Above the mage

Chapter 168: Perfect score, perfect score, and still a perfect score!

Winter solstice month, 2th.

The nearly seven-day assessment week has ended.

A large number of specialized courses officially concluded after three months of instruction.

Joseph Boer, the instructor of the course "General Knowledge of Herbs," sat at a long table, meticulously reviewing a stack of students' exam papers that had been collected.

During the review process, the middle-aged monk shook his head from time to time, and then casually tossed the parchment aside.

There were already a dozen or so parchments of the same material there.

Each one represents a student who failed the assessment.

A course with a low pass rate is often not only difficult in itself, but also has a strict and rigid tutor.

The same applies to "General Knowledge of Medicinal Herbs".

Joseph Boer is widely regarded by many students as one of the most demanding mentors in the academy.

If "General Knowledge of Herbs" weren't a required course in "Potions" , many people wouldn't have chosen this course because of Joseph.

"Terrible, terrible. These students are getting worse with each new class. If they spent a little more time in class, they wouldn't answer questions with such an attitude. How can they possibly achieve anything in potion studies in the future?"

After a moment of reflection, Joseph Boer's gaze fell on the next parchment.

After glancing at it twice, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he stared at the neat answer on the parchment, refusing to look away.

A moment later, Joseph Boer's face flushed slightly, which was a sign of his happiness.

The twenty questions were meticulously designed by him, covering a wide range of knowledge points, and there were many "pitfalls".

This was the first time he had seen a student avoid all the pitfalls and answer all the questions correctly.

Even when he looked at it with a critical eye, he couldn't find a single flaw or omission in the details of the answer on the parchment, leaving even the usually strict Joseph feeling at a loss.

After a while, the redness on Joseph Boer's face faded, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

To be honest, when he was "setting the question," he never thought that anyone would be able to come up with such a perfect answer.

However, upon seeing such an answer, Joseph Boer was filled with joy.

Without hesitation, he picked up his pen and gave the test paper a perfect score.

This is the first time in all the years Joseph Boer has taught this "General Knowledge of Herbs" course that he has given a perfect score.

Just as he was about to see which student had given such a perfect answer, the unlocked door was pushed open very rudely.

The visitor neither knocked nor gave prior notice, a rude act that made Joseph instinctively frown.

However, after recognizing who it was, Joseph's brows relaxed and he broke into a smile.

Rhodes, also a potion-making instructor, is not only his colleague, but the two were also students who entered Cyrus Academy in the same batch. After graduation, they both chose to stay at the academy and have been friends for many years.

"Joseph, have you heard? That freshman, Gaode, got full marks in his two most recent exams."

"Although 'General Spell Knowledge' and 'Geography of Nolan Continent and War Geography' are well-known courses in the academy for easy credit transfers, getting a perfect score is no less difficult than other courses!"

As soon as he entered the door, Rod had a gossipy look on his face and said excitedly.

"Gaode?" Joseph frowned, thought for a moment, "Who's that?"

"Hey, you," Rod laughed and scolded, "didn't I mention this new student to you last month?"

Joseph smiled and said seriously, "You always talk about so many things, how can I possibly remember them all?"

Although the two have been friends for many years, their personalities are actually quite different.

Rod is an enthusiastic, outgoing person who loves gossip.

He, on the other hand, was much more taciturn and had never been interested in those kinds of gossip.

"I know you're completely absorbed in potions, but you need to find some fun to spice things up every now and then," Rhodes said earnestly, while also giving Joseph a quick lesson: "Gold is that freshman who took sixteen courses."

Joseph didn't have much of an impression of the name "Gaode," but he was immediately struck by the label "sixteen elective courses."

"Oh, it's him!" Joseph exclaimed, then, remembering something, laughed, "Didn't you think he was a show-off? Well, you've proven yourself wrong."

"To get full marks in two courses, that's real ability."

Rhodes gave an awkward smile and said weakly, "I was just making a deduction based on common sense."

Then, he slapped his thigh suddenly, "I came to find you because of him!"

"What do you mean?" Joseph asked, puzzled.

"This freshman also took your 'General Knowledge of Medicinal Herbs' course. Although getting full marks in those two credit-sharing courses is not easy, the courses themselves are relatively easy. At most, it just shows that this kid has a solid foundation and studies hard."

"It still depends on your grades in the 'General Knowledge of Medicinal Herbs' course to reflect your level." Rhodes subtly flattered Joseph again, then continued:

"As a result, because you went to the city of Kars below to purchase medicinal herbs a few days ago, the results for the later exam, 'Geography of the Nolan Continent and Geography of War,' have already been released, but the results for your 'General Knowledge of Medicinal Herbs' exam are still pending."

"You've been back for two days already, I bet you're busy grading student papers today." Rod chuckled. "Tell me, how's this kid doing with you?"

"Ha, you made this special trip just for this?" Joseph sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. He was at a loss for words with his friend, though he was also easy to talk to, at least with his friend. "Alright, I'll take a look."

"Gaode." He clicked his tongue over the name, feeling like he'd seen it somewhere before; it looked familiar.

"Wait?!" The next moment, Joseph suddenly realized what was happening and his gaze fell on the name on the perfect answer sheet in his hand.

The two characters "Gaode" are lying there silently.

"What's wrong?" Rod asked, puzzled, seeing that his friend had agreed verbally but hadn't followed up.

Joseph took a deep breath and said slowly, "This time, I also got a perfect score."

"Oh?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're known as our academy's 'cold-faced instructor,' who criticizes even the smallest mistakes from his students. How can you expect a perfect score from someone under your tutelage?"

"What cold-faced instructor?" Joseph said with dissatisfaction. "Potion brewing is an extremely rigorous process. Even the slightest difference can lead to failure. In the early stages of learning, it is natural to cultivate a rigorous attitude towards potion making in these students."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Rod knew his friend's temperament well; he was too responsible and had a strong sense of moral education. Although he felt it was unnecessary, he still respected him very much and quickly replied.

"But I'm still more concerned about Gaode's performance, to see what he's really capable of." He then brought the topic back to Gaode.

"Didn't I tell you?" Joseph's smile faded, and he adopted a cold, indifferent demeanor.

"When will you tell me?" Rhodes paused, then suddenly realized, "Your perfect score is from Gaode Maps?!"

"Yes," Joseph replied.

Rhodes was completely dumbfounded. He looked at Joseph's expression and realized that, given his friend's personality, he probably wouldn't joke with him.

"Perfect score in all three exams," he murmured.

"What a talented person!" Joseph, on the other hand, was much calmer and sighed leisurely.

(End of this chapter)