My setting is above yours!

Chapter 77 Concealing One's Academic Abilities, University Courses (4k5)

Instantly, after Ron's academic test ended, the entire classroom became noisy.

"Only 350 academic points?!"

"Third in the class... Wasn't he first when he entered the school? Why are his personal real-world and computing abilities so weak..."

Everyone couldn't help but turn their gazes toward Ron, their eyes filled with scrutiny.

Originally, Ron's performance at the opening ceremony and his high score on the college entrance exam were enough to make most people lose their competitive spirit and not think they could compete for a top spot in the class...

But now, after testing only half the class, Ron's academic ability has already relegated him to third place.

So where would his actual academic ability rank in the class?
—Could his strength be solely due to the uniqueness of his ability model?!
Hearing the commotion, Dr. Qing frowned slightly, his tone no longer so gentle:
"quiet!"

The crowd quieted down, no longer making so much noise, but still watched Ron return to his seat, their eyes filled with scrutiny and doubt.

Seeing that the students had quieted down, Dr. Qing's expression softened, and he said gently:

"Next, Luo Lin'an, you come up for the test..."

Ron brushed past this seemingly ordinary classmate, his gaze subtly sweeping across the entire class, easily discerning their expressions.

Sure enough... the students in the experimental class are not the kind of students who would rather be subordinate to others.

Although he only showed a slight weakness, he still ranked third in the class, which broke Ron's seemingly unshakeable image.

Since they are not an insurmountable power, these geniuses, who are both top-tier in talent and ability and have sufficient family background to support them, will try to surpass Ron and obtain a higher ranking...

This is normal.

Ron silently sat back down and waited for the test to end.

Shortly afterward, all the students had finished the test, and then we looked at the complete class rankings—

[Euan Hansen]

[Academic Ability: 455, Class Rank: 1]

Luo Lin'an—

[Academic Ability: 431, Class Rank: 2]

……

【Ron——】

[Academic Ability: 350, Class Rank: 7]

Ron looked at the class leaderboard displayed on the mobile app without saying a word.

After the thorough testing was completed, it was time for get out of class to end.

Dr. Qing naturally had no reason to stay in the classroom, so he left with the test data records.

Without his restraint, the entire classroom suddenly became noisy.

Familiar classmates discussed it together, while those who weren't familiar tried to strike up conversations, but the topic never strayed from "academic rankings," and their eyes never left Ron...

too weird.

He was undoubtedly the top scorer in the college entrance examination, and also the only top-tier superhuman to speedrun through the 404 test...

But when it came to judging a superhuman's most basic personal reality and computing power, Ron's performance was "weak" to this extent—

You see, don't be fooled by Ron's current seventh-place ranking in the class, which might seem like he's among the top students; the reality is quite different...

Everyone had just enrolled, and even in the experimental class, which only admitted the top-ranked freshmen, there weren't many Level 3 students.
After all... there aren't many freshmen who can become Lv.3 before entering school, and there are only seven in the experimental class!

Ron, on the other hand, became the student with the lowest academic ability among Lv.3, barely ranking seventh in the class...

This is really a bit too weak.

After all, once you reach Lv.3, you will be at the limit of mortals. The computing power and personal reality strength of superhumans will gradually stop improving. Ron is visibly approaching a bottleneck.

Below him, those with similar academic abilities are all only at Lv.2...

If they reach Lv.3, wouldn't their increased personal realism and computing power immediately boost their academic ability, allowing them to easily surpass Ron and achieve his current ranking?
Everyone's eyes flickered as they looked at Ron, wondering what he was thinking.

Instead, Euan looked at Ron, his tone resolute:
"What methods did you use to limit your computing power and personal reality to this extent?"

As he spoke, he noticed the silver collar around Ron's neck, which seemed to have never been removed, and sneered:
"Relying on this 'ability limiter'?"
"Ron, if you like to hide your abilities, then try wearing it to the monthly exam..."

Upon hearing this, many students noticed the silver collar around Ron's neck that was still lit up, and suddenly realized what was going on.

So it was all just a cover-up?

This first-place winner does indeed have some quirks that are hard for ordinary people to understand...

Many people immediately lost interest in Ron, who was simply hiding his true abilities, but some still looked at Ron with curiosity in their eyes.

If he had 350 points of academic ability even if he had been hiding his true abilities...

After the restrictions are lifted, how many academic points will he have?
"Haha, I knew it!"

Luke, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines for a while, clearly saw the collar around Ron's neck, immediately laughed, and walked towards Ron:
“Ron is number one after all, and his strength is obvious to all. How could he only have this little bit of academic ability?”

As he spoke, acting as if he knew Ron well, he leaned closer to Ron and whispered:

"Brother, if you ask me, what you're doing is wrong. You can't really hide your abilities like that, putting some kind of 'ability limiter' on yourself..."

"This academic ranking is related to ranking rewards... You may not know this, but in our Moen University's monthly and final exams, besides academic subjects, the most important exam item is academic ability."

"Compete in computing power and personal performance—as long as you can outperform others in these areas, your score will be significantly higher when you are ranked, and you will be placed in a higher position on the leaderboard!"

"If you keep this thing running, suppressing your abilities, and then lift the restrictions right before the exam, your computing power and personal reality might not recover well, which could easily put you at a disadvantage during the exam..."

"Look at the way these people are looking at you! We have the strength, so let's just be open about it and remove this limiter directly. There's no need to hide anything!"

Ha, that sounds nice, but you're really just trying to test me.

No one else has shown restraint yet...

Ron smirked, not giving Luke what he wanted, and shook his head with a sigh:
"That's true... but unfortunately, that's all the knowledge I have; my actual abilities are lacking..."

Luke refused to believe it and tried to subtly find out something, but Ron was tight-lipped and didn't reveal a single piece of information to him.

Finally, he became so annoying that Ron raised his voice and chased him away, finally giving Ron some peace and quiet...

However, although his ears were finally at peace, Ron's heart was far from calm.

He glanced at his classmates, his feelings a little complicated.

He did indeed hide his true abilities.

However, that wasn't something he did intentionally—

He simply had a habit of disassembling [Supernatural Control] when not using [Vector Manipulation] to avoid the slight increase in the degree of loss of control...

After all, every little bit helps. To reduce the degree of loss of control, he still needs to rely on the "role-playing method" to do some forensic work at the D District General Inspection Bureau. Now that he is at Moen University, it is difficult for him to find the time for that.

So, when we were testing academic ability just now, we were actually testing Ron's [Telekinesis] Lv.3...

But this is not a good thing.

Although Ron's [Telekinesis] ability model is still significantly weaker than [Vector Manipulation] after advancing to Lv.3, making a comparison meaningless—

However, in terms of personal reality and computing power, the gap is not unimaginably large. After all, [Vector Manipulation] is just a capability model formed after [Telekinesis] goes out of control. Although computing power and personal reality are enhanced due to the loss of control, their essence is not much different.

Even if Ron went all out and regained [Vector Manipulation], his computing power and personal reality strength would only increase by about 25% at most.

In terms of academic ability, his academic ability value would fluctuate between 437 and 440. Although he could have soared in the academic ranking, he would still be below Yu An.

—As expected, by constructing the [Ability Formula], Yu'an has indeed clearly surpassed Ron in terms of personal reality and computing power.

Considering that at Moen University, exams truly test academic ability, not so-called "fighting spirit"...

If Ron fails to construct the formula, and his academic ability is weaker than Euan's, he will undoubtedly lose.

But here's the problem—

Ron wanted to get a high ranking in the monthly exam because he needed access to [Prometheus]. Without access, he couldn't construct the [Ability Formula], and without the [Ability Formula], he couldn't get a high ranking...

Isn't this just an infinite loop?!

For a moment, Ron was somewhat troubled, but in the end he sighed with a touch of heartache.

Although I feel a little sorry for her...

But it's time to use it.

—Let's use that "Growth-Inducing Tree Fruit"!
In Minister Alder's previous "Experiment of Knowledge," Ron successfully obtained the ritual magic to construct a temporary formula.

By using the [Solidification Ritual] and the ritual materials that possess extraordinary properties and cannot be worn down by the [Anti-Mystic Equation], one can obtain a temporary [Ability Formula] in Ideal City.

Although this temporary [ability formula] is only a temporary ability, it certainly won't have any effect on others other than being a temporary ability...

But what can you do when Ron has a cheat code?

Ron knew that important abilities like the [Ability Formula] would inevitably be extracted from the Dimensional Update Manual and made into a setting—

In this way, even if it's just a temporary [ability formula], once loaded onto someone, it will naturally become the same as a normal [ability formula], enhancing Ron's personal reality and computing power!

It's just...

Ron sighed as he recalled the complex and incomprehensible formula of the [Solidification Ritual] recorded in the ring.

Unfortunately, he could never learn that "solidification ritual" on his own.

In any case, I have to go to the "Potion Age" and consult with Guild Master Elvis or Idrila...

But that's not now.

Ron's [Illusion Dissolve] hadn't fully recovered, and there was still a whole month until the monthly exam. He could attend classes normally and go to "Potion Era" some time before the exam...

There's no rush yet.

Ron thought to himself, and following the schedule, he went to the new classroom, a rather large lecture hall.

As soon as Ron walked in, he saw An Hui sitting in the front row, waving at him from afar.

It seems to be a large lecture that the entire physics department will be attending...

Ron sat down next to An Hui and chatted briefly about what had happened in the class. Soon the classroom was full of people.

The classroom door opened just as class was about to begin, and a teacher in a suit and tie, who looked like a business elite, walked to the front of the class.

"I am Jia Qian, your teacher for this class, and I will be teaching you freshmen the most basic computing skills course."

His gaze was intense as he swept across the entire lecture hall:

"Computational power! Aside from personal reality, it's the second cornerstone for all ability users to utilize their abilities!"

"How to improve computing power—that's the most important thing we'll be learning in this lesson, and throughout your entire university life at Moen University..."

Oh!
Computational skills class?
Ron was immediately filled with respect. Even a fool knows the importance of computing power for superhumans. His computing power had reached a bottleneck, and he needed new ways to improve it...

This computing skills class might just light his way forward and give him new opportunities for improvement!

……

Then he regretted it.

He regretted listening so attentively, having listened to Jia Qian ramble on for an hour.

To be honest, it wasn't entirely nonsense that Jia Qian was spouting off. He did talk about many ways to improve computing power, some of which Ron himself had used with the investment of [Tian Ting Media] and which did indeed help improve computing power...

But that's based on the premise of reaching the limit of Lv.3.

Those methods are completely meaningless to Ron, who has already reached the Lv.3 limit without constructing the [Ability Formula]...

Neither injecting him with stimulants nor training his computing power through virtual reality could improve Ron's computing power by even a fraction.

This course, as expected, is designed for the vast majority of students who failed to advance to Lv.3...

Ron sighed inwardly, somewhat disappointed, but unexpectedly, before the course ended, Jia Qian said:

"Improving computing power is a slow and steady process, like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind."

"For the vast majority of students, practicing computing power is not easy. Many even find themselves hitting a bottleneck during practice, unable to improve their computing power no matter what they do..."

He said loudly:

"So, if any students encounter a bottleneck, feel free to come to me privately. Even if you've reached Lv.3 and your computing power isn't improving, I still have some ways to help you..."

what!
He actually has a way to increase the computing power of Lv.3?
Ron immediately perked up.

As soon as Jia Qian stepped out of the classroom after class, Ron followed him...

"Oh, you're currently experiencing a bottleneck in computing power and can't improve it?"

Jia Qian looked at the eager-to-learn Ron in front of him, adjusted his glasses, and said:

"Then come to my office."

Do I still need to go to the office...? It's not something that can be explained in just a few words.

Ron frowned, but quickly relaxed.

That's normal, after all, it's knowledge that can help Lv.3 break through bottlenecks and improve computing power, and it might involve some complex theories...

But once they arrived at the office, Jia Qian opened a drawer and took out several silver-white necklaces—

Then, he hung the name tag with the [TianTing Media] logo on his chest and put on a business-like smile:

"Student, Jia Qian, a sales representative for Moen University under Tianting Media, is at your service!"

"A Level 3 ability user's computing power has reached the human limit. To improve it, the only option is to rely on an external AI to perform the calculations for you..."

"But how many superpowered individuals can gain the favor of the Central Intelligence? Ordinary people certainly can't hope for the computing power of the Central Intelligence, but who can say that ordinary people are stuck at Lv.3?"

"Produced by Tianting Media, the 'Ability Amplifier'—our own AI brain!"

As he spoke, with a proud expression, he pushed the several silver collars toward Ron:
"These are all top-of-the-line products that have just hit the market. Connecting them to a brain-computer interface will provide you with powerful computing capabilities, enough to allow a Level 2 superpowered individual to unleash Level 3 abilities, or even allow a Level 3 individual to surpass human limits and approach Level 4..."

"Order now and get a free 12-month interest-free installment plan, or a 40% off coupon for 24-month installments. Enjoy a 3-year replacement warranty and 5-year full insurance coverage, making your order worry-free!"

Ron: "..."

(End of this chapter)