The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

The school bell rang, and the old professor walked into the classroom, his white ram's horns gleaming faintly in the morning light. He glanced around the classroom, then turned and wrote a line of large characters on the blackboard with chalk: "Summoned Beast Combat Parameter Calculation".

"Oh my god, it's math class—"

Painful wails echoed through the classroom, one after another, like cats whose tails had been stepped on. The computer science class was notorious throughout the entire college as a hellish place for failing students.

Orcs are more accustomed to relying on experience and intuition. Arithmetic is an extremely advanced subject—ordinary commoners struggle to even perform two-digit addition and subtraction, while only noble children are exposed to multiplication and division, which is considered a sign of profound learning. This course, however, insists on combining arithmetic with practical application, such as calculating the weight of food needed for seven days in the wild, the distance traveled in seven days, and the time required for rescue operations…

For an orc like Aura, who struggles even to read, numbers are pure torture. Making her do calculations is worse than killing her.

The old professor with ram's horns tapped the blackboard on the podium, and then, in the slowest possible pace, led the class in calculating the most basic problem on their fingers: "Look carefully, your summoned beast can run 5 meters per second, and the enemy is 30 meters away from you. The question is, how long will it take for the summoned beast to reach you? Let's add it up one by one, 5 plus 5, then another 5..."

Below the stage, a dozen or so noble children sat with their heads bowed, counting on their hooves, paws, or fingers, sweating profusely and their hearts pounding with anxiety. Some bit their lips, some tugged at their ears, and others secretly drew hands on the table.

This time, there were double digits, but with fingers and toes, there were only twenty. Rurik's eyelids twitched—he had ten fingers and four hooves, so he could only count eighteen. Adding the eight toes of his summoned beast, the Flame Raven, he could only count twenty-six, far from enough to make thirty meters. Veins throbbed on his forehead, and for a moment, he stared blankly at the feathers of his summoned beast.

The Flame Raven was frightened by the unfriendly gaze and flapped its wings to signal the demons and monsters to leave.

Rurik suppressed his ulterior motives, treating the summoned beast's feathers as his last trump card, not to be easily plucked. He started by prying the fingers and toes, then the crow's claws. The crow squawked and flapped its wings, causing a commotion in the classroom.

For a full half minute, only a handful of orcs raised their hands and gave the answer "6 seconds." The professor immediately showed an approving expression, and his goatee stood on end.

Ming Luochen sat cross-legged on his personal summon beast seat next to Aura—which was actually just a thick, soft cushion laid on the stone floor—his eyelids twitching as he watched, inwardly cursing:

[Do I really need to count on my fingers to calculate this? And 6 seconds? Is that even possible? The enemy is just standing there dumbfounded, waiting for your summoned creature? Why not just charge straight at them from 30 meters away? Why add any extra steps?]

He looked at the exaggerated expressions on the students' faces in the classroom—things they could answer so easily, yet they were struggling to calculate them? Was the world's math level ridiculously low? Could a second-grade elementary school problem be used as the final challenge here?

[Shocking, aren't you? A bunch of country bumpkins.] A slight smile played on his lips, and a bubble of smugness rose within him.

Stop internally complaining, you're bothering me.

Aura's inner thoughts, tinged with panic, secretly entered his mind, like a little rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up and down.

I always get called on and yelled at in this class, the professor is definitely going to slap me again later. Please, be quiet, let me do my calculations properly...

Aura counted on her fingers, her mind a complete mess. 5 plus 5 is 10, plus 5 again is 13… wait, what's 30 divided by 5 again? She realized she didn't have enough fingers; even after counting on all ten, she only reached 20, leaving 10 meters to go. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and a few strands of hair clung to her skin.

Her gaze drifted to Ming Luochen's feet, and her eyes suddenly lit up—he had ten toes, plus his fingers, that should be enough! Ten fingers plus ten toes, that's twenty in total, plus her own ten fingers… thirty! Just enough!

The pressure in her heart immediately lessened a lot, and she even found his toes adorable.

Ming Luochen sensed his wife's thoughts, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily—it was unbelievable that she would come up with a problem like calculating by bending her toes. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then spoke to her like he was coaxing a child:

Don't worry, your husband's here. I could answer this stupid question with my eyes closed. Just listen to me, and I guarantee you'll be first in the class.

Aura was about to glare at him—who needed him to teach her? She could calculate it herself, just a little slower—when the professor on the podium indeed glanced over, his old, aging eyes landing precisely on her, carrying a hint of sternness and a certain "I knew you couldn't do it" certainty:

"Countess Aura, you couldn't even solve the most basic addition problem on the previous quiz. Today, you'll answer this more advanced question."

The entire class instantly turned to look at them. A dozen pairs of eyes held a mixture of sympathy, schadenfreude, and, most importantly, a knowing smile waiting for the show to unfold. Everyone knew that Aura was notoriously bad at this course. This question was a "difficult problem" prepared by the professor; even the class monitor, who had the best grades, struggled to solve it. Aura was sure to embarrass herself.

The fox-eared girl who had previously delivered lunchboxes to Aura covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling into crescents, waiting to see Aura's embarrassed expression when she couldn't answer.

The professor picked up the chalk and wrote this practical problem, which could be considered "profound" in this world, on the blackboard, reading it aloud word by word:

"Our side and the enemy side are facing off in the training ground. The straight-line distance between the two Beastmasters is 150 meters. Both sides simultaneously give the order, and their summoned beasts charge towards each other. Our summoned beasts charge at 15 meters per second, and the enemy's summoned beasts charge at 10 meters per second. Question: How long does it take for the two summoned beasts to meet from the moment they start? When they meet, how many meters are they from our Beastmaster's position?"

After the question was written, the whole class fell into a deathly silence.

150 meters? Where did all those fingers come from?

Even the class monitor frowned, muttering to herself as she calculated, "15 plus 10 is 25, plus 25 is 50... no, plus 25 is 75..." She had already counted on her fingers twice, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She knew very well that after Aura was called out, she would be next.

Rurik gave up immediately and pried the crow's claws off again. The crow cawed loudly and flapped its wings, flying to the podium. The professor frowned at him, and he sheepishly caught the crow and brought it back.

Aura's palms instantly became sweaty, and her heart pounded. She stared at the numbers on the blackboard, her mind a complete blank—150 divided by what? What's 15 plus 10 again?

Just as she panicked, Ming Luochen's voice clearly entered her mind, carrying a hint of nonchalant sarcasm:

Honey, even my third-grader can do this math problem mentally. The answer is 6 seconds and 90 meters.

"How was it calculated?" Aura asked instinctively, her voice urgent and soft, as if grasping at a straw.

【很简单。】明落尘的语气像是在教幼儿园小朋友，【相遇时间就是总距离除以速度和——150除以（15加10），150除以25等于6秒。离你的距离，就是你的召唤兽6秒跑的路，15乘以6等于90米。】

He paused, then added, "Don't worry, it's definitely correct. This question is so stupid I'm embarrassed to even try. You have to trust your husband."

Aura steadied herself and looked up at the professor. The panic in her amber eyes had faded, replaced by a certainty that even she herself found unfamiliar.

She cleared her throat, her voice clear and steady, without the slightest pause:

"Professor, it will take 6 seconds to meet, and the distance between us and our master will be 90 meters at the time of meeting."

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire classroom fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone looked up abruptly, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at Aura—they hadn't even finished calculating the first step of the summation, and Aura had already given them both answers?

The professor was stunned. The chalk in his hand fell to the podium with a "thud," rolling twice before coming to a stop. He had taught this course for decades and had never seen a student answer this question so readily. He quickly pressed for an answer, his voice rising several decibels: "How...how did you figure that out? Explain your steps!"

Aura remained calm and, following the steps Ming Luochen had given her, slowly and methodically explained the solution: first, calculate the sum of speeds; then, divide the total distance by the sum of speeds to find the time; finally, multiply the speed by the time to find the distance. She even explained the formulas for speed and distance clearly, as if she were reading the answer aloud.

The whole class was stunned, their mouths agape. Even the class monitor stopped what he was doing, his face filled with shock—they had never imagined that it could be calculated like this? Without adding each step individually, the answer could be found in just a few steps?

The professor's eyes lit up with each word, his goatee twitching. When Aura finished speaking, he excitedly slammed his hand on the blackboard, chalk dust falling in a flurry: "Excellent! Absolutely brilliant! Aura, your progress is phenomenal! You answered this question flawlessly!"

She actually got it right?

The audience erupted in chaos, whispers bubbling up like boiling water. Everyone's gaze towards Aura changed; the initial amusement vanished, replaced by shock, confusion, and a vague, unspoken apprehension.

Rurik stared at Aura in disbelief, his fingers still in the position of cracking the crow's toes, completely frozen in place—this calculation idiot actually figured it out? How could she possibly figure it out? Just because of that F-rank summon?

His gaze turned fiercely to Ming Luochen, as if trying to see right through him. But Ming Luochen was looking down, innocently fiddling with the loose threads on the cushion, not even glancing at him.

Feeling a little embarrassed by the praise, Aura stood there trying to appear calm, her four hooves lightly pattering on the stone pavement, but the tips of her ears secretly turned red.

Honey, you're so reliable.

[Will you reward me that night?] Ming Luochen's smile was impossible to hide; in her heart, she was like a cat that had stolen a fish, its tail practically wagging in the air.

"I know, you rascal." Aura's face also turned red, burning from her ears all the way to her neck. She quickly lowered her head and pretended to tidy up her textbooks.

Ming Luochen grinned mischievously, his mouth twisting into a villainous grin. He himself hadn't expected to be able to crush others in mathematics.

From now on, I'll make sure you get first place in this course every time. Let them see what true dominance looks like.

He looked up, his gaze casually sweeping over the orc students in the classroom who were still in shock, and silently added to himself:

[Shocking, aren't you? A bunch of country bumpkins. You can't even handle third-grade math, what makes you think you can compete with me?]