A while later… The fiery sun could now be seen rising among the skyline of the Veracity Virtual World.

Simon slowly closed a book before yawning and standing up to stretch.

‘That should be the last one for now.’ He thought with a satisfied expression, as he gazed at the towering pile of books next to him.

By now, he could sense that his depth of knowledge in the various sciences had deepened considerably in these past couple of hours. After all, he was basically submerged in a sea of knowledge... how could he not improve?

Subsequently, his prowess in magic improved considerably as well in this time. If he were to guess, all of his spells were now 20% stronger, took 20% less mana to use, and were 20% faster to cast.

It has to be known that even a 5% increase in power would be a joyous event, to say nothing of 20%... this change in strength was absolutely appalling!

Still, this speed of improvement was not out of place. After all, he had the unique advantage of having the combined insights of two separate civilizations.

No one else quite had this opportunity, and he sure as hell made use of it!

Simon then whipped out his phone and checked the time.

‘Mm indeed, my first class is in 10 minutes,’ he nodded.

Then, he picked up the towering pile of books next to him and walked up to the closest ‘Book ATM’, before slotting them one by one into a certain compartment within the machine - they were to be automatically returned to their proper places on the bookshelves.

Then, he stepped into a tube and was promptly sent back up to the surface.

-----

Within the Laboratory House in the Veracity Virtual World.

A rather despondent looking man who seemed to be in his sixties was currently sitting tinkering with a simulation.

Suddenly, as if having realized something, he stood up and checked his phone.

“I guess it's time for my lecture, huh.” he muttered to himself, before wrapping his experiments up and heading towards the Center of Learning.

…

By the time he made it to his lecture room, there were almost a hundred scholars respectfully sitting down, waiting for his arrival.

Most of them were familiar faces that he had seen before in the Virtual World, with only one or two of them being unfamiliar. But considering that he only lectured once a week, it wasn’t unexpected that there would be a few new faces.

When everyone saw him walk up to the front, the class immediately settled down. After all, this was no playground; it was one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.

When he reached the front, he cleared his throat before speaking up. “Welcome everyone, to the intermediate course of Thermodynamics. You can call me Professor Virilis.”

His gaze swept through the crowd as he continued. “This course starts today, and it will end in four months. The same rules apply: Attendance is mandatory for at least half of the lessons, failing courses twice in a row leads to expulsion, and those who pass with at least a grade of B will be able to participate in the advanced course. Any questions?”

Seeing that no one replied, he continued on…

Though he seemed casual in his introduction, in reality, he had researched each and every scholar taking part in his course extensively. Thus, when he explained topics and asked questions, he targeted certain scholars at a time, providing invaluable guidance to everyone present.

After all, though he was an official member of the Veracity Team, each of the nearly hundred scholars before him were the most talented and brightest figures of the newest generation. And though very few of them would eventually make it to the research team, they were still all given a fair chance.

There was a reason why research schools were known as the best of the best… If all they did were listen to lectures and take tests, it would be no different from a regular university.

The only reason why they were not taught in smaller groups was because there simply were not enough freakishly capable teachers out there. But as a result of the stringent requirements on the teachers, every scrap of knowledge that parted from their mouths was bound to be profound and invaluable.

And so, the many scholars listened on, enamored with his wondrous explanations and words of guidance.

...

Soon enough, the lengthy lecture came to an end, and everyone had already left the room - including Professor Virilis - who was back in the Laboratory House.

Towards the end of the two hour session, he had everyone complete a quiz, and asked for the process in which they went about solving the problems. This was in order for him to gain insights into the minds of the many scholars whom he was responsible for teaching.

And so, he was currently skimming through the replies whilst lounging in the Laboratory House.

But as he continued on, his eyes widened to the point of bulging outwards.

“What?!” he couldn’t help but to exclaim, clutching the paper fixedly.

One of the quizzes that he had received contained a number of unique and profound insights into Thermodynamics that left even him, a master of the subject... completely awestruck.

The mindset of the scholar that answered this quiz was truly inscrutable. His way of thinking was completely unique, and inspired insights with ease!

After a moment of contemplation, Virilis’s normally despondent face turned into one of boundless joy, as a sudden stroke of inspiration hit him.

“Aha, so that was the final piece of the theorem! It was actually that simple… that simple…” he laughed wildly with abandon, his eyes reddening slightly.

At this very moment, he had just solved a theorem that had been troubling him greatly with the help of this spark of insight!

After laughing for a while, he finally managed to calm himself down.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but to ruefully muse over his situation...

Over the past few decades Virilis had been slaving away at a theorem that he deemed to be the culmination of his life’s work. He could vividly remember that day… where he swore to the heavens that he would one day complete the theorem!

At first, he had progressed relatively unimpeded. But after a single decade, he no longer could make significant strides in his progress. However, as a veritable expert, how could his will possibly be weak?

As such, he continued on tirelessly for many years, until the present day…

By now, he was widely known as the most depressed member of the research team. Over the passage of time, many have tried to convince him to simply give up. But he was a man of extreme resolve! He was simply too stubborn to give up.

It seemed as if this theorem was destined to forever plague him. But now… it seemed as if he were finally released from his curse.

“To think that this kid in his twenties actually provided me with the final spark of insight. Impressive!” he exclaimed with a glow in his eyes.

From this moment on, a crushing weight seemed to be taken off of his shoulders... For the first time in years, he truly felt happy.

-----

Meanwhile, the perpetrator himself was completely oblivious. After all, Simon had just casually written some of his insights into hot and cold magic onto paper. How could he possibly have expected such a thing to happen?

It has to be known that just as science was impressive to Simon, magic was impressive to scientists. After all, they were two sides of the same coin… to join them together? Of course it would be beneficial!

Simon had simply underestimated the uniqueness of his knowledge and subsequently, his mindset.

And so, he simply went on to his next course obliviously and joyfully.

In the Veracity Research School, there were two types of courses: Lectures, and guidance.

Lectures were generally not as specialized, and for the less talented members of the research school. But still, they were impressive courses that were worthy of respect.

Guidance on the other hand, was highly specialized based on the person. The way it worked was that certain members of the Veracity Team would announce that they were taking on a disciple a month prior to their selection.

Afterwards, once a month had passed, a disciple would of course, be selected from a number of potential candidates. Naturally, only the most talented researchers would get chosen, and their improvements would be faster under the direct guidance of a master!

On this day, there just so happened to be a course that just began - Intermediate Thermodynamics. So of course, he took it.

As for masters looking for disciples? Though there was one today, Simon was not interested in any ‘typical’ figures from within the Veracity Research Team.

After all, he had his own measure of pride as an ex-farming genius. As he was not yet at a bottleneck for knowledge, he did not have a particularly urgent need for accepting a master. Only when he felt his intake of knowledge slowing, would he consider looking for one.

It also has to be known that one could listen on in any course that one wished to listen on in. However, it was only that - listening in.

The professor would spend no extra effort on the passersby, and similarly would not test them. Still, Simon didn’t mind all too much, and so he spent the rest of the day listening in on various lectures and deepening his knowledge.