Perfect Score and the Professor's Summons
Three days after Seong-il took the first test, the results for the freshmen’s first exam were posted, sending the entire academy into utter chaos.
“N-no way… That… that idiot from the East actually got first place…?”
“Oh my god…”
“And it’s a perfect score? Is that even possible?”
“I clearly saw him leave the testing room in under ten minutes…”
The students buzzed with frantic chatter, falling into a full-blown panic. Of course, the reason was simple: Seong-il, who had finished the exam in the blink of an eye, had taken first place.
When Seong-il pushed through the crowd to check the posted results, the sea of students parted around him as if he were Moses.
“Hmm. A perfect score, huh? Well… it wasn’t particularly difficult.”
After muttering to himself, Seong-il ignored the stares and walked away.
“He said it wasn’t hard?”
Ignoring the whisper at his back, Seong-il headed straight for his dormitory.
Heh! First time in my life getting looks like these. It feels strange… but pretty damn good~! Ahem.
Even though it was through cheating, the intoxicating rush of an overwhelming perfect first-place score had him riding high as he returned to the dorms. But three male students suddenly blocked his path.
“?”
What do these punks want?
“You… You’re that Easterner named Han Seong-il who got first this time, right?”
Irritated by the rude way the student immediately belittled him while digging for information, Seong-il answered curtly.
“Yeah, so? What do you want?”
“How the hell did you manage first place? Weren’t you nearly dead last when you enrolled?”
Seong-il felt a slight sting at the remark, but he recalled the countless scenarios he had mentally rehearsed before cheating. Keeping a brazen face, he replied.
“…? Why would I tell you that? Do I owe you an answer?”
“What? This little shit…”
The student, visibly annoyed, grabbed Seong-il by the collar.
“Tell the truth, you bastard. You used some dirty trick to get that score, didn’t you? Speak up!”
At the student’s furious demand, Seong-il smiled, grabbed his arm, and twisted.
Thanks to the body he had steadily strengthened through dual cultivation, the student’s arm bent like a toy. Unable to endure the pain, the boy screamed.
“Aaaagh! You bastard… let go!”
“Bullshit. You started the fight, so what gives you the right to order me around? Got a death wish?”
Seong-il poured more strength into his grip, forcing the student to his knees in agony. Seeing this, one of the other boys swung a fist at him.
Seong-il casually caught the punch in his palm and began squeezing it like he was crushing an apple.
“Aaaaaagh!!”
The man screamed and dropped to his knees as his fist felt like it was being pulverized.
Seong-il looked at the third student, who stood frozen, unsure what to do.
“What? You want some too? If you’re itching to get beaten, go ahead and swing.”
At the fierce threat, the student trembled and couldn’t utter a word. Seong-il sneered at him, then kicked the stomachs of the two he held, slamming them into the corridor wall.
“Urk!!”
They couldn’t even withstand a light kick and crumpled against the wall.
Seong-il stared at the one still conscious.
“Hey.”
“…?”
Shocked by the scene, the student couldn’t even respond and simply stared blankly.
“Hey, you bastard. You want to get beaten too? Answer me.”
Only then did the student snap out of it and reply in a terrified voice.
“Y-yes?”
“Take these two worms and disappear. Since you started the fight, don’t even think about trying anything behind my back. If you do, I’ll ignore expulsion or whatever and personally come smash your skulls in. Understand?”
Under Seong-il’s brutal threat, the student could only tremble and nod frantically before helping his collapsed friends and fleeing.
“What a bunch of pathetic worms…”
The moment Seong-il entered the dormitory after cleaning up the situation, someone knocked on his door.
“Is Student Seong-il inside?!”
What the… Do I really need to crack these bastards’ skulls? I told them to drop it quietly, and they snitched immediately??
With irritation boiling over, Seong-il roughly yanked the door open—only to find the assistant professor in charge of first-years standing there.
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
Startled by Seong-il’s venom-laced tone, the assistant stammered.
“Uh…? Umm… Professor Devon requested a meeting regarding your top score this time…”
Ah?!
Realizing he had misunderstood, Seong-il quickly softened his voice, turned polite, and apologized.
“Ah! I’m sorry… Earlier today some students grabbed me by the collar, accusing me of cheating. I thought it was related to that.”
“What?! There were students who did that?!”
Well, technically three of them…
The assistant seemed genuinely shocked, as if hearing this for the first time. Seong-il brushed it off like it was nothing.
“Well… something like that happened. Anyway, Professor Devon wants to see me?”
“Yes. He said he wants to see you right away. Are you free now?”
“Of course.”
After answering, Seong-il immediately headed to the professor’s office.
“Come in.”
Professor Devon greeted him with a peculiar expression. He pulled out a chair, brought over tea, set it on the desk, and offered it.
“Have a seat. And drink some tea.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Seong-il savored the tea Devon had prepared, surprised by its mysterious aroma.
Whoa… What kind of tea is this? It has a floral scent like jasmine and tastes incredible…
As Seong-il marveled at the flavor, Professor Devon spoke.
“Seong-il. Didn’t you say this semester you’d focus on liberal arts rather than regular classes?”
Seong-il put on his most innocent face and answered the sudden question.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then how exactly did you achieve those grades?”
Following the scenario he had prepared, Seong-il began his explanation.
“After finishing the liberal arts classes, I studied every day at the library just as you suggested, Professor.”
“But I didn’t know what to focus on, so I checked the catalog and ‘Alchemy Basics’ caught my eye. I figured it made sense to start with the foundations, so I picked up that book and studied it thoroughly.”
“Since I had already given up on this quarter’s grades, I decided to properly focus only on the basics and dove deep into that single book.”
“After finishing the theory, I started experimenting in the dormitory, but there were many differences from the theory, so I had quite a few accidents. I realized that without proper preparation, things could go very wrong, so I studied the most famous basic text on safety precautions.”
“But… those exact topics came out on the test? Even I was surprised.”
Professor Devon looked utterly dumbfounded.
“So you’re saying it was all just luck?!”
Seong-il smiled brightly.
“Yes. It was luck. Perhaps our ancestors, moved by me walking the righteous path, decided to bestow their blessing?”
“Ancestors’… blessing?”
When Seong-il suddenly offered such a ridiculous excuse, the flustered professor stammered.
“Yes. In the East, we believe that if you live with integrity, our ancestors will grant their blessings.”
Devon’s face turned resigned.
“Sigh… When you put it that way, it’s hard to argue. I suspected you had done prior learning and hidden it.”
“There have been ambitious freshmen who enjoy attention. Sometimes they deliberately fail the entrance exam only to show explosive results on the first test.”
Seong-il immediately countered as if the idea was absurd.
“That’s impossible, Professor. I truly studied alchemy for the first time after coming here. Since you graded my test yourself, you must know—my practical work was quite poor, wasn’t it?”
“Hmm… Indeed, compared to your perfect theoretical answers, the items you created were rather crude.”
Seong-il seized the opening and slowly revealed his true aim.
“Yes. That’s because the school only teaches theory. I should have done proper experiments as well, but I didn’t have a comfortable environment to do so.”
“What do you mean? Our school’s one-person dormitory system provides experiment spaces, so there shouldn’t be any issue there.”
Seong-il shook his head vigorously, denying it with his entire body.
“Not at all. The rooms are attached to the ones beside and above, so any accident would harm the neighboring students.”
“Plus, I can’t experiment except in the morning or daytime. If something happened late at night, the students wouldn’t be able to sleep…”
“Honestly, I felt too self-conscious to experiment properly.”
“With those restrictions, and all the classes scheduled in the morning and afternoon, I had even less time for practical work.”
Faced with Seong-il’s surprisingly logical arguments, Professor Devon was left speechless.
“Hmm…”
Seeing the professor’s expression soften with understanding, Seong-il sharply presented his prepared request.
“In that sense, Professor, could you help arrange for me to live off-campus?”
“What?!”
Startled by the demand, Professor Devon answered in confusion.
“Honestly, I’m confident in theoretical studies. The problem is securing a space for practical experiments. I need my own workshop where I can experiment without worry.”
“But… the external workshops have already been allocated to the third- and fourth-years…”
Seong-il smiled.
“That’s why I already asked the elders of my family for help and set up my own workshop in Adenheim.”
“?!”
Looking at the shocked professor, Seong-il continued.
“Why are you so surprised? Our family is a fairly wealthy trading house in the East. If their child wants to study, surely they can provide at least one house. Hehe…”
“So, could you permit my move at this opportunity, Professor?”
Devon waved both hands with a troubled expression.
“By principle, first-years must live in the dormitories without exception.”
“Then what about Elisha? Her grades are lower than mine, yet she not only lives outside but was even given a workshop by the school.”
Faced with Seong-il’s unexpectedly sharp counterpoint, Professor Devon stammered, at a loss for words.
“T-that’s because Student Elisha is in a s-special situation.”
Seong-il responded with a rebellious expression, as if the excuse was ridiculous.
“That’s an unacceptable excuse. If Elisha is allowed to live outside, then shouldn’t I—who achieved even better results—naturally receive permission? Especially since I even built the workshop with my own funds!”
“As you saw from this test, I desperately need practical experiment experience as much as theory. For first-years it’s enough to simply combine and complete something, but from second year onward, quality affects the grades as well!”
With his excuses running dry, Professor Devon finally surrendered.
“Sigh… I understand. I’ll personally suggest this to the dean and do my best to reflect your opinion.”
“Thank you!!”
After listening to a few more words of encouragement from Professor Devon, Seong-il returned to his dormitory.
Although he had only received half a promise regarding the move, he had already decided to leave the dormitory regardless of the final discussion.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll say I understand, leave the dorm empty, and just stay holed up in my workshop…
With that bold mindset, Seong-il began packing his belongings.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Um~ Seong-il, are you in?”
Hmm…? That voice belongs to Elisha, doesn’t it?
Brightening at the familiar voice, Seong-il quickly went out to greet her.
“Oh, Elisha. What brings you here…?”
Elisha made an awkward face, then suddenly burst out with praise as she entered his room.
“Seong-il! Why did you hide the fact that you’re a genius~~”
Elisha rushed into his room and shouted in a slightly coquettish tone.
At her adorable behavior, Seong-il unconsciously grinned.
“Haha… What genius…”
“No! The Seong-il I’ve seen for the past three months was clearly just a beginner alchemist… To get a perfect score through self-study alone!! Seong-il, you really are a genius!!”
Elisha exclaimed, excited as if it were her own achievement.