COTE: YEAR 2 REACTION

Chapter 8: Anime Quiz

I woke up at 6:30 the next morning. From the way the dazzling sunshine lit up the inside of my tent, I could tell that it was a bright sunny day without even needing to go outside. A world of green spread out before my eyes as I emerged from my tent in the sweltering heat.

"Seems like choosing somewhere out of the direct sunlight was the right choice after all." Even though I had walked a little further to find a good spot, setting up my tent in a consistently shady place had been the smart thing to do.

After a quick breakfast of one of my portable meals and some water, I packed up my tent and waited for 7:00 AM.

Most students should already be awake by now and waiting for the exam to begin for the day. Designated areas would be my top priority, but I'd consider changing focus if a Task showed up somewhere nearby. That is, depending on the details and rewards.

Many students attempted to multitask by simultaneously watching the video and reviewing the elaborate 10-page document provided by the government for our ease.

Hosen, looking thoroughly unimpressed, casually brushed off the idea of slogging through the mail document. "I ain't readin' all this crap. Some bozo nerd will prolly lay it out for us," he said with a dismissive sneer.

Meanwhile, Horikita took the initiative to explain to her classmates as she perused the document, "There are two ways to score points. First is the Basic Movement rule, where you'll be directed to move to one of the cells at set time intervals. Second is the Early Bird Bonus, where the first three groups arriving at a cell receive 10, 5, and 3 points respectively.

"Additionally, every participant who arrives at the designated area within the specified time interval will be awarded an Arrival Bonus of 1 point.

"The time intervals for the Basic Movement Rule are 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The location of the next target will shift either two cells laterally or one diagonally from the previous one three times a day. Once a day, the next designated area will be randomly chosen of any of the cells in the map.

"If a group is already present at the designated location, they receive a one-point Arrival Bonus but are not eligible for the Early Bird Bonus. Lastly, teams face penalties for failing to reach a location for three consecutive times."

A third-year senpai whistled, "Damn, that's a lot of walking. Good thing I never skipped leg day!"

Ijiun pumped his fists, "Nice! At least this way I get to pump my daily step count."

Another senpai chimed in, "Hey, check this out! Lemme read this, 'All students will be required to wear a special watch for the entirety of this exam. The school will continuously monitor the wearer's body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. If any of these go beyond a prescribed level, it will sound off a 'Warning Alert'

"Yo Kazuma!" He shouted across the room, "The last thing you want is for the school to retire you after finding your irregular heartbeats during your nightly activities, haha!"

The girls cringed at the implication and stared at Kazuma-senpai with visceral disgust. Fortunately, that senpai has already graduated; otherwise, I'd fear for his sanity.

"Sounds like we're officially declaring it 'No Jacking July!'" he replied with a chuckle.

I wasn't certain if his devil-may-care attitude was deliberate, but the girls, who were a bit slow to catch on, eventually understood, and a shiver of revulsion ran through them.

Then, at 7 o'clock, a notification was sent to my watch. I set my tablet on my lap and powered it on before refreshing the map.

My current location was area D7. So where would I be travelling today? The area highlighted on my map was─ E8. The location closest to where I had chosen to set up camp for the night.