Chapter 226: The Test (5)
I couldn’t begin to guess why these issues were so prominently featured here.
…Is this what they meant by some kind of deal?
According to Fin, Harold and William had struck some sort of bargain.
In other words, this test question must have originated from that transaction between them.
Even if it’s part of a deal… why is it here?
If they’d already found the answer, why would they include it in a student’s exam?
And if that’s the case, why didn’t Harold share this solution with William?
Is that bastard William deliberately keeping the door shut even though he knows the answer?
Louis’s mind became tangled.
If they’re using it as a test question, they must already know the answer.
When Louis considered this, the situation wasn’t actually that bad for him.
Good. I was wondering how I could discreetly let him know.
It didn’t matter if Harold found the correct answer. The problem arose when his answer was wrong.
If I write the answers on the test paper, Harold will at least check them once.
If William asked for help from Harold, the answers Louis had written would reach William through him. With this thought, Louis quickly wrote down the answers to the test questions.
Shhhk, shhhk, shhhk…
It took him barely three minutes to write all twenty correct answers. He had answered the first eighteen questions in under a minute each, but the last question took him two minutes.
The last problem had taken him extra time to write down not just the answer, but the detailed solution process as well.
Druk.
Louis stood up and walked forward with his test paper in hand. The eyes of students taking the exam naturally turned toward Louis.
“What?”
“Already?”
Soon, the instructor frowned at Louis standing before him.
“What is this?”
“I’m done.”
”…You’re done?”
“Yes. May I leave now?”
The instructor snorted at Louis’s confidently presented test paper. This reaction wasn’t unique to the instructor; the other students taking the exam shared the same sentiment.
Again?
Already?
During the four-day exam period, Louis had submitted his answer sheet immediately after the test ended each day. This had sparked much chatter among the students.
Still, he’s the top-ranked admit… He must have solved it properly, right?
No matter how smart you are, how could you possibly write and submit answers within a few minutes? He must have guessed or handed in a blank sheet!
Such was the debate surrounding Louis’s actions.
But this time was different.
Even those who had previously assumed he’d solved other exams now harbored doubts.
To complete Harold’s notoriously difficult test - one that most students barely managed to finish even when given the full allotted time - in mere minutes? It defied all reason.
Unfazed by the surrounding scrutiny, Louis maintained his composure.
“May I leave now?”
As Louis thrust his exam paper toward the instructor, the teaching assistant took it and swiftly scanned the pages.
The sheet bore no traces of working, only answers neatly written in the designated boxes. Even the final question contained a slightly longer response, but…
He solved the last problem?
If all the other problems had been left blank except for the answer space of the final question, the instructor might have considered it worth reevaluating. But seeing the answer clearly written there, the instructor was certain.
Tsk, he just scribbled something down.
The instructor waved his hand dismissively.
“Go on. You’d better warm up your hand first. Trying to write all this might dislocate your wrist.”
Louis turned sharply, leaving the examination hall without another word.
As he departed, the instructor clicked his tongue and muttered to himself:
“Tsk. There’s always these types. The ones who think they can compensate for lack of brains with brawn. The idiots who come prepared to compile wrong answers, regardless of their test scores.”
After finishing his mutterings, the instructor glared at the students who were looking his way.
“Are you all so relaxed? If you’re prepared to sacrifice your wrists like that guy earlier, keep your heads up.”
The moment he finished speaking, the students’ eyes snapped back to their test papers.
Scritch… Scritch…
In the soundless space, only the continuous scratching of pen on paper could be heard.
Meanwhile, Louis had left the lecture hall and was now sprawled on his bed.
Ding!
The bell signaling the end of the exam rang, and some time later, the door burst open.
“Ugh…”
Shiba appeared with a strange groan, shuffling his way in. He staggered zombie-like to the bed, his face looking as if his soul had left his body.
Watching Shiba twitch intermittently, Louis clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, did you all die trying to do something impressive? It was just a test.”
“Ugh…”
Shiba slightly turned his head to glance at Louis. The thought he read in Shiba’s eyes made Louis growl.
“Remember, if you dare call me unlucky, I’ll tie you up in your blanket and throw you out the window.”
Having been read through, Shiba’s shoulders shuddered. He slowly averted his gaze.
After lying down for a while to recover his strength, he sat up. Looking at Louis, he asked the question he’d been holding since the written test.
“By the way, Louis.”
“What?”
“Did you really submit a blank paper during the written test?”
Louis snorted. Having ears, he’d heard what others said about him.
With mockery in his voice, Louis replied, “Blank paper? I solved everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yeah.”
“Ugh…”
”…What’s with that unpleasant and utterly disrespectful response?”
“It’s ridiculous. Even if other tests were like that… how could anyone possibly solve that last problem?”
“That’s precisely why you can’t handle it. Why can’t you solve the problem I gave you to solve?”
“But I didn’t ask for that problem!”
”…What nonsense is this?”
“You don’t know? Master Harold’s final problem?”
“What’s that?”
“The sweetest fruit that can only be obtained by those who achieve perfect full marks! That’s Master’s usual motto. He always says the final problem is one students can never solve.”
”…”
“They say the final problems from past exams were all among the world’s seven great mysteries? Or at least problems of equivalent difficulty.”
”…”
“That’s why Professor Harold’s exams actually have a maximum score of 95 points. It’s a really famous story… You really didn’t know?”
”…I didn’t.”
Louis scratched his cheek.
A problem equivalent to one of the world’s seven great mysteries…
He had just come from writing down the correct answer along with a detailed solution process for such a problem.
Did I… do the right thing?
He wondered if he might have gone overboard…
But Louis quickly dismissed these thoughts.
Ah, whatever. Let things take their course.
He’d worry about the consequences later.
Two days later.
Thud-thud-thud…
A hundred Transcendents raced across the plain, kicking up clouds of dust. Had people from another continent witnessed this, they might have feared war had broken out. Yet residents of the Autumn Continent—especially those near Syron—accepted the situation with utter calm.
“Hm? Heh, already this time of year?”
“Same as always.”
Watching a hundred Transcendents running wasn’t special to them. This happened every year around this time.
Thud-thud-thud…
The Transcendents’ carapaces bore the Transcendence Academy’s emblem, making their affiliation obvious. Farmers paused their work to watch the spectacle.
Meanwhile, unlike the farmers, a middle-aged man dressed in travel clothes let out a startled cry at the sudden appearance of the Transcendents.
“W-What? Why are the Transcendents here?!”
His exclamation drew snickering laughter from various directions.
An old man with a walking stick approached the still-shocked middle-aged man.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Y-yes, but what’s going on? Why are the Transcendents gathering like this…?”
“Those? They’re students from the lower classes of the Transcendence Academy.”
“Huh? Students? Why?”
“They’re taking an exam. This is the time when the lower class students of the Transcendence Academy take their practical test. Heh heh.”
“What kind of exam causes such chaos?”
“It’s a joint practical test… Hey, can you see that mountain over there?”
The old man raised his staff.
As the middle-aged man followed the staff’s direction, he spotted a tiny mountain protruding from the edge of the plain.
“Yes, I see it.”
“Starting from Transcendence Academy, you must reach the flag atop that mountain and return to the academy. It’s meant to test mobility, endurance, and efficient distribution of attribute power… or something like that. They say they select the top scorers for this to eventually take the Sambok Test later.”
The middle-aged man was taken aback by this detailed explanation and asked, “Are you perhaps affiliated with Transcendence Academy?”
“Heh heh, affiliated? Anyone who’s lived in these parts for a few years knows this story.”
The old man flashed a mischievous smile as he tilted his head to watch the Transcendent drifting away.
“By the way… these new students this year seem quite skilled, don’t you think?”
”…Can you really tell that, Elder? To me, they all look the same.”
The old man smiled warmly at the traveler’s question.
“I’ve seen this spectacle dozens of times from this spot, boy! Just by watching their running form, I can estimate their skill level! Look there - those five in front. They’re clearly the most skilled in my eyes.”
“Well, isn’t that obvious since they’re leading?”
“Hush! Don’t be ignorant! Being in front doesn’t make them the best! Can’t you see how light and nimble their movements are? While the others are running with brute force, those five are conserving their energy and distributing it wisely!”
”…Is that so?”
Though he couldn’t make sense of it no matter how he looked, the middle-aged man simply nodded and accepted the explanation.
“Haha, let’s see. Those five Transcendents will be passing through here shortly.”
The old man’s confident words piqued the middle-aged man’s curiosity. He settled down on the spot, determined to verify the old man’s claim.
And so, thirty minutes passed.
Thud-thud-thud…
The thunderous footsteps of approaching Transcendents echoed from the distance. Exactly five of them were closing in. The others that had been running alongside them were nowhere to be seen - perhaps the gap between them had grown too wide.
“Huh, is that true?”
I wasn’t sure if those five were the leading group of five, but I suspected they were. That made the old man’s precise prediction all the more remarkable.
Experience truly can’t be underestimated…
The old man who had lived in Syron for decades possessed insight as accurate as any Transcendent authority.
While students were undergoing the semester-end exams known as the “flower of the academic year,” Harold continued his troubled contemplation in his laboratory.
“Mm…” Harold let out a soft groan.
His skin appeared parched, having gone several days without proper sleep. The dark circles under his eyes testified to his physical state, yet Harold stared intently at the blackboard as if forgetting even his exhaustion. To be precise, he was focused on “that problem” William had left written there.
How much time had passed?
“Haaah…” A sigh escaped Harold’s lips.
This is difficult.
At first, he’d thought he could solve it within a few days of research.
However, it didn’t take long for him to realize this was his own arrogance.
“Four dimensions…”
Even increasing the dimension coefficient from one to two dimensions introduced hundreds of variables. But transforming a one-dimensional ritual into four dimensions? The number of derived variables was unimaginable.
“Hmm…”
His temples throbbed from overexertion. Harold looked away from the chalkboard and massaged his stiff neck.
That’s when it happened.
Tap-tap.
“Master, it’s Tom.”
”…Come in.”
Tom was William’s direct first-class Trainee and served as an instructor.
The door opened to reveal Tom bowing respectfully, two thick stacks of paper in his hands.
“I’ve finished grading the written tests and brought them here.”
“Put them over there. I’ll review them later.”
“Yes, sir.”
Following Harold’s order, Tom placed the hundred test papers on the desk. As he turned to leave, he noticed where Harold’s gaze was fixed and paused.
“Is this… the final question from the exam?”
“Correct.”
“How difficult is it supposed to be?”
“How difficult…?” Harold pondered the direct question from his senior trainee before chuckling. “If I can’t solve this problem… the world’s seven great mysteries would become eight.”
”…?!”
Tom’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He’d expected the question to be challenging, but never did he imagine it could rival the world’s greatest unsolved problems.
He shook his head repeatedly before looking at Harold’s haggard face with concern. “Research is important, but I hope you’re taking care of your health too.”
“Don’t worry about me. More importantly, how are the students’ grades?”
“It seems the new entrants this year are quite talented. There are ten students scoring over 80 points, and three of them even got perfect scores.”
”…Perfect scores?”
As Harold’s eyebrow twitched, Tom hastily corrected himself. “Ah, I’m sorry. I meant 95 points.”
“I see… Very well. You’ve worked hard, so go rest.”
“Yes, then may the Master also rest…”
Under Harold’s dismissal order, Tom bowed his head and left the laboratory.
Alone in the laboratory, Harold stared intently at the blackboard once more.
Beside him lay a mountain of students’ exam papers, as if pleading to be reviewed.
Time passed in this manner.
“Sigh…”
Harold exhaled deeply, rubbing his weary eyes. He turned his attention to the exams brought by Tom. If pondering couldn’t yield answers, perhaps a change of perspective would help.
He began flipping through the students’ papers one by one.
Rustle… Rustle…
Tom had neatly organized the exams by score, with the highest scorers’ papers at the top and descending in order.
Harold scanned the exam papers with a satisfied smile.
“Neat and tidy.”
As expected from the Trainee he trusted, Tom’s grading showed no flaws. Still, Harold meticulously reviewed each student’s answers.
How much time had passed? Now only three exam papers remained - the ones Tom had mentioned scoring 95 points.
The first belonged to Brew. The paper was densely filled with problem-solving steps and answers. Seeing the clear evidence of effort, Harold nodded approvingly before turning to the next page.
To his surprise, the following page bore Shiba’s name. While not as detailed as Brew’s, Shiba’s paper also contained complex calculations crammed across the page.
When Harold flipped to the last page after confirming there were no issues with the two students’ answer sheets…
”…?”
For the first time, his eyes widened in surprise.
Unlike the previous two pages, this answer sheet was unnervingly clean.
There was no working process, only the answer written messily in the corner.
Harold checked the name at the top of the sheet.
“Louis? That crazy white-haired guy.”
No matter how many students there were, he couldn’t possibly forget someone so unique.
As Harold recalled Louis’ face, he snorted in amusement.
Then he noticed another difference between Louis’ answer sheet and the previous two.
“Hmm?”
It was the last question.
Until now, the answer space for the final question on every test had remained empty. Yet on Louis’s exam, both the answer and solution process were clearly written.
Instructor Tom had naturally assumed it was wrong, marking it diagonally as an incorrect problem. But when Harold, who needed to check all students’ work, naturally read through Louis’s solution to the last question, he examined it character by character, word by word.
As he verified each step, Harold’s eyes gradually widened.
”…Huh?”
When his gaze reached the final answer space:
“This… this is?!”
He sprang to his feet, astonishment bursting from his lips.
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