In addition to the thirty-six classic Composite Rune diagrams, Jose also prepared a stack of materials half a person tall for Gaode. All these materials combined constituted the entirety of the knowledge points for the Third Stage and Fourth Stage courses of *Rune Science*.
The knowledge of the first two stages, which originally required two years to complete, had been fully mastered by Gaode in just two and a half months. As for how much time Gaode would need to master the Third and Fourth Stage courses, Jose secretly held a faint sense of anticipation. This was especially true since the teaching method he chose was highly "unreliable": merely providing the materials and leaving everything else for Gaode to self-study.
However, this wasn’t because Jose was being irresponsible. The fundamental reason was that education itself was inherently contradictory.
Take the field of Rune Science as an example. If anyone wanted to advance in this field without undergoing systematic education, they might take many detours or even stray completely off the right path. Even if those who took detours eventually returned to the correct track, they would have wasted precious time. In the grand scheme of things, they might lack the lifespan needed to explore the more profound knowledge of Rune Science. As for those who strayed completely, it went without saying—their potential would be entirely squandered.
On the other hand, if the education was too systematic, relying excessively on the theories and experiences of mentors or predecessors, the student would often turn into a mere "artisan" lacking independent thinking abilities in the late-period. All an artisan could do was simply draw Arrays according to blueprints.
The balance between the two was something not only the mentor needed to manage, but the student as well. Fortunately, Gaode had enough talent. As his mentor, Jose could be quite lazy yet fully confident in letting him self-study everything, only taking responsibility for providing knowledge and answering questions. Applying this teaching method to anyone else would ruin the student, but for Gaode, it was perfectly suitable.
Gaode had no objections to this, either. He was someone who enjoyed self-studying. This way, he could freely adjust his learning pace according to his own condition without wasting any time.
Days passed one by one.
Life in the academy always went by quickly. When one’s days were filled with all sorts of tasks, time seemed to fly even faster. This was especially true for Gaode. After choosing sixteen elective courses, he had at least two classes to attend every single day. Furthermore, he had to set aside time daily to delve into Rune Science. His cultivation time was also fixed and could not be reduced.
To outsiders, this kind of lifestyle was no longer human; it was like being a machine. But for Gaode, the feeling of gaining new knowledge every day brought him infinite psychological satisfaction. This satisfaction, to a large extent, masked his exhaustion.
After the turbulence at the beginning of the month, the Ice Seal Moon gradually returned to calm. Though the waves seemed to have subsided, the undercurrents below were still brewing. At least half the people were waiting to make a joke out of this year’s freshmen. They were waiting to see just how many course assessments the "Madman" Gaode would ultimately pass and how many credits he would earn.
Amidst this underlying attention, the Ice Seal Moon quietly drew to a close.
The end of the Ice Seal Moon was somewhat special. At Cyrus Academy, major courses like *Rune Science* had a First Stage course duration that spanned an entire academic year. However, the branch courses under them generally did not have such long time spans. The teaching period for most branch courses was three months, and the longer ones were at most half a year.
Among the eight courses Gaode initially selected, three were mandatory, plus one major course, *Rune Science*. The remaining four were all branch courses. Except for *Magic Plant Cultivation*, which spanned four months to give students time to cultivate Magic Plants, the other three branch courses—*Nolan Continent Geography and War Geography*, *General Magic (0-3 Rings) Recognition*, and *Medicinal Materials General Knowledge*—all had standard three-month durations. Moreover, their final course assessments were all concentrated at the end of the month.
In other words, Gaode was about to face his first "exam week" at Cyrus Academy.
The first exam was for *General Magic (0-3 Rings) Recognition*. This was a purely theoretical, easy filler course. The format of the course assessment wasn’t complicated, either. The academy provided a test paper, and the students taking the elective had one hour to answer the questions.
On the morning of the 30th of the Ice Seal Moon, the assessment classroom arranged by the academy was packed to the brim with students. The attendance rate for this easy course had consistently topped the academy’s charts year-round.
"Will all students participating in the assessment please place your identity nameplates on the top left corner of your desks for inspection.
"This is a closed-book exam. If anyone is caught trying to be clever and cheating, they will not be tolerated and will be sent to the committee for disciplinary action. I hope none of you make such a principled mistake."
An unfamiliar Elder Mage, who had entered the classroom carrying a stack of test papers, announced the exam rules before nodding at the staff member beside him.
Understanding implicitly, the staff member took out a compact Alchemy Machine and began checking identity information in order, starting from the first student by the door.
Gaode sat at his desk, zoning out while waiting for the papers to be distributed.
The final assessments for all courses at the academy, regardless of their format, were graded on a hundred-point scale. Sixty points was the baseline. Achieving this score meant passing the assessment and earning the credits for the course. However, apart from credits, there was a supplementary metric for evaluating a student’s performance, known as the "grade point." This was one of the vital supporting measures of the credit system implemented by Cyrus Academy.
The grade point was calculated by taking ten percent of the course score and subtracting five. For example, scoring sixty points in the final assessment of *General Magic (0-3 Rings) Recognition* meant taking ten percent of sixty, which was "six," and subtracting "five" to get a grade point of one.
The biggest purpose of the grade point was to filter out the fluff. The academy explicitly required an average grade point of at least three to be eligible for most of its rankings and weight calculations that used credits as a benchmark. In the case of identical credits, the student with the higher grade point would be prioritized. This prevented students from taking a bunch of electives and just barely passing the assessments to scrape by with credits.
After checking the identity information, the staff member began distributing the test papers. The questions were neatly transcribed on exquisite parchment, and the ink smelled quite pleasant.
Gaode narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze landing on the exam questions. There weren’t many questions; they were all problems created through a Conversion of the knowledge points taught in the course.
"To delve deep into the River Snowfield, can a 1st Ring Mage achieve this, and through what method?"
The first question was a classic freebie to build the students’ confidence. The answer was very simple.
"Yes, through the 1st Ring Defense Magic [Endure Environment]..."
"In the Dark Forest, as a 2nd Ring Mage specializing in Illusionist School magic, you encounter a group of Earth Vein Creatures occupying the area. How do you safely pass through this region without engaging in direct combat?"
This question was slightly more difficult. The first step was to carefully analyze the prompt: "a 2nd Ring Mage specializing in Illusionist School magic." Thus, the scope of magic was restricted to the Illusionist School and within 2nd Ring magic...
"In an encounter with bandits, you are surrounded by enemies and wish to quickly break out and ensure your safety. Please describe the magic you would choose and the reason..."
Gaode wrote continuously, moving down the paper without a single pause. For Gaode, who had thoroughly mastered all the course materials using the [Divine Guidance Skill+], these questions might have seemed convoluted, but none were actually difficult. The moment he read the question stems, the answers naturally bubbled up in his mind.
They were all free points!
SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH.
After a flurry of writing, Gaode quickly reached the last question. It was indeed the final question, as an entire page was reserved for it, clearly indicating it was a major essay question. It also carried the highest point value on the entire test paper, astonishingly accounting for forty points.
However, when Gaode looked at the prompt, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It wasn’t that someone had leaked the exam to him in advance, but rather because...
"Assume you are a 3rd Ring Mage proficient in various types of magic. You are dispatched to an area occupied by newborn Earth Vein Creatures to investigate the tier of this newborn Earth Vein. Please design a comprehensive magic strategy to enter the area as safely as possible, obtain the required information, and leave safely."
As Gaode looked at the prompt, the more he read, the more familiar it felt...
"Could this be a question adapted from the Hogan Earth Vein...?" he wondered. "Uh..."
Moreover, was the so-called final question only at this level of difficulty? It truly lived up to its reputation as an easy course!
At this thought, Gaode hesitated no longer and began writing.
SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH.
With another burst of writing, he resolved this final question in just a few minutes. Picking up the test paper, he checked it once to ensure nothing was missed, then packed his things, stood up, and handed it in.
Sitting at the front and supervising the students, the Elder Mage raised an eyebrow at Gaode approaching to turn in his paper.
The *General Magic Recognition* course wasn’t difficult. The final question, in particular, was always an open-ended essay; as long as a student’s answer was logically sound, they could generally earn more than half the points. If they casually grabbed half of the initial sixty points as well, they would pass the assessment. Therefore, the pass rate for this course was nearly a hundred percent.
However, it was still very rare to see a student turn in their paper this quickly. Thinking this, the Elder Mage glanced at Gaode’s test paper from the corner of his eye.
The next moment, his already small eyes narrowed into slits.
"Huh? He wrote quite a lot," the Elder Mage thought.
Reaching out, he took the paper and stared at Gaode’s fully packed answers below the questions, reviewing them line by line.
The first question: Correct. A freebie. Normal.
The second question: Also correct. Fairly diligent.
The third question...
Reading all the way down, the Elder Mage found that he couldn’t spot a single mistake in Gaode’s work.
The pass rate for *General Magic Recognition* was indeed high, but that was only because magic was a fundamental ability for Mages, closely linked to their daily lives. They already possessed a certain foundation of the course’s knowledge before even attending a class. Moreover, many of the assessment questions just required logical reasoning and had no fixed answers, making them easy to score on.
But that did not mean it was a subject where one could easily get a high score. This was a subject very much like literature. It was hard to fail, but it was equally hard to achieve an excellent grade. Getting a perfect score was even harder than in mathematics.
The Elder Mage’s expression grew increasingly grave. When he read all the way to the last line of the final question, he couldn’t help but nod slightly.
If he were to grade Gaode’s paper, he would give it a high score of over ninety-five. The previous answers were all flawlessly correct, securing the full sixty points. The only point deductions would come from the final essay question.
This wasn’t because he found any omissions in Gaode’s response. Rather, for this kind of open-ended question, no matter how one answered, even if it was done haphazardly, they would still receive some points. By the same token, no matter how perfect the answer, some points would inevitably be deducted.
Because, inherently, there was no such thing as a flawless magic strategy.