Chap 7
I have no money!

The next morning, as soon as I arrived at school, the math teacher who had called me yesterday was waiting for me in the hallway. He still had a sullen expression, but he was looking at me with eyes different from yesterday.

“Yesterday, looking into your eyes, I thought about it all night.”

He didn’t drag out the rush.

I need to see with my own eyes whether you are truly determined or just a fleeting fire.

He took a key out of his pocket and tossed it at me.

“Here is the key to the advanced class study room on the 4th floor of the main building. Starting today, you study there. You are free to look at the materials and workbooks there as much as you want. If you are a true dragon, fly in the best environment. But if not… you know what I mean, right?”

It was a test, and the greatest opportunity. A sanctuary accessible only to the top 10 students in the entire school, where all of the school’s support was concentrated. I silently held the key and bowed my head.

That evening, I opened the door to the advanced class study room for the first time. Individual desks separated by partitions, private lamps, and walls filled with success stories from prestigious universities and various reference books. The atmosphere was different from an ordinary classroom right from the start. Several students had already taken their seats, and they glared at me with sharp eyes at the arrival of an uninvited guest. Those gazes were filled with suspicion and jealousy regarding my miraculous grades.

I sat down in the furthest corner without caring. Just then, someone tapped my desk with a finger. When I looked up, a male student with sharp eyes was looking down at me. Lee Jin-woo. He was the absolute emperor of this school, who had never once lost the top spot in the entire school, encompassing both the humanities and science tracks.

Are you Kim Min-jun?

His tone was arrogant, but his eyes shone with pure curiosity.

“How did you solve the math on this mock exam? For the last descriptive question, you would have absolutely not had enough time using the standard method.”

He wasn’t doubting my grades. On the contrary, he acknowledged that I was a truly skilled individual and had come to explore my method. I looked at him for a moment, then took out a notebook. I quietly wrote down the approach I had used to solve the problem. It was a method not found in textbooks, involving a geometric approach that substituted complex functions into graphs.

Lee Jin-woo’s eyes were filled with astonishme after seeing my explanation.

“…Where on earth did you learn this way of solving it?” “Just… I thought it would be easier to solve it this way.”

Lee Jin-woo remained silent for a long time after my answer.

He stared at me as if I were a monster, then finally opened his mouth as if he had made a decision.

“Let’s study together.” “…Huh?” “I’m suggesting we do a study group. Just the two of us. I’ll give you all the information and materials I have. In return, you show me those strange solution methods inside your head every now and then. How about it?”

This was an alliance proposal extended to me by the top student in the entire school. He recognized me as a rival and decided to study and absorb me from the closest possible distance. I met his eyes straight and slightly raised the corners of my mouth.

“good!”

At my short, confident answer, Lee Jin-woo’s sharp gaze wavered for a moment. He looked at me for a moment, then smirked as if finding it interesting.

You’re an interesting guy,

And so, the strange alliance between me and Lee Jin-woo began. We stayed in the study room every night to exchange our best weapons. Through him, I gained top-tier information gathering capabilities and systematic study methods, while through me, he acquired problem-solving skills forged by the insights of someone in their 50s.

However, a few days later, a new problem held me back.

Jinwoo said after finishing the first study session.

“This reference book is essential to properly understand your solution method. ‘High-Class Math. You should find it at a bookstore downtown.”

That night, having returned to my rented room, I took all the money out of my pockets and counted it. It was merely a few thousand won. I was on the verge of having to worry about food and bus fare for next week. A blacksmith who had acquired a top- quality weapon but didn’t have the money to buy even a whetstone to sharpen it. That was my current predicament.