. But I'm also skeptical of Katsuragi's methods. While noble and admirable, they won't be sufficient in this kind of environment."
With a raised eyebrow, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"This school is full of snakes, waiting for you to slip up. Any mistake, and we'll be the ones reaping the consequences. That's why you, Yahiko, are the only one who can help Katsuragi. He's stubborn, so why don't you support him? Prove to him that your morals align."
Yahiko glanced away, his expression thoughtful. "How am I supposed to do that? I'm just an average guy. I'm neither physically nor intellectually gifted."
"You don't have to be. You can ask others for help. Surround yourself with capable people. I'd like to see Katsuragi succeed, so I'll be offering my assistance as well."
Yahiko perked up, looking at me. "It's not that easy... but if that's the path I need to take, then I'll do it—not just for Katsuragi, but for myself."
With a determined look, he added, "That's why I'll support his faction to victory as well."
My expression remained indifferent, but I managed to crack an approving smile. "That's good. I'll look forward to assisting you. Just one more thing."
"Hmm?"
"Please keep this a secret from Katsuragi. He's very cautious and may refuse my help, thinking I'm aligned with Sakayanagi."
He nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. I'll be looking forward to working with you, Sienna Langley."
What a fool.