The next morning, school proceeded as usual. In the morning, we had academic courses like calculus and chemistry, while in the afternoon, we had cultivation time in the special mana-filled room from yesterday. The same process occurred for the whole week, without any major incidents.
Liu Jian didn't make any moves just yet, but Mei Gui and I did notice that Ms. Cai continued to observe us whenever we sat in the cultivation chamber. It was quite annoying, frankly, but there was not much I could do about it other than just grit my teeth and endure, pretending she wasn't there.
By the time Friday rolled around, I was starting to get comfortable in this school. Slowly familiarizing myself with the layout and hallways, slowly getting to know the names of my classmates and even some students from other classes. I didn't interact with them much, but from what I could see, they didn't like me very much. It seems that jealousy was truly everywhere.
Still, being a university, everyone here was more or less matured. They didn't try and openly flirt with the girls, but instead just admired them from far away and waited for an opportunity to show itself.
I was quite looking forward to the weekend, as I could use that as an opportunity to ask some seniors about the Student Council and how to enter. Any tips they had for new students would also be quite helpful. However… this morning, the classroom's aura was different from usual.
Ms. Cai, who was always half-asleep, seemed wide awake this morning. That was the first sign something was up. And the next… was the words that came out of her mouth.
"Good morning, class. I hope you all still remember the special exam I mentioned on the first day of school."
At this, the class froze.
Timidly, the always-questioning boy in the front raised his hand. His name was Da Bao.
"Uh… Ms. Cai, you mean the one with the risk of expulsion…? I-It's happening today?"
"No, but I will be explaining it today," the teacher responded. "This way, you will have the weekend to think over it and strategize. The actual exam will be taking place on Monday."
At this, the majority of the class sighed in relief. This meant they would at least some time to prepare, rather than something like a pop quiz.
"The first special exam of the year — it will be quite simple. You are to complete an obstacle course that tests all your different abilities, from stamina to agility, to magic as well. All 100 students in Year 1 of Series 1 will be taking the course at the same time, in an virtual dimension that feels exactly like the real world. All your exact capabilities will be transferred over to the virtual world, so measures are accurate."
"So almost like a VR game?" Another boy asked — his name was Long Lu, and he seemed to be quite the studious type.
"You could describe it like that, yes. But your body will physically be transported, so it's not exactly like a game."
"How long will the obstacle course be?" someone else asked.
"That depends on the person — the record in all the years since the Academy was established is 1 minute and 34 seconds," Ms. Cai explained. "However, no one has ever even come close to that record since it was made. And the person who made it… is our current principal, Liu Jian."
Oh… now this I wasn't expecting.
"So if we beat that record, we can also become the next principal of the Academy?" A girl sitting across from me in the row ahead asked. She had grey hair and different-colored eyes, one orange, one blue — quite the rarity.
"It is not that simple, but a start, yes. I'm sure, if you are able to truly achieve that… you will become quite the well-known figure around the school."
And then, Ms. Cai dropped some information I never knew I needed.
"The first step to becoming a future faculty member here is to join the Student Council, so if you are truly looking forward to becoming the next principal of this Academy, you will have to constantly excel far beyond your peers and competitors to win the attention of the current Student Council and get recruited."
I see… in that case, there's no point holding back, is there?
Naturally, I couldn't display my Chaos abilities out in the open, but using enhanced Blessing Magic to improve my physical capabilities was still well within the scopes of my powers. The only problem was… I didn't know what the obstacle course contained.
Ms. Cai cleared her throat as the class settled down from the murmuring, and continued.
"Now, there is one final part of this exam: finding a partner."
"A partner…?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes — however, your partner will not be from this class," Ms. Cai explained, a neutral expression on her face. "You will have to find someone from a different class to pair up with for this exam, and compete against them. In the end, whichever class has the most 'winners' from their respective partnerships will be the ultimate champions of this first examination, placing them in first place."
"Partnering with a different class… huh, I see. This is more complex than it seems on the surface," Long Lu muttered, having understood the core rules of this exam.
"You will have to work together as a class to overcome this exam — heed my words: the method to winning this competition is not how good one of you are, but the strategy you employ in the formation of your partnerships.
"That's all, you are dismissed — you may stay in the classroom however long you want to discuss, and you will have the weekend as well. But those of you who don't want to participate in the discussion, you can leave as well. Best of luck, Class 1-D."
Saying this, Ms. Cai walked out of the room, without even giving us a chance to ask any more questions we may have. I figured she probably wasn't allowed to answer anything.
As the door clanked shut, the classroom was sent into utter silence — until at last, one student decided to stand up. It was Long Lu.
"Everyone, I have a plan to take on this exam. Please stay here and listen to me, it won't take long."
"Sorry, I gotta go!" a boy who was friends with Da Bao immediately got up and rushed out the door, dragging his belongings behind him. "Got a date today!"
"Wait-!"
But before Long Lu could even tell him to stop, many of the other students also got up and left. In the end, only Da Bao, the girls, and I remained with him.
"This…" he sighed in frustration, punching the wall. "Bunch of good-for-nothings…"
"U-Uh… it's fine, we can just hold the discussion without them. I'll find a way to get in touch with them over the weekend to relay the plan, somehow…" Da Bao murmured faintly.
Long Lu glanced at him for a brief moment condescendingly, then turned away and sat back down in his seat. "Alright… ignoring those idiots who left… allow me to explain how this exam truly works-"
"Oh no, we get it," I quickly interrupted to avoid wasting time. "Just tell us your plan. Don't need another explanation."
"You… understood the true test of this exam?"
The girls rolled their eyes as if annoyed, and I just nodded.
"Come on, it wasn't all that hard to figure out."
"I… suppose so. Then, I shall say what I think we should do," Long Lu said, clearing his throat. "Essentially, we need to pair our weakest students with their strongest ones, and our strongest ones against their strong ones. That way, we will have our strong ones against their weak ones, leading to a near flawless victory."
"Indeed, indeed, that is the obvious strategy…" I sighed. "But don't you think the other classes will be trying the exact same thing?"
At this, Long Lu fell silent.
"I… considered that, but in the end, I was unable to come up with any better plan that guarantees a win. How about you? Do you have any ideas?"
"In my opinion… we should treat this competition as a real partnership between classes, not a contest to win. I feel like that, is the true point of this first special exam."
"… Come again?" Long Lu narrowed his eyes. "You're saying we shouldn't try to win?"
"Not for this exam, at the very least," I replied. "Notice how this cross-class exam is the first one of the year, and so early in the year as well? The point of it is to form partnerships and allies for the upcoming exams to come. The school is trying to teach us that long-term allies are more important than a temporary victory. There's still plenty of time left in the year to catch up… what's the rush?"
"I agree," Feng Mian said firmly. "Taking first so early in the year is not a good idea, either. That would only make us the primary target for the other three classes going forward — that wouldn't be ideal."
I smiled. "As long as we have the last laugh… sacrifices need to be made."
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