Chapter 5: Rank Ascender (5)

I wonder if I would be taking classes with her if I get placed in class A.

It was the first time I felt a tingle of emotion, since my childhood crush.

"Oh, you must be in class B then. If you keep studying that hard, you're going to make it into class A in no time."

"Ye-yeah. You're right."

I couldn't get myself to tell her smiling face that I was in class D.

The feeling of inferiority I was feeling was completely different from what I had felt in front of the dean.

Her expression was too bright.

It was adorable compared to the flustered expression she had shown in the study room.

Had she felt competitive and continued to study without a break like I had been doing?

"So, I did get accepted into Y university, but I was aiming for S university. I missed it by a few points so my parents decided to let me sit out a year to prepare for the exams again."

I expected as much from a student in class A.

She had already been accepted to Y university, but was continuing to aim for S university.

She continued to say that it wasn't only because of the universities' rankings, but because there was a professor at S university whom she wanted to study under.

"Yeah, I wanted to get into a better university as well."

"Really? Just a better university? Or do you have a specific college or major that you want?"

Yeo-jin seemed like she was a direct and honest person.

Maybe that's why she was able to ask me if I was flirting with her so directly.

I was taken aback for a second but found a suitable answer.

Yeo-jin probably didn't want a guy who was only chasing after the college based on its ranking name.

"Yeah, I want to major in computer engineering. I want to be in a university that focuses on the major before starting my own thing. I heard that the school has lots of opportunities to start your own venture."

"Really? I heard coding was really difficult. How brave. So, are you thinking about K polytechnic in Daejeon?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Although, I'm thinking of doing a double major. I might be able to go to Seoul then."

"You should come to S university! If you keep it up like today, you will definitely get in! It would be so much fun if we could study in the same campus!"

When she put it that way, S university, which had always seemed like a faraway dream, appeared closer. The dreary studying that I needed to do seemed much more appealing now.

"All right. Sure!" Yeo-jin smiled when I answered her stupidly.

The food we ordered arrived and we began eating. I kept sneaking glances at her.

Wow. She really was pretty.

Celebrities were only good-looking.

Even on television, they came across as one-dimensional.

However, being face to face with Yeo-jin and sharing a conversation with her, I could see how real she was.

I felt myself get closer to her as a woman and as a person.

Although, this was only our first meeting.

"Haha, he was so persistent. I gave him my older brother's phone number! He's really scary. He has a really low voice, and he's huge!"

"Haha! The person must have been embarrassed."

"Well, he did bug me, even when I asked him to stop."

"Yeah. He deserved it!"

Having not talked to women very much, I was worried she would become bored.

Although I had followed her here unwittingly, I guess this could be considered our first date.

"Hahaha! I'm telling you the truth!"

Fortunately, Yeo-jin was as talkative as she was smart and confident.

Her bright high-pitched voice was very charismatic. Hearing it made me feel better.

"Hehe, really?"

"Yes! So what happened was..."

Yeo-jin must have liked that I listened to all of her stories.

She continued to chatter on.

I reacted sincerely and continued to listen to her talk about this and that.

While it wasn't the extreme pleasure I felt in the dungeon or while studying, I was filled with a calm and gentle pleasure. It was much deeper and profound.

"Oh my! Look at the time."

"What?"

Yeo-jin came to her senses first and pointed at the clock.

It had been three hours.

It had taken us three hours to eat dinner.

Distracted by our conversation, we hadn't noticed that time had flown by.

Yeo-jin hadn't been the only one talking, either.

When she said something, I thought of something relevant to talk about.

Therefore our conversation never lulled.

"Oh, no. Did I take up too much of your time listening to me ramble on?"

Well, she wasn't wrong.

Moreover, I even had the re-placement exam coming up.

But I didn't regret the time spent together even one bit.

I felt like I was floating in the air as if I had received an unexpected gift.

"No, I stayed because I was having fun."

"You should have cut me off in the middle. Let's go, let's go."

Yeo-jin looked at me apologetically.

Oh! I was in trouble.

I had only just met her, but even her apologetic expression was adorable.

I was just an ordinary man who liked pretty women.

"It's all right. No harm done."

"Thanks for saying that."

We returned to the study room and went back to focusing on studying.

I continued to spend my points on Yeo-jin until it was eleven.

"Um, can I borrow your eraser?"

[Activate Power Trip: 1 Superiority Point spent]

"Hehe, sure."

What was different from before was that Yeo-jin giggled every time she handed me the eraser.

I began to come up with a theory.

If the person affected by my Power Trip ability was willing, the side effects of the ability would be decreased.

With that thought, I focused on studying again.

"Phew."

There were ten minutes left till eleven.

I had continued to ask Yeo-jin for her stationery and got to see her smile.

I guess she didn't hate that I borrowed stationery from her every hour as a prank.

She must have thought that I was confirming her suspicions about my affections.

"Where are you going?"

When I got up to leave, Yeo-jin grabbed my wrist and looked at me, confused.

Surprised at her actions, she let go of my wrist.

I could see many emotions in her eyes—a speck of sadness and some anger.

"Sorry, I just remembered I had something urgent to do."

I said as I handed her my phone in a resigned fashion.

Even if she didn't give me her number, I would be happy with the fact I had been gotten to eat dinner with her.

It had been incomparably better than eating with Dong-jun.

"Wow. You're an expert at this, aren't you? I thought you were just a study bug."

The dark study room seemed to brighten up for a moment.

Yeo-jin had given her number.

"S-See you tomorrow."

"Well, good luck with your urgent business!"

Yeo-jin waved her hand at me, and I stood there grinning like an idiot again.

Then I remembered I was in a hurry and ran towards C41.

"So, you're the one who wants to advance a level."

The instructor smiled mockingly at me, placing the exam question paper in front of me. I took out my pencil.

[Superiority Point acquired: 1 point]

The Mobius Superstring alerted me to the fact that I had gained another point as soon as the clock struck eleven.

This nullified the advantage I had at zero points.

I hadn't thought about this. Damn it!

I was taken aback, but I quickly came up with a solution.

I had another reason to enter class A.

Choi Yeo-jin. If I could study beside her every day, waking up in the morning would feel completely different.

Sorry Dong-jun, but I had more fun with her.

"All right, let's start. You'll have one hour to finish three subjects. Since this is a small exam, there are fewer questions. But they are harder. Just do your best," the instructor explained lazily.

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I picked up my pencil and solved the problems, then 'accidentally' snapped the pencil.

Although I had studied hard and was confident in my abilities, I wanted to take the test with 0 points. Hardly surprising.

"Um, professor. I'm sorry, but my pencil broke. Can you please give me one?"

[Activate Power Trip: 1 Superiority Point spent]

"Sure."

At my request, the instructor handed me his pencil.

Regardless of his own will, it had been a natural response, given the circumstances.

I took the pencil and let out a big sigh.

"Phew."

I felt my mind clear.

I looked at the instructor's expression.

He looked suspicious of me. He must be wondering why a class D student was acting so rashly.

"Hm."

I skimmed through the questions.

Many of them were things that I had studied earlier today.

I scanned the questions in the English and Korean language portion, and the answers jumped out at me.

I did not become arrogant and solved each question one by one.

I calmly recalled the problem-solving processes that I had performed a dozen, a hundred times earlier today.

I read the passages and picked out the answers that I thought best fit the answer.

I thought about the best method to solve each question and was flexible in utilizing all of the information.

"Hmm."

One or two questions were a bit too difficult for me, still.

I tried to formulate something from what I had learned and solved those questions to the best of my ability.

I figured these were the kinds of questions that I would have to solve in class A.

Things wouldn't be as relaxed as they had been today.

However, I knew that my experience would be much smoother than other people who had to take everything seriously and were abandoned by the system.

"Hmm?" I looked at the clock.

I thought I would be short on time, but it had only been about twenty minutes.

Despite having solved the questions from all three subjects!

I tilted my head as I reviewed the questions.

Perhaps because I had solved the questions with a clear mind, I couldn't find any obvious mistakes.

"I've solved it all."

"What? Already? Did you blindly mark half of the questions?"

"Nope."

"What do you mean no? How could you solve all of the questions in twenty minutes? It's not as if it was one subject. It was three! Even if you're giving up, you should try to use every last second. Phew. What's the point of me saying this anyway?"

The instructor said in a blunt incredulous voice.

His tone betrayed more astonishment than condescension.

I had been incredibly fast for someone from class D.

Yeah. Why don't you go ahead and check for yourself?

"Well, whatever. Since the dean requested it, I will grade your exam. Go sit over there."

The instructor started scoring my test.

He looked like he was ready to give me an earful once he was done.

I could barely hold back my laughter.

The instructor's expression, which had been frowning, gradually unfolded and soon began to turn into shock.

It wasn't that surprising that I solved the questions.

It was surprising that a class D student had solved the questions in under twenty minutes.

"Wait, what?"

Worried that the instructor might accuse me or something.

I said.

"I worked very hard. If you look in the side margins, you'll be able to see the work I did to solve the questions. I hope you don't suspect any foul play."

"Yeah, yeah. I can see it," the instructor looked dumbstruck at my words. He looked as if I had slapped him across the face.

"Stay here for a minute."

The instructor left the classroom with the answer sheets in hand.

He returned with the dean after some time.

This time the dean looked me straight in the eyes.

"Student, what was your name again?"

As expected, he hadn't remembered my name.

He only remembered the hundred thousand won he had received from me.

"My name is Kim Jun-hoo."

"You must have studied hard. The results say that you are well above class B."

"Class B?"

"Ah! Hahaha! I thought you were being foolhardy, but I was wrong. You did study very hard. At this rate, I could use you to promote the academy. Only if you get into class A, that is. You said your name was Kim Jun-hoo?"

"Yes, sir...."

"You did a great job. From tomorrow, report to class B. I'll send you the notice by email."

"Good job, student."

"You must have fared badly on the entrance test to have gotten into class D. I think you were always class C level. It looks like our school helped you become class B level. Well, whatever the case. Keep it up."

It seemed that the Dean was an educator after all.

He had ignored me all this time, but he showed more joy than I did at my achievement, even if it was for his selfish reasons.

"Huh."

I knew that I had enough skills to be put into class C.

I could tell by how I could solve problems during the day and at night.

However, I didn't think I would be placed into class B right away, especially since I had been class D Kim Jun-hoo earlier today.

"Wow!" I let out a muted cry in the empty classroom.

Despite feeling like I had cheated to have succeeded so quickly, I knew I had attained it through my efforts.

"Hahaha!"

Maybe it was quicker because I was relearning things I had studied before.

Things I remembered seeing vaguely. Things I had learned but forgot.

Those fragmented memories fused with the new influx of knowledge that I absorbed today.

[Mini Quest Completed. Get promoted to class C: You have exceeded the Quest requirements]

[To receive the one million won reward, please find a place where nobody can see you.]

The good news seemed neverending.

I was going to receive a fair amount of money now.

I had witnessed the fantastic abilities of Mobius Superstring time and again.

I packed up my things and left the academy.

I wanted to see if Yeo-jin was still in the study room but held myself back.

Piririri.

I received a text on my foldable phone, which I had switched to from my android to concentrate on studying.

-Jun-hoo, I'm sorry, but I found another part-time worker. Don't come to work from now on. I have deposited your paycheck into your account. Thanks for all the hard work. Don't reply.

"Ha! The nerve."

Although the tone of the message was gentle, it was a form of revenge.

I had given the manager some crap for touching a female part-time worker improperly a couple of days ago.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. It was clearly sexual harassment.

But I can't believe I was let go of without reason.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore."

I still got paid for my work, and I will be getting more money soon.

I wonder if this place will be all right.

I found myself in a quiet and secluded alleyway.

The only thing near me was a lonely street lamp.

I was worried, not knowing when sleep would strike me.

I had even been thinking about quitting my part-time job because of that.

[Somebody is watching you. Therefore the conditions to receive your reward have not been met.]

"Huh?"

I felt a chill run down my spine as I looked around.

This was a remote alley. Who could possibly have been looking at me?

I felt like I had seen a ghost.

No matter how hard I looked, there was no one around me.

"Who's there?"

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