Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: KMO Math Olympiad
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...No way, the physics guy?!"
This sloppy approach of plugging axioms and theories in roughly without rigor.
Ignoring all the philosophical aspects and just brute-forcing it with intuition.
"Wh-what...? H-how dare you use the Dirac delta as a function?! It's not a function—it's rigorously just a distribution...!! This isn't an electromagnetism problem!"
And on top of that, brazenly touching the third rail that mathematicians hate.
"Well, they did recently include the Dirac delta in modern analysis and proved parts of it, so we gave partial credit there."
"Shut up, you idiot grad student!"
President Hong couldn't accept it.
It wasn't someone digging into beautiful math the math way.
It was the physicist he despised most who had solved his problem.
"You sold your soul to physicists too?! No wonder your recent papers have all been in mathematical physics...!"
Even as President Hong said that, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the third-place answer sheet.
"A physicist who sees math as just a tool could solve my problem...!"
President Hong's signature math supremacy.
Physics is ultimately just a derivative of math.
That much was true.
Math had indeed been used as a tool to describe physics.
But lately, physics had started advancing math itself, even helping math evolve in reverse.
And then Edward Witten, a physicist, went and won the Fields Medal—math's Nobel Prize.
In other words, the navel was devouring the belly.
In this situation.
"Th-this?!"
President Hong spotted the final footnote on the third-place sheet that he absolutely shouldn't have found.
P.S. Of course, I know this proof isn't mathematically rigorous. But 'physical intuition' and the 'natural axioms verified by experiment' corresponding to the above theorem are clearer than any theory. If you deny that, what universe is math even describing with its equations? (lol) Q.E.D.
That's right.
Just as mathematicians look down on physicists inwardly.
The reverse is true too.
No matter how much mathematicians rave about theoretical perfection and beauty.
Physicists counter like this:
『So what natural phenomenon does it explain? Has it been experimentally proven?』
One line turns a lifetime of research into 'delusional scraps.'
"Y-you, you arrogant bastard...!! Getting smug when you engineers look down on us too...!!"
Of course, from an engineering student's perspective, they're both the same.
"What good is that? How do you make money?"—and both shut up.
Especially in Korea, where basic science is neglected.
"Anyway, this nonsensical solution...! Zero points! No, minus five hundred!"
"N-no, sir! Professor! I mean, President! The parents will riot...!"
"Argh, who cares...! Give me that grading pen!!"
In truth, the grad student was thrilled.
He'd finally gotten one over on his dismissive professor.
That's why he defended the third-place sheet like it was his own.
"I know all about it! You secretly submitted that nuclear fusion turbulence project for research funding too!"
"H-how did you—?! No! It was just to teach those clueless physicists a lesson...!"
"You got the funding anyway! So pay my lab stipend! It's been 39 months overdue...!!"
A desperate scuffle between grad student and professor.
Flutter.
In the chaos, the third-place sheet fluttered away and fell to the floor.
Revealing the front with the name and school.
[Han Kyung-jun. Sinnong Middle School.]
The third-place sheet was Kyung-jun's.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I took the KMO middle school division exam.
🏆 CERTIFICATE 🏆
Bronze Medal
The above student has placed as noted above, and is hereby awarded this certificate (Bronze Medal).
April XX, 2008
And received the certificate.
Was I happy?
Honestly, no real feeling.
"In the end, I solved more with old knowledge crammed in than actual studying this time. That's why bronze."
Math geniuses are monsters from middle school.
Still, snagging a medal at KMO after a few days of study? Not bad.
One week for this means tons of growth potential.
"Even bronze is plenty!"
Mom scolded me, thinking the same.
But listening, she was scolding herself.
"I felt so bad for not giving you math tutoring like other kids get, but our son wins medals among the top kids. Mom's really happy."
Parents were proud I self-studied without academies and won.
Not just any contest—the Korean Mathematical Olympiad with the nation's best.
Slip.
Handing over the certificate, a letter fell out.
"A letter? From the Korean Mathematical Society directly?"
From the society itself.
I opened it and read.
Mom and Dad peeked over curiously.
"Kyung-jun! They want to meet you! The president himself!"
"Wow, for real? Handwriting a letter like this...!"
The letter from President Hong Seong-pyo.
That old-timer seemed to have written it himself...
"Probably dictated to his grad student."
...or not.
No way that old coot writes his own.
Last time I asked for math consultation on quantum algorithms, he pulled all his cranky stunts.
"Rough read: wants to meet, like you said. But why me? Just bronze... Hmm."
"Obviously they see your true value!"
Parents, predictably excited.
"Oh man, what now? Our son might go to a special purpose high school, like science high."
"Dear... Is this medal that big a deal?"
"You! KMO is huge! A medal there locks in science high!"
"I didn't know... That big? Then this invite means..."
"Even better places maybe! You'll need to earn big for Kyung-jun's MIT. Your dream!"
"Heh heh..."
Parents' expectations skyrocketing to frenzy.
"Nah. I'm not going."
"Wh-what?!"
I wasn't thrilled.
"What's math good for? Perfect for starving."
Physics departments hear similar from engineers.
But comparing to math is a huge insult.
Even if physics sucks at theory, experiments give options anywhere.
You know?
South Korea's semiconductors were led by '70s Seoul National University physics grads?
Makes sense—SNU physics topped even med school admissions then.
Plus, meeting that society crank means nonstop physics bashing.
He'd insist on math department madness.
No way I'm going.
Besides.
"I'm going into physics."
I already have my goal set.
Regression or not.
It never changes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I know better than anyone that physics' era returns in the future.
Physics dark age for next 20 years.
But post-quantum computer commercialization, it changes.
Physics will eclipse med schools again, topping admissions.
Physics' golden age returns.
And I, in my second life post-regression, know it best.
"Still, meeting him might be good..."
"KMO was just a test run."
This Olympiad checked how smart my brain got.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
✨ Intelligence:16
I simply took it once to test how much the Intelligence stat increase had affected me.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
In that sense, this experiment was a 100% complete success.
1 point of Intelligence gained from the potion.
And an additional 3 points gained while studying for the Korean Mathematical Olympiad (KMO).
Thus, my Intelligence stat rose from 12 to 16.
And because of that—
I was able to win a Bronze Prize at the Korean Mathematical Olympiad (KMO) in just one week,
Something my past self could never have achieved.
“And Bronze is already enough to get into a specialized high school.”
Just as Mother had said earlier,
Winning Bronze at the Korean Mathematical Olympiad (KMO) alone was enough to enter a specialized high school.
“But still, meeting him would be useful for your academic record—”
“Of course, Bronze alone might not be enough for Seoul Science High School or KAIST-affiliated gifted high school. But that doesn’t matter. I’ll be taking the Physics Olympiad in the second half of the year.”
There wasn’t only a math olympiad.
The next most famous was the Physics Olympiad.
And there—
I was confident.
I would win Gold.
“Hey! Don’t get arrogant!”
“…What?”
Father suddenly raised his voice.
“No matter how confident you are, there will always be people better than you! So you must remain humble, and when opportunities like this come—”
“Father.”
I interrupted him calmly.
“This isn’t arrogance.”
It wasn’t arrogance.
“I’m confident I can win Gold even in the high school division. This truly isn’t arrogance.”
Mechanics problems?
Just apply the Lagrangian from classical mechanics.
Electromagnetism problems?
Even undergraduate-level imaging methods would be enough.
Quantum mechanics problems?
Those were basic undergraduate concepts.
Olympiad-level problems were trivial.
After explaining calmly, I concluded.
“And to repeat myself, I have no interest in mathematics. Mathematics is nothing more than a tool for physics. Entering the Korean Mathematical Society would be like falling into quicksand. I’m certain of it. I’ll go study physics now.”
"K-Kyung-jun...!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I entered my room.
Click.
And locked the door.
To make it clear there was no compromise.
“The future doesn’t belong to judges, prosecutors, lawyers, doctors… nor mathematics, computer science, electronics, mechanical engineering, materials science, nuclear engineering, or biology.”
I muttered firmly.
“It belongs to physics.”
Einstein established relativity.
Quantum mechanics was born.
The Manhattan Project created nuclear weapons.
And soon—
The quantum computer revolution would arrive.
And physics would once again stand at the center.
“South Korea missed that wave because of corrupt bureaucrats.”
In my previous life,
I saw it first.
But I was betrayed.
By the nation.
By the people.
“Not this time.”
Because now—
I had regressed.
“Twenty years later, the third scientific revolution will begin.”
The first revolution—
Newton.
The second—
Einstein.
And the third—
“It won’t be led by America. Nor China. Nor Japan.”
It would be led—
By me.
“I will lead the quantum computer revolution.”