Wizard: Building a Golem Legion From Zero-Chapter 38 - 37: Perfect Score! Perfect Score! Still a Perfect Score
The room was utterly silent.
Lecia’s image watched him in silence, a hint of complex emotion stirring in the depths of her stern eyes.
She didn’t speak, but simply waved a hand.
The five exam papers dissolved into points of light and vanished from the room.
They had clearly been teleported away to be graded.
"Wait here for the results."
Lecia’s projection stated.
Allen leaned back calmly against the cold metal chair, closed his eyes, and began to review his performance on the exam in his mind. In the background, DSeek was running data analysis, assessing the potential score for each of his answers.
He wasn’t worried about the results.
This theoretical knowledge, which other apprentices saw as an insurmountable chasm, was to him nothing more than the foundational data of a long-completed magic technology tree.
Today, he had merely shown the examiners the most basic roots of that tree.
At the top of the administration center’s spire, inside a spacious yet minimalist office.
This was the exclusive office of Lecia Ellis.
Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows was a panoramic view of the entire Seven Towers Alliance plaza.
Five virtual exam papers, formed from light, floated silently in the center of the office.
Lecia’s physical body stood there, dressed in her signature, immaculately kept mentor’s robe.
She paced slowly around the five papers, her gaze as sharp as a blade, examining Allen’s already-graded exams word by word.
Behind her stood two other Wizards.
One was a kind-faced, white-haired old man: Professor Barton, who taught *The Nature of Magic Power and Macro-Theory*. He was a knowledgeable Second-level Wizard, highly respected in the field of theoretical research.
The other was a scruffy middle-aged man, none other than Teacher Colvin, who taught *Basic Runes and Linguistics*.
He was currently scratching his messy hair, his eyes shining as he stared intently at the Rune Array design, muttering to himself.
They had been summoned by Lecia to jointly review these five "insane" answer sheets.
"Unbelievable... Simply unbelievable..."
Professor Barton was the first to break the silence. He pointed at the exam for *The Nature of Magic Power and Macro-Theory*, his voice filled with amazement.
"Regarding the elemental cycle model of the ’River of Sulfur,’ Allen’s answer supplements the standard textbook by including the details of ’phlogiston crystal’ decomposition under planar core pressure. This viewpoint is from a paper I just published last month in *Witchcraft Review*! The journal was just released; the academy library hasn’t even had a chance to stock it yet!"
A flicker of light crossed Lecia’s eyes. "You mean?"
"He couldn’t possibly have seen my paper through normal channels."
Professor Barton stated firmly. "The only explanation is that he independently derived this conclusion through his profound understanding of fundamental theory! This kind of insight into macro-theory... I’ve only seen it in the great Wizards who specialized in theoretical research when they were young. This boy... he’s a natural-born theorist!"
Meanwhile, Teacher Colvin slapped his thigh and shouted excitedly:
"A genius! An absolute genius in the Rune Domain! Look at this ’Guardian Communication Array’! He modified two nodes of the ’Sensing’ Rune, allowing it to possess both ’Identification’ and ’Diversion’ functions simultaneously!
"This idea is brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this before? This change reduces the array’s energy consumption by at least ten percent! And the structure is more stable!"
He pointed at the annotations on the diagram as if showing off his own work. "And here! His notation for the energy load is precise to two decimal places! What incredible Spiritual Power control and computational ability would that require? This is fundamentally impossible for a junior apprentice! Lecia, I don’t care what you have to do, our school is taking this student!"
Lecia ignored Colvin’s excitement, her gaze falling upon the exam for *Logic and Magic Models*.
She knew very well how difficult this exam was.
The incomplete Combat Witchcraft was the "Secondary Flame Bomb" model, a spell that Advanced Apprentices in the Witchcraft School were just beginning to learn. It was, in fact, a trap. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
The design of its "shaping" structure contained a subtle flaw. If one failed to spot this flaw, the model still had a greater than 50% chance of failure upon casting, even if the correct Runes were inserted.
However, Allen’s answer left her deeply shaken.
At the end of his reasoning, Allen had added a line in small print:
[Note: The model’s original double-nested shaping structure is redundant. I recommend simplifying it to a single-layer spiral structure and adding a 0.3-second energy delay node after the ’Compression’ Rune. This will increase stability from 87% to 99% and reduce casting time by 0.5 seconds.]
Following this was a small, optimized diagram of the model’s structure.
Lecia’s pupils contracted slightly.
This optimization was the very same masterpiece she had designed as an apprentice in order to pass this course’s examination.
The solution had been included in the advanced instructors’ teaching reference materials as an "above-the-curriculum" bonus question.
An ordinary apprentice would have no way of accessing it.
And yet Allen, in just a few short minutes, had not only completed the basic answer but had also provided a near-perfect optimization.
This could no longer be explained away as mere "deduction."
This was a complete rout, a crushing victory akin to an attack from a higher dimension, based on a far deeper level of understanding.
"The five exams, what scores do you give them?" Lecia’s voice betrayed no emotion.
"Full marks on all of them! They have to be full marks!" Professor Barton said without hesitation. "For the theory section, I can’t find a single point to deduct."
"Full marks! If I could, I’d give him 120!"
Colvin’s face was red with excitement. "Based on this Rune Array design alone, he could be my teaching assistant right now!"
Lecia fell silent.
She walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows and looked down at the sprawling academy below.
In the sunlight, countless apprentices scurried between buildings like ants, struggling over a single Rune or a single Magic model.
And yet, the young man on the second basement level had just effortlessly leaped across that same insurmountable chasm in a way they couldn’t even imagine.
"Send out a notice."
Lecia, her back to the two men, spoke in her usual ice-cold tone. "The first day of the examination is over. Allen Wesren, five exams, full marks on all."
She paused for a moment before adding, "Post the examination results, along with photocopies of all five exam papers, to the top of the public apprentice forum. Keep it there for twenty-four hours."
Professor Barton and Colvin were both stunned.
Publishing an apprentice’s answer sheets directly to the forum was unprecedented.
The Seven Towers Alliance valued the privacy of its apprentices; results could typically only be viewed by the student and their mentor.
"Lecia, this..."
Professor Barton hesitated. "Won’t this be... too conspicuous?"
"He chose to stand in the spotlight himself. He must bear everything that comes with it."
Lecia turned around, an enigmatic light flickering in her eyes.
"I want everyone to see just how he did it. The light of a genius cannot be concealed, but by the same token, he must learn to weather the storm that this light brings. This is his... extra test, before he can be promoted to Advanced Apprentice."
She wanted to see if this young man could maintain his preternatural calm when thrust into the eye of the storm, faced with endless admiration, jealousy, doubt, and scrutiny.
