At 8 a.m. on the third day of the special uninhabited island survival exam, the moment the first round of tasks refreshed, all members of the remaining forty-four active groups received a notice from the school.
[The first restricted zones on the uninhabited island have been designated. Any group still within these zones must vacate by 12:00 noon today. Any group remaining within or entering these zones after that time will be disqualified, and their scores will be locked.]
[The following areas are now restricted: I3, I4, I5, C5, B6, B7, D10, F8, H9, J10.]
Kitagawa Ryo immediately pulled up the electronic island map. As he had anticipated, the ten newly restricted zones were mostly located along the island's perimeter. Back when Hoshinomiya Chie compared this rule to the shrinking zone in battle royale games, she hadn't been wrong at all.
If ten zones were restricted every two days, then as time passed, the usable areas of the island and available tasks would continue to shrink. Eventually, more and more groups would be forced toward the island's center.
If you applied Hoshinomiya Chie's battle royale theory to this exam, then all groups were currently in the early "resource-gathering" phase. It was crucial to stock up on supplies and upgrade equipment—in this case, their cards.
With that in mind, Kitagawa glanced at the effect displayed on his watch:
[Discount: Reduces the number of points spent on item exchanges by 40% (Lv4)]
After receiving a gift from Amasawa Ichika the previous night, his Discount card had leveled up to 4. However, he was slightly disappointed that, unlike previous levels, leveling up to 4 didn't grant a full 10% bonus. Instead, it only increased the discount by 5%.
This was clearly a school-imposed balancing measure. If the card's discount kept increasing by 10% per level, then by level 9, students could essentially obtain all resources for free. But if each upgrade from now on only gave 5%, the difficulty curve clearly doubled.
Still, aside from the card upgrade, Kitagawa had also learned some extra intel from Ichika last night, including a hidden rule: special cardholders could transfer a normal card upgrade opportunity to anyone at any time.
It only required entering the recipient's name—they didn't even have to be from the same class, and distance didn't matter. However, Kitagawa had tactfully avoided asking why Ichika had chosen to sneak over in the middle of the night just to share this.
Amasawa Ichika was currently the only known special cardholder in Class D. And hers was the most powerful one: [Chosen One], which increased all point gains by 50%.
Because of that, her group briefly reached first place on the very first day of the exam. But to avoid becoming a target, Ichika had decisively spent most of their points on supplies, dragging their ranking down to mid-tier. What Katsuragi Kouhei saw at the time was a brief glimpse of their momentary lead.
After cobbling together a quick meal using last night's leftovers, Kitagawa's group wasted no time and set off toward the island's central zone. Since they had already begun moving inward the day before, none of the new restricted zones were nearby, which was fortunate.
However, what did concern Kitagawa was that one of the issues he had worried about yesterday had finally come true: both Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu were starting to feel the effects of exhaustion. The physical fatigue was taking a toll on their spirits. Though they could still manage to keep up, it was clearly getting difficult.
Most of the island's forest paths were raw and rugged, indicating that few people had set foot here outside of this exam. The thick vegetation brushed against their ankles even through long pants, creating a creepy, snakelike sensation that was far from pleasant.
"Up ahead is a 'History Knowledge Quiz' task. Only two members per group can participate. How about you two—Arisu and Honami—take this one?"
"After the task, just rest there for a while. Don't worry about saving drinking water. Just exchange points for more."
Noticing their worsening condition, Kitagawa quickly adjusted the group's plan.
"Okay, no problem."
"You should take care of yourself too, Ryo. It's even hotter today than yesterday."
Neither Sakayanagi nor Ichinose were the type to push themselves unnecessarily. The sun was harsher than ever, and the heat shimmered in the air. If they kept pushing, the risk of heatstroke would rise.
"Alright then, Suzune, let's go."
After assigning tasks to the two girls, Kitagawa turned to Horikita Suzune.
But she shook her head and refused his proposal.
"You're aiming for that task two zones to the left, right? The only one nearby that rewards a basic card upgrade."
"I want to try the 'Tea Ceremony' task on the other side. It's not along the same route, so let's regroup in this area afterward."
Kitagawa glanced at the Tea Ceremony task rewards. The top three spots didn't offer many points, but all came with a bit of food. That must have tempted Horikita.
After all, she hadn't even gotten a second helping of stew last night.
"Alright. Let's meet back here in two hours."
With their plans settled, the four quickly set off in three different directions, moving briskly through the forest.
-------------------------------------
"Hello again, Kitagawa-kun."
When Kitagawa Ryo arrived at the location of the "Piano Performance" task, he was greeted by an unexpected student.
Sitting under the parasol handling registration wasn't a school staff member, but rather Tachibana Akane, the third-year secretary of the student council. She waved and smiled as she greeted him.
"Tachibana-senpai?"
Surprised, Kitagawa jogged over to her.
"What are you doing here?"
"The school was short on staff, so they temporarily recruited a few of us third-years. As far as I know, every student council member has been roped in for grunt work."
She shrugged helplessly in response to his question.
"...That makes sense."
Kitagawa wasn't surprised. The scale of this special exam was enormous—large vessels, equipment, and staff costs were considerable. Compared to the previous uninhabited island exam he had experienced in the Karuizawa Kei simulation, this one was clearly far more elaborate in every aspect.
The content of the exam demanded it. Previously, students acted as a class unit. This time, many small groups were moving independently around the island. Small conflicts could easily spiral into serious incidents. Injuries and physical issues were a constant concern. While minor scrapes or mild fevers were manageable, the risk of fractures or food poisoning was real.
From the protective measures taken during yesterday's "Open Water Swimming" task, it was clear that the school was committed to safety. Until the two-week exam ended, the school staff would have little time to rest.
Under these circumstances, it was reasonable for third-years to help with logistics and miscellaneous duties.
"Anyway, let's not dwell on that. Are you here to register? You're actually the first one."
Tachibana picked up the tablet from the table and asked before registering him.
"Yeah, I'd like to participate in this task."
Kitagawa nodded.
[Category: Miscellaneous]
[Task: Piano Performance]
[Limit: One participant per group. Registration closes after 5 sign-ups or after 1 hour.]
[1st Place: 1000 points + one basic card upgrade]
[2nd Place: 800 points]
[3rd Place: 600 points]
After successfully registering, Kitagawa scanned the area. He saw four middle-aged men under another parasol who seemed to be judges, watching curiously. No other students were in sight.
"Maybe it's because there aren't many piano players in your grade. But that could be a good thing—if you're the only one participating, you'll basically get first place automatically."
Due to her connection to both Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu, Tachibana was quite friendly toward Kitagawa. Since the task hadn't started yet, she struck up a casual conversation.
"You're grouped with Suzune, right? I remember she plays piano too. So if you're the one participating, does that mean you're better than she is?"
"Of course. In fact, I'm the one who taught her piano."
Kitagawa's answer surprised Tachibana.
"Really?"
"Yup."
He wasn't lying. That had happened in a simulation with Horikita Suzune. The [Pianist] talent he now possessed was a manifestation of that experience.
It wasn't just piano. Back then, he'd taught her tea ceremony, aikido, cooking, advanced math, and more. While he had pushed her under the pretense of helping her surpass Horikita Manabu, in hindsight, it had become a rather fond memory.
"Suzune talks about you a lot at the student council. Just the swimsuit you bought her has come up several times."
As her friend (and possibly future sister-in-law), Tachibana had no hesitation in bringing up personal details.
"I saw her in it yesterday, actually. It really suits her."
"It's not that I have great taste—it's just that Suzune looks good in anything."
[Including cat-ear maid outfits.]
He didn't dare say that last part aloud, of course.
"Right? Right? Actually, Suzune..."
Tachibana seemed ready to chat further, but her tablet suddenly pinged:
[1 minute remaining until registration closes.]
Just then, a disheveled and breathless boy came stumbling into the area.
"I... I want to register!"
Kitagawa turned and saw that it was Ishizaki Daichi from Class 1-C.
Bent over and gasping for air, Ishizaki clutched his knees.
"Ishi...zaki Daichi... Did I make it?"
"Just in time."
Tachibana swiftly typed in his name, registering him just as the deadline hit.
After a full minute of heavy breathing, Ishizaki finally straightened up and wiped sweat from his forehead. Spotting Kitagawa nearby, he grinned.
"Yo, Kitagawa, you're here too."
Even though his class leader Ryuuen Kakeru didn't get along with Kitagawa, Ishizaki felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the D-Class student, as if they'd known each other forever. He greeted him with casual ease.
"Drink some water."
Kitagawa tossed him a bottle without hesitation. His main pack was with Ichinose Honami, but he had kept essential water supplies with him.
"Thanks, I'll pay you back next time."
Ishizaki accepted it without fuss and began gulping it down. Though Kitagawa knew it was better to sip water after intense exertion, he chose not to correct him and simply watched with a smile as Ishizaki downed the whole bottle.
"You here for this task too, Kitagawa?"
After wiping his mouth, Ishizaki laughed.
"Heh, same as me, huh? Figured no one else would show up, so I came to pick up some easy points."
"Hardly anyone in our year plays piano. No one in Class C does, that's for sure."
He flopped down next to the piano.
"Alright, let's just mash some keys, you and me. One of us gets first, the other gets second. Easy points."
Then he stared at the sheet music beside the piano.
"'Mariage d'amour'?"
So it was that piece. Kitagawa instinctively responded:
"The direct French translation would be 'A Marriage Based on Love.'"
It was a world-famous piece, on par with "Für Elise." As Kitagawa's fingers brushed the black and white keys, the familiar melody began to flow.
Out of his eight simulations, Kitagawa had only experienced marriage once.
If he remembered correctly, this was one of the pieces played during that wedding.
Mariage d'amour.
Or...
A Marriage Based on Love.
The person who had whispered both names of this piece into his ear at the time was Horikita Suzune.
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