A Villain's Will to Survive - Chapter 121: Story (3)

Epherene faced the pop quiz head-on, relying solely on her own abilities at first. However, the calculations in the opening sentence of the first question—laden with numbers and intricate magic circuits—stretched on endlessly, overwhelming her almost immediately.

“Ughh…”

Epherene had envisioned a mana circuit in her mind, but something went wrong. Without warning, flames flared up in the air, catching her off guard.

At that moment, Grand Prince Creáto raised his hand and asked, “Professor, could you clarify what you mean by allowing us to discuss the questions?”

Deculein replied, “Just as I stated, Grand Prince. However, I will ask a few questions to confirm that you fully grasp the material.”

Creáto glanced over at Rogerio, but she was already deep in concentration. The iron-colored mana flickering in her eyes was distinct, even for someone at the Ethereal-grade—a rare and special kind of mana. As a genius in Ductility, even her aura shimmered with metallic tones.

“… Ah,” Creáto muttered, momentarily mesmerized as he stared at Rogerio.

However, Epherene quickly turned her focus back to her quiz. She started working through the long, intricate calculations, carefully transcribing the complex spells onto her magic answer sheet.

“Uh… Epherene?” a quiet voice called out to her. “How does this look?”

Epherene turned to see Drent, who cleared his throat and showed her his answer. His approach to the first question had started off like hers, but as he went on, several errors had crept in.

Epherene suggested, “Yes. Right here, see? I split these sections and worked them out separately before connecting them.”

“Oh, really? I calculated everything together.”

“That’s going to be too hard. It’s easier if you break it into parts, right?”

“… But breaking it into parts makes it harder for me.”

“I’ll show you how to do it. Look.”

"… Uh, yeah, okay," Drent replied, nodding to her suggestion.

While the two spent time collaborating on their work, suddenly…

Squeak—!

Rogerio shot up from her seat, marched over to Deculein, and put the paper down as she said, "Heah ya go."

Deculein gave the paper a...