At fifth was Miria. At third was Skymender. Second was Luke. At first was Charles. They all shared looks between each other. Although someone besides the four had gotten fourth place, it was unknown whether or not they would remain there.
With the leaderboard updated, the Imperial Scholar passed out another section of the test.
It lasted an hour, and the grading process was relatively quick.
The Imperial Scholar soon updated the leaderboard again.
Miria fourth, Skymender third, Luke second, and Charles first.
Luke glared at Charles for a moment before becoming completely serious.
The next test was handed out. It was unknown how many there were, but logically, it wouldn't exceed eight.
This was the third. The questions were definitely harder, with some that Skymender had never even seen and simply had to guess on.
While the Imperial Scholar taught a lot, he also placed importance on self study and self learning.
Therefore, there were questions on the test that Skymender did not know. This was not simply to cause him to lose points for not knowing it, but to give those who self studied it the opportunity to use what they learned.
The third test soon came to a conclusion. Papers were collected up and answers graded. After a bit longer than last time, the Imperial Scholar changed the leaderboard.
Miria, fourth place, Skymender, third place, Charles, second place, Luke, first place.
Luke and Charles shared a look.
It seemed to be a two way battle at the moment.
Skymender took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
After a while, he opened them.
The next sections would be even harder, and what he had self studied were the harder problems. He still had the chance to surpass them in the coming rounds.
After the fourth test, the rankings were the same.
However, as the fifth test started, there was a clear difference in difficulty. Even on the first question, Skymender had to pause and think.
He began to move through the test swiftly, faster than everyone else. It was not necessarily because he knew it all, but because he had practiced what he had already known so much that his speed was increased, and also because he didn't waste time on questions he didn't know.
After about half of the time passed, Skymender finished. He then went back and did everything he hadn't known off the top of his head, the number of which had continuously grown until the end.
The time soon ended and tests were taken up. When the leaderboards were rewritten, Skymender was in second place, while Luke had actually been knocked back to third place and Charles made it to first once again. Miria stayed firm at fourth.
The sixth test was handed out. It was even harder than the last. The rankings did not change at its conclusion. The seventh test was handed out, and after it was graded, the rankings did not change.
Finally, the eighth test came. It was the hardest by far. It felt like a test filled to the brim with nearly impossible bonus questions.
From the first question, Skymender had a headache. It would be a longshot to get a single question right. He couldn't even tell if the questions were getting harder as he went on. Everything was simply too advanced.
As expected, after the tests were collected and graded, the rankings did not change. Skymender sighed. He had lost to Charles once again. A photographic memory was just too powerful.
"The points gained are as follows. 10 points to first, 5 to second, and 3 to third. Let's return."
They all returned to the classroom and the overall leaderboard was quickly updated.
Charles in first with 43 intelligence points. Skymender in second with 40. Luke in third with 31. Miria in fourth with 30.
It was a close game between Skymender and Charles. However, it seemed that neither Luke nor Miria had a high chance of catching up.
It was getting late, and class was quickly dismissed. Skymender walked towards a different restaurant than usual. It was something he had seen many times, a restaurant requiring 40 points to enter.
He walked through an archway and entered an enclosed yard. Two streams of water flowed at the sides. Even though darkness was approaching, lamps at the side kept everything bright.
He saw fish in ponds and numerous decorations.
He soon entered the main dining area, an outside seating with gentle lights and numerous decorations. A woman came up to him holding a menu.
"Welcome, sir. What can I get for you to drink?"
She bowed and backed away. Skymender took a look at the menu. He saw rice, sushi, fish, and many other traditional meals.
Just as he decided what he wanted, the woman returned with a refreshing glass of water. After taking a sip, Skymender ordered a variety of sushi and some shrimp fried rice, though he did not believe for a second that a shrimp was actually frying the rice.
The woman took his order and was about to leave when Skymender asked a question.
"Since Master Chef Garb is one of a kind even in a thousand years, why does it take more intelligence points to eat here?"
As if she had already prepared an answer, she responded. "Although Master Chef Garb is without a doubt the greatest cook in the world and it costs a fortune to have him cook here, the intelligence points cost is not decided on that. Instead, it is based on the price of the food itself, the rarity, and the decorations and atmosphere. Master Chef Garb's food is simpler and far more common, while his decorations are relatively few. That is why only one restaurant is above ours in terms of intelligence points."
Skymender looked in the distance, where a tower second in height only to the Education building stood. He had walked past it many times, but he still found it hard to believe the necessary intelligence points to enter.
"The Tower. It costs one hundred intelligence points to enter, the most expensive location in the Imperial Scholar Camp. Nobody has ever entered."
When she said most expensive, she was referring to intelligence points price, not expensive in of itself.
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I pay my respects to Lord Lu as the greatest webnovel of all time, Star Odyssey, concludes.