After breakfast, we headed over to the Zazen dojo. We are exempt from cleaning this morning since the exam will be starting right off the bat. All the 1st year boys are gathered here.

"Now then, let's start the Zazen assessment. Scoring is based on two criteria. Your actions and manners after entering this dojo and any semblance of unrest during Zazen itself. After Zazen, stand by in your assigned classrooms until you are given instructions for the next assessment. I'll call each student out by name and we'll go in that order. Line up and we'll start the assessment in that order. I'll start now. Class A, Katsuragi Kouhei. Class D, Ishizaki Daichi---".

The teacher continues to read out the names. After Katsuragi came Ishizaki, an unexpected order. Chatters came from the students around us.

"Hurry up, Ishizaki. Next. 1st year Class B, Beppu Ryouta".

Bewildered, Ishizaki panickedly heads over to queue up.

"So we're not going by the usual order......".

Keisei panicked and quickly prepared himself. I'll admit this is not what we had imagined. We've performed Zazen over and over throughout this week but we all did so in our own small groups.

We sat next to a group member of our choosing back then but this time around, it looks like the school is randomly allocating us. We'll have to sit next to students who aren't in our comfort zone.

That may seem trivial but right now, when confronted with it out of the blue, that only adds to the list of hurdles. The school's attempt to shake us up had an effect on a portion of the students right away.

A large hand rests itself on the agitated Keisei's shoulder. It's Albert's hand. Having received that concerned warning to keep himself calm, it appears Keisei managed to regain some of his calmness.

"Sorry. If I'm like this on the very first assessment, it'd have an impact on the group's morale".

Keisei didn't think of a leader's burden as being a negative point, but rather a positive one. Afterwards, Keisei's name is called out and he obediently headed into the dojo.

Ultimately, from our group I was called before Albert as second from last. Many teachers stood around inside the dojo holding boards and pens. Furthermore, perhaps to make absolutely certain, there's almost a disproportionate amount of cameras set up inside the dojo.

I've already got the basics of Zazen down in my head so I won't slip up.

Since the scoring system is mostly based on giving out demerits, I'll first make sure to get a perfect score. I've already concluded that there's no reason to hold back in Zazen and so I decided that I'll definitely be getting a perfect score here.

A slight distance away, Kouenji is also performing Zazen. There's not a single mistake to be found in his posture. A truly beautiful posture. He continued to display that perfect, faultless posture.

This man was never once serious during training but I suppose that's to be expected.

We keep our eyes closed during the actual assessment so I wasn't able to see the details but it appears he'll be able to pull it off without any problems.