Chapter 75: A True Genius

"Is this for real? Didn't we always rely on our mentors' recommendations before? Why is it like this this time?"

"This is trouble... the competition is going to be fierce..."

"Claire, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? The quota this time must be something special. Don't you have any confidence in yourself?"

"I'm joking, you think I'm scared?"

......

Students of all stripes reacted in their own ways, each struck by a certain degree of shock at the Dean's bombshell. It was clearly a first-hand leak; no other channel had provided a notification faster than this.

"What do you think, Wang Yu, Edward?" Charles poured himself some juice with a leisurely air, sipping it with a pretentious grace that made him look incredibly punchable.

"I don't know..." Wang Yu shook his head. He truly didn't know what kind of reaction he was expected to have; this so-called explosive news didn't seem like much to him.

"Well, the Great Library is one of Stevenson's most vital resources, after all. Closing it down is bound to have a massive impact. The academy probably wants to use this unique opportunity to identify a batch of talent capable of bringing real progress to the school."

"Hmm... that makes sense. Avia, if that's the case, your batch of students has hit the jackpot. You'll likely be the ones receiving the most resources." Charles set down his glass and addressed Avia.

"After all, most of the batch above yours is either getting old or failing to keep up with the times, haha." Charles chuckled, leaning back against the soft cushions of the bench.

The Dean's voice continued to echo from every direction, "Very well, then. Next is the first test. There is no danger involved; simply try to unravel this magic-conductive model to earn your qualification."

Along with the Dean's words, a translucent, glowing cube emerged slowly from the center of the ballroom floor.

It looked like an ordinary cube, but upon closer inspection, one could see incredibly complex magic-conductive circuits shimmering within the flow of energy.

"Holy—it's a pure mana construct!" Charles spat out the juice he had just taken, aiming for Edward, who dodged it by simply ducking his head.

"Top-tier material for magic-conductive engraving," Avia whispered, offering a hint to Wang Yu, the magic illiterate.

Since Avia called it top-tier, the object was clearly extremely rare. Why would the Dean bring out such a thing for a group of students who had neither fame nor power?

"This is a special barrier magic circuit. It uses sufficiently complex mana pathways to construct an independent space. Unraveling it is simple, but what you must do is use pure mana to dismantle this space."

"Teamwork is allowed, and individual operation is fine, but only one person may go up at a time. There is plenty of time, and everyone may attempt it. Now, begin."

As the Dean's words fell, students who had been itching to move could no longer restrain themselves. They rushed forward, only to be blocked by several other students with malicious expressions.

"What do you think you're doing?" the student asked, feeling a tremor of fear.

"Classmate... you'd better step back, or don't blame us if—ugh!"

One of the students in the surrounding group, who was noticeably more robust, looked menacing. His words were blunt, and his knuckles cracked under the pressure of his grip, the threat clear as day.

Before he could finish, an invisible wall slammed into existence in front of him. His charging body collided with it; it wasn't a heavy blow, but the sound of the impact made onlookers wince.

"Let me be clear: our academy does not welcome such tactics. Everyone must have a chance to try. You may queue up, but if anyone dares to use threats or violence to obstruct others, get out of this academy right now. We do not welcome your kind among researchers."

The Dean's voice rang out again, warning all those who intended to use force. The guards accompanying some of the nobles retreated sheepishly.

Clearly, the combat prowess of these servants brought in as attendants would have utterly crushed the majority of the students present. If force had been allowed, they would have claimed every opportunity.

"Not bad. I like this Dean. No nonsense, much better than those other convoluted schemes." Charles nodded, giving the Dean a high rating with genuine surprise.

"I agree."

"Mhm."

Under the Dean's suppression, the students' petty schemes were quickly stifled. They began to queue up and form small groups consciously. Since the crooked paths were blocked, they had no choice but to bite the bullet.

Thanks to Edward and Wang Yu's sturdy frames, Avia managed to secure a relatively early spot in line, staring at the magic cube in deep thought.

The first student, having been blocked and then rescued by the Dean, had already begun the decryption.

Mana surged from his wand, tracing the circuits in reverse. The magic array was nothing if not complex; its overlapping, intricate pathways tested every bit of a student's knowledge. If one were unfamiliar with a certain structure, it was highly likely that...

Before half a minute had passed, the tense student broke into a sweat. His movements faltered and slowed, a look of hesitation crossing his face.

As he paused, the mana he had inscribed began to dissipate. If he didn't restart immediately, the leaking mana would disrupt the entire circuit, leading to a collapse.

Gritting his teeth, he chose a direction at random and drew. It was wrong. Instantly, the discrepancy between his circuit and the original caused a collision. With a sound like shattering glass, his mana model collapsed entirely.

"Sigh..." Shaking his head, the fellow walked away from the cube and sat down in frustration. His attempt hadn't even cleared the outermost layer.

"That guy's no good," Charles started his usual commentary.

"Why don't you try?"

"Uh, er, well, you know, I'm not good at this kind of theoretical operation. I'm better at actual combat. This doesn't really mean much, right?" Charles began to stammer.

Clearly, he wasn't adept at this, but Wang Yu didn't believe for a second that Charles hadn't seen something while staring at the cube so intently.

Following the first student's failure, another stepped up. Much like the first, he started smoothly, but hesitated around the one-minute mark, likely encountering an unfamiliar structure.

He bit the bullet and tried a direction; luckily, it wasn't wrong, and he let out a sigh of relief. But the second time he encountered an unknown, his luck ran out. A single incorrect stroke shattered the first layer he had painstakingly built.

"How is it? Any confidence?" Wang Yu glanced at Avia, who was staring fixedly at the cube.

"As it stands, the first five layers aren't too complex. The difficulty should lie after the fifth layer, where wizard arrays are mixed with other special runic structures."

"The outer layers are covered in standard textbooks, but the inner ones are a mix of obscure, esoteric knowledge. If I rely solely on what I know, I might not be able to handle it. There are so many structures I've never seen before, yet they are so exquisite."

"Hmm, these structures seem to be interconnected. Wang Yu, that mathematical knowledge of yours is a huge help. As long as I can grasp two out of three consecutive structures, or five out of eight, I can continuously deduce the next ones. As for the inner ones, I'll have to keep looking..."

Wang Yu scratched his head, at a loss for words. He didn't understand—not a single bit. Truly... while others hadn't even cleared the first layer, Avia was already working on the later ones. This talent was terrifying.

He looked back at Charles, expecting another comment, but Charles's eyes were wide, staring in astonishment at the deep-in-thought Avia. It seemed the experts were the ones most shaken.

The standard of the following students began to rise. While some still couldn't clear even a single layer, more were able to progress further before failing at deeper, unfamiliar structures.

Since the Dean hadn't specified what level of progress was required to qualify, they had no choice but to keep digging deeper.

The students also began to realize the advantage of going later: by observing the students who went before them, they could gather information, making their own attempts much easier.

This was the game of strategy. Everyone tried their best to unravel as much as possible, but without knowing the threshold for success, they had to give it their all.

The spots were limited. Waiting to observe risked losing the chance if all spots were claimed, but only those with true ability didn't need to worry. It had to be said that this method of selection was far better than resorting to underhanded, dirty tricks.

Avia was ninth in line; she didn't need to worry about the spots being taken. All she had to do was focus on the decryption.

As the sixth student cracked the fifth layer, the true difficulty of the test was revealed. Students who had been smooth sailing lost their composure when faced with the mix of obscure and complex structures beyond the fifth layer. With one wrong stroke, all their progress vanished into thin air.

The seventh student was a disheveled-looking fellow. He made no effort to groom himself, his curly hair was a mess, and his clothes hung loosely, but the noble crest on his chest declared that his status was anything but simple.

"Oh, little Daniel. Haven't seen him since old Daniel died. He's just like his old man!" Charles identified him, clearly a man of status himself.

Little Daniel began his decryption the moment he stepped up. The first five layers were cleared with incredible speed; stroke by stroke, the model took shape. Soon, he began the work beyond the fifth layer.

It was clear that the structures past the fifth layer weren't simple for him either. His strokes slowed, yet he continued. Every time he hesitated, unsure of where to place his hand, his eventual choice proved correct.

The disheveled noble student began to delve deeper and deeper into the cube. The surrounding noise died down as everyone watched him patiently.

Stroke by stroke, slow but accurate, the cube grew smaller and smaller. This meant Daniel was approaching the core; the smaller it became, the more he had unraveled.

He moved steadily, clearing it bit by bit. Just as the cube shrank to the size of a fist, and one more push could have cleared it entirely, Daniel stopped. He shook his head helplessly and stepped down, drawing a wave of genuine sighs and applause.

"A true genius!"

"Too strong. Those magic circuits after the fifth layer... they were active circuits, weren't they? Damn it, memorization is useless there."

"He should have qualified, but why did he step down? I think he could have kept going."

"He ran out of mana. Feel the air."

"What a pity. That was brilliant. This performance of deconstructing magic runes might even be more helpful to me than a mentor's lecture."

The students gasped in collective wonder at young Daniel’s display; they were true seekers of knowledge, and their thirst for arcane wisdom momentarily eclipsed all envy, leaving only genuine respect for his performance and a shared sorrow for his failure.

Yet, for others, the mood had soured. These students huddled together, scribbling furiously, and a glance would reveal they were transcribing the magical structures corresponding to the first five layers.

Most of these were of noble birth, possessing connections and resources beyond the reach of others, allowing them to pool their efforts in analysis. The first five layers were manageable, but the active circuits of the latter five were destined to defy this analytical approach, leaving them frayed with frustration.

"Wang Yu, I fear I cannot solve it either," Avia said, shaking her head with a touch of regret.

"My mana is insufficient. Like young Daniel, I have perhaps a sliver more, but it is not enough. To unravel those massive, complex runes requires not just knowledge, but a reservoir of mana vast enough to sustain the inscription."

"Nonsense, watch me!" Charles interjected, leaping into the fray.

With a flourish like a stage magician, he produced a tarot card from his sleeve, flipped it, and snapped it into his palm.

"Guess which one?"

"The Moon, upright."

Wang Yu didn't give him the satisfaction of a performance; with his keen perception, such sleight-of-hand without magical infusion was impossible to miss.

"Correct. Then take it as a reward, Avia. Keep this card; it will provide you with a steady stream of mana." Charles, uncharacteristically composed, handed the Moon-inscribed card to her.

"Thank you, Mr. Charles," Avia said, accepting it with sincere gratitude.

"Think nothing of it. It is merely a gift from fate." The gravity of his tone could not hide the twitch of his upturned lips.

Wang Yu nodded. Well, the Dean had spoken of teamwork, and this, too, was teamwork.

The eighth student successfully breached the first five layers, but faltered before the intricate structures that followed; having solved only two, their hesitation led to a dissipation of mana, causing the entire construct to collapse.

It was Avia’s turn. Wang Yu, Edward, and Charles gave her a thumbs-up as she stepped forward. Wang Yu felt quite confident in the girl.

Avia approached the cube, drawing close enough to observe it in minute detail.

"Much as I suspected; it is indeed a fixed outer circuit coupled with an internal, shifting active loop. Mastering the majority and learning to extrapolate should suffice. With Mr. Charles’s aid, my mana reserves ought to be enough to complete the decryption."

The girl’s mind raced, and after a brief observation, she prepared to act.

"What is this? From a distance, I couldn't see, but these runes seem to form a singular whole? Hmm, so many gaps? Our reverse-inscription seems to be filling these voids perfectly. If completed, it should bridge this mana source to the terminus, shouldn't it?"

"Let me hypothesize the result of the completion. Is such a massive structure meant only to connect these two points? No, there are secondary nodes—appearing in the fifth layer, and then in the subsequent ones, growing denser. Are these active nodes merely there to track progress for grading?"

"What if I link the nodes directly, ignoring the whole? It is feasible—absolutely feasible. Very well, then. No need to finish it entirely; that last one seems connected to something else... triggering it might be unwise. I shall stop at the penultimate layer."

Her thoughts flashed like lightning; from grasping the essence of the structure to beginning the construction took only seconds.

Avia manipulated the structure, but just as she finished the fourth layer, she committed a "mistake," and the entire magical construct shattered.

Watching Avia walk back with a calm expression, Wang Yu shook his head in mild disappointment, though he reasoned that everyone makes mistakes; it was of no consequence.

But a murmur beside him made Wang Yu turn his head.

Charles’s eyes were wide with shock, and he whispered to himself, "This... a true genius."

In the crowd nearby, young Daniel stood with his head bowed in deep thought, before suddenly snapping his gaze toward Wang Yu, his eyes filled with absolute disbelief.