The Price of Effort

“I’ll hand out the test papers. Time limit is 2 hours. If you use any skills, you will be disqualified and held back, so don’t try anything foolish.”

“Yes!”

The midterm exams of Phoenix Academy had finally begun.

Among the many subjects, the first test was, as expected, Introduction to Monster Studies.

A subject so difficult that scoring above 70 already placed you among the top.

Students buried their heads in their papers, hands moving frantically.

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to solve this?!’

‘Demon Eye! I’ve seen this before! Ah, I can’t remember!’

‘What do you mean “write everything you know about mermaids”?! That’s ten pages!’

Students screamed internally.

The few multiple-choice questions at the start were manageable.

But everything after that—

Essay questions.

Even so.

“Professor! I need more answer sheets!”

“Me too, two more please!”

Many students requested extra sheets after filling both sides of two B4 pages.

This was their final midterm before graduation.

A crucial exam.

Meanwhile.

Professor Han Tae-su, observing sharply, noticed one student.

‘Sleeping already? He must have given up.’

Not even an hour had passed.

With so many essay questions, finishing early was impossible.

‘Jung Woo Hyuk, was it?’

Han Tae-su knew of him.

A student with the rare ability of dimensional magic.

Yet unawakened until recently.

‘Though I heard he awakened.’

Even professors talked about him.

Still.

Han Tae-su felt disappointed.

‘He’s become arrogant after awakening.’

Before awakening, Woo Hyuk never let go of his paper until the end.

But now—

He was sleeping.

Then.

Han Tae-su noticed his answer sheet.

‘Hmm? He actually wrote something.’

Unlike expected, it was filled.

He began reading.

‘Cyclops. A one-eyed giant-type monster. Size varies from 5 to 10 meters depending on dungeon rank…’

Perfect.

Concise.

Ideal.

‘Not bad. But just one answer—huh?!’

Through a shift in posture—

He saw the rest.

The entire sheet.

Filled.

Perfect answers.

‘He wrote all this in one hour?’

Meaning—

He knew everything instantly.

Then Han Tae-su checked the final question.

‘At least this one—’

The hardest question.

Even hunters struggled.

But.

It was answered.

Perfectly.

“This can’t be!”

The class turned.

“This can’t be!”

Through my hazy hearing, I heard the professor shout.

But my eyes wouldn’t open.

‘I’m sleepy…’

Exhausted.

Completely exhausted.

If I looked in the mirror, my dark circles would reach my lips.

‘Damn… I didn’t expect that kind of ability…’

“This is great!”

[Zhang Hao-cheol – Chief Director of the Imperial Command]

– Passed the imperial exam at 15 and rose to a high-ranking position.

The imperial exam.

Basically, a civil service exam.

If he ranked first at 15—

He was a genius.

“How much?”

– 100,000 points. Usable until the exam.

“Why so cheap?”

– Strong residual will.

“That’s better.”

Perfect value.

“I’ll take it.”

– No refunds.

“Don’t worry.”

[The power of the dimensional stone resides in your body.]

I grabbed a pen.

Opened the book.

‘How does it work?’

Enhanced intelligence?

Instant memory?

Something else?

Then—

Smack!

“Agh!”

A sharp sting.

– Do not look at what is improper.

A voice echoed.

Whenever I slouched.

Lost focus.

Smack!

“Agh!”

– Do not listen to improper things. Do not speak them.

It wasn’t intelligence.

It forced discipline.

Perfect posture.

Pure focus.

“No tricks at all?”

– Without sweat, nothing is achieved.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

– Only effort leads to success.

Smack!

“Agh!”

So that’s why Monas hesitated.

“Sigh…”

Even recalling it hurt.

But—

[The power of ‘Zhang Hao-cheol’ disappears.]

[Intelligence increases by 20.]

The reward was real.

+20 Intelligence.

No skill.

But still massive.

Unlike the previous 5-minute boost—

This took endless effort.

‘I still aced the test.’

Because of that voice.

And the pain.

I studied nonstop.

Ignored everything.

Food.

Water.

Even basic needs.

That level of focus—

Was the stone’s power.

Worth every point.

‘Especially the last question.’

Not just memorization.

Application.

Connecting traits.

The hardest question.

“Alright, I’ll begin grading.”

“That was brutal…”

“My wrist hurts…”

“That last question was insane.”

“Quiet!”

Grading was done instantly.

Scores announced publicly.

“Kim Min-su, 33.”

“Damn it!”

“Na Bong-su, 71.”

“Nice!”

Reactions split.

Then.

“Last place is probably Yang Ji-hwan.”

“Yeah.”

“Yang Ji-hwan, 27.”

“….”

Confirmed.

Then—

“Cha Seoyeon, 98.”

“Whoa!”

“98?!”

“Unbelievable!”

Top score.

Almost perfect.

Clearly first place.

Then—

“Jung Woo Hyuk.”

“That guy was sleeping.”

“He’ll get around 80.”

That was my usual score.

But not this time.

“Your score is—”