Chapter 248

What’s the biggest difference between humans and beasts?

Stamina? Bipedalism? Magic Power? All correct, but the biggest is definitely the brain—aka intelligence.

Humans have developed intelligence far beyond other beasts, covering up for their lack of physical abilities.

Languages are another exclusive trait of humans, allowing us to build countless civilizations based on them.

Sure, Magic Power plays a huge role in putting humans at the top of the food chain, but nothing trumps intelligence.

Taking monsters like Rize and Rod out of the equation, even my skills drop sharply without tools.

The development of tools based on intelligence—especially the invention of the ‘spear’—revolutionized combat.

“Some of you might not get it. You might think using strength is a method too, so why is it a deduction? Some see it as a way to monitor themselves.”

Malboro elaborated on the test content, and honestly, I had the same thought after listening.

Professors seem to be doing everything they can to keep me in check. But hearing him say it, it seems like a different matter altogether.

“I’ll use throwing as a simple example. You can just use strength to throw, but different skills can be applied as well. For instance, if you throw at a 45-degree angle towards the sky, it’ll fly further.”

Listening to that explanation, I grasped the gist—it literally means use your head!

But from my perspective, it feels somewhat unfair. Why should I need to think when I can crush a walnut with my bare hands without a hammer?

“Exactly one week before the final exam, I’ll let you know what topic to prepare. Until then, it’s business as usual, so study hard. Any questions?”

“What if my theory is solid but I mess up in practice?”

One student asked a good question. The gap between theory and practice.

Even if the theory is solid, if practice fails, it’s all meaningless. And if practice goes well but the theory is lacking, questions will arise.

It’s a bit like coding. You wonder why it’s working or why it’s not.

“That’s an excellent question. The reason the weight of theory has increased significantly ties into this—it allows others to carry out the practice for you.”

“Someone else can do the practice?”

“Then essentially, the whole class is doing it, right?”

It’s not just one person; the entire class can test someone else’s theory. It’s truly wonderful fairness.

So much so that even students who had complaints opened their eyes wide in surprise. It’s a perfectly reasonable logic.

“If lacking strength can be compensated with skills, that would be ideal, but unfortunately, it violates fairness. Conversely, using magic would be much better, but some can’t use magic.”

“··· ···”

“As mentioned before, using techniques and tools is allowed. Don’t act dumb and start punching a rock bare-handed; use a hammer.”

Malboro said that while looking right at me. Not just anyone, but exactly me.

He then chuckled and said, as if for me to hear, “In the East, there’s a saying. ‘Hitting a rock with an egg.’ But some think an egg can break a rock.”

I had no words for that. Not only can an egg do it, but you could break a rock even with a bare fist.

It seems the increasing importance of theory stems from such reasons. My mere presence would drastically lower the difficulty.

Moreover, being an academy means they’d obviously present topics close to real practice. This isn’t a facility for scientific research.

“So study hard. Until a week before the exam, ordinary lessons will continue, but I’ll give hints here and there. Well, everyone probably knows roughly what might come up. Any more questions?”

“Can I ask something?”

A pleasant low voice gently seeped in. A very familiar voice.

Turning my head back, I saw Kara raising her hand with that signature sparkly smile.

At first, Malboro flinched every time he raised his hand, but not anymore. Malboro nodded and spoke.

“Go ahead. What’s your question?”

“You said someone else could practice for me, but would there be any point deductions?”

“There would be deductions, but they’re insignificantly minor. Think of it this way: if you directly execute it, you’d receive extra points. And one more thing.”

Malboro looked around the room and, in an emphasizing tone, cautioned the students.

“If more than five people ask one person for practice, all of them will receive a score of zero.”

“··· ···”

“So don’t think too comfortably about it.”

Certainly, what I felt upon joining here is that the professors are incredibly competent.

They’re ensuring maximum fairness, of course, but also doing everything they can to prevent any potential mishaps.

It’s politically complicated, but professors are professors. They’re not to be underestimated.

“Any other questions?”

“Is cooperation impossible? Like working in pairs, each responsible for theory and practice?”

“Impossible.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Wait, are they suggesting I pair with someone? I tried my best to avoid making eye contact with Kara.

She would definitely put forth some outlandish theory.

Forget that; didn’t she once preach communism in this day and age? That’s already a red flag.

“Lastly… it’s worth noting that someone can volunteer to practice in place of you. This can prove that your theory isn’t nonsense.”

“Oh.”

Why does that feel ominous?

I sneaked a glance at the back, where Kara let out a sound that wasn’t quite a cheer.

Her smile was unreadable, leaving me clueless about what plan she was concocting.

I just hope the exam topic is easy. But being in the academy, it must be really tough.

“If there are no questions, I’ll conclude the class here. Make sure to put in the effort.”

After the morning class, we naturally transitioned to the afternoon class. The afternoon class is Autonomous Training.

Originally, we have Autonomous Training every Wednesday, with training given by the trainers, but today Gloria and Kronos aren’t here.

I heard they had some trouble back home, and since both returned at the same time, it seems to be an issue between the two empires.

“Professors really have it tough. They’re dealing with Sivar’s nonsense.”

During a short break, Kara said this. I shifted my gaze to her.

As usual, she wore a tight outfit that highlighted her toned abs. Probably feels cooler since it’s summer.

At the same time, she had beads of sweat glistening from our earlier sparring session. Seeing her from the side accentuated her sharp nose.

“But still, they’re doing their best to maintain fairness. Honestly, I was a bit surprised listening to the rules. I thought, wow, you can maintain fairness like that.”

“I think so too. When they said it would be a zero if you had more than five people asking Sivar to handle their practice, the room went dead quiet, right? I couldn’t believe how absurd that was.”

As Kara said that, she handed me her water bottle. I drank it without thinking.

Naturally, I didn’t touch the mouthpiece since someone else had to drink after all.

“Anyway, this exam seems like it’ll be fun. I don’t know what the topic is, but everyone should do well. Sivar…”

While I was drinking, Kara looked at me. I lifted my eyes in response, as if asking if she had something to say.

That answer made her chuckle, and she placed her hand on my head.

“You really don’t need to worry at all. You won’t even care about the exam, let alone theory or anything.”

Kara casually pet me, her touch filled with kindness and affection.

Just a single pet made me feel my lips curl upward. But since I couldn’t express it outright, I responded with my body.

I shifted my butt towards her, almost asking for more pets.

Kara seemed to appreciate my response, flashing that typical cool smile of hers.

“······But that’s not right. This time, the practice part is quite significant, right? So you should focus on solidifying your theory.”

“Sivar doesn’t care about scores, does he? Right?”

“Yep.”

If I cared about scores, I wouldn’t have racked up this many penalties. Just considering all the property damage is terrifying.

Moreover, we’re not far from the crucial Demon invasion. Exams could slide down the priority list.

“See? Even Sivar agrees. You all need to study hard.”

“··· ···”

As Kara felt triumphant, Grace made a displeased expression. She looked like she wanted to say something.

But Luna, who had been quietly observing until now, seemed to consider things earnestly before striking at the heart of the matter.

“Isn’t it just because you don’t want to study, unnie? You want to play with Sivar?”

“··· ···”

Now Kara had no words left. Luna hit the nail on the head.

Then Grace looked at Kara, as if confirming it, and Kara scratched her head in an awkward response.

“······I’ve been thinking this for a while, but you’re surprisingly sharp, huh? How did you know?”

“I could see right through you.”

“You really are as oblivious as ever.”

“Me?”

Luna tilted her head, showing her confusion. Is she being serious?

Regardless, since her true intentions were out in the open, Kara had no choice but to step back. The attempt to play while others were building theories had come to an end.

“Then Sivar should build a solid theory too.”

“But Sivar has way too many options, right? Whatever he does, it should all be effective.”

“Um…”

Luna’s words attracted Grace and Kara’s attention towards me. I just stood there woodenly.

Then Grace crossed her arms and threw out a question.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“If a huge rock were rolling towards you, what would you do?”

“I’d break it.”

“Nope. It’s a rock that can’t be broken.”

“I’d block it.”

“··· ···”

It was a simple, perhaps even stupid response that came out of my mouth.

But from my perspective, that was the best and most efficient choice. Why would I need to dodge?

“······Now imagine a giant monster attacks. What would you do?”

“I’d break its legs, make it kneel, then climb on top and smash its head.”

“··· ···”

Grace looked speechless, but…

“Oh, I’ve seen that before. When defeating a monkey, I did just that.”

“Really? You did it that way, without any finesse?”

“Yep. Took it down in five seconds.”

“Wow, impressive! Now that I think about it, you did take down Usuk single-handedly.”

“··· ···”

Thanks to Luna’s testimony, Grace looked even more speechless.