Classroom of the Elite: Free Will

V8: Chapter 1 - Mixed Training Camp

"Now, the special exam that you Class D students will—"

Chabashira paused. My classmates smiled with a touch of pride as, immediately after, she bowed her head in apology.

"I'm sorry. You are Class C now. Allow me to give you newly promoted students an overview of the special exam."

Having been formally promoted to Class C in the third semester, our class seemed to be trying its best to calmly face the upcoming exam. Receiving an explanation of how that special exam worked on the bus meant we could prepare countermeasures, or at least try to. We couldn't just get up and walk around while the bus was in motion, but the bus was small enough that everyone could hear you if you spoke, and we could always use our phones to correspond privately with specific people.

Ike and the other noise-makers shut up, listening to what Chabashira had to say. Proof that they had matured, if only a little.

"We are taking you to a school camp in the mountains. We will arrive in just under an hour. The less time I have to spend explaining, the more time you'll have to strategise," said Chabashira.

An hour until the exam started, huh? In other words, if it took twenty minutes to explain the rules, we'd have forty minutes left over to plan.

"Don't students normally attend school camps and stuff in the summer?" asked Ike, who used to be a boy scout. He knew quite a bit about the mountain range we could currently see from our seats as we travelled down the highway. It was covered in white snow, even now.

"Please be quiet and listen. Remember, this is the only time you have," Chabashira rebuked, but she sounded gentle, rather than angry. Ike scratched his head sheepishly and apologised. A brief moment of laughter ensued.

"Typically held in the summer months on days when the weather is nice. Commonly held in locations where greenery is abundant, such as the mountains. Group activities are conducted with the express purpose of promoting the development of healthy bodies. Can also refer to an educational facility."

Just as Ike had said, it sounded like these school camps were usually held in the summer. Clearly, however, they could also take place any time of year.

"Normally, opportunities to connect with senior students are few and far between, especially for those not involved in club activities. At this school camp, you'll participate in inter-class group activities for eight days and seven nights, making this a step beyond the Sports Festival. The name we've given this special exam is the 'Mixed Camp.' Since I'm sure a verbal explanation won't satisfy you, I'll be distributing printed materials now," Chabashira continued.

She handed a stack of printouts to the students sitting in the front row, who each took one and then passed the rest back. The syllabus consisted of about twenty pages. Since she hadn't specifically told us not to look, I began to flip through it.

There were clear photographs of what I assumed to be the camp, including the dormitories, public baths, cafeteria, and so on. It was actually kind of exciting to look at these; I felt like I was paging through a travel guide. The all-important words special exam, however, curbed our enthusiasm.

Still, this was twenty pages of documentation on top of a verbal explanation. We'd only received a brief verbal explanation for the Paper Shuffle.

After confirming that everyone had received the handouts, Chabashira resumed speaking.

"Feel free to keep reading, but I'm going to explain the Mixed Camp now. These materials will be re-collected before you get off the bus, so please make sure you clearly understand the rules. Questions will be accepted at the end, so pay attention. Do you understand?" asked Chabashira, looking at Ike as she spoke.