Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

"Attention, Squad 11-D."

Miss Heaven’s cold, ominous voice echoed through the base.

The room fell silent.

Every pair of eyes turned toward the transmitter.

Surprised.

Wary.

It was barely eight in the morning.

Whatever had prompted an announcement this early couldn’t possibly be good.

Soraya stood closest to the transmitter.

Her posture was perfectly straight. Her expression was equally serious, bracing herself for the worst.

"As you all know," Miss Heaven continued, fully aware of her effect as always, "At every Trial, each class is given the opportunity to earn up to one hundred points. Whatever total points your class earns will be allocated equally to every member."

Quite a few expressions shifted.

The points. They were finally revealing the scoring system. On the very last day.

"There are five days in total." Miss Heaven continued. "Attendance is worth ten points each day. Successfully clocking in and clocking out earns your class the full ten points."

She paused briefly.

"Meaning, every member’s attendance is worth zero point five."

The room remained silent.

"Over the course of five days, attendance alone accounts for fifty points."

She didn’t stop there.

"That is if, and only if, every member clocks both in and out."

The atmosphere became noticeably heavier. No one dared breathe too loudly.

"Attendance performance. Day one. Twenty members clocked in."

A pause.

"Only ten clocked out by seventeen hundred."

Another pause.

"Five points."

Sharp winces echoed across the room. Nobody had forgotten the first day. And they wouldn’t for a while.

"Day two. Twenty members clocked in. Nineteen clocked out." Miss Heaven’s tone remained as flat as ever.

All heads automatically turned toward Yesu.

"Nine point five points."

A few students quietly let out the breaths they had been holding.

"Day three. Twenty members clocked in. Nineteen clocked out. Also nine point five points."

Quiet murmurs began spreading through the room.

That wasn’t fair.

Finch had been injured. How was that the squad’s fault?

"Day four."

Miss Heaven’s voice instantly silenced every whisper.

"Nineteen members clocked in. Fifteen clocked out. Seven point five points."

The frustration across the room became obvious.

Miss Heaven sounded even more displeased.

"For day five, you will only be scored for clocking in. There will be no need to clock out afterwards."

She continued without pause.

"Assuming all nineteen present members successfully clock in, you will earn another nine point five points."

Silence swallowed the room.

"Based on this, your total attendance score..."

Everyone waited.

Miss Heaven seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"...is forty-one points."

A few faces visibly brightened.

"Forty-one out of fifty..." Reggie muttered quietly. "That’s actually not that bad."

Miss Heaven wasted no time crushing all hope. Full displeasure. No sugar coating whatsoever.

"Not a completely disgraceful score."

A pause.

"Although I wish I could say the same about your Directive performance."

Several mouths slowly fell open.

"Which is absolutely nothing to write home about. So I’ll simply proceed to the results."

No one looked particularly eager for what was coming next.

"As attendance is worth ten points per day, so is Directive performance. Giving a total possible score of one hundred points."

Another pause.

"And keep in mind. Points may also be deducted if any of the rules issued upon arrival were violated."

Confused glances spread throughout the room.

Miss Heaven continued.

"Directive performance. Day one. Acquisition. Each Scale relic is worth one point. You acquired five. Those five were not officially registered until day two after your successful claim of Vault Three."

She continued calmly.

"Five points for the relics. Ten points for securing your designated vault."

A few smiles surfaced in remembrance of the unexpected victory.

"Total. Fifteen points."

Several students relaxed.

"But..."

Miss Heaven’s voice cut straight through the relief.

"You violated one of the Trial rules."

The room stiffened again.

"No squad member gets left behind."

Almost everyone immediately remembered Mr. Ryco’s warning.

"If any member is left behind or goes ’missing’, points will be deducted."

Miss Heaven’s sharp voice continued. "You returned to base without one of your members."

Once again, every head turned toward Yesu.

"And so," Miss Heaven concluded. "Half the points were deducted."

The base exploded.

"What?!"

"No way!"

"Seriously?"

"Meaning," Miss Heaven continued. "You earned seven point five points."

Groans erupted from every direction.

Soraya’s jaw tightened. Her fists slowly clenched.

Miss Heaven continued as though she hadn’t heard a thing.

"Day three. You successfully acquired another five Scale relics. Five points."

A pause.

"You once again returned without one of your members."

Every protest immediately started again.

"Finch got injured by that senior!"

"That wasn’t our fault!"

"Why are we the ones taking the punishment?"

"Half the points were deducted." Miss Heaven continued. "You earned two point five points."

"This is ridiculous." Reggie burst out.

Farida quietly elbowed him.

Carrots glanced at them.

"Day four." Miss Heaven almost snorted. "Not only had your squad failed the Directive, you lost four members to the opposing squad."

A few sighs came from different parts of the room.

"Directive score. Zero."

The squad was downcast.

But she wasn’t finished.

"And considering the fact you returned to base before going to retrieve those captured members..."

The room erupted louder than before.

"Oh, come on!"

"That’s impossible!"

"This is so unfair!"

Miss Heaven went on, like she was relishing the moment.

"Four additional points were deducted from your accumulated Directive score."

She paused.

"For Directive performance, you currently have six points."

Silence gradually returned.

"Therefore, the total aggregate for the first four days..." Miss Heaven finally declared. "...is forty-seven points."

Forty-seven points.

After all the pain. After all the effort.

The base went completely quiet.

Outside, the wind began to howl through the trees, carrying a chill into the room.

For several long seconds, no one spoke.

It almost felt as though the transmission had ended.

Then Miss Heaven’s voice returned.

"Now, the Directive for Day Five."

No one straightened. No one looked particularly interested anymore.

As far as they were concerned, they had already lost.

"Extraction."

A few students glanced toward the transmitter.

"All collected relics must be transported to designated extraction points."

Confused looks spread through the room.

"Classes will physically move their entire relic stockpile across the Trial grounds."

A brief pause.

"And unlike previous days, there are no restrictions. No jurisdictions."

The room stiffened.

No boundaries.

That meant they could encounter any class.

Anywhere.

At any time.

The atmosphere shifted almost instantly. Everyone knew what that meant.

A class could spend four days gathering relics only to lose everything in the final few hours.

Squad 11-D only had five Scales.

Not much to lose.

But still...

"The Directive begins the moment this transmission ends."

Once again, the class could feel her cruel smirk through the line.

"Good luck."

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