The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114

And then came the long-awaited day of the examination.
Before taking the test, Leoryna had prepared tea to drink with Khalid. Of course, a carefully concocted elixir was already mixed into that tea, and concealed among her hair strands was a receiver disguised as a hairpin.
“Professor, we have some time before the exam. Would you like a cup of tea to help calm your mind?”
“That sounds good.”
Thanks to Leoryna, drinking tea at this hour had become routine for Khalid, and he sipped the cup she offered without a shred of suspicion.
After finishing his tea, Khalid placed a clock-shaped magical artifact on the desk where Leoryna was to take the exam.
“I don’t think it will happen, but you know that if the anti-cheating magical artifact activates, you’ll be held back without even a chance for a retake, right?”
“Yes, of course, Professor. How could I ever dare to cheat?”
Leoryna spoke with spirited confidence.
“I studied so hard!”
“Yes, I trust you.”
Khalid nodded with satisfaction, and Pongko watched from beside him with a subtle smile.
‘Khalid can be surprisingly naive sometimes.’
And at that moment, Leoryna could hear Khalid’s thoughts.
-Anyone should be able to solve this much.
Hearing the voice clearly in her mind, Leoryna nodded inwardly with satisfaction.
‘Oh, good. The elixir and receiver are working properly.’
Meanwhile, Khalid handed Leoryna the prepared exam papers and answer sheets.
“Alright, let’s begin the exam now.”
Leoryna glanced at the clock and looked at the exam papers he handed her with a light heart.
There weren’t many questions on the exam. Just ten problems—five multiple choice and five essay questions.
But contrary to Khalid’s expectations, the first problem contained a rather complex magical formula that Leoryna had never seen before in her life.
Even though Leoryna hadn’t studied for the exam, she was certain that this level of problem was something no one could solve with ordinary exam preparation.
Leoryna refocused her concentration. She could solve it by reading Khalid’s thoughts flowing through the receiver.
-This is a magical formula applied from my previous research. You’d remember it, right? If it’s you, Leoryna, you’d know it’s number 5 without much thought.
‘Thank you.’
Leoryna pretended to think for a moment, then wrote 5 on the answer sheet. Khalid’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he felt proud of Leoryna.
-As expected…! Leoryna, I knew I could trust you!
Leoryna felt a pang of conscience at Khalid’s thoughts.
Composing herself, she hesitated again at the second problem. The only thing she could understand in that problem was the number 2, which was the question number.
Leoryna glanced at Khalid to hear what he was thinking, but this time no thoughts came through. So she was tapping her pen vaguely above option 4 when Khalid’s voice suddenly erupted in her mind.
-No! Not 4! That’s a trap—the real answer is 1!
This time too, Khalid’s expression remained calm, but internally he was bursting. Leoryna nodded as if she understood, then wrote 1 on the answer sheet.
-Hey, hey, I knew I could trust you!
Once again, Khalid sent complete trust toward Leoryna, secretly proud that his student was so brilliant.
The remaining exam questions followed the same pattern.
-For this problem, the mana calculation formula is important, so if you solve it this way and that way…
-If we apply this method and that method, the answer would be….
Leoryna began writing out the answers according to Khalid’s inner thoughts, flowing effortlessly.
Of course, solving everything flawlessly from the start would raise suspicion, so on the essay questions she intentionally included a few minor errors to lose some points, controlled her solving speed with proper time management, and submitted her answer sheet to Khalid fifty-five minutes after the exam began.
Khalid stroked his chin as he read through Leoryna’s answer sheet again.
Since he had only one graduate student, grading didn’t take long. Besides, he’d watched her entire solution process, so he’d already roughly determined her score in his mind.
“Hmm….”
He marked the incorrect parts with a red pen, assigned the final score, and returned the sheet to Leoryna.
“You passed the exam. Good work.”
Though Khalid’s expression remained indifferent as he spoke, his inner thoughts were quite different. Though it wasn’t a perfect score, upon seeing Leoryna’s answer sheet, Khalid was internally giddy with excitement.
-I was worried I’d made it too difficult, but I never expected her to solve it this well…! Could my student actually be a genius?
“Yes!”
Leoryna cheered aloud while laughing wickedly to herself.
‘Hehehehe… Now I can go home, wash up, and sleep.’
“Thank you, Professor. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
As Leoryna bowed politely, Khalid tilted his head.
“Where are you going?”
“Pardon? The exam is over, so I was heading home.”
But Khalid blinked his eyes and spoke.
“You need to grade the undergraduate exams. The scores have to be finalized by today so we can prepare for the makeup exam.”
‘Ugh, damn it!’
Thanks to Khalid assigning her more work immediately after the exam ended, Leoryna ground her teeth.
‘Damn bastard… if you’re like that, then so be it.’
“But I just took an exam. Couldn’t I rest for a bit?”
Leoryna put on a pitiful expression, but Khalid shook his head.
“No, it has to be done today. We can’t miss the grade correction deadline.”
At those words, Leoryna grumbled and set down her bag.
Leoryna began grading with bleary eyes as she looked at the exam answer sheets Khalid had given her.
-Was I too harsh?
As she openly moved her pen with a tired face, Khalid showed a hint of sympathy internally. Noticing this, Leoryna watched for his reaction.
‘Could he be sending me home?’
However, contrary to Leoryna’s hopes, Khalid turned his body and left the Research Laboratory, saying:
“I’ll be in my office, so come find me if you have any questions while grading.”
‘You bastard.’
Leoryna ground her teeth.

* * *

How much grading had I actually completed? With the thought that yesterday was my last night of freedom, I’d stayed up all night playing poker remotely with Zeles before finally collapsing into sleep. Now exhaustion crashed over me like a wave.
That was when it happened.
-Argh! Damn it! Damn iiiiiit!
I rubbed my eyes, then flinched violently at the sound suddenly echoing through my mind.
The voice belonged to Khalid.
“What’s wrong, Leoryna?”
Pongko, who had been sleeping at my feet, asked with a bewildered expression. In that moment, I realized he couldn’t hear the sound I had just heard.
-No matter how much I think about it, I keep getting stuck at this part! What’s the problem?! What on earth is wrong?!
Khalid should be in his office right now. There was no way his voice could reach the Research Laboratory. If that was the case, then this must be… his inner thoughts.
“The effects of this elixir last this long?”
I tilted my head and squinted my eyes. I was certain I’d been told the duration was roughly one hour, yet two hours had already passed since I consumed the elixir.
“This is strange. I keep hearing Khalid’s inner voice.”
“Has the time limit not expired?”
Pongko looked puzzled, and I answered him while rising from my seat.
“That’s right. The time definitely should have passed… but something’s wrong. Let me go check on Khalid.”
As Pongko and I made our way toward the Professor’s Office, Khalid continued to spew curses internally like someone having a fit.
-No, this can’t be wrong… this magic should definitely work if I use it this way.
When I knocked on the office door, Khalid’s irritation flared up inside his mind.
-I’m swamped with work—who the hell is showing up now?!
‘So much for his character…’
I cleared my throat before speaking.
“It’s me, Professor.”
“Leoryna? Ah, wait. Don’t come in! Hold on!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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