The small hand of the clocktower was close to the large "1", and the large hand struck the large "8".
No clues were found today either. I need to do something in order to stop my disinterest in the subject from interfering with my efficiency.
Maybe I should make a system for the rotation of subjects. But how often should it be? Daily; Weekly; Monthly?
It would be more difficult to keep track of where I left off, and keeping records is dangerous.
Hopefully I'll find a solution overnight.
Arthur saw the large hand of the clock in the lobby of the Northern Dormitory strike 9, and two of every three lamps that illuminated the paths turned off.
Arthur opened the door to his room, and stared. He didn't notice it, but he spent several minutes there, staring at a desk area where a bed could've been.
I need to redecorate this room, he thought while treading to his bed.
When I inevitably invite friends here, leaving it bland wouldn't fit my persona.
I mean, Cedric's persona.
But I'll sleep for now. There is much to do tomorrow.
"Hey, _."
"Hi, _."
"Morning, _."
"Hey there, _."
"How's it going, _?"
"You doing okay, _?"
"Good morning, _."
"Good to see you, _."
"Hey, _—how are you?"
"Hi, _—everything good?"
"Hey, _, _, _, _, and _."
"Morning—how's your day going, _?"
"Hey, _—ready for class?"
…
This is tiring.
The sounds of conversation dwindled and ceased by the time the clock read "08:00".
"Welcome back, Honor Class."
"We'll be having a test to begin. Put your textbooks away, and begin as soon as they are handed to you."
His two aides traveled through the aisles, placing six sheets of paper, each filled with lines of text, from top to bottom.
"You have twenty minutes."
Arthur's eyes scanned, for moments, the papers as they were served on his desk. And the peaks of where lies spill, moved in opposite to his eyes, devilishly.
The voice in his head was absent as he flew through the papers.
That was simple, all Free-Response Questions, and somewhat enjoyable. Half of the test was just review on materials from the last term, and the latter was on topics discussed yesterday.
Will there be a quiz every day? From an objective standpoint, this was a relatively difficult test. If I were of five tiers of lower intelligence, I might have even failed.
No one except me and Derrick should get a perfect score. If there is one every day, I'll be able to distance myself from the others and maintain my Rank One spot.
He shifted his gaze upon hearing something like a "snap" sound.
Though his eyes knew they were looking for a broken pencil, likely held in one's hand, he became distracted by a bright red ball; no, a bright red head of hair.
Using manual override, he looked where he planned, and as it turned out, the pencil was broken and held in his hand.
With this manual override, and his surplus of time, he found that the people around him changed, and that he only needed to turn his head lightly to the left to see him fully.
Vulivar, he was the last to arrive; and he hardly acknowledged me when I greeted him.
He was definitely not sitting next to me yesterday, I would have remembered that. There doesn't seem to be any assigned seating; but there is something peculiar about this.
Why were the last empty seats the two beside me?
Am I being avoided on purpose? All information and reasoning points to Cedric having a good, great relationship with his classmates.
In other classes, everyone else acted as expected; But I am treated differently here. Are they smarter? Their mean level of intelligence is somewhat higher than the mean of the other students, but I doubt it is enough to have a significant contribution to the matter at hand.
Think– what do I know? They are supposed to be closer to Cedric– Yes!
That's exactly it. Because they are closer, they have greater empathy towards him.
They are creating distance because they feel how I feel.
Yes, truly acting like the inferior minds they are.
This is evidence that my plan is working, not something to be afraid of.
I will acknowledge the opposing argument though, this is but a theory. My work must continue to control this group with certainty.
His eyes continued to function in silence while his mind fermented in absurdity, but he was so taken aback by the continued absurdity, that he was forced to:
Vulivar… how are you still… so dumb?
The papers on his desk were laid out openly, neither obstructing another, as if it was being presented to a standing reader to read. But there was no one there.
Every single response he has given has been completely wrong!
Arthur quickly turned back to his own test upon recalling the memory of a scene familiar to this.
I thought it was suspicious that Vulivar was apparently the only one who managed to take down an intruder himself, since he was only Rank 9.
But if he has received zero points on anything academic or written, but still manages to retain a top-10 spot, he might be the strongest student here.
A genius swordsman who is an idiot. I cannot think of a more favorable scenario.