After that brief yet exhilarating size comparison, the bathhouse returned to its former calm. People soaked in peace while grumbling about the school's exam arrangements for the camp.
"Ahh, nothing beats a good soak. That twenty-kilometer cross-country relay earlier really did a number on my whole body."
"They should at least make the faculty show us how it's done first. What kind of arrangement is this?"
"Count your blessings. A relay out in the wild might be exhausting, but cramming the sutra at night is pure torture. I've never struggled this much, not even memorizing English vocab!"
"Same. The sutra's a nightmare—it's ridiculously difficult!"
They were all first-years, and there was no major bad blood among them; once they found a common enemy in the school's unreasonable demands, it was as though they all banded together, swearing at the administration for dishing out such grueling tasks. Only the occasional glance landed on Yukio or Koenji—both monsters among monsters—but aside from envy, most kept their distance.
Yukio didn't mind the stares. He was about to ask Kanzaki about the personal ability project when Ryuen finally swaggered in, as though he owned the place. Ishizaki all but vibrated with excitement, having held it in for so long. Everyone else had moved on to complaining about the camp, so Ishizaki couldn't very well keep ranting about T-rex battles. But now that Ryuen had appeared, he rushed over to recap everything at once.
"Ryuen-san! You missed out on something really amazing! Yukio-aniki just beat Koenji—it was awesome! You didn't get to see it, which is such a shame, but no worries! I can walk you through all the details."
"Seriously, if it weren't for Yukio-aniki, our class might've lost to Class D back there!"
That made Ryuen arch his Anikiw. Yukio had faced Koenji? No surprise if Yukio had beaten him, but how did they end up squaring off? And how could his class possibly have lost to D Class? This was almost the same misunderstanding Kanzaki had faced with Shibata. Ryuen briefly wondered if there was some new exam scenario laid out in the bathhouse.
He cut off Ishizaki's long-winded explanation. "Yukio took action? What'd he do exactly?"
"Uhh…" Ishizaki froze, stumbling over the question. Did aniki actually 'take action'? Not really. Scratching his head, he gave a vague reply.
"No…he didn't strike. He, well, he…drew his… sword."
"…?" Ryuen's expression twisted. Drew his… what?! Could you even call that a move? Did he just say what Ryuen thought he said?
Yukio's cheeks twitched violently. Holding back his irritation, he pressed a hand to his temple to keep from erupting.
"Ishizaki, forget the snack I promised you tonight."
Over dinner, Ishizaki had begged Yukio for late-night munchies because the camp meals weren't filling. They'd Anikiught quite a few cookies and snacks in their bags—Yukio hadn't Anikiught any at first, but Shiina had kindly stuffed a ton into his pack before departure. That gave Ishizaki hope. But now, hearing that his nighttime treat was off, he was dumbfounded.
"Huh? But… Why, Aniki? W-what did I do? Why are you suddenly so cruel?!"
Even so, he had to try pleading. Missing a snack would be devastating.
"Come on, Aniki! I know I messed up, but—if I go to bed hungry, I'll be miserable! It might even ruin my sleep, and then I'll be too tired for the exam tomorrow!"
"Tough luck. Not negotiable."
Ignoring Ishizaki's woeful cries, Yukio motioned for Ryuen to come over so they could swap intel, leaving Ishizaki sulking. Shibata, on the side, was laughing so hard he was practically rolling around in the bath.
"Haha! Ishizaki, see? I told you. Some things you can't just blurt out!"
Ishizaki snapped, "Shut up! How many times do I have to say it? That…stuff can't just be eaten any old way!"
"Hahahahaha!" was Shibata's only response, doubling over in mirth.
Yukio paid no more attention to them and went straight to business with Ryuen, asking him to describe the personal ability project's setup. Figuring Yukio didn't care about the earlier spectacle, Ryuen sank into the bath and started explaining.
"It's a complicated, long-winded exam style. Probably similar to yours: early morning meditation, classes in the morning, physical training in the afternoon, sutra memorization at night… only they're really nitpicking every little detail."
"We're graded on proper posture in meditation, concentration levels, even chores like laundry and cooking—everything's on us. We can't use the cafeteria; we have to cook our own meals in that little building."
"On the eighth day, rather than a written test like yours, we do a quiz-bowl style knowledge contest, plus a three-thousand-meter outdoor race and copying down the sutra. Basically that."
"There are a bunch of strict rules. Apart from our assigned times for the bathhouse and training, we're forbidden from leaving that building. If we do, we forfeit the exam and get disqualified."
Yukio blinked. Was this actually a personal ability test or just straight-up torture? It sounded more demanding than his own camp exam. But all those rules could be turned into an advantage.
"Ryuen, don't tell me you haven't seen the loophole in those rules."
"As if," Ryuen scoffed, lowering his voice. His rebellious features took on a deadly edge. "Those rules are basically telling us, If you don't want to compete fair and square on Day Eight, then in the seven days beforehand, knock all your rivals out of the game. All you have to do is make sure they leave that building during prohibited times, and boom—automatic disqualification."
"We could fake some message from the school that lures them out. Although the ones in that group are mostly class elites, so they won't fall for it easily."
"If we want to eliminate them early, we'll have to injure them. Send them off to the infirmary."
Yukio looked satisfied. Of course Ryuen didn't need a hint—he'd naturally gravitate toward dirty tricks on his own. This wasn't even cheating so much as taking advantage of a built-in mechanism. After all, if this exam truly tested one's personal abilities, it included cunning as well. And early knockouts likely counted as part of the hidden challenge.