Chapter 150

The academy’s exams, no matter how infamous, were still elementary school exams.

There were exactly seven subjects to be tested. In the magical section, there were ‘Magic Infusion,’ ‘Runes-A,’ ‘Basics of Alchemy,’ and similar to other schools, there were also the national language, math, social studies, and science.

Of course, the first three were overwhelmingly important, and from the second grade onward, all subjects except for magic were graded on a pass or fail basis, so all the students were preoccupied with drawing magic circles.

Currently, the kids in our class each brought a notebook and sat surrounding where Si Hoo and I were sitting.

To avoid interference when sitting, someone even pushed the desks to one side of the class.

“Si Hoo, have you been doing this role since last year? Impressive.”

“What…”

“Okay then. Se Bin, what didn’t you understand?”

“Yeah, this one.”

This was the so-called last-minute push right before midterms.

“It’s about first-order infusion. Those who don’t understand this, come here and listen. I won’t explain the same thing twice later.”

At that, three or four students stood up and sat right next to me.

Sitting higher than the kids in the chair, I began explaining with the textbook in hand.

Even though only the top 25% of students could be in the A class of the academy that admitted academically gifted children, it was naturally not the case that all students could follow the homeroom teacher’s lessons.

If some students were yawning or distracted because they already knew everything, there were also those who blinked rapidly because they didn’t understand a thing.

Nonetheless, all the kids had a strong will to learn, and until last year, Shin Si Hoo had been gathering his classmates to study before exams.

The fact that his efforts weren’t in vain could be seen in the makeup of the current 2nd Grade A class. As many as half of them were from the 1st Grade A class where Si Hoo was.

This year, I decided to help Si Hoo with the kids’ midterm studies.

“Here, the textbook shows the optimal infusion graph all twisted. What happens if Se Bin infuses the same amount of mana into this magic circle?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

“See this protruding part here? That much mana will dissipate. Look closely; the exam question will probably be like this. If such a graph is given, the first thing to do is to draw a straight line here.”

“Okay.”

“But if you just draw it straight like this, there will be too much wasted mana, right? So, we’re going to rotate this line counterclockwise. Like this.”

I held a ruler, assuming it represented the infusion equivalent line, tilting it against the textbook.

“Then it’ll be much cleaner, right? At this point, there might be a question asking about the area of the protruding part, or about the start and end points. To find those…”

Originally, this was a section that required learning functions and linear regression beforehand.

However, here they skipped all of that and jumped straight to applications, making it hard for some kids who lacked concepts to understand.

It would be better if they learned math first and proceeded step by step, but those who created this curriculum seemed to be in such a hurry that they skipped everything and were just cramming the progress of magical studies.

What does it matter if a problem can be solved without knowing functions? Eventually, without understanding anything, they would just move on to the next section.

Why do people always prioritize results?

I could only lament that I could explain this far and no further.

“Phew, that’s roughly done.”

“Namaeya, help with this too!”

Suddenly, Seo Ri, who had joined late, called out loudly while flipping through the runes book.

“Runes?”

“Yeah, I can’t memorize this well.”

“I can’t help you with that…”

“Please! I feel like my head is going to explode!”

Memorization should be done individually.

Seo Ri frowned and sulked, moving around. But it really couldn’t be helped.

Si Hoo seemed to have wrapped up his explanations and stretched, turning his body from side to side.

“Don’t you think about skipping a grade, Shin Si Hoo? This seems too easy for you right now.”

At my question, Si Hoo tilted his head.

“…? I’m going to 4th grade next year.”

“Really? Why didn’t you say so?”

“Did you seriously not apply for grade skipping? It was until last week!”

“Really?”

“Whoa.”

I hadn’t realized that was going on.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t really thinking about skipping anyway.”

Whether learning elementary or high school content, there wasn’t much to gain.

The kids might not get it, but living a life suitable for your age can surprisingly be a good way to live.

After all, you don’t have to come to an academy to learn, and if you’re curious, these days, the internet is easily accessible for finding information by yourself.

Even Professor Cheon, an authority in Korean magical studies, was at home.

“Why? I think you could easily adapt even if you went to middle school now.”

“Middle school?”

I immediately wrapped my arms around Si Hoo’s neck and tightened my grip.

“Do I look like I’d only be at a middle school level? That’s somewhat disappointing.”

“No, the seniors in high school learn really difficult stuff!”

“High school? Just high school?”

“What kind of answer do you want?”

“Hmm? You might want to think about that for yourself.”

It’s truly a regret not being able to use real magic freely.

If it were in my past life, I could’ve shown a hefty fireball in the playground. Of course, with this body, I’d lack mana capacity, so it would be a bit hard.

“Si Hoo, if you skip a grade alone, won’t Yuna be left behind? Isn’t that sad?”

“… It can’t be helped; my mom is telling me to graduate elementary school quickly.”

“Hang in there! Usually, first loves don’t come true.”

“Oh, please! Don’t say that!”

His flustered expression was kind of cute. I felt like I shouldn’t tease him more and decided to wrap up with words of encouragement for the upcoming midterms.

“Anyway, good luck on the exams.”

“Oh right, NoName, you too…”

Why are you staring like that? Why does Si Hoo hate me so much?

I called Yuna, who was diligently memorizing runes, twisting her chair around.

“Yuna, Si Hoo says good luck on your exam.”

“Huh? Me…?”

“Hey, when did I! I never said that!”

“Never said? Then did you wish Yuna wouldn’t do well on her exam?”

“No, that’s…!”

“Then everyone, let’s cheer each other on!”

* * *

The participant reveal for the Tagaekdae is on May 17th, Wednesday.

With about three weeks left, I needed to familiarize myself with the rules of Wooroa to some extent.

After story mode, just seeing the letters of Wooroa made my head throb, so I hadn’t turned on the game or done any broadcasts. I played a bit of LoL, though.

If I hadn’t even posted news on T-Getter, I might have ended up having people raid my house using all sorts of tricks, just as Sia said.

[Private Room]

“Hello Adella, what have you been up to?”

“Uhehe. Hehe. Oh, hi! Did you do well on the exam?”

As soon as I entered the private room, the first thing I saw was a cat scratching its thigh, clinging tightly to the bed.

“What are you watching?”

“A web drama! Just in time for the kissing scene, oh, you shouldn’t watch it! You said you were seven!”

“I’m not really interested.”

“Does your playlist only have documentaries? I can’t understand why you’re watching things like Fermat’s Last Theorem…”

“It’s interesting!”

Isn’t adapting too quickly a bit over the top?

After saving her from a life-threatening situation, Adella had now completely evolved into a respectable NEET, perfectly consuming in-game currency.

“Why did you change the interior again?”

“The room was too dull! I like bright things, especially yellow and pink!”

“But it’s my money.”

“Hey, I know you’re rich now, right? I saw it all on V-Tube. Whoa…! Yes, yes! I can’t handle the lip smacking, ahh!”

How is this artificial intelligence when it’s clearly human?

Human adaptability is frightening. I need to get her to do something productive quickly; otherwise, it would only take a moment for her to become a useless person.

Today, I didn’t log into the virtual reality with the goal of nagging her.

“I’m about to start streaming, is that okay?”

“Oh now? Uh, it’s fine, go ahead.”

“What do you mean it’s fine? Who told you to toss your underwear on the floor?”

“Ah! When did this fall here!”

Although it was a space that had expanded from three pyeong to ten, with one more family member, it didn’t seem as empty.

It felt better because there was a human scent, but… I’m not quite sure.

[Starting the stream: 0:00:01 – NoName]

[World of Arseria – Placement]

[Streaming time – 0:00:01]

[Viewers – 1]

Today, instead of playing a song, I waited for the viewers to come.

Instead, I took out a whiteboard that I was now accustomed to from my inventory and wrote a formula in front of the camera.

[x! + 1 = y^2]

This was a formula I had stumbled upon on V-Tube, and it seemed like a suitable brain teaser before the game.

The viewers who entered without a stream announcement were certainly slower, but their enthusiasm was still as strong as before.

-How many days was the stream on break!

-I’ve missed youㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Extreme name! Super extreme name! Gigantamax name!

-Please do a daily broadcast, we’ll give you lots of money!

-Middle school challenge! Middle school challenge! Middle school challenge! Middle school challenge!

-Is this kid a challenger? They’re still unranked, right?

└ I heard they were playing Legacy of Legends during the break, not Woora.

└ Why on earth?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhy are you playing LoL instead of Woora?

-I don’t need communication, just turn on the stream when you’re gaming, please!!!!!

“Hey everyone, long time no see, right?”

“Yay! I’m happy to see you all.”

In line with your greeting, Adella’s enchanting voice followed. She raised one hand casually to greet while keeping her gaze fixed on the screen.

-Long time no see, teacher!

-I thought I was going to die missing you!^^

-Only Adella can do this!

-Wow, yay!

-Adella, dolphin pants!

-This is the broadcast, and this is Yasuj!

-What’s so funny?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Seriously, your posture screams veteran NEET!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Suddenly, what’s with the math problem? Are you giving a lecture today, teacher?

└ A middle school girl giving a lecture ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ

-Why are there so many foreign viewers here~ 30%?

└ I’m not a foreigner.

└ Me neither and I also like kimchi.

└ Sorry, actually, I’m from Ukraine~

└ hahahahaha

“Would you all like to try solving it too? The answer is easy.”

-44444444

-They’re all integers?

-Indeed x is 4, right?

-x could also be 5, and y could be 11?

└ Fast mental calculation ㄷㄷ

“How many answers are there?”

“As a reference, x can be 4, 5, or 7.”

-Oh, spoiler!

-Kyubee!

-Oh, 7 works too.

-Then that’s it, right?

-What’s going on?

-What’s that symbol?

“It’s not about the integer solutions; it’s a problem asking to prove that there are no other integer solutions besides those three.”

-Profound number theory.

-It doesn’t seem that hard.

-Can NoName prove this?

-A middle schooler knows about number theory? ㄷㄷ impressive.

└ As long as you deal with integers, it’s all number theory;;

-But why are there more letters than numbers, teacher…?

[Streaming time – 0:10:19]

[Viewers – 1803]

“Hmm… This is taking longer than I thought.”

Even though I filled up the board, it still felt like I wasn’t halfway done.

The drawing in my head was clearly simple.

“I guess I’ll have to divide it into two cases.”

I wiped the entire board clean, and with a black marker, I began painting on a fresh white canvas.

“Define coprime integers A, B, and C that are not zero, and if we split them this way. Aha.”

Since it was all done by hand, it took a bit longer than writing magic circles, but from there on, it flowed smoothly.

I would just need to transfer the completed calculations directly.

[Streaming time – 0:19:37]

[Viewers – 4913]

“With this, we solved the problem without using Stirling’s approximation, right? Indeed, there were no solutions besides 4, 5, and 7.”

[‘Achnim is Good’ donated 10,000 won!]

-Teacher, please get back to gaming quickly! I feel like I’m going to explode from waiting yooooooooooooo

“Actually, I was planning to start ranked games today. I just had to check the placement.”

Five matches in the placement to gauge the tier.

My exam was just about to begin.