Time Twister

Afterward, he was heading to the testing venue when he received an encrypted file from Faykes. Xander was curious and opened it, and saw that the file contained the information of families present in the Eta country, roughly the same information the government had in their database.

Xander was surprised that Faykes actually did it. He was just giving him a mission for fun, and well, to test his usefulness. Now he remembered that he did promise him a surprise reward.

What should he give him... Hmm, a rare metal that only exists in isolated areas of the wide universe? Maybe a fruit that can aid his cultivation? Oh, wait, I already ate the fruits and sold them... Well, technically he can replicate them perfectly now. Yeah, that should do it. The fruits it is then.

He decided to give him 4 fruits, 1 fruit for every primary element he had. Wood, Fire, Water, Air elements. Oh, I"ll give him the fruits from the air-type plants tomorrow then, as well as the ones from the aquatic plants, Xander thought to himself before reaching the testing room.

It was quite comfortable, it was a conference room. There were 3 people in the room, one of them was Ms. Amelia. Beside Ms. Amelia was a man who looked like he was in his 30s. The last person was an elderly woman was had a genial smile plastered on her face.

Ms. Amelia looked at Xander gently, gesturing him to take a seat. Xander did, and Ms. Amelia spoke up.

"Good morning, Xander. I"m sure you know why you are here: You are to take the midterm test for the semester. Beside me is a fellow colleague of mine, Mr. Brian Feyzacs. The other lady present is the current vice dean of the university, Mrs. Vera Carliste. She will be supervising the exam today."

"Good morning, Mr. Feyzacs, Mrs. Carliste," Xander spoke politely, briefly lingering his look at Brian before turning his gaze to Mrs. Carliste in greeting. Brian didn"t notice anything out of the ordinary. After greeting them, Xander looked at Ms. Amelia, his look indicating the test.

Ms. Amelia said gently in reply to Xander"s silent statement.

"Alright, Mr. Xander Cloverfield, as you have requested a leave of absence for 1 week, the school decided to grant this on the condition that you would be taking in advance the midterm exam for both Basic Magic Control and Elemental Control cla.s.ses. This midterm exam consists of two parts: 1 theoretical, 1 practical test. The examination would be done in the VR machine that we have in the building. If you pa.s.s the exam, no deduction of SCPs would be done, and you may have the option of not partic.i.p.ating in the lessons discussed in the cla.s.ses for the next 2 months. If you fail the exam, however, not only will your SCPs be decreased by how far the raw score was from the pa.s.sing grade, you will not be allowed to request a leave of absence for the next 2 years. Do you understand?" Amelia asked, looking at Xander, who nodded in response.

"Very well, the first part of the test will now begin. You have 1 hour to answer the 200-point exam." She handed Xander the open code which was to be inputted into the desk terminal, allowing Xander to use the computer to answer the exam items. He then placed the Neuron node on the left temple, allowing him to answer the questions as fast as possible.

As the system booted up, Ms. Amelia then gave the test code to be inputted in the test program of the university, immediately presenting Xander the words "MIDTERM EXAM, TYPE 2. TWO HUNDRED POINT EXAM."

"Your timer starts once you flip the screen. You may begin." The moment she said that, Xander flicked his hand over the screen hologram, and immediately Xander began to answer the questions.

This time, his speed of answering the questions was faster than he did during the entrance exam, reaching the speed of 8 items per minute. He continued blazing through the exam as if nothing posed a difficult problem.

"Show the calculation for Daeri"s Reversal algorithm..."

"Identify the problematic part of Barneby"s theory on elemental..."

"If X is 10.54, and C is in terminal velocity, what is the size of the planet in..."

"Which statement best describes the entropic movement..."

"Cla.s.s of magic circle that produces this..."

"Type of element that can..."

"If I have 500 apples, how much life, wood, and earth elements were used to..."

"Given that 56^3~% is around the current rate of C < 3.54/pi,="" what="" is="" the="" production="" value="">

...

It was the essays that Xander had a long time discussing. His speed slowed down to 6 items per minute at this point, answering the essay questions that comprised half of the theoretical exam.

"What do you propose as an alternative to Verdabilt"s Consumption theory of..."

"Cultivation skills are graded by their quality. What can explain the rapid increase in the percentage benefit they give..."

"Is the universe continuously expanding? Can it be likened to a magic circle?"

"Fundamentally speaking, why is the ordered system structured such a way, producing elements?"

.....

After finishing these questions, there were more, weird questions in the last part of the essay section, since the questions being asked were topics never discussed in the semester at all, and were not even in the coverage of the subjects" syllabi. Not only that, but Xander also had a hint someone was targeting him with these questions.

"Concerning relative random displacement that elemental particles undergo in the span of 1 second, how are its minute changes relevant to the field of physics?"

"Spatial movement of matter: Is it continuous, or merely a perception?"

"Seen above is the image of the E-33 Omega s.p.a.ce shuttle. What modifications can be considered to improve s.p.a.ce travel and decrease spatial resistance?"

"Can electromagnetic pulsation idealize the function of s.p.a.ce jumps, traveling to a certain distance without actually traversing the entire path? Why or why not?"

"If s.p.a.ce element exists, can multi-dimensional travel be done by humans? Why or why not?"

...

When he reached this point, he was using his [Divine Eyes] to observe everyone in the room, to check if someone was acting weirdly, fidgety or excited, matching or conflicting their current profile data. After all, nothing can be hidden from his sight.

He purposely slowed down in some of the items, acting like he was in deep thought, before writing down his essays that were 15 sentences long. He even added some drawings and diagrams to show his answer. These were the items that were obviously hinting at s.p.a.ce element, and even traveling through s.p.a.ce, jeez.

He continued to answer the questions, acting like he was in deep thought and then scribbling his answers away. The moment he finished the test, there were still 15 minutes to go until the time limit. However, he didn"t want to waste his time since he already had the necessary information about who was targeting him. It was the male teacher, Mr. Feyzacs, and the elderly woman, Mrs. Carliste.

He immediately clicked "submit" at the end of the test, allowing him to submit his test results. The good news of this test so far is that he has hacked through the servers of the university. It seems this terminal was connected to the main database of the university, which allowed the System to get the information it needed, categorized them, and put them on the smart.w.a.tch. With the information the university has, he didn"t really need to go to school anymore since he already had clear cut steps on how to achieve Legendary cla.s.s by the creation of one"s vessel.

"I"m done, professors," Xander said politely to the people in front of him, acting like he never discovered their intentions in the first place. Oh well, he planned to interrogate this Mr. Feyzacs one of these days. After all, a measly Mythic-2 trying to entrap him, as well as a Mythic-8 magician? Pathetic. How should he deal with the vice dean though, it should be clean and untraceable. As he was thinking of this, Amelia nodded and said to Xander,

"Xander, please follow us to the VR testing room." Amelia and Mrs. Carliste stood up and headed to the door on the right. The VR testing room was placed adjacent to the meeting room. Mr. Feyzacs, on the other hand, decided to stay in the meeting room to ensure no one will attempt to modify Xander"s submitted test results. Mrs. Carliste even praised him for his hard work. According to the three of them when Xander questioned it, it is the protocol to do so.

Xander internally rolled his eyes at the acting of the two. Although Amelia seemed to have an inkling of the situation, she wasn"t really involved this time. The other two... geez, was this a slapstick comedy that you gotta follow what the other is saying?

Anyhoo, if they attempted to access Xander"s paper, they would be in for a surprise, hehe. They would need to utilize the strongest quantum supercomputer the planet has to even begin cracking the encryption code the System implemented which Xander modified a teeny, tiny bit. After all, if he didn"t modify it, it could only be cracked by a fellow digital lifeform. The paper itself will be graded by the main server, but the people managing the server are not privy to the specific answers, especially in the essay part. If they really wanted to view his paper, they would need to decrypt the encryption code~

Even with the strongest quantum computer, it would take 30 years to do so if it completely utilized all its computing power there, turning off all VR programs available in the world. The university doesn"t have that much power on a global scale; although it can call on favors from their graduates who may hold government positions, they are after all, only in the top 20 universities worldwide. If compared to AIA University, which is in the top 2, or Carver-Dahms University, which is the top 1 university globally, both located in Nema, the achievement and prestige of Grand Hyatt University would not be able to hold a candle to these universities with a history of more than 4000 years.

Xander and the other 2 women reached the VR testing room, which was basically 1 room with 3 VR Capsules placed in the center. Each Capsule had its own terminal on the outside, and the arrangement was triadic in order. Amelia motioned Xander to enter the capsule facing another door, probably the exit straight to the corridor.

Xander stepped into the opened capsule, and Amelia looked at Xander calmly, before talking to him once again.

"This is the second test of the midterm exam. You are to showcase your understanding of the following subjects: Elemental Control and Basic Magic Training. To do this, you are to complete a set of tasks for the VR system to a.n.a.lyze, record, and grade. You have a maximum of 2 hours to complete this test. Do you have any questions?"

Xander thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head, and upon seeing this, Amelia pressed a series of b.u.t.ton and the capsule began to close.

She added, before the capsule completely closed, "The test begins once you get in the VR program. Good luck." Xander calmed himself and closed his eyes before his mind went blank. However, it seemed that he heard a wretched scream coming from a man a distance away before his mind went blank, however.

A moment later, his eyes could open, showing Xander a simple, flat ground with no hints of vegetation or life. As he awoke, he realized that inside the VR, there was a flashing warning echoing in his mind.

"WARNING, INCOMPLETE SYNCHRONIZATION. CANNOT BE COMPLETELY DIGITIZED. WARNING, INCOMPLETE SYNCHRONIZATION. CANNOT BE COMPLETELY DIGITIZED. CERTAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE AVATAR ARE DISABLED."

Upon hearing this alert, Xander wasn"t sure whether this was part of the test until he utilized the System and got an answer from it.

"The quantum supercomputer cannot digitize your information because it doesn"t have enough processing and storage power. It only managed to replicate 80% of your characteristics. The remaining percentage involves your spells beyond Sage rank, your vitality, intelligence, and luck; they are currently unusable as they were not replicated at all by the quantum supercomputer. The attributes are currently locked in a value of 9999 points each."

The System"s monotonous voice sounded out in his mind, causing Xander to realize that VR reality does have their limitations. He should try it on the Digitized Dimension, if it can completely encapsulate his information then. After all, Eteria"s VR program doesn"t utilize the digitized dimension. Xander shook his head and proceeded to check the interface to proceed with the test.

Immediately, the instructions of what to do appeared.

[Midterm Exam: Type 2, h.e.l.l mode

You are to showcase a series of actions that prove the following theories to hold some truth in a certain degree. Each successful theory demonstrated earns you 2 points, and you can gain a maximum of 200 points in this test. You are free to use the resources of the supercomputer allocated for this program. The following theories are:

....

....

....

....

Xander was dumbfounded; there was a total of 300 theories listed here, some of which he recalled, have already been rejected, or found to be too dangerous for the ma.s.ses. He used the system to arrange and group the theories from easy to difficult based on his knowledge of the topic.

He then eliminated the theories that were invalid or proven false, marking them with a faded writing.

There was a total of 127 theories left for Xander to demonstrate, roughly 1.05 theories per minute to completely answer them. He began with the foundational theories listed, creating models, generating elemental particles and element interaction out of thin air with the help of the quantum supercomputer.

"Element as a foundation of Matter"

"Element being a form of energy"

"Elemental Conversion to Matter: Concentration-based"

"Elemental Conversion to Matter: Time-based"

"Elemental propagation: Against the laws of physics"

"Elemental Representation: Fixed"

"Elemental Representation: Rule of the Ordered Universe"

.....

.....

This continued on one theory after another. Xander was relieved there were no more trap questions present in this portion of the exam. after 1.3 hours, he had finished answering all 127 questions. He made the answers as clear as possible through his demonstrations, producing concrete examples of the theories through the help of the quantum supercomputer. He had to tone down on some parts because he had a feeling that his data would be viewed by someone besides the impartial quantum supercomputer. If that would be the case, wouldn"t he give them undue benefits from his answers if they were too complete? That"s why he gave the bare minimum while ensuring what he demonstrated would be clear to the viewers. To be safe, he also instructed the System to create an encryption code for the results, stopping people from accessing the details of the results. He also made it that the supercomputer still processes his results, and the results can be viewed by others.

He wasn"t a saint, to just freely give away his knowledge. He knew when to give away his knowledge if it benefitted him. In this case, the university attempting to profit from him? Fat chance! Thinking about this, Xander remembered a troubling vision: When the planet was refined by Eterians themselves. How much of that had changed, he wondered.

Xander said to himself that he"ll just check on it later after school if there aren"t any important businesses to be done.

Currently, for his college plans, he already succeeded in ama.s.sing funds. He also began socializing to heirs of families or those with their own renowned businesses. However, he still hasn"t discovered the ident.i.ty of the man that used the fake name in publishing that paper. No one who joined the global conference, after hacking to their own servers and databases, had anything remotely to do with that.

This further confirms his theory that this person is also a transmigrator like him, and one that strikes from the darkness. He or she probably contacted a series of people to get the information he wanted or give the information he needed. It is possible that it also met the G.o.d that Xander had met when he died.

His policy, for now, remains the same: Don"t act if the other party has not acted yet. After all, exhausting energy and manpower, and then realizing the enemy is still stronger than expected, or someone who was a Divine-cla.s.s powerhouse or something. He didn"t even try using [In a moment] to test out its power on the planet, in fear that it was ineffective against those above the DemiG.o.d cla.s.s. He also couldn"t divine the future outcome because it involved his direct involvement in the matter.

He"ll probably use it if someone attempted to kill him, maybe a demiG.o.d or someone higher. He would purposely "expose" a trail for the cultivator to follow in s.p.a.ce, and once far enough, he"ll activate [In a Moment] in combination with [Divine Eyes] for the best, maximum effect.

Anyhow, he should log out of the VR program. He immediately selected log-out, his sight blacking out once more before awakening to the familiar leather and metal structure of the capsule a few moments later. The capsule opened up, with Amelia looking at Xander weirdly. After all, the results were calculated in real-time, meaning she and Mrs. Carliste had access to the results produced by the supercomputer. They were alerted by the terminal that Xander had finished with his exam, and they could already view the results.

Xander looked around and realized something: Mr. Feyzacs, who he a.s.sumed had screamed in the meeting room, was not present in the VR testing room. Huh, he managed to control his anger? Or maybe he"s plotting something against him?

Amelia and Mrs. Carliste was surprised to read the results: Perfect score, 200 points. If they wanted to view in detail the answers per question, they required to wait for Xander to leave the simulation first and then access it. When they both saw Xander step out of the opening capsule, Mrs. Carliste couldn"t control herself and attempted to view the details. When she did, her face turned white, because instead of showing the details, there was a pop-up that appeared, requiring them to enter the decryption code, with a length limit of 1080 characters.

"IT SEEMS YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO VIEW THIS TESTER"S ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. APOLOGIES, THIS TEST RESULT IS LOCKED. YOU HAVE TO INPUT THE DECRYPTION CODE. HERE"S A CLUE TO START: IT"S MORE THAN THE CURRENT ALPHABET YOU MAY KNOW."

"THIS ENCRYPTION CODE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED AUTOMATICALLY BY THE QUANTUM SUPERCOMPUTER IMPARTIALLY. ATTEMPT OF BRUTEFORCE DECRYPTION WILL LEAD TO COMPLETE, UNRECOVERABLE DATA DELETION. YOU HAVE ONLY 108 ATTEMPTS TO DECRYPT."

"YOU CAN STILL VIEW THE RESULTS OF THE TESTER, HOWEVER. THE RESULTS HAVE NOT BEEN TAMPERED WITH, ONLY ENCRYPTED."

"THIS ENCRYPTION CODE HAS BEEN CREATED BY HOMER SIMPSON. IF YOU WANT THE ENCRYPTION CODE, FIND HIM IN OUTER s.p.a.cE! :P"

When Amelia also saw the pop-up, she was surprised, as this was the first time she had encountered something like this. She briefly looked at Xander who was walking to their location. Xander, acting like he had nothing to do with it, asked politely, "Teachers, may I go now to my cla.s.s?"

Mrs. Carliste bit her lip in frustration, and merely gave a tight smile and nodded in Xander"s question as a response. Xander politely bowed to the two of them before exiting the room and leaving the building. He headed towards the building where Basic Magic Training was being held.

__________________________________

Mrs. Carliste could barely hold off her anger. After seeing that Xander had left the premises, she shouted in anger, screaming out. Now, both Amelia and Mrs. Carliste realized why Brian had screamed in the meeting room. Probably, the test results of this kid were readable, but the specific contents were encrypted as well.

Mrs. Carliste heaved continuously for several breaths, slowly calming herself down. Amelia looked at her, worried.

"Great-grandma, are you ok? It seems your plan with Sir Brian failed." Amelia genuinely stated, blunt and direct. Mrs. Carliste wasn"t affected at all by her words. She merely grunted in response.

They both went to the conference room to see Mr. Brian looking catatonic, and when they were close enough, he snapped up and his face contorted into anger and disappointment.

"Vice-dean! I thought the VR program the university uses was completely controlled by the university? Why did the quantum supercomputer encrypt the results? A 540-character decryption code, no less!" He shouted, a bit confused and angry.

Who was this Homer Simpson, who created this encryption code that can only be attempted 108 times??

"Hmph! The encryption of the VR test results used a maximum of 1080 characters for the decryption code, with only 108 tries to open it! Brian, the initial plan was to check and prove whether your thoughts about this Xander Cloverfield was correct even by placing those questions in the exam! Don"t tell me you don"t know who Homer Simpson is, do you?"