The heavy rain, which continued to last until dawn, casted a huge shadow of anxiety over the students.
However, by the time 6:00 AM rolled around, the rain clouds had disappeared like a lie, and the sky was painted blue with the clear skies of the day before yesterday and the day before that. However, deep in the forest, there is no sunlight, and it will take some time for the deteriorated foothold to return.
"First I have to take care of the problem on shortage of food."
As a high school student, I haven't been able to maintain the daily calorie intake and was slowly starting to run out of energy. This was the first time I had ever been hungry for an extended period of time, as I've never trained myself to intentionally starve.
At the very least, I can be active as long as I stay hydrated, but that gradually leads to decrease in my immune system, making it easier to get sick which I want to avoid at any rate. Eating wild animals and insects to survive is not impossible, but it's my last resort.
If you have enough points left, you can buy food at the starting point but only a small portion making it not worth travelling the distance.
In other words, the only way to get food is basically to complete the task at the top or get a participation reward.
However, the challenges where you can get food will become more and more competitive in the future.
"I'm ready."
Nanase, who has finished packing up everything, approached me with a backpack on her back.
"Amasawa is basically visiting the designated area now, right?"
"Judging by the way my scores are increasing, I'm pretty sure that's the case. So, if you don't mind, it will be up to the first designated area, please let me accompany you."
I responded with a nod without saying anything. If we are headed for the same destination, then there's no reason to push her away. As soon as we started walking, Nanase opened her mouth.
"Amasawa-san should have been following us around since the evening of the sixth day and in the morning of the seventh day, right?"
"If we think about it simply, we should assume that she approached us using the search early in the morning of the seventh day."
Since we can't see any kind of usage history, there will be no proof that Amasawa used it, but if the score has been decreased on the 7th day, then we can be sure that either Amasawa or Housen used the GPS search.
It seems that it is not the top 10 or the bottom 10 group, so only Nanase of the same group can confirm that fact.
"I definitely checked the tablet. But ... as far as I can remember, not a single point had been deducted from the scores we had accumulated as of the morning of the seventh day."
In other words, if she had remembered it correctly, Amasawa did not use GPS search.
"It's still unclear where Amasawa-san was in the morning, and we were in a hurry too not noticing that we were being followed. But wouldn't it be difficult to catch up with us unless your nearby, right?"
"That's why I think she devised a way to catch up."
Unlike us, who were carrying around backpacks, Amasawa was in a light state. It means that she must have packed enough for a small distance.
"I guess we should assume that there must be some kind of trick for knowing the specific location of a person."
"Could it be that Amasawa-san got the location of Ayanokouji-senpai from someone else?"
"That's a possibility."
It's hard to be sure at this stage what kind of trick it is.
1.
"Senpai, I guess this is where we part ways for now."
After arriving at E3 from D3 and gaining a point each, Nanase said with a gloomy look on her face.
"How do you plan to join up with Amasawa and Housen?"
GPS search is an excellent feature to know the location of the other party, but it is not suitable for merging with them.
Rather, a tool that allows direct conversation, such as a walkie-talkie, is more suitable.
"I don't think I'll be able to encounter them even if I recklessly moved around in the dark, and I can't repeatedly use the points we've collected for selfish merging. I'm going to use the one point I just got and follow the GPS response. If we can't find them with that, then I'll have to follow the designated area steadily."
With this minimum approach, I guess she'll be looking for Amasawa and Housen as much as time permits.
Since, there was no point in asking about Amasawa's location, I just kept listening.
"I think it's difficult to find out the movements of first-year students unless you're a first-year student like me. If there are any disturbing movements, I will rush to you Ayanokouji-senpai."
That's how enthusiastic Nanase is, but I was mostly afraid that she would spun out of control.
"Don't overdo it."
Without replying back lowering her head, Nanase left me, holding her tablet in hand.
It would be nice if she able to join them soon, but this all depends on the movements of the duo she's teamed with.
It would be quicker if they were constantly patrolling around the designated area, but it's no wonder that both of them show unpredictable movements. I watched as Nanase's back disappeared into the forest, and then took out my tablet. Now I'll finally be able to go back to being alone again and can start the second half of the game.
"No tasks nearby, huh?"
There is a task about 400 meters in a straight line from here, It takes 20 minutes to register for the task and 15 minutes to arrive there, which totally takes of 35 minutes. Moreover, there are only five groups that can participate.
I decided to take rest without pushing myself too hard, judging that it would be practically difficult to reach there. I waited for the announcement of the next designated area, and when my strength returned, I sat up.
When the time reached 9 o'clock, I took out the tablet and started to act.
Whether to head to the designated area in the shortest time possible or to the nearby task will change at the point of announcement.
I quickly checked my tablet, and for the second time today, it was a random area.
The area that appeared was E6, three squares down from here, which is close enough considering the randomness.
I started walking right away, still keeping my eyes on the tablet. Checking the issues that are currently emerging, I set my direction.
In order to collect as many points as possible in a limited day, you need to be efficient.
For that purpose, it is essential to eliminate as much as possible elements that are influenced by luck.
2.
It was just before four in the afternoon. I was about to leave the place after finishing the task I was participating in.
"Ayanokouji-kun!?"
For the first time since we parted ways on the first day of the special exam, I saw the appearance of Horikita.
Although she looked a little surprised, she didn't seem to be particularly tired.
"It has been eight days since we saw each other."
"Yeah."
We have reunited at F7, for the first time since the start of the exam.
"Did you come here to check out the task, or were you simply passing through? Where are you headed?"
"My designated area is G8. and I'm passing through here on my way, what about you?"
Apparently, the area I'm headed is one step ahead of me.
"It's F8. Looks like we're heading in the same direction."
Since there was no use in standing around talking, we naturally started walking side by side.
It's probably the best solution if you were to follow the same route halfway.
"You look better than I thought you would be. Looks like...You're still on your own?"
"Yes I am. It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot easier when you're alone."
It's true that when you're alone, you don't have to worry about anyone else or about adjusting your pace. However, Horikita's name has never been in the bottom half
of the list until now. It may be a sign that she's scoring well, but it's still strange that she doesn't look tired.
"Is it so strange that I am doing well?"
"Well, most of the students I met seemed to be tired."
"Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"
"Anything unusual? Ah.. now that you mention it, did you hear the news about Shinohara and the others somewhere?"
"Yes. I just heard about them today. In that sense, I'm glad I met you."
Horikita seemed to have stopped near the starting point, where she was approached by a student from second year class A Sakayanagi. She then found out that Komiya and the others had retired.
The rest of the story is that she heard the strategy I proposed Sakayanagi and Horikita seemed to have accepted the negotiation.
"You didn't refuse?"
"There was no reason to. We have to avoid expelling Shinohara-san from school. I heard you were the first to discover the incident, did you find out any details?"
"No, nothing particular. I was thinking it's both an incident and an accident." I began to I describe the scene as a person who witnessed it nearby.
Of course, I didn't mention the part where Amasawa is hidden behind it.
"Shinohara-san group has dropped all the way down and is now in the bottom seven. At this rate, they'll be in danger of being expelled by the end of the day. We have to hurry. Worst-case scenario, if we can't find a group to join her up with, I'll make my move. I was lucky enough to complete the assignment before joining you, and I managed to free up three slots."
That's good news. There are few challenges that release the maximum quota for a group, and they tend to be popular.
It would not have been easy to get the first place there.
"But in that case, you and Shinohara would be the only two who would have to collect the points. If possible, I would like you to work well with Sakayanagi so that Shinohara can be absorbed by a more energetic group."
Horikita agreed and replied with a nod.
"I've been wandering around the deserted island for the past eight days, and I've realized that a lot more groups have walkie-talkies than I expected. Just like how Sakayanagi was informing her classmates about Shinohara, and we could also see the communication taking place in various places."
"That would be true for the higher classes that are well-organized and can afford it.
The tools to exchange information over long distances are well worth the high points, depending on how you use them."
"I wonder if we could have done the same if we had trusted each other a little more."
Perhaps it was a little difficult to imagine, after saying that Horikita's mouth closed a little tightly.
"Well, it can also become useless at some point, and it wouldn't always turn out to be advantage at special exam like this."
"That's true."
I took out my tablet and checked to see if there were any new assignments.
A new task appeared nearby, one that doesn't require any risk or effort, where you could get food just for participating.
The number of groups accepting it is 15, which is quite a lot.
However, since you only get one point for participating, the chances of scoring is not very attractive.
"I'm running low on food, and I was thinking of participating in this task, what about you Horikita?"
If you're aiming for a reward in the order of arrival in the designated area, it's better to proceed without paying attention to the task here.
"It's not like there's a lot of food left for me, so I'm going to stop by the task too."
Since we both had the same priorities, we decided to change our route slightly and go through the task.
Although it is a very grateful challenge, the competition to participate would be quite high.
Both Horikita and I increased our walking pace and hurried to point where the task is being held. Along the way, we saw more and more groups of first-years, third- years, and of course second-years, all heading in the same direction, probably with the same goal in mind. Most of the groups started running as soon as they realize that their surroundings are rivals.
"You don't have to worry about me Horikita you can hurry up too."
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not worried about you and besides aren't you the one who have hardly any food left shouldn't you be the one who should be rushing to the task."
"Even if I wanted too I can't, I just don't have the energy to run around anymore."
"It's the same for me."
Although she wanted to reach their quick, her motto of not trying to use energy unnecessarily was the same as mine.
I could see that Horikita, who was continuing to work alone, had placed some restricted on herself and was taking the desert island exam at a similar pace.
Fortunately, we arrived in time to participate in the task and had a chat with classmates we hadn't seen in a while. Even if we rushed to the designated area next, we would not be able to receive the reward in order of arrival. So, we decided to share information with each other which will be useful until the very last minute, so that you can make the most of the second half of the game.
Besides, many students were still unaware of the situation that Shinohara was in.
On this day, I scored 4 points for basic movement and 14 points for the 4 task that I participated. In total, I got 18 points. The overall score was 96 points, and I was currently ranked 23rd. I had the impression that the movement was generally more
active than on the 5th and 6th days, but there were some groups that hardly moved at all, so the day was clearly divided into two groups: those who preserved their energy and those who did not. Day 8, which was expected to be a fierce battle, turned out to be not a bad day. The scores of the top 10 were not significantly updated, and the 10th place remained the same as Nagumo's group with 111 points.
By tomorrow I hope that my ranking doesn't change, and if possible, I would like to meet Sakayanagi soon. I decided to go to sleep, hoping that the designated area would be towards the starting point.