Eishi Tsukasa, Isshiki Satoshi, and the others were also a bit strange. Normally, for every final exam, they were used to taking more difficult exams, but what was going on with Satou and the others?
"How strange," Alice Nakiri said curiously, holding a finger to her lips.
"Aren't you the strangest, Alice? Didn't you not get your name called?" Erina Nakiri looked at her speechlessly.
"Can't I just want to watch?!" Alice Nakiri said indignantly.
At this moment, Gin Dojima walked down and said, "As per custom, the Elite Ten will be assigned to a special group for a higher difficulty exam. Now, please group by grade."
"But, isn't Miss Erina the only Elite Ten member in the first year?"
At this moment, Kuga Terunori raised his hand and asked, "Wouldn't that be unfair to her?"
Each of their grades had more than one person, but Erina Nakiri was the only one.
"Therefore, I kept the outstanding students from the first year," Gin Dojima smiled and said, "Besides Satou, the other few are the top four contestants from the Autumn Election, and also the Elite Ten candidates for next year."
Eishi Tsukasa and the others suddenly showed expressions of realization. So, this means the Elite Ten from the third year, the Elite Ten from the second year, and the Elite Ten from the first year will take the exam together?
Since in previous years, the exam locations for each grade were different, and this year they were unusually concentrated in one place, this situation was happening for the first time.
"Then, are the exam contents for our three grades the same?" Hayama Akira, the winner of the Autumn Election, asked.
"You are all Elite Ten, so of course the content is the same," Gin Dojima said with a smile.
"So, does that mean our first year will have to compete directly with the Elite Ten from the second and third years…?" Satou hadn't finished speaking when Erina Nakiri beside him already completed his sentence.
"Compete directly."
Upon hearing this, Tadokoro Megumi's eyes went dark, and she fainted directly.
"Thank you everyone, and Satou, for all your care so far," Tadokoro Megumi said with a smile, delivering her last words.
Satou was also speechless. If the first, second, and third years were grouped into separate teams and given the same exam content, there would certainly be a difference in scores. Was Far Moon intentionally arranging this to make the Elite Ten compete among themselves?
"Um, excuse me, can I also join the first-year team?" At this moment, Alice Nakiri raised her hand and asked.
Gin Dojima was momentarily stunned. It was his first time seeing someone actively pursuing higher difficulty, so he nodded and said, "Since Miss Alice has this intention, it's not a problem. But let me say upfront, if you join this group, the difficulty will be even higher."
"Of course, no problem!" Alice Nakiri said triumphantly.
"Alice, what are you messing around with?" Erina Nakiri was a bit speechless.
"I'm not messing around!" Alice Nakiri made a face, then secretly glanced at Satou.
"Alright, the teams are set. Regular students will be in groups of five, while you will be grouped by grade," Gin Dojima said, "Now, let's begin the next exam."
Everyone nodded, and so the teams were confirmed.
The third-year group had five members: Eishi Tsukasa, Kobayashi Rindo, Nagi-no-ki Touko, Akikubo Momo, and Saito Soumei.
There are four second-year students: Isshiki Satoshi, Kuga Terunori, Nene Kinokuni, and Eizan Etsuya.
There are seven first-year students: Satou, Erina Nakiri, Alice Nakiri, Tadokoro Megumi, Hayama Akira, Ryo, and Yukihira Soma.
Numerically, the first-years are the most, but in terms of strength, they are undoubtedly the weakest.
Although the scores of the three groups are unrelated to the final exam, everyone will surely compare them in secret.
"Even if they are second-year or third-year seniors, what about it? We can still win against them!"
Ryo said with a confident smile.
"That's right."
Hayama Akira nodded, then glanced at Satou and Erina Nakiri.
Although he thought some were just making up the numbers, with these two, they might not be unable to contend with the seniors!
"Great! I'm getting fired up."
Yukihira Soma also felt excited.
Next, Gin Dojima led everyone to the Convenience Store on the first floor of the hotel.
Other students had already started their exam, grouped into fives.
"The content of this exam is to make one dish per person within two hours, using ingredients that can be found in the Convenience Store. The judges will assess the dish and determine how much it can be sold for."
"The standard for first-years is that the total price of five people's dishes exceeds 15,000 Yen; for second-years, it's over 18,000 Yen; and for third-years, it's 20,000 Yen."
Gin Dojima explained to them.
Everyone immediately fell into contemplation. Taking the first-years as an example, it meant that each person's dish had to be valued at least 3,000 Yen, while ordinary dishes in regular restaurants usually only sold for around 1,000 Yen.
This meant using cheap Convenience Store ingredients to create a dish worth three times the price of an ordinary dish?
The difficulty was certainly not ordinary.
"As for your standard."
Gin Dojima turned to look at Satou and the others, saying, "Triple the standard of your respective year."
"As expected... that's the Elite Ten standard."
Megumi's vision went black, and she almost fainted again.
Satou quickly supported her.
"Hehehe, triple the standard? How interesting."
Ryo laughed, then provocatively looked at them and said, "So what if they're the Elite Ten? I can still beat them!"
"Hey kid, do you know who you're talking to?"
A cold light flashed across Eizan Etsuya's glasses, and he said coldly, "Do you think you few who are just making up the numbers can surpass us?"
"Numbers are useless. Even if you add a few more people, you still won't surpass us."
Nene Kinokuni also said with a cold tone.
Hayama Akira also mused. Although their side had nearly twice the number of people as the second-years, if it really came down to cumulative value, they might not necessarily be a match for the other side.
"Then let's begin."
Satou said with a faint smile.
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