It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 37

Chapter 37: There’s No Such Thing as Useless Study (1)

After obtaining the book, he acted quickly.

First, Sever’s corpse.

He couldn’t take it with him in that rotting state, so he decided to cremate it.”

He used Energy Bolt and Spell Modification to burn it to ashes with high energy.

He wanted to experience all sorts of things in this game.

He found an intact experiment container nearby, carefully placed the bone fragments inside, and went to Siri.

He showed her the research journal and explained everything that had happened.

Siri’s reaction was indifferent.

Her extremely calm tone when he first asked her for a quest somehow felt predictable.

“As expected…… So that’s what happened to my father.”

“Yes, this was all he could recover.”

He handed Siri her father’s belongings.

The quest items 『Venom Grimoire』 and 『Sever’s Research Journal』 were among them.

He also handed her the basket containing her father’s remains.

“……That damn b@stard.”

“E, Excuse me……?”

Her words towards her father were quite harsh.

Siri seemed like a fiery daughter.

“He was always like this. Ever since I was young. Always researching, experimenting, researching, experimenting…… Before, he ruined an entire building, and this time, he just…… An entire village…… If only he were still alive…… Really……. “

Siri turned her head for a moment and wiped away her tears.

As her long sleeves shifted, he saw the skin underneath.

Horrific burns.

He had seen burns like that once on the internet.

Burns not from ordinary fire, but from chemicals.

To be precise, it must have been sulfuric acid.

It made sense why she was still wearing long sleeves in this heat.

“I’m sorry, and thank you.”

Siri, having collected herself, thanked Kyung-joon and gave him the reward.

[You have acquired the Unique Item 『Venom Grimoire』.]

“Are you sure it’s okay to give this to me, even though your father dedicated his life to this research?”

“I don’t really understand it even if I look at it. I learned some magic from my father, but I’m a beginner.”

She was obviously lying.

She must have been to the Unique Dungeon ‘Contaminated Underground Villa’ countless times.

The burns hidden under her long sleeves are proof.

It’s obvious she’s challenged it countless times.

To save her father, and to clean up the mess her father made.

But she couldn’t save him with her own strength.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to use it more effectively. You won’t fail like my father, right?”

“Fail……”

The two things her father had been researching until he ended up like this.

『Venom Grimoire』 and 『Mana Battery』.

Those two were definitely failures.

Because research on the two soon created a monstrous sulfuric acid creature, and it almost killed countless people.

No matter who looked at it, this was clearly a failure.

Nevertheless, Kyung-joon said to her,

“I guarantee it. Your father never failed.”

“What?”

Kyung-joon had taken a brief look before coming out of the Underground Villa.

What exactly was the research that Sever had dedicated his life to?

Venom Grimoire.

He hadn’t read it properly yet, but he could feel it right away.

This book contains tremendous value.

Not just because the Unique Magic that can be learned from it is very powerful.

It contained precious knowledge that could not be found anywhere else.

The perspective of a wizard who knows nothing about science on science.

The process of trying to understand and analyze it magically.

Every single process meant the fusion of magic and science.

A whole new horizon never found in real-world science or world magic.

Sever was the first to think of it, and the first to do it.

Although the ending may have been tragic, what he left behind was by no means tragic.

“And this. Your father made it.”

Kyung-joon took out 『Malfunctioning Mana Battery』 from his inventory.

Crackle, crackle.

The mana constantly discharging stung his hand holding it.

Soon, Siri, who checked the status window of the mana battery, opened her eyes wide.

“My father made this……?”

“Yes. It’s malfunctioning, but it’s still this powerful.”

“A, A permanent mana device…… There’s no way such a thing is possible…… According to the Second Law of Fire Magic, it should be impossible to create infinite mana……”

The Second Law of Fire Magic.

Kyung-joon had also seen it mentioned briefly when he was studying basic magic theory.

『A device that generates infinite mana cannot exist.』

It was an obvious reason.

If it were possible, it would be no different from a god who creates something out of nothing.

However……

“What everyone thought was impossible, your father achieved it.”

The effect of the mana battery, ‘Mana Overflow’.

Its essence lies in continuously generating mana.

What all wizards had claimed to be impossible, Sever had accomplished.

He made the impossible possible.

He created something out of nothing.

Sever never failed.

“I haven’t looked into it properly, so I don’t know for sure yet, but it says so at the end of Venom Grimoire.”

『It is said that there is something called a ‘secondary battery’ in another world called Earth. Among the many secondary batteries, the lead-acid battery is quite revolutionary. Sulfuric acid, which is no different from poison, and lead, a mineral that is only soft and useless. Using these two, the people of another world generate lightning, store it freely, and extract it whenever they want.』

『Applying this to existing magic theory leads to unbelievable results. With the addition of a whole new variable called ‘science’, the ‘permanent mana device’, which was thought to be impossible, becomes possible.』

Siri finally couldn’t hold back her tears and burst into tears in front of Kyung-joon.

“Sob, sob……”

He was a truly foolish father.

As a head of the family, he was no different from a complete failure.

But as a wizard and a researcher, her father must have been greater than anyone else.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

[You have saved the Beginner’s Village from the threat of destruction.]

[From now on, NPC Siri will inform the villagers of your achievements.]

[Your fame will continuously increase as the rumor spreads over time.]

[You have acquired the Regional Title (Unique) 『Hero of Beginner’s Village』.]

[Hero of Beginner’s Village]

▶A title given to the hero who saved the Beginner’s Village from danger.

▶Fame +100, removes access restrictions to Beginner’s Village, allowing you to freely come and go, and at the same time, be treated as a hero.

▶Title type: Regional (Beginner’s Village)

▶Title grade: Unique

Everything was over, and Kyung-joon had saved the village.

Siri gave him the reward on their behalf.

[You have become the owner of the 『Underground Villa』.]

[You can now own and manage everything inside the 『Underground Villa』.]

Everything in the Underground Villa, including the Venom Grimoire and the Malfunctioning Mana Battery, now belonged to Kyung-joon.

“I’m sure my father would want you to keep using it. It’s a mess…… but there’s no better place than that Underground Villa for experiments. You’ll find it useful. You’re a student and a researcher, aren’t you?”

A student and a researcher.

Kyung-joon chuckled at the title she used to address him.

“Were you able to find the book you were looking for?”

“Yes, it was very well preserved.”

General Chemistry and General Physics textbooks.

He was able to get his hands on countless science books besides those.

Now he had more than enough materials to prepare for the Science Certification Exam.

“That’s good to hear. I was getting tired of the library constantly telling me to return the books.”

“Oh, were those all borrowed from the library?”

“My father borrowed them. I think they’re about a year overdue?”

No wonder the library had no books except for high school science books.

Anyway, it was all over now.

It was time to go back to the Study Villa and start studying for the Science Certification Exam.

He had planned his entire vacation around studying, and he was worried because he didn’t have any books, but he was glad he could solve it in a day.

“Oh, one more thing. Now that I think about it, you said you were a student, right? Are you thinking of applying to Fairy-Elven Magic Academy?”

“Magic Academy? No. I’m currently preparing to get into Seoul National University, but honestly, I’d be happy just to get into any university in Seoul.”

“Seoul National University? A university in Seoul? Is there such a university?”

“Uh, um. Yeah, there is.”

Kyung-joon mumbled vaguely.

“Hmm…… Well, if you do happen to get into or attend a magic academy, this will come in handy.”

Siri took out a carnation-like object and an envelope from her inventory.

[You have acquired the Rare item 『Sever’s Honorary Professor Badge』.]

[You have acquired the Rare item 『Sever’s Retirement Envelope』.]

[Sever’s Honorary Professor Badge]

▶A professor’s badge given to professors at Fairy-Elven Magic Academy. Having this allows you to freely move around the academy.

▶Item Grade: Rare

[Sever’s Retirement Envelope]

▶The envelope that Sever received when he retired from his professorship at Fairy-Elven Magic Academy. Using it will grant you 121,424,500 Liyan.

▶Item Grade: Rare

“Gasp.”

Kyung-joon, receiving the badge and envelope from Siri, let out a small gasp.

The professor’s badge was one thing, but the retirement envelope was a jackpot.

Wasn’t that just severance pay?

Roughly 120 million Liyan was almost 12 million won in cash($8,677 USD), and she was just giving it away?

“It’s a token of my gratitude. Thanks to you, I can at least visit his grave every year.”

“But isn’t this too much? I’ve already received so much.”

Honestly, for Kyung-joon, just getting the General Chemistry textbook and the other science books, as well as this amazing Mana Battery, was enough.

“It’s fine. It originally had 500 million Liyan in it anyway. And I make a decent living running the secondhand bookstore, so life isn’t that hard.”

In that case, he would gratefully accept it.

He was in dire need of money anyway.

“Thank you. You just saved me a year’s worth of tuition.”

“A year’s worth of tuition? Surely, the tuition at Fairy-Elven Magic Academy isn’t that cheap? Maybe a semester’s worth.”

Of course, Kyung-joon was talking about the tuition for a real university, not a magic academy.

’12 million won is almost a year’s worth of tuition. Still not enough though.’

Kyung-joon was thinking of becoming independent.

If he were to become independent and get a studio apartment in Seoul, it would cost him more than double his tuition.

Since it was Seoul, the monthly rent for a studio apartment wouldn’t be cheap, and the monthly maintenance fees and food expenses couldn’t be ignored either.

And then there were other expenses like textbooks, MT fees, and so on……

It was truly a lot.

‘It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just me, but I have siblings too.’

High school graduation, military service, college graduation.

It would be at least 10 years before Kyung-joon could get a job and start earning money.

By then, his twin siblings, Woo-bin and So-bin, would be over 20 years old, and his little brother, Seung-hak, would be in middle school.

Whether they went to college or not was up to them when they grew up, but he didn’t want to deprive them of the opportunity from the start.

Kyung-joon knew reality.

Even though his father said he would look for another job after retirement, it would definitely be difficult.

He had to make money.

‘I’ll lay the foundation for that during the vacation, along with preparing for the Science Certification Exam.’

It had only been a day since summer vacation began.

In just one day, Kyung-joon had accomplished a lot, but he still had a mountain of things to do.

“Haa…… I’ll just sleep on it and decide tomorrow.”

The most important thing when it came to studying was a regular lifestyle pattern.

Occasionally staying up all night to study when he was in the zone wasn’t a bad thing, but it wouldn’t do to start doing that from the beginning of vacation.

With that, Kyung-joon logged out with a sense of accomplishment.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The World Monitoring Team Branch 10.

Kim Bu-ha, who was there, spoke in a trembling voice.

“U, User Kyung-joon…… Completed all quests related to the Unique Dungeon 『Contaminated Underground Villa』 solo…… Total clear time, 10 hours and 37 minutes…… Excluding the time spent studying and talking to NPCs inside the dungeon…… Total combat time, 2 hours and 34 minutes……”

Kim Bu-ha’s announcement was shocking.

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