TSA Chapter 96

Final exams were approaching. No matter how lax the service department’s classes usually were, exams were still mandatory. So, for the next few days, Ran Qi and Gu Le started attending classes on time, hoping for some last-minute cramming.

Thanks to heavy promotion by both the game’s developers and the government, <Magic Realm> had practically become a national game—almost everyone in school played it. Because of this, Ran Qi had now made a name for himself, and his classmates’ attitude toward him had turned much warmer. Some even took the initiative to ask him for dungeon-clearing tips.

Ran Qi didn’t hold back and shared everything he knew, especially about dungeon boss mechanics, which helped them significantly.

“Ran Qi, the boss in that dungeon has an ultimate attack we just can’t survive. Is there any way to counter it?”

“The best way is to kill it before it can use its ultimate. If that’s not possible, interrupt it with control skills and then focus all your damage on it. That should do the trick,” Ran Qi replied after some thought.

“Got it, thanks a lot!”

“Ran Qi, could you sell us some of the buff food you make? The Trading Hall is too fast—we can never grab any before it’s gone…” someone hesitantly asked.

“Sure.”

Ran Qi agreed so readily that the person felt a little embarrassed. They hadn’t expected him to be so easygoing.

“T-That’s great! Thank you!”

Seeing Ran Qi being so friendly, Gu Le couldn’t help but grumble in a low voice, “Why are you being so nice to them? You agree to everything they ask. Did you forget how they used to exclude us?”

“In the game, as long as you have the materials, food can be made in bulk instantly. Selling some to them doesn’t cost me anything—it’s just a small favor. Besides, selling to them or someone else makes no difference,” Ran Qi said, giving Gu Le a meaningful look before lowering his voice. “And our guild is about to level up again. Once we reach the next level, we can open our guild base’s shops to the public. This is the perfect chance to attract these people—what better way to advertise?”

“Hehehe, you’re right!” Gu Le instantly cheered up.

Their guild was already at Level 4, and its members were highly active in completing daily tasks to earn contribution points. The leveling speed was ridiculously fast, and they never even needed to advertise when recruiting—there was always a long queue of players eager to join.

Once their guild reached Level 5, the commercial district in their guild base would be open to the public, which would definitely attract a large number of players. Ever since the game introduced an exchange system between in-game currency and star coins, running businesses in the game had become highly profitable.

Guild members would soon be able to rent shops in the commercial district to sell crafted items or loot from monster drops. If their guild base developed well enough, it might even rival the main city’s marketplace.

Take Gu Le, for example—just selling high-level dungeon materials and equipment had already earned him a decent sum. Unlike Ran Qi, he didn’t come from a wealthy family, so he was eager to make more money however he could.

While Ran Qi was thriving, Zhang Shuo, on the other hand, felt like he was living in hell. No matter where he went, he could hear whispers behind his back. The way people looked at him was filled with contempt.

Furious, Zhang Shuo took his anger out during a training class, picking on a few people and beating them up harshly. But instead of stopping the rumors, his actions only made things worse. More and more people started gossiping about him, saying he was just a bully who relied on his physical strength. Without that advantage, he had nothing to be proud of—his performance in both tactical and theoretical courses was just average. The rumors painted him as nothing more than a brainless brute.

Zhang Shuo’s expression darkened day by day. His lackeys tried to console him. “Brother Shuo, don’t worry. Ran Qi is only enjoying his moment now, but that won’t last. The final exams are coming up soon. Don’t forget, he’s a well-known academic failure. His mecha practice grades have always been at the bottom, and even his theory grades aren’t great. If his GPA doesn’t meet the passing requirement, he might have to repeat the year! Let’s see who’ll be the real loser then!”

Hearing this, Zhang Shuo felt slightly better. Ran Qi’s grades had always been poor, and on top of that, he had spent all his time gaming lately, barely attending any classes. When the exam results came out, it would definitely be a slap in the face for him. So what if he was good at games? He’d still end up repeating a grade!

Thinking this way, Zhang Shuo finally felt a sense of relief.

He couldn’t wait to see just how humiliating Ran Qi’s final exam results would be!

Review time always seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, final exams had arrived. As per usual, the theory exam came first, followed by the practical exam.

Due to the service department’s unique nature, theoretical grades were the primary focus, while practical scores only served as bonus points. As long as students passed the theoretical exam, their practical scores could be zero, and it wouldn’t matter.

However, Ran Qi’s grades had always been terrible. He hadn’t grown up in this world, and the education he had received before was completely different from the interstellar curriculum. Every class felt like reading an alien language to him, so he could only rely on rote memorization to scrape by with barely passing scores.

The first two years of school covered foundational courses, and by sheer luck, he had managed to pass the minimum requirements and avoid repeating a grade. But this was now his third year, and the coursework had become significantly more advanced—new subjects had even been added, effectively doubling the difficulty. To make things worse, this year’s exam was particularly challenging. Many students felt their hearts sink the moment they saw the test papers, and when they walked out of the exam room, they looked utterly defeated.

Since all exams were submitted to the AI system for grading, results were generated almost instantly. The moment they finished their test, the AI had already marked their papers and ranked their scores. Before they even left the classroom, everyone received their results.

Unexpectedly, Ran Qi’s grades had improved significantly compared to last year. Although he was still ranked toward the lower end, at least he was no longer at the very bottom.

People were surprised, but no one suspected him of cheating—after all, every student’s actions inside the exam hall were monitored by the AI, making cheating impossible.

“Ran Ran, you’re amazing! We’re not dead last this time! Make sure you do well in the practical exam too—let’s give them a shock!” Gu Le said excitedly after seeing the results.

“Mm!” Ran Qi was just as happy. Over the past few months, he hadn’t just improved his physical stats—his mental strength had also increased. This enhanced his memory, allowing him to retain information more effectively instead of relying purely on rote memorization, which had contributed to his better scores.

As for the upcoming practical exam, he was looking forward to it. Now that his physical stats had improved, he was eager to see if it would make a difference in mecha combat.

Before long, the results of the practical exam were released. Many students showed improvement, but Ran Qi’s progress was the most dramatic. Previously, he had only ever managed to score in the teens, but this time, he had earned over fifty points—just shy of a passing grade.

“Ran Qi, how did you do it?” His drastic improvement naturally drew curiosity.

“A friend gave me some special training.” His father had advised him not to reveal that in-game food could enhance physical abilities, so Ran Qi could only give this vague response.

“Wait… was it Night Owl?!” The person’s eyes lit up. They had seen discussions on the game forums speculating that Night Owl was a top student from Imperial Star’s Mecha Department. While no one knew exactly who he was, just being from Imperial Star was proof of his strength.

Ran Qi chuckled and nodded slightly, tacitly confirming the guess.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shuo walked out of the exam room with an ugly expression. He had been affected by all the gossip, and his poor mindset had led to a worse-than-usual performance.

“Zhang Shuo, your results this time aren’t ideal. Don’t let outside distractions affect your grades.” A teacher stopped him to offer some advice.

The whole school knew about the drama between Zhang Shuo and Ran Qi, and the teacher’s words felt like a dagger to Zhang Shuo’s chest. But he could only force himself to nod and acknowledge it.

After dealing with the teacher, he immediately opened the service department’s ranking list—only to find that Ran Qi’s name wasn’t at the very bottom.

“Where’s Ran Qi? Did he skip the exam?” Zhang Shuo frowned.

“That’s impossible, right? Even if he missed the test, his score should be recorded as zero.” One of his lackeys hesitated.

“Ah, I found him. Ran Qi actually did pretty well on the theory exam, and even in the practical, he got over fifty points… His ranking is… thirty-third.” As his subordinate spoke, his voice got quieter and quieter.

Zhang Shuo was about to explode with rage. His own grades had taken a hit, yet somehow, Ran Qi had improved? Didn’t this just prove that the rumors were right—that Zhang Shuo was nothing more than a brute who relied on his physical strength to bully others?