“Tsk... As expected, he stole the spotlight again.”
On the other side of the spectator stands, Victoria was staring intently at Greg on the stage.
Her gray eyes reflected his figure as he spoke eloquently under the lights.
Sitting beside her, Adele leaned in and lowered her voice: “Victoria, your Greg is really amazing... You two are practically a match made in heaven!”
Kayla chimed in from the side as well: “Exactly! First place in the preliminary defense, and now such an incredible performance in the secondary defense. Where else could you find such an outstanding man?”
Victoria opened her mouth, wanting to refute them as she usually did, but the words caught in her throat.
Looking at the confident and composed figure on stage, her voice grew weaker than ever before as she mumbled, “...He, he's not mine...”
Adele and Kayla exchanged a glance, both wearing meaningful smiles.
...
In another corner, Vivian sat upright in her seat, her aqua-blue hair gleaming softly under the lights.
Her expression remained cold, but deep within her ice-blue eyes, an uncontrollable surge of emotion was swelling.
He actually put in so much effort in secret for my sake.
Vivian knew that Greg had never been someone who loved studying. Or rather, he had never cared much for theoretical knowledge in the past.
But now, he stood on a stage that gathered the elites of over a hundred magic academies, speaking eloquently and composedly.
All of this was to bridge the chasm between their social standings, so he could stand by her side once more.
A warm current welled up in her heart, and the sheer emotion nearly brought tears to her eyes. Still, she held them back, hiding that soft vulnerability beneath her frost-like facade.
Not far from Vivian, Lilith was gazing at Greg on the stage with an infatuated look she wasn't even aware of.
She had originally come with the mindset of “let's see what kind of nonsense you can come up with,” but as she listened, her gaze gradually shifted.
Seeing Greg's confident and composed demeanor on stage, a feeling she had never experienced before suddenly welled up inside her—the current him, just like before, was shining so brightly and looking so handsome.
No, wait! What am I thinking? He's so close to Dear Sister now. There's no way I'd think a guy like him is handsome!
Lilith snapped out of it and shook her head vigorously, trying to fling the thought from her mind. Yet, her eyes still unconsciously followed his figure on stage, unable to look away.
In the back row of the faculty seats, Alice, like the other students around her, was staring at Greg with a shocked expression.
So... Greg is actually this amazing...
Her mouth parted slightly, her purple eyes filled with disbelief.
She had always thought Greg was a complete mess when it came to theoretical knowledge. After all, in the lab, he always dumped all the complex theoretical projects onto her to handle.
So when she stepped out of her room and found out that Greg had taken first place in the preliminary defense, Alice had even suspected for a time that he had used some sort of cheating method. She had spent quite a while in a state of constant anxiety, terrified that the review panel would find out and arrest her too.
But now, she was finally at ease, and a sliver of pride even blossomed in her heart.
Watching Greg speak so eloquently on stage, she finally understood. It wasn't that Greg didn't understand before; he simply looked down on those basic theoretical concepts.
What he possessed was deep, advanced knowledge that far exceeded the level of textbooks!
Thinking of it this way, it seemed only natural that she, as an assistant, would handle the trivial things that an outstanding student like him couldn't be bothered with.
Alice actually began to feel proud of her past treatment.
Senior Greg... what exactly are you hiding?
Melina stared thoughtfully at Greg on stage, her eyes peering out from beneath her plain disguise.
Her fingertips lightly tapped against her knee in a slow, rhythmic cadence.
Once again, she sensed Greg's extraordinary nature. This kind of knowledge was absolutely not something an ordinary student could master.
He really was different.
What secrets lay hidden behind his back?
Her interest in Greg was growing deeper and deeper.
Meanwhile, in the upper-right section of the spectator stands, Silvia's gaze did not fall on Greg.
Instead, she was silently watching Veronica, whose expression looked as if she were trying to carve Greg's figure into her very soul. Silvia's fingers unconsciously clenched her skirt.
“In conclusion, I would like to summarize my points.”
Greg's presentation was drawing to a close.
“I believe the value of Elemental Resonance Theory does not lie in making us more powerful, but in allowing us to re-evaluate the very essence of mana.”
“Only when we truly understand the qualitative changes brought by resonance can we achieve greater effects with less mana. This is the direction this theory should pursue in its future development.”
After speaking, he bowed slightly to the judging panel.
The entire hall fell silent for three seconds.
Then, one of the professors on the judging panel was the first to clap.
Right after, a second, a third... all ten judging professors stood up and applauded.
This was unprecedented in the history of the secondary defense.
Soon, the entire defense hall erupted into thunderous applause. Students stood up one after another, paying tribute with their most enthusiastic cheers to this peer who had just made history.
The ten professors began to raise their scorecards.
Ten, ten, ten, ten, ten—when the final professor raised their card showing a ten, the total score displayed on the scoreboard froze at one hundred.
A perfect score.
“Greg!!!”
“Greg!!!”
“Greg!!!”
The defense hall erupted into even more passionate applause and cheers.
This score practically guaranteed Greg first place in the secondary defense, making him the first student to receive a perfect score in this Hundred Academy Exchange.
The students who had previously harbored doubts about this dark horse that had appeared out of nowhere were now completely won over.
If taking first place in the preliminary defense could be attributed to luck or a fluke, a perfect score in the secondary defense could only be explained by sheer capability.
This man was a genuine monster.
“Thank you, everyone.”
Amidst the applause, Greg stepped down from the stage and returned to his seat.
Rom and Corwin immediately leaned in, each slapping him on a shoulder with enough force to nearly knock the wind out of him.
“Brother, you're way too beastly! A perfect score!”
Rom's voice carried uncontrollable excitement. “This is the first time in my life I've seen someone get a perfect score in the secondary defense with my own eyes! I bet even those professors are seeing it for the first time!”
Corwin nodded repeatedly, his eyes behind his glasses sparkling with admiration: “Amazing... It's hard to believe you actually live in the same world as us.”
Greg smiled and waved his hand: “Alright, alright, stop buttering me up. Who knows, maybe there'll be some major upset later?”
Though Greg said this, and a few students indeed performed exceptionally well after being inspired by him, by the end of the secondary defense, not a single person managed to match his heaven-defying performance.
Rate on N.U.
