Advanced Intelligence Unlocked
“How about it? You solve it like this. Isn’t it super easy?” Jeong Hanna said.
“Oh. This solution is actually pretty good,” the girl beside her replied.
Jeong Hanna was currently tutoring a single student. The reason was simple: the exam. The ‘practical’ test she had been assigned was to raise another student’s written exam scores.
“Hold on, I’m going to grab some coffee.”
“Sure.”
“Keep working on the problems while I’m gone.”
Jeong Hanna sipped her coffee, tilting her head in thought.
“What exactly is Teacher Yuli thinking…?”
Each instructor had designed a different ‘practical’ exam. The one given to Jeong Hanna was to improve another student’s written scores. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t understand why this counted as a practical test.
“Well… if they tell me to do it, I have to do it.”
No matter how incomprehensible the exam seemed, at Elphon Academy a teacher’s word was law. If this was the practical exam she had been given, then it was a legitimate one.
“That’s why I picked her.”
The exact details of the test set by ‘Yuli’ were to select one student and raise their grades. The improvement would directly translate into practical exam points. Since only one student could be chosen, the decision had to be made with care.
“She has real talent.”
The student Jeong Hanna selected was Choi Min-hye. Her current written scores placed her near the bottom. But her brain was genuine. She simply hadn’t studied before, which was why her grades were low. Once she began studying, her mock exam results skyrocketed. The difference was night and day. With only a little conceptual guidance, she could solve even the most difficult problems on her own.
“Come to think of it, I need to tell Nam Doyun.”
Jeong Hanna murmured as she drank her coffee. Today was the day she had promised to help him. She had agreed to dedicate an entire day to tutoring him.
“Why isn’t he here yet?”
Nam Doyun was still completely out of contact. She had texted him, but there was no reply.
I stepped into the dormitory room. In my hand was something different from usual—the Gilead family heirloom I had taken from Son In-hyeok.
Written Exam D-1
I stared at my phone. There really wasn’t any time left. If I took the written exam with only the knowledge I currently possessed, I would definitely be held back. Logically, it was impossible to change that in a single day.
But I was different. I had a way to flip the situation.
Advanced Intelligence (LV 1)
Allows perfect comprehension of anything the other party says.
(The amount that can be understood is determined by the unique mana within Nam Doyun’s body.)
However, it only works on difficult and complex content. It does not apply to simple concepts.
Condition: Gilead family heirloom necklace.
—Unlock condition satisfied. Would you like to unlock it?
[Y/N]
I clicked Y.
“Mm… did it work?”
I had clicked it, but I didn’t feel any smarter.
“Well… I’ll find out by testing it.”
I smirked.
The door creaked open as Nam Doyun stepped inside. Jeong Hanna and Choi Min-hye were already there.
“Oh. You’re here?” Jeong Hanna said, looking at him.
“Yeah.”
“Can you wait a minute? Let me finish helping Min-hye with this problem and I’ll be right with you.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Hanna, how do you solve this?” Choi Min-hye asked.
“Hmm… this one?”
Jeong Hanna examined the problem carefully. It was extremely high-level. No matter how gifted Choi Min-hye’s brain was, solving this was still beyond her. It looked difficult even for Jeong Hanna herself. For someone who had only started studying a few days ago, it was impossible.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to explain it once.
“Hmm… I’ll explain it, so listen carefully, okay, Min-hye?”
Nam Doyun watched them closely. Should I try activating it once?
Advanced Intelligence (LV 1)
Allows perfect comprehension of anything the other party says.
(The amount that can be understood is determined by the unique mana within Nam Doyun’s body.)
However, it only works on difficult and complex content. It does not apply to simple concepts.
“To interpret this function, you first need to understand Euler’s identity. And to understand Euler’s identity, you have to start with the constants contained in the formula. These constants…”
Jeong Hanna continued the explanation for nearly twenty minutes.
“How about it? Did you understand, Min-hye?”
“Uh… yeah… No, I didn’t understand any of it.”
Choi Min-hye answered with a deflated expression.
“Ah. That’s perfectly normal.”
“Right?”
“Yeah. There’s no need to beat yourself up. It’s natural you can’t solve it.”
Then, suddenly, Nam Doyun spoke up.
“Oh. So that’s how you solve it? I see now.”
“…What?”
Jeong Hanna stared at him with a blank face.
“I couldn’t solve it either, but after listening to your explanation, it makes sense. Can I see the problem?”
“….”
Jeong Hanna let out a small laugh. He was talking nonsense. Even Choi Min-hye—who could be called a genius—hadn’t been able to touch this problem. Yet after only a few hours of study, he claimed he could solve it? What was he thinking?
“Aren’t you going to give me the problem?”
Nam Doyun looked at the workbook in her hands.
“Ah, sure. Why not? Want to give it a try?”
Jeong Hanna handed him the workbook. There was no way he could solve it. Beginners often had the misconception that they might be geniuses. But ninety-nine out of a hundred people weren’t. Even one-in-a-hundred geniuses couldn’t solve this. Unless someone was a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy, they couldn’t solve it after only hearing a brief explanation.
Nam Doyun took out a notebook and began writing equations furiously.
“Well… at least his approach is roughly correct.”
Looking at what he had written, his method itself was on the right track.
He’s smarter than I thought.
The fact that he could reach this level after a single explanation was impressive.
But that’s probably as far as he’ll get.
Having the right approach and actually deriving the answer were two completely different things. The calculation process for this problem was brutally strict. Even Jeong Hanna had to focus intensely or she would make mistakes.
Scribble, scribble—
Nam Doyun kept writing the solution.
Jeong Hanna looked away.
He won’t get it right anyway.
She had needed considerable concentration to solve it herself. Still, since he was bright, a little guidance should be enough to keep him from failing the written exam.
“Why don’t you stop working on that and try the problems I prepared instead?” Jeong Hanna suggested.
But Nam Doyun continued writing, completely absorbed. It seemed he couldn’t even hear her.
Jeong Hanna shook her head.
He’ll get stuck in about twenty minutes and look over.
Once he hit a wall, he would ask for help himself. She turned back to Choi Min-hye.
“Alright, Min-hye. Shall we interpret this function now? This problem asks you to determine the continuity condition when the function’s derivative reaches an extreme value. To solve it, you need to…”
“Oh. I see. Got it. I’ll try solving it.”
Choi Min-hye solved the problem in no time.
“Oh, perfect. That’s exactly right, Min-hye. Your application skills are outstanding.”
“Thanks.”
“Then let’s move on to the next explanation… To solve this problem you need to understand the Lorentz equation. The most important concepts here are the equilibrium point and the invariant set. What that means is…”
Jeong Hanna continued explaining for nearly twenty minutes again.
“Now try solving it.”
“Okay.”
Choi Min-hye smoothly worked through the problem.
Jeong Hanna smiled in satisfaction, then glanced at Nam Doyun. He was still working on the same question.
Is this pride?
He must have hit a wall by now, yet he was still pretending to solve it. Maybe he didn’t want to admit he couldn’t do it. She understood; she had been the same way once.
But I can’t give him any more time.
The exam started tomorrow. They needed to begin the real lesson immediately if he was going to avoid failing.
“Doyun, that’s enough—”
The moment Jeong Hanna reached for the workbook, he spoke.
“Oh. I solved it.”
“…What?”
Jeong Hanna stared at him blankly.
“I solved it.”
“….?”
Is he bluffing?
She hadn’t pegged him as the type, but Nam Doyun apparently had more bravado than expected.
“You really solved it?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
I’ll humor him for a moment.
“Then what’s the answer?”
“….”
Nam Doyun didn’t answer immediately.
Of course. It was only natural. Maybe she should have just praised his effort without asking for the answer.
“Doyun, let’s move on to the next lesson. We really don’t have ti—”
“The answer is 182.”
“…Huh?”
“I was double-checking, so I didn’t answer right away. It’s 182, right?”
Jeong Hanna’s eyes flew to the answer key.
“!!!”
Her face filled with shock.
Question 31. 182.
The correct answer was indeed 182.