I Got an Omnipotent Brain Chapter 66

Translator: Dreamscribe

"Seo-ha! Didn’t I tell you? If you just learn the Rabona kick and the step-over, you’ll never be outclassed anywhere!"

Ki-bum’s shout echoed loudly across the schoolyard.

At sunset, three boys were kicking a ball around on the soccer field.

Seo-ha had received a ssage from Tae-jin telling him he had sothing important to say and to make sure to co to school. He hadn’t known it would be about soccer.

"What’s the key to a good step-over?"

At Ki-bum’s question, Seo-ha gave the answer that had been drilled into him.

"St...style?"

"Exactly! It’s all about looking cool. Even if the opponent doesn’t fall for it, if the people watching are impressed, then it’s a success."

Tae-jin cut in, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"Hey! Isn’t that a bit much?"

"No, I’m telling you I’m right. Seo-ha’s arms and legs are all long, so if he just pulls off a few tricks, he’ll beco a star in no ti. The key is to leave a strong impact early on."

Seo-ha asked anxiously.

"But what if we lose the ga?"

Ki-bum walked up to Seo-ha and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen carefully, Seo-ha. You may like soccer, but you’re not planning to go pro, right?"

"Right."

"Then this is the way to go. Who even rembers the win or loss in neighborhood soccer gas?

But if you pull off a clean step-over just once, the guys will talk about it for a week.

Especially the girls. They’ll go nuts over it. If you look cool, you’ve already won, regardless of the result."

There was a strange persuasiveness to Ki-bum’s words. Seo-ha nodded with a serious expression.

"For the Rabona, arm movent is important. You need to naturally spread your arms at the mont of impact to keep your balance."

Under the guidance of the two, Seo-ha attempted the Rabona kick several tis.

The ball mostly flew in the wrong direction, and Seo-ha often lost his balance and tumbled on the grass.

But after quite a bit of practice, his form began to co together little by little.

"That’s it! That one was perfect."

"Your form’s on point."

The two of them had been worried that Seo-ha, who had been extrely shy at the beginning of the sester, might struggle to adjust in the US.

So what they ca up with was a soccer trick that would instantly turn Seo-ha into a popular kid.

Pooongㅡ.

After dozens of tries, a Rabona kick with proper impact finally curved into the goal.

"I did it!"

"Great job!"

"Yes!"

The three of them hugged each other in joy.

Whether it would have the desired effect or not, one thing was for sure, they had fun.

***

"Maybe there was an accident."

Woo-hyun muttered quietly as he checked the ti on his phone.

The roads, usually quiet around this ti, were strangely congested today.

He glanced at the gift box placed on the passenger seat, and as soon as the traffic light changed, he stepped on the accelerator.

Vroomㅡ.

A few days ago, Woo-hyun had received a call from Seo-ha.

-Teacher, you’ll co to the graduation ceremony, right?

After hanging up, Woo-hyun checked his face in the mirror.

"Maybe because I’ve been sleeping well? My skin looks fresh."

The fluorescent lights of the lab that used to haunt him every night,

The cold gaze of Elijah Cronen reviewing his thesis, himself so tense he could barely breathe, those scenes were still vivid.

"This place isn’t normal. You should get out while you can."

The image of his colleagues shaking their heads as they packed up.

"I thought I’d be different."

But half a year later, Woo-hyun left the lab looking exactly like them.

He thought he could forget if he beca successful and made a lot of money.

His lectures went well.

Woo-hyun was a natural perforr, and the students responded passionately to his delivery.

"Teacher! After taking your class, my math grade jumped three levels."

"I got into college. I’ll always be grateful to you, sir!"

"My child was able to get a top grade thanks to you, teacher. Thank you so much."

There was a sense of fulfillnt.

From the chalkboard work, to the timing of his scolding, to when to crack a joke, every part of the class was ticulously calculated.

At so point, people started calling him a “top-tier instructor”.

Students and parents treated him like a god, and even the dia industry reached out often.

Every ti he saw his face on a giant outdoor billboard, Woo-hyun felt embarrassed.

Luxury apartnts, expensive sports cars, numbers piling up in his bank account.

But the nightmares still wouldn’t go away.

"Damn you, Elijah Cronen!"

Even cursing him changed nothing.

The reason was simple.

The one Woo-hyun truly hated was himself.

Then, one day, he t a boy.

A child who was researching the Four Color Theorem using crayons and colored paper.

That day, Woo-hyun ca to understand how Elijah Cronen must have felt.

Compared to Seo-ha, it all beca clear.

To soone like Cronen, people like them probably held no more value than paper runners fetching copier paper.

Life is inherently unfair. Especially when it cos to talent.

But what infuriated him the most was the possibility that such talent might be wasted aninglessly.

[Daejeon 100km]

‘Among geniuses, there are rarely any normal ones.’

Why had Newton hidden his discovery of calculus for thirty years?

He could guess. The world inside their heads was so important to them that the problems of the real world were of no concern.

"I know I’ve proven this perfectly. So shouldn’t the verification be up to those people?"

Seo-ha had said sothing similar.

What would’ve happened if Seo-ha hadn’t been discovered by everyone that day?

After finishing his proof, he would have tidied up his room and returned to his daily life as if nothing had happened.

Terrifyingly arrogant and beautifully pure.

In the late 17th century, European science faced a great challenge.

Kepler had discovered the laws of planetary motion, but no one could explain why they worked that way.

Edmond Halley struggled for years to solve this mystery.

He discussed it with famous mathematicians like Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, but none of them understood the principle behind it.

Then, in the sumr of 1684, Halley visited Isaac Newton, a professor at Cambridge.

“If a planet’s force decreases in proportion to the square of its distance from the sun, what kind of orbit would it follow?”

To this lifelong question of Halley’s, Newton casually replied,

“An ellipse.”

Halley was shocked at Newton’s calm answer to a problem no one had been able to prove.

“What? How on earth do you know that?”

“I calculated it a long ti ago.”

Newton rummaged through his shelves and pulled out a paper he had written years before.

He had solved and proven it, but never published it. Halley was astounded by Newton’s eccentricity.

“Sigh… what other papers have you not published?”

“Hmm... A few theorems on optics and harmonic motion?”

Newton’s expression was like soone saying, "There are a few potatoes and onions left in the kitchen."

Halley must have had the sa realization then as Woo-hyun did now.

‘Ah! This guy can’t be left alone.’

From that day on, Halley stayed by Newton’s side.

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

“You don’t have the money to publish?”

Newton was indifferent, and the Royal Society, which was in charge of scientific papers, was facing financial difficulties.

The next day, Halley visited the printer and paid the deposit out of his own pocket.

Because Newton didn’t lift a finger, Halley took the lead in everything.

The result was the famous “Principia”. In 1687, humanity was finally able to understand the principles by which the universe operated.

The historical statent that the apple falling from a tree and the moon floating in the sky move by the sa law would never have seen the light of day if not for Halley.

“In the end, soone has to clean up after geniuses. They’re like clueless wild brats.”

Woo-hyun muttered softly.

Nowhere in the 'Principia' could Halley’s na be found.

But he probably never regretted it.

Screeechㅡ.

The car ca to a stop in the school parking lot.

[Special Graduation Ceremony for Yu Seo-ha, Class of ■■]

A banner fluttered in the wind.

Stepping out of the car, Woo-hyun slowly walked toward the auditorium where the ceremony was being held.

“Did you see Yu Seo-ha sunbae?”

“I even made eye contact! He really was our school sunbae.”

“Then we’re alumni too, right?”

“Of course. That’s why we ca all the way out to the countryside.”

The auditorium was already filled with an air of excitent.

The students gathered in small groups, eagerly sharing stories about the legendary senior they had only heard about through rumors.

The legendary seminar room, still sealed shut to this day,

And the tale of how he was dissatisfied with a laundry app and ended up learning Python in a day to build his own, that story had now beco so widespread that hardly anyone hadn’t heard of it.

The God of Mathematics who had already conquered the IMO during elentary school,

The rising star of the global mathematics community who had given a new proof of the Four Color Theorem and now even offered a crucial hint on the Riemann Hypothesis.

The freshn looked at Seo-ha with eyes full of admiration.

Tap, tapㅡ.

The principal tapped the microphone twice and looked around.

-Everyone, please take your seats.

The hall quickly fell into order.

-Today, we are holding a special graduation ceremony for the pride of our school and the brightest young mathematician of our ti, Yu Seo-ha.

-Yu Seo-ha, already during elentary school..., and later in the world of mathematics...

And the starting point of all those achievents was right here, this school where they all will continue to study together!

At the overly passionate speech from the principal, Seo-ha’s face turned red.

Waaaah!

Clap clap clap!

Cheers and applause burst out from every direction, heating up the atmosphere.

-Today, we are gathered here to celebrate this mont as he steps out into the world. Please welco Yu Seo-ha with a big round of applause.

Clap clap clap!

Seo-ha stepped onto the stage with an embarrassed look.

His family, seated at the front, waved and smiled brightly.

Mi-young wiped the corner of her eye with her fingertip, and Chul-ho cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened his posture.

Yu Seo-eun, wearing her bright yellow duck hat, scread with excitent.

Watching their joyful expressions, Woo-hyun’s lips curved into a smile.

After a short ceremony, all the events ca to an end.

Woo-hyun approached Seo-ha.

“This is a gift.”

Woo-hyun handed Seo-ha a small box.

“You didn’t have to… Thank you.”

“It’s not just a gift.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s a fountain pen. It’s expensive, so only use it on special occasions. You’ll need it for things when you publish papers of the century.”

“I definitely will.”

Seo-ha bowed respectfully.

Woo-hyun no longer had nightmares.

Just as Halley left no trace of himself in the 'Principia', so too would he.

But perhaps soone would rember him as the one who gifted the pen a great mathematician used throughout his life.

After the graduation ceremony, on the anonymous board,

[Duck Lord, thank you for being with us!]

-It was an honor to attend the sa school. Can I brag later that we were friends?

You're going to crush everyone at MIT, right? Otherwise, we’ll look too weak in comparison.

Goodbye, Duck Lord! We'll rember you forever.

└So you're really leaving. Who's going to be number one now?

└That doesn’t even matter ㅋㅋㅋ Ants fighting to be #1 in a tiger’s empty den.

└Who's going to solve the killer problems nowㅠㅠ

└Quackquack got updated. The duck is even cuter now ㅋㅋ

└If he ends up in textbooks later, it's going to feel surreal.

└Did you get his autograph? My dad bound the thesis and I got it signed there ㅋㅋㅋ

└I got mine in 'Nature' ㅋㅋㅋ

└You too? too ㅋㅋㅋ No matter how expensive it gets later, I’m never selling mine.

└Hope having attended the sa school as Seo-ha doesn’t beco the highlight of my life.

└Goodbye, Duck Lord! We'll work hard too so we won’t be embarrassed when we introduce ourselves later. Thanks for everything.

[See you again, Seo-ha sunbae!]

[Duck Lord, let’s et again soday]

[Yu Seo-ha! Don’t you dare forget us]

Countless posts flooded the anonymous board.

"Seo-ha, let’s go."

His whole family had already gotten into the car.

The trunk was filled with gifts from his friends.

Seo-ha opened the intranet.

And with a wistful gaze, he looked back.