Chaoskouji

Arc 3 Chapter 2 - Island Time

More surprising was having to hand our phones over. What could we possibly be doing on an island that required us to not have phones? Plenty of students would want to use them for pictures at least. The only reasoning I could come up with was that they didn't want us to transfer points, but even that seemed unreasonable, as it was a perfectly valid method of winning a competition; bribery is an effective tool, so it wouldn't make sense for a school that expected fights to stop that from happening.

Once everyone had finally made their way off the boat, each class was separated, and Chabashira took our roll.

"I will now start roll call for Class D. When you hear your name, please respond loud and clear."

Our homeroom teacher started taking attendance, clipboard in hand, while simultaneously instructing us to form a line. Chabashira wore the same kind of jersey as her students. This atmosphere was more akin to training camp than summer vacation. Still, not many of the students seemed tense at all.

"Oh, come on! I want my free time already! The sea is right in front of me!" Ike muttered, standing directly behind me."

Despite every single unusual occurrence, it seemed most students in my class, if not the grade still expected this to be a vacation. Perhaps they were just naïve, yet to have their eyes opened to the cruelty of this school, but I thought it was more likely they were dumb.

Seeing this level of incompetence every single day had made me wonder why the White Room was so harsh. I, and everyone else in my generation, even the failures, were worlds beyond these students. This school was supposed to take the elite students of the population, so if these were the best, then the nation was in a sorry state.

"Most of the students wanted to run off onto the sandy beach. Soon enough, a tall teacher stepped onto a prepared white platform. It was Mashima, Class A's homeroom teacher. He normally taught English, and was well-known for having a stubborn disposition.

At first glance, he could easily be mistaken for one of those bodybuilder types. He was built like a professional wrestler, but was actually quite intelligent. He'd even taught special courses in the past.

"First, I would like to say that I'm happy you've arrived safely. However, it's unfortunate that one of you was unable to participate due to illness."

"Oh wow, someone couldn't come on the trip because he was sick? Poor guy," said Ike quietly, so the teachers wouldn't hear."

Ike, you and everyone else should be counting your lucky stars that Sakayanagi was unable to attend. If she had come along, whatever the teachers have prepared would already be over.

While Mashima surveyed the students in silence, I could see that adults in uniform had started setting up some kind of special tent nearby. I also saw a computer and other equipment on a long table. This increasingly business-like setup didn't match the natural splendor around us at all, and many of the students looked perplexed.

Mashima uttered a few cruel words, as if waiting for the atmosphere to change. "Well then. We shall commence the current academic year's first special test."

There it is. Finally, something fun.

"Huh?" "Special test?" "What do you mean?"

"The test commences now and lasts for one week, concluding on August 7th at the year's end. This test will determine if you can live on a deserted island together as a group. In addition, I should warn you that this special test is both practical and realistic, designed based on real-world corporate training."

"Living on a deserted island. Does that mean we're not staying on the boat, but the island?"

Some students from Class B and C voiced their obvious concerns.