I Became a Law School Genius

Chapter 40

『 Translator – Divinity 』

The morning of the midterm exams finally dawned.

There was nothing to fear.

I had prepared perfectly, as much as humanly possible.

I ran towards the school with a light heart and flung open the door to the classroom designated as the exam hall without a moment’s hesitation.

But something was strange.

Less than 20 minutes remained before the exam started, but I was the only one in the classroom.

After sitting and waiting blankly for a while,

Click.

The door opened, and Shin Seo-joon, with a pale face, poked his head in and shouted,

“The midterm exams have been canceled!”

What? What was he talking about?

“There’s been a murder on campus. And Park Yoo-seung-ssi, you are the prime suspect. Please accompany us to the police station.”

A murder? That couldn’t be. There was still a lot of time left before the latter half of the original story.

And what did he mean by me being a suspect?

Besides, Shin Seo-joon was a Police University graduate, not an active police officer, what right did he have to arrest me?

As countless questions floated around in my head, handcuffs were placed on my wrists.

With a cold metallic click, a hard and chilly sensation brushed against my skin.

Just as I was struggling in bewilderment, wondering what was going on,

“Ah.”

I kicked off the blanket and abruptly sat up in bed.

“…Was it a dream?”

It was the worst nightmare.

It must have been caused by the stress from studying Civil Law until right before falling asleep.

I looked at the clock, it was 6:30.

It had been 3:30 AM when I decided to take a short nap to recover, so I had slept for exactly three hours.

“Well, it wasn’t entirely a nightmare.”

The latter half of the original story took a sharp turn with a suspenseful development, so it was true that a murder and political strife appeared.

And those concerns always lingered in a corner of my mind.

The protagonist, Shin Seo-joon, would eventually solve all the incidents.

The culprit would be arrested, the mastermind would fall, and Hankuk University Law School would return to being a peaceful place of learning.

That was an undeniable fact.

But ‘solving’ an incident also meant that an incident would occur.

Someone would be hurt, suffer, and in severe cases, even die before the protagonist’s actions unfolded.

I couldn’t blame him for that.

The protagonist didn’t know the future.

The problem was that I knew everything that was about to happen.

I couldn’t just turn a blind eye, knowing that a tragedy involving death would occur.

Why did I want to become a prosecutor in the first place?

Wasn’t it to make the world a little less absurd, at least within the reach of my influence?

Therefore, the reason I was currently avoiding getting entangled in the main story wasn’t just for self-preservation.

If everything went according to plan, it wouldn’t be too difficult to prevent the crisis that would befall Hankuk University Law School.

I just had to wait and wait, and then intervene ‘once’, very slightly, at the most crucial moment.

Therefore, for now, I focused on diligently living my life as a law school student.

I studied to build up my skills and made various preparations.

To fulfill my long-held dream from my past life, and to lead this story to a slightly better ending.

For that, I first had to overcome the hurdle of the midterm exams.

Since I was now wide awake anyway, I decided to go to school a little early and continue studying.

While getting ready to leave, I checked today’s fortune on my smartphone.

It might seem surprising, but ever since the days of the bar exam, there were quite a few legal professionals who relied on shamanism or superstitions.

After going through a long and arduous exam preparation period with uncertain outcomes, everyone needed something to lean on.

It was quite ironic that a profession that seemed to require rationality and logic above all else was one of the main customer bases supporting shamans.

But I, who was saying this, was also no exception.

[Today’s Fortune!]

[Please enter your date of birth, name, and gender.]

As I opened the fortune-telling app, I suddenly realized something important.

“…Should I enter Park Yoo-seung’s information or mine?”

Although my soul was mine, my body was Park Yoo-seung’s.

But thinking about it carefully, I didn’t even know Park Yoo-seung’s date of birth.

What webtoon would introduce the birthdate of an extra who only appeared once?

I had no choice but to enter my original information and press enter.

[Wealth: Good. Health: Average. Work/Studies: Best. Love: Good.]

[You, who have always been diligent and hardworking! Today is the day you will be rewarded. People you don’t get along with might try to hinder you, but even that will turn into unexpected luck.]

[Lucky item: Apple-flavored candy]

“Not bad.”

The ‘Work/Studies’ section of this fortune-telling app encompassed studying and exams.

It was a very good sign that it wasn’t just ‘good’ but ‘best’.

Perhaps because I had taken a nap, my physical condition wasn’t bad either.

I took a handful of apple-flavored candies from the candy jar on my desk.

The ‘lucky item’ in this app rotated among a few fixed options.

Naturally, I had all the lucky items prepared.

Since I was checking my fortune anyway, it was more reassuring to follow it perfectly.

Arriving at school, I saw familiar faces leaning against each other in the hallway on the first floor of the law building.

I waved to Han Seol, who looked unusually disheveled.

“You’re here early.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s you. I thought it would be crowded during rush hour, so I woke up early and took the first train.”

Han Seol replied with a tired face.

“How’s your preparation going?”

“Well, I think I’m doomed. I couldn’t memorize anything.”

“You? That can’t be.”

“It’s true. I’ve only reviewed it ten times.”

‘Ten times… only…?’

Today’s subject was Civil Law III.

Including the lecture materials, past exam questions, textbook, and supplementary materials, it was by no means a small amount.

What did she mean by ‘only’ after reviewing it ten times?

It was the epitome of deception, but it also meant she was a perfectionist.

When preparing for exams, Han Seol wouldn’t stop until she had crammed every single letter within the scope into her head.

Whether it was 10 reviews or 20, it didn’t matter.

She would repeat it until she could recite the entire text as if she had scanned it.

But since law was such a vast subject, even she couldn’t physically have enough time to prepare so perfectly.

“Oh, come on.”

Still, annoying was annoying.

I unwrapped a candy I brought to prevent further whining and shoved it into Han Seol’s mouth.

“Hmm?”

Han Seol’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s in surprise.

Well, who told her to be deceitful?

Lee Ha-ru, who had been dozing off next to us, rubbed her eyes and asked in a muffled voice,

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Candy. Apple-flavored. Want one?”

“Yes, please.”

I unwrapped one and handed it to her, and she readily accepted it like a baby bird.

“But why are you here at this hour?”

“I stayed up all night here. A warrior of Criminal Law I, the thrilling last-minute cramming operation.”

“Oh my…”

Lee Ha-ru was still lazy and tended to cut corners, but she was studying more willingly than before.

Even during the pre-law program, it would have been impossible for Lee Ha-ru to voluntarily stay up all night studying.

‘Unless it was for games.’

Perhaps the experience of developing “Effortless” and receiving praise had influenced her.

Indeed, in the original story, there was a mention of Lee Ha-ru achieving great success in the field of Legal Tech after graduation.

She had a lot to contribute in the future. This change was very positive and welcome.

We continued to review the materials we had prepared until right before the exam, checking our memorization one last time, and then moved to the designated exam room.

‘It’s quiet.’

The exam room was silent.

The scratching of pens. The tapping of laptop keyboards.

Except for the slight noises that inevitably accompanied the studying process, it was completely still.

After all, since the nation’s top students were gathered here, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t serious about the exam.

Everyone was focused on studying, praying to be able to write down even one more question, one more line.

After briefly observing them, I took a deep breath to compose myself.

‘It’s really starting now.’

The first exam of the regular semester since I came to this world.

Its meaning was special.

It wasn’t just because of the bet with Park Geon.

The first evaluation in the pre-law program? That was an exam I tackled with only faint old memories and improvisation, completely unprepared.

The quiz? Of course, the amount was considerable, but it was ultimately just a part of the pre-law evaluation process, just a quiz.

There were many competitors who didn’t prepare wholeheartedly or hadn’t fully blossomed yet.

The same went for the second evaluation.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a proper ‘law exam’.

It was filled with questions that seemed designed to select investigators, requiring us to find contradictions in the facts without any memorization.

A true competition where everyone put in the same amount of time, made the most of their preparation, and clashed with all their might.

The first gateway to that grueling process was this midterm exam.

Knowing this, I hadn’t wasted a single minute or second until now.

I didn’t just stop at rehabilitation training to regain my old skills, but I also diligently worked to catch up with the advanced legal theories and precedents.

Honestly, I believed that I had achieved some results.

But I had no intention of being complacent or arrogant.

With a humble mindset of starting anew, I would simply and honestly present what I had built up on the exam paper.

“We will begin the exam shortly. Please put away all the materials you are looking at and turn off your electronic devices so they don’t make any noise. We will distribute exam numbers and check your IDs.”

The invigilators, who had entered at some point, announced the imminent start of the exam.

Thump.

My heart pounded.

No matter how thoroughly I prepared, or rather, the more thoroughly I prepared, the thrill and excitement of this moment were always new.

Nervousness wasn’t a sign of lack of skill or weakness.

It simply showed how serious I was.

Even as the invigilator checked my ID and placed the exam paper and answer sheet on my desk, I didn’t relax.

The first midterm exam.

Just how difficult and tricky would the questions lurking inside be?

My hand, unconsciously clenched with tension, trembled as I held the exam paper.

“We will now begin the exam. Please turn the page.”

As I opened the exam paper at the invigilator’s instruction,

‘What is this?’

I was so dumbfounded that I dropped the exam paper.

‘…This is too easy?’

The exam paper I picked up with a tense heart was filled with questions that were far too familiar.