Episode 19
Episode 19: They Say You Don't Even Bother a Dog When It's Studying (1)
After school.
Most students had already left for the day.
It was that time of day when only teachers with remaining clerical work were still around.
The math teacher of Gyeongjun's class had not yet gone home either.
The reason he hadn't left was clear.
Selecting students at the principal's request.
Because today marked the end of the 'creativity problem,' which was part of that process.
"Ugh... this is a headache."
『Creativity Problem Solution』
『Name: 2-7 Lee Gyeongjun』
The math teacher looked through the creativity problem homework collected from Class 2-7, scratching his head in frustration over nothing in particular.
"Because of this brat, I can't even go home..."
All that remained was to finish writing the student evaluation report on the creativity problem and send it to the principal.
Then the students whose names were written on the report would be placed as candidates for the 'Seoul National University Principal's Recommendation.'
And that was precisely the problem.
Gyeongjun, who had solved the creativity problem brilliantly!
The math teacher was torn over whether to include Gyeongjun in the Seoul National University principal's recommendation candidates.
"I had no idea a student like this would suddenly pop up..."
He recalled what had happened during fourth period today.
"This brat, unlike Yuseolha, whose explanation had university-level math mixed in, explained using only the high school curriculum, and his logic was sufficient too."
Gyeongjun's explanation was impressive.
Of course, it was not as mathematically perfect as Yuseolha's explanation.
Nor did it have the striking, popping originality of Kim Cheolsu's or Park Yeonghui's explanations.
Even so, Gyeongjun's explanation was incredibly easy to understand.
He pointed out, without missing a single one, the parts that smart people would just gloss over, thinking, "Why can't they understand this?"
"That's a style of explanation impossible to pull off unless you've climbed up from the very bottom."
Those who have been good at things since birth can never understand those who aren't.
A child raised with a gold spoon can never understand a child from a dirt-spoon environment.
Even if they say they understand, it is merely knowing it as knowledge.
Unless one has experienced it oneself, one cannot truly understand it from the heart.
That is why the explanations of Yuseolha, Kim Cheolsu, and Park Yeonghui failed to capture the students' attention.
They couldn't strike a chord deep within.
No matter how smart or outstanding they were, it was ultimately a league of their own.
In fact, those three were also aware of this as they explained.
That's why, during their explanations, their gazes were not on their classmates but on the teacher.
They had no intention of making others understand from the very beginning.
They merely wanted to one-sidedly show that they were right and flaunt their abilities.
"But student Gyeongjun was different. He was explaining while looking forward. His gaze was on his classmates, not on me."
The class students were empathizing with Gyeongjun's words.
Though they couldn't perfectly understand the content, they were trying to understand.
Something that neither the 1st-, 2nd-, nor 3rd-ranked student in the entire school could do—Gyeongjun had done it.
A student who previously hadn't been particularly outstanding and was merely in the lower ranks.
"No, perhaps it was precisely because of that that he could do it. Come to think of it, his grades..."
The math teacher checked Gyeongjun's grades on his computer.
"His first-year grades... ugh, they're dreadful. He was at rock bottom, wasn't he? Same in the second semester, barely avoiding failing marks."
In his first year, Gyeongjun had truly been unpromising.
But starting from the midterms of the first semester of his second year, he had gone crazy.
"Wow, this is..."
Upper-middle ranks.
A student who had been in the lower ranks for a year had suddenly entered the upper-middle ranks in his second year.
It was an incredible rise.
In terms of rank, a kid who had been hovering around 400th to 500th place had jumped straight into the 100th to 200th range.
"Amazing. This is the kind of kid you might see once in your entire teaching career if you're lucky..."
Very rarely, there are students like this.
The ones who couldn't study at first but shoot up later.
Rather, these students often got into better universities and adapted well there, too.
"But they still can't compare to kids who have been doing well from start to finish."
No matter how much Gyeongjun's grades had risen, he couldn't beat kids who had routinely eaten 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for breakfast from the very beginning.
"...Right."
The math teacher steeled his heart and began selecting the students to put on the report.
Tap. Tip-tap.
The promising students from each class were written on the report, and the names of Class 2-7 students began to be written as well.
『Candidates for Seoul National University Principal's Recommendation: Yuseolha, Kim Cheolsu, Park Yeonghui』
Gyeongjun's name wasn't on it.
He had failed to make the candidate list.
The math teacher closed the report file just like that and began writing an email.
However.
He didn't attach the report he had just written.
The subject line was also quite different from what he had originally planned to write.
『Subject: Principal, may I postpone submitting this report until the final exams?』
The math teacher decided to watch a little longer.
The ones who couldn't study at first but shot up later are certainly impressive.
But they can't be compared to those who have been doing well all along.
But what if.
If there is just one extremely unlikely case...
"...If he surpasses the ones who were doing well all along, then who knows."
In Gyeongjun's explanation this time, the math teacher had glimpsed the seed of that possibility.
If later on.
If Gyeongjun could really pull ahead of the other soaring, elite kids and rise to the top.
He would surely be the real deal.
A true, genuine article that none of the other talented individuals could ever hope to measure up to.
"If he's really that kind of guy, he could do anything, not just studying."
Whether Gyeongjun was destined to be that kind of person would surely be determined by the upcoming final exams.
* * *
The Seoul National University principal's recommendation, of which only two students in the entire school could receive it!
Just being given the chance to be named a candidate for it was an immense honor.
Of course, Gyeongjun didn't know this even in his wildest dreams.
Today, too, Gyeongjun logged into the Study Villa.
"I solved the creativity problem well too, so my math school record should come out pretty high this time."
Timo displayed a question mark emoticon at the word he was hearing for the first time.
After all, in World, a fantasy game world, there were magic academies but no public education institutions like elementary, middle, or high schools.
"Yeah, school records. Just think of it as a grade indicator. I was originally going to get a job right after graduating high school, but now I'm aiming for university."
If he was going to aim for university, he needed to polish his school records.
"Yeah. If I just keep going like this, I should be able to get into an In Seoul university for sure. No, I can't let my guard down. Let's work harder!"
In Seoul.
An umbrella term for universities in Seoul.
Though not exact, it generally refers to universities within roughly the top 10~20%.
Getting in here doesn't mean your life will automatically be one of continuous success.
Still, the probability of that becomes much higher than it is now.
But regardless of In Seoul or whatever, there was one biggest problem remaining for Gyeongjun in aiming for university.
"The tuition will definitely cost a lot..."
"I don't know exactly what level a low-ranking noble is at... but anyway, ours will cost a lot too."
Private universities that cost at least 5 to 6 million won or more per semester!
Attending for just 4 years costs nearly 40 million won or more!
That meant almost half of 100 million won gone.
And that's not all?
If it's far from home, he'd have to choose living alone instead of commuting, and living expenses including textbooks and food would take a huge chunk, too.
For Gyeongjun, who already had many family members and whose household circumstances were not good, it was bound to be a huge burden.
"But I can vaguely see a solution. I earned quite a bit selling chairs before."
Gyeongjun had earned about 120 million Rian selling chairs the other day.
Converted to Korean won, even after deducting fees, it was an amount exceeding 10 million won.
Of course, that time was somewhat special, and even if he made and sold more chairs now, he wouldn't be able to earn that much.
As he started to make a name for himself, much more professional analysis would be done, and he wouldn't be able to sell them anymore at the absurd price he had initially set.
'But what if that HP/MP recovery function could be activated not through something like a chair, but just by possessing it?'
The so-called portable HP/MP charger!
It would undoubtedly be used like hotcakes by high-level and low-level players alike.
Of course, right now he had no clue how to make it, nor the faintest idea of what he needed to study to implement it.
However, Gyeongjun had caught a glimpse of that possibility when he made the window this time, recorded the sound of rain before, and made chairs and desks.
"So I need to study more both to get into a good university and to earn my tuition later."
Gyeongjun took out Physics I and Chemistry I books from his inventory.
Both were borrowed from the library and had to be returned in a few days.
So there was something he had to finish before returning them.
"Timo, today I'm going to go through Physics I and Chemistry I again from the beginning."
Gyeongjun, who never neglected review even for subjects he had already seen once!
In fact, nothing was as annoying and boring as review.
If you're told to reread a novel you've already read, isn't it terribly boring unless it's really interesting?
Studying was the same.
But Gyeongjun had carried out that boring, tedious review without missing a single day until now.
Ever since he had changed his class to Seeker of Infinite Knowledge.
"I'm going to explain to you, so think of yourself as someone hearing it for the first time and ask all the questions you want."
Gyeongjun had his own special method for review.
It was assuming Timo was a student who knew nothing and trying to teach him himself!
Originally, you could say you only truly knew something if you could make someone else understand it.
Moreover, doing it this way was much less boring than reviewing alone, and sometimes even fun.
"Yeah. First, let's turn on the Dimensional Study Room."
[Mythic Skill "Dimensional Study Room" is switched to ON.]
▶Time Ratio: 2.0x
▶Accumulated Time: 31 hours 17 minutes
The moment the Dimensional Study Room was turned on, everything except Timo and Gyeongjun slowed down by twofold.
Confirming that fact, Gyeongjun opened his book and began to speak.
"Alright, let's begin. First, as for what Chemistry I is as a subject..."
Gyeongjun began his lecture on Physics I and Chemistry I targeting student Timo.
* * *
.
.
.
[Through continuous studying, Intelligence has increased by 1.]
[Through continuous studying, Intelligence has increased by 1.]
Gyeongjun's lecture showed no signs of ending.
Already on the sixth hour.
Of course, there were breaks.
Once every 3 hours.
If a university professor did three consecutive hours of lecture without breaks, almost no student would be able to endure it.
From the start, university professors couldn't lecture that long, either.
Yet Gyeongjun was somehow pulling off something that neither university students nor professors could easily do.
[Currently Applied Buffs]
▶Gyeongjun's Waist-Correcting Ash Tree Chair: Tenacity +10%
▶Gyeongjun's Unwavering Ash Tree Desk: Tenacity +10%
▶Desk/Chair Arrangement Bonus: Tenacity +10%
▶Gyeongjun's Quartz Glass Windows (5): Creativity +25%
▶Gyeongjun's Quartz Glass Ceiling: Creativity +15%
▶Gyeongjun's Study Villa: Tenacity +10%
Tenacity, the driving force that allowed him to continue the lecture somehow!
And Creativity, which somehow kept his head turning during that long time!
This was possible because these two abilities of Gyeongjun's had risen by as much as 40%.
Of course, no matter what, there was a limit.
[Mythic Skill "Dimensional Study Room" has been switched to OFF.]
▶Accumulated Time: 31 hours 17 minutes → 28 hours 09 minutes
Swooosh!
The world that had slowed down by twofold returned to its original state.
"Uaaaah...! I thought I was going to die from exhaustion!"
"Oh, I did quite a bit? If I do a little more today, I can finish the review tomorrow and go return the books."
Gyeongjun said proudly while collapsed on the desk.
If he had reviewed only Chemistry I, he would have finished today, not tomorrow.
"You're right. It's really remarkable progress, remarkable progress~"
Just as he was lying face down on the desk, speaking in a completely drained voice.
Kugung!
The Study Villa shook momentarily from a sudden impact.
"What?"
Wondering what on earth it was, he shifted his gaze beyond the window.
There, something like a clump of brown fur was sliding down...
"Whimper...!"
"...What the heck is that wolf?"
It was a Plains Wolf that had crashed into the quartz glass window and was now bleeding from its nose.