novelraw Chapter 133 - 132 : Arrogance at its peak
Chapter 133 - 132 : Arrogance at its peak
As Arthur walked toward the library of Celestias Academy, a few staff members along the way pointed him in the right direction until he finally stood in front of it.
The building was large and clean, with tall windows and neat stone walls—it looked grand enough for an academy library, but Arthur didn’t waste time staring at it.
He went inside.
Many students who had come for the exam were already there, sitting and reading, but it wasn’t crowded. There were many libraries on campus, not just one, so candidates could study in peace.
Arthur headed straight toward the librarian’s desk.
The librarian was a thin and fragile-looking middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes, and an uneven, not well-shaved beard. He looked Arthur up and down and said with an amused smile, "Ohhh, aren’t you a handsome lad."
Arthur ignored the comment.
"Can you tell me where I can find the materials for the upcoming written exam for the entrance test?" he asked.
The man smiled and pointed toward a section filled with books.
"There. All the material you’re seeing," he said. "Every year, the questions that are asked in the exam come from these materials."
Arthur followed his finger with his eyes.
His mouth fell open, and a vein popped on his forehead.
The section of shelves he pointed at was filled with more than hundreds of books. Who could finish that many books in just a few hours before the test?
Arthur looked back at the man.
"How am I gonna finish all of this in just three hours before the exam?" he said.
The man started laughing in low chuckles, his eyes full of amusement.
"Well, that’s your problem, not mine. You should’ve studied before coming here," he said.
The other students nearby slowly started giggling at Arthur.
Some jealous boys muttered that he was "just a pretty face."
Some called him stupid.
Some girls whispered to each other and called him an handsome idiot.
Arthur ignored them all and looked straight at the librarian.
"I bet you are divorced, aren’t you, old man?" he said.
The librarian’s eyes went wide.
"How do you know?" he asked.
Arthur smiled.
"Just a guess—from that annoying attitude of yours," he said.
The man’s mouth twitched.
"What did you just say?" he snapped.
Arthur shrugged.
"What you just heard," he said, and turned away.
As he walked off, the man glared at his back.
"Talking pretty big for a boy who’s gonna fail the test miserably," the librarian said.
Arthur raised his hand without looking back.
"Well, we’ll see about that," he replied.
He went to the section the man had pointed at earlier.
Looking at the sea of books in front of him, Arthur sighed and said in a loud voice, "It’s the first time I’m regretting not doing something Isabella told me to."
Just as he said that, a voice came from behind him.
"Will you keep it down, mister? There are other candidates besides you, so keep your whining to yourself, if you would."
Arthur turned around—and was caught in absolute surprise.
He thought, ’I found it... my ticket to passing this exam.’
In front of Arthur stood a girl around the same age as him, with straight black hair that fell to her shoulders and calm brown eyes that looked like they could see straight through people.
She looked effortlessly pretty in simple casual clothes, and on top of that, she had a great figure that even the loose outfit couldn’t hide.
Arthur’s lips curled slightly.
’I am lucky to find her here...’ he thought. ’One of the most cunning and intelligent characters in the game, described as the greatest strategist the world has ever seen—of course, in the future. And the most interesting and important thing... she is that red-haired guy’s sister. Diana Stormborn.’
Diana’s gaze sharpened when she noticed him staring.
"What, is there something on my face?" she said coldly. "If you’re done annoying me, get lost from here."
Arthur’s face twitched.
’She’s as sharp-tongued as always...’ he thought.
His eyes then fell on the four or five thick books stacked neatly on the table in front of her—and the even thicker pile of handwritten notes beside them.
Arthur’s eyes lit up immediately.
Just when Diana thought he would finally take the hint and leave, Arthur pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down at her table like he owned the place.
He leaned back slightly and looked at her.
"What? I can sit anywhere I want," he said casually. "Just like you."
Diana let out a small, annoyed sigh and turned her eyes back to her book, deciding to ignore him.
Arthur didn’t.
Without asking for permission, he calmly reached forward, took one of the books from her pile, and opened it.
Diana’s eyes flicked up, glaring at him, but she didn’t say anything. She just pressed her lips together and continued reading.
The moment Arthur’s eyes fell on the first page, the contents branded themselves into his mind.
A familiar notification appeared.
[ Photographic Memory is in use. ]
Arthur almost laughed.
’Oh yeah... how could I forget I have photographic memory?’ he thought. ’Finally, I’m seeing a way out of this situation...’
He started flipping through the pages.
Flip.
Flip.
Flip.
His eyes scanned the text once, and that was all he needed.
In a short time, he closed the book and set it down with a soft thud.
Then, without pausing, he picked up the next one.
Diana’s brows drew together as she watched him.
’What’s he doing? Is he mocking me or something... just flipping through the pages like that?’ she thought.
Again, the pages turned quickly.
Flip. Flip. Flip.
Another thud.
Then another book.
And another.
Within minutes, Arthur moved through each book like a machine, his eyes calm, his hands steady.
By now, several students nearby had stopped focusing on their own books and were quietly watching him instead. Whispers started spreading as they saw the black-haired girl studying seriously while the boy across from her tore through book after book like they were thin pamphlets.
Finally, when the last book from Diana’s stack was finished and placed back on the table, Arthur reached for her notes.
He picked them up and began flipping through them as well without asking for permission.
Diana’s eyes narrowed.
’He took my notes too...’
Arthur ignored the glare burning into the side of his face.
’Wow... did she really make all these notes herself?’ he thought. ’This is genius work. It almost covers everything that can be on the exam.’
Page after page, the knowledge sank into his memory.
Time passed.
An hour.
Two.
When he finally put down the last sheet of notes, Arthur stretched his shoulders slightly.
"Wow," he said, exhaling. "That was exciting and boring at the same time."
Diana, who had unconsciously stopped reading and had been staring at him in disbelief for the last few minutes, finally came back to her senses.
She let out a low chuckle and yelled at him forgetting that she was in a library.
"You’ve got some nerve to take my notes without even asking," she said. "And do you think I am an idiot? Who are you trying to impress? Did you really think I would believe you finished all that material in just two hours? It took me months to prepare them and memorise them."
She snorted.
"I’ve seen freaks like you trying to impress me like this thinking they could get my attention like this."
Arthur turned his head toward her with a bored expression.
"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night, baby doll," he said coldly. "I’m leaving. I’ve already gone through all the material you had, and now I’m ready for the exam. That’s all you were worth to me."
He stood up from his seat.
For a second, Diana froze as her face burned with humiliation and embarrassment.
It was the first time someone had ignored her and insulted her like that and walked away so casually unscathed.
"You bastard, wait!" she snapped. "You think you’re superior to me? I challenge you—for the first place."
Arthur stopped and turned halfway.
"Look, I’m not interested—" he started.
Before he could finish, a translucent blue window popped up in front of his eyes.
-----
[ ABSOLUTE CHOICE SYSTEM QUEST ]
[ A target with extreme arrogance has been detected. ]
[ Choice A:
• Get 1st Place in the Written Test.
• Break Diana’s arrogance and prove yourself superior.
• Demand her underwear as the price of defeat.
Reward:
+4500 Vitality
Penalty:
Lose sense of taste for 48 hours. ]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ Choice B:
• Intentionally get Last Place.
• Become the laughingstock of the academy and dance naked infront of the crowd.
Reward:
Low-Rank Dagger and 1000 attribute points.
Penalty:
Lose sense of touch for 48 hours. ]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ Select Your Choice ]
► A
► B
A vein popped on Arthur’s forehead as he read the choices.
-------
A/N:
So how was the Chapter? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for the golden tickets:
@wyrdsoth, @Suwop, @Arist_Babi,
@The_Chosen_One1, @Divo_the_Gamer,
@LaughingCanuck, @Rearkus_Anderson
I really appreciate the support, guys.