Proof

That night, the late winter evening was exceptionally peaceful, yet beast-like roars occasionally echoed from a small conference room in the Department of Education building in the provincial capital of Monte Province.

The majesty and aura of an Official Wizard seemed capable of tearing the heavens apart, let alone shattering the fragile tranquility of the night.

His colleague's words finally helped the Deputy Director, an Official Wizard himself, regain his composure.

He took a deep breath and ordered Modi in a tone that was practically a roar:

Establish a special investigation team!

Modi, you will lead the team. You must uncover his shameless cheating methods and expose him to a province-wide public criticism!

Strip him of his qualifications for the advancement exam!

After the Deputy Director left, a colleague approached Modi.

This Lizer is obviously not normal. How could anyone possibly score 300 points!

I am betting he definitely cheated. But even if he did not, Brother Modi, you still need to...

Heh, otherwise, His Excellency might not be satisfied.

Modi wore a bitter expression. He wanted nothing more than to complete the task easily, but a faint, unbelievable worry lingered in his heart—what if Lizer had not cheated at all!

The provincial joint exam drew an immense amount of attention. Under normal circumstances, no student would dare rely on cheating to obtain such an outrageously high score.

That would be like asking for a death wish.

As for framing him...

Let us just say the last person who tried something like that had their grave wiped off the face of the earth.

Within one's scope of authority, using a few privileges to handle minor matters was harmless enough.

However, if one resorted to unscrupulous means to frame someone else, especially concerning the fairness of the national education system, the severity of the offense would be entirely different.

Modi was still reminiscing about the surreal events of the past few days when Lizer's footsteps echoed outside the dean's office door.

Watching the polite and handsome youth push open the door and enter, Modi felt a moment of daze. He sighed inwardly, deliberately put on a stern face, and barked:

Student Lizer!

We have received complaints that you cheated during the provincial joint exam. The Provincial Department of Education has now initiated an official investigation into your final exam results.

If verified, you will be permanently stripped of your qualifications to take the advancement exam.

Hearing this, the expressions of the old dean and Felina, who were standing nearby, drastically changed.

To treat a youth like this, immediately threatening a lifetime ban on advancement exams—how incredibly unfair this was to a genius!

The Provincial Department of Education was crossing the line!

The old dean hesitated, wanting to speak up but not daring to offend the officials from the Provincial Department of Education.

Felina, deeply concerned for her lover, was about to voice her arguments in his defense, but a single glance from Lizer stopped her.

Seeing the panicked expressions on the old dean and Felina's faces, Modi felt a surge of secret satisfaction, assuming his intimidation had successfully controlled the room.

However, Lizer stood opposite him, acting as if nothing had happened at all. This made Modi's heart skip a beat, an inexplicable sense of panic rising within him.

Suppressing his panic, he continued to bark:

Considering you are still young, if you confess honestly, I can return to the department and advocate for a lighter punishment on your behalf!

He paused for a moment, his tone softening slightly as he continued,

I am Modi, Vice Dean of the Examination Board at the Provincial Department of Education. My words carry significant weight within the department.

Child, I hope you cherish this opportunity and confess the truth!

A scare tactic followed by a bluff—did he really think he was dealing with a naive child?

Lizer twitched his lips slightly and mocked,

Is the Provincial Department of Education unable to afford the reward and planning to default on their promise?

The members of the investigation team exchanged bewildered glances. This was entirely different from the scenario they had anticipated.

However, they were just here for the ride anyway. They all turned their gazes uniformly toward Modi, waiting for his next command.

Modi's heart sank, yet he maintained a stubborn front and shouted,

"We suspect you obtained a high score through cheating!"

Lizer shrugged.

"Cheating?

Is that even necessary for such simple questions?

Intimidating a student without a shred of evidence—do you think that's appropriate?

I will file a formal complaint against you to the Ministry of Education through my own channels!"

Modi's expression grew increasingly bitter, but he chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to Lizer. However, since the other party refused to admit it, he was temporarily at a loss for what to do.

Left with no other choice, he followed the plan they had devised prior to arriving and pulled out a theoretical exam paper. This was originally the backup Paper B, which was supposed to be relatively less difficult.

However, to prove Lizer had cheated, the Examination Board had doubled its difficulty, intending to use it to stump him.

Inwardly, Lizer cursed this bunch from the Provincial Department of Education.

But circumstances forced his hand. To prove his innocence, he had no choice but to cooperate and take the exam all over again.

Modi and the inspection team quickly graded the paper against the answer key.

100 points!

Another 100!

This was absolutely absurd!

To score a perfect 100 on such a difficult exam!

Modi's face turned bitter. Had he not been surrounded by people who weren't entirely his own subordinates, and with the Academy Dean and Felina bearing witness, he would have loved to just swallow the exam paper whole.

How the hell could he score a 100 on this?

Had the Examination Board's standards completely gone to the dogs?

Next, Modi forced Lizer to brew the six inferior potions once more to prove he hadn't cheated during the practical assessment.

In truth, cheating on the practical assessment was virtually impossible, as the results were plain for all to see.

By this point, Modi was at his wit's end. One of his trusted aides pulled him aside and whispered,

"He's merely a junior apprentice. To defeat an intermediate golem, he must have used someone else's magical item. We can just claim this violates the fairness of the exam and invalidate his score."

Modi's eyes lit up at the suggestion, though he hesitated slightly.

"But the Provincial Department has no explicit rules forbidding the use of items. Magical items are inherently part of a wizard's strength."

The aide glanced at the composed Lizer and whispered back,

"If the item wasn't his own, we can argue it disrupts fairness! At worst, we can just retroactively issue a regulatory notice when we get back. Right now, the priority is to complete the leader's task."

Modi thought it over and let out a helpless sigh. He found himself missing his distant academy days; doing things like this made him feel increasingly like a stranger to himself.

But cruel reality kept forcing him to do things he despised more and more.

"Student Lizer, although it has been proven that you did not cheat in the first two exams.

But after reviewing and analyzing the examination process, we have determined that the score you obtained in the third combat assessment by using someone else's item is invalid.

Therefore, your score for the third assessment shall be adjusted to zero."

Modi announced his conclusion with a deadpan expression.

Lizer raised an eyebrow and shot back,

"Which official document of the Principality states that items cannot be used during final exams? Are items not considered a part of a wizard's strength?

What about the wizards who specialize in alchemy, then?"

Modi forced a stiff smile and continued to explain,

"Naturally, there is no prohibition against the use of items.

However, if you use an item that belongs to someone else rather than yourself, that constitutes a deliberate disruption of exam fairness.

It goes against the principles of the Crimson Soul Ministry of Education, and thus, the score cannot stand."

Lizer wore a look of utter mockery:

These elites used their privileges to break all sorts of rules, yet they had the nerve to preach to him about fairness.

Besides, who said the item did not belong to him?

Thinking of this, he felt fortunate that he had not used the beast sinew Felina gave him.

Standing off to the side, Felina lost all color in her face the moment she heard Modi's words...

She did not know the entire process of the exam, but she had indeed given her treasured beast sinew to Lizer.

If her treasure caused Lizer to be penalized for cheating...