noveldrama
Chapter 128
Chapter 128
During the Pentagon Academy’s midterm week, cadets went through hell.
The exams were packed with difficult subjects that required memorization. A careless attempt could delay an Awakened’s debut by half a year, so cadets had no choice but to fight tooth and nail. Just because it was a written exam didn’t mean it could be taken lightly.
---
**"Collection of test papers is complete..."**
**"Phew. When are we supposed to grade all of these?"**
**"I feel like I’m dying here."**
The cadets weren’t the only ones suffering.
The teaching assistants—non-Awakened contractors assisting the Awakened professors—were mostly women, and even they couldn’t hold back their groans.
After all, if they made a grading error? They’d be in real trouble with the Awakened.
*“This lady docked my partial credit and set me back six months!”* That kind of resentment could last.
Though this was rare, the TAs took no chances and aimed to maximize partial points without annoying the professors. Most midterm exams were designed to be essay-based for this reason.
---
*Flip.*
**"Ah, no... It’s Yujin Seo’s paper…"**
In any case, Yujin’s test was the number one paper the TAs wanted to avoid.
He was the next potential S-rank, a Hypnosis-wielder, and a cadet who could make life difficult if he didn’t get what he wanted. Yet despite being a prodigy, he’d barely attended lectures, and his grades weren’t expected to be stellar.
To the TAs, Yujin’s test likely looked like it would be filled with X marks.
But, grading was part of their job, so a TA picked up his test paper with a gloomy look.
---
*Scribble, scribble.*
*Why... Why is he getting everything right?*
As she graded, her expression shifted.
The answers were written in neat handwriting and left no room for doubt; it could have been a model answer sheet.
Soon, the TAs gathered around, whispering in awe.
*“Look at this. It’s almost a perfect score.”*
*“Didn’t he skip most lectures? I’ve never even seen him in the classroom.”*
*“Did he study while fighting gates with Winter or during the S-rank gate incident in America?”*
---
**"Is he even human…?"**
**"It’s Yujin Seo."**
**"Ah, that makes sense."**
In the face of an incomprehensible score, they only needed three words to sum it up: *It’s Yujin Seo.*
---
**"Well, at least we don’t have to worry about him failing."**
**"Should we use Yujin’s paper as the answer key instead of the professor’s?"**
**"Great idea."**
*Rustling.*
The TAs soon gathered his test papers, placing three thick piles on the desk with expectant looks.
---
**"Let’s see if he got full marks this time, too..."**
*Flip, flip.*
**"……?"**
But soon, the expressions on their faces turned to confusion.
They exchanged puzzled looks.
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**"It looks like full marks, but… what’s this at the end?"**
**"He wrote a ton of extra notes?"**
The cause of their confusion was the dense writing filling the blank spaces at the end of his answers.
In short, it all amounted to:
*“Oh, that’s not how you’re supposed to handle this, actually.”*
The TAs were bewildered. The next potential S-rank had essentially critiqued the questions.
---
**"Boitata strategy… the tail? I’ve never heard of that."**
**"The most efficient core refinement method is mana condensation transport? What’s that supposed to be?"**
Even the content itself was bizarre.
The TAs, who were well-versed in theory, had never come across this information before.
If any other cadet had written this, they would have dismissed it as a fantasy.
But the person saying this? Yujin Seo.
The potential next S-rank. Owner of an EX-grade Unique Ability. A peer of Aika Ninomiya, who could slice through hurricanes with a single strike.
No TA could simply ignore this, so they brought the paper to the professor in charge.
---
**"Professor, there’s… a bit of an issue with Yujin Seo’s answers."**
**"Yujin Seo questioned my test? Let me see…"**
The professor, an experienced Awakened veteran, reviewed the paper and raised an eyebrow. Even at a glance, she recognized that this wasn’t ordinary knowledge.
*“This could have been written by a professional…”*
---
*Ding.*
**"Hey, Jungchul. Do we still have access to that gate with Boitata creatures? Mind if I check something out there?"**
**"It’s fine, I’ll be quick."**
Curious, she decided to verify Yujin’s strategy against Boitata.
The result?
---
*BOOM!!*
**"...Why is this actually correct?"**
Boitata, a B-rank monster often found in B-rank gates, was a creature that even A-rank veterans like the professor needed an hour to defeat one-on-one.
Using Yujin’s method, she took it down in three minutes.
Realizing that Yujin’s notes were accurate, the professor’s face grew serious.
---
*How does he know this? And if the core refinement method is true as well…?*
The contents of Yujin’s notes could be divided into two parts:
An unknown strategy for a notoriously difficult monster, and a core refinement method.
It was the latter that worried her most.
---
A core is the power source that maintains gates. It’s an advanced energy source that practically retired nuclear power.
Even a C-rank gate core costs millions. An S-rank core? Hundreds of billions.
One S-rank core can produce electricity equivalent to a coal-fired plant burning thousands of tons of coal.
Improving core efficiency is a highly funded research priority. Even Chunhwa Clan had government contracts for core refinement research.
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*If current methods yield 70% efficiency… and this method raises it to 95%?*
Realizing what this would mean, the professor rushed back to the academy, clutching Yujin’s paper.
But when she reached his explanation…
---
*“Due to space limitations, I couldn’t include the full details.”*
**"Why does it end thereee!!"**
She was struck by Yujin’s cliffhanger, coughing in frustration.
Sure, a full explanation wouldn’t fit on a test paper, but stopping there?
It was only natural that Yujin was summoned the next day.
---
*Click.*
**"Cadet Yujin Seo! Is the core refinement method you wrote here really possible?"**
The professor’s expression was grave, but Yujin, calm and collected, responded as if he’d expected this.
---
**"Yes, it’s legitimate."**
**"So, you’re saying we can improve the current 70% efficiency to 95%?"**
**"Actually, somewhere between 95% and 99%. But the minimum is around 95%."**
**"Whoa…"**
The professor slumped, overwhelmed.
The prospect of increasing efficiency from 70% to 99% was staggering, and she fully grasped its significance.
---
*Grit.*
**"This is worth more than hundreds of billions…."**
Globally, around 10% of power generation relies on core power.
The main limitation has always been core supply, but if core efficiency jumped from 70% to 95%?
That would mean 1.35 times more electricity from the same core, an astronomical gain.
The professor was understandably dazed by the weight of Yujin’s theoretical contribution.
---
**"Wait, I’m planning to release this information publicly."**
**"…What?"**
But Yujin casually announced that he intended to publish it for free.
His lips curled up in a slight smile.
---
*“In the original timeline, Russia developed this technology and monopolized it. It was leaked later, but still.”*
This method was actually a breakthrough Russia was supposed to discover in about ten years. When Yujin saw the research leak in his previous life, he was stunned by how simple it was.
And so, he used the midterms as an excuse to reveal this cutting-edge technology, which wasn’t as complex as it seemed once you knew it.
---
**"Are you serious? You’re giving this away for free?"**
**"Yes."**
**"You could name your price for something like this!"**
Understandably, the professor struggled to comprehend, but Yujin just smiled.
---
**"It’s almost summer."**
**"…Pardon?"**
**"Wouldn’t it be nice if people could use their air conditioning a bit more affordably?"**
---
*For the sake of lower electricity bills, to keep air conditioners running.*
---
**"…Is that really the reason?"**
**"Well, there’s also environmental benefits and all that."**
*Scratch.*
*In reality, I just wanted to impress my wives.*
The real reason was to look cool in front of his wives.
Ascending to S-rank was a matter of time for Yujin, and he predicted his rank would land him at 7th—just below his friend and rival, Gong.
As for the rest? That could wait. For now, impressing his wives took priority.
---
**"Yujin Seo, how did you come by this theory?"**
Of course, explaining the source of future knowledge was a difficult feat for a typical regressor.
---
**
"It’s my EX-grade Unique Ability."**
**"Oh, right. I forgot that Yujin Seo’s talent is on par with Ninomiya Aika. Shouldn’t have even asked."**
---
A living strategic weapon, a terror to physicists, and a figure who routinely did impossible things—thanks to his mentor Aika, the professor accepted his claim without question.
*“Thank you, Master…!!”*
---
In the end, the professor collaborated with Yujin and Chunhwa Clan.
Shortly after midterms, a simple paper on the "Mana Condensation Transport Method" was published under Yujin Seo’s name.
---
[Title: Dammit, it’s Yujin Seo again. I can’t help but worship him.]
[Title: Current reactions from labs nationwide: “Why does this even work?”]
[Title: Breaking news: Japanese Prime Minister tweets in Korean.]
[Title: Morrison gives yet another shoutout to “Hypnosis Lord.”]
Naturally, the world was turned upside down.
The global response to Yujin’s publication was enormous, with world leaders taking notice. Japanese Prime Minister Nakano Watari even tweeted his congratulations, and President Morrison of the United States expressed his amazement, recognizing Yujin’s impact on the world once again.
Of course, the part that mattered most to Yujin was this:
[Yujin Seo confirmed as S-rank, 7th place!!]
“It might seem fast to hit S-rank in just eight weeks, but… well, my wives should be impressed by this.”
Climbing to 7th place among the world’s S-rank Awakened was a huge milestone. Imagining the admiration in his wives’ eyes, Yujin couldn’t help but smile, feeling pleased with himself.
[Yujin: Thank you, Alice. Your encouragement helped me achieve this.] [Alice: Then let’s have a private celebration at the hotel—just the two of us. The midterms are over, so it’s the perfect time.] [Yujin: Just the two of us?] [Alice: Yes! A secret celebration just for us!] [Yujin: Sounds good. Let’s go after my therapy session. I know the perfect place.]
“You won’t be leaving until you’re completely satisfied, Yujin. I’ll make sure of that… until you’re too distracted to even remember Sia exists!”
And so, Yujin, unaware of what lay ahead, headed off with a smile, blissfully ignorant of the so-called "room you can’t leave without…”