The moment Miss Chabashira finished speaking, the air inside the classroom changed. It wasn’t just silent — it was heavy. The warm spring sunlight spilling through the windows felt almost misplaced, a cruel contrast to the growing tension between the four walls of Class 1-C.

One year ago, we entered this school as Class 1-D — the bottom. Unorganized, underestimated, and constantly tested, both by the system and by each other. We stumbled, we argued, we almost broke apart. But no matter what the school threw at us — the Island Survival, the Ship Test, Paper Shuffle, — we endured. One exam after another, we faced impossible situations… and somehow, every single one of us made it through.

We survived. We succeeded.

The letter on our classroom door changed. Not D… C. We had climbed, together.

For a heartbeat, nobody moved. Then, like ripples on still water, reactions began to spread through the room.

“Wait— she’s serious about this?” one of the guys in the back muttered, his voice low, uneasy.

Another student slammed their palm lightly against their desk. “That’s insane. This isn’t a test anymore, it’s— it’s a trap.”

From the front row, Kushida exchanged a nervous glance with a few classmates, trying to keep her usual smile, but even she couldn’t hide the tension in her eyes. Ike leaned toward Yamauchi, whispering frantically, while Sudo crossed his arms, his leg bouncing restlessly beneath his desk.

Horikita sat still, back straight, expression unreadable. But anyone who’d spent a year by her side could see the slight tightening of her grip on her notebook — the only sign that the weight of the announcement had reached even her.

Hirata, as always, was the first to try and bring some structure to the chaos. He stood up halfway, hands raised in a calming gesture. “Everyone, please… let’s not panic. We’ve dealt with difficult exams before—”

That sentence hung in the air like a blade.

Chairs creaked. A few students shifted uncomfortably. Someone laughed nervously, the sound hollow. The class that had once been dismissed as hopeless was now facing a challenge no amount of clever planning could easily solve.

Chabashira stood at the front, arms crossed, watching us like a hawk — not with that slight smirk she always wore when the truth was too brutal for words, she also was not in agreement with this exam.

“This is the reality of this school,” she finally added, her voice as flat and sharp as ever. "No matter how well you’ve done… if the school wants to see who cracks first, it will find a way.”

But this time… the threat wasn’t from outside. It was sitting at every desk in this room.

Sudo clicked his tongue. Ike muttered something about quitting if it got that bad. Kushida leaned forward, trying to sound optimistic, but her voice wavered. Horikita’s eyes narrowed in calculation. Hirata tried to rally everyone, but even his calm façade showed cracks.

It was the same class as always… and yet, it felt completely different now.

This wasn’t just another exam. It was a divide waiting to happen.