Three days passed since Annie finished her exam. Thankfully, she got to keep her ring, so along with the others who finished and Finn’s ring which he had yet to use, the team had 27 in total, just a little short of the needed 50.

As per Finn’s instructions, Michael and Tommy continued training with Natalie. Annie, on the other hand, had locked herself in her room and was lost in self-study.

Finn did his best gathering as many coins as he could. His business had expanded from selling on the streets to selling door to door to now having so many things to sell that he was forced to open an improvised stall.

He chose the main road as his location right near the city’s main gate. Hungry travelers would pass by, so treats like corn and sandwiches sold like hot cakes. His calculations were always rigorous, so as the third day of sales was drawing to a close, he only had a single sandwich left to sell.

“Can I buy that?” someone walked behind his back.

“Nope,” Finn ignored him.

“Why??” It was Michael. Natalie and Tommy were behind him, and he was hungry as hell.

“The bread’s old,” Finn answered while packing up the carpet he used for his wares. “Besides, have you mastered breathing?”

“Nope,” Natalie grabbed the sandwich.

“I can breathe!” Michael complained. He then started demonstrating the capacity of his lungs.

There definitely were improvements, Finn noticed. ‘Talent really is terrifying.’

Natalie and himself had none of it. Actually, Natalie’s devotion to the path of the sword could be considered a talent in itself. But other than that, her progress was slow and achieved through years of sweat.

‘In a year, these two might surpass us,’ he lamented.

“Hey.” Natalie and Michael fell behind while fighting over the sandwich, so Tommy joined Finn as they walked towards their dorm. “Tomorrow’s the day, huh?”

“Yes,” Finn smiled. The combat and magic exams were almost over. Starting tomorrow, it was time for the nerds.

“Why theory?” Tommy pulled him out of his thoughts. “You want to be an archer.”

Finn’s smile wavered and he lightly punched Tommy in the shoulder. “We need rings, don’t we? Trust me.”

[The next day on academy grounds]

There was no mist or magic or arenas this time around. In the academy’s courtyard, almost three thousand tiny desks and chairs were lined up in rows of 50 on the dirt. Almost all of them were full and new students arrived every second.

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Left and right, Finn saw scholarly types tanning their foreheads with fancy glasses and even fancier clothes.

‘So many nobles... I look forward to your contributions.’

Suddenly, a fancy orange pen and a piece of paper appeared on his desk. At the back were instructions:

[Competition rules:

1. Pick one of the subjects on the front and write your name in the same bracket. Afterwards, sign the paper near your name.

1. You must complete the test within one hour. Once done, write your name and sign on the last page. If one hour passes and you have not signed, you will be disqualified. After signing the paper, the test will end and no further questions can be answered.

Good luck.]

Finn turned the paper and saw a simple table with the names of each subject: Language, math, history, geography, theology, etc. At the top of the paper there was a small countdown that was already ticking.

[58:34, 58:33, 58:32...]

‘I haven’t even picked my subject,’ Finn chuckled. There was no point in wasting any more time.

As for which subject to pick: Ms. Martha’s theology and history classes were comprehensive and thorough, but Finn would not win 23 rings with those. If there was one subject that could win him this day, a single ability that was utterly broken but the reincarnated boy had rarely been able to use, then it was this:

‘College level math: Engage.’

Finn signed the bracket titled Mathematics, and the paper immediately disappeared. As a replacement, a stack of 100 papers with 10 questions each appeared out of nowhere. Worse yet, there weren’t multiple options to choose from and there was little room for answers.

‘There isn’t even a paper to do calculations on the side.’

It was truly a brutal test. All those around him were sweating profusely. Be they city folk or the children of nobility, they often scratched their heads or chewed their pens.

[56:59, 56:58, 56:57...]

‘Hmph,’ Finn smirked. ‘If this was the old me, I may have struggled too.’

There was no time to lose, so he went all out. Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath until the count of five. He kept in the air for 10 seconds and then released it for another five.

Thanks to years of practice, his body responded immediately. He felt a rush of energy that would put the strongest coffee to shame, and his senses increased three-fold.

Time moved slower as his neurons fired at triple their normal speeds. Calculations which would normally take him minutes, Finn could now solve them almost instantly.

He felt like his hand moved painstakingly slow, while in reality it was so fast that nearby students gasped and dropped their pens.

While they solved two questions, Finn finished a page. While they struggled with 8th grade math, considered advanced all across the empire, Finn breezed through it without a second thought.

Just 30 minutes into the test, Finn signed the final paper and put down his pen. None of those around him had gotten past the 10th paper. The stack was clearly not something they were expected to finish.

Moments later, a tiny bag and one more paper appeared on Finn’s desk. It read as follows:

[Congratulations!

You are the first person to score 100% on Phoenix academy’s math test since its founding. To celebrate this achievement, your esteemed teachers have seen fit to award you with nine rings.

If you still wish to participate in the second part of this exam, please enter the academy building.

P.S. If you’re a demon in disguise, we will kill you slowly.]