LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Interesting
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Every subject offered by Plato Academy was scored out of a hundred points.
The first method of passing was to score at least sixty points for all of the subjects.
He could also pass by ranking first in his class for three subjects and passing ten other subjects. If he did that, he would pass the entire year, even if he scored zero for the rest of his classes.
Alternatively, he could pass half the total number of subjects and score in the top five for five other subjects. That would also allow him to pass the year, regardless of his other scores.
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The last method of passing was to amass contributions for Plato Academy and obtain medals.
A Black Iron Medal was the equivalent of achieving first place in a class, while a Bronze Medal was the equivalent of first place in three classes. The recipient of a Silver Medal could directly pass their exams for the year.
Last year, seven out of the thirty-nine people in the class had failed.
“It looks like it’s at least possible to pass…”
“It’s not realistic for me to tackle the harder classes first. I’ll have to work my way up and start by taking the easier classes.”
Su Ye’s gaze fell on the first subject, Greek Language. His opened spellbook immediately transformed to show the content page of the previous year’s Greek Language textbook.
Su Ye scanned the page. Memories surfaced in his mind, and he suddenly felt a little touched.
“Su Ye, that little b*stard… He wasn’t wasting his time at Piraeus Harbor. His vocabulary is far more developed than the rest of his classmates. It’s just that his grammar is a mess. Hmm… On a scale of one to ten, the Greek Language as a subject would have a difficulty level of two. It’s not too difficult. I can keep this class.”
Su Ye drew a circle around the Greek Language class when the page returned to showing the curriculum.
“There were also many people speaking Latin in Piraeus Harbor. The difficulty level is about a four. That’s not bad either. Keep.”
“Egyptian… Not good, I’m getting a headache just looking at it. Difficulty level seven. Persian… Even more of a headache, difficulty level eight. Forget it, I can’t fool myself; let’s call it a nine. Hmm, Northern European Language? These alphabets feel familiar, even though I don’t recognize any of the words, let’s make that a six…”
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Su Ye alternated between the curriculum and the content pages of the respective textbooks as he continuously set difficulty levels for the subjects.
“Geography? Finally, something I am familiar with. My knowledge of geography is decent… Why are the technical terms for geography here completely different from those that I have learned? Nevermind, let’s give it four points.”
“Botany… Still different, five points!”
“Oh, I’m familiar with Greek History. I spent some time studying it when I was touring Greece… But wait, the contents of this textbook… Okay, let’s say that I have never learned Greek History. Five points!”
1
Su Ye nearly teared up in excitement when he finished looking at the content pages of the textbook for mathematics and geometry.
“I’ve finally found subjects with a difficulty level of zero! Even though I’m an underachiever, I am too familiar with these concepts. I should be able to grasp them once I study for a little while!”
“Oh? Why aren’t the books ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ in the historical poems class? Why isn’t ‘Works and Days’ here… Ah, right, the Trojan War hasn’t happened yet.”
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“Art? Difficulty level one! I learned how to sketch some time ago. I know all about lines, perspectives, and shadows.”
Su Ye first scored the old subjects that he had to relearn this year, then removed all of the subjects with scores higher than five. Thus, there weren’t many subjects left on the curriculum.
Finally, Su Ye opted for the few subjects that were the easiest to learn.
They were mathematics, geometry, Greek Language, and art.
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Su Ye had a thought as he looked at the four subjects. Even though he knew art, he had no time to practice. Art was only suitable for him as a stress reliever while he was resting. Thus, he removed it.
Finally, Su Ye put checkmarks beside mathematics, geometry, and Greek Language.
He chose these three subjects mainly in search of a breakthrough to boost his confidence. At a time like this, maintaining morale triumphed over everything.
When a student was facing fifty-five daunting subjects, even the most intelligent needs help from a good attitude.
Su Ye furrowed his brows as he flipped through the new classes. His brows locked tighter and tighter together. However, he quickly shook himself and transformed the page into a mirror.
The spellbook reflected Su Ye’s worried expression.
“My attitude is all wrong!”
Su Ye looked at the image of himself within the spellbook. He thought for a moment, then started using techniques that he commonly used to change his way of thinking.
“Even though I’m worried about academic matters, it proves that I am a responsible man. That also means that I have a goal and a direction. Things are painful and arduous right now because I have stepped onto a difficult path! More importantly, I didn’t realize that I’m so handsome!”
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At that, Su Ye immediately let out a smile. It drove away his worried look.
Having regained his composure, Su Ye switched off the mirror function. Even though he didn’t continue to smile, he seemed more relaxed, and his jaw was no longer clenched. His attitude was completely different.
Keeping his anxiety from running away with him was just a start. Su Ye continued deliberating about the future.
“Since I aspire to be a Legendary Mage, I will have to grasp large amounts of knowledge regarding spells. There are too many subjects, and I can’t possibly learn them all. So I can only choose a few subjects and attack those first, then slowly catch up on the other subjects. Which subjects should I choose?”
Su Ye considered that for a moment, then made a decision.
“I’ll choose those that I’m interested in! As long as there is interest, as long as I truly like it, I will have a sense of accomplishment every time I learn a little more about the subject. That sense of accomplishment will motivate me to continue studying and form a cycle of positive reinforcement. However, it isn’t enough for a subject to merely be interesting; it also has to be low in difficulty. Otherwise, it will hold me back in other classes. As for whether it is important or not, I can’t make that judgment now. If I try, I might even make the wrong judgment. I’ll decide on how important classes are after I gain a better understanding of how spells work. Now then…”
Su Ye immediately thought about a two-dimensional matrix, a common method of analysis that stemmed from the Cartesian coordinate system.
He flipped over to a blank page and used his index finger to draw a horizontal line at the center of the page. He then drew a vertical line through the original line to form a large cross that split the page evenly into four sections.
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Su Ye wrote the word “difficult” on the left end of the horizontal line and “simple” on the right end.
He then wrote “boring” on the top of the vertical line and “interesting” on the bottom.
Thus, the page was divided into four sections: “interesting and simple,””interesting and difficult,””boring and simple,” and “boring and difficult.”
Su Ye once again flipped to the curriculum. Every time he saw a new subject, he flipped through the content page of the textbook to gauge its difficulty. If he didn’t understand the subject, he would flip through the textbook to look at its contents.
Su Ye hadn’t looked through many of the pages when the bell for dismissal rang.
Teacher Niedern’s voice came from the stage.
“Students, take a break for ten minutes. After this, the entire day will be used for studying. I will lecture about meditation, an important subject for second years, before the end of the day. I will guide you along as you meditate for the first time.”
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Niedern then left the classroom. The classroom immediately exploded.
“We are finally going to start meditating!”
“It’s said that the meditation techniques of Plato Academy do not pale in comparison to the demigods of the Royal Earl Family!”
“Both warriors and mages require meditation; that is the thing I’ve wanted to learn the most! I hate learning about natural history! I hate learning languages! I hate exercises and art!”
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“That’s right, we’re finally going to start learning about real magic and battle tactics…”
“This is great!’
The crowd cheered, but Su Ye didn’t seem to have heard anything as he continued his analysis of this year’s subjects.
Most of the subjects introduced this year were related to magic. Also, the languages of the other races were far more complicated than the languages he was familiar with. Su Ye found it taxing to just to scan through the subjects.
A few of the students from the fourth table turned around and laughed as they looked back at Su Ye.
“Third Fool, how did you spend your summer break?”
“Su Ye, why were you late?”
“Teacher Niedern’s kindness is legendary!”
Without raising his head, Su Ye responded, “Thank you all for your concern, but I’m in a hurry to read through the lessons for the new year. I’ll chat with you during the afternoon break.”