'?'
A question mark naturally floated in Saiki's mind. He had no idea why Kiryuin Fuka suddenly said such a thing.
"Just now, I deliberately increased my pace~ I think that should be a speed ordinary students can't keep up with. Even the student council president wouldn't be able to maintain this speed for long," Kiryuin Fuka said, slightly narrowing her eyes and looking meaningfully at Saiki.
'Why does this scene feel so familiar?'
Saiki inwardly complained. During the uninhabited island exam last year, he had been noticed by Koenji Rokusuke for a similar reason.
Moreover, his attention had been entirely focused on the surrounding environment, so he hadn't noticed Kiryuin Fuka's speed—and with no one else around to serve as a reference, Saiki had no idea how fast he was actually going.
"I just have good physical fitness," Saiki casually made up an excuse.
"Actually, I'm already drenched in sweat."
"That lie is too rough. You're not even sweating right now," Kiryuin Fuka laughed.
"Never mind. I'm not surprised by this about you. Let's keep moving."
"Okay..."
In this regard, Kiryuin Fuka's personality was somewhat similar to Koenji Rokusuke's. Saiki didn't have to worry about them spreading information about him.
...
After about ten minutes of walking, Saiki and Kiryuin Fuka arrived at Area D7. A few students had already arrived there, and both Kiryuin Fuka and Saiki only received the basic arrival points.
However, Saiki noticed that the expressions on the faces of those students seemed to carry a hint of surprise.
[No way? The third-year and second-year students are already here?]
[We left more than half an hour earlier...]
[What kind of monsters are these two?]
These students were all first-years. Even though it was only the first area, their faces were already covered in sweat, and their eyes showed signs of fatigue.
Saiki and Kiryuin Fuka were the fourth and fifth students to arrive here, just missing out on the ranking points.
In fact, they were only a few minutes behind these first-year students, who had left more than half an hour earlier.
About ten minutes later, other students began to arrive one after another, including some third-year students.
When they saw Kiryuin Fuka, they were all momentarily surprised.
[Why is this weirdo here?!]
Kiryuin Fuka paid no attention to their gazes. She just sat to the side, casually chatting with Saiki.
"Don't you feel like the area of each region is larger than expected?" Kiryuin Fuka asked with a smile.
"Yeah."
Saiki nodded. After all, he was well aware that this was definitely related to the island's increased size.
"But you don't seem very surprised?"
"Before coming here, I wasn't sure how big the island actually was. This is within reason, right?"
Saiki could only say this.
[This guy seems to get along well with Kiryuin...]
[He must be a weirdo too, right?]
[Is this the Saiki that Nagumo has been targeting?]
Saiki could hear the thoughts of the nearby third-year students.
'Yare yare, I've been misunderstood for no reason.'
Saiki sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
Soon, many more students began to arrive—among them was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Saiki, you got here so quickly?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked expressionlessly.
"I just arrived," Saiki replied with the same expressionless face.
[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, I will definitely make you drop out.]
Saiki heard a somewhat familiar thought. Glancing over, he saw Nanase Tsubasa.
'Good thing this has nothing to do with me.'
Saiki immediately shifted his gaze back to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"The next phase should start soon."
Saiki checked the time. There was still some time before the next designated area would appear, but the tasks would open soon.
Around 10 o'clock, the tablet's map displayed the locations, contents, and rewards of the tasks simultaneously.
There were a total of 14 tasks.
Task: Fire Starting
The first group to successfully start a fire using specific tools will receive 5 points. No rewards for second place and below.
Location: D7
Task: English Exam
Compare English exam scores. 1st place: 5 points, 2nd place: 3 points, 3rd place: 1 point.
Location: D7
Task: Geography Exam
Compare geography exam scores. 1st place: 5 points, 2nd place: 3 points, 3rd place: 1 point.
Location: D8
...
Saiki browsed through the various exam tasks, while Kiryuin Fuka came over to ask:
"Which task are you planning to participate in?"
"I..."
Saiki's mind raced.
'Given our current location, we should prioritize tasks in Area D7. So that leaves the English exam and the fire-starting task.'
'Most students would probably choose the English exam, since hardly anyone has experience starting a fire. Going to a crowded exam would be too troublesome... The fire-starting task is the best choice!'
'Besides, fire-starting doesn't test academic or physical ability. Even if I score points in this task, no one would question my abilities!'
Saiki thought this through and immediately replied:
"I plan to participate in the fire-starting task..."
"Ahahahaha!"
Before Saiki could finish, Kiryuin Fuka suddenly burst into laughter, leaving Saiki puzzled.
His telepathy had almost no effect on Kiryuin Fuka. Most people think before they speak or act—but Kiryuin Fuka didn't operate that way.
Low EQ: She speaks without thinking.
High EQ: She acts on intuition and instinct.
This made her the most troublesome existence for Saiki.
"Senpai, why are you laughing?"
"Because I had the same idea. I was planning to participate in the fire-starting task too."
'?'
Saiki's eyebrow twitched slightly. He hadn't expected Kiryuin Fuka to want to participate in the fire-starting task.
"Most students would probably choose the English exam or other tasks related to academic or physical ability, right? Why did you choose the fire-starting task?"
"Because... it's closer, and my academic ability isn't as good as others..."
"That's undoubtedly a lie~"
Kiryuin Fuka narrowed her eyes slightly.
"I have a guess as to why you chose the fire-starting task."
"Huh?"
Saiki felt a hint of unease, afraid that Kiryuin Fuka's sharp intuition might have guessed something.
"It's because it's fun, right?"
"?"
"For me, whether it's the academic exams or the physical ability tests, they're all too boring. Getting first place would be too easy. But I've never participated in a fire-starting task before, so I'm interested in it. That's why I chose it. You're the same, right?"
"..."
Saiki was momentarily speechless, unsure how to refute her.
After all, the reason—'I can't be too obvious about getting first place'—was something he couldn't outright say.
"Are you two planning to participate in the fire-starting task?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had overheard their conversation, walked over and asked.
[Saiki chose the fire-starting task? Why?]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't understand Saiki's reasoning, but he didn't plan to dig deeper.
"I'm planning to participate in the grip strength test in Area C6. I remember your grip strength is exceptional, Saiki. Aren't you going to participate in the grip strength test?"
"Oh? Saiki has exceptional grip strength?"
Hearing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's words, Kiryuin Fuka became even more interested.
"Yeah, Saiki's grip strength easily surpasses that of an average male."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said.
While this wasn't exactly false, it only served to make things more complicated for Saiki.
"It seems my guess was correct."
Kiryuin Fuka's smile grew even more pronounced.
"Let's go then."
...
Saiki and Kiryuin Fuka quickly arrived at the task location. There were a few other students there, but not many.
[My academic ability isn't as good as others... My physical ability isn't great either... I can only come here to try my luck.]
Saiki could hear the thoughts of these students. Most of them were here because they were weak in other areas and had no experience with survival skills.
After all the students had signed up, an unnamed teacher prepared the relevant equipment and distributed it to everyone present—a large piece of wood, a smaller carved piece of wood, and some dry grass presumably used to help start the fire.
'Yare yare, I've seen this in movies, but how do you actually start a fire? I guess I'll just have to go by memory.'
Saiki thought to himself. In his memory, movie characters would start fires by friction, rotating a smaller stick against a larger one...
"Alright, the task will begin now."
As soon as the teacher gave the signal, the other students immediately began the fire-starting task.
However, like Saiki, the other students had no idea how to start a fire and could only try based on vague impressions—but no one succeeded.
'Why would a high school have a fire-starting task? Is it so we can light a fire for our boss at work in the future?'
Saiki inwardly complained while attempting to start the fire.
He wrapped his hands around the smaller piece of wood, then controlled his strength, moving his palms in opposite directions to rotate the stick and create friction—
'Normally, this should work, right? It shouldn't be too difficult.'
Saiki repeated this motion dozens of times—
But nothing happened.
'Darn it? Did I remember wrong? Or is my strength not enough, or the speed too slow?'
Saiki thought to himself, then increased the strength and speed of his movements—
But at the same time, Saiki felt the texture in his hands change.
He looked down and saw that the wood in his hands had turned into powder.
"!"
Saiki was momentarily at a loss, completely unprepared for this outcome.
What should he do?!
Saiki's mind raced as he thought of a solution.
He looked up and saw the teacher walking around, inspecting each student's progress.
If the teacher saw that he had turned the wood into powder, there would be no way to explain it.
'Am I... going to have to use that method?'
Seeing the teacher approaching, Saiki had no choice but to use his psychic abilities again.
The temperature at his fingertips suddenly rose to over 1,000 degrees Celsius, instantly igniting the wood in front of him.
"I did it!"
Saiki clenched his fist in victory, a slight smile forming on his lips.
At that moment, the teacher suddenly spoke:
"The weather has been quite humid recently, so starting a fire might be a bit difficult. If you really can't do it, we'll redistribute new wood later..."
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, he noticed the raging fire in front of Saiki.
'???????'
The teacher's eyes were filled with confusion. He couldn't understand how Saiki had managed to create such an exaggerated flame.
'What? Shouldn't starting a fire first produce smoke, then slowly build up a flame? But why did this student... create such a huge fire? This is something you'd need fuel for... And this wood is somewhat damp...'
The teacher was completely baffled. All the other students were also stunned, their eyes fixed on Saiki and the fierce flames in front of him.
Saiki could hear the thoughts of the teacher and students, but he could only stand there in silence.
"Well... this task is over. The winner is Saiki from Class 2-D. Congratulations on earning 5 points."