Interesting

Every subject at Plato Academy was an ordinary exam graded out of one hundred.

Scoring at least 60 in every subject was the first way to pass.

If you ranked first in three subjects and passed more than ten, you would still pass even if you scored zero in all the remaining subjects.

If half your subjects were passing grades and you ranked among the top five in five subjects, you would still pass even if you scored zero in all the remaining subjects.

The final method was to render service to Plato Academy and earn a medal.

A Black Iron Medal could be exchanged for first place in one course, a Bronze Medal for first place in three courses, and anyone who earned a Silver Medal would automatically pass that year's exams.

There had been thirty-nine students in the class last year, and seven had failed.

"So, it looks like passing is still possible..."

"Starting with the difficult courses isn't realistic. I have to progress step by step, beginning with the easy ones."

Suye's gaze fell on Greek, the first course, and the page immediately changed, displaying the table of contents for last year's Greek textbook.

Suye glanced over it, and memories surfaced. He suddenly felt a little moved.

"That little bastard Suye didn't go to Lion Harbor for nothing. His vocabulary is far beyond everyone else's, but his grammar is a complete mess. Hmm... If the highest difficulty is 10, then Greek is only a 2 for me. It isn't difficult. I can keep this course."

The page returned to the course schedule, and Suye circled Greek.

"There are plenty of people who speak Roman Language in Lion Harbor, too. The difficulty is probably only a 4. Not bad. Keep it."

"Egyptian Language... No, my head hurts just thinking about it. Difficulty 7. Persian Language... My head hurts even more. Difficulty 8. Forget it, I can't lie to myself—9. Norse Language... Huh? Each of these letters looks pretty familiar. I don't know what they mean when put together, though. Let's give it a 6..."

Suye looked at the course schedule and the textbook tables of contents in turn, continuously assigning difficulty levels.

"Geography? I've finally found something familiar. I'm actually pretty good at geography... Why are the geographical terms here completely different from what I studied? Forget it, 4 points."

"Botany... It's still different. 5 points!"

"Greek History is familiar. I specifically read up on it before traveling to Greece... This textbook's table of contents... Forget it, I'll just assume I never read Greek History before. 5 points!"

After reading the tables of contents for mathematics and Geometry, Suye nearly shed tears of excitement.

"Finally, a course with difficulty 0! Even though I'm a lousy student, this knowledge is so familiar. I can master it with just a little studying!"

"Huh? Why don't the epic courses include the Iliad and the Odyssey? Why isn't there Works and Days... Oh, right. The Trojan War hasn't happened yet..."

"Art? Difficulty 1! I studied sketching for a while, after all. I understand lines, perspective, and shading."

Suye first rated the old courses he would study this year. He erased every course with a score of 5 or higher, leaving only a handful on the list.

In the end, Suye chose the few courses that were easiest to study.

They were Mathematics, Geometry, Greek, and Art—a total of four courses.

Looking at the four courses, Suye thought it over. Although he understood art, he had no time to practice. Art was only suitable for easing mental fatigue during breaks, so he removed it.

In the end, Suye marked Mathematics, Geometry, and Greek as priorities.

He had chosen these three courses mainly to find a breakthrough and build his confidence. At a time like this, one's state of mind mattered more than anything.

Faced with fifty-five courses, even wisdom could only rely on one's state of mind.

Suye frowned as he flipped through the newly added courses. His frown deepened, but he quickly reacted, and the page immediately changed into a mirror.

In the Magic Book, Suye's worried face was reflected.

"My state of mind is wrong!"

Suye looked at himself in the Magic Book and thought for a moment before using a common technique: reframing.

"Although I'm frowning over my Academic Studies, that proves I'm a responsible man. It also means I have a goal and direction. The reason it's painful and difficult is that I'm climbing uphill! More importantly, I'm actually this handsome!"

After saying each word to himself, Suye immediately smiled, dispelling his worried expression.

He closed the mirror function and regained his composure. Although he no longer kept smiling, his features relaxed, and his state of mind was completely different.

Reframing had only been the beginning. Suye continued thinking.

"Since I've resolved to become a Legendary Mage, I have to master a vast amount of magical knowledge. There are too many courses for me to study them all one by one. I can only focus on a few and gradually make up the rest later. Which courses should I choose?"

Suye thought it over and made a decision.

"Choose the ones I find interesting! As long as I find something interesting and genuinely like it, every bit I learn will give me a sense of achievement. That sense of achievement will push me to keep studying, forming a virtuous cycle. But being interesting alone isn't enough. The difficulty must be low, or it will delay my other courses. As for whether a course is important, I can't judge that at all right now. I might even judge incorrectly. I'll assess its importance after I understand it better. So..."

Suye immediately thought of the Two-Dimensional Matrix, a common analytical method derived from the Cartesian Coordinate System.

Suye opened a blank page. With a slight movement of his index finger, he drew a horizontal line across the middle of the page, then a vertical line, forming a large cross that divided the page into four equal sections.

At the left end of the horizontal line, Suye wrote "Difficult," and at the right end, he wrote "Simple."

At the bottom of the vertical line, he wrote "Boring," and at the top, he wrote "Interesting."

The page was thus divided into four quadrants: "Interesting and Simple," "Interesting and Difficult," "Boring and Simple," and "Boring and Difficult."

Suye turned back to the course schedule. Whenever he saw a new course, he flipped through its textbook table of contents to estimate its difficulty. If he didn't understand it, he briefly skimmed the contents.

He had only turned a few pages when the bell signaling the end of class rang.

Teacher Niedern's voice came from the lectern.

"Take a ten-minute break, students. After that, we'll spend the entire day reviewing. Before dismissal, I'll teach you the most important second-year course: Meditation. I'll guide you through experiencing meditation."

After Niedern finished speaking, he left the classroom, which immediately erupted like a boiling pot.

"Finally, we're starting meditation!"

"I heard the meditation techniques of Plato Academy are in no way inferior to those of Demigod royal families!"

"Whether you're a warrior or a mage, you need meditation. That's what I want to learn! I hate all that natural history! I hate linguistics! I hate sports and art!"

"Yeah, we're finally going to learn real magic and Combat Skills..."

"Wonderful!"

Everyone cheered excitedly, but Suye acted as though he hadn't heard anything and continued analyzing this year's courses.

Most of the new courses this year were related to magic. The languages of other races were also far more complicated than human languages, and even browsing them was extremely difficult for Suye.

Several classmates at the fourth desk turned around and grinned at Suye from across the desks.

"Three Idiots, how was your summer vacation?"

"Suye, why were you late?"

"Teacher Niedern has such a good temper."

Without lifting his head, Suye said, "Thank you all for your concern. I'm eager to look over the new year's courses. We can chat during the midday break."