Chapter 110: End-of-Term Report Card (1)

Chapter 110: End-of-Term Report Card (1)

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"Yeah. How about you guys? You must be dying now that the school break is over, huh?"

Nade's face quickly turned gloomy.

"I'm going crazy. I have to score above 80 in all subjects in the remaining time, and its killing me."

"Haha! You could even get promoted this time.

The only way to move up from Class Five to Class Four was to score above 80 in all subjects. It is not an average of 80, but in each subject, it is extremely challenging.

"Of course. Isn't that what every student naturally aims for?"

"Right, that's true. Well, I'll give it my best shot."

Nade looked dumbfounded, having expected words of encouragement. But Alpheas's teaching philosophy was firm. Students aren't racehorses. Left in the meadow, they'll come to realize their worth on their own.

"Should we help you?"

Shirone, rolling up his sleeves, offered to help with the weeding.

"Haha, I can't let you steal the only pleasure of an old man. I'll handle the weeds; you kids do what you enjoy."

Disappointment flickered in Nade's eyes. His plan to escape reality, even momentarily, by weeding was thwarted.

"Okay. Then take care, sir"

As Shirone and his group headed back to the dorms, worry clouded their faces. The same was true for other students. The school had been unsettled since Arcane's attack, making it hard to focus on studies as before.

Frustrated, Nade burst out.

"Ah, this is maddening. I need to study. Study! I just can't concentrate."

"It's normal to be unable to focus on anything else after a big blowout. It was the same after the presentation."

At Yiruki's words, Shirone sighed deeply.

"Still, it's better than my situation. I have twice as many subjects to raise above 80 compared to you guys. I'm not sure if it's possible."

"My only advantage is in math. I'm zero in humanities. So, in that sense, Nade's in the best position."

"What are you talking about? I don't particularly excel in any subject. You and Shirone are sure to top in practicals, but I can't, so I'm at the biggest disadvantage."

For Class Five, the practical exam focused more on the utilization of Spirit Zone than magic. Shirone with his Immortal Function and Yiruki with Savant Syndrome could excel in any practical, whereas Nade had to compete with a regular Spirit Zone like other students.

"My heads starting to hurt with all these thoughts. Let's just take a break today and start tomorrow?"

At Nade's suggestion, they neither agreed nor disagreed. Even the usually diligent Shirone kept silent, indicating that their motivation had waned.

"Hey, guys, look over there..."

Shirone pointed towards the central park, and Nade and Yiruki's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? How are they here?"

Canis and Arin were walking around the school grounds. As they made eye contact with Shirone's group, they walked over. Canis raised his hand in recognition.

"Hey there. Are classes over already? The facilities and environment seem fine, but they seem to coddle the kids too much."

"You! What the hell are you planning?"

Nade blocked their path. Although he knew they were released without charges from Thadd, he thought their connection had ended. Or at least, it should have. So why were they strolling around the school?

Shirone asked,

"What's going on? Do you have some business at the school?"

Canis just looked at Shirone, the person he was most concerned about at the school. More than Alpheas or the teachers, Shirone was significant. He was the first to defeat him. If he couldn't surpass Shirone, getting stronger would be pointless.

"Listen carefully. If we face off again, the outcome will be the opposite of last time."

Before Shirone could respond, Nade retorted.

"You're still not in your right mind. You're a decade away from beating Shirone."

"Studying the way we've been doing won't cut it; our chances are too low. We need a new strategy."

Yiruki asked,

"Change our approach? But how?"

"My 30 percent chance is based on diligent studying. But if we focus solely on the exams, we could increase our chances to over 50 percent. For you, it might even reach 70 or 80 percent."

"Hmm. Focusing on exams? I get it. Specialize and concentrate, right?"

"Exactly. We only need to score above 80. No need to waste time on subjects we're good at. And we can ignore parts of the curriculum not likely to be on the exam. We can categorize the sixteen subjects into four areas: humanities, mathematics, sciences, and practicals."

Shirone counted off on his fingers as he explained.

"Fortunately, at least one area should be easy for each of us. And, importantly, our areas don't overlap. I'm humanities, Yiruki's mathematics, and Nade's sciences. Practicals are something we can't help each other with."

Yiruki nodded, understanding.

"So, you're proposing a study group. We skip areas we're strong in and help each other with weaknesses, right?"

"Exactly. If we focus on just getting over 80 in the exams, our chances will rise significantly. We might push it to 50 percent."

Yiruki's lips curled up in a smile. Seeing Shirone this desperate, it must have irked him to have Canis and Arin as seniors.

Either way, it was a good idea. And if all three could advance simultaneously, there couldn't be a better outcome.

"I'm in. Let's head to the study hall right now and start planning. What do you say?"

"Let's do it!"

The determined trio rushed off to Estas.

Shirone dedicated himself to studying day and night.

He knew the importance of managing time. An hour might fly by unnoticed for some, but for those who divided it into ten-minute segments, it felt substantial.

Shirone divided all his time until the end-of-term exams into one-hour blocks. Keeping time always in mind was his strategy to prevent it from slipping away.

He aimed for efficiency in targeting the exams.

Rather than understanding the material, he focused on mastering types of problems, analyzing the intention behind the questions and the methods to solve them. In this regard, the study group was effective. They filled in each other's gaps, allowing Shirone to raise his mock exam average to above 70.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Once they started studying, it became clear that their weaknesses in certain subjects weren't due to laziness but a genuine lack of aptitude.

Especially Yiruki, whose disparity between humanities and mathematics was stark. Frantically solving problems Shirone had set, Yiruki put down his pen after just 30 minutes.

"Done."

"Let me see."

Shirone checked each of Yiruki's answers. His hands trembled as he realized why humanities teachers grimaced at the sight of Yiruki.

Shirone pointed at the test paper in disbelief.

"Hey, how does 'You eat pasta, I will eat pasta.' make any sense? I explained the use of auxiliary verbs to you."

"Why doesn't it make sense? You eat pasta! I will eat pasta! Perfectly clear. Emphasizing each as an independent subject."

"Uh? Oh, that..."

Shirone was momentarily flustered, finding the explanation plausible. But he quickly regained composure and yelled.

"That's not it! Language isn't math. It's a tool for expression, not for proving! So, you need to read between the lines, not separate the sentences!"

"Damn it, what's all that? Math is the best!"

"Shut up! I know you're being stubborn! You know it's weird, too, right?"

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