"Alice, you're so smart!"
"At just two months old, the Aldridge family's daughter was already echoing words!"
"She's three and already reading advanced books!"
"At the age of ten, she defeated a renowned scholar in a battle of knowledge!"
"When she enrolls at the academy, she will undoubtedly be the smartest student!"
Alice Aldridge, the most intelligent girl in the kingdom, had achieved perfect scores on every exam she had ever taken.
Currently seated in the S-Class examination room, Alice glanced around at her classmates.
These students were considered the future of the kingdom, deemed the strongest of their age. However, she noticed that even they struggled with the exam.
As Alice looked at the basic questions, she answered them perfectly and without hesitation.
"Look at Alice," someone whispered. "She's not even thinking before writing down her answers."
"It seems the rumors of her genius are true."
Alice felt a sense of pride at hearing these words. From a young age, she had been praised for her brilliance. Her family had told her she would be the one to elevate their family's power in the future.
All she had to do was attend the academy and surpass everyone else.
Everything came easily to her; even learning to use her magic had been simple.
However, her pencil halted for the first time as she read the final question.
"If magic is the force that binds and governs our reality, what existed before magic, and what will remain if magic ceases to exist?"
Alice wondered why the exam would include a question without a definitive answer. Even the greatest minds had been unable to solve it.
The question was likely included to gather opinions. The most common answer was chaos—if magic governs everything, then without it, everything would be without order.
But she didn't want to write down such a straightforward answer. What if this was a trick question? Perhaps they were looking for creativity instead, a mind that thought outside the box.
Alice panicked internally, unsure of what to do. But she took a deep breath, remembering who she was and what she was meant to achieve.
Once she calmed her nerves, she began writing down her response, eventually rising to submit her paper to Walter, the S-Class teacher.
"I suggest you use all the time you have for the test. You still have forty four minutes left," Walter advised.
Alice shook her head. "There's no point in reviewing correct answers. It's a waste of time that could be spent elsewhere," she said.
"Well, you can leave your papers with me or deliver them to the office to receive your score instantly," Walter replied with a sigh.
He had heard of Alice's genius but hadn't expected her to be so arrogant. There was nothing wrong with double checking even what one presumed to be correct.
Alice nodded and walked through the halls, arriving at the office when she suddenly stopped.
She saw a white-haired boy handing in his test paper to a woman working at the office. She was surprised that someone had arrived before her. When she saw his F-Class tag, she assumed he had rushed his answers and continued approaching.
But she paused again when she overheard their conversation. "A hundred percent! Congratulations, you're the first person to receive such a score!"
"What did you think of the test?"
"It was nothing difficult; anyone with a brain could answer those questions correctly."
"Not so humble, I see."
"I'm not kidding; only an idiot would mess up on such an easy test."
Alice stepped back subconsciously, thinking she should double check her answers. But when she realized what she was doing, she gritted her teeth and walked towards them.
Noticing Alice, the woman's expression turned cheerful.
"Alice! I've heard so much about you! I can't wait to see how you've done!"
Alice stood there confidently, but a foreign feeling crept in—nervousness.
She had always been confident in her abilities and intelligence. To feel nervous was to doubt her own superiority.
"This is incredible, Alice! The rumors were indeed true; such a mind at such a young age is remarkable!"
Hearing the woman's praise, Alice wore a prideful smile.
"Congratulations on a score of ninety nine percent!"
Alice's smile slowly crumbled. She turned to look at the white haired boy beside her.
This entire time, he hadn't looked at her once, as if she didn't exist, or worse, he didn't view her as someone worthy of his attention.
But for the first time, he looked at her. His blue eyes gazed upon her as if she were an ant, an existence with no value.
She was usually the predator, but this time she felt like the prey under his gaze. She left the next moment, feeling herself diminish the longer she was near him.
***
I was speaking with the woman at the front desk when I saw Alice appear before us.
I knew she was very smart but didn't expect her to finish so early.
She had long gold hair and golden eyes, with a slim figure and curves in all the right places.
I knew she was very proud of her intelligence, and me being in F-Class didn't help.
If I looked at her, she would probably see me as insignificant, and I didn't want to witness that scene, so I decided to ignore her presence, expecting she would do the same.
"Congratulations on a score of ninety nine percent!" the woman said.
I glanced at Alice to see her expression, which seemed foreign to me. I was used to her prideful and arrogant demeanor in the game, but now it looked as if her life was shattered.
I couldn't help but pity her. She was always praised as a genius, yet here she was, told she had gotten a question wrong on what should have been an easy test.
It wasn't her fault they included a question with no definitive answer. Even my answer was wrong in their eyes. The only reason they accepted it as correct was because it was different from the common response.
The last question aimed to elicit a creative response to a question with one answer.
And I had done just that.
Alice had likely expanded on the idea of chaos. While her response would appear excellent to those studying this question, it wasn't what they were looking for.
She left shortly after, and I eventually did the same.