It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Don’t Let Them Push You Around (1)

“What the……? Why’d you all suddenly stop? Trying to start a game of Mafia or something?”

AngerManagementVodka wondered aloud to his suddenly halted subordinates, fiddling with the handle of the giant axe strapped to his back.

His men, faces pale with terror, immediately began to make excuses.

“N, No, sir……! It’s just…… It suddenly won’t move!”

“We’re pulling with all our might, but it won’t budge!”

“What in the world are you talking about? I swear, for every millimeter I manage to drag this thing, one of you is playing Russian Roulette.”

“H, Hold on, not that……!”

“Get out of my way.”

Shoving his men aside, AngerManagementVodka grabbed the rope himself.

And then…… Heave!

“Hnnnng…!”

AngerManagementVodka’s entire body flushed red as he strained, the rope taut as a bowstring.

However……

Screeeech……

The arliv bound by the rope showed no signs of moving.

《@%^#@&.》

It simply continued to make strange, incomprehensible noises.

[Rage increased by 2.]

[Rage increased by 3.]

[Rage increased by 1.]

“Grrr…… Grrrr……”

Eventually, having achieved nothing but a burning rage, AngerManagementVodka released the rope.

He whipped his head around, glaring at his men, who immediately averted their gazes in fear.

“Damn it. I didn’t want to resort to this.”

Resigned to trying a different approach, AngerManagementVodka…

Clank!

…approached the arliv, wielding the giant axe from his back with both hands.

“Tsk…… The success rate of extracting the core is much higher when it’s alive. Guess I have no choice.”

The arliv’s Crystal Core, far more valuable than even its sap. In the end, AngerManagementVodka decided he had no choice but to dissect it right here, right now.

And then……

“Hmm?”

Bzzzt……

A black aura suddenly began to emanate from the arliv’s trunk.

《@%^#@&.》

The strange sound that had been intermittently audible…

《@%ㅂ@&.》

……now sounded almost like words.

“Hm?”

AngerManagementVodka and his men all strained their ears, trying to make sense of the sound.

《@%Fu*%@&.》

The sound gradually became clearer……

《Sh*t@&.》

《Bi*ch.》

……until its meaning became undeniably clear.

《Motherfu*ker.》

“……??”

“……??”

Just as everyone was stunned into silence by the arliv’s sudden outburst……

Bzzzt!

The black aura that had been steadily seeping out erupted violently!

And then……

《Aholes. Son of a b*h. F*ers. Piece of st. Mother*ers. St. F***!!!》

The arliv began to unleash a torrent of curses.

“W, What the…?!”

“T, That censor combination…… 3 combination 1 plus 3 combination 2 plus 3 combination 3……! W, What in the world is going on?!”

“Damn it! Stop babbling and arm yourselves!”

“Y, Yes, sir!”

(※ Da! (Да!): Yes, sir!)

Fwhoooosh!

In an instant, the black aura solidified into countless tendrils, spreading out like the tentacles of some monstrous creature from the Cthulhu mythos.

“Gah! T, This is……!”

“Eeeeeek?!”

AngerManagementVodka and his men found themselves completely surrounded, with no escape.

And then, the now blackened, corrupted arliv roared at them in fury.

《You goddamn human b@stards who have tormented and oppressed our kind for far too long! Only by killing every last one of you…… will our nature…… will our arliv…… survive!!!》

“Haaaaaaaaaa?!”

In the blink of an eye, the corrupted tendrils surged forward, swallowing AngerManagementVodka and his men whole.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

A week had passed since the first day of the midterms, which had been abuzz with the commotion surrounding the essay question number one in math between Kyung-joon and Yoo Seol-ha.

The scores of the top 50 students in the midterms were posted on the hallway bulletin board.

A place that Kyung-joon had never paid attention to before and just passed by.

” ……. “

But now, Kyung-joon was scanning the bulletin board with his eyes wide open, more than any other student there.

Unlike last semester, when he slowly searched up from 50th place.

Now he can just search from the top.

That’s the level of confidence he felt in this exam.

『1st Place Yoo Seol-ha 99.1 points』

『2nd Place Lee Kyung-joon 93.9 points』

『3rd Place Kim Chul-soo 93.5 points』

『4th Place Park Young-hee 93.3 points』

The results came out as expected.

Almost the same ranking table as last semester.

The only difference is that Kim Chul-soo and Park Young-hee have switched places.

” Tsk. As expected, it was still too much. “

Yoo Seol-ha once again received a perfect score on all but one math question.

Incidentally, the problem she got wrong was the math essay question number one.

It wasn’t that he had heard it directly from Yoo Seol-ha, but that he had heard her protesting as he passed by the hallway next to the faculty room.

Her characteristically quiet but terrifyingly talkative voice leaked out like that of a ghost, so who could just pass by without paying attention?

Thinking back to that time, all the students passing by were gathered in front of the faculty room, eavesdropping on her interview with the math teacher.

━Teacher. You didn’t mark it wrong just because the handwriting was too small to see, did you? I brought the exact same answer I wrote on the answer sheet, so you can check it yourself if you want. If you’re concerned, I’ve even brought the equipment and program here to enlarge the answer sheet for comparison and verification. Please grade it properly with this.

━Teacher. As you can see, my answer sheet is all written in high school content. Yes? You ask why the epsilon-delta definition is high school content? Teacher, look carefully. Of course, this logic is actually the epsilon-delta definition, but the name is not directly mentioned in the answer sheet, and the logic is all proven in the answer sheet. Now, look. It’s well written here in the center of the answer sheet, near (1.69cm, -4.87cm), right?

━Yes? What high school student in the world writes hundreds of lines for a high school math problem? Teacher. I don’t want to say that there is such a high school student here, but. I have to say this. The prejudices that the current Korean Ministry of Education, the government, and our society have set politically or tacitly are not at all in line with the current situation where we must solidify the foundation as a member of a developed country…….

Her lines are still fresh in his memory.

At first, it seemed like she was just talking about the right and wrong of the grading system.

Later, listening to her talk about the educational system that the current Korean Ministry of Education and society have established and her socio-scientific insights into its appropriateness, he couldn’t help but remember this as well.

‘Maybe it’s because her lines were so strong, but I’m sure my memory has gotten a lot better than before.’

There used to be a joke that playing games makes you smarter because you use your head, and Kyung-joon was actually experiencing it.

Of course, Kyung-joon was studying in the game, not playing a real game.

” Damn it! Damn it, damn it, daaaamn it! I lost again this time……! I only beat Park Young-hee! This is a disgrace to my life! A disgrace! “

” You have no idea how much you’re humiliating me right now, do you? “

The Human Calculator, Kim Chul-soo, and Polyglot Park Young-hee.

They were also looking at the grade sheet in the hallway.

Soon, unable to overcome his anger, Kim Chul-soo approached Kyung-joon and shouted.

” Ugh……! Lee Kyung-joon! How in the world did you solve essay question number one, which even Yoo Seol-ha got wrong?! “

” Tsk……. “

At the indignant question of the Human Calculator Kim Chul-soo, Yoo Seol-ha’s pride, who was also checking the grade sheet nearby, was attacked for no reason.

Whether Kim Chul-soo knew it or not, he just kept pestering Kyung-joon with the same question.

” What kind of cram school did you go to?! “

At Kim Chul-soo’s persistent questioning, Kyung-joon decided to just answer honestly because he was annoyed.

” I didn’t go to one. “

” Red Sky? Thinking Math Bull? Or maybe Braipin? Ah! It could be Times Edu! Where is it?! “

” I told you I didn’t go to one. “

” Wait a minute……! It could be private tutoring instead of an academy! Hyunmujin? Sword? Jinsungbum? Or, or maybe Jang Seung-jae or Hyun Seok-won?! Who is it! Tell me too! “

” I said I didn’t go. “

” How can you believe that! You solved a problem that even Yoo Seol-ha, who must have been tutored by the world’s most famous teacher, couldn’t solve without even going to an academy?! “

” Ugh……! “

Once again, Yoo Seol-ha, who was nearby, was attacked for no reason.

Yoo Seol-ha had a lot to say about this, but she held back.

Honestly, she could have easily made it the right answer if she used the backing of the Seolha Group, but she couldn’t accept that herself.

Although she had clearly won in terms of score, Yoo Seol-ha gritted her teeth with the frustration of feeling like she had lost, turned her back, and left.

She was heading to the limousine that would be waiting in front of the school gate.

Seeing that, Kyung-joon also tried to go home.

Kyung-joon turned around in the opposite direction from the way Yoo Seol-ha had gone.

” H, Hey, where are you going! “

” Home. “

” N, No! Don’t go yet! Tell me about the academy before you go! “

“You still haven’t recognized the difference in talent, have you?”

” Graaagh! “

” ……But that’s really amazing. How did I solve it? I’ve never seen that problem in any workbook……. “

Leaving behind the noisy Kim Chul-soo and Park Young-hee, who was looking at Kyung-joon with eyes that said he was something else.

Kyung-joon thought as he walked home.

‘I didn’t think I’d win right away…… but it’s still a shame.’

He didn’t want to say that he lost because he wasn’t feeling well because of the Crazy Coffee Pod.

‘Even though it was a pain in the @ss to solve the problems because of the headache, I was still able to solve the math essay question number one that Yoo Seol-ha couldn’t solve.’

Yoo Seol-ha, whom he thought he could never beat.

He thought she was a glacier deep in the ice that would never break or melt.

But this midterm, he had finally reached the edge of that glacier and left a mark on it.

‘It’s possible.’

He confirmed it this time.

‘It’s not impossible.’

Beating her is not impossible or impossible.

‘I can do it.’

He had seen a glimpse of what he had never been sure of before.

Honestly.

The bet with Chairman Yoo and all that didn’t matter anymore.

He had seen his potential and wanted to test it.

How far can he go?

What exactly are his limits?

And if there is no limit.

He wants to reach it.

He wants to reach and reach the top, and somehow overcome it.

He wants to stand at the edge of success, even for a moment.

‘I can’t be satisfied.’

To be satisfied and complacent here would be to set that as his limit.

He will never set his own limits.

If anyone is to set them, it will be Yoo Seol-ha, Kim Chul-soo, and Park Young-hee.

So he will break the limits they set.

He will break the limits and make everyone’s eyes pop out.

That’s what success is.

” Let’s go study. “

Kyung-joon firmly believed.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Kyung-joon’s study naturally takes place in the virtual reality The World.

The day after the midterms ended, early Saturday morning.

Shwooosh!

Kyung-joon logged into the game to study again.

As expected, the first to greet Kyung-joon was Teemo.

<Greetings, Master.>

” Greetings? “

<It means hello, Master.>

” Ah. “

Kyung-joon immediately understood and looked around.

” Huh……? “

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