Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Prodigy Lee Soo-ryun, PhD (2)
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Prodigies show their talent from a young age.
They have better grades and sharper minds than other kids, acing tests and scoring high on IQ exams.
Schools even gather kids like that into special gifted classes.
"Hmm, my daughter in the gifted class..."
I read the notice Soo-ryun handed me.
To sum up the notice, it was straightforward.
'Your daughter's a prodigy, right? Want her in the gifted class?'
Probably because of her high test scores.
They wanted to put her in the gifted class starting this fourth grade.
"It helps with getting into elite middle schools full of top students..."
Tsk—
This was worth thinking about.
I decided to hear from the person involved first.
"Soo-ryun, what do you think? Want to join the gifted class?"
"Hmm."
Soo-ryun thought for a moment before speaking.
"If I'm not a prodigy, who is? It's the perfect place for me, Dad."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm going to the gifted class. And I'll show them. How amazing I am once my seal is broken."
Heh heh heh—
Soo-ryun said that with a wicked grin.
"...Don't cause too much trouble. Keep it to what you can handle."
Heh heh heh...
My daughter wanted to go, so I wouldn't stop her.
But I was still worried she might stir up something.
'It's about time for Soo-ryun to cause another incident.'
She'd been quiet lately.
I had a feeling her cooldown was up, and it made me a little anxious.
***
Gifted class.
A class just for the top-scoring kids.
They teach tougher material there, unlike regular classes.
'Not that it matters with my skills.'
I'll crush them anyway.
Soo-ryun strode confidently into the gifted class.
Slide—
'The window seat's open.'
She sat by the window like always and scanned the room.
'One reading a book, one solving problems, one showing off.'
Still, the vibe was different from her old class.
These kids knew they were smarter than others, and they had a thirst for knowledge.
'Fewer idiots here. But they still can't touch me.'
Maybe I should seal myself again.
Swoosh—
To give them a handicap, Soo-ryun covered one eye.
She checked her reflection in the window and nodded, satisfied.
'One blue eye showing. Cool.'
Proud—
Right as she admired herself.
"Hey, you there. The top student who's never missed 100%. Lee Soo-ryun, right?"
A boy with a plump belly but neatly combed hair and an air of privilege approached her.
The classic rich kid.
"I'm Lee Soo-ryun."
"Yeah? You really are pretty, just like the rumors! I'm Park Yoo-jun! I'll make you my girlfriend, special!"
Shrug—
Park Yoo-jun's shoulders were up by his ears.
Soo-ryun glared coldly at him, thinking.
'Too much praise from everyone. Lacks self-awareness.'
She wanted to punch him lightly.
But she didn't want to end up like her big sister, so she handled it rationally.
"Get lost."
"H-Huh?"
"Ears fat too? I said get lost."
"T-That's too harsh... I just..."
"Five seconds. 5. 4. 2. 0. Get lost."
"Eek...!"
Sob sob—
Park Yoo-jun teared up and slunk back to his seat.
Soo-ryun felt at ease.
'Internet slang really works. Better than school words.'
Of course, not in front of Dad.
Anywhere else, though.
"Heh heh heh. The internet knows everything."
Soo-ryun dove even deeper into the online world.
***
On her first day, she made a gifted classmate cry.
Then Soo-ryun attended the gifted class lessons.
"Hmm."
The quality was decent.
They even brought in a Top Instructor before the dimensional gates appeared.
Clear parts that required real thinking made it interesting.
But.
"It's getting boring."
That was it.
"Anyone want to come up and solve this problem?"
"Me."
Swoosh—
Soo-ryun raised her hand and stepped forward.
"I was dying of boredom anyway. Just solve this, right?"
"Yes, that's right. But did you hurt your eye?"
"No, this bandage is protecting you all from getting hurt."
"Hmm, I see..."
The Top Instructor gave up trying to understand.
"Hmm, physics, huh. Guess this is how it's solved."
Scribble scribble—
Soo-ryun solved it flawlessly up front.
The Top Instructor hadn't expected her to solve it.
'It's not even meant to be solved. How's a kid gonna get Einstein's relativity? She's no Richard Feynman.'
He figured the kid would just crash and burn on the physics problem.
But.
"H-Huh?"
Against expectations.
Soo-ryun was writing the formulas perfectly.
Using ones even he struggled with.
"Hmm. Like this, then this. Done."
Clack—
Soo-ryun set down the chalk.
The Top Instructor's jaw dropped as he stared.
"N-No way... How did an elementary kid solve that...? With cleaner formulas even..."
He gawked at the board in shock.
Soo-ryun looked at him blankly.
"It's like getting wet in the rain or seawater being salty. Obvious."
Because.
"I'm Lee Soo-ryun. Of course I can solve it."
"N-Not a prodigy—a genius...? Try this one too...!"
The Top Instructor gave her another problem.
She solved it effortlessly every time.
"..."
"..."
The gifted class fell silent, only breaths audible.
The Top Instructor and kids watching realized.
There was something beyond prodigy.
"Easy. They call this a problem? Humans should use their brains more."
Genius.
It went beyond envy to awe.
"Heh heh heh..."
Except for the eyepatch, which was just cringy.
Overwhelming skill, but still kinda lame.
***
I was out cracking dimensional gates hard as usual.
"Whew, my body's looking pretty good on the outside now too? A work of art."
I'd finished work and was admiring myself in the Hero Association shower room mirror.
Bzzz—!!
"What's this, a call? From school?"
My phone vibrated.
"She didn't cause trouble again, did she...?"
With unease.
I picked up.
"...Hello?"
-Hello, are you Soo-ryun's parents?
"...Yes, that's me. Did my daughter do something?"
The gifted class homeroom teacher asked in a slightly pleased tone.
-If you're not busy, could you come to school? We'd like to talk with you.
"Huh? About what?"
-It's about Soo-ryun... Better in person. Can you make it?
"Sure... I'll head over."
What could it be?
No idea.
But I headed to school anyway.
'Probably not bad news.'
I rushed from the Association to school.
"Dad, you came?"
"Yeah, Soo-ryun. You didn't cause trouble, right?"
"You don't trust me at all, Dad? I'm disappointed."
Right now, Soo-ryun and I were sitting on the leather sofa in the staff room.
We sipped hot bean coffee, and the principal sat across with a bright smile.
"Oh, sorry to call you out when you're busy with hero work."
"Yeah, so what's this about?"
Next gate was booked, so straight to the point.
The principal cut right to it.
"Have you considered having Soo-ryun skip grades?"
"Huh? Soo-ryun skip? She's still dumb and young."
Soo-ryun didn't like that.
She stomped my foot in revenge.
"Ice Spike."
Crack—!
Thorns stabbed my instep.
Couldn't pierce skin, just stung.
"I'm not dumb. I'm not young."
Zap—
She glared fiercely.
It was starting to sting, so I dodged under the desk with fancy footwork.
"But why bring up skipping grades suddenly?"
"Because your daughter's a genius. First gifted class today... Instructor said she understood all of physics."
"She can't even step on my foot right, but mastered physics?"
For reference, Soo-ryun was still trying to stomp me.
"Die...! Die...! Die...!"
"Isn't your aim off 'cause of the bandage?"
"No...!!"
Still just stomping the floor.
Anyway.
I answered the principal.
"If she skips, how far?"
"Experts say up to university. Even the one in Seoul-01."
"University...?"
Too eye-catching maybe.
Worried.
Soo-ryun spoke up.
"That university got lots of smart humans?"
"Smarter than elementary kids."
"Then I wanna skip."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I wanna know how smart I really am."
Her eyes were serious.
She was a dragon, so smart for real.
Seemed like she wanted to test her limits.
'Skipping's a bit much...'
Still.
Best answer for her satisfaction.
I glanced at her sparkling eyes and told the principal.
"Skipping's too much. How about a campus visit first? Decide after."
University tour.
Soo-ryun seemed happy.
"Cool, that university. I can conquer it in a day."
"Why conquer a university, Soo-ryun."
She answered matter-of-factly.
"'Cause I want to."
Pure dragon logic.