The Battle of The Exams: Dazai Crowley Edition

(Dazai Crowley's POV)

Class 3-A, Present Day.

Time is running out.

Because of that, I simply didn't have the luxury to rendezvous with everyone else.

So instead, I sent out a quick text message to Alice about Class 3-A, and continue on.

"I hope they can make it in time."

I mumble aloud to myself as I ran.

Thankfully though, upon my return, I noticed everything were waiting for me outside.

A small sigh of relief escaped my lips.

It appears they arrived a little shortly before me.

"Oh, there you are. We've been waiting for you."

"Sorry, I'm not late, am I?"

"Nope, we should still have some time."

"That said though, I would like to hurry up and get this over with." said Roy.

"Oh, I'm sure you do."

The way how me and Roy perceived the Entrance Exams was completely different.

To me, I saw this as an opportunity.

To him, this was merely a chore.

Regardless, at the very least, I did agree with his intent to take the initiative. I too wanted to be done with this exam as soon as possible.

A little after our conversation, the loudspeaker came to life to declare another announcement.

However, since I had an idea of what it was going to say next, I didn't stand around to listen and instead used it as an excuse to rush inside.

As such, the rest of them had decided to drop the topic before following me inside.

At the same time, the Practitioner from before also returned.

The two of us exchanged a momentary glance.

"—Hurry up and take a seat", he said forcefully.

Clearly he didn't like me, but I paid him no mind.

Click.

As soon as we heard the doors lock, the gravity of our situation started to settle in a little.

Now, for the duration of the exam itself, entering and exiting this room was prohibited.

"Get yourselves comfortable guys. We're going to be here awhile." Alice warned us with a sigh.

Even after mustering up her resolve from earlier, it seems like she's still feeling a little tense.

Well, it's not like there's anything I can do about it now. It's up to her to keep pushing forward.

The only thing I can do now is worry about myself.

Inside the classroom, there were about a dozen or so of other students who were also trying to get themselves situated.

Whether it was studying, eating or things of that nature, such actions persisted down to the very second the Practitioner declared otherwise.

"Alright, hurry up and take a seat everyone. It's almost time for testing." The man commanded.

After he spoke, the students did as they were told and eventually silence started to befall the room.

Suddenly though, I call out to a certain someone.

"Hey, Roy."

"What?"

"Remember. We're here to win. So no half assing this, got it?" I told him.

He rolled his eyes.

"—Whatever. Go force your expectations down somebody else's throat."

With that said, he took his seat elsewhere.

Hmm, seems like my words of encouragement didn't get through to him. That's fine though.

Regardless, I too found my own seat and took my time settling in. After securing my bag inside my desk however, I logged into the computer in front of me using the identification number the school temporarily loaned us for today.

After clicking and typing in a couple of other buttons, the login process was complete and I was granted access into the main homepage.

However, for some reason, I was still locked out from taking the exams yet. Probably because it still wasn't time yet.

Though it shouldn't be too long until all of us are able to begin. As such, I made use of this time by ascertaining my surroundings yet again.

Currently, I was sitting by a large window.

Though the blinds were halfway closed, I could peer a little into the outside hallway if need be.

As for my family, well, at first glance, both me, Roy, Alice and Yamato seemed to have been randomly scattered across the room.

However, upon closer inspection, I realized that our assigned seats were quite far away from each other. So much so that I found it suspicious.

For example, if one of us had tried getting in contact with each other, none of us would even notice. And even if we did, the drastic measures we would have to take in order to do so would undoubtedly garnish all sorts of unnecessary attention.

—I see.

So if one of us was in trouble, it'll be highly unlikely that we could rely on the other for help.

Perhaps to crack down on group based cheating tactics such as that, I wouldn't be too surprised if this was also by the school's design.

Impressive strategy, yes, but not insurmountable.

Ding!

The sound of a soft notification bell caught my attention. It seems the lockout screen from earlier was now gone and I was free to take my test. After glancing around a bit, I also noticed the students had similar reactions.

"Alright everybody, you may begin."

—Absolute silence fell upon the room.

Right then, it's time to get serious.

I took one deep breath in and began.

* * * * * * * * * *

After interacting with the screen for a bit, I was presented with five main options.

"Language Arts", "Math", "Science" and "Social Studies" were obviously the first four.

The fifth however was a bit....—different.

"Personality Discernment Test?"

Curious, I took a peek inside the digital folder before scrolling through the question sheet.

Though I was surprised to see that the test itself was true to its name. Because from the looks of it, it seemed to have been an extensive version of one of those quizzes you could take online.

But seeing as how the questions focused more so on your personal experiences rather than actual education, what good would be it on a test?

Suddenly though, a single idea had came to mind.

"Could it be?"

—No, let's not get carried away.

No matter what theory I come up with, there would be no way for me to confirm it right now.

Even still, at this stage, it pays to be prepared for any and all situations.

As such, I most likely figured out the best way for me to approach this test in particular.

However, that will be a story for a different time.

Returning my attention to my homepage screen, I noticed that the subjects later divided themselves into more specified sub-elements. For example, "Social Studies" would split down into "Economic Study" and "Historical Achievement".

Although I understood that much, I was confused as to whether I was supposed to answer all of them, or just focus on the subjects I'm strong against. Well, either way, the best course of action to take right now would be to knock out the most difficult subjects out of the way first.

As such, I clicked on "Math" and got to work.

* * * * * * * * * *

Forty minutes have passed now.

In order to lighten my workload while maximizing efficiency, I spent most of that time flip flopping between Math and Social Studies, since the latter was far easier for me to handle.

I also did a couple of the other subjects including the Personality test in between as well.

As such, I believe I am making sufficient progress.

—Right now though, I'm currently stuck on this one pop quiz problem.

It was so difficult that it actually forced me to stop and write up some rather complicated looking formulas on a different sheet of paper.

But just as when I was on the verge of figuring out the answer, I was suddenly interrupted by someone.

「 "Pst, Dazai." 」

Telepathy?

I stopped for a moment and glanced around the room. It was then my eyes met with Alice who seemed to be staring back at me.

This girl…

Ignoring her for a moment, I looked over to the Practitioner in front of the class.

To me, his watchful gaze felt omnipresent.

「 "Stop looking at me. You're drawing unnecessary attention to the both of us." 」

「 "It's fine, it's fine. I'm hiding behind the computer, so he can't see me, see?" 」

I suppose that's true, but that just makes it all the more suspicious….

More importantly, I'm far too busy right now.

「"Sigh. What do you want?" 」

「 "I need your help with this question." 」

Remember when I said there were ways around that group based "blockade" the school built against us?

This was one of them.

「 "So you're trying to cheat, huh?"」

「 "C'mon, be a good big brother and help your little sister already, will you?" 」

Sigh.

「 "Fine, let me take a look at it." 」

Using her telepathic link as an ethereal medium, I was temporarily allowed access to her eyesight.

In other words, I was able to see what she saw.

After reading the question on her screen, I thought for a quick moment.

「 "The answer is C." 」

「 "Yes! Thank you, Dazai!" 」

Although I didn't enjoy having to waste my own precious time, I suppose Alice's sincere gratitude made it all the more worthwhile.

「 "Is that all?" 」

「 "Yeah, I think I can take it from here." 」

「 "Good. Oh, but before you go, There's something I need to know." 」

「 "Huh?" 」

「 "That question seemed like something that Roy could've figured out. Did you try asking him?" 」

「 "I mean, yeah. But he ignored me." 」

「 "Is that so…" 」

As she told me that, I glanced over to Roy.

Though, apparently as if sensing my gaze, he threw me a sideways glance before returning to his work.

"Not surprised." I said, mumbling a little out loud.

「 "Anywho, good luck on your test, Dazai." 」

I should be telling you that.

With that said, the link was cut and I returned back to my body.

From there, I continued on with my work before pressing on until the exams had come to an end.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ten minutes was left.

I better hurry up before time is up.

Suddenly though, I noticed a certain someone walking by in the corner of my eye.

Oh, perfect timing.

「 "Hey, Gwein." 」

「 "Dazai? Since when did you learn how to use telepathy?" 」

「 "An old friend taught me. But that's besides the point." 」

「 "Well, what do you want? Shouldn't you be busy working right now?" 」

「 "Yes, but before I do, I need your help with something. So listen up." 」