As the classroom settled in, Ms. Elara stood at the front with a warm smile.
She was ready to dive into the day's lesson, which was designed to prepare the students for their upcoming mock exams.
Her enthusiasm for teaching and her dedication to her students made them attentive to her words.
"Hello everyone," Ms. Elara began, "today we are going to go through a few of the hardest exam questions."
"This is to prepare you for your upcoming mock exam. As you all know, the final exams are approaching in the next couple of months."
She paced the front of the room, her gaze sweeping over the students. "Practicing now is the best choice, so we are going to tackle some challenging problems."
With a flourish, she wrote a particularly difficult question on the board:
Solve for x in the equation:
∫0∞e−xx2+1 dx=π2\int_{0}^{\infty} \frac{e^{-x}}{x^2 + 1} \, dx = \frac{\pi}{2}∫0∞x2+1e−xdx=2π
The room fell silent as the students stared at the equation.
The question was notoriously complex, a challenge even for the smartest students.
"This calculus problem... It traumatises me every time I see it."
"Like why is it always that one 'X' giving me problems."
Some murmured among themselves, trying to recall any relevant formulas, but the majority were clueless.
Noah, seated at the back of the room, glanced at the board.
Suddenly, his mind was interrupted by a familiar robotic voice:
[Ding! Choice initiated, Please choose carefully]
Option 1: Remain silent.
[Gain nothing and waste time in class]
Option 2: Answer the question.
[Gain Basic All-Round High-schooler Knowledge]
Option 3: Make a joke about the question.
[Gain Basic Comedian Skill]
Without hesitation, he chose Option 2.
"I choose Option 2!" Noah muttered silently.
[Ding! Basic All-Round High-schooler knowledge is rewarded!]
As soon as he made his choice, Noah felt an overwhelming flood of information surge through his mind.
Concepts from every high school subject, tips for tackling complex problems, and intricate details of various mathematical techniques flowed into his consciousness.
He now felt clarity and understanding of his academic material.
Confident in his knowledge, Noah raised his hand.
The gesture was immediate, and Ms. Elara's eyebrows arched in surprise as she noticed him.
"Yes, Noah?" she inquired curiously.
With a calm expression, Noah stood up, his mind racing through the details he had just absorbed.
"Ms. Elara, I can solve the question."
Ms. Elara looked at him with a mixture of scepticism and concern.
"Are you sure you can answer this?" she asked, her tone hinting that she thought Noah might be joking.
The complexity of the question was well-known, and the classroom atmosphere was tense with apprehension.
The murmurs among the students began with a few snickering.
Whispers filled the room. Some students leaned toward their friends, making light of the situation.
"Look at your boyfriend, Layla," one of them said with a chuckle. "He's making a joke out of himself."
Layla, who had been sitting quietly, felt her face flush with embarrassment. She glanced at Noah, her discomfort palpable.
"He isn't my boyfriend," she said sharply, her voice carrying a trace of irritation. "We are just friends."
Ms. Elara's gaze shifted from Noah's earnest face to the classroom's reaction. The laughter and whispers were growing louder, and she could sense the mounting ridicule.
Her initial irritation faded as she saw the genuine determination in Noah's eyes. Sighing, she realized he was not merely playing around.
"Alright, Noah," Ms. Elara said, her voice softening. "Come up to the board and show us what you've got."
Noah walked to the front of the class.
He couldn't care less about what his classmates thought, he knew that they were just passersby and they were bound to be behind him in the future.
The murmurs continued, but he focused on answering the question.
As he took the marker in his hand, he began to methodically work through the equation, his newfound knowledge guiding him through each step.
The class fell into stunned silence as Noah's solution took shape on the board. The complexity of the problem unravelled under his precise calculations, leaving Ms. Elara in awe.
His confidence was evident, and it became clear that he was indeed capable of solving the equation with impressive skill.
Ms. Elara's eyes widened in amazement. As Noah completed the problem, she glanced at the students, who now looked on with a mixture of surprise and doubt.
"He is just writing random mathematical equations right?" a student asked not believing that Noah, the student with the lowest grade in the class was answering the hardest question in high school mathematics.
"Excellent work, Noah," Ms. Elara said, her voice filled with genuine admiration. "You've demonstrated an impressive understanding of the material. Well done."