Siss's smug smile froze on his face. He stared at the neat answers on the exam paper in disbelief.
【Given the boundary conditions of the spiritual sea, when the magic flux approaches the critical value, the instantaneous mapping relationship of the soul barrier must satisfy...】
The derivation was correct.
【Considering the secondary interference caused by free environmental elements on the reality anchoring stage, the original equation can be corrected to...】
The correction was correct.
【In summary, the closed-loop error of the three-stage transformation is always smaller than the allowable threshold, thereby satisfying the self-consistency condition under a non-steady-state environment.】
Even the conclusion was as standard as it could get.
No, it was just a coincidence. Perhaps he just happened to have studied this particular area.
Not a bad stroke of luck, freshman. To be able to solve this problem, I, Siss, must admit you have some skill!
While he was still busy making excuses for himself, the boy in front of him had already scribbled down the answer to the second question.
Under his disbelieving gaze, the still-perfect answer was incredibly glaring.
The bizarre sight of a proctor standing next to a student for so long quickly caught the attention of some of the examinees. Since they were already at their wits' end and completely clueless, they simply used their peripheral vision to secretly watch the drama unfold.
‘Is that guy writing so furiously... cheating? He knows what he's doing!’
‘Huh? Isn't that the young master of the Reinhardt family?’
‘To think a "666" could be such a monstrous academic tryhard.’
Thoughts of doubt or grief and indignation were rapidly exchanged through their eyes.
...
Siss was already sweating profusely.
Question three, correct. Question four, correct. Question five... still correct!
Lynn still didn't look up.
His quill glided rapidly across the paper, complex formulas and derivations flowing as naturally as a spring. It was as if what lay before him wasn't Siss's painstaking masterpiece, but merely an introductory exercise booklet sold at a street stall.
As the minutes ticked away under Siss's intense gaze, Lynn finally stopped his pen at the very last question.
Did he finally hit a wall?!
Siss's eyes lit up, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
He knew it!
Even if this kid's theoretical foundation was solid, there was no way he could finish the entire paper! The last question was Siss's proudest masterpiece, involving magic power models from three different schools of thought, two of which were actually contradictory.
Let alone a freshman, even the top graduates of previous years would have to sit down and work on it for at least half an hour!
At this thought, the corners of his mouth finally curled up again. He leaned down, a hint of irrepressible pleasure in his tone.
“My dear student, when you encounter a question you don't know how to answer, you still need to think more—”
The blonde boy looked up and gave him a puzzled glance.
“Don't know how?”
“No, no, no...” Lynn shook his head and pointed at a condition in the question's premise. “It's just that this question has an error.”
“There is naturally no need to answer a flawed question. That's all, Teacher.”
He glanced at the clock, which had barely ticked past fifteen minutes.
“I'm turning in my paper.”
...
Flawed?
How could that be! That was a devilish question he had pulled four all-nighters to write!
Siss felt his authority as a gold-star teacher being challenged. He instinctively wanted to argue back.
But when he met those unquestionable golden eyes, his body chose to submit before his mind could even process it.
He lowered his head and re-examined the question's premise, following where Lynn had pointed.
The magic power model of the third school of thought required the spiritual sea to be in an absolutely stable state as a prerequisite, but the environmental conditions given in the question would cause the spiritual sea to undergo periodic oscillations.
The two conditions conflicted with each other. If one forced them into the equation, let alone getting an answer, even the most basic conservation of magic power wouldn't hold up in the end.
...It really was flawed.
This question was something he had hastily modified the night before.
To make it look sufficiently complex, he had deliberately stitched together the classic models of three different schools, but happened to overlook the most inconspicuous boundary condition.
A minor mistake that not even he, the creator of the test, nor the review committee had noticed, was actually found by a newly enrolled freshman in less than fifteen minutes?
“Wait—”
Siss snapped his head up, but the space in front of him was already empty.
The blonde boy, holding his exam paper, was walking toward the podium with calm, leisurely steps.
...
【Emotion Points +40】
Lynn didn't care about the storm raging in the mind of the background-character teacher behind him. After harvesting a wave of Emotion Points as usual, he clicked his tongue in wonder.
‘As expected of the Sacred Capital Magic Academy. Even an inconspicuous teacher can yield 40 Emotion Points in one go...’
...This has to be at least a blue-tier card, right?
But...
‘Since I've started harvesting Emotion Points, I might as well do it thoroughly~’
In a corner where no one was paying attention, he revealed a sinister smile.
And so, while the examinees were secretly watching this scene out of the corners of their eyes, that man suddenly ‘casually’ stretched his back.
A corner of his completely filled-out exam paper was exposed, ‘accidentally’ allowing the surrounding examinees to catch a fleeting glimpse.
They looked at the boy walking leisurely toward the podium, then glanced at their own scratch paper, which was covered in scribbles and still stuck on the first question.
“...”
【Emotion Points +6】【Emotion Points +10】【Emotion Points +15】...
Listening to the prompts ringing in his mind, Lynn's steps became even lighter.
‘Who on earth said that knowledge can't be immediately monetized?’
But as he reached the first row, he suddenly slowed down.
‘Finally, finally—’
‘I've been waiting for this moment—Irene!’
In the front row of the exam hall, a white-haired dumpling was chewing on her pen, deep in thought.
The girl held her quill, its tip hovering over the exam paper, unable to bring it down for a long time.
Her round little face was puffed up like an angry pufferfish. Even the silver-white ahoge on her head was spinning like a hula hoop.
Lynn glanced at her struggling answer sheet and barely managed to hold back a burst of laughter.
The snow-white paper was clean and neat, with a single, beautifully written word under the question premise:
【Solution】
Perhaps Lynn's pitiful gaze was too piercing. Irene finally noticed it and blankly raised her small head.
L... Lynn?
Why is he standing here? C-Could it be that he gave up because the questions were too hard?
And then, those beautiful sapphire eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of the corner of Lynn's ‘casually’ exposed, completely filled-out exam paper.
W-What?!
The girl's eyes widened in disbelief, and her brilliant Eyes of Insight automatically activated.
From the boy's gentle gaze, Irene successfully read:
Three parts classmate concern, six parts fatherly helplessness toward a silly daughter, and ninety-one parts...
...sheer pity from an academic genius to a slacker.
Those sapphire eyes gradually dimmed, finally losing their focus.
It hurts! It hurts so much!
Lynn... why did you betray me!
Did you forget everything about our slacker alliance?
Imagine this! You and your best friend are chatting and laughing merrily in front of the exam hall, having a great conversation.
‘How do you think you'll do?’
‘Stop joking, don't you know my level by now?’
‘Sigh, I haven't opened a textbook in ages...’
‘Tell me about it!’
After smiling at each other, you both walk into the exam hall with a sense of tragic resolve. And then, you find out—
This bastard was secretly studying his ass off every night behind your back, and he knows how to answer every single damn question!
...
Having experienced her first betrayal by a humanoid creature, little Irene felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
In her blurry vision, the handsome boy smiled gently. Without saying a word, he merely gave her a polite gesture of encouragement before walking away lightheartedly.
【Emotion Points +300】
Having just arrived at the academy for a single day, the Irene—which had thought it found a kindred spirit—was brutally sunk!
...
At the podium, another instructor responsible for collecting the papers frowned slightly as they looked at Lynn, who had appeared early.
“There's still more than an hour left before the exam ends. Are you sure you want to turn it in?”
“I'm sure.”
“Once you hand it in, you cannot return, nor can you modify your answers.”
“No problem.”
Lynn placed the exam paper on the desk. The instructor originally wanted to advise him further, but after their eyes swept across the paper, their voice came to an abrupt halt.
The entire exam paper had neat handwriting and complete derivations. Except for the last question, which was left blank, there were almost no traces of corrections anywhere.
“Why didn't you write anything for the last question?” they couldn't help but ask.
“...I don't have the habit of wasting my time on flawed questions.”
The stunned instructor looked up, casting a probing glance at the veteran Professor Siss. They saw the veteran professor looking solemn, gritting his teeth as he gave a firm nod.
Watching that carefree figure stride out of the exam hall, even the instructor—who had seen many ups and downs, worked incredibly hard to stand out from countless peers, and barely managed to climb to the position of a lecturer—couldn't help but sigh softly in admiration.
“What a dazzling talent...”
...
Irene stared at the closed door. She puffed out her cheeks, bit her lip, and looked back at the question in front of her.
【Given that fire elements...】
This question is too mean! Let me glare it to death!
Unfortunately, even after she stared so hard that her eyes began to grow dry, her empty mind still failed to provide any response.
‘Ugh~ Pandora is asleep right now too...’
Curse him, curse him, curse him! That bad guy!
“To tell you the truth, I feel the same way~ After all... I've never been good at these theoretical subjects...”
Recalling the boy's gentle smile and those words that seemed so sincere as if they came from the bottom of his heart, Irene felt a surge of anger.
Pandora, you were right!
The nobles in the big city really lie without even blinking!
She chewed on her pen, her mind drifting. In a daze, she wrote a line of text on her exam paper.
【Answer: I hate Lynn von Reinhardt, hate him, hate him!!!】
After writing it, the girl froze for two seconds. Then, in a panic, she began to erase it.
Unfortunately, this scene did not escape the eyes of the patrolling proctor, Siss.
Having just had his worldview shattered, he was looking for a way to vent his frustration. His sharp, hawkish eyes suddenly narrowed.
After scanning the silly white-haired dumpling up and down, he came to a conclusion.
Oh~ Isn't this my favorite kind of foolish freshman whose IQ is lower than an adult tusked wild boar?
Look at that clear yet utterly foolish gaze!
He adjusted his glasses and flashed a cruel smile.
“You there, white-haired... ahem, white-haired student. During the exam, you are not allowed to write anything unrelated to the questions in the answering area.”
Irene's body instantly froze.
Sensing the amused gazes of the surrounding examinees, the girl's face turned as red as a ripe apple at a speed visible to the eye, with wisps of steam diffusing from her spinning ahoge.
“Ugh...”
Meanwhile, Lynn, who had already walked out of the exam hall, suddenly paused.
【Emotion Points +100】
What's going on? She's still yielding points even after I've left?
As expected of the overpowered female protagonist I've been dreaming of.
She even includes after-sales service!
Rate on N.U.
