Two months later, Ravi’s name was on the prelims cutoff list. He hadn’t become a genius. He hadn’t read a single textbook cover to cover. But he had used the exactly as it was meant to be used: as a rapid-fire retrieval system for high-probability facts.

Again and again—every fact he had skimmed as a single line now glowed like a neon sign in his memory.

The next morning, Ravi flipped the question paper. His heart pounded. Then he saw question #12: