Chapter 98: Florida Man Praised For His Problem Solving Ability After He Aces Exam With a Cheat Sheet

After trapping all the test takers in sealed cubes, Saucon muttered instructions, but only those inside the cubes could hear him."Open the papers and answer all the questions before the sun reaches its peak. Your score will determine your placement. If you score less than 160 points, you will not advance to the next round."

The teens inside the cubes began to sweat nervously. They eyed the ten A4 papers on their desks, feeling the smooth texture. Many of the noble and merchant children were familiar with papyrus or bark parchment, but the pristine, white sheets before them were unusually clean and smooth.

Felix glanced at the papers. Without touching them, he recognized them as double-A papers from Earth. But then, the papers glowed with a golden light, and red text appeared on the pages.

Saucon continued, "There are 200 questions, each worth one point. You cannot use COMPLETE SPELLS or INSTANT SPELLS to assist you. However, if you have artifacts that can be helpful, you may use them. But no borrowing items or pencils from others! Now, you may begin!"

With a snap of his fingers, Saucon activated the hidden functions of the cubes, shrouding the teenagers in black mist, isolating them from the outside world.

...

Felix looked back, but the gas-like black wall blocked his vision. Only the other test takers in nearby cubes were visible. With the test underway, Felix shifted his focus to the exam papers. Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Picking up the first sheet, he skimmed through the content. As expected, the words were foreign to him.

"Jessica," he called, as usual, relying on his personal Doraemon for help.

With her usual dull expression, Jessica scanned the exam papers and translated the text for Felix, amused by the simplicity of the questions.

Felix smiled as he read the first question:

[A farm wagon's weight limit is 1,000 stones, and a pig weighs 200 stones. How many pigs can the farm wagon carry?]

"...Is this a joke?" Felix muttered, a wry smile spreading across his face at the simplicity of the question.

<If you get this wrong, do everyone a favor and bite your tongue,> Jessica teased.

"I know it's easy! But seriously, is this a high-school entrance exam?"

<You're in a medieval world. Arithmetic knowledge is exclusive to merchants and nobles.>

"But what about schools?"

<Schools are a luxury in this era. Don't apply modern common sense here. This is a medieval world. Get with the program.>

"..."

Felix sighed deeply, shaking his head. He grabbed a pencil, ready to write down the answer, but paused again. The local numbers were in unfamiliar runes, and Felix couldn't read or write the local alphabet or numerals.

"How do you write '5' in the local language?"

Jessica, as expressionless as ever, opened a new window screen showing all the answers.

<I've computed the answers for you. Just copy the letters from the screen without skipping a line. Also, study the local language ASAP. You'll need it sooner or later.>

Felix hated learning new languages. He always thought English was enough. Sometimes he encountered Spanish speakers but never took it seriously since he never planned to travel abroad.

But reality had hit him hard, reminding him of the importance of learning a foreign language to live in another country.

"I hate studying..." Felix complained.

<Congratulations. You'll be spending years in school, learning something new every day.>

"I hate schools..."

<Do you know that being a student is a thousand times easier than working full-time as an adult?>

"Dammit! Alright, alright! I'll study hard, okay?!"

Felix grumbled under his breath as he began copying the unfamiliar text from the screen to the paper, making sure to match the answers with the correct questions.

.

.

The written exam lasted three hours, with two hundred questions to answer. This meant that each examinee had less than a minute to respond to each question. At first glance, it seemed straightforward, but for the test-takers, it quickly became a nerve-wracking challenge.

Sweat dripped down their faces as they racked their brains for answers. Some even broke their only pencil in their haste. Without pencil sharpeners, they resorted to using their nails and teeth to peel away the soft wood, revealing the unfamiliar black material inside—a local substitute for graphite.

Many tried to use magic to sharpen their pencils, but the magic circuits inscribed on the desks instantly dispelled any attempt to cast spells within the sealed cubes. However, those who understood the magic circles could exploit subtle loopholes in their sealed chambers.

The three-hour exam became a battle of wits and resourcefulness.

Valley, keeping her composure, silently projected her mana through her fingertips and into her pencil. With a subtle infusion of earth mana, she caused a portion of the softwood and the mysterious black core to vanish, effectively sharpening her pencil. She then resumed answering the questions with renewed focus.

Rosaline, on the other hand, had no such issues. Unlike Valley, she infused her pencil with water mana, creating a tiny reservoir of black ink at the tip. Without wasting any of the graphite-like material, she elegantly wrote her answers in smooth, fluid strokes, using black ink.

Meanwhile, Felix adopted a more relaxed approach. He leaned his left elbow on the desk, propping up his chin with his left hand as he lazily skimmed over the exam questions. His right hand, however, was far from idle, rapidly copying the unfamiliar alphabets and numbers onto the papers with mechanical precision.

An hour into the exam, Felix had already answered the first 100 questions. But just as he was about to move on to the next, his pencil's fake graphite core snapped with a sharp *POK*.

Felix glanced at the broken pencil and sighed, unfazed. With a casual flick of his wrist, he opened the system shop menu and purchased a pencil sharpener for a mere 10 mana.

The sharpener materialized, and Felix calmly inserted the pencil, nonchalantly twisting it. The soft wood and the fake graphite were smoothly peeled away. After a few turns, Felix blew away the black dust and thin shavings. With a freshly sharpened pencil in hand, he continued writing, his expression as calm as if he were doing a mundane chore rather than taking a high-stakes exam.

.

.

Meanwhile, Saucon, Tanaka, Martin, and Xavior projected large screens in the sky, giving the examinees' families a clear view of their children's progress. Saucon himself observed their performances closely, paying attention to their problem-solving skills.

Cameras hidden atop each cube focused on the examinees' desks, capturing only the tops of their heads and the papers they were working on. The bottom of each screen displayed the names of the test-takers, along with their current scores. A separate large screen behind Saucon showed a leaderboard, though it remained empty since no one had submitted their test papers yet.

Valley and Rosaline were among the standout performers. Saucon noted with approval that they had both completed 70 questions and answered all of them correctly. The priestesses from the Ocean Tower were also doing well, though they only managed to get 80-90% of their answers right, which Saucon found slightly disappointing by his standards.

"What is that?" someone suddenly exclaimed, drawing the attention of the crowd. They pointed at one of the large screens displaying the test papers of a male examinee.

Saucon, Tanaka, and the other retainers followed the commotion and noticed an exceptional talent.

The screen showed the name "Hammer Jox" at the bottom, identifying him as the adopted son of Taylor Jox. Hammer was already on his 150th question, and remarkably, he hadn't broken his pencil once. His handwriting was messy, but the scoreboard displayed an impressive score of 148 correct answers.

Saucon smiled in approval, commenting, "This is why we filter out the arrogant children early to let these commoners shine. If we had allowed them to advance, they might have used underhanded tactics to bury these talented youths!"

Tanaka nodded in agreement. "Indeed. The boy is meticulous in his writing. These pencils are designed to be brittle, yet he hasn't broken his. It shows his keen observation and attention to detail."

Martin, however, only glanced at Hammer's screen briefly before shifting his focus to the group of priestesses. He was curious about how many of Headmaster Zen's disciples would pass this stage. But as he scanned the screens, he noticed Gall and his group staring intently at a particular monitor. Veetee, the troublemaker, was among them, glaring at the screen and biting his fingernail in frustration.

Martin followed their gaze and spotted a peculiar desk. The test-taker at this desk never stopped writing, and their score was noteworthy. The screen displayed:

Current Question: 112

Current Score: 111/111

Pencil Incident: 1

Intrigued, Martin looked at the name of this promising examinee:

Name: Felix Ariel

Affiliate: Storm Tower

Seeing Felix's name and affiliation, Martin turned to a particular headmaster. Meanwhile, Garudeer and his Storm Tower crew couldn't hide their smiles. The people behind the old man were quietly celebrating each time Felix got another answer correct.

Martin couldn't help but smile bitterly as he called for the emperor's attention.

"Your Majesty, there's another candidate you might want to keep an eye on," Martin reported.

"Felix Ariel of the Storm Tower, am I right?" Saucon responded with a smirk, without even glancing at Martin.

Martin was taken aback. "You already knew about him?"

"There's no need to focus on him right now," Saucon replied calmly. "He's bound to perform well in this round. My priority is to find hidden gems among the commoners and bring them to my side. As for Felix, I'll need to win over Garudeer before I can convince him to join me. So, it's a waste of time to watch him too closely."

Martin chuckled dryly, impressed by the young emperor's foresight. He returned his gaze to Felix's screen, thinking to himself,

'It seems Headmaster Zen's disciple and Headmaster Garudeer's disciple will secure two of the three spots this year. As for the last spot, it's going to be a bloodbath in the next round.'