Chapter 56 New School New Life - Part 3

"How'd you do on the exam?" Kimura asked.

"I did alright. How about you?"

"Ah, I think I did quite well. You reckon the results will come out soon?"

"I'd assume so. They were multiple choice questions, so they can probably just scan them through a machine."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

The two of us had a rest on our beds as we waited for further instructions from the school.

Less than thirty minutes later, we received a message from the school. This time, the messages were different for each person.

-

National High School

The results from your recent exam have been released.

Your score is: 45%

The average score was: 61.4%

The highest score in your year was: 91%

~

Your class allocation is: Class 2-E.

-

Well, let's hope my gamble pays off.

I considered getting a higher score since this school was meritocratic. There was a chance that the higher classes get better treatment. However, there was one thing I couldn't overlook. Tachibana was out to get me. It was best if I managed to keep a hostage by my side. From what I could see of her friend, Ichikawa Mana, they weren't exactly the smartest student. I decided to bet that she'd get a score of around 45%.

She would act as a safety net if I managed to get into the same class as her. I assumed that Tachibana would act a lot more cautiously if she saw that her friend was in my class.

"Which class are you in?" Asked Kimura.

"I'm in 2-E."

"Ah, I'm in 2-A."

There was a brief moment of silence.

All of a sudden, there was another message from the school.

-

National High School

Points have been distributed to your accounts.

Points act as the currency of this school. You can use them at the various stores in the commercial area. Simply open the Bank app if you would like to check your balance. Points will be distributed once per month. You get points based on your class and your rank.

You have received: 4000 points (Class-E allowance) + 4980 points (Rank #2 out of 480 students)

-

I was quite curious as to how they decided the ranks. From what I could see, the ranks consisted of every student in the school. They seemed to have another ranking system—however, considering I received such a low score on the placement exam. The ranking system must have been separate.

Even more questionably, I'm ranked second.

This meant that the school knew about my true abilities.

Also, there was someone in the school who was ranked higher than me—there was only one person in the world who could have ranked higher than me if the rankings were accurate...

"Hey, Mizuhara, how many class points did you get?"

"I got 4000."

"Ah, I guess different classes get a different number of points."

"How many did you get?"

"I got 12000."

"I see."

Based on a quick deduction, I assumed that every class got 2000 more points than the class under them. If class-A got 12000 points, then class-B would get 10000, class-C would get 8000, Class-D would get 6000, Class-E would get 4000 and so on. With that in mind, I pondered my situation. I still had no idea about the value of a point. I'd need to go over to the shops to see how much a point was worth.

"You want to go over to the commercial area?" Kimura asked.

"Sure."

It seemed that there weren't going to be any classes today, so the two of us began making our way toward the commercial area. As we made our way out of the dorms, it appeared that we weren't the only people with such an idea. This school wasn't really designed for this increase in students.

We made our way over with the horde of students and noticed that all of the stores were basically packed to the brim.

"Well, this place is a bit busy. Do you want to go do something else?" Kimura asked.

"I just want to take a quick look at the prices of some of the things."

"Ah, that makes sense. I want to see it as well."

We walked over and looked through the windows of some of the stores. There were already extremely long lines of students waiting to purchase items.

I looked at some of the furniture.

The price of a pretty basic desk was 6000 points. A chair was around 1750 points, and a small drawer was 3750 points.

I then walked over to the grocery store and had a look.

A loaf of bread was 250 points, an apple was 100 points, and a carton of milk was 400 points. Even with these prices, there were still a lot of factors in determining the value of a point; most important was how often we received them. At the moment, even a desk was more than half of my total points.

I guess I'd come back later for some groceries.

"Hey, Mizuhara, I'm getting a better idea of school life here."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a suspicion that points are going to be extremely valuable. Just looking at the prices of these items, I assume that the school will make us treasure every point we have."

"I see what you mean."

The two of us walked over to the canteen and had a look at the prices of some of the meals.

There were quite a few meals being displayed on the screens above the counter.

Simple Vegetable Combo - 350 points

Chicken Combo - 450 points

Beef Combo - 500 points

Deluxe Beef Combo - 750 points

Deluxe Seafood Combo - 1100 points

Just looking at this, if someone wanted to have 2 of the cheapest meals every day, it'd cost 21000 points per month. This was definitely not sustainable for most students at this school. The prices of items were incredibly high in relation to the number of points we obtained. It looked like school life was going to be a struggle for the majority of people.

"These prices are pretty intense," commented Kimura.

"Yeah, I think making our own meals is definitely the best idea."

It was lucky that we managed to come to terms with the value of our points early. From the looks of it, many students here still have yet to realise the peril of the situation.