Koenji Rokusuke's face was filled with absolute confidence. Clearly, he was extremely confident in his own abilities.
In Koenji Rokusuke's eyes, Saiki might indeed possess talents that surpassed others—but that was all.
Koenji Rokusuke believed that no matter how skilled Saiki was, he could never surpass him.
[Saiki will probably lose on purpose.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was standing nearby, also thought to himself. He believed Saiki would intentionally lose.
However, even so, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka chose to stay and watch the match.
'Yare yare, sorry, but I have to win this time.'
Saiki looked at Koenji Rokusuke in front of him and thought to himself.
"Begin."
At the teacher's command, the rope in the hands of Saiki and Koenji Rokusuke instantly became taut—but that was all.
Both of them were only using enough force to straighten the rope.
Saiki, of course, couldn't use his full strength to end the match immediately, and Koenji Rokusuke also thought it would be too boring to finish the match too quickly, so he didn't use his full strength either.
"Are they... even trying?"
Nanase Tsubasa, who was standing nearby, looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in confusion. She felt that the two in front of her weren't using their full strength.
Meanwhile, the proctoring teacher also looked puzzled.
This was a task where the winner would earn 10 points. Normally, any student who saw such a task would definitely go all out to try and win.
But these two seemed like they didn't even want to win?
[What are these two doing?]
'Yare yare, this isn't good.'
Saiki thought to himself while considering how to handle the task.
'How should I get through this exam?'
'If I use my full strength, Koenji probably wouldn't even be able to hold onto the rope.'
'But dragging this out isn't a good solution either.'
Saiki's mind raced. After all, to secure the cake—and the safety of the students on the island—he had to win this task.
As he thought, Saiki gradually increased the strength in his fingertips.
Suddenly, Koenji Rokusuke, who was standing opposite Saiki and holding the other end of the rope, lost his balance.
For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Koenji Rokusuke's face.
He hadn't expected Saiki to suddenly unleash such strength.
However, Koenji Rokusuke was no ordinary person. He immediately leaned forward, planting his right foot firmly on the ground to stabilize himself and maintain his balance.
The rope tightened, making a sharp, creaking sound as if it might snap at any moment.
"Koenji... Koenji-senpai's expression changed."
Nanase Tsubasa keenly noticed the change in Koenji Rokusuke's expression.
At first, Koenji Rokusuke had a relaxed smile on his face, as if this were just a casual game. But the moment Saiki exerted force, Koenji Rokusuke's expression became serious.
It was as if he had finally found a worthy opponent.
[This is the first time I've seen Koenji make such an expression. He's treating Saiki as a rival. How rare.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Saiki with curiosity.
[Based on Saiki's usual behavior, he should have ended the match quickly. But he didn't. Instead, he chose to compete with Koenji.]
[Why is that? Is Saiki aiming for a high ranking this time?]
[Or is Saiki simply trying to prove himself against Koenji, using this opportunity to fully turn Koenji Rokusuke into a tool for the class?]
At this moment, Koenji Rokusuke looked directly at Saiki—a rare occurrence for him:
"Not bad, not bad. To suddenly unleash such strength—if it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to handle it. I'll raise my evaluation of you a bit. You've left the realm of ordinary people—but in front of the perfect me, I'll still give you the most perfect defeat!"
Koenji Rokusuke spoke loudly while further exerting his full strength.
The sweat on his forehead showed that Koenji Rokusuke was now fully serious.
In contrast to Koenji Rokusuke's rare excitement, Saiki was feeling quite troubled.
'Yare yare, I only used a tiny bit of strength, and Koenji almost fell over... But thankfully, my opponent is Koenji. Even though I have to win, I can't win too overwhelmingly.'
Saiki thought about his next move.
He had to win, but not in a way that was too obvious.
If Saiki didn't control his strength properly, he might end up flinging Koenji Rokusuke like a stone from a slingshot.
That would be troublesome.
Saiki's mind raced, while the sweat on Koenji Rokusuke's forehead continued to increase.
[I've used my full strength, but I still haven't moved an inch. Saiki Boy's strength is truly comparable to mine.]
'What? You're already using your full strength? I can't even feel it!'
[But Saiki Boy still looks quite relaxed...]
'Oh no, I've been too focused on thinking. Should I at least pretend to be struggling?'
[It seems this will be a battle of endurance.]
'I don't want to waste time here. The next competition task should be coming up soon!'
Saiki looked at Koenji Rokusuke and further considered his strategy.
No matter what, he had to win this task.
So, the only option was...
Saiki slightly narrowed his eyes, having come up with an idea.
He secretly activated his psychic ability, using telekinesis to give Koenji Rokusuke a slight push under his feet.
When someone is exerting their full strength, even a small force can disrupt their balance.
Koenji Rokusuke lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Saiki pulled the rope back with force, bringing the center marker to his side.
Saiki had won!
"The winner... is Saiki from Class 2-A!"
The teacher announced, then tapped on his tablet, and Saiki immediately received 10 additional points.
[Saiki... won?]
Seeing the scene before him, even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was surprised.
[Koenji's overall strength—especially his physical ability—should be the best in the entire first year. And Saiki just defeated him.]
[Although his fall was an accident, the fact that he held out for so long shows that Koenji was serious.]
[It seems Saiki's goal for this exam is either to take first place or to tame Koenji—and these two goals aren't mutually exclusive.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly analyzed the situation, while Nanase Tsubasa stood there with her mouth agape, completely stunned.
She knew Saiki was strong, but she hadn't expected him to be this strong.
Even if his victory was partly due to an accident, Saiki had still proven his strength.
"Haha, I actually fell?"
Koenji Rokusuke looked down at his shoes, thinking that perhaps the water he had poured earlier had made the soles slippery, causing him to lose.
"Good match, Koenji-kun."
Saiki quickly stepped forward and said,
"I was at my limit. If you hadn't fallen, I would have lost."
Of course, that wasn't true.
Koenji Rokusuke stood up from the ground, brushed himself off, and looked at Saiki:
"Is that so? Such lies are meaningless, Saiki Boy~"
Koenji Rokusuke narrowed his eyes slightly—
"You're the first person to make me take things seriously."
'I didn't want to.'
Saiki sighed inwardly.
"Why did you choose to get serious this time, when you usually prioritize efficiency?"
Koenji Rokusuke looked at Saiki, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Was it to completely turn me into a tool for the class?"
"I just wanted to achieve a good result this time."
Saiki replied.
"Is that so?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, there's a swimming task over there. Quite a few people can participate. Shall we go there for a rematch?"
"No, I'm completely exhausted from earlier, and I'm not good at swimming."
Saiki casually replied.
Although the swimming task offered generous rewards, there would likely be too many participants. It would be better to avoid drawing too much attention and instead focus on smaller, less crowded tasks.
"Is that what you think?"
Koenji Rokusuke's gaze lingered on Saiki's eyes, but he didn't say anything more. He just laughed a few times and then left the summit.
After exchanging a few words with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Saiki also left.
Although Nanase Tsubasa seemed dangerous, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka should be able to handle her.
For Saiki, the most important thing was something else—
Having completed his challenge with Saiki Kusuke, Saiki naturally wanted to claim his reward.
Using the pattern Kiryuin Fuka had told him about, along with a bit of psychic ability, Saiki arrived at the next competition task location ahead of time—
Even though the task hadn't started yet.
In front of him was Mashima Tomonari, the teacher in charge of this competition task. He was currently directing staff to set up the site and prepare for the task—
But he hadn't expected a student to arrive so early.
It was Saiki from Class 2-A.
Although Saiki had essentially caused his own class to drop to Class B, Mashima Tomonari was a very dedicated teacher who treated all students equally.
"Mashima-sensei, is this where the competition task is being prepared?"
Saiki quickly stepped forward and asked.
"Yes... How did you find this place?"
Mashima Tomonari was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Saiki to arrive before the task had even started—
This meant that Saiki might have predicted the time and location of the task.
"It was just a coincidence. I happened to pass by and saw you all moving supplies, so I guessed this was where the competition task would be."
"You're correct."
"In that case... am I considered the first one here?"
"Yes."
Mashima Tomonari nodded, then transferred 3 points to Saiki and placed two sets of supplies in front of him.
"Here are two sets of supplies. One is food, which includes cake, and the other is water..."
"I'll take the first one."
Before Mashima Tomonari could finish, Saiki had already made his choice.
"Okay..."
Mashima Tomonari handed a box of cake to Saiki.
But in his heart, he was puzzled.
Normally, the rewards for tasks were things like canned food or other easily preserved items. But this cake was not only expensive but also difficult to store.
This had been a last-minute order from higher-ups.
[Most students would probably think water is more important... But Saiki didn't hesitate at all to choose the cake...]
Mashima Tomonari watched Saiki's retreating figure, filled with confusion.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Yagami Takuya headed to a certain location.
"It's been a few days, Hosen-kun."
Yagami Takuya smiled as he looked at Hosen Kazuomi.
At this moment, Hosen Kazuomi had just finished a task, easily crushing his opponent with his terrifying physical abilities and earning a large number of points.
"What do you want?"
Hosen Kazuomi looked down at Yagami Takuya, his arrogance completely undisguised.
No matter who it was in the first year, Hosen Kazuomi believed they were beneath him.
"Amasawa-san doesn't seem to be here?"
"We've been acting separately. Who knows where she went."
"Perfect. There's something I'd like to discuss with you alone, Hosen-kun."
"Spit it out."
"I heard you had a bit of a conflict with Saiki-senpai..."
Before Yagami Takuya could finish, Hosen Kazuomi swung his fist at him.
Yagami Takuya saw the punch coming but didn't dodge. Instead, he continued:
"I have a way to make sure Saiki-senpai gets expelled!"
Hosen Kazuomi's fist stopped mid-air.