SSS-Rank AI System: My Path from Failure to Supreme

Alaric clenched his jaw. He decided not to stop, not to respond, and not to ask questions. Not here, not in the middle of this crowd. The more confused he looked, the more entertainment he seemed to provide.

He straightened up, quickened his pace, and lowered his face slightly to avoid making direct eye contact. But his gaze stayed fixed ahead, on the large door at the end of the corridor that led to the rector's office.

The jeering continued, and another crumpled paper ball landed near his foot just as he was about to reach the door. But Alaric didn't stop. He kept going, refusing to give them what they wanted.

Finally, he arrived. He reached for the handle of the heavy wooden door. For a moment, he could still feel the weight of the stares behind him.

He swallowed hard. Slowly, he pushed the door open. As it closed behind him, the noise from the corridor vanished in an instant.

Inside, the air was different. Quiet, but heavy. The rector sat at his grand desk, flanked by several senior lecturers, their expressions grim. All eyes turned to Alaric as he entered. No greetings. No smiles. Just cold, unreadable gazes, as if he had already done something terribly wrong.

Alaric froze near the door, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his temple. "G-Good morning, sir… ma'am…" he said, his voice shaky, trying to maintain his composure.

No one responded. The rector simply laced his fingers together on the table and spoke in a low voice, "Please, take a seat, Alaric."

Alaric stepped forward slowly toward the chair prepared for him. His mind raced, grasping at possibilities, trying to make sense of what was going on. Just a few days ago even as recently as yesterday. He had been praised, celebrated as a role model for youth. But today? Everything had turned upside down.

It was only after he finally sat down that the pieces began to fall into place. And in that moment, he realized… the root of it all. The reason everything had changed so suddenly.

His eyes caught sight of several figures already seated neatly inside the room. A few others stood nearby, observing silently. The Rector was there, along with several senior lecturers. All of them stared at him with serious faces, not a single smile among them.

"Please have a seat, Alaric," the Rector said, his tone formal and his expression far from relaxed.

Alaric swallowed hard, then pulled out the chair across from them. He could feel the tension in the air, sharpened by the collective gaze of these people.

It didn't take long before one of the lecturers began to speak. "We didn't expect this, Ric. We truly believed you were one of the most promising young talents at this university. But it turns out…" his sentence trailed off as he placed a thick folder onto the table and pushed it slightly toward Alaric. "You've committed something illegal."

Alaric instinctively frowned. "Illegal?" It felt like a thousand arrows struck every nerve in his body. He was stunned.

"We received a report saying you stole someone else's idea. Not only that, they claim you even hacked into the internal server to obtain a confidential proposal. This is the evidence." The lecturer tapped the folder again, emphasizing his words.

Still reeling, Alaric lowered his gaze and picked up the documents laid out in front of him. His eyes quickly scanned the printed text. At the top, it clearly read: "Nurse Robot Prototype Design, XBShs Corporation." The creation date was officially stamped.

"We compared them," another lecturer chimed in. "Your nurse robot design and this company's document... they're almost identical. The structure, the concept, even the external design."

The Rector added, "Even though the company hasn't taken legal action against you yet. The university's reputation is at stake here, Alaric. We can't just let this go without taking action or issuing a formal warning."

Alaric froze. His thoughts swirled in chaos. "What is this? Hacking a server? Stealing a proposal?" he muttered.

It was a serious accusation. He had never even come into contact with that company. Let alone hacking, he always accessed the campus network through the proper procedures.

"No… this isn't true," Alaric said, shaking his head quickly. He looked up, locking eyes with the lecturers and the Rector one by one.

"From the idea to the execution, I developed everything on my own. I never copied anyone's work."

One of the lecturers squinted slightly. "Then how do you explain the similarities?"

Alaric took a deep breath. "My inspiration came from Brightmind Robotics. That company has long been researching AI for assisting with human needs and activities. I studied their journals, their public publications, and I've even collaborated with them. But XBShs? I've never even heard of them until now."

Some of the faces across from him still showed doubt, some even looked skeptical, as if they had already decided he was just making excuses.

Alaric lowered his gaze back to the documents. This time he read them more carefully, examining the diagrams in detail. His eyes narrowed. "Wait… the material specs?"

He lifted a page and held it up for everyone to see. "Look at this. They're using components that are already outdated. The circuitry they use is from an older generation.

And their motion sensors? They're not even suitable for medical applications — the delay is way too high. If a robot were really built using this design, it would be obsolete. It wouldn't perform effectively."

The room remained silent. But clearly, some of the lecturers exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe him or not. Alaric could tell they weren't ready to take his side. Their perception of him had already been tainted by the accusations.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hold back his frustration. It felt surreal. Just yesterday, he was being praised by students. Seen as an inspirational speaker. Now... in the blink of an eye. He sat in this chair, accused of intellectual theft.

His fists clenched under the table. He knew these documents weren't his, and the design presented was riddled with flaws. But what did that matter, if everyone in front of him had already judged him?

Lifting his head, Alaric spoke again, with conviction in his voice. "I'm willing to prove that these claims are false. My design is fundamentally different. If necessary, I'll show you every file, every research note, even the development logs from day one. But all I ask is… please don't judge me before we've seen the real evidence."

Once again, silence filled the room. The Rector sighed, rubbing his temple, and finally said, "We'll take your statement into consideration, Ric. But you have to understand… this issue has already started to spread."

Alaric remained silent, staring down at the wooden table in front of him, his head filled with one big question mark. "Who would do this? Who wants to bring me down like this?"

He looked again at each of the faces standing across from him. There was no anger in his eyes, no hatred. Deep down, he still believed that this was all a misunderstanding.

"May I ask something?" His voice rang clearly through the tense room. He was the only one speaking. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he tried to steady his thoughts.

One of the lecturers raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Where exactly did this information come from?" Alaric pointed at the stack of documents on the table, the so-called evidence they had just used to accuse him.

The lecturers exchanged glances but said nothing for a while. Eventually, a female lecturer replied with a sharp tone, "You don't need to know that, Alaric."

Alaric's eyes widened in disbelief. He took a breath, speaking more firmly. "How can I not know, Ma'am? I'm the one being accused. My name is the one being dragged through the mud. If I don't know the source, how am I supposed to verify whether this information is even valid?"

Some of the once-confident lecturers now looked uneasy. A few lowered their gaze, seemingly trying to avoid his.

The Rector sat quietly, tapping his finger slowly on the table, as if weighing his next words.

"When I was in the spotlight, making international headlines as a young innovator, you proudly invited me to represent this university. But now that I'm facing trouble... you all turn your backs and corner me, based on evidence you haven't even properly verified?"

Alaric's disappointment was clear, but he didn't stop. He leaned slightly forward and looked closely at the documents on the table. "And one more thing… has anyone actually verified the authenticity of these documents? Or are you relying on hearsay, without any thorough investigation?"

Silence. Not one of them answered. Even the strict female lecturer kept her mouth shut, her eyes shifting toward the far side of the room.

Alaric straightened his back and spoke more decisively. "Alright. If none of you are willing to look deeper into this matter or verify the truth behind these documents… then I will. I'll get to the bottom of this myself. And when I do, you'll all see that I never committed any illegal act."