The next morning, Aaron got ready to face the very last challenge.
Aaron's Monologue:
"I am not very good at physical education, even though I am physically strong enough to win other competitions. But this time, my team consists of two girls, which is a huge disadvantage since most other groups have two or even three boys. The groups were randomly selected by Miss Crawley, and from what I've heard from Leon, it's very unlikely that Coach Wilder will give any handicap for teams with more girls.
But then again, we're only first-years. It wouldn't make sense for us to compete in extreme sports beyond our capacity. There's a chance the challenge is designed in a way that ensures fairness among all teams. Still, this is just my speculation since this challenge was introduced only this year, meaning there's no past data to analyze. Either way, I have to be prepared.
Looking at our current rankings, my team is in second place with 23 points. Nathaniel's team leads with 28 points, while Caleb's team follows closely behind us with 21 points. The gap between the top three teams and the rest of the class is massive, so the winner will definitely be one of us. The only way for us to secure first place is by winning today's challenge and earning 10 points. If another team wins and Nathaniel doesn't score at all, we might tie at 28 points. But there's no guarantee there will be a tiebreaker, so the safest option is to win outright.
That's easier said than done. I need to ensure my team gives everything today if I want to stay in Section A. At the same time, I have to be careful not to attract too much attention from the 'spotlight students' like Selene and Lucian. Their involvement in our class is suspicious. But then again, why would they try recruiting first-years? We aren't even eligible for the Primary-Student Council until our second year. Whatever internal power struggle is going on between them, it's definitely concerning.
For now, my focus is on winning. No other options exist."
Aaron arrived at school. As he stepped onto the campus, he spotted his teammates, Elara and Sophia, waiting for him.
"Good morning," Elara greeted.
"Morning, Aaron! Ready for the final challenge?" Sophia asked with a grin.
Aaron sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be. But listen, we need to go over the possible outcomes today. We only have one chance to get first place, and it's going to be tough."
He quickly broke down the rankings, the point distributions, and the scenarios where they could win or tie.
Elara crossed her arms. "So, in short, we either win or hope for some crazy miracle where Nathaniel's team gets completely wiped out."
Sophia smirked. "Sounds like fun. What's the challenge, anyway?"
Aaron shook his head. "No clue yet. But since it's being handled by Coach Wilder, it's bound to be intense."
A few minutes later, Miss Crawley entered the classroom with Coach Wilder beside her. The entire room went silent as they sensed the tension in the air. Coach Wilder was a towering, muscular man with an aura of sheer competitiveness. His deep-set eyes scanned the students, making them feel like prey under a predator's gaze.
Miss Crawley cleared her throat. "Today is the final day of the challenges. The one overseeing it will be Coach Wilder. Good luck." Without another word, she left.
Coach Wilder stepped forward, his presence alone making the room feel smaller. He cracked his knuckles before speaking in his deep voice. "Alright, listen up. You've all made it this far, but today will be different. Today's challenge is simple."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"Find my lost engagement ring within the campus."
Silence. Absolute silence. The class stared at him, waiting for the punchline that never came. A full five minutes passed before anyone reacted.
Aaron blinked. "Wait... what?"
Elara and Sophia looked at each other in complete disbelief. Even Nathaniel and Caleb's teams were frozen in shock.
Nathaniel finally spoke up. "Sir… is this the only task? There won't be any other competition?"
Coach Wilder let out a booming laugh. "Yes! That's the only task. See, I'm in big trouble because I lost my engagement ring, and my fiancée is furious! So, congratulations, you all get to help me find it."
A wave of laughter spread through the students. Some groaned, some giggled, but everyone was baffled.
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sir… since there's only one ring, how will the points be distributed? Only one team will be able to find it, so what happens to the others?"
Coach Wilder smirked. "Good question! Since there's only one ring, there will be only one winner. The team that finds it will get all the points distributed to the top three teams 18 points in total."
"WHAT?!" the entire class shouted in unison.
"That means… if a lower-ranked team finds it, they can completely shake up the rankings!" Nathaniel muttered, rubbing his chin.
Coach Wilder grinned. "Exactly. High risk, high reward."
Caleb burst into laughter. "Coach, isn't this cheating? What if you dropped your ring at home and we never find it here?"
Coach Wilder's smirk widened. "Well… that would be unfortunate, wouldn't it? Then everyone would receive zero points!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" someone yelled from the back.
"Absolutely!" Coach Wilder said proudly. "Alright, here's what you need to know! The ring is somewhere on school grounds. You have until the end of the day to find it. You can search however you want teamwork, bribery, trickery, whatever works. You can ask me questions, but I won't give straight answers. Good luck!"
Aaron groaned. "This is ridiculous."
Sophia nudged him. "Ridiculous or not, we're winning this."
Elara smirked. "I have a feeling this is going to be hilarious."
As soon as Coach Wilder walked off, the class erupted.
"This isn't a challenge; it's a prank!"
"How the hell are we supposed to find something he lost?"
"I swear if this thing is in his car, I'm going home."
Nathaniel shook his head. "He's bluffing. He probably hid it somewhere on purpose. We need to think like Coach Wilder."
Caleb scoffed. "What does that even mean? Should we start doing push-ups until we hallucinate the answer?"
Meanwhile, Aaron sighed, looking at his teammates. "Okay… we need a strategy. We can't just run around randomly."
Elara nodded. "We should break down possible locations based on logic."
Sophia groaned. "Logic? You're assuming this guy thinks logically."
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good point."
From the back of the classroom, a student suddenly raised their hand. "Coach! Can we ask where you last saw the ring?"
Coach Wilder grinned. "Of course! It was on my finger!"
"..."
Chaos. Absolute chaos.
Caleb facepalmed. "We're all gonna fail."
Nathaniel's team took a different approach. "Forget logic—let's just cover the entire campus as fast as possible."
And just like that, the most ridiculous, high-stakes game of find-the-ring was underway.