A B-Plus Is Not a Passing Grade

That afternoon, ending the day before the next scheduled challenge

Ilsa receives a B+ for her latest defeat, praised for Challenge and Catharsis but marked down for Novelty, leaving her three experience short of the filtration module. When she sees five first-timers paired with Emre Kaya on his seventh attempt, she redesigns the final pool as a full-effort relay that forces every challenger to contribute rather than letting Emre carry them.