章節 58: Hunting for points
The special exam had ended, and the results were clear. Three students had to leave the school: Manabe Shiho from Class D, Yahiko Totsuka from Class B, and Yamauchi Haruki from Class C. Those were the expelled students. As for my class, we managed to avoid expulsion by paying a sum of 20 million points, thanks to a deal with Ichizaki and Ibuki that reduced our share by 5 million. It was a significant investment, but at least the class remained intact.
In the category of commendation votes, the winner from my class was Honami, which surprised no one. She is extremely popular, so she earned the protection point, which gives us all some peace of mind, especially me. Honestly, I didn't expect to receive many votes. Outside my class, I'm not exactly liked; more than one must resent that my moves often lead to the defeat of their own classes. And I understand that, of course, but deep down I knew that Honami was the favorite for that point, so there was no disappointment.
As I left the principal's office, an idea was circling in my mind. I needed to gather points quickly, so I thought of a solution that could help me earn what I needed: betting. I would post an invitation on the school's social network for any student to challenge me in a series of events that I would choose. The bets would start at a minimum sum of 5,000 points. Anyone who wanted to test their skills would just have to send me a message, and if they won, they would take my bet.
I talked to the principal about my idea to make sure it was legal. After all, they were bets, and I didn't want to take unnecessary risks. To my surprise, the principal approved my proposal. "As long as there's no cheating or trickery involved, you're not violating any rules," he remarked. Moreover, he seemed to like the idea, adding that it could encourage competition among the students. With that green light, all that was left was to prepare the list of challenges and make the announcement.
When I arrived at my room, I started drafting the message I would post. Now I had to think about the events I would offer for the challenges. To begin, I thought of the most basic ones: martial arts. No matter the style, I was completely confident that no high school student could defeat me. I also added swimming, any style; archery; soccer; chess; shogi; checkers; darts; rock, paper, scissors; athletics; arm wrestling; and basketball. Basically, any activity I could compete in without much preparation. At the end of the message, I made it clear that they could propose any other event of their choice, and if I knew how to play it, I would accept.
Once satisfied with the list, I posted the message on the school's social network and leaned back to wait. Now all I had to do was wait for challengers to appear. My strategy was simple: appeal to my classmates' pride and ego. With a little luck, some would feel challenged and intrigued. And, if I knew anything about teenagers, it was that their egos are fragile; it was likely that at least a few would accept my challenge just to prove something.
Now it was time to wait.
....
It didn't take long before the challenge requests started coming in, mostly from upperclassmen. Shogi, archery, among others... In the end, I decided to accept the archery challenge and replied to the guy who had challenged me. He indicated that I should find him at the archery club, so I headed there. It took me a few minutes, as it was a bit far from the other buildings.
When I arrived, I noticed the place was full of second and third-year students, all practicing with concentration. My opponent was there, focusing on his bow. Upon seeing me, he approached, and after a brief greeting, we started talking about the details of the bet.
"We'll have three rounds. In each round, we have seven arrows to shoot, and in the end, whoever has the highest score wins. The bet is 20,000 points," he explained, looking at me seriously.
"Sounds good to me," I said calmly, taking a practice bow offered to me along with a set of arrows. I meticulously examined the bow and the arrows, making sure everything was in order.
"Don't worry. I'm not the type who cheats," he said, watching me as I checked the equipment. I didn't care much about what kind of person he was; it's always better to be sure.
We positioned ourselves at the regulation distance, 20 meters from the target, and several club members stayed to witness the competition, curious to see how it would unfold. Hopefully, they would also feel motivated to challenge me.
We stood on the shooting line, both in silence, with the tension palpable in the air. I took a deep breath and raised the bow, feeling the weight in my hands and allowing my mind to focus on the target in front of me.
First arrow. I concentrated on the target, aligned the arrow, and shot. The impact resonated in the eight. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good start. The spectators murmured among themselves. My opponent shot me a serious look and prepared for his own shot. It was clear that it wouldn't be an easy competition.
Second arrow, again in the spot worth eight. And so went the next seven arrows. At the end of the first round, my score was solid, but there was still much to prove.
"Not bad," my opponent commented, with a confident smile as he reviewed his own score.
For the second round, I tightened my grip on the bow, feeling that I had gotten used to the equipment and the distance. With a higher target in mind, I launched the first arrow of the second series. This time, it hit right in the nine. Satisfied, I repeated the same precision with the next six arrows. Seven arrows, all in the nine. Now, the spectators' attention intensified. It was evident in their expressions that they were starting to doubt my opponent.
He watched me with a mix of respect and determination, but in his eyes, a slight shadow of concern also surfaced.
"It seems like you're improving with each round, huh?" he commented, trying to sound casual, but there was a slight nervousness in his voice.
For the third round, I felt completely focused, my vision fixed on the center of the target. As I raised the bow, I felt a kind of calm in my movements. The first arrow flew out with precision and hit the ten, right in the center. I heard some murmurs of admiration in the background, but I didn't let myself be distracted. My hands moved with a natural fluidity, as if the bow and I were one. The second arrow, ten. The third, another ten. And so I continued until I shot the seven arrows, all perfectly in the center.
When I lowered the bow, the silence in the room was eloquent. My opponent looked at me in disbelief, his hands clenched around his own bow. The club members, who until that moment had been watching with some skepticism, now wore expressions of respect.
"I think that covers the 20,000 points," I said with a slight smile. Victory was mine, and the challenge had drawn the attention of other students.
...
After winning the archery competition, some club members seemed to take the challenge personally. One by one, they began throwing me more challenges: shooting at smaller targets, competing in speed shooting, even seeing who could accumulate the most points in a limited time. Their looks made it clear they wanted to regain their pride, and I, of course, accepted every challenge calmly and confidently. After all, each challenge was another opportunity to earn more points.
By the end of that session, I had easily won 100,000 points. I hadn't expected it to be so easy, but apparently, everyone underestimated a "newbie" like me. I gave them a discreet smile and put away the bow while they tried to process their defeat.
With the adrenaline still running, I checked my phone. The number of notifications surprised me; the message I had posted was working better than I thought. There were dozens of requests to compete in various events, each offering a good amount of points.
Without wasting any time, I started responding to some of them. Each new request was another step toward my goal, and it was clear that with so many challengers, I wouldn't lack for fun or points for a good while.
I sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the small victory and the accumulated points. A smile formed on my lips as I walked away from the club, ready to face whatever came next. This was just the beginning.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票