Free Web NovelChapter 47: Chapter 45: Cracking the Hidden Assessment
The difficulty of the Five-Ring Nesting Subsequence Solution was immense, far exceeding the level of an ordinary newcomer.
Newcomers without a solid Divination Foundation wouldn’t even be able to tell how many layers of nesting it contained.
The vast majority of First Level Apprentices, and even many Second Level Apprentices, would likely be unable to solve it.
But for Mo Ning, this was far too simple.
A breath later.
Lines of Divination symbols flashed rapidly across the Light Curtain, like a cascading waterfall or a flowing river of stars.
The result of the calculation quickly appeared: 5◎.
Mo Ning looked at the result and couldn’t help but laugh. "I can’t believe this is the answer."
In terms of Divination, "◎" represented the constant for ultra-long-range Magic Power response.
And in terms of the symbol’s shape, "◎" represented concentric rings. Wasn’t "5◎" simply "Five-Ring Nesting"?
The puzzle-setter had reduced the final answer to the simplest of symbols, yet reaching it required one to cut through layer upon layer of fog.
This cleverness—reducing the complex to the simple, hiding the profound within the obvious—filled Mo Ning with an irrepressible sense of admiration.
He asked himself honestly, ’If I were in the puzzle-setter’s shoes, I doubt I’d have the ability to design such an ingenious assessment.’
Mo Ning even had a gut feeling. ’The designer of this assessment is likely a Second Level Wizard.’
The ingenuity of the puzzle was too brilliant. It was likely beyond the capabilities of a First Level Wizard.
This made him anticipate the final reward even more. ’I hope it doesn’t disappoint me.’
Mo Ning didn’t wait any longer.
He took a deep breath and mentally touched the Guiding Ring on his left index finger. A wisp of thought, like a silken thread, was quietly transmitted:
[I have discovered a hidden assessment based on the changing scene outside the full-length window. I wish to submit my answer.]
A full ten seconds passed.
It was long enough that Mo Ning began to wonder if he had made a mistake. ’Was this not an assessment at all? Was I just over-analyzing the scenery outside the window?’
Finally, a familiar coolness emanated from the Guiding Ring.
A message belatedly arrived:
[Assessment Prompt: Serial No. 7-118-256, Mo Ning.]
[You have initiated the hidden assessment: "Divination Puzzle Hidden in the Scenery." Please submit the correct answer within half an hour.]
Mo Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
’I knew I wasn’t mistaken!’
The messages continued to appear:
[Prompt One: If the answer is not submitted by the deadline, or if the answer is incorrect, this assessment will be permanently closed and cannot be initiated again.]
[Prompt Two: Please submit an answer that includes your complete problem-solving process. The more complete your reasoning, the higher your final evaluation will be.]
Mo Ning paused for a moment.
’The complete process? Are they worried I might cheat?’
But this was very typical of Wizards.
They didn’t just want an answer; they wanted the process. They didn’t just want a result; they wanted to know how you reached it.
Mo Ning immediately turned, trotting back to his desk and sitting down.
He quickly pulled out a blank sheet of scale pattern paper, grabbed the Ink Tube Pen in his right hand, and began to write furiously.
Meanwhile.
At his command, the Eye of Truth had already compiled an "answer sheet" with elegant phrasing, rigorous logic, and an exceptionally clear reasoning process.
From the symbolic meaning of the Tower Push War chess pieces to the extraction and classification of the Divination symbols;
From the deduction of "Angelon" as the core variable, to the identification of the Kaleidoscope Subsequence Solution, and finally to the derivation of the answer "5◎"—every step was substantiated, and every link was seamless.
All Mo Ning had to do was "transcribe" it in its entirety.
The tip of the pen flew across the surface of the paper, emitting a soft, scratching sound.
As he wrote furiously, another thought occurred to him. ’There seems to be a small trap hidden in this assessment.’
If someone had been lucky enough to find the clue and had impatiently initiated the assessment on the spot, they would have discovered a frustrating fact: there was simply not enough time to calculate the answer.
In just half an hour, faced with over three hundred symbols and hundreds of millions of combinations, even a Third Level Apprentice could only stare in helpless dismay.
This design clearly concealed a purpose: the academy did not encourage Apprentices to act rashly without ample preparation.
This applied not only to assessments but to all other matters as well.
Be calm, be prepared, calculate, and only then act. This was the proper way of a Wizard.
Only three minutes had passed.
Mo Ning had already filled two sheets of scale pattern paper.
He set down the Ink Tube Pen, raised his left hand, and aimed the face of the Guiding Ring at his written answer.
A flash of light appeared and vanished in an instant.
The answer was submitted.
Mo Ning leaned back in his chair and let out a long, deep breath.
Five seconds later.
The feedback finally arrived.
To Mo Ning’s surprise, this time it wasn’t a stream of information poured directly into his mind.
Instead, the academy’s Witch Spirit—its mechanical voice devoid of any emotional inflection—rang out of thin air beside his ear.
[Assessment Prompt: Serial No. 7-118-256, Mo Ning.]
[Assessment Evaluation: Hidden assessment problem-solving process, complete. Evaluation: Excellent. Deduction process, rigorous; result, correct. Evaluation: Excellent. Comprehensive Evaluation—Excellent!]
The corners of Mo Ning’s lips immediately curled into a smile.
An "Excellent" result was exactly what he had expected.
He also realized something exciting: the judge had been the Witch Spirit itself.
This meant the hidden assessment was of a high caliber, not just some minor quiz tossed out by a random Wizard.
And that, in turn, meant one thing: the final reward would be anything but simple.
But in the next second.
The smile on Mo Ning’s lips faded slightly.
The mechanical voice spoke again:
[As per the puzzle-setter’s request, you must answer one question. The final reward will be determined by your response.]
Mo Ning was a bit stunned.
’There’s another question?’
He immediately realized the assessment’s reward was split into two parts.
The first was a basic reward.
You could get it just by passing the assessment.
The second was an additional reward.
And this so-called "question" meant he had to deduce the puzzle-setter’s intentions and provide an answer that would satisfy them.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t get the additional reward—or at best, would only receive a small portion of it.
The Witch Spirit read the question aloud:
[Regarding the Divination Chess game "Tower Push War," which famous historical match is your favorite?]
[You have thirty seconds to answer this question. Failure to answer before the time limit, or providing an incorrect answer, will be considered a failure.]
Mo Ning sank into deep thought.
He knew at once that the assessment’s designer was raising the bar even higher.
Anyone with a basic understanding of Tower Push War, a so-called "casual fan," could grasp the symbolism of each piece and find the correct approach to solving the puzzle.
But this question was one only a true aficionado could answer.
The logic was simple: if you weren’t a true enthusiast, why would you spend time poring over historical matches in books?
Such a person would have to be a "die-hard fan."
In other words, the question concealed the designer’s true intent: they were only willing to grant the additional reward to a genuine Tower Push War enthusiast.
Strictly speaking, Mo Ning was not a die-hard fan.
Having transmigrated only half a year ago, he hadn’t had the time to become one.
But he had the Cheater.
Back in the Royal Library, he had casually flipped through numerous books on Divination Chess, including many game records.
And any book worthy of a place in the Royal Library was no mere filler; every collection of game records was a classic of the classics.
He had only given them a cursory glance—truly cursory, spending an average of no more than five minutes on each collection—but the Insightful Secret Eye had recorded every single one in its entirety.
At this moment.
Mo Ning’s thoughts stirred.
An illusory eyeball materialized from thin air. A Nebula swirled in the depths of its pupil, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.
He spent a moment carefully pondering the puzzle-setter’s mindset, then gave a command in his mind:
’Filter the famous game records of Tower Push War. Select the matches that meet the following two criteria.
’First, the winning player must have secretly laid the groundwork for the ’decisive winning move’ early in the game, a move that would ultimately determine the final outcome.
’Second, the winning player must have been at a clear disadvantage in the early game, their position perilous, but they ultimately endured.
’Then, in the late game, they relied on that decisive move laid in the beginning to turn the tables in one fell swoop and seize victory.’
The first criterion targeted the puzzle-setter’s psychology.
Mo Ning strongly suspected that the puzzle-setter had designed the hidden assessment with their favorite historical match as a reference.
The key clues for the hidden assessment were cleverly concealed within the five landscape paintings, and those paintings represented the opening of the assessment.
Based on that, couldn’t one assume that the "decisive winning move" of the game was also laid during the opening?
Mo Ning believed so.
The second criterion targeted human nature.
Facing a powerful opponent, being beaten into a corner in the early stages, forced to endure and struggle.
In the mid-game, gradually gaining strength, clawing back from the brink of defeat.
And in the late game, unleashing a series of brilliant moves to win the most critical battle, achieving a stunning comeback victory.
Wasn’t this the most standard power-fantasy storyline?
Anyone—human or not—loves that kind of drama.
Those stories of rising from the lowest valley to the highest peak, those legends of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat—the reason they are retold over millennia is because they touch upon the most primal desires of human nature.
Mo Ning felt the puzzle-setter would be no exception.
Half a second later.
Two illusory chessboards appeared before him.
The boards were perfectly square, with over two hundred intersecting spaces occupied by scattered pieces of six different colors.
They were two completely different endgames from two completely different famous historical matches.
The Eye of Truth also provided a corresponding explanation:
[The historical master games hailed as the "Era Double Bureau"—one called "Desperate Beacon Fire," the other "Desperate Trapped Dragon"—have a 99.78% probability of matching your search criteria.]
Mo Ning froze.
The Witch Spirit had asked for "which famous historical match," implying there was only one.
So why did his cheat find two?
His mind went blank for a second, then a powerful wave of self-doubt washed over him. ’Was my entire line of reasoning wrong?’
The doubt lasted only for a moment before Mo Ning decisively dismissed it.
He muttered to himself:
’No! I’m not wrong!
’From the moment I discovered the hidden assessment to when I submitted my answer, the Witch Spirit’s feedback was "Excellent."
’That proves I accurately grasped the puzzle-setter’s mindset. The chances of me making a mistake now are slim.’
A thought lit up in the depths of his consciousness like a lamp in the dead of night:
’Considering this Wizard’s style, since the problem-solving part of the assessment was so difficult, this question probably isn’t simple either.’
’So, there must be a trap hidden here.
’The Witch Spirit’s reference to "a match" is very likely a deliberate misdirection.
’If I take the Witch Spirit’s words at face value, I’ll miss the correct answer.’
Mo Ning’s expression grew calm, and he answered in a steady voice:
"My favorite famous historical matches are not one, but two. They are—"
With a faint trace of apprehension, he spoke the answer: "’Desperate Beacon Fire’ and ’Desperate Trapped Dragon.’"
The silence lasted for a second.
Then,
the Witch Spirit’s mechanical voice rang out, devoid of emotion, yet at that moment it sounded sweeter than any symphony:
[Your answer is satisfactory.]
A spark of what could only be called delighted surprise instantly ignited in Mo Ning’s eyes.
