Chapter 116: Can You Do It or Not!
First-Year Class A
"Great! We actually found it!"
On the other side of the island, Class A, believing they had taken the initiative, was confidently making their way toward their target stronghold.
At that moment, they were standing in front of a cave.
Yahiko was ecstatic.
"All thanks to Katsuragi! He saw through the school's intentions while we were still on the ship and memorized the island's terrain. That's the only reason we were able to find such a great stronghold so easily!"
He was singing Katsuragi's praises because he knew that Katsuragi was not yet the undisputed leader of their class—Sakayanagi was still competing with him for control.
As Katsuragi's top supporter, Yahiko naturally had to boost his reputation.
Moreover, since Sakayanagi wasn't present at the moment, it was the perfect opportunity to promote Katsuragi and showcase his excellence.
"This is nothing," Katsuragi said calmly. "Let's go. Time to scan the card."
Although his face remained composed, deep inside, he felt quite proud of himself.
He believed he had done an outstanding job.
Even if Sakayanagi had been here, she wouldn't have done any better.
Furthermore, this was a prime chance to consolidate his influence and unite the class while Sakayanagi was absent.
"Yeah!"
Yahiko nodded excitedly and stepped into the cave, heading toward the card-scanning device inside.
All they needed to do now was scan their card and claim the stronghold.
"Wait!"
The next second, Katsuragi, who was walking behind him, suddenly widened his eyes and shouted to stop him.
"What's wrong…?"
Yahiko was startled and looked at Katsuragi in confusion.
Without responding, Katsuragi strode over to the machine with a grim expression.
Displayed on the electronic screen were two lines of information:
"C-Class"
"07:55:32"
This meant that the stronghold had already been claimed—by Class C.
And it had happened just five minutes ago!
In other words, Class C had taken this stronghold just moments before they arrived.
"C-Class?! How is that possible?!"
Yahiko shouted in disbelief. "They were still at the starting point when we left!"
Even though Class A always considered themselves the best, they had still carefully checked the positions of the other classes before setting out.
When they departed, the other classes were all still on the beach.
By all logic, they should have been the first ones here.
"Everyone!"
Katsuragi raised his voice. "Spread out and search the area! The enemy can't have gone far!"
Although there was a possibility that the machine was displaying incorrect data due to an error, Katsuragi refused to rely on wishful thinking.
He would rather acknowledge his mistake—he had underestimated Class C, and now they had beaten him to it.
It was true that when they left, Class C was still at the starting point.
However, in a class of forty students, one or two slipping away unnoticed wouldn't have raised suspicion.
Which meant—the enemy's leader had come here alone to scan the card and claim the stronghold!
Katsuragi hadn't expected Class C to be bold enough to make such a move.
But at the same time, this also meant that if they could find whoever had scanned the card—
They could confirm Class C's leader!
Sakayanagi had already deemed Hachiman a person of interest, and the tests conducted on the cruise ship suggested that he required more caution than expected.
Katsuragi took this matter very seriously.
Losing a stronghold was one thing, but gaining intel on the enemy's leader? That was a huge advantage!
So, he made a swift decision.
"Hurry up and find them!"
Yahiko, now flustered, shouted orders as well. "We're Class A! How could we let those Class C rejects get ahead of us?!"
"And you guys—are you going to abandon your pride as Class A students?!"
Even now, he stubbornly clung to his elitist mentality.
Previously, during the cruise ship test, when Hachiman had referred to his class as "Class E students," Yahiko had felt deeply insulted.
Now, seeing Sakayanagi's faction hesitate to act, Yahiko tried to provoke them.
"You bastard… We don't have to listen to you! We're with Sakayanagi!"
"Forget it, finding them is more important."
Although some were annoyed by Yahiko's arrogance, they held back for the sake of the mission.
Suppressing their frustration, they left the cave to search for the Class C leader, who had come alone or with one other person.
But despite searching the area for more than ten minutes, they found no one.
In the end, they had to give up.
After all, securing strongholds was the priority.
If they wasted too much time and another class captured this spot, it would be a serious loss.
So, Katsuragi had no choice but to let it go.
The total area of the island used for the special exam is approximately 1.55 square kilometers.
However, with fewer than 160 students across all four classes combined, the island is relatively large in comparison.
Scattered throughout the island are between 20 to 30 hidden strongholds of various sizes.
If one were to search for these strongholds blindly, like looking for a needle in a haystack, it would undoubtedly be difficult.
However, with some wilderness survival experience, and considering that the school was conducting a survival test rather than actually abandoning them on the island, anyone with a bit of intelligence could deduce that the strongholds would be placed in locations suitable for setting up camps.
For example, caves, riverbanks, or clearings within the forest.
So, once the pattern was recognized, locating the strongholds became much easier.
"Let's head to the next stronghold."
Katsuragi Kohei stepped out of the cave with a cold expression and spoke in a deep voice.
He had observed the island multiple times while on the ship and had memorized nearly the entire terrain. While most of the area was covered by forests, this cave had been conveniently exposed to his view.
In his mind, this was the most ideal stronghold.
But now, it had been claimed by Class C.
Still, it didn't matter—he was a cautious and methodical person.
Aside from this first choice, he had several backup strongholds in mind.
"It's not far from here. Let's move," Katsuragi took a deep breath and reassured the increasingly restless Class A students. "That spot is even better. I noticed from the ship that there's an orchard there. If we claim it, our food supply problem will be solved."
His words calmed the anxious students, who refocused and followed Katsuragi deeper into the dense forest.
However, inside, Katsuragi was feeling stifled.
In his original plan, he intended to secure the cave as their main base.
From there, they would gradually expand outward, capturing all the nearby strongholds.
That way, food and shelter would be completely taken care of.
Even though they had lost 30 points due to Sakayanagi's absence, the remaining 270 points could have been saved entirely.
But now, he had to abandon his original strategy.
"It's just ahead—I can see it!"
Yahiko shouted excitedly. "Katsuragi, you're amazing! There really is an orchard! Now, our food problem is solved—we can save at least a hundred points!"
Fruits could not only fill their stomachs but also provide hydration.
A class of 40 students consumed a significant amount of food and water daily. If they relied solely on points to exchange for supplies, they would need at least 20 points per day.
But now, with this orchard, they could conserve those points entirely.
They were placed in Class A at the start of the school year for a reason—they weren't fools.
Realizing they could save over 100 points, many of them began to relax.
If that was the case, losing the cave was insignificant.
"This will do."
Seeing the group settle down, Katsuragi finally revealed a faint smile of relief.
This was a great opportunity to surpass Sakayanagi, but if he handled it poorly, it could easily backfire.
"So sweet!"
Yahiko exclaimed in delight. He jumped up, plucked a bright red apple from a tree, wiped it on his clothes, and took a large bite.
Crunch!
Juicy and delicious, the fruit's sweetness filled his mouth.
Seeing Yahiko's enjoyment, the other Class A students became tempted as well.
The temperature was rising, they had been trekking for over half an hour in the heat, and they had no bottled water with them. The students were exhausted and thirsty.
"Yahiko!"
However, Katsuragi's expression changed drastically upon witnessing this scene. He hurriedly tried to stop him.
But it was too late.
"What's wrong, Katsuragi?"
Yahiko looked at him in confusion, then suddenly seemed to understand. He assumed Katsuragi was simply worried about him and patted his chest with a laugh. "Relax, Katsuragi! These apples are completely natural, no pesticides or anything. It's fine even if I don't wash them."
"That's not the issue."
Katsuragi's face darkened.
At that moment, he regretted making Yahiko the leader.
Yes.
For this exam, he had chosen Totsuka Yahiko as Class A's leader.
Katsuragi was too well-known among other classes, making it easy for others to identify him.
Yet, he couldn't trust anyone else to lead, so Yahiko, his loyal follower, had been the best choice.
He knew Yahiko wasn't the smartest, but he believed he had potential to be trained.
However, looking at him now…
"Did I do something wrong?"
Seeing Katsuragi's expression, Yahiko immediately became uneasy.
"No, it's nothing."
Katsuragi shook his head, took a deep breath, and decided to keep the matter to himself.
"Go swipe the card."
He urged Yahiko.
"Oh, okay."
Yahiko quickly nodded, then jogged over to the machine, pulling out his card to swipe it.
However, just as he took out his card, his face changed dramatically.
"Katsuragi! Bad news!"
Yahiko's expression was anxious and tense. "This stronghold has also been taken by Class C!"
"What?!"
Katsuragi's face darkened as he pushed past his classmates and rushed to Yahiko's side.
Looking at the information displayed on the machine, his expression became even uglier.
"C class 7:57:32."
It was Class C again—just a mere two or three minutes ahead of them.
That meant Class C had left just before they arrived.
And now, the last thing Katsuragi wanted to happen had become reality!
"To the next stronghold!"
Panic surged in Katsuragi's heart as he shouted, grabbing Yahiko and running toward another location. He yelled to the others, "We have to get ahead of Class C! We can't let them keep beating us!"
He couldn't allow the rest of Class A to stay here any longer. If they did, they would soon realize something was wrong.
If that happened, everything would fall apart.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Is Katsuragi even capable of leading?!"
"Are we really walking again? I'm exhausted—I don't want to move anymore."
Dissenting voices began to emerge among Class A students, with many complaining.
These students were from Sakayanagi's faction. Compared to Katsuragi, they placed far more trust in Sakayanagi—the seemingly delicate girl who always had a plan.
However, since Katsuragi's supporters had already left, they had no choice but to follow.
If they fell behind, got lost, or dragged the class down, the consequences would be severe.
After all, before departing, Sakayanagi had explicitly instructed them not to sabotage Katsuragi.
Yet, ten minutes later, Yahiko looked almost on the verge of tears, his voice trembling as he stared at the muscular, bald man beside him.
"Katsuragi..."
"Move to the next one."
Katsuragi's expression darkened further as he saw Class C's name appear on the machine again.
"Katsuragi, are you even capable of leading?!"
The Class A students who had struggled to catch up erupted in frustration. "If Sakayanagi were here, she would never make such a rookie mistake!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
As Katsuragi's most loyal follower, Yahiko immediately retaliated, shouting angrily, "Katsuragi is already doing an incredible job finding these strongholds before anyone else! Can any of you do better? If you think you can, then go ahead and try!"
"Even if he's great at finding them, we're still losing to Class C—the group of defective rejects."
A cold voice came from within the crowd.
"Who? Who said that? Show yourself!"
Yahiko was instantly furious.
"Enough!"
Katsuragi snapped, cutting Yahiko off with a loud, firm voice. His expression was grim.
Yahiko still hadn't realized his mistake, nor had he understood what he had done wrong.
But if this continued, the other students might start to catch on.
That would only make things worse.
Right now, he needed to regain control of the situation.
"Katsuragi, at the very least, you owe us an explanation. Or do you think just shouting louder is going to solve everything?"
Katsuragi's outburst had momentarily silenced Yahiko and left the rest of Class A stunned.
But soon enough, someone from Sakayanagi's faction stepped forward to challenge him again.
After all, they weren't Katsuragi's people.
They were here to protect Sakayanagi's interests.
"Sigh."
Katsuragi took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
"This was my mistake," he admitted. "I should have anticipated this. Since they've already occupied the cave stronghold, of course, they would secure the surrounding ones as well. This time, we'll go farther away. There won't be a problem."
"Fine, we'll give you one more chance."
The student who had questioned him muttered under his breath, "Sakayanagi told us to follow your lead before we left, after all."
In other words, they would cooperate this time.