In a library steeped in the scent of intellect, under the gentle gaze of framed portraits of great minds—
"Which monarch of the Sasanian Empire defeated the Roman army and captured the Roman Emperor?!" The dean leaned forward on his elbows, eyes piercing through his round spectacles, the crown of his balding head shining under the lights. His rapid-fire questions hit like machine-gun fire.
"Shapur I." Yin Ze responded instantly, without hesitation.
"During the Thirty Years' War, a Protestant nation held sway over the Baltic and joined the conflict. Who was their king at the time?!"
"Gustavus Adolphus."
"Islamic forces crossed the Pyrenees into southwestern France, but in 732, they were defeated at the Battle of Poitiers. What were the names of the Islamic and Frankish dynasties then?!"
"Umayyad Caliphate, Merovingian Dynasty."
"In 15th-century India, a kingdom rose in the Punjab region and fought the British East India Company. What was the religion founded by Guru Nanak that they followed?!"
"Sikhism."
"In 508 BC, in ancient Rome's Athens—wait, scratch that—who reformed the four-tribe system into ten and laid the foundation for democracy?"
"Cleisthenes."
"In 90 words or less, describe the rise of Poland in the late 14th to 15th centuries, and the reasons for its decline in the late 18th century!" The dean suddenly stood up like a tiger pouncing on prey.
"Poland thrived under King Casimir the Great, then allied with Lithuania to form the Jagiellonian Dynasty against the Teutonic Order. After the dynasty ended, the elective monarchy led to chaos. As nobles who profited from grain exports to Western Europe began fighting each other, neighboring countries intervened." Yin Ze recited like a robot reading straight from a textbook—fluent but completely monotone.
"...All correct." The dean collapsed back into his chair, a proud smile spreading across his face. "The saga of humanity, the growth of civilization—it's already etched into your soul. You're a living encyclopedia. In terms of knowledge, you've surpassed me. You could be humanity's storyteller after Earth's final hour."
"If Earth explodes, I'd have long isekai'd to 2D paradise by then. Also, how about geography?" Yin Ze pulled out a textbook so thick it could kill a man. Complete World Geography: Asia Edition. "Wanna keep going?"
"No need. I'm convinced you ate some memory-enhancing bread or something," the dean waved his hands. "We've cleared language arts, world history, Japanese history, and geography. Next up—foreign languages and the sciences."
"I suck at English."
"You get to choose the language—Chinese, Korean, German, English, or French."
"That's allowed? Jackpot!" Yin Ze's eyes lit up as if he'd just won the lottery. "If I pick Chinese, I'll ace it, no contest!"
"A lot of people choose Chinese, but don't underestimate it. The entire test is in traditional characters with pinyin instead of furigana. If you're not fluent, it'll read like an alien language. And there's Classical Chinese, too. It's two separate systems on the same test paper. Think you can handle that?"
"If I mess that up, I'll cut my own head off and donate it as a handwarmer for your winter desk!" Yin Ze radiated the terrifying confidence of a true overachiever.
"Since you're so fired up, that just leaves the sciences." The dean crossed his arms. "No time to build a solid foundation in logic. So we go full brute-force—quantity over quality. Drown you in problems until your brain enters a state of divine enlightenment. You'll reach a point where any question you see triggers déjà vu like: 'This problem… I've met her before…' But until we get there, it'll be rough going."
"Is this even doable?" Yin Ze asked, doubtful.
"I was a test god back in my day. Trust my experience and wisdom." The dean lifted his chin proudly.
"Our school has a 'Test King' principal and a 'Test God' dean... but if you two are so good, why didn't either of you get into Tokyo University?" Yin Ze mumbled.
"That dragon gate isn't easy to leap over. I don't like that smug, musty principal either, but you've misunderstood him. He is the Test King of Kings." The dean sighed with mixed admiration and regret.
"Got some juicy backstory?" Yin Ze's gossip radar lit up.
"You know how deviation value works, right? 50's the national average. Above that means you're ahead of the curve, below means you're trailing."
The dean leaned back, patting his belly thoughtfully.
"The genius of the system is this: say you score 90 in language and 50 in math. That looks like a bad math score. But if 40 people scored 100 in language and only 10 even got above 30 in math, your 50 actually puts you in elite territory."
"Right, it measures performance against the crowd." Yin Ze nodded.
"75 is roughly the ceiling, 30 the floor. If you score above 60, you're bound for a decent university. Oh, and by the way—your deviation score when you left school was 53. Now? Probably 65 or higher."
The dean's eyes glinted as he recalled a certain solitary figure.
"Our principal, Koizumi Nin Saburo, had a deviation score of 78—pushing the theoretical limit. He was practically not human."
"?!" Yin Ze blinked.
"So why didn't he pass?"
"He should've. But his pride and competitive streak did him in. He loved philosophy and literature, but only applied for Tokyo University's most brutal division—Natural Sciences III."
"What's that?"
"Tokyo U's medical school. Only 100 students are accepted out of 3,000 applicants. It's known as the final boss of all college entrance exams. Even people who don't want to study medicine take it, just to prove they can."
"And the result?"
"That year, 446 top contenders assembled. Geniuses. Warriors. Veterans. Some were repeat takers with scars of past defeats. Others were adults with families still chasing dreams. It was a battlefield of gods."
The dean's voice softened into reverent awe.
"Their clash pushed the average score into another dimension. Sweat-drenched minds, thoughts blazing, Einstein, Tesla, Newton all watching from above. Time itself warped under the pressure."
"In the end, the deviation hit a record-breaking 80.7—the highest ever. Our principal broke his limit, reaching 78. But he still lost. His heart shattered. His pride died. The next year he scored only 73.5. He cried his soul out enrolling in Waseda. That former prodigy who once stared down Japan's academic Mount Olympus… was gone."
"..." Yin Ze was silent.
"You signing up for Liberal Arts III won't heal his wounds. If you really want to save him—and fulfill his family's three-generation dream—you have to conquer Natural Sciences III." The dean's eyes burned.
"That's a death sentence," Yin Ze snorted.
Just then, his flip phone buzzed. He checked it. "Sorry, I gotta take this."
"Perfect timing. I need to prepare your own personal 'Endless Ocean: Saburo's Gravestone Edition.'"
"The what now?" Yin Ze glanced over, baffled.
"The sacred collection of Natural Science problems compiled by the principal himself," the dean declared, waddling off.
Yin Ze answered the call.
"Takizawa-kun, it's Ippei Kashiwai! I've landed you a test recording gig this Saturday—your debut is here!"
His long-absent agent sounded chipper.
"Ah, got it… Do I need to prep anything?" Yin Ze asked cautiously.
"Haha! I believe in your acting chops and fundamentals—you did place first in the entrance audition, after all. Just bring a smile and a good mood!"
The call cut. Yin Ze stared at the screen.
Today might just be the day he publicly embarrasses himself.