It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 188

Chapter 188: The Festival Begins (5)

While Zot was going berserk towards the Scroll Department, finally crossing the line due to the devil’s voice.

Kyung-joon was also in the midst of contemplating whether to cross the line as a human being.

Instead of the devil, he heard Ceram’s voice.

” Kyung-joon-nim, you can’t…… If you drink that, you’ll be giving up your life as an intelligent being……! “

” Ugh. “

Thud.

Kyung-joon puts down his coffee cup on the desk.

He tried to close his eyes and chug it down, but Ceram’s fuss next to him made him fail to give up on being human.

Kyung-joon complains to Ceram with a sullen look.

” Because of you, I missed the opportunity to evolve one step further. “

” ……That’s not evolution, it’s regression, Kyung-joon-nim. “

” It’s because Mr. Ceram didn’t drink it. “

” Cough, cough…… “

Ceram coughs awkwardly and pretends not to know.

Kyung-joon was not going to miss that opportunity.

” Now, close your eyes and chug it down. I’ll give you a chance to evolve. “

” I told you, that’s not evolution, it’s regression….. Ugh?! “

Kyung-joon tries to make him drink it, and Ceram tries not to.

After a long struggle, Kyung-joon finally gave up.

” Huff, huff…… I can’t drink it……! “

” Oh, what a waste. “

Kyung-joon regretfully folds his arms at Ceram’s fierce resistance.

” But someone has to drink this. But I can’t drink it either. “

It wasn’t that Kyung-joon was forcing Ceram to drink the smelly coffee just because he didn’t want to.

Kyung-joon wasn’t the kind of person with double standards.

(※Double standards: If I do it, it’s romance. If someone else does it, it’s an affair.)

Rather, he could drink as many cups as he wanted if it meant studying well.

In fact, he was about to do just that.

So, if there was a reason why he couldn’t drink this crappy coffee……

[Smelly Coffee]

▶This is a smelly coffee brewed with [Coffee beans from the Black Leopard]. No need to explain why it smells bad. If you chug it down, you will suffer from severe insomnia and nausea. It has the effect of making your head feel high~ (high~).

▶Creativity +50%, all other study abilities except creativity -80%. Lasts all day.

▶Item Grade: Low

Although it increases creativity considerably, it has the effect of drastically reducing other study abilities.

Kyung-joon was more wary of this debuff than the smell of coffee.

If he drank that, his study ability would decrease, and he would be at a great disadvantage in studying all day long.

But someone, whether it was Kyung-joon or Ceram, had to drink that smelly coffee.

” I have to drink this and measure it to improve it further…… “

When someone drank the coffee, Kyung-joon had to send out a small amount of mana to observe the progress.

Based on the data obtained from there, he would continue to improve it, and that’s how he was able to successfully re-create the four-color herbal tea before.

Kyung-joon couldn’t drink it because of his studies, and Ceram wouldn’t drink the crappy coffee no matter what……

” Ah. “

At that moment, Ceram came up with an idea, a light bulb shining above his head.

” I know a friend who will drink this crappy coffee deliciously. “

” Oh, who is it? “

” It’s a friend Kyung-joon-nim is already acquainted with. It’s the forest horned rabbit. “

” Aha. “

Come to think of it, he learned it in biology or home economics class before.

Rabbits have a habit of eating their own droppings for nutrient intake.

To be precise, the first droppings are called cecotropes, and they contain essential amino acids and all sorts of excellent nutrients.

” Good idea? Then let’s give this to the forest horned rabbit and brew a new one for Mr. Ceram. The more test subjects, the better. “

” Kyung-joon-nim…… “

Ceram looked at Kyung-joon with pleading eyes.

Kyung-joon was smiling brightly, wondering what the problem was.

Ceram thought he had figured out what kind of person Kyung-joon was after living with him for a while, but he realized that he didn’t know him at all.

‘The Kyung-joon-nim I saw and judged was nothing at all……’

Kyung-joon was a much more extreme person than Ceram had imagined.

Someone who would do anything for studying, research, and experiments, and never back down……

In the end, Ceram gave up and, as someone who had a one-month contract with Kyung-joon, had no choice but to accept his request.

” ……Please at least wash the one I’m going to drink. “

This was Ceram’s minimum requirement for accepting Kyung-joon’s suggestion, or rather, his offer.

” Okay. I needed a new control group anyway. “

Kyung-joon wasn’t a devil, so he readily agreed.

” We need to compare the effects of whether it’s stained with poop or not. “

” I’m not sure if poop has such ingredients…… “

Ceram chuckled in resignation, nitpicking at Kyung-joon’s words.

” Well, you never know, right? In Korea, where I was born, there are groups of people who eat poop soup for breakfast. It’s called the military. “

” Oh my god…… What kind of crazy group would commit such an atrocity……? “

Ceram asked Kyung-joon with a look of utter horror on his face.

” Well, I haven’t been there yet…… “

Wooong.

To Ceram’s question, Kyung-joon muttered his answer as he calmly gathered moisture from the air to wash the coffee beans.

” I’ll let you know when I go later. I might not be able to log in to the game for about two years though. “

Kyung-joon seemed a little sad as he said that.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

” I should have known from the beginning when you were talking about 5x 2x Kyung-joon scrolls, bug fixes, and all that. Am I a fool or what? How can a paper written by an otherworlder be true?! Bullsh|t! “

Zot shouted loudly, pointing at Teclyn.

” So, based on the contents of that ridiculous paper― “

Before he could say anything more.

” Is that right? Are you questioning whether the contents of the paper are true? “

Teclyn interrupted him, her eyes flashing dangerously.

She didn’t even bother to be polite anymore.

She crossed her arms as if amused and asked Zot back.

” To doubt the contents of a master’s thesis that has already been approved by our Fael University, not even a paper from another school, is like saying that there is a problem with the qualifying exams of our department’s professors right now…… You’re saying that’s right, aren’t you? Why else would I hear it that way? Huh? “

Teclyn didn’t try to prove that the contents of the paper were true.

She already knew.

It was much easier to deny something was true than to prove it was.

So, leaving aside the content of the paper, she used the authority of the magic school professor who reviewed and approved it as a weapon.

” Ugh……! “

Zot was cornered by Teclyn’s question.

However, he was also a student of the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy, an elite in the top 0.1%.

He quickly grasped Teclyn’s intentions and immediately attacked from a different angle.

” Ha! Regardless of the professors’ opinions, I just couldn’t understand why you were talking about the future of the Fairy-Elven Alliance and all that based on a paper whose usefulness has not yet been proven, even if it may be true! “

Zot bypasses Teclyn’s professor shield and launches a surprise attack from the side!

He relentlessly targets the fact that even she couldn’t be sure of as a weakness!

” Well. If Arc-en-Ciel is willing to pay 10 billion liyan to scout them, wouldn’t that mean they have a pretty good reputation? “

Teclyn also quickly tries to create a new shield to block the attack, but……

” Get your facts straight! To be precise, it’s a 1 billion liyan scouting offer, and the remaining 9 billion is conditional! “

” ……Ugh. “

The attack, which accurately pointed out the facts, was too logically inadequate to be blocked by a hastily erected shield.

Even a moment’s hesitation in the midst of a war of words was like giving the enemy an opening!

” And you know that a 1 billion liyan scouting offer is more than enough for other departments, right? “

Zot seizes the opportunity and presses his attack!

Teclyn bites her lip but manages to buy some time to think by casually brushing her black hair back.

And she counterattacks without backing down.

” ……Isn’t that for a doctorate? Ezeri was scouted right after her master’s. And even if it’s conditional, the fact that Arc-en-Ciel readily offered 9 billion liyan means they place a high value on it, right? “

” Arc-en-Ciel must be desperate! “

As if he knew she would say that, Zot immediately retorted without a moment’s delay.

” Arc-en-Ciel is a place where they have nothing but money piled up from the scroll patents they’ve cultivated in the past, but there’s no more innovation or development! So they’re trying to do something, anything, and since otherworlders are all the rage these days, they probably scouted her because they thought it was somewhat novel, right? “

” That’s just your speculation…… “

” Of course, this is just speculation, and there must be some value in it! But what do you mean the future of scroll magic, the future of the Fael Alliance, is that all talk? Huh? Is that all talk or what?! “

” …… “

In the end, Teclyn is unable to properly refute Zot’s words and mumbles to herself.

Zot was quite eloquent in his own way.

The surrounding audience also listened to Zot’s words and nodded their heads, thinking it made a lot of sense.

” ……Uh, uh……? Now that I hear Zot, it actually makes sense? “

” ……Hey, hey, did you forget you got paid for this? You have to say no. “

” Ah…… Right. “

Even the Scroll Department’s shills acknowledged it; this was clearly Teclyn’s defeat.

” Hahaha! “

Zot, feeling refreshed by his victory, even crosses his arms and laughs.

” …… “

On the other hand, Teclyn had already unfolded her arms and lowered her hands, having nowhere else to put them.

Her face, as if admitting defeat, is lowered and shadowed by her hair.

” ……Words…… Bullsh|t…… What? ……This ……sh|t? ……Little…… Spoiled…… Trying to die…… Just…… Lowly…… B@stard…… Acting all high and mighty…… Damn…… Otherworlder?…… Fuck…… Parasitic…… How dare you…… “

Teclyn mutters something menacingly with her head bowed.

Her voice was so low that no one around her could hear her properly, but there was no mistaking the chilling feeling it evoked.

Zot flinched slightly and turned his back.

” Let’s go! Ignorance is contagious! “

Feeling exhilarated from winning the battle of logic, he turns his steps towards the Magic Tool Department booth where he should have been in the first place.

” Uh, uh…… Okay. “

Keron, who had been looking back and forth between Zot and Teclyn, also followed behind him.

At that moment.

” latela! sa det! (Earth! His head!) “

Teclyn, who had been muttering to herself, chanted a spell in a voice filled with resentment.

Thump!

” Cough?! “

” Gah?! “

Thud! Thud!

Zot and Keron, both hit in the back of the head by a pillar that rose from the ground, collapse forward in unison.

” …… “

Everyone around them was speechless, their mouths wide open in shock.

In that silence, Teclyn’s refreshed voice rang out brightly.

” I won♬ “

Teclyn was humming happily, her arms crossed as if she was pleased with herself.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Zot and Keron were both sent to the infirmary.

Now that Azuaz, Chatty, and the other students, except for the Scroll Department, had all dispersed.

” This is strange…… “

Edict, now sobered up, was looking up at the sky.

” This is really strange…… It worked fine earlier…… “

The Kyung-joon-style scroll worked perfectly fine until they turned Zot’s hair into an afro.

But unfortunately, the next scroll samples they demonstrated didn’t work properly.

” Senior, are you okay? “

The Scroll Department classmates gathered around their senior, Edict.

Among them, Yaya and Eo-er, who were in charge of the audience, patted Edict’s back and spoke.

” ……Yaya and I did all this, and you’re saying it failed? “

” ……That’s right. Eo-er and I set the stage so well. “

” You’re telling me. Sigh. Why did it fail? Is scroll programming really a dead end? “

Edict was quite depressed.

It was only natural for him to be greatly disappointed since the demonstration he had ambitiously prepared ended in an explosion.

At that moment, Teclyn approached Edict, shaking her head.

” It’s not a failure. At least the scroll worked. “

She said, patting his shoulder.

” If it wasn’t going to work at all, the ignition key wouldn’t have responded in the first place. And it worked fine when we made it in the lab yesterday. It must be because we still don’t know much about scroll programming. “

” You’re right! Okay! “

Edict regains his confidence at Teclyn’s words.

” Yaya! Eo-er! You two, go with the kids who didn’t show up at the booth today, including seniors and juniors, and do some preaching. Make sure to bring them in as Kyung-joon-nim believers. “

He immediately began to do his part as the head of the Scroll Department.

” ……Yaya, since when did we become preachers? “

” Eo-er…… I don’t know. “

Although Yaya and Eo-er said that, they immediately began to select people to go preaching with.

Edict also gave various other instructions regarding the future operation of the festival booth.

Now, the only people left standing around with nothing to do were Teclyn and Edict.

” What should we do? Research again? “

At Teclyn’s question of whether to research scroll programming again, Edict slowly shook his head.

” No. There won’t be much progress if we just blindly research and study in this situation. So. “

Then, Edict declared with a grin.

” We’re bringing Kyung-joon-nim here. “

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• My Two Classmates Just Went Full Anime Fight Club Over… WAIFUS?!
• Guts Needs a Therapist: The Berserk of Mental Health
• Scrolling Through Reddit: “My dog got into the Chinese take-out before I did”
• My Early 20s Emo Profile: A Journey Back to Myspace (And Why It Still Haunts Me)
• The One Thing I Gotta Do Before I Kick the Bucket: A Bucket List For The Rest of Us