episode_0083

The academy professors gathered in the faculty office, grading the first-year students’ exams.

-Scratch, scratch.

Grading together wasn’t necessarily more efficient, but a long time ago, a professor had been caught manipulating a student’s exam for money.

Since then, the professors had taken to grading together like this.

-Scratch, scratch.

“Should we give at least a little bit of credit for this?”

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better not to give any points at all for this?”

“Right? It seems they wrote a lot of miscellaneous things because they knew so little, but it might have been better to just write down only what they knew simply.”

Apart from occasional discussions, only the sounds of grading quietly filled the faculty office.

This quiet faculty office had been noisy once before, just a short while ago.

That was when Clara’s exam paper was being graded.

‘This is truly amazing! How did she even think of something like this?’

‘It’s an answer I, who set the problem, didn’t even anticipate, but it’s brilliant.’

Lucas had gotten all the multiple-choice questions correct as well, but what surprised the professors was Clara’s answers to the open-ended questions.

Her answers were so accurate and professional that the professors even had to verify them with separate reference materials.

“Haaah…………”

Even when the other professors were buzzing after seeing Clara’s open-ended answers earlier, Alicia, who had been sitting and grading without a single movement, let out a sigh for the first time.

When Alicia sighed, some of the surrounding professors flinched.

Alicia didn’t socialize with the other professors, so they didn’t know much about her, but there was one thing they did know.

Alicia was incredibly strong.

Once, a professor had called Alicia’s attitude impertinent, and Alicia had silently slammed that professor into a wall.

So, the professors couldn’t speak casually to Alicia. Except for one person.

Idra, who had been friends with Alicia even before she came to the academy, approached her with a bright smile, regardless of Alicia’s gloomy atmosphere.

“Captain-nim, why are you sighing so deeply? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you sigh like that.”

“Idra, here, it’s ‘Professor’……. Haa, no. Just look at this first.”

Idra received the exam paper Alicia handed her, while rubbing her brow.

Loki’s name was written at the very top of the exam paper.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

Idra, after scanning the exam paper once, held her stomach and cackled as if to make the faculty office shake.

The other professors stopped grading and looked at Idra, who was suddenly cackling.

“Ah, my stomach hurts. Haha! You want to see this?”

Idra handed Loki’s exam paper to another professor nearby.

The other professors also gathered around, wondering what was going on.

“Uh… it looks like all the multiple-choice questions are wrong?”

“….. It seems that way to me too.”

Since they had been continuously grading until just now, they could tell at a glance. Loki hadn’t gotten a single multiple-choice question correct.

“Still, it looks like he wrote something for the open-ended questions?”

All the multiple-choice questions were wrong, but the open-ended answers were written quite extensively.

It was written so densely that one might think he could at least get partial credit for writing so much.

The professors scanned Loki’s open-ended answers.

“………………….”

The professors were speechless after reading Loki’s answers.

The open-ended question asked about the principles and structure of Earth-attribute magic.

Loki answered about the principles and structure of Earth-attribute magic like this:

[When Professor Alicia reads this. You must be in the middle of grading, right? I feel grateful to Professor Alicia, who always works hard for us. In the future, I will………………]

It was quite a touching piece of writing. If only it hadn’t been written on an open-ended answer sheet.

Similar writing was found on other open-ended answer sheets as well.

“Haaah………..”

As Alicia let out a deep sigh, and the other professors watched her cautiously,

Idra, by herself, held her stomach and rolled on the floor, laughing.

“Hahahahaha! Isn’t this just a letter to Captain-nim?”

While Idra was now rolling on the floor laughing, another professor stared intently at Loki’s exam paper.

“By the way, even if he just guessed all the multiple-choice questions, it’s hard to get *all* of them wrong. Could he have purposely gotten them wrong?”

“While they were all miserably off the mark to make one think that, there’s no real need for him to do that, is there?”

“But Loki has the best attitude in class.”

“That’s true. Unlike other students, he’s never once chattered or fallen asleep during class.”

Unlike Alicia’s class, which is 100% practical, other professors teach theory.

When students occasionally chat with others or doze off after lunch, Loki diligently attended class without talking or sleeping.

“Loki is also the student who asks the most questions.”

“Is he like that in your class too, Professor? When I teach, Loki asks the most questions…”

“Um… but if things continue like this, won’t Student Loki be expelled?”

As a professor just mentioned, if grades are too poor, one might be held back a year or even expelled.

“Hmm……….”

Loki’s talent was too valuable to expel him.

From the academy entrance ceremony to his duel with Prince Ropri.

He handled various magic tools freely and also used his unique inherent magic freely during duels.

“There’s still the practical exam left, so let’s just watch for now.”

Midterm exams are evaluated by combining written and practical scores.

It wasn’t that the written exam wasn’t important, but it was also true that the practical exam held a much larger weight.

It was common for rankings to be overturned by the practical exam, but the problem was that Loki currently had 0 points.

*Thump!*

While the other professors were debating what to do, Alicia suddenly stood up.

“I’ll be out for a moment.”

“I don’t even need to ask where you’re… going.”

Idra was about to ask Alicia where she was going, but didn’t.

In Alicia’s hand, as she left, someone’s crumpled exam paper was clutched.

* * *

Loki – [0 points]

Students who were friendly with me, having checked my rank and score, approached me.

I expected to be last, but I never thought I’d get nothing right.

“Loki, did you make a mistake? Or did the professors make a mistake?”

“Hogu, did you forget to write your name?”

Lucas and Sepia didn’t seem to believe that I had gotten 0 points from my own doing.

You know, sometimes in life, you can get 0 points.

When Lucas and Sepia said this, other students nearby started looking at me with pity.

“Oh no. He must have forgotten to write his name.”

“He wears that strange mask, but he always attended class diligently.”

“That’s true. I’ve never seen him chatter or sleep during class.”

“If he had just written his name correctly, how many points would he have gotten?”

“Still, wouldn’t he have done well? It’s so pitiful that he got 0 points just because he couldn’t write his name.”

No, I just got 0 points because all my guesses were wrong.

Before I could tell the truth, other students began offering me comfort.

“Cheer up!”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine if you do well on the practical exam!”

“That’s right, so you don’t have to be too disappointed!”

This makes the little conscience I have left ache terribly.

“Thank you for comforting me! Next time, I won’t make such a mistake and will work hard!”

The “mistake” I spoke of here refers to guessing randomly instead of guessing all on one line.

It’s not exactly a lie.

* * *

I was currently kneeling in a corner of the academy, holding my hands up.

While trying to escape the pressure of the supportive students and wander around, I was caught by Professor Alicia.

“Do you know? For the first time in the academy’s history, someone got 100 points on the written exam. And in the special class, no less.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful news. I checked the bulletin board earlier too!”

“And for the first time in the academy’s history, someone got 0 points. This too, in the special class.”

“Ah, that’s truly sad news. I was in such a hurry earlier that I couldn’t check who came in last.”

*Thump!*

“Ow!”

Professor Alicia gave me a forehead flick. It wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t weak either; it was just the right force.

“I heard from the other professors. They said you listen diligently in class, so why are your scores like that?”

Ah, so that’s why everyone thought I’d do well?

“I did listen diligently. Even if I didn’t understand a single word.”

Honestly, how would I know about magic structures or principles?

And to learn it from scratch, the level currently being taught at the academy was very high.

It’s impossible to ask the professor questions. For example, if a teacher at school was teaching calculus, I couldn’t just ask, ‘How do you do addition?’

Even if I started studying now, it would take at least three years to catch up to the other students’ level.

“Haaah….. The written exam is over, and you absolutely must get first place in the practical exam.”

“Is there a prize for first place?”

Professor Alicia picked up a stone from the ground and clenched her hand.

-Crumble crumble.

The stone crumbled into dust and was blown away by the wind.

“If you don’t get first place, there will be a punishment.”

“I will definitely get first place!!”

Honestly, even if Professor Alicia hadn’t said anything, I had already planned to get first place in the practical exam.

“Professor Alicia, do you know why you shouldn’t cheat on a written exam?”

At my sudden question, Professor Alicia frowned.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say now, but I’ll answer anyway. Cheating goes against the rules.”

“That’s right. Guessing answers on a test isn’t solving them with your own skill, but it’s allowed because it doesn’t go against the rules.”

“So, what’s your point?”

“I’ll show you, Professor, how I use every trick in the book, within the bounds of the rules, to get first place in the practical exam.”

I said dramatically.

“Loki.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t subtly lower your hands; put them back up.”

Hmpf.