(WARNING: please don't read this chapter if you know the rules of special exam. There are over 5000 words so it will be boring. Those who know the rules, please do not read.)

July 19

The day before we landed on the uninhabited island. It was 12:36 p.m. The Saint Venus, a luxury liner with a total of twelve decks in all, was sailing south-southwest through the waves.

A short time later, an announcement could be heard throughout the ship, telling us that the informational meeting was over.

First-years are all done.

It was now the second-year students turn to gather in the movie theater, since the first-years were finished. When we got inside, we were told that there were no assigned seats, and that we were free to sit wherever we pleased.

I sat in the back right corner.

Like last year, Mashima-sensei, the instructor of Class 2-A, was the one in charge of explaining the rules to us.

Mashima: Your stay on the uninhabited island will last for two weeks, starting tomorrow. Just like last year’s exam, essentially, you are expected to go about your days freely on the island. If you become injured or fall ill during the exam, or if you commit a serious violation of the rules, you will be eliminated from the exam. No ifs, ands, or buts. As I’m sure you very clearly remember, we asked you to form small groups of up to a maximum of three people prior to this point. Once the special exam begins, small groups will be allowed to band together. Following certain conditions, small groups will be allowed to merge into larger groups, up to a maximum of six people. If all members of a particular group are eliminated, then that group will be disqualified, and their final position in the rankings will be determined.

All the students in the groups that placed in the bottom five spots in the rankings would be expelled from the school. However, a group’s expulsion could be avoided by paying six million Private Points.

Mashima: Starting tomorrow, you’re going to be living on an uninhabited island for two weeks. But now I’m about to go over the important part.

That’s right. We hadn’t been given any explanation whatsoever as to how the rankings were determined yet.

Mashima: Each group will fight in order to collect points which will determine the rankings

There were over 150 students packed inside the theater. All of us looked up at the giant screen.

OVERVIEW OF THE UNINHABITED ISLAND SPECIAL EXAM

For a period of two weeks, groups will compete with one another to earn points in a survival exam

In the event that all members of a group are eliminated during the exam period, that group will be immediately disqualified
(All points that group has collected up until that point will be invalidated and their ranking will be determined immediately)

This meant that even if you had collected many points, it would all be for nothing if your entire group was eliminated. While it was important to collect points, the number one priority was to avoid getting eliminated. You had to hang in there for the entire duration of the test.

A map of the uninhabited island where we would be making landfall tomorrow was displayed on the screen alongside the test overview. A grid of horizontal and vertical lines divided the map into evenly spaced cells.

Mashima: There are two ways in which you can collect points.

Mashima-sensei start to explain.

Mashima: The first method by which you can collect points is via the ‘Basic Movement’ rule. The island has been divided into a total of one hundred areas, and you will be instructed to head to specific areas at regular intervals. For example, let’s say that the starting point is Area D9, where the port is located, but Area C8 has been designated as your destination. The groups that arrive first will receive an ‘Early Bird Reward,’ with the first group who arrives there being awarded ten points. The second group to arrive will receive five points. The third group to arrive will receive three points. In addition, everyone who arrives at the designated area within the specified timeframe will be given an equal ‘Arrival Bonus’ award, in the amount of one point per person. For example, let’s say that a three-person group arrives at a designated area first. They would receive ten points for the Early Bird Bonus, and in addition, they would receive three points for the Arrival Bonus. As you can see from this example, it’s possible to earn thirteen points all at once this way. If we were talking about a two-person group, they would get two points for the Arrival Bonus, so their total would be twelve points.

It was possible that some groups might do some reckless things in order to get first place. But we weren’t competing in a city; we were doing this on an uninhabited island. It was easy to predict that there would be few flat paths and many obstacles in our way.

It was even possible that injuries could occur due to unforeseen circumstances.

Mashima: Designated destination areas for the Basic Movement system will be announced three times on the first and final days of the exam period, but four times for the other twelve days. Goal times are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Then there will be a two-hour break, followed by additional times from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

So, this was a system where we would earn points by reaching designated areas during each of the set two-hour time periods. It sounded like the school administrators were taking into consideration the dangers of moving about when it was dark, since the last segment ended at 5 p.m.

Mashima: Something you must keep in mind: if you fail to reach the designated area three times in a row, your group will lose a point. And the penalty gets more severe each additional time you fail to reach a designated area by an additional one point every time. The fourth consecutive time you fail to arrive at the area, you’ll lose two points. The fifth consecutive time you fail to arrive, you’ll lose three points, and so on.  However, should a group manage to break this streak, their penalty counter will be reset.

So, that meant that if people ran out of stamina or if they found themselves stuck, they wouldn’t be able to get to the areas that they needed to reach and they would continuously lose the points that they had collected.

Mashima: Regarding the issue of reaching the areas, though. Your group will be safe if at least one person from your group reaches the area in time. In other words, this means that it’s not necessary for all members of a group to reach the designated areas. However, the Arrival Bonus will still only be distributed based on the number of people who reach the designated area.

The students started to murmur among themselves a bit when they heard that part.

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that just one person from a particular group managed to reach the designated area. That meant that their group would only be awarded one point for the Arrival Bonus, but the group wouldn’t be hit with the penalties that came with failing to reach the area at all. This meant that when it came to collecting points, simply having more people in your group gave you an overwhelming advantage.

Mashima: As you can see on the map, some of the areas are clearly inaccessible. For example, areas B1, C1, F10, and G10 are out in the water. These locations will never be selected as designated areas.

Some of the areas on the map shown up on the screen, the ones that were impossible for us to reach, were marked off in red. This indicated that they were being excluded as possible selections.

Mashima: I also reflect the rules on the screen, let's take a look

BASIC MOVEMENT RULE OVERVIEW

Designated areas will be announced four times per day. On the first and final day of the exam, only three areas will be selected, and none of them will be selected at random.

The target times are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Three times per day, the location of the subsequent designated area will be within two spaces laterally or one space diagonally of the previous area.

Once per day, a designated area will be selected at random out of all accessible areas. (Random designation will never occur twice in a row.)

The first three groups to arrive at a designated area will receive points: the first will receive ten points, the second will receive five, and the third will receive three.

The time when all members of a group have arrived is what will determine that group’s position in the rankings and determine the Early Bird Bonus.

Every person who arrives at the designated area within the set time will receive one point as an Arrival Bonus. If you are already in a location that has been selected as the designated location when it is announced as such, you will still receive the one-point Arrival Bonus, but you will not be eligible for the Early Bird Bonus.

Groups will be subject to penalties if they fail to arrive at designated areas three times in succession. Points will be deducted based on the number of misses. However, once the group breaks their streak, the penalty counter will be reset to zero.

Mashima: Before I explain the other method by which you can acquire points, I’d like for you to take a look at this.

Mashima-sensei, accepting something being handed to him by Hoshinomiya-sensei, Class 2-C’s homeroom instructor.

He held up the item he had gotten from her, showing it to us. It appeared to be a digital wristwatch.

Mashima: Starting tomorrow when the exam officially begins, you will all be asked to put these watches on and to keep them on for the entire duration of the exam. You will also be provided with a tablet that pairs with the watch, but we’ll explain more on that later.

A magnified image of the watch with detailed information about its functions was displayed on the screen.

Mashima: This watch isn’t just for checking the time. It is also an indispensable piece of equipment used for earning points. That is because all your points, such as those gained from the Basic Movement system mentioned earlier, will be tallied with this watch. It also comes equipped with convenient functions, such as giving you notifications when you have entered a designated area within the set period.

Mashima-sensei keep explain.

Mashima: In addition, these watches allow the school to constantly monitor each student’s body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, blood-oxygen level, sleep cycle, stress level, and so on. If any abnormalities are detected in any of those areas, then a ‘Warning Alert’ will sound.

This meant that the school could monitor the health conditions of all students simultaneously.

Mashima: Now, I’ll show you an example. Let’s say that my body temperature happened to go beyond thirty-eight degrees Celsius.

Shortly afterward, a high-pitched alert sound could be heard coming from the watch.

Mashima: This is the Warning Alert. This alert is, as its name suggests, meant only to serve as a warning. So, it is designed to automatically stop sounding after five seconds.

After five seconds had passed, the high-pitched alert stopped

Mashima: However, if abnormal readings are still detected, the Warning Alert will go off again ten minutes later.

To demonstrate, the Warning Alert sounded a second time. It was a little louder and higher pitched than the last time. I guessed that this alarm also must have been designed to end after five seconds had passed, because it soon stopped.

Mashima: What you heard just now was the second Warning Alert. If abnormal
readings are still detected another five minutes after that, then—

The third alert started to blare loudly, and was the loudest and most high-pitched sound we had heard so far

Mashima: This final sound isn’t a Warning Alert anymore. It’s changed to what’s called an ‘Emergency Alert.’ In the event that this alert is triggered, you will be required to return to the starting point to undergo a medical examination within twenty-four hours. If you ignore this warning, or if you fail to reach the starting point, you will be penalized, either with elimination or other measures, depending on the circumstances. The Emergency Alert will continue to sound until it is manually shut off. If this alert is not stopped within five minutes, a faculty member and a medical crew will rush to the location of the student, based on the watch’s GPS coordinates.

This meant that if by some chance you were to suffer a severe injury that rendered you unable to move, or if you lost consciousness, help would come to you.

Mashima: In addition, if this watch is physically damaged due to a strong impact or some other reason, even if that damage is sustained through the normal range of use, the score count function will be turned off. In such cases, the student will need to go back to the starting point and ask for a replacement

Even though we wouldn’t be penalized in the unlikely event that our watches happened to break, not being able to score points would be a pain. And on top of that, it was frustrating that we’d have to go all the way back to the start to get a replacement.

Mashima: These watches are programmed with something called a ‘Table.’ There are a total of twelve Tables in all. Let’s say, for example, that my watch is set to Table A right now. These internal Tables are what determine which areas you need to reach, from the first day all the way to the end of the exam. So then, my first destination is D8, followed by D7, and then C6, and so on. On the other hand, Hoshinomiya-sensei’s watch is Table B. In her case, her first destination is D10, followed by E9, then F8, and so on and so forth. As you can see, the designated areas that we need to reach differ.

If this were nothing but a game where students from all groups had to continuously reach for the same destinations, then everyone would be competing to see who was faster or slower on the same route. But if there were twelve different routes, then that would obviously be a different story. Even though people in Table A would be competing with others in Table A, their destinations might sometimes overlap with those in Table B or Table C. In a sense, you would have multiple competitions going on at the same time.

The whole school will compete in this exam. In other words, there will be 460-477 students in total on the island. There are 12 tables. The number of students falling on the same table will be 38-39. In other words, we can say that we will compete against 38-39 students.

Mashima: Next, I’ll explain the second method by which you can acquire points. This is by completing certain ‘Tasks’ that are set for you throughout the uninhabited island. Tasks will be offered at various locations around the island, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although the map is divided into one hundred distinct areas, it is possible that multiple Tasks could be in the same area. First, have a look at this.

A red dot appeared at one of the locations, inside area C3.

Mashima: These red dots represent where Tasks are, and they can only be seen on the tablets. Students will not be able to predict when or where these red dots will appear, or what kind of Task they represent. You can only find out what these Tasks are once they appear.

TASK: MATHEMATICS TEST

Classification: Academic Ability

Participation Conditions: Students must register within sixty minutes of this Task appearing.

No. of Participants: One per group. Once ten people have registered, no further registrants will be accepted.

Victory Conditions: Students will compete based on how many points they can earn within a set time. (Test content will vary based on grade level, but the difficulty level will be scaled to the same equivalent standard.)

Rewards: Five points for first place, three points for second place, one point for third place. All award-winners will also be given one day’s worth of food.

TASK: SHOT PUT

Classification: Physical Ability

Participation Conditions: Students must register within thirty minutes of this Task appearing.

No. of Participants: Three per group. (Groups with four or more people may still participate, but may only register three people from their group.) Once a total of six groups have registered, no further registrants will be accepted.

Victory Conditions: Students will compete based on the total distance thrown by their three-person team.

Rewards: Ten points for first place, five points for second place, three points for third place. All participants can choose one gift as a participation prize.

TASK: FISHING

Classification: Other

Participation Conditions: Students must register within 120 minutes of this Task appearing.

No. of Participants: Two per group. (Groups with three or more people may still participate, but may only register two people from their group.) Once a total of eight groups have registered, no further registrants will be accepted.

Victory Conditions: The student who catches the largest fish within one hour will win.

Rewards: Fifteen points for first place

Mashima: Of these Tasks, 40 percent will be testing your academic ability, while 30 percent will require physical ability, and the remaining 30 percent are listed as ‘Other.’ Please keep in mind that the Tasks classified as Other can vary from those that require specific skills to those that simply require luck. And, of course, the same Tasks may be offered more than once.

With these Tasks, abilities other than physical skills would play a huge role in the exam. The balancing of the available Tasks was also excellent, with only 30 percent of them related to physical ability.

Mashima: Starting on day four, some Tasks that offer a different kind of reward will become available. The reward in question will be the ability to increase the maximum number of members in a group. Getting first place will increase the limit by three persons, second place will increase it by two, and third place by one. If a person who is acting solo wishes to form a large group of six people, he or she will first need to finish in first place once and then in second place once. In the case of a three-person group, they would need to finish first place in one of these Tasks once. Groups that have increased their maximum number of members up to six will not be eligible to attempt these Tasks thereafter.

While we had heard the words “large group” several times already, from the sounds of it, we only gained the right to form those groups through these Tasks. Even if we weren’t getting points or goods, the ability to increase the number of people in your group was very important.

Mashima: However, there will not be that many Tasks that will allow you to increase the maximum number of people in your groups. Most likely, out of the entire pool of participants, only about 20 to 30 percent of groups will be granted the right to form a large group. At any rate, students from every grade level will work to collect points via the two aforementioned methods and compete for the top spot in the overall rankings. Oh, and if two groups do merge together, their point totals will be averaged together at that point

That meant that while it was possible to bring a student who was struggling into your group to rescue them, you needed to consider the fact that you’d be taking on a proportionate degree of risk in helping that person. If a single person had 30 and a 5 person group had 120 points and they merged, they’d have an average score of 75 points. Unless both groups had the same score, one group would basically lose points.

TASK OVERVIEW

Tasks may become available at any time from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. (On the first day of the exam, Tasks will start appearing at 10 a.m., and on the final day of the exam, they will stop appearing by 3 p.m.)

Tasks are divided into three classifications, and the same Tasks may appear multiple times. (40% Academic Ability, 30% Physical Ability, 30% Other)

Task appearance times are unpredictable. In order to find out the status of a Task, students must physically go to the Task location.

For finishing in the top spots in these Tasks, students may be rewarded with points, food, or the ability to increase their maximum group size.

Mashima: Next I’d like to hand things over to Acting Director Tsukishiro, who has a few words to share with you.

Tsukishiro walked up to the stage, and Mashima-sensei handed over the microphone. With his usual faint smile plastered on his lips, Tsukishiro slowly scanned over the second-year students.

Tsukishiro: Hello, I am Acting Director Tsukishiro. This uninhabited island exam certainly seems to be quite unprecedented. It’s the largest-sale special exam you’ve seen yet, no? While naturally we ask you to brace yourselves for what’s to come, I’d also like to ask that you please do not forget what it means to conduct yourselves as students.

He scan around like a he looking at someone. Then he keep talk.

Tsukishiro: Also, there is one matter that I would like to bring to everyone’s attention. Just something for you to keep in mind. This school has an obligation to protect you all, our students, as our position dictates. And we will do our utmost to maintain safety and order to the best of our ability. However, even with that being said, we will not be able to keep watch over you at all times during the course of this exam on the island. One problem that is likely to arise is, ahem, a sensitive matter that can occur between men and women.

The school administrators who were listening to what Tsukishiro was saying seemed a little shaken by what he had just brought up.

Tsukishiro: In the event that any sexual misconduct should occur, we will not hesitate to dole out strict penalties, including immediate expulsion. Furthermore, if we deem that the act was committed with malicious intent, we will notify the authorities. I ask that you please keep this in mind.

While he didn’t come out and say it directly, he was giving us a strongly worded warning to not do that, basically. Expulsion alone was a serious matter, but if he was telling us the authorities would get involved, then that alone should deter people from trying anything

Tsukishiro: I’m sure that it is understood that the longer your stay on the uninhabited island, the more frustrations you’ll have. The lack of food and water can sometimes lead to little skirmishes between students. And on that note…I am willing to allow it, to a certain degree. That’s my stance on the matter.

It wasn’t just the students who were visibly shaken when they heard what Tsukishiro had just said. The teachers and staff were as well. That proved that Tsukishiro’s stance on the matter differed from the school’s policies. Mashima-sensei drew in close and whispered into Tsukishiro’s ear. If I had to guess, I would assume he said something like “Please do not make such inconsiderate remarks.”

Tsukishiro: I have just been asked to retract my previous statement about allowing
disputes between students.

Rather than hiding what he had just been told, Tsukishiro explicitly told us what Mashima-sensei had said.

Tsukishiro: However, I will do nothing of the sort. Because it is virtually impossible to guarantee that disputes won’t occur. There is bound to be trouble.

He's right,i agree with him. Probably even me will use violence in some point.

Tsukishiro: That is all I have for you today. I humbly ask that you please conduct yourselves in a manner befitting a student from the Advanced Nurturing High School

After concluding his short speech, Tsukishiro immediately handed the microphone back to Mashima-sensei.

Mashima: Thank you very much, Acting Director Tsukishiro. Well then, for the final part of this presentation, I would like to move on to an explanation of the food and the tools that will be essential for you in going about your lives on the uninhabited island. Before we get into that though, I will explain the points required for shopping, which can only be used on this island.

Mashima-sensei, microphone in hand, gestured for someone to come forward, and then a large cart piled high with various goods was pushed up on the stage.

Mashima: Each of you will receive a base amount of 5,000 points. You are free to use these points to purchase any of the items you see listed in the catalog. Please note that students who have the Head Start card will receive an additional 2,500 points.

Just as Mashima-sensei had finished saying those words, thick manuals were passed out to us, starting with students sitting in the front rows. These catalogs listed the items that we could purchase during this exam.

It would take a considerable amount of funding for the school to offer such an extensive catalog.

A cursory look revealed that not only were there products from major manufacturers, but there were also products from brands we had never heard of before. We could probably assume that these businesses were providing these products as a form of sponsorship. I guessed that, in addition to being under the direct control of the government, this school might also serve as something of a product testing center for private manufacturers.

Mashima: All of the available items you can purchase are listed in the Uninhabited Island Manual, which we are handing out to all of you now. You may discuss what to buy amongst your group or you may simply decide for yourself. The choice is yours. Purchases will be accepted starting from now until 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, but you may also choose to save for your points for later if you wish. However, purchases made on the island will cost twice as much. Please keep this information in mind.

So, we could set points aside for now in order to purchase essential items at the shop in an emergency, such as food or water. But at twice the cost, it would be by no means cheap.

Mashima: There will also be restrooms and showers that can be used free of charge at the starting point, as well as a potable water station where you can re-hydrate from the second day onward. So, if you do happen to stop by this area, feel free to make the most of these amenities. However, water must be drunk at the starting point location. It cannot be taken from the site.

I’m sure it was reassuring for the students to have a place that they could stop at in case of emergency.

Mashima: Just for your reference, let’s say Group A has some food. They can choose to hand over the food they’ve obtained to Groups B or C, which they have no affiliation with. These sorts of instances could very well happen on the island. It is the school’s policy to allow you to do whatever you wish with the items that you have obtained. We take no issue with it.

So, we were allowed to share with groups that were struggling to find food. While there wasn’t any need for us to help students from other grade levels, when it came to people in our same grade, it was probably best for us to help each other whenever we could.

Mashima: Now, then in addition to the wristwatches, you will all be provided with a tablet. As these tablets are essential for accessing basic information, you will be able to charge it both at the starting point and at Task locations. Now, up on the screen, I will show what you can do with your tablets.

TABLET OVERVIEW

Every student will be provided with a small tablet.

Provides a map of the island that you can view, allowing you to check designated areas and your current location in real time.

Can be used to view Task locations, detailed rewards information, etc.

Starting from the fourth day of the exam through the end of the twelfth day, students can view the group member list and scores for the top and bottom ten ranked groups. (Users can only view total score breakdowns for the top and bottom ten ranked groups, as well as their own group.)

Starting on the sixth day of the exam, the GPS search function will be unlocked, allowing users to view the current locations of all other students. (However, each search costs the user one point.)

The school may send you a message via your tablet in certain instances, such as in the event that a problem that impacts all students arises.

In the event your tablet’s battery life has run out, you can recharge it at the starting point, or at specific locations on the map. (Tablets have approximately eight hours of battery life when you are continuously using the map application during the test.)

While I appreciated the fact that we didn’t have to worry about charging our tablets, it would be safer to buy an external battery, because the internal battery would continue to drain over time even if we weren’t actively using the tablet.

Not being able to use your tablet, which could tell you where you were on the island, would be fatal. Besides, even though we were being told that we can charge the battery at the starting point or at certain other locations, we’d be missing other opportunities while we were stuck at one spot, charging our devices.

Mashima: We’ve provided some sample products for you to check out so you can see how much the backpacks can carry. Please feel free to peruse them as you wish. Sample products will be available in a separate showroom area that you can visit starting now, and they will be available until midnight tonight.

Mashima-sensei switched off the microphone after saying that last piece, so I guessed that must’ve been the end of the school’s presentation.