It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Midterm Exams Skyrocket!

Cheongshin High School, 2nd Grade, Class 7.

Today, exams for Chemistry 1, Physics 1, and Technology & Home Economics are scheduled.

Three exams in one day!

Moreover, Chemistry 1 and Physics 1 are crucial subjects, comparable to Korean, English, and Math.

Especially for science track students.

“Alright, today is the last day of midterms, right? I expect everyone to do their best until the very end. Now, everyone turn over your OMR answer sheets. Don’t turn over the exam papers yet.”

Following the teacher’s instructions, students flipped over their OMR sheets and began filling them out.

Kyung-joon, sitting in the back, received his OMR sheet and started filling it out as well.

‘First exam is Technology & Home Economics. Basically a warm-up.’

He was somewhat relieved that he didn’t have Physics 1 or Chemistry 1 right off the bat.

‘Come to think of it, I barely studied for Technology & Home Economics…… The morning classes always made me sleepy, so I couldn’t focus.’

This wasn’t just Kyung-joon’s problem.

Technology & Home Economics wasn’t even included in the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test)!

Unless you were a top student aiming for SKY (Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University) or SKP (Seoul National University, KAIST, POSTECH), nobody really cared about Technology & Home Economics.

Sure, it was part of the school grades, but it was common knowledge among students that studying for other, more important subjects would be much more beneficial.

‘Let’s just do what I can. There must be some questions I can answer with common sense.’

Ding-dong, ding-dong~.

The bell signaling the start of the exam rang.

Hearing this, the teacher addressed the students.

“You can turn over your exam papers now. Raise your hand if you have any issues. You know what happens if you try anything funny, right?”

Flip, flip.

Perhaps because they didn’t consider it an important subject, even the sound of the students turning over their exam papers lacked enthusiasm.

Kyung-joon also casually received his exam paper and began reading the questions.

However…….

‘Huh…? Uh, uh? What’s this?’

Quite coincidentally, the first question was something he knew.

‘Lucky me.’

Without any hesitation, Kyung-joon marked the answer as soon as he saw the question.

He moved on to question number 2.

And again.

‘This also seems awfully familiar…’

It wasn’t just the second question.

The third, fourth, tenth, eleventh… all the way to the last question, number 25!

Kyung-joon finished the entire exam in less than 20 minutes.

In reality, it took him less than a minute per question!

‘I had to guess on some of the home economics questions, but I knew everything about the technology part. As expected, the carpenter skill books I studied before……’

The three basic carpenter skill books that Kyung-joon had studied at the Carpenter’s Workshop!

Having read those books repeatedly, the ‘technology’ part of Technology & Home Economics was child’s play for him.

‘I thought studying carpentry would be completely irrelevant to schoolwork…… I guess I was wrong.’

Kyung-joon felt strangely pleased with this unexpected realization.

He used to think that schoolwork was nothing more than a way to differentiate students’ scores, but now he felt he needed to reconsider that thought.

‘What time is it…?’

There were still over 30 minutes left before the exam ended.

There was no way he could waste time like this.

Kyung-joon quickly went back to the first page, reviewed his answers, and then began jotting something down on the remaining blank space.

‘First, the most important parts of this Chemistry 1 exam are…… the evolution of atomic models, the octet rule, and also…’

Kyung-joon began preparing for the next exam.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Wow! Physics and chemistry were crazy this time!”

“Are you kidding me? They said it wasn’t that difficult!”

“Hey, hey! My friend got 7th place in science in 9th grade, and he scored 50 on both Chemistry and Physics this time!”

“The rankings are going to be a mess this time. This is why I told you to choose liberal arts instead of sciences……”

“Seriously. If you go to the liberal arts hallway, everyone’s getting 70s and 80s.”

“The average must be higher too. I bet the average for both Physics and Chemistry will be 60 this time.”

“Nope. 60? No way. I predict the average will be in the 50s.”

The classroom was buzzing after the exam.

Everyone was complaining about how difficult it was.

‘Hmm…? Was it difficult? I haven’t studied properly in the past, so I’m not sure if it was actually difficult or not.’

Kyung-joon scratched his head and looked at his self-graded answer sheet.

『Chemistry 1: 73 points』

『Physics 1: 74 points』

Previously, Kyung-joon barely managed to pass.

He started studying when he entered high school, but he couldn’t catch up to the kids who had been attending academies and studying since elementary school, or even kindergarten.

His grades in 9th grade were all in the lower ranks, with scores like 30 and 40.

‘My scores have doubled in an instant. And Technology & Home Economics was an unexpected success.’

『Technology & Home Economics: 93 points』

Maybe it was because he guessed correctly on the home economics questions, but Kyung-joon achieved a score over 90 for the first time in his life.

Of course, it wasn’t a crucial subject.

Still, it felt good to see the tangible results of his efforts.

“Kyung-joon! How did you do on the exam?”

“Dude, you know Lee Kyung-joon’s grades from 9th grade. What’s the point of asking?”

“Still, Kyung-joon studies hard. You never know, his grades might have gone up?”

Kyung-joon hesitated about whether or not to tell his friends his scores.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

After all the midterm exams were graded and reviewed.

The homeroom teacher was handing out the score reports to the students.

“Na Pyeong-gyun!”

“Yes.”

Na Pyeong-gyun walked to the front of the classroom at the homeroom teacher’s call.

The teacher frowned as he checked his report.

“Sigh, look at this. You’re single-handedly dragging down the class average. What is this, huh?”

“But sir, I tanked the two science exams on purpose. I calculated it, and I’m barely at the average.”

“Oh, you’re all talk. Instead of wasting time on those calculations, why don’t you try to actually surpass the average?”

“Yes.”

Na Pyeong-gyun didn’t argue and returned to his seat.

His score was 42.

He was indeed below average.

“Next, Kim Moon-maeng!”

“Yes.”

This time, Kim Moon-maeng stood up.

“You’re doing fine in other subjects, but can’t you at least focus on Korean? Do you want to get sick or something?”

Kim Moon-maeng’s Korean score was in the single digits.

“Huh? Sick? I got a clean bill of health at the recent medical checkup.”

“No, that’s not what I meant….. Every time I talk to you, I seriously doubt if you’re even Korean.”

“I am Korean. My father is from Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and my mother is from Yeosu, Jeollanam-do.”

TL: WTF with these names. It’s not even names lol.

“…Alright, just go back to your seat.”

“Yes.”

Kim Moon-maeng returned to his seat.

And then it was Kyung-joon’s turn.

The homeroom teacher looked at Kyung-joon’s report and thought,

’73 in Chemistry and 74 in Physics. I guess that’s barely average? The rest are similar or slightly higher…… Still, it’s a significant improvement from last time. From the lower ranks to the lower-middle ranks?’

Considering last year’s sophomore average was in the high 70s, that was probably the case.

Still, given this kid’s grades in 9th grade, this was a huge leap.

The teacher nodded in approval, seemingly acknowledging Kyung-joon’s hard work, and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good job. You don’t have to worry about failing this time. I heard you’ve been studying hard lately. Keep it up, and let’s aim to surpass the average in all subjects next time.”

“Yes.”

The teacher dismissed Kyung-joon and moved on to the next student’s report.

This time, it was Park Young-hee.

She was an outstanding student who had competed with Kim Chul-soo for the top two spots in 9th grade.

“Park Young-hee!”

“Yes.”

The teacher looked at Park Young-hee’s report with anticipation.

“Alright, Young-hee. You did well this time too… Huh! 75 in Chemistry?! What happened, Young-hee? Why did your grades drop so much?! This is barely above average!”

Park Young-hee had always maintained her scores in the 90s.

But to think they dropped to the 70s! What in the world…?

His question was quickly answered.

The students, realizing the teacher was mistaken about something, began to set the record straight.

“Sir, the average for science in our grade is really low this time.”

“That’s right. I told a senior I know our average, and he was shocked.”

“They say our grade’s average is about 30 points lower than last year’s.”

“The average for Chemistry is 42.4. Physics is 43.9.”

“W, What…?”

Stunned for a moment, the homeroom teacher quickly looked back at the report.

Park Young-hee, Chemistry 75 points, 3rd place in the entire school.

‘Wait a minute… if 75 is 3rd place in the entire school, then Lee Kyung-joon, who got 73……’

“K, Kyung-joon. Sorry to bother you, but can you bring your report back for a second? Let me take another look at your Chemistry and Physics scores.”

“Yes.”

Receiving Kyung-joon’s report again, the teacher checked his rankings.

Lee Kyung-joon, Chemistry 73 points, 4th place in the entire school.

Lee Kyung-joon, Physics 74 points, 4th place in the entire school.

“G, Gasp…! F, Fourth place in the entire school?!”

“What, what? Lee Kyung-joon got 4th place in Chemistry?”

“The teacher asked to see his Physics score again too.”

“You mean he got 4th in both?”

“Whoa. Wasn’t he bad at studying?”

“I heard the 1st place student from another class got a 69 and cried. Is he even higher than that?”

“No way, that means he definitely scored over 70. Lee Kyung-joon did that?”

“For real?”

Kyung-joon calmly adjusted his glasses, feeling a sense of self-satisfaction.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Kyung-joon’s midterm exam scores skyrocketed!

He played it cool in front of his friends, but once he was alone, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘Wow…… My efforts weren’t in vain.’

He was incredibly proud of himself.

And he was overjoyed that his hard work had paid off.

‘So this is why smart kids study so hard. Am I considered someone who studies now?’

Of course, there was still a world of difference between Kyung-joon and the kids who were actually good at studying.

For example, there was Yoo Seol-ha.

The daughter of the Seolha Group, she had enrolled in Cheongshin High School, a regular high school, for some reason, and consistently ranked 1st in the entire school and within the top 10 in nationwide mock exams.

Her nickname was the ‘Ultimate Daughter’.

Besides her, there was Kim Chul-soo, the ‘Human Calculator’ who ranked 2nd in the entire school, and Park Young-hee, the ‘Polyglot’ who ranked 3rd, among others…

Surprisingly, Cheongshin High School had its fair share of smart students.

‘They say it’s rare for so many bright students to gather in a regular public high school…’

Perhaps that’s why Kyung-joon’s current grade was nicknamed the ‘Ultimate Grade’, after Yoo Seol-ha.

A grade filled with incredibly competitive students!

And that was precisely Kyung-joon’s grade.

‘It didn’t matter to me before.’

To the old Kyung-joon, this was just an amusing piece of gossip.

But not anymore.

He felt the distance between him and those he had once considered to be on a different level, whom he had only admired from afar, shrinking after this midterm exam.

Those who were once out of reach and even out of sight were now starting to come into focus.

‘I never understood why they were so fiercely competitive… but it’s different now. I think I’m starting to get it.’

Kyung-joon felt a sensation he couldn’t quite put into words.

He was beginning to understand why they had been studying so diligently.

However, he wasn’t entirely there yet.

There was still a vast gap between him and them, a distance that could be measured in hundreds of kilometers.

‘But if I continue to utilize Infinite Knowledge Seeker…’

With a determined look on his face, Kyung-joon put on his VR gear.

He logged into the game.

To resume his studies.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

As Kyung-joon arrived at the Beginner’s Village library.

“Welcome to the Beginner’s Village library. Do you have your library card?”

“Huh…?”

At the librarian’s desk.

Instead of the usual librarian, there was an unfamiliar man.

Kyung-joon presented his library card and asked,

“Where’s the librarian who’s always here?”

“You mean Libra? My sister’s currently receiving treatment at the temple. I think she’s cursed or something; she keeps muttering to herself, blabbering to thin air, it’s a real mess.”

“Ah, I see.”

‘Did Customer Service resolve my inquiry? That’s great.’

He was already annoyed by the previous librarian who kept mumbling even while he was preparing for the midterms.

The new librarian seemed much quieter.

Satisfied, Kyung-joon handed over his library card and headed to his usual spot.

[Kyung-joon’s Ashwood Chair with Lumbar Support]

Kyung-joon took out the chair he had crafted and replaced the library’s worn-out chair, as always.

The study chair that played a significant role in his midterm success!

He could even call it the number one contributor to his good grades.

He sat down, pulled out his Chemistry 1, Physics 1, and Basic Magic Theory books.

Just because the midterms were over didn’t mean his studies were.

‘Oh, right. I need to move the status window too.’

He moved the distracting status window to the side and began studying.

How much time had passed?

The status window he had moved aside kept displaying messages…

[The new librarian, Burari, is showing interest in you.]

[Signs of a sudden quest have been detected.]

[The activation, rewards, and content of the quest may vary depending on your actions.]

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