Jay Arkwell sat in the Student Council chamber, arms crossed, face blank, head empty.
Not metaphorically. He had actually fallen asleep sitting up.
"...Is he asleep again?"
A teacher coughed. Alicia Renvale, president of the Student Council and queen of absolute composure, narrowed her eyes.
"Jay Arkwell. Wake up."
Jay stirred.
"Huh? Oh. I thought this was a dental appointment."
The chamber was packed.
Student Council members.
The math teacher from earlier, clutching Jay's perfect test sheet.
Lance Grover, bruised pride and all.
A random news club girl recording everything.
And Alicia, who sat like a judge ready to sentence a war criminal.
Jay scratched his neck. "So… What's all this about?"
Alicia leaned forward. "Jay Arkwell. Your math exam score was statistically improbable. Then you defeated a trained martial arts student using unknown evasion skills. Please explain."
Jay blinked. "I guessed."
The math teacher twitched violently.
Alicia frowned. "Guessed… all 50 questions? With a 100% success rate?"
"Yup."
"Do you understand how unlikely that is?"
Jay stretched. "Statistically? No. But emotionally? Feels very me."
Snicker.
Someone laughed.
Alicia shot them a look and silence returned.
"Then what about the incident in the courtyard?" she asked.
Jay shrugged. "I moved left. Guy punched air. Gravity did the rest."
Lance shouted from the corner, "He dodged like a ninja on caffeine! I swear, he vanished!"
Jay held up a hand. "For legal reasons, I don't drink caffeine."
---
> [Ding!]
[Situation Detected: Host is being interrogated by hostile parties.]
[Auto-Skill Triggered: Passive Aura – 'Innocent Idiot' Lvl 1]
Suddenly, Jay's sleepy eyes and slouchy posture gave off an aura of total harmlessness.
Everyone stared.
Was he really a threat?
Was this guy... just a very lucky slacker?
Alicia frowned, clearly fighting logic.
"Enough," she said. "I will now initiate a practical evaluation."
"Like a test?"
"More like… a simulation. You will solve this."
She tossed something on the table: a black crystal sphere. It floated midair, glowing faintly.
> [Detected: Tier-3 Problem Crystal – Logic Compression Type]
[Warning: Solving this under pressure has a 2% success rate… unless System boost applied.]
Jay poked it lazily.
Immediately—symbols burst in his vision. Equations. Runes. Shapes. He almost passed out.
> [Effort Detected.]
[999x Reward Triggered.]
[Processing Boost Engaged: Mind Speed +999% for 10 seconds.]
Suddenly, it all made sense.
He tapped the crystal three times. Swiped it once. Poked it twice.
The crystal blinked… and turned blue.
"...Impossible," the math teacher gasped.
Alicia's eyes widened.
Even Lance looked like he'd swallowed a pencil.
---
> [Logic Compression Crystal Solved.]
[Reward: +999 Mental Processing XP | +1 Hidden Stat: Genius Tag (Dormant)]
[Reputation Up: +50 | Rumors Activated: "Brain Behind the Throne"]
Jay slumped in his chair. "Can I go now?"
Alicia slowly nodded.
"Jay Arkwell… you may leave. But—this isn't over."
He yawned. "It never is."
As he walked out, the whispers began again.
"Did he really solve it?"
"Maybe he's been hiding his true power…"
"Is he a retired noble's son? A disguised heir?"
"No, no, he's probably a rogue researcher who lost his memory!"
Jay sipped from a juice pouch he found in his pocket.
"…This school is too dramatic."