Proving the Grade

The results were exactly as expected.

First, I got perfect scores in all three core subjects. I also got perfect scores in both science electives and Korean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠history.

So far, it matches my self-grading.

The problem lay in the other subjects.

Physical Education, Music, Technology & Home Economics...

Naturally, my grades in those subjects were poor since I hadn't put any effort into them.

I had never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠studied them in my past life either, so it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only to be expected.

Out of a hundred points, my highest score among them was an eighty in Music.

The rest were even lower. In particular, Arabic was only eighteen points, two points lower than my self-graded estimate.

At least it's a relief that they don't carry much weight in the total score.

Each subject contributed differently to the total score used for rankings.

For instance, a perfect score in Korean added a full hundred points to the total, whereas a perfect score in Physical Education only added thirty.

Thanks to that, my midterm rank is...

Third in the entire school.

Second in my class.

Heh. That turned out better than expected.

I hadn't expected first place anyway.

I had bombed several subjects, including Arabic.

If anything, this rank was higher than I anticipated.

And it was already higher than my original goal.

I only needed to be in the top ten.

That was the threshold to receive the one-million-won scholarship awarded to the top academic performers.

Since I was third in the school, I easily qualified.

Heh. With this, my seed money is secured.

Feeling relaxed enough to play around, I casually walked over to Jang Junyeob, who was sitting near the front.

He was staring at his report card with a very strange expression. He didn't look completely devastated, so I asked him.

"How did you do?"

"Ah... I'm last, but not really last."

Huh?

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I'm last in our class, but there's someone below me in the school rankings. Who could it be?"

"Yeah, who could it be? Truly impressive."

No, seriously.

Jang Junyeob had built a literal wall between himself and his textbooks, yet someone actually scored lower than him.

Well, that person used to be me, so this is slightly awkward.

Just then, Oh Yunsung walked over.

"Hey, what ranks did you guys get? Don't tell me you're last again."

Jang Junyeob replied confidently.

"No, no. I'm still holding my ground."

"Oh, really? Lucky you. Anyway, I'm not curious about your rank..."

Oh Yunsung's gaze shifted to me.

"What about you? What's your rank?"

"Third."

Both of them gasped in surprise.

"Whoa! Third?"

"Awesome!"

"You were studying hard for a while, and it finally paid off."

I turned the question back to Oh Yunsung.

"What about you?"

"Sixth."

"Oh, look at you. You must have studied. That's a pretty big jump."

"Right?"

To be honest, I couldn't remember what his original grades were like.

"So, what's your rank in the class?"

"Class? I meant I'm sixth in the class."

He looked puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened.

"Wait... Don't tell me the 'third' you just mentioned is your school rank?"

"Yeah."

Jang Junyeob practically shouted.

"What?! Third in the entire school?!"

At his outburst, the eyes of everyone in the classroom snapped toward us.

Ignoring the sudden attention, Oh Yunsung, equally shocked, urged me.

"Let me see. Show me your report card."

I handed it over.

"Holy crap, it's real!"

"He really is third in the school!"

Intrigued by the commotion, a few other classmates drifted over.

They naturally assumed it was Oh Yunsung.

"What's going on? Yunsung, did you get third in the school?"

"No."

"Then who?"

Oh Yunsung pointed at me.

"Him."

"What? Ji Hyunwoo?"

"Yeah. He's third in the school this time."

Not long after the report cards were distributed, I found myself back in the counseling room, sitting across from my homeroom teacher. He had called me in privately.

Looking somewhat awkward and hesitant, the teacher spoke cautiously.

"Um... Hyunwoo. Your grades improved tremendously this time."

"Yes, sir."

"On the other hand, your previous grades weren't very good."

"Yes, sir."

"So, the thing is... Ah, let me make this clear first: it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that your progress this time is simply too extraordinary."

"Yes. I went from dead last in the school to almost the very top."

I could easily guess what he wanted to say. The change in my grades was so extreme that it was hard to believe. It wasn't just a matter of ranking; a student who used to guess and get almost everything wrong had suddenly scored perfect hundreds across the board.

"Yes. Because of that, I think you need to offer some explanation."

"An explanation?"

"Yes. About how you managed to raise your grades so suddenly."

"Hmm..."

"No matter how hard you studied, it's realistically very difficult to raise your grades this much in such a short period."

He's certainly right about that.

It was only possible because I had regressed. Having my past memories and experience drastically cut down the time needed to study. In my past life, my grades hadn't risen this much even after spending an entire year preparing for college entrance exams again.

But I can't exactly tell him the truth.

I looked at the waiting teacher and spoke with utter shamelessness.

"I got lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Yes. By chance, a lot of questions came from the exact areas I studied. So, I just got lucky."

"......"

The teacher fell silent, a conflicted look crossing his face. Since I claimed it was just luck, there wasn't much he could say.

However, I didn't want to leave things on an awkward, suspicious note either, so I spoke up.

"If you'd like, you can test me."

At that, the teacher nodded.

"Well... then let's do it just as a formality. Try solving these."

He pulled a sheet of paper from an envelope he had brought along and handed it to me. It contained a few questions for each subject, including math and English. He had likely prepared this in advance, anticipating this exact situation.

This is actually better.

It would clear up any suspicion quickly. I took the paper and scanned the questions. Several familiar problem types caught my eye.

"These are all types of questions that were on the exam."

"You recognize them. Yes, the other teachers prepared them in advance to verify. Personally, I wasn't very keen on doing this, but..."

It seemed the other teachers had raised objections. It made sense; to the teachers of subjects where I hadn't directly demonstrated my skills, like math or physics, my sudden perfect scores must have seemed highly suspicious.

"Anyway, they agreed to accept your exam scores as genuine if you solve these. Do your best."

"Yes, sir."

I picked up a pen and immediately began solving the problems. There were ten questions in total. The order was Korean, English, Math, Science, and History—two questions from each subject I had aced.

The answer to number one is one.

Naturally, I had no trouble finding the answers. Since they were problems I had already solved before, it took even less time.

Number two is four, number three is five, number four is two.

As I checked off the answers at a rapid pace, the teacher asked with concern.

"Are you solving them properly? You don't have to rush. There's no time limit."

"Ah, yes. But I'm not really rushing."

"What? You didn't even write down the formulas properly. How...? No, there's no way you could solve them this quickly..."

I gently shushed him.

"Shh, teacher."

"Ah, right."

I continued solving the problems. Five is one, six is three. Soon, I reached the physics questions. Physics was the subject taught by my homeroom teacher. He had likely written these questions himself, so he would naturally know the answers.

Seven is five.

As soon as I solved that one, the watching teacher let out a sound.

"Huh?"

When I solved the next one, he made an even louder noise. Eight is one.

"Heh!"

Regardless of his reaction, I finished the remaining questions. Nine is three, ten is also three. Having solved everything, I handed the paper back.

"There, all done. Please grade it."

"Uh, right. Let's see."

Having saved the answer key on his phone, the teacher checked my answers one by one. Naturally, it was a continuous stream of red circles. *Check, check, check, check.*

With every checkmark added, the teacher's expression shifted dramatically.

"..."

"...!"

"...?!"

And when the final question was marked correct:

"!!!"

He was utterly stunned. I asked the dazed teacher.

"They're all correct, right?"

"Yes... they are."

"And this fully clears up the explanation?"

"...Yes."

Great. That was settled. In that case...

"Then, teacher."

"Hmm?"

"Shall we talk about the scholarship now?"

I returned home after school. Since my parents hadn't come home from work yet, the living room was quiet and cold.

I went straight to my room, opened a drawer, and pulled out a notebook. Flipping it open, I looked at the blueprint of the purification facility I had drawn earlier.

To be precise, it was a prototype designed to implement some of the core functions of the facility.

Let's start with this.

It was a heavily scaled-down version compared to the complete system. The sedimentation tank, reactor control system, piping, and fluid flow control systems were all omitted.

Still, there's a lot to build.

The Actiflo bioreactor, the air supply system, and the microbial retention and mixing devices.

Although small in scale, they required the exact same technology as the full-sized version. This involved various physical processes, including metal fabrication and chemical treatment.

Which means I have to go through a professional workshop.

To find one, I turned on my computer. *Beep.*

Then I opened the internet browser. *Click.*

I searched for nearby metal fabrication workshops. *Clack, clack, enter.*

A few suitable places popped up.

Out of all of them, this place looks the best.

Jangin Steel.

It was a workshop that possessed all the technology and equipment I needed. They seemed to consistently handle projects in this field.

Although I didn't know their rates yet, their other qualifications were perfect.

"Alright. Let's contact them right away."