Chapter 117: If Only Sakayanagi Were Here!
Sakayanagi wasn't participating in the exam, but her faction members were.
Before departing, she had given them clear instructions—not to try too hard, just to cooperate with Katsuragi.
Katsuragi was known for being cautious and methodical, but that also meant he lacked flexibility.
Back on the ship, he had already mapped out seven or eight possible stronghold locations.
And now, the island's layout was engraved in his mind.
This time, he decided to split the class into smaller groups, dispersing them to search the surrounding areas where strongholds might be located.
If any group found a stronghold, they would immediately send word, while the others would secure the location to prevent anyone else from taking it.
However, although his plan was good, his execution was still a bit too slow.
"This one is occupied!"
"Here too!"
"Same on my side, all taken!"
Again and again, Katsuragi's faction members reported bad news, and each time, Katsuragi's face grew darker.
"Katsuragi..."
Yahiko spoke cautiously, trying to comfort him. "It's okay. You've already done enough by finding so many strongholds. The next one—there's no way the next one will be taken!"
"..."
Katsuragi's face was as dark as water. Yahiko's attempt to console him didn't help at all; instead, it only made his expression even worse.
Seven!
They had searched seven strongholds in a row, and every single one had already been occupied.
And worst of all, every time they found a stronghold, it had been taken just minutes before they arrived.
And every single time, it was Class C!
It was as if they were deliberately toying with him, always just barely ahead—like they were watching the clock, mocking him.
Letting him see the stronghold's countdown timer, but always arriving just a few minutes too late.
He wanted to search the surrounding area, but he couldn't even catch a glimpse of the enemy.
The frustration was enough to make him want to cough up blood.
"I'm exhausted!"
After trekking across seven strongholds, the students of Class A had already walked over 10,000 steps. That might not be a problem for a casual stroll after dinner, but this was a remote island, with forests and mountainous terrain, making the journey much more difficult.
Fatigue was setting in quickly.
At this point, many students were already at their limits, drenched in sweat.
"I can't walk anymore… how about we rest for a bit?"
"Yeah, this trip is taking way too much energy."
"Katsuragi, let's take a break first."
Many Class A students voiced their requests, mostly from Sakayanagi's faction.
It was clear that even though Sakayanagi had instructed them to follow Katsuragi's lead, they still resisted him deep down. And now, after all their efforts had led to nothing, their dissatisfaction was showing.
Meanwhile, even Katsuragi's own followers, including Yahiko, looked at him expectantly.
They were tired too.
"No."
Katsuragi wanted to agree, but he could only grit his teeth and refuse.
"This area has already been occupied by Class C. We've stayed here too long. The handbook's rules are very clear: Using another class's stronghold without permission will result in a deduction of 50 points.
"If we stay here any longer, we might get penalized. We have to leave."
Because—
While every class could gain points by occupying strongholds, there were also specific restrictions:
1. A main base must be established before sunset and reported to the homeroom teacher by 8:00 PM for monitoring and protection.
2.
3. The main base cannot be changed freely.
4.
5. A team leader must personally swipe their card to occupy a stronghold.
6.
7. Each occupied stronghold earns one point, and multiple strongholds can be occupied at the same time.
8.
9. Each stronghold remains occupied for 8 hours, after which it must be re-occupied by swiping the card again.
10.
11. Any stronghold can be reoccupied repeatedly.
12.
13. Using another class's stronghold without permission results in a 50-point deduction.
14.
15. The team leader cannot be replaced without a valid reason.
16.
The rules weren't overly complex, but they were clear.
While securing strongholds earned points, lingering too long in another class's stronghold—or using it—could lead to a penalty.
Although Katsuragi's refusal frustrated many students, the fact that he provided a reason made them reluctantly accept it.
One by one, they got up in silence.
No one wanted to be responsible for losing points for the class.
"Let's keep moving."
Katsuragi sighed.
Even he wasn't sure whether the next stronghold would also be taken by Class C.
"Katsuragi."
Yahiko shook his head at Katsuragi.
This time, however, it wasn't occupied by Class C.
Because there was no card-swiping device here—which meant it wasn't even a stronghold.
"Since this isn't a stronghold, let's take a break here."
Katsuragi spoke, sounding a little weary.
The card readers weren't very big, but if they were present, they wouldn't be too hard to find.
They were always placed in obvious locations.
Since Katsuragi didn't know the exact locations of the strongholds beforehand, he had relied on experience to determine areas suitable for setting up a base. Places like that were highly likely to be designated as strongholds.
But at the end of the day, he was only guessing, so it wasn't 100% accurate.
Still, Katsuragi had identified eight locations, and seven of them had turned out to be actual strongholds.
That level of accuracy was already incredibly impressive.
"Finally, we can rest!"
"Katsuragi really isn't cut out for this, huh?"
"Exactly. If Sakayanagi was here…"
Once again, Sakayanagi's faction members whispered among themselves.
But this time, Katsuragi's faction didn't glare at them angrily. Instead, they all hung their heads, like ostriches burying themselves in the sand.
Because this time, Katsuragi's failure was undeniable.
"Yahiko, come with me to find the teacher."
Katsuragi rubbed his temples and said softly, "It's impossible that Class C occupied every single stronghold. There might be a malfunction with the machines or the system. Let's go confirm it."
"Yes! It must be a system issue!"
Hearing this, Yahiko's eyes lit up with hope, his expression turning slightly excited.
Like a drowning man grabbing at a lifeline—even though deep down, he knew this hope was slim at best.
But he instinctively ignored all the negative possibilities.
Because if they could prove it was a system malfunction, then all of Katsuragi's failures wouldn't count as real failures!
Instead, the ones who had been badmouthing Katsuragi in secret would feel guilty and might even start cooperating with him more.
"Sigh…"
Katsuragi sighed internally.
Even though he said those words out loud, he knew the chances of a system malfunction were extremely low.
And he also realized—this time, Yahiko had made a critical mistake.
.
.
.
"What?! We lost 50 points?!"
On the beach, Yahiko's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at their homeroom teacher, Mashima.
"Teacher, you must be mistaken! Couldn't this be a system error?"
"It's not a system error."
Mashima Tomoya shook his head.
"I've already confirmed everything. Your class lost points because you violated the rules.
Also, those strongholds were indeed occupied by Class C, and the leaders personally used their cards to claim them.
There was no cheating involved—this has been verified."
"I understand."
Katsuragi felt utterly exhausted, speaking in a low voice.
"Sorry for the trouble, teacher."
"Mm."
Mashima gave a small nod before turning and walking away.
"Katsuragi, what do we do now?! Katsuragi!"
Yahiko was completely panicked.
This loss was devastating.
Katsuragi's leadership had clearly failed.
"Let's go back first."
Katsuragi forced a bitter smile and dragged his exhausted body back toward the forest.
He hadn't rested once this entire time—he had been pushing himself non-stop.
Not because he wasn't tired.
But because he couldn't afford to be.
His heart felt unbearably heavy.
Even though Mashima hadn't directly scolded him, Katsuragi could hear the disappointment in his voice.
He was probably thinking about how Sakayanagi would have handled things better.
And now, when he returned, he would have to face the backlash from Sakayanagi's faction…
And sure enough—he had been completely right.
"50 points?! Katsuragi, what the hell?!"
"We lost 50 points on the very first day?!"
"Unbelievable!"
As expected, Sakayanagi's faction immediately lashed out at Katsuragi in front of everyone.
Even Katsuragi's own faction members looked at him in shock.
50 points.
Such a massive blunder.
This could create a huge gap between their class and the others.
Sakayanagi wasn't here, and because of that, Class A had already been penalized 30 points.
But now, Katsuragi hadn't taken advantage of the situation—instead, he had lost an extra 50 points.
Did this mean Sakayanagi could just sit back and still win without doing anything?
"What do you all think you're doing?!"
Yahiko, however, refused to back down. He glared fiercely at Sakayanagi's followers.
"Now you're all blaming Katsuragi? Don't forget—it was you guys who kept complaining about being tired and insisted on resting!
That's why we wasted so much time at Class C's stronghold and got penalized!"
"..."
Hearing this, Sakayanagi's faction instantly fell silent, lowering their heads in shame.
Because at that time, it really was them who had complained about being tired.
Katsuragi's faction members naturally wouldn't question him, and it was only Sakayanagi's faction who were dissatisfied with Katsuragi, which was why discordant voices frequently arose.
However, they had only vented their frustration—they had never intended for the class to lose points.
And Katsuragi remained silent on this matter.
Because the loss of points wasn't actually due to wasting too much time—it was because Yahiko had eaten an apple from an orchard that had already been occupied by Class C.
Since the orchard had already been claimed, consuming its resources without permission was considered resource infringement, resulting in a penalty.
But this was not something that could be said out loud right now.
So he could only allow the misunderstanding to remain, letting everyone take shared responsibility, to prevent internal conflicts within the class.
"Enough arguing!"
Katsuragi stepped forward and spoke.
"This was my responsibility. Everyone, stop arguing. Right now, what's most important is finding more strongholds as soon as possible.
We've been walking for a long time, and you must all be thirsty. I exchanged some water with the teacher—drink up, rest a little, and we'll continue later."
"Alright."
"We'll trust you one more time."
"Katsuragi, this time, don't mess up again."
Sakayanagi's faction members reluctantly accepted Katsuragi's leadership and fell silent.
Because now, they felt guilty—they believed that their own actions had caused the class to lose 50 points.
And now, Katsuragi had even provided them with water, making them feel as if they had been too harsh on him.
Only Katsuragi himself kept his head lowered, a bitter smile on his lips.
"That's more like it! We lost points because you guys didn't trust Katsuragi in the first place!"
Yahiko, on the other hand, was puffed up like a victorious rooster, feeling proud and gloating.
Katsuragi only glanced at him subtly, shaking his head inwardly.
Everyone assumed that it was Sakayanagi's faction who caused the point deduction.
But he knew the truth—the real culprit was likely Yahiko himself.
However, Katsuragi also understood why Yahiko ate the apple back then—it wasn't because he was hungry, but because he wanted to rally support for him.
Sigh…
Yahiko had good intentions, but he had messed up.
.
.
.
"Found it!"
A few minutes later, good news finally arrived.
Yahiko excitedly waved at Katsuragi, shouting, "Katsuragi! Over here! There's an unclaimed stronghold!"
"Finally found one…"
"I can't walk anymore."
"At last, we have a stronghold."
Several Class A students breathed a sigh of relief.
At first, they hadn't felt too anxious.
But as more and more strongholds were found already occupied by Class C, a sense of urgency had started creeping in.
So finding one unclaimed stronghold was a huge deal.
Because having a stronghold meant they finally had a base.
Even if it was temporary, it was still something to hold onto.
"Let's rest first."
Katsuragi let out a small sigh of relief, speaking in a calm and composed manner.
After being on edge for so long, they could finally take a proper break.
"But thinking about it… isn't Class C ridiculously strong this time?"
As soon as they sat down, several students spoke with complicated expressions.
The moment those words were spoken, many others fell into deep thought as well.
They were aware of Katsuragi's abilities.
The reason they weren't satisfied with him wasn't because they thought they could do better.
It was because Sakayanagi was simply more outstanding.
But Class C's performance this time was completely unexpected.
They had beaten Katsuragi to every stronghold—didn't that mean their leader was even more capable than Katsuragi?
If such a person wasn't identified, it would be too unsettling.
"Are we… going to lose to Class C this time?"
"Hard to say. But based on what we've seen, Class C already controls quite a few strongholds."
"A stronghold earns 3 points per day, and Class C has occupied at least seven of them…"
Seven strongholds—these were the ones they had confirmed to be taken by Class C.
There could be even more that they hadn't found yet.
And seven strongholds, earning three points each per day, meant 21 points per day.
Over seven days, that would be a staggering 147 points.
This number was truly alarming.
"Yahiko, let's go."
Katsuragi silently stood up and said in a deep voice,
"We're going to claim as many nearby strongholds as we can."
He couldn't let Class C pull too far ahead.
Even if he couldn't surpass them in stronghold points, he at least had to identify Class C's leader.
Whoever it was, they had been relentlessly capturing strongholds, meaning they hadn't had time to regroup with the rest of Class C.
As long as he found this person, then no matter how many bonus points Class C had, it wouldn't matter.
Because once the leader was exposed, all their extra points would be nullified!