Chapter 134 31.3 - Before Mid-terms
Sylvie and Jasmine studied diligently throughout the evening, making the most of their time in the library. They continued to exchange notes and discuss various subjects, doing their best to prepare for the upcoming mid-term exams.
As the day wore on, the library's atmosphere remained focused and studious.
They exchanged notes and discussed topics they found challenging, making the most of their time in the library.
Because this was something that they had been doing frequently, they knew how to cooperate well.
But while Sylvie was engrossed in her books and notes, she couldn't help but cast occasional glances at Astron, who was still sitting at the table beside them.
'I thought he wasn't good at studying.' She thought to herself. Considering his rank and the attitude he always took at the lessons, she had initially assumed he was not particularly academically inclined.
However, the more she observed him, the more she found herself surprised.
'How can he solve them this fast?'
Astron, despite his last-place ranking, seemed to have an innate understanding of the subjects they were studying.
He effortlessly solved complex problems and answered difficult questions. His pen moved smoothly across the pages, jotting down notes and annotations that indicated a deep understanding of the material.
It was as if he had actually been studying all those things from the start, but that didn't make sense.
'Did he just learn everything here?'
She thought. She knew Astron was an orphan, and he mustn't have received a good education before coming to this academy, just like her.
Since she was a girl growing up in a village, she didn't go to prestigious pre-academy schools like most of the students here.
This was why she knew precisely how hard it was for someone to learn all those things from scratch.
And, now, she was flabbergasted by his proficiency. She had expected his academic performance to be mediocre at best, but it was evident that he was highly capable.
It left her wondering about the circumstances that led to his low ranking, and the result she came up with was obvious.
'It must be because of his low stats.'
She knew how weak he was at first, as she witnessed those painful times of him.
And knowing this, she couldn't help but respect his dedication and abilities. Just at that time, Sylvie felt her friend poking her arm with her finger.
"Hmm?" Turning her attention to Jasmine, Sylvie could see her holding a book.
She opened her textbook and pointed to a particularly challenging question related to [Dungeon Theory.] This subject was Sylvie's weakest, and she often struggled with it.
"Hey, Sylvie, check this out," Jasmine said, directing Sylvie's attention to the question.
Sylvie glanced at the problem and felt a wave of uncertainty wash over her.
It was a difficult question, one she had struggled with in the past and failed to solve. She was actually planning to join the professor's office hours just to ask about those questions.
And now, her friend was asking her this question, and that made it impossible for her to answer.
Just when Sylvie was on the verge of giving up, she remembered something.
'He was studying this topic just now.'
She looked at Jasmine, her expression a mixture of realization and surprise. "Wait a minute," Sylvie whispered, her eyes lighting up. "Astron was studying 'Dungeon Theory' just now. He might know how to solve this."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Astron? Are you sure he'd help us?" She herself knew how uncooperative he was with others, and his attitude made her doubt him.
"I think he will," Sylvie said.
"If you think so." Giving him a chance, Jasmine said.
Sylvie, taking a breath, decided to seek Astron's help with the challenging [Dungeon Theory] question.
She stood up, gathered her study materials, and approached Astron, who was diligently working at the neighboring table.
Until this hour, he never stood up even once and simply studied after entering here. She could see the scattered books and notes around.
Her footsteps were cautious, but her resolve was unwavering. As she reached Astron's table, she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Excuse me, Astron," she began, her voice polite and respectful.
Astron, who was engrossed in his studies, looked up, his eyes meeting Sylvie's. His expression was as stern as ever, and he didn't show much emotion, as his color palette were no different than usual.
The color of grey covered the palette, symbolizing indifference.
As his purple shiny eyes met with Sylvie's, the urge to lower her gaze came up. Whenever she stood before him, those eyes made her remember the words he had spoken to her at that time, and she was uncomfortable.
'A lot of time had passed now, Sylvie.'
But she controlled herself, masking her nervousness, and she continued. "I noticed you were studying 'Dungeon Theory,' and there's this question I've been struggling with. I was wondering if you could help me understand it."
For a moment, Astron's piercing gaze seemed to bore into her, and she couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.
She waited for his response, hoping that he would agree to assist her with the problem. The silence between them grew, and it felt like an eternity before he finally replied.
"I can help." Astron's voice was monotone, his response brief. He pushed the stack of books he was studying aside to make room for Sylvie's question.
'Ah….Thank goodness he accepted it. It was so embarrassing.' Sylvie thought to herself as she sat.
Her relief was palpable, but she tried to maintain her composure. "Thank you, Astron. I appreciate it."
She carefully showed him the question she was struggling with, and Astron began to analyze it, flipping through pages and making notes.
It was a question about analyzing the dungeon's inner diagram and finding the related mana levels in each marked branch and node of that diagram.
From the outside, it may have looked easy, but knowing there were several branches and nodes inside, it was quite hard for her to find the right path to solve.
"Hmm…." She could hear him humming as he looked at the question for a second. "This is certainly a hard one." His pen started moving rapidly. Equations, numbers, and diagrams appeared one by one, and in a matter of minutes, the whole page was filled with calculations.
'His handwriting is different.' Sylvie thought, watching him scribble.
She always took care of her writing and wanted her paper to look good, and because of that, she was a slightly slow writer. But the neatness that came from it made it worth it.
However, clearly, Astron was different. His writing was small, and he wrote almost 1.5 times faster than her. It wasn't as beautiful as her writing, but clearly, there was a weird feeling of attraction when she looked at the filled paper.
At that moment, she heard his voice coming from the side. "Here," he said, sliding the paper over to Sylvie.
'Ah, he already finished.'
When she was watching him solving the equations like that, he had already finished.
'What is this?'
But, when she looked at the page, her excitement mixed with a tinge of confusion.
Astron's solution seemed like an intricate web of symbols and numbers, and it was difficult for Sylvie to decipher it at first.
Even though she could understand the numbers and could see the calculations were correct, she didn't understand where some of the equations came from.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand," she admitted, her brows furrowing. "It looks really complex."
"Hmm…." Hearing this, Astron hummed for a second as he looked at his own paper. "Have you tried to solve this question first?" And he asked.
"Of course I did."
"Good. Do you have your calculations with you?"
"My calculations? Why?"
"I want to see how you thought when you were looking at this problem. And, the best way is to see your solution."
Hearing this, Sylvie was slightly surprised. She certainly wasn't expecting him to say such a thing.
"They should be in my bag; let me check it." Sylvie nodded and reached into her bag, retrieving her own calculations for the question.
She handed over the sheets of paper to Astron, who took them and began to examine her work.
As he studied her solution, Sylvie couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. It was like having her homework reviewed by the sternest of teachers.
Her gaze shifted between the page in Astron's hands and his serious expression. Just as usual, his gaze didn't contain any emotions whatsoever. She couldn't tell whether he was impressed, critical, or both.
"I see now." He mumbled as he slightly slid the paper in front of her. "The approach you have used in this question was the same as the one we used in the previous section." He said, pointing to the paper. However, because the paper was in front of her, without noticing, he came up to her with his arm touching hers.
Sylvie felt herself getting distracted as Astron leaned closer to explain her mistake. It was hard not to be aware of his presence; she could see his sharp eyes intently studying the paper as he explained the intricacies of the problem.
And then she noticed the details of his appearance up close. His pale skin had a certain ethereal quality to it. His slightly long black hair framed his face, adding a mysterious allure.
For a moment, she couldn't help but be drawn to the fine details of his features, his sharp jawline, and his full lips that rarely talked with others but now explaining to her the question.
'He smells good.'
His scent, a combination of a mild cologne and something unique to him, wafted towards her.
It was a fragrance that was both inviting and unfamiliar, making her all the more aware of his proximity. She blushed slightly, feeling a warmth in her cheeks.
'I shouldn't do this.'
But she quickly shook her head to refocus. This wasn't the time to be getting lost in such thoughts. Astron was trying to help her, and she needed to take advantage of this opportunity to learn.
"In these types of questions, you need to make use of this formula here..."
Just like that, Astron kept explaining to her the questions as he referred to his own notes from time to time.
And because Sylvie was using her every bit of willpower to not get distracted, she missed the small change on the color palette only her eyes could see.
Though on the side, the girl who was watching them couldn't help but think….
'They really look good together, and she looks more relaxed around him compared to other boys…..Oh, boy….This is going to be troublesome.'
As she looked at the boy explaining things, her brows furrowed.
'If you make her sad, I am going to beat you up.'
Just like that, the night went on.
Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel