Chapter 159: Luna, You Cleared It?
Adrian Lancaster clenched his fists, his expression turning ugly.
These questions were nothing like the entertaining ones his older brother had leaked to him before. They were highly professional, and the difficulty had been cranked up.
Just now, his brain couldn’t process the information nearly as fast as Jane Lancaster was rattling off the answers.
Luna Morgan: "I think this is even harder than when we won the championship."
Of course, the questions hadn’t come from Ian Lane’s group, but from Quentin Woods.
He knew several professors who updated the question bank for The Tower of Wit and had pulled some strings to get the real questions.
If the difficulty hadn’t been so high, she wouldn’t have spent all last night researching, only to be forced to send the answers so desperately at the last second.
At the same time, she was confused. ’If Jane Lancaster didn’t see the answers I sent, how did she answer everything so flawlessly?’
She walked over to Adrian Lancaster and murmured in admiration, "Third Brother, you’re really amazing!"
After praising him, she noticed something was wrong. Adrian Lancaster’s expression had grown even fouler.
Ian Lane, thinking no one was watching, tried to sneak away.
"Wait!" Jane Lancaster called out to him. "You accused me of cheating for no reason. Don’t I deserve an explanation?"
"I was tricked by Mia Lanley! I had no idea she was so deranged she would just make things up!" Ian Lane scrambled to distance himself from her.
Jasper Sterling’s voice was indifferent. "So you can’t even manage an apology?"
Ian Lane, his face a mask of frustration, said, "...I’m sorry. I was wrong."
Jane Lancaster: "So, are you still conducting the assessment?"
Ian Lane: "N-No, no more assessment."
"That won’t do!" Quentin Woods, who had been sitting calmly until now, could no longer hold his peace.
He shot Ian Lane a glare. ’This guy is more trouble than he’s worth!’
After composing himself, he spoke up. "For our field of ancient painting, we don’t need to test encyclopedic knowledge. However, we do need to test for perfect color sense. After all, whether it’s restoration, imitation, or rubbing, these techniques demand a high level of color perception from the naked eye. The methods for creating some ancient pigments have been lost, making them difficult to replicate with modern technology. We must rely on observation with our own eyes."
His words made his several apprentices nod in agreement. This was, indeed, a professional requirement.
"My standard for accepting an apprentice is that they must have perfect color sense. Years ago, the Art Association developed a little game for this, with a total of 100 levels. Anyone who can pass level 80 can become my apprentice."
Ian Lane and his group exchanged glances, then lowered their heads without a word.
Jane Lancaster: "So, I can only become your apprentice if I pass level 80?"
Quentin Woods didn’t speak, which was as good as a confirmation.
"Alright then. How about this? All of you form one team, and I’ll be my own team. If any one of you finishes all the levels before I do, you win."
’This old man is trying to trick me. He treasures Luna Morgan because he discovered she could pass level 80.’
’This group clearly doesn’t get the same treatment. Obviously, not a single one of them has passed level 80.’
Hearing this, Alvin Lancaster grew anxious. ’How can this be? The requirement is too high! Who could possibly have the same kind of talent as Luna Morgan?’
Ian Lane was stunned for a moment. "How could anyone possibly finish all the levels? You must have misspoken. You mean pass level 80."
Jane Lancaster amended the rules. "Fine, then. As long as any one of you passes more levels than I do, you win."
Luna Morgan also grew anxious. ’Why is this different from what the professor and I agreed on?’
Although she didn’t know just how absurdly difficult level 80 was, she knew that perfect color sense wasn’t something everyone possessed.
’What do I do? Miss Lancaster definitely can’t win!’
She bit her lip and suddenly said, "To be honest, I also wish to study under Professor Woods. If becoming his apprentice requires passing the perfect color sense test, then I want to join in, too."
Jane Lancaster smiled. "Oh, so you want to compete with me? Alright. You’re in. If you pass more levels than I do, I’ll consider it my loss."
"That’s not..." ’I’m trying to help you!’
Jane Lancaster: "Alright, it’s settled then."
Ian Lane’s group couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’This is hilarious. How could someone be so stupid as to compete with Luna Morgan in perfect color sense?’
’Talent isn’t something you can gain just by working hard.’
"Are you just making an excuse for your failure in advance?" That way, even if she lost, she could argue that the odds were stacked against her.
She could also shamelessly continue to pester Professor Woods, begging him to take her as an apprentice.
Jane Lancaster glanced at the speaker and praised, "You’re so smart."
Ian Lane was speechless. ’She’s so shameless.’
All the participants were invited onto the stage. Each held their own phone, and at Jasper Sterling’s signal, the group began answering questions at lightning speed.
The game’s setup was simple: either pick the different-colored block or arrange color swatches in order.
This mini-game had been created by a few incredibly talented masters from the art academy. Its difficulty reached an insane level, shattering the confidence of so many students that it was eventually abandoned completely.
Ian Lane had played it before and hadn’t even been able to pass level 50. Playing it now, the pressure was immense.
The audience members joined in on the fun, downloading the game to play along. But just a few minutes after it started, the sound of failure effects began to ring out one after another.
"I can’t do it. My eyes are playing tricks on me."
"What kind of insane questions are these? They all look the same to me!"
"This color sorting is nuts! Aren’t these five swatches completely identical?"
Gradually, all the audience members failed, leaving only the few people on stage still competing.
Ian Lane passed level 50 and was thrilled. ’I broke my own record!’
He pumped his fist. ’Yes! I can totally brag about this!’
When he looked up, he saw Jane Lancaster watching him.
"You failed?" he blurted out, not at all surprised. ’Does she really think this is some simple game?’
Jane Lancaster: "You’re the one who failed."
Ian Lane paid her no mind and went back to his game screen.
The game was timed, and waiting counted against him. He had to hurry and pass the next level, beat the clock, and give her an even bigger shock!
After struggling through two more levels, he was utterly defeated. The failure sound effect played from his phone, and his final score popped up.
Luna Morgan had been keeping an eye on Jane Lancaster’s progress and had deliberately slowed her own pace.
She hadn’t heard the failure sound effect from Jane’s side, so she assumed Jane was just progressing very slowly.
"You need to hurry and pass the levels. You only get more time by passing them. If you time out, the system will automatically count it as a failure," she reminded her in a low voice.
She was just about to peek at Jane Lancaster’s screen to give her a hint when Jane unexpectedly blocked the phone from view.
"You’ve misunderstood me. I wasn’t trying to peek at your answers..."
It was impossible to copy answers in this game anyway, because the options were randomized every time.
Someone with poor color sense would never be able to tell the difference between the options no matter what.
Luna Morgan started to worry. ’What am I going to do? Miss Lancaster isn’t going to lose horribly, is she?’
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a sound effect came from Jane Lancaster’s phone. ’Did her time run out? Did she fail?’
Feeling a bit of pity, she looked down and submitted her answer for question 79, only to suddenly realize something.
"Luna, did you clear all the levels?" Quentin Woods shot to his feet, staring at her with a look of delighted surprise.