misread ?

"One by one, students took turns for the test. In reality, it's only been a month since the last test, so the improvement wouldn't be too significant. However, most people looked forward to it.

"Arnold, 73 last time, and 75 this time."

"Charles, 93 last time, and 97 this time."

After the test proctor finished, he looked up and made eye contact with Charles. Charles had an expressionless face; it seemed he had already anticipated this result. After his score was announced, someone quickly guided him.

"Charles, please go over there and wait for registration."

People from surrounding classes also cast envious glances towards Charles. 97! Just a step away from the Awakening threshold. Even without awakening, with this level of original force, he would definitely be accepted into many prestigious institutions within the Wall.

Charles appeared to be accustomed to such attention. He nodded to Jim, then walked towards the direction indicated. Once he turned away from the crowd, a subtle smile finally appeared on his lips.

"This guy must be feeling pretty good about himself, pretending to be so calm." Louisa scoffed. Unlike others, she wasn't nervous at all. She extended her hand, waiting for the result.

"Louisa, 95 last time, and... 101 this time!" The test proctor exclaimed. Hearing his voice, the people around erupted into a commotion. This was definitely a top-three grade-level original force result. Breaking a hundred even before the Awakening ritual greatly increased the chances of Awakening.

"Teacher, I'm going over now." Louisa also greeted Jim. Upon entering the special training class, although they were still officially students of this class, they would basically not attend classes together with the original class in the days ahead.

Jim nodded in satisfaction. Charles and Louisa were his most outstanding disciples. Even in the entire grade, they were among the top.

After a short wait, Duke finally heard his name. He felt his heartbeat accelerate a bit. Although he had received the raw stone and cash from the Enforcement Team, it was far from enough to take his sister out of the slums. Even if he couldn't become an Awakened, he at least needed to be admitted to a reputable war academy. A value below 80 in original force wouldn't cut it.

"Duke, 73 last time, and... actually," in truth, students like Duke, who had slightly above-average original force, didn't attract much attention from bystanders; it was just a cursory glance. But this time, the test proctor's hesitation confused quite a few people.

"Wait, wait a moment, test again." The test proctor looked at the numbers only he could see, doubting his own eyes. Could anyone improve this much in just a month? While Duke was also puzzled, he followed the instruction.

"What's wrong?" Jim noticed the change here. Walking over with his hands behind his back, he patted Duke's shoulder. He liked this student, who was hardworking, driven, and surprisingly mature for his age. 

Jim knew Duke's circumstances weren't great; he had to make do with leftover raw stone from others and helped where he could.

"The numbers are correct." After the test proctor repeatedly confirmed, he looked at Duke with a strange expression. At this moment, many students and teachers were drawn to the situation. Their attention shifted over here.

"Duke, 73 in the previous test, and this time... "

"what's the matter?" Duke inquired, having noticed the pause.

The test proctor stared at the numbers only he could see, then blinked in disbelief. "In just a month... Who can improve this much? Even though I'm surprised, the numbers are right."

"Duke, in the last test, you scored 73, and this time... your original force value is 90."

90! Suddenly, the entire field fell into a stunned silence. While this value wasn't exceedingly high, the contrast between his previous score of 73 and the current one of 90 was drastic!

From 73 to 90, a 17-point increase in original force in just one month! Even geniuses like Charles and Louisa only increased by six points in the same period.

After a brief silence, the first to erupt into noise were the classmates in Duke's class. Arnold enthusiastically pounded Duke's shoulder.

"Oh my god, amazing, amazing! Bro, you've been hiding your talents."

Arnold was almost incoherent.

Louisa, who had just walked a short distance away, turned back at this moment. Her eyes were filled with shock. No one understood better than her what such significant progress within a month meant.

"Teacher Jim, congratulations! Your class has three students with scores above 90. This year's potential is immense."

The test proctor also smiled. After he spoke, he noticed Jim's baffled expression, as if he was a mess in the wind.

By this point, everyone had a rough idea of how many promising students were in each class. Having two such students meant the class was above average, while three indicated excellence.

but this thing is just as important as getting admitted to a prestigious university in the past. It's a crucial measure of a class teacher's competence!

For a moment, many teachers from nearby came over, offering their congratulations to Jim upon hearing the news.

"Ninety already?" Jim's slightly chubby face was blossoming with a smile.

"Three students from your class have achieved this. Well done, Jim. You've given me a big surprise." It wasn't just the other teachers; the dark-skinned grade-level director walked over as well, offering his congratulations.

Even though Duke only scored a 90, just enough to make it into the special training class, by this point, everyone had a fairly good idea of who could make it into that class. Having one more student was an added surprise.

"Hehe." Jim scratched his head, grinning earnestly. Seeing Dennis not far away, he felt a sense of contentment. Congratulations echoed around him. However, Duke himself, the one who should've been most surprised, seemed a bit dazed.

"Life Crystals, this powerful?" Duke knew he had improved significantly, but he had initially been grateful to reach 80. After all, even Charles and the others had only increased by six points in a month. It seemed that Life Crystals were significantly more potent than raw stone!

If he used the crystal fragment from the Second Infected, he wondered if he could break through again. Duke suddenly realized he hadn't valued Life Crystals enough before!

The explosive news spread quickly. It didn't take long for the news that Duke had skyrocketed by 17 points in a month and became a member of the special training class to circulate.

At the assembly point for the special training class, over twenty people had already gathered. They were all prodigies, but their levels of astonishment were no less than anyone else's. After all, they couldn't achieve such growth speed!

Viola and Danny were standing there too, both of them had decent talents and had just managed to make it into the special training class. Upon hearing the news, their casual expressions froze.

"Duke, 90 points?" Viola's face couldn't hide her surprise. She had always been confident in her judgment and wouldn't waste time on useless people, but she also wouldn't miss out on forming connections with potentially promising individuals. However, this time, it seemed she had missed out.

Danny, on the other hand, stood still for a while before grumbling, "I miscalculated. I didn't expect Premium raw stone to be this powerful. If I had known, I should've invested heavily today and bought all those Premium raw stone he had!"

He had initially thought that Duke would approach him for trading afterward, but now Danny realized he had completely misjudged the situation.

"Danny, what's going on? Do you know this person?" Someone nearby was curious.