Proulog

In a coastal village, a crescent moon shone brightly in the darkness of the night sky. In one of the rooms of a modest house, the sound of typing and whispers could be heard, breaking the silence.

“N-Name Rei Hanna... From Japan.”

Click.

A long-haired girl straightened her body. Her laptop screen changed and displayed some writing.

Number of applicants this year: 87,421.

Number of academic exam admissions: 600.

Number of interview admissions: 120.

“Huh?!” The writing made Rei lean her body closer. “Eighty-seven thousand.”

She clenched her fists. “S-So many.” The laptop screen changed again, displaying several types of questions.

Electrical.

Chemistry.

Mathematics.

Logic.

And so on.

The blue-eyed girl's eyes widened, her heart beating fast. But she quickly shook her head. “No, no.”

She slowly patted both of her cheeks.

Slap.

Slap.

“You've been studying for years for this, Rei.” She took a deep breath. “Let's start.”

Time: 120 minutes.

Rei looked at her first question. “Name several elements in the periodic table.” She thought for a moment before typing her answer. “Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, and Aluminum.”

Click.

Time continued to pass, the sound of crickets could be faintly heard from outside. Rei's expression became more serious as she worked on several questions.

Time: 83 minutes.

“Hmm?”

She stopped while reading one of the questions. “Name at least 5 electrical components.” Her forehead furrowed and her eyes moved downward. “Mmm...”

“I only know three.”

She then typed her answer. “Diode, Resistor, and Inductor.”

Click.

After that, Rei continued working on several questions that appeared. Sometimes she bit her pencil while thinking hard.

Sweat began to drip from her chin. Time continued to decrease.

64 minutes.

41 minutes.

27 minutes.

When there were 19 minutes left, Rei stopped for a moment. “3 machines produce 90 items in 6 hours, at the same speed.” Her hand became limp. “How many items can 5 machines produce in 4 hours...?”

Rei swallowed. “Umm...” She closed her eyes for a few moments. “This is my only chance.” Rei slowly opened her eyes. “I won't give up, I've worked hard for this exam.”

The girl reached for her pencil and paper. She wrote on the paper and calculated it. “I'll try using the direct proportion method.”

3 machines = 90 items = 6 hours.

5 machines = ? = 4 hours.

“So...”

90 x (5/3) x (4/6).

“The result is...” Rei stopped writing. “100 items.” She pressed the keyboard again.

Click.

Rei continued working on the exam, wiping away the sweat that was flowing more heavily down her chin. Occasionally, Rei skipped questions she couldn't answer.

“Create a ladder diagram based on the following case study?”

Skip.

“A mysterious serial killer who terrorized the poor area of Whitechapel in London, England, in 1888?”

Skip.

“A particle is in the ground state of a one-dimensional infinite potential well with a width of L. Suddenly, the wall on the right side of the well is instantly shifted, making its width 2L. What is the probability of finding the particle in the ground state of the new potential well...?”

Skip.

“Hahhh.” Rei let out a long breath, but she still answered the questions she was able to solve.

When she faced the final 20 questions, her eyes blinked in confusion. “These questions... They're so weird.”

She raised her shoulders. “I'll answer them as best as I can,” she muttered while continuing to type her answers.

Question after question, she answered them, until finally.

Time: 2 minutes, 17 seconds.

Click.

Rei immediately straightened her body in the chair. “Phew...” She wiped the sweat from her forehead. “It's finally over.”