Chapter 417
Elara leaned close to Mira’s ear and whispered, “Show-off p>
Mira nudged her with an elbow. “Watch it p>
“Three,” Mr. Harth said, holding up three fingers.
“Ugh, still just three? When am I finally going to sweep all five p>
If she couldn’t do it at the state level, the national competition-packed with the country’s most ruthless academic elites-would be infinitely harder.
The entire classroom went dead silent.
Mr. Harth stared at her, speechless.
Elara rolled her eyes.
“Learn to take a win,” Mr. Harth finally sighed. It was rare for him to hand out compliments. “This was a brutal elimination round against hundreds of thousands of seniors across the state. You took three golds. Be happy p>
In the back row, Mara whispered bitterly to her desk-mate, “She’s so obnoxious. She just wants the attention p>
“Did she miss the mark in math and English again p>
“No, you scored a flawless hundred in math. Zander May from the Academy was one point behind you in second place,” Mr. Harth explained while passing out their new syllabus.
“Yes! I finally crushed Zander in math p>
“Perfection is the only real shield,” Mr. Harth reminded her. “If you score a hundred in every subject, you won’t just dominate the national decathlon, you’ll dominate the world p>
“Fair point p>
Mira had dropped points in chemistry this time, bumping her down to second place. The state level was a completely different beast. Everyone there had mastered the fundamentals; the real war was fought on mental endurance and microscopic attention to detail. Every single point mattered.
She had also improved in English, tying for second place with a bilingual student from the Academy, while Logan Gentry maintained his iron grip on first.
Elara, Wesley Scott, and Harvey Rivers had each placed in the top three for individual subjects, meaning they would all be joining Mira on the trip to Asthelgard for the national finals.
They just wouldn’t be competing in the all-around decathlon.
After the first period, the principal officially announced the results over the PA system during morning assembly, showering Mira in another wave of public glory.
She had also secured sixty thousand dollars in prize money.
Each individual gold netted her ten thousand, the overall state
championship title brought in twenty thousand, and her two silver
placements secured the final ten thousand.
A massive red banner was unfurled across the front gates:
*Congratulations to our students
Finn,
Mira Mercer Elara scott for the ne
Rivers, and Wesley Scott for their dominant victories in the State Academic Decathlon p>
Below it, a detailed breakdown of their scores was proudly displayed.
In an instant, Mira was thrust back into the media spotlight. Bella and Declan from
the Melvion City Education Channel arrived for another exclusive television interview.
Melvion Central High School was desperately milking her success to boost their prestige.
But Mira only cared about pushing harder. Her new target was absolute perfection: five flawless golds.
All this media exposure was secretly laying the groundwork for TitanPay’s massive launch.
As Mira’s reputation as a relentless prodigy grew, she would seamlessly transition into becoming the ultimate face of Solflare Entertainment.
She needed every ounce of this spotlight.
During the broadcast, Emery Doyle held the microphone out. “Mira, do you have any words regarding your phenomenal victory p>
“Past scores only reflect the past. Tests are just a metric for your current baseline.
“The road ahead is long. If you want to remain undefeated, you can never stop fighting p>
“Beautifully said. We all wish you the best of luck at the National Decathlon p>
As she was packing up to leave that afternoon, Mr. Harth pulled her aside. “Top-tier universities have already started sending early admission offers p>