It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 38

Chapter 38: There’s No Such Thing as Useless Study (2)

“He cleared a Unique Dungeon in a single day?”

“Is that even possible?”

“The dungeon management team predicted it would take six to seven days at the very least……”

“And that prediction was based on players above Level 200. He was only Level 19 when he first entered the dungeon. Unbelievable.”

“More importantly, what was that ‘Superbase Cannon’ he used to kill the boss?”

Every employee at Branch 10 couldn’t hide their astonishment.

A Unique Dungeon with a seven-day time limit.

And it had to be cleared solo.

The management team had estimated that it would take about seven days even for the current top-ranked players.

Yet, a user named Kyung-joon had suddenly appeared and cleared it in a single day.

No, even calling it a day didn’t feel right.

The exact time it took Kyung-joon to clear all the quests related to the ‘Contaminated Underground Villa’ was 10 hours and 37 minutes.

What was even more surprising was that most of that time was spent studying.

Kyung-joon didn’t leave the Underground Villa immediately after clearing the dungeon.

He read the pink Unique magic book 『Venom Grimoire』 placed on the bookshelf, marveled at it, even compared it with a general chemistry textbook he pulled out……

He spent about six hours doing that before realizing he had to get going and went outside to complete the quest.

The remaining two hours were spent finding the Contaminated Underground Villa in the first place and talking to Siri.

That meant the actual time spent clearing the dungeon was a mere 2 hours and 34 minutes.

The emergence of a legendary player who cleared a Unique Dungeon in two and a half hours.

“Honestly, he shouldn’t have cleared it, he should have failed, why did he have to clear it……”

The team leader was racking his brain over how to report this insane fact to the higher-ups.

Not only did he clear a Unique Dungeon in two and a half hours, but he also leveled up to 100 in a day, claimed the second Unique Skill Creator title after the first player to achieve it, and monopolized all the overpowered Unique Items……

It was simply too much.

They had prepared for every possible scenario in case of failure.

They even went as far as buttering up the management team to give out apology gifts to the Beginner’s Village users.

They had guaranteed a 99% chance of failure to the higher-ups……

“……My promotion this year is doomed.”

The team leader let out a deep sigh and despaired.

However, the atmosphere within the team was quite different from their leader’s.

“Woohoo! No more overtime!”

“Thank you so much, user Kyung-joon, for saving us from a week of nonstop overtime!”

“Let’s go! A week of leaving work on time, let’s go!”

“I need to call my honey~ Tell her I don’t have to work late today~”

All the employees of Branch 10 began to praise Kyung-joon.

They completely forgot that the reason they had a week of nonstop overtime in the first place was because of Kyung-joon.

If Kyung-joon had known about this, wouldn’t he have said something like this?

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, or giving someone a disease and then selling them the cure.

“Ugh, these carefree idiots……”

“Haha, well, these things happen, right Team Leader? I’ll accompany you when you make your report.”

“Yes, my loyal subordinate. You’re the only one I can count on……”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The next day.

Kyung-joon was comparing the Venom Grimoire he obtained from the Contaminated Underground Villa with a general chemistry textbook.

The foreword of Sever’s book, Venom Grimoire, read:

『Science is truly precise and quantitative. In a way, it’s the opposite of magic, which is highly subjective and qualitative.』

『Unlike magic, where the caster’s subjectivity and perception are deeply intertwined, science treats even itself as an object. There are no emotions or intentions in their theories. That’s why it’s very cold, but very precise and also beautiful.』

『What’s even more cathartic is that, despite being such different and opposing disciplines, the essence of explaining phenomena is very similar.』

『Magic and science are like looking at twin siblings. Not identical twins, but fraternal twins. Born from the same parents, they may look alike, but their genders are opposite.』

“Sever felt the same way I did.”

Kyung-joon also felt that magic was very similar to science when he first started studying it.

Of course, the way they explained things was very different.

If magic explained:

『This fire is very hot. However, a Black Dragon would scoff at it.』

Then science would explain:

『The temperature of this fire is about 5,949K, which is very hot. However, compared to the temperature at the center of the sun, it’s a measly 1/2500th of that temperature.』

Both describe the same phenomenon of fire being hot, but science explains it quantitatively and without emotion, while magic explains it subjectively and qualitatively.

“Hmm. Hmmm.”

Kyung-joon was relating to the things he felt while studying with Sever’s words.

Although Sever was already dead, he was able to connect with him through the book he left behind.

“There’s no such thing as useless studying after all. Sever’s research wasn’t in vain.”

Kyung-joon thought as he read the first part of Venom Grimoire.

The first book to deal with both magic and science.

It was because he was a wizard and at the same time interested in and studied science that such a book could be born.

That was Venom Grimoire.

<It seems that the differences between magic and science are very systematically organized at the beginning.>

“Yes. And you can also feel his unique subjective interpretation. Is this how wizards think? How interesting.”

<With this knowledge, Master will be able to better connect the science and magic you study in the future.>

“Yes. I think a lot of interesting things will come out of it. But it’s still a bit difficult.”

Kyung-joon felt it as he continued reading Venom Grimoire.

He was still lacking in many areas to fully digest this book.

Not to mention his knowledge of magic, he was particularly lacking in general chemistry and general physics.

It was no exaggeration to say that Venom Grimoire was practically based on those two subjects.

This book was a magical reorganization of general chemistry and general physics by Sever, a specialist in water magic, particularly poison-type magic.

He needed to study a little more, a little more.

“I think I have a good side goal now.”

<You mean understanding Venom Grimoire?>

“Yes. While I’m studying general chemistry for the Science Certification Exam, it wouldn’t be bad to look at this in between. They’re practically the same thing.”

Once he had a good grasp of general chemistry, understanding Venom Grimoire would become much easier.

Then he would be able to properly study the real deal of this book, the ‘Mana Battery’.

Mana Battery.

Sever’s masterpiece, which he created at the cost of his own life.

It could be said to be the first item to fuse science and magic.

“If I can reverse engineer this and mass produce it…… it would be really awesome.”

<It would certainly be a tremendous invention for both Players and NPCs alike.>

Indeed, if that were to happen, he might be able to solve the problematic money issue in an instant.

<However, we must also solve the runaway problem that Sever couldn’t ultimately overcome.>

“Yes, it won’t be easy.”

After examining the Malfunctioning Mana Battery for a bit, it was so intricate that he wondered if it could even be replicated.

It didn’t seem possible to understand or recreate something that a wizard had dedicated his life to just by studying it for a short time.

He had to study step by step.

He also needed to build up his dexterity and skills by creating simpler things first.

Just like studying easier problems and concepts before tackling difficult ones.

There are levels to studying as well.

“Okay! Let’s study general chemistry first!”

[Mythical Skill 『Dimensional Study Room』 Activated]

▶Time Dilation: 2.0x

▶Accumulated Time: 297 hours

[Currently Applied Buffs]

▶Kyung-joon’s Posture-Correcting Ashwood Chair: Tenacity +10%, HP/MP regeneration +5% per minute

▶Kyung-joon’s Unshakeable……

.

.

.

.

.

.

……Tenacity +30% (Cannot stack), Calculation Ability +30%, Intelligence +10%

▶Rest Passive: HP/MP regeneration +1% per minute

Total Tenacity +90%, Creativity +40%, Calculation Ability +30%, and various other buffs to Mana, Intelligence, HP, and MP.

On top of that, he activated the Dimensional Study Room, which allowed him to experience one hour as two.

His mind cleared instantly and his thoughts began to race.

His heart overflowed with the desire to study.

“Chapter 1. Fundamentals of Chemistry.”

Kyung-joon began to study with his incredible buffs.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

While Kyung-joon was immersed in his studies……

In Plovdiv, the city of merchants and trade……

A male player was conducting an experiment in an alchemy workshop.

Bubble bubble.

▼GottaSeeAlchemy (Player)

The man’s ID was GottaSeeAlchemy.

Ever since he was young and deeply moved by the comic “Fullmetal Alchemist,” he only chose the alchemist class in any game he played.

The World, the most popular game at the moment, was no exception.

The alchemy know-how he had accumulated from various games shone brightly in The World as well.

He was currently ranked 1st in the official alchemist rankings, a testament to his exceptional skills.

[Alchemy successfully completed.]

[Rare potion has been created.]

[Dexterity increased by 5.]

“Damn it, I thought a Unique would come out this time.”

GottaSeeAlchemy let out a disappointed sigh and checked the created potion.

[Compound Mana Elixir]

▶An elixir made by mixing highly concentrated Elixir Flower and a diluted version. Instantly recovers MP while also providing a continuous recovery effect.

▶Instantly recovers 30% MP and slowly recovers an additional 30% over 60 seconds.

▶Item Grade: Rare

“This isn’t much different from a regular Mana Elixir.”

A regular Mana Elixir instantly recovers 50% MP and that’s it.

On the other hand, the Compound Mana Elixir he just made instantly recovers 30% and then slowly recovers an additional 30%.

It recovers a total of 60%, but it wasn’t much different from the original 50%.

“Damn it. This is why I need to make Uniques. But they just won’t come out.”

GottaSeeAlchemy had been struggling for days to create a Unique item.

He was working hard, but things weren’t going as well as he had hoped.

All he got were Rare items that he had already made countless times, while the ingredients he had gathered by investing time, money, and effort kept disappearing.

“Come on, how does putting in Unique ingredients result in a Rare item? This damn game is all about luck!”

The world is such that no matter how good the materials you bring, if you don’t have the skills, you can still get low-quality items.

Still, GottaSeeAlchemy managed to produce Rare items every time.

This meant his skills weren’t lacking.

However, his knowledge and understanding were still insufficient to handle Unique ingredients.

‘Ugh, Master could easily make Unique items even with Rare materials. Is it because he’s an NPC? I’m being outdone by an NPC in alchemy, even after mastering it in so many games? Damn it.’

Unlike other games he played in the past, The World wasn’t a game where you could reach the top with just system corrections and various know-how.

What GottaSeeAlchemy currently lacked wasn’t dexterity stats or experience-based know-how.

If he really wanted to create Unique items, he needed to study the materials and alchemy more deeply.

Just like Kyung-joon.

Kyung-joon actually studied even when using a simple skill.

While others would simply use a skill book and be done with it, Kyung-joon would open it up and read every single word.

He would only use a skill after fully understanding the theory behind it.

He also practiced countless times.

The level of mastery that Kyung-joon had built up from the ground up wasn’t something that could be caught up to simply by having a lot of experience.

“Damn it, as expected, without the 3rd Promotion, Unique items are……”

GottaSeeAlchemy was getting frustrated with the continuous failures.

Just then, the sound of wind chimes came from the door.

Tinkle.

“GottaSeeAlchemy, Number One Player, World’s Best is here to see you.”

The person who opened the workshop door and walked in was PhantomSherlock, an executive of the World’s Best guild.

“What, Phantom, you again?”

“Yep, me again.”

The encounter between the top-ranked assassin and the top-ranked alchemist.

The world of rankers was a small one, so the two had seen each other many times before.

To be more precise, World’s Best had been sending people to scout GottaSeeAlchemy for a while now.

Of course, there wasn’t a single sign of the World’s Best trademark hanging in GottaSeeAlchemy’s workshop.

“I told you, I’m not joining your guild. If I were to join, I’d join an NPC guild. Why do you keep bothering me?”

Even if World’s Best was the number one player guild, it was still limited to players.

Compared to other NPC guilds that were deeply involved with various kingdoms, alliances, churches, and other political groups, it was still a fledgling guild.

As the number one alchemist, GottaSeeAlchemy wasn’t satisfied with World’s Best, and he didn’t want to be tied down to a guild yet.

“Ha, don’t flatter yourself.”

But this time, PhantomSherlock didn’t seem to be here to scout him.

“I’m not here to bother you today. We’re going to scout someone even greater than you anyway.”

“What? Someone greater than me?”

It was a very offensive statement to GottaSeeAlchemy, who had great pride in his number one alchemist ranking.

“Of course, depending on the circumstances, that someone could be you.”

PhantomSherlock paused for a moment and took out a piece of bread from his inventory.

“Did you make this by any chance?”

It was a Unique bread, glowing pink.

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