Episode 16
Episode 16: Did You Really Expect Children's Grades to Improve in This Environment? (2)
After first-period math class ended, the students in Gyeongjun's class were in an uproar.
"Ah! The math teacher's gone crazy again!"
"He did this before the midterms, and now again?"
"No, seriously, what kind of homework is he assigning to students he just barely taught calculus to?"
The second-year science track math teacher at Cheongsin High School!
He was infamous for giving his students absurd homework under the guise of creativity tests.
He had done it once before the midterms, and now, with final exams approaching, he had assigned another one.
"There's a function that is 1 when the input is irrational and 0 when it's rational...? What happens if you integrate this? What is this?! How do you solve something like this!"
"Damn it! I'm not doing it, not doing it! It's not like this will even be on the CSAT. I'll just skip the bonus points."
Of course, most students didn't even attempt the problem and simply gave up.
Since they already knew they couldn't solve it, they had no intention of wasting their time.
There was no penalty for failing to solve it; solving it only granted a small bonus to their attitude score.
There was no need to overexert themselves trying.
'If this had come out as a performance assessment, the parents would have rushed to the teachers' office with tools right now.'
He had heard that some parents had actually protested, asking what creativity had to do with Korean education.
'More importantly, how the hell do I solve this...'
Gyeongjun furrowed his brows deeply and glared intently at the "creativity problem" the math teacher had assigned.
* * *
After school.
He sent his friends home first so he could think about the math teacher's creativity problem.
Currently, Gyeongjun was leaving school alone.
Unfortunately, it seemed Gyeongjun's creativity had its limits, as the problem remained unsolved.
"Hey, did you know? That Yuseolha girl goes to a private villa whenever she studies?"
"A private villa? No way!"
A conversation between a group of female students up ahead.
It was about Yuseolha—the top-ranked student at Cheongsin High School.
"No, it's true. They say she has a private admissions coach, a personal chef, and even a nutritionist, providing an environment optimized for studying."
"Wow... She's the ultimate golden-spoon daughter. What kind of castle is that place? Sky Castle?"
"Pfft, it's even better than that. Shouldn't it be Harvard Castle? Or maybe Johns Hopkins Castle."
"Pfft! That actually makes sense."
Having overheard their conversation by chance, Gyeongjun thought,
'A private villa... I suppose it's only natural for the granddaughter of the Seolha Group.'
Yuseolha was the exceedingly precious granddaughter of the Seolha Group, which held sway over the world.
For someone like her, a private villa for studying was, in some ways, too obvious an investment.
Since she bore the mission of succeeding the Seolha Group, she was undoubtedly spending an enormous amount on private education.
'Huh? But I have a villa too, don't I?'
Of course, if there was a difference, Yuseolha's was a real villa in reality, whereas Gyeongjun's was inside a game.
'No, there are probably many other differences too. Like quality. I don't even have a personal chef. I just eat hard bread to fill my Fullness...'
Gyeongjun felt a twinge of envy inwardly.
But it didn't go as far as jealousy.
'No matter how amazing Yuseolha's villa is, it can't beat my study villa.'
Of course, that was because Gyeongjun's study villa truly raised his "study ability."
It even showed up clearly in numbers.
Currently, studying in Gyeongjun's study villa increased his Perseverance by 40%.
This was an ability that could never be matched even if one spent tens or hundreds of billions to create an environment in reality.
'Come to think of it, didn't the Seolha Group develop The World? But seeing as how I changed my class to Seeker of Infinite Knowledge... it seems even Yuseolha, their granddaughter, hasn't heard this information.'
If she had heard the information, she would have already changed her class to Seeker of Infinite Knowledge.
But the Seeker of Infinite Knowledge was not Yuseolha—it was Gyeongjun.
She was the one who hadn't heard the information. Even though she was the Seolha Group's granddaughter.
'I suppose it's only natural when I think about it.'
If such an illegal leak of information had occurred, it would have been a massive fraud deceiving other ordinary users.
Even though a year had passed since The World's release, such an issue had never surfaced.
Gyeongjun inwardly admired the Seolha Group's game management, which was surprisingly clean.
'First, I'll go grocery shopping, play with the kids, eat dinner, and then log back in to study.'
Gyeongjun's family had four siblings, including himself.
As the eldest son, Gyeongjun had much to do besides studying.
* * *
After dinner.
After changing Seunghak's diapers and playing plenty with Ubin and Sobin, Gyeongjun logged into the game.
It was to study.
[Currently Applied Buff]
▶Perseverance +40%
Under the buff, Gyeongjun was looking at the creativity problem the math teacher had assigned.
"Hmm, it's not coming together. No, honestly, I can't even grasp a hint of it. Damn it."
Thanks to the Perseverance buff, Gyeongjun could ponder over unsolvable problems for much longer.
But if the problem still wouldn't be solved, it was all for naught.
『Creativity Problem』
『There exists a function whose value is 1 when the input is irrational and 0 when it is rational. Describe what value results from integrating this function from 0 to 1.』
※Bonus points will be awarded for a logically sound answer even without a precise proof.
Gyeongjun had copied the entire problem from reality into his in-game notebook.
The fact that he had copied it down perfectly without a single typo made it obvious how hard he had stared at the problem.
Of course, that didn't mean he could solve it.
"Ugh! Why does that crazy math teacher torment students by assigning something like this? Is this even within the high school curriculum?"
"Argh! I don't know!"
Gyeongjun immediately stood up and ruffled his hair wildly.
"Goodness."
After struggling with his head for a while, he looked around and saw that it was quite dark.
The sun was slowly setting even inside the game, and since the study villa Gyeongjun had built had no windows, it inevitably looked even darker.
It had actually been uncomfortable studying yesterday because it was so dark.
He had somehow managed to study using the system's brightness correction and his Perseverance buff, but...
"How can anyone study in an environment like this?"
Now that he looked at it, he felt he had to do something about it.
"This won't do. Since it's not coming out anyway, I'll take care of this first."
"Ugh... I should have bought one on the way here. I forgot."
But making a lamp himself required preparing too many things.
Gyeongjun decided to leave the dark study villa first and think about it outside.
As soon as he stepped outside, a full moon like a rice cake greeted him.
"It's brighter outside than I thought?"
"I didn't know because I've been cooped up in the library the whole time. Sheesh~"
Gyeongjun stretched while looking at the sky beginning to turn orange.
At that moment, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind.
It was a scene from a drama.
—Did you really expect your children's grades to improve in an environment like this?
A drama called *Sky Castle*, which dealt with the college entrance exam war of Korean parents.
In it, the father of twins personally taught his sons in a perfectly enclosed space where neither light nor sound could enter.
That line was spoken by an admissions specialist upon seeing that.
An enclosed environment where not a single ray of light entered.
Grades couldn't possibly improve in such an environment, let alone studying itself being possible.
"The wife, unable to watch anymore, took a hammer and smashed the wall. And a single ray of light entered through there... That's right! Let's just smash the walls too!"
Timo was bewildered by the overly radical opinion.
Smashing a house he had worked so hard to build?
Even Timo, who had grown somewhat accustomed to Gyeongjun over the past three months, couldn't grasp his true intention.
"I mean, not demolish everything, just moderately! In other words, let's install windows!"
Windows!
Windows were quite an important element for studying.
Just imagine a room without a single window.
You couldn't ventilate when needed, and without light, it would be unbearably stifling.
The drama put it this way:
—Father. Thinking skills, application skills, comprehension, and creativity are displayed in a free atmosphere.
"So if I create a bright and free environment with windows, the Infinite Reading effect might activate and give me a creativity buff! Just like the Perseverance buff! Then this damn creativity problem will be solved too!"
"Exactly! Great, then let's get to work right now."
[General Skill 『General Construction (Lv.5)』]
Gyeongjun immediately used his construction skill and began remodeling the study villa.
The work was simple.
It was a process of making square holes in the walls of the study villa and smoothing the finish.
Of course, he had no intention of putting windows just anywhere.
"Timo, just like you told me about desk placement last time, are there good positions for windows too?"
"Okay. Then here, here, and here would be appropriate."
Following Timo's advice, Gyeongjun began installing windows in the most optimal locations.
Screech, screech.
Zeeeng, zeeeng.
After tens of minutes of work, Gyeongjun finished installing all the windows.
When he went back inside the study villa, it was incomparably brighter than before.
It seemed like he could read the study guide without any difficulty at this level.
"Hmm, it's fine. Just right. It can't beat fluorescent lights, but it's not bad."
This was Gyeongjun's assessment after actually taking out a Korean language book from his inventory and reading it.
However, there was still an unresolved problem.
The creativity buff hadn't appeared yet, but above all, there was one bigger problem.
Whooosh~
"There's no glass in the windows so the wind is rushing right through... Damn."
Whooosh~ whoosh, whoosh!
The ventilation was too good, and the wind swirled inside the study villa.
Flap, flap!
The pages of the Korean language book turned endlessly.
Like this, he couldn't even read the book properly, let alone study.
"I need glass to put in the windows."
Not medieval fantasy windows that could only be opened and closed with wooden shutters, but transparent modern-style windows made of glass.
* * *
Obtaining the materials for glass wasn't very difficult.
Because Gyeongjun had the water spirit, Banguri.
Of course, Banguri hadn't fetched the glass materials for him.
Another fellow was going to get them.
Glass materials were the specialty of the earth spirit, not the water spirit.
"So you're Banguri's friend, Nome?"
—Hrrrrmm...
[The lesser earth spirit, Nome, leisurely nods its head.]
The lesser earth spirit, Nome, introduced through Banguri!
Just as Banguri the water spirit looked like a water droplet, Nome the earth spirit looked like a clay doll made of packed dirt.
"I'm also Banguri's friend; won't you be my friend too?"
—Hmm.
[Nome nods its head roughly, saying that Banguri's friend is its friend.]
"Great. Then from now on, your name is 'Mud.'"
—Hrgk.
[Mud roughly accepts its name.]
[You have formed a contract with the lesser earth spirit, Nome.]
[You have acquired the Rare Skill 『Earth Spirit Summoning』.]
[Earth Spirit Summoning]
▶You can summon earth spirits. The grade of the spirit depends on the skill level.
▶Skill Level: Lv.1
▶Skill Type: Active
▶Skill Rank: Rare
[Earth Attribute Affinity has been created.]
[Earth Attribute Affinity: 10]
"Mud. Sorry to ask right after the contract, but can you help me out?"
—Hm.
[Mud says it will listen because you're a friend, though it's annoyed.]
"Thanks. Then I'll ask you to do exactly what I heard from Banguri."
—Hrg...!
Mud nodded at Gyeongjun's words and instantly burrowed underground.
Drudge! Drudge!
Sounds of digging this way and that came from below.
At the same time, a status window popped up.
[Mud attempts 『Ore Extraction』.]