Gut first extracted the unresolved key points from the recent portion of the text he had been studying.
Then, in extremely tiny script, he began writing as much of the unresolved knowledge onto a sheet of paper as possible.
After several attempts, he finally exhaled in relief as he gazed upon the densely packed, almost solidly black sheet of microtext. That was the limit of his compression ability.
If even this would result in a failed attempt, then Gut had no other choice but to accept the loss.
Fortunately, "luckily," when he slapped the [Memory Bread] onto this sheet of "condensed knowledge," the system issued a [Use Failed] prompt.
The reason? The knowledge on the sheet exceeded what a single slice of Memory Bread could carry. At least he didn't need to worry about wasting resources due to insufficient compression.
Unfortunately, he now had to reduce the knowledge further and rewrite it, testing just how much a single slice of [Memory Bread] could hold.
Sheet by sheet, with each new one containing one fewer concept than the last, Gut went back and forth in trial and error, until at last—he found the limit.
"Slap!"
With a soft sound, this time when the Memory Bread landed on the paper, no error prompt appeared. The knowledge on the page was absorbed into the [Memory Bread].
"Whew—done."
Gut let out a deep breath, picked up the slice now imbued with countless pieces of knowledge—creases and all—and popped it into his mouth.
As his mind jolted, a surge of clarity flooded his thoughts.
The knowledge stored in the bread was released gently into his mind. Within seconds, Gut had fully comprehended it.
With an appetite for more, he turned back to the thick spellbook, eager to compress and consume another portion.
But then he noticed the faint glow of dawn outside the window and glanced at the room's clock.
Had the whole night passed without him realizing?
He stood up, stretched his stiff limbs after a night of sitting.
Looking at the stack of densely written "condensed knowledge" pages on the desk, he now understood exactly where the time had gone.
After washing his face with cold water and throwing on his coat, Gut grabbed the boxed meals he had packed last night, bought a few fresh breads on the way, and headed for Serie's residence.
Near her house, Gut spotted a sleepy figure nodding off on the stone step outside the door.
To his surprise, he was late.
He gently patted Gumi's head, then sat beside her and handed her a warm, freshly baked roll.
"Why are you here so early? It's still half an hour before the scheduled time."
"Huh?! Senior?"
Whether awakened by the pat or the aroma of the warm bread, Gumi opened her eyes and smiled sweetly as she accepted the bread, happiness written across her face.
While eating, she answered Gut's question.
"Since it's my first visit to Master's house after becoming her student, I wanted to come early."
"Sigh~"
A sigh echoed behind them. Both turned their heads quickly and saw that at some point, the door had opened.
There stood their teacher Serie, yawning as she covered her mouth.
"Come in."
"You're all so early. Do human mages no longer need sleep...?"
She paused mid-sentence and looked at Gut.
"Alright, I suppose you really didn't sleep."
With a grumble, Serie turned and led them into her home. Gut gestured for Gumi to follow, and the three headed into Serie's private library.
Once inside, Serie flopped onto her seat of knowledge with a casual grace, fingers steepled, and after briefly explaining the disciples' privilege, she scrutinized the girl before her with interest—eager to hear what kind of request this pupil would make.
Gut, standing to the side, also wondered.
Given what he'd seen of Gumi—cheerful, outgoing, and food-loving—would she ask for a [Magic to Find Delicious Food]?
Or perhaps a [Magic to Make Food Incredibly Tasty]?
Maybe, like many girls her age, she'd want a [Beauty Enhancement Magic]?
But none of those guesses were correct.
"Master Serie..."
"I want... a magic that can inflict tremendous pain on [demons]... and kill them in agony."
As she spoke, Gut could hear the grit of her clenched teeth. The cold, hateful expression on her face was so unfamiliar, it struck him hard.
The fury burning beneath her calm eyes made Gut realize, perhaps for the first time, what the phrase "the demons run rampant" truly meant in this world.
War was not over.
Even with the Demon King slain, the grief and bloodshed between humans and demons had never ceased.
From her throne, Serie showed no surprise at the hate radiating from her disciple's words. On the contrary, she looked quite approving.
"You want a spell that inflicts great harm on demons and ensures a painful death, huh..."
"I have one that fits your description."
With a wave of her hand, a spellbook flew from the shelf and landed before Gumi.
"This is [Thunder of Destruction Magic], extremely effective against most demons. The pain it inflicts is... considerable."
"Thank you, Master."
Gumi knelt reverently, hugging the book like a treasure. After rising, she gave Gut a small, apologetic smile.
"Sorry, senior. I hope I didn't scare you just now."
"It's alright."
Gut shook his head, conflicted. After a moment, he reached out and gently patted her hair without saying more.
From her throne, Serie quietly nodded at the scene.
Moments later, she spoke.
"Gut, give the exam barrier controller to Gumi and stay here."
"Gumi, take the controller and help Lernen maintain order at the test site."
"Understood, Master."
With a light bow, Gumi accepted the device from her senior and exited.
Leaving only Serie and Gut inside the house.