I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"Ugh! It's so hot!!"

Karuizawa, sitting on the bus with her gym clothes in her arms, couldn't help but take off her school uniform as well, and kept fanning the air in front of her with her hands, as if trying to get some coolness in this way.

Unfortunately, it's the height of summer now, unlike when I went to the forest school in early spring. Back then, although the snow had started to melt, the temperature wasn't particularly high, and it even felt a bit chilly.

But at that temperature, everyone can easily resist the cold wind by wearing a few more layers of clothing, not to mention someone like Tianyin, who has a super strong physique and doesn't feel any discomfort from the temperature as long as she wears sportswear.

Especially during the training camp, apart from a sudden downpour near the end, the overall temperature was quite suitable for outdoor activities. Perhaps the school chose to hold the special exam for the forest school in the spring because of this.

Unfortunately, Tianyin and her friends were now facing an intense heat that made the roads hiss and steam. Tianyin had only opened a tiny crack in the window when the scorching wind, which stung their cheeks, rushed in through the crack as if trying to squeeze into the bus. Seeing this, Tianyin quickly closed the bus window, afraid that the last bit of coolness inside the bus would disappear.

"If we were to conduct high-intensity physical training in this kind of weather... given the physical condition of our students, quite a few would probably suffer from heatstroke and faint."

Sitting next to Amane, Horikita found a piece of paper somewhere and casually folded it into a small paper fan for Amane. He was trying his best to cool Amane down, completely unaware that his own forehead was already covered in sweat.

"At least half of the people would have a hard time making it through. Lingyin, you don't need to keep fanning me. This temperature is nothing to me."

Amane smiled as she took the paper fan from Horikita and began to fan herself vigorously, continuously supplying Horikita with cool air.

"Sigh... I'm starting to wonder if it's really necessary for everyone to come here in the sweltering summer heat to suffer like this? Perhaps this kind of training can improve everyone's physical fitness, endurance, and teach them teamwork and wilderness survival skills. It seems like a lot of gains, but most of these things will be useless in the future. What's more, some people are not naturally good at physical sports, but the school uses a semi-coercive method to force them to participate. If someone gets injured, it will be a loss for both us and the school. I really can't understand the school's approach anymore."

Horikita sighed. She was confused about the purpose of this training and disagreed with the school's plans.

In her opinion, it is useful to cultivate teamwork skills and learn some wilderness survival experience. It is indeed somewhat useful, but it is not certain where it can be used.

Teamwork has been repeatedly emphasized by the school and homeroom teachers since the first grade, but no matter how much it is emphasized, there are still lone wolves who want to act on their own, lazy people who hope that others can carry them to victory, and unambitious people who think that even if they are expelled from school because of a special exam, Tianyin and the others will definitely find a way to save them, so they do not add any pressure to their lives.

This is no longer a problem that can be solved simply by the class leader being strong enough. Horikita understands this very well. At the beginning, she didn't want to lose anyone and thus 'potentially' affect her promotion to Class A. Now, she only wants to get rid of the useless people and those who are willing to move forward together to graduate from Class A.

Horikita's dramatic change in thinking stemmed entirely from gradually abandoning his naive ideas after passing a series of special tests.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect her classmates, but the prerequisite is that she has to be a useful person.

Unlike Hirata, who always wanted to protect everyone, Horikita, who had become Amane's form... shared the same thoughts as Amane, a self-interested individual.

Things that are not beneficial to oneself or the class can simply be observed from the sidelines.

Just like teamwork, the other party needs to consider themselves as part of the team in order to build cooperation together.

In short, for some unknown reason, the teamwork that the school has been emphasizing has only existed in the form of a slogan. Although the students in the class have indeed become much more united than at the beginning, such a half-baked team is still a vulnerable force in the eyes of Horikita and Amane.

While wilderness survival experience sounds incredibly useful, the reality is that most graduates of this school will face the daily grind of corporate life. The repetitive, mechanical, and tedious work will completely obliterate the skills they have learned. Besides, the school only teaches this knowledge to prepare for the special exam in July, so it's impossible to expect them to teach anything too professional.

If you really want to learn this kind of knowledge, Horikita only needs an empty classroom and an afternoon to teach you what you've learned in a month. There's no need to open a special course for this during physical training.

Besides these, what puzzled Horikita the most was that everyone was forced to participate in training.

Horikita glanced at the dejected Yukimura and the listless Wang Meiyu. Neither of them seemed to be in a good mood, since they already knew in advance that the next month would focus on physical training, with academic learning as a secondary task to help them train.

No one knows their own physical condition better than they do.

However, they are both outstanding students in Class A in terms of academic ability, but they are definitely at the bottom in terms of physical fitness. It wouldn't be wrong to say that they are a burden. But if they are eliminated because of physical fitness, it would undoubtedly be the biggest loss for Class A.

Horikita thought about this question for a long time but couldn't get a satisfactory answer, so she couldn't help but look at Amane, who was eating a sandwich next to her.

"Huh? Tianyin, where did you get this sandwich?"

Horikita stared in surprise at the sandwich in Amane's hand, which was clearly not one of those cheap convenience store sandwiches. Before leaving, Amane had only taken a large backpack, which Horikita had assumed contained only everyday clothes. Could it be…?

"The sandwich was given to me by Arisu before I got on the train, Suzune, look~ there are still many more here!"

Amane proudly showed Horikita another white backpack filled with sandwiches, chocolates, and various candies and drinks.

As Horikita saw these things, his expression gradually became strange.

“We’re going to a training session. Without a refrigerator, this food will spoil in no time, right? Arisu really spoils you.”

Looking at the white backpack that was anything but dirt-resistant, Horikita shook her head helplessly. They were supposed to be going to training, but Amane had turned it into a trip to the countryside.

"Don't worry, I have a brilliant plan!"

Amane winked confidently at Horikita, but this time Horikita remained skeptical of Amane's words.

You should know that Horikita and the others had lived there for two weeks before, and Horikita couldn't remember anywhere else besides the kitchen with a refrigerator that could store such a large bag of food.

It's summer now, and food will spoil in just a day or two. Hopefully, Tianyin won't start causing trouble at the forest school because the food is spoiled.

"Lingyin, do you want some?"

Amane held the sandwich, which had more than a dozen layers of filling, to Horikita's mouth. Horikita, who was about to take a small bite, immediately turned her head away when she suddenly saw the heart-shaped pattern specially made of caramel on the sandwich.

"I'm not hungry right now. Besides, there's no air conditioning in this bus. It's as stuffy as a steamer, which has made me lose my appetite. Tianyin, you should eat by yourself."

Horikita refused Amane's offer to feed her. Firstly, she didn't want to eat the lovingly prepared bento box that Sakayanagi had made for Amane, as it would make her feel uncomfortable. Secondly, as she said, in temperatures exceeding forty degrees Celsius, the bus didn't even have air conditioning!

With nearly forty people on board, the bus had become a mobile sauna. The stifling heat caused many to suffer from mild heatstroke, forcing them to rest in an attempt to endure the three-hour journey.

However, it wasn't that the bus was trying to save money; rather, the bus they were on didn't have air conditioning at all. If the class teachers weren't on the bus, people would believe it was an unlicensed vehicle that was taking the students to the mountains to be sold off.

It's really beneath the school to use such an old and outdated way to transport students. Even the buses on the roadside are equipped with air conditioning these days.

"Huh? Tianyin, why are you wearing sportswear?"

A small head popped out from the seat behind Tianyin.

Amane, who was holding a sandwich in her mouth, turned around and found that Ichinose was sitting right behind her.

"Waaaaah, waaaaah."

"Uh... well... Tianyin, you could actually swallow this first before you speak!"

Ichinose, feeling embarrassed, handed his drinking water to Amane, who managed to swallow the sandwich in her mouth with great difficulty, using the water as a substitute.

"Whoa, I almost choked to death! Thank goodness Honami was here!"

"No way, Amane, what you're saying is way too exaggerated. Besides, you have Horikita with you. I just saw her trying to hand you some water."

Ichinose saw Horikita about to hand water to Amane, so he quickly took the initiative and handed Amane the water he hadn't finished drinking.

"Huh? Is that so? Rinne is the best too~"

"Stop with that, get away from me! I'm hot enough already, I don't need a pillow as big as you!"

"No, no, just one hug! Just one hug!!"

Seeing that Amane and Horikita had started bickering before they had even exchanged two words, Ichinose narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Tianyin, you still haven't told me why you changed into your sportswear now. It's so hot in the car, don't you feel uncomfortable?"

The temperature inside the car was at least fifty degrees Celsius, and everyone was finding it quite uncomfortable. Even Ichinose, who always thought he wasn't afraid of the heat, had already taken off all but a white shirt that was soaked with sweat. If he hadn't been unable to take off any more clothes in the car, he would have even wished he could have taken off the sticky shirt as well.

On the other hand, Amane was fully armed. Not only was she wearing a proper tracksuit, but Ichinose also noticed through the gap in her collar that Amane was wearing the same standard girls' shirt from the high school. In such a hot environment, Amane might faint from the heat before even reaching her destination.

"I think I heard Mr. Chabashira remind me before getting on the bus that it would be best to wear sportswear, so I did."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Ichinose glanced around the bus with a black line on her face. It seemed that apart from Amane, only Hirata had changed into sportswear like Amane. However, compared to Amane, Hirata had only changed into a jacket. There was definitely no other student on this bus who had changed into pants like Amane.

Perhaps it was the conversation between Amane and Ichinose that attracted the attention of Chabashira-sensei, who was sitting in the front row. Chabashira-sensei turned around and glanced at the group of people on the bus who all looked drowsy. Then, she picked up the megaphone and stood up from her seat.

"Rin, I have a bad feeling."

Looking at the megaphone in Chabashira's hand, Amane immediately thought of the last time Chabashira had suddenly announced that going to the forest school had turned into a special exam when they were halfway through the drive.

Seeing that Teacher Chabashira was acting almost exactly the same way as last time, Amane's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"Ahem, all you sleeping folks, wake up! I have something important to tell you."

"They've come after all..."

Horikita covered her forehead. She had also thought that the school couldn't have simply brought them here for physical training and wilderness survival experience. There must be some kind of special exam involved. And sure enough, before they even arrived, Teacher Chabashira was already bringing them bad news.

"Could this physical training session be a special test for Teacher Chabashira?"

Hirata asked Chabashira-sensei with a nervous expression. He noticed that everyone was in a bad mood along the way. The pressure was immense because the school had emphasized the importance of physical fitness for the next special exam and that this special training was mainly focused on physical conditioning. This created a negative atmosphere that was spreading throughout the bus.

If everyone participates in physical training in this state, not to mention the possibility of being eliminated, the probability of injury during training will greatly increase.

"More or less. First of all, if I remember correctly, I told each of you before we came here that this special training is also part of a special exam, so the answer to your question, Hirata, should be 'yes'. But Hirata, do you know why I used the ambiguous word 'more or less'?"

Chabashira's voice rose a octave, and it seemed that Chabashira-sensei was about to say something important. Even those who were still a little sleepy had to perk up and listen carefully to what Chabashira-sensei was about to say.

"I'm not really sure..."

Hirata's answer was as honest as ever, but that was exactly the answer Chabashira wanted. If Hirata had simply replied with "I know," Chabashira would have been at a loss for words.

"Because rather than saying that this special training is a special test, it's more accurate to say that the outcome of the next special test may be determined during this special training."

"what?!"

Teacher Chazhu's words caused a huge uproar among all the students.

"Tea Pillar Teacher, you're joking, right? Didn't you say this was just a regular training session? Even the final training exam was just to see if we were qualified to take the special summer exam, wasn't it?"

When Matsushita Chiaki suddenly heard that this training might affect the results of the special exam, she panicked.

Although her physical fitness wasn't the worst in Class A, that was just on paper. In reality, she didn't like outdoor activities. Even on the deserted island last time, she only played by the river. This time, Teacher Chabashira had announced long ago that the special exam would be held in Hida, and that it would be a physical fitness-focused exam conducted in a mountainous area.

Outdoor activities, physical fitness, mountainous terrain... all of these were areas that Matsushita was completely unfamiliar with. She had originally planned to wait until this month of special training was over, and then train for another month in private. By the time of the special exam, she didn't want to hold everyone back, at least not.

What she didn't expect was that this special training would affect the special exam later. If she didn't perform well in this special training, wouldn't that implicate Tianyin and the others?

"It's time to reveal some more information about the special training and special exams to you."

"First, in the 'Survival' special exam in July, both grades will be given 1000 special exam points. As for how these 1000 points are distributed among each class, or whether they are used by one person, that's up to you. Next, I'll talk about which parts of the special exam the special training will affect."

1. This special training is expected to last for 30 days. The class teacher will take attendance at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM every day. You can get 2,000 personal points by checking in twice a day. If you miss a day, the check-in for that day will be invalid. If you check in less than 50 times, you will be considered to have given up the right to participate in the special exam. You will be awarded an additional 10,000 personal points for every week of check-in. If you continue to check in normally until the end of the special training, you can get a total of 100,000 personal points.

2. During the special training period, there will be a teaching content test and a single physical training test every week. Each class can receive corresponding class points based on the number of students who pass. The passing standard is determined by the average score of all students who participated in the test.

3. After the special training is completed, there will be a general test. Only candidates who pass both sections can participate in the "survival" special test during the summer vacation.

Each successful candidate increases the initial special exam points cap for the "Survival" special exam by 10.

Each failed candidate reduces the initial Special Exam Points cap by 20 points in the "Survival" Special Exam.

Compared to the special exams, the rules for the special training were much simpler and easier to understand. Even the students with poorer academic abilities could understand the first two rules: check-in to earn points, and weekly exams on academic and physical abilities, with points awarded to the class based on the number of students who passed.

It's not too difficult to understand.

The most crucial rule of this special training was the third rule, which was the first time anyone, including Tianyin, had heard of a rule that could expand the upper limit of special exam points.

P.S.: The previous chapter was automatically censored and has been edited, but manual review may not be available until after the holiday...

Chapter 83: The Game Begins

"I think the rule that everyone has the most questions about for this special training is the third rule, right? If you have any questions or confusion, it's best to ask before the bus arrives at the destination. I can still answer your questions before the special training starts. Once we arrive at the destination, the special training will officially begin. During the special training, it is stipulated that we, as class advisors, cannot provide any advice or guidance to the students."

It seemed that Ms. Chabashira had anticipated from the beginning that some people would be confused about the third rule, so after she finished explaining the rule, she immediately signaled to the eager Class A students that they could ask her questions about anything they didn't understand.

"Tea Pillar Teacher, I'd like to ask if the cap on this special exam affects the initial special exam points? For example, as you mentioned, each grade will have an initial 1000 special exam points for the next 'Survival' special exam. If the second grade's cap is increased by 500 points during this special training, will we start the special exam with 1500 points?"

Hirata, visibly excited, was the first to ask Chabashira-sensei a question. It must be said that Hirata was quite perceptive in capturing key elements; this was probably the question that almost everyone wanted to know the answer to.

According to the rules, each student who passes will increase the special exam points cap by 10. If the points are distributed according to the cap at the start of the special exam, then if there are 140 second-year students who pass the special training, they will receive an additional 1400 special exam points at the start of the special exam.

This is equivalent to having a huge sum of money, equivalent to 2400 special exam points.

If you can save 1000 or more special exam points and win, then one special exam can allow you to live a carefree life for the entire second year. It's not impossible to even coast along until graduation.

However, if the initial special exam points are not increased, this cap becomes even more intriguing.

This means that there are ways to earn special exam points in special exams. Otherwise, the school would not have used expanding the point cap as a reward. For example, in the case of a deserted island, there is no need to expand the cap. Because without an immediate way to increase special exam points and without prohibiting the trading of special exam points, no matter how much you save, the special exam points will gradually decrease over time, and there is no possibility of reaching the cap.

However, since such a setting has been added to this exam, it must mean that there will be rules to increase the number of special exam points.

Amane and Horikita exchanged a glance, their expressions both showing a hint of relief.

If they can earn points, they can avoid the various problems caused by the uneven distribution of points in the special exam. In other words, they may only need to consider how to maximize their benefits while defeating their first-year opponents in this exam.

"Hirata, are you daydreaming? How could there be a rule to increase the initial special exam points? The so-called increase in the upper limit means that you can obtain more than 1,000 special exam points, regardless of location or method, but the premise is that you must comply with the rules of the special exam and you cannot use violence to obtain other people's special exam points. The school must ensure that the total amount of initial special exam points for both parties remains unchanged."

"So that's how it is..."

Hirata nodded with a hint of disappointment. He had actually expected this outcome, but he still asked about it as a last-ditch effort. If he could get ahead of his opponent in the initial points, even if he didn't know what those points could be used for, it would definitely be a huge advantage.

"I'm more concerned about the reduction in the Special Exam Points cap than the increase. I originally thought that both increasing and decreasing it would affect the initial Special Exam Points, but according to Chabashira-sensei, the impact of special training on the Special Exams doesn't seem to be that significant. In any case, it doesn't affect the initial Special Exam Points, which means that no matter what the results of special training are, everyone's starting point will be fair... Or is there some way the school can reduce the other party's Special Exam Points cap without affecting their initial Special Exam Points?"

Katsuragi raised a question that many people hadn't considered: if increasing the upper limit of special exam points is to pave the way for better acquisition of special exam points, then how do you explain reducing it? If the upper limit of special exam points for first-year students becomes 800 points, how can the school ensure that their initial special exam points do not change?

"Katsura-kun, that's a very good question. First, I can tell you clearly that the initial points for the special exam will not differ. Second, depending on the upper limit, there may be a delay in the distribution. Let me give you an example so you can understand. If we deduct 800 special exam points because of too many failures, then only 800 special exam points will be distributed on the first day of the special exam, and the remaining 200 special exam points will be distributed the next day."

Teacher Chabashira's answer was very simple. Katsuragi didn't seem very satisfied with the answer, but perhaps for some reason, he didn't ask any further questions. He just nodded calmly and stopped talking.

"But wouldn't that mean there's not much of an impact? It's just a one-day delay in distribution, not that it's not distributed at all. And even if we can get points through special exams, it's impossible for us to get five or six hundred or even a thousand points a day, right? So I feel that a thousand-point limit seems to be enough."

Karuizawa, unusually, shared her thoughts after careful consideration. Although her ideas were still somewhat immature, this was, in a sense, the first time Karuizawa had considered this special training from her own perspective, rather than her usual instinct to immediately seek help from Amane whenever something happened.