As Chabashira Sae's words echoed through the classroom, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
"What? Every single instance of being late or using phones was recorded?"
"When did they even note this down...? Cameras? They tracked such minor details?"
"Wait, I thought this school allowed us to do whatever we wanted as long as we scored high..."
Thoughts raced through everyone's minds, and even Saiki Kusuo found the chatter overwhelming.
'Seriously, showing up on time should be a given for students, right?'
Saiki glanced at Chabashira, his thoughts drifting.
Though Chabashira seemed to be subtly mocking the class's past behavior, there was a hint of genuine joy in her tone.
"Teacher, you should've at least told us the criteria for earning points beforehand!"
Hirata Yōsuke stood up, addressing Chabashira directly.
"In the real world, job evaluations don't disclose their criteria either," Chabashira replied, her smile unwavering.
"But you should feel fortunate. As the former bottom-tier Class D, your exam preparation actually paid off."
She picked up a marker from the podium and wrote on the whiteboard behind her, listing scores and numbers.
First-Year Class Points Overview:
Class A: 940cp
Class B: 650cp
Class C: 490cp
...
Class D: 550cp
"For a class predicted to be the worst, surpassing 500 points is commendable. I expected you rejects to lose all your points," Chabashira said, her gaze sweeping across the students, clearly enjoying their shocked expressions.
"Damn it," Saiki heard clearly from behind him—Horikita Suzune's voice, filled with frustration.
"You figured out how to buy the test questions, didn't you? I don't know how, but it worked," Chabashira continued, pinning a large score sheet to the board.
The class average was high, over 80 points. Saiki's 81 placed him in the middle, though not exactly at the center. Satisfied, he'd carefully controlled his score to meet expectations.
"Fifty points seems too low now," Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's thought reached Saiki's mind. With the high class average, Kiyotaka's 50 placed him near the bottom.
Even with the test questions, the idiot trio still ranked last.
'False alarm, I guess. Class A's points are way higher—nearly 300 more than Class B. Did they know the school rules beforehand, or are they just naturally exceptional?'
Saiki wasn't sure. He hadn't interacted with Class A and didn't care to.
In his view, the better Class A performed, the less likely his class would rise to their level, keeping them off other classes' radar.
"The S-System ranks classes based on their points," Chabashira explained, her smile widening.
"Congratulations! You've replaced the previous Class C. For a class labeled as trash, this is something to be proud of!"
Her words were tinged with sarcasm, but genuine joy flickered in her eyes.
Her Class D had risen to Class C on their first exam—a pleasant surprise for her.
Means didn't matter; results did.
"We're Class C now?"
"So A, B, C, D are rankings? I had no idea... Wait, if we started as D, weren't we last place?"
"Moving up one rank is still great!"
As Chabashira spoke, the students erupted in discussion—many genuinely happy.
"Why? Why was I placed in Class D?"
Saiki clearly heard Horikita Suzune's frustrated thoughts.
"If rankings are based on ability, my entrance exam scores should've placed me higher..."
"These hopeless fools are celebrating Class C? It's still second-to-last... I must reach Class A, like my brother."
Unlike the others, Horikita felt only resentment. Her desire to climb the ranks far outstripped her classmates'.
"Look at you, overjoyed just for reaching Class C?" Chabashira paused, her smile unchanged, anticipating their reaction.
"Enjoy it briefly, but remember: points fluctuate. Next month's midterms are crucial—fall behind, and you'll revert to the worthless Class D."
'Chabashira seems to despise Class D, yet she's their teacher,' Saiki thought wryly.
"The top class in the midterms gets 100 points. But there's a rule: starting next exam, anyone failing midterms or finals will be expelled."
The room fell silent, every face grim.