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Chapter 11: The Underachiever of Class S (4)
The sun bade farewell in the evening as the wrinkles of dusk fell upon the horizon.
Hong Bi-Yeon and Baek Yu-Seol got themselves an empty study room with no one else to bother them. Currently, they were sitting face to face with only a desk between them.
Those squinting eyes of hers were so burdensome that he felt uncomfortable.
"…I don't understand why you're willing to pay a price just to learn how to solve three questions from the placement test."
"There’s a reason for it. You just need to tell me."
Baek Yu-Seol had predicted that she would say something like that.
“But you got only those three questions wrong. See? You’re smart. I got all the rest of the questions wrong. Aren’t you ashamed to learn from me?”
Baek Yu-Seol was ranked 1,141 in the class rank, while she was a super-elite who conquered the fifth rank.
“I’m not ashamed. Rather, it’s even more embarrassing that I got those questions wrong and haven’t found the answer yet. I’d ask anyone as long as they’re able to answer.”
'Oh… A model student’s answer.'
Yet somehow it sounds like you’re looking down on me…'
“First of all… Let’s take a look.”
Baek Yu-Seol put on the Sentient Specs and looked at the problem again.
He did not notice it when he solved it, but looking at it again, it was a really absurd problem.
'Oh my gosh. They arranged a grand magic science test just to put a nonsense question in it.'
‘Okay, can I actually explain this properly?’
Baek Yu-Seol was tempted by the word ‘pay,’ so he had agreed but did not know if it would work out.
He was at a loss. It was an impromptu test of creativity, so it was really hard to teach someone how to solve it.
‘How do you actually teach this?’
'However, since the stage has already been set, if I withdraw now, she might bully me until graduation. That would be pretty terrifying.'
'Furthermore.'
‘I want to receive the modification of Teripon in return, and it would be a waste to give up the opportunity.’
Baek Yu-Seol had to think about something. Recalling all the information about the character Hong Bi-Yeon, he asked her a question to pass the time.
“Before I go into the explanation, let me ask you one thing. Why did you choose to learn from me?”
It was not as if she did not have friends, and considering her status as a princess, if she asked anyone, there would be plenty of people who would readily answer it, right?
She briefly played with a strand of her hair then said coolly, as if she believed there was nothing to fuss about.
“Out of the 1,141 freshmen, there are only three students, including you, who answered all of the three devil's questions.”
“What…?”
'What do you mean?'
“I heard it was a ‘trap problem’ that was designed to not be solved, but you, Ma Yu-Seong, and Flame solved it. That’s why I got a little bit of a headache.”
“No, wait. This was a trap problem. Really? Are you telling me it was not meant to be solved?”
“Yes. Didn’t you know that?”
"This is crazy…”
It was then that he realized the reason behind his selection in Class S and why Flame kept herself on guard around him.
Trap problems.
They never existed in the game.
Or perhaps he did not read it.
‘Somehow, when I explained the three questions, the students’ reactions were strange…!’
He did not know the details or the development of the plot in detail because he just enjoyed the game itself without seeing the story.
However, the setting of the romance fantasy novel read by Flame was completely different. She did not know the game version of the story, but at least she got the storyline and most of the setting in this world quite accurately.
For example, at the entrance ceremony, she knew in advance that there would be three trap questions…
Flame easily solved the trap problems with the novel’s knowledge. It was an achievement that only Ma Yu-Seong could grasp, so she might consider emphasizing her ‘uniqueness’ by adding her name to the achievements that only Ma Yu-Seong could accomplish.
A girl who was a different kind of genius compared to Ma Yu-Seong!
But there, an extra that did not even exist in the original plot came out and intervened.
This meant that she had become aware of the existence of the character Baek Yu-Seol.
‘The hell…’
A chill ran down his spine when he imagined the myriad of conclusions she must have drawn about him.
‘Damn, I should have held back.’
Baek Yu-Seol let out a sigh in his heart, struggling to hold it in reality. It was a tragedy that had already been committed.
“You don’t look so good?”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
Hong Bi-Yeon slightly frowned as if she was not happy with his tone, but she was not particularly bothered since she was already dealing with a demon back home, so she just ignored it.
“Before I tell you this, you didn’t forget that you said you’d do me a favor, did you?”
“Easily done.”
“Do you know this wand?”
“That’s Teripon.”
“Request the blacksmith of your royal family to convert it into a magic spear… No, a magic sword.”
“???”
In an instant, Hong Bi-Yeon’s expression changed. She was convinced that she had heard it wrong.
“You heard it right.”
“Cold weapons are only used by low-level mercenaries. Why do you, a mage, want to use something like that?”
“My taste.”
Hong Bi-Yeon went silent in response to Baek Yu-Seol’s answer. It was a little difficult for him, but he did not intend to explain everything, not even the fact that he was a crippled mage.
“I think that’s enough explanation. Do I have to tell you everything about me? Will you turn it into a magic sword or not?”
“Okay, I’ll do it for you. That’s simple.”
The Princess’ network was really the best.
“Then… I’ll give you a simple way to solve this problem.”
He considered Hong Bi-Yeon’s characteristics. The strongest mage in the fire world. Genius mages normally used as few as two or as many as three attributes, but Hong Bi-Yeon had risen to the ranks of the best magic warriors by using only one fire attribute.
But was it like that from the beginning?
No.
During her first year at the academy, she was very strong, but her limitations were clear and she was later beaten by Flame.
The weakness lay in the fact that her magic was too stereotypical.
She only responded to real-life situations and according to the textbooks, which was stupid and dangerous.
Hong Bi-Yeon fought the battle without her own instincts, and Flame grasped her weaknesses, exploited the loophole, and achieved victory.
Overcoming this weakness, sophomore Hong Bi-Yeon gained a completely different level of strength.
‘A change in thinking.’
Hong Bi-Yeon had always been aware of the fact that she lacked creativity. As evidence, books related to that were piled up in her dormitory.
However, the realization came too late in her second year.
‘I can’t give you enlightenment right now, but I can give you some plausible advice.’
After turning the test paper in Hong Bi-Yeon’s direction, he asked her with a serious expression.
“First of all, do you know that this is a nonsense question?”
“Nonsense?”
“Huh. You don’t know?”
“I’ve heard of it… but I don’t know what it is.”
'No, you’re this old and don’t know what a nonsense question is? What have you been doing all your life?'
At the same time, he was reminded of the fact that she was Hong Bi-Yeon.
‘I’m convinced.’
In such a home environment, it was definitely possible.
Rather, he quickly attacked Hong Bi-Yeon because he thought it was a good strategy.
“What part of the chicken has the most feathers?”
A random question.
But as she sat there, Hong Bi-Yeon’s expression hardened as she earnestly began to brainstorm, believing that he would never ask useless questions.
She closed her eyes and tapped her forearm with her fingers, and after thinking about it for a while, she came up with the answer.
“Tail…?”
“Wrong.”
“Then, back region???”
“Not even that.”
She stared at Baek Yu-Seol with an expression as if she were asking the answer, so he answered quickly.
“It’s body”
“Why?”
“I told you it was a matter of creativity.”
Hong Bi-Yeon opened her lips slightly and looked at him with a terrifying expression.
“No, this is really what this problem is like? Do you want to solve it?”
“Yes.”
“Look at this problem. It’s made up of formulas and tricks you don’t know. You know that, don’t you?
“Of course.”
“It means that you have to solve it only with your creativity. But is it possible to memorize creativity?”
“… No.”
“Right?”
He didn't even give her a chance to argue. Like a rapid-fire cannon, he only fired what he had to say.
“You know what? Mages of the past developed their magic slowly and gradually. But they added a drop of creativity in every small development. Then, at some point, the modern era arrived.”
“That’s… that’s it.”
Baek Yu-Seol had read it in a tutorial story, but he never thought he would use it like this.
“Do you know why? It’s important to know a lot of spells and tricks, but the most important thing for a mage is to think beyond.”
“Think beyond?”
“Yes!”
Hong Bi-Yeon's ears perked up when she heard the familiar word. Baek Yu-Seol had guessed it. Most of the words he poured out were related to the quests connected to Hong Bi-Yeon.
In other words, her biggest concerns were coming out of his mouth.
“See the world outside the boundaries of your thinking. History proves that magic can grow explosively even with the smallest changes. But why is your thinking limited to what you see? Is it okay to just memorize a spell and use it away?”
“It’s not… It’s not.”
Hong Bi-Yeon listened to him blankly.
“You may be better than me in your ability to think analytically, to judge rationally, and to remember synthetically, but you lack the creativity that is crucially important to a mage.”
To be honest, it was almost nonsense. They were all Hong Bi-Yeon’s favorite words derived from the trashy comic books she used to read.
“I used some difficult words, but you’re smart, so I guess you understood everything, right?”
“Of course.”
'That’s amazing. Even I don’t understand what I just said.'
But as if she had really understood something, her expression became more serious than before.
‘What’s wrong with this girl? She’s making me feel guilty having lied to her…’
“I’m glad you understand. After all, you are a princess and naturally smart. From now on, I’ll teach you to think beyond. I can explain how to solve this problem, but the next time something like this comes up, you’ll never be able to solve it that way.”
Hong Bi-Yeon immediately nodded as if she understood his words.
“Then let’s get started right away.”
Hong Bi-Yeon focused on his mouth with an anticipating look on her face.
He said, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
In response, her face stiffened.
After such a lengthy explanation, it was another nonsense question. Hong Bi-Yeon closed her mouth again, but he did not stop and attacked again.
“Why did the chicken cross the road? It’s simple”
“… I don’t know.”
"To get to the other side of the road.”
Hong Bi-Yeon was noticeably agitated, but unlike before, she did not object to Baek Yu-Seol.
He pressed on.
“What are two things you can never have for breakfast?”
“… I don’t know.”
“Lunch and dinner.”
“What goes up but never comes down?”
“… I don’t know.”
“Your age.”
Under his rapid-fire attack, Hong Bi-Yeon was already facing a malfunction in her operating system and becoming increasingly desperate.
It was quite fun to watch, and it felt like he had discovered something new to play with.
But unlike before, she no longer objected. Apparently, she was starting to understand what he meant through his bullshit.
“What gets wetter the more it dries? A towel. What can one catch that is not thrown? A cold.”
It was interesting.
It was so much fun.
He was joking around, so he crossed the line without realizing it.
“What happens when seagulls fly over the bay?”
Just as he finished speaking, he realized that this was not a nonsense question but something closer to the realm of a dad joke.
‘Oh, no. That’s not right.’
She would never understand even if he told her the correct answer. It seemed that Hong Bi-Yeon was doomed to see through his nonsense.
However…
“… They would be called bagels?”
Hong Bi-Yeon got the right answer.
“Huh? Huh…? You got it right.”
While Baek Yu-Seol answered with a bewildered face, there was a slight smile on Hong Bi-Yeon’s face.
Wow, this was the first time he had seen her smile in both game and real life.
“Oh, as expected of a princess. Your creativity is extraordinary.”
Hong Bi-Yeon hardened her expression when he flattered her, but seeing that the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, it seemed like she was feeling good anyway.
“Hmm. Give me the next question.”
Like that, he gave a special lecture to Hong Bi-Yeon until late at night.