@ZekariVoblisMay I remind you that Blanc didn't know what an Appa was? XD That suggests pretty damn sheltered to me. Also age doesn't equal smart or intelligence (just more opportunities to learn). I know pretty of idiots who are double my age (*cough*my father*cough*). Like the fact that just about everyone has been measuring weight wrong their entire lives (fun fact, weight is a force and therefore measured in newtons. MASS is what is weighed in Kg's. Your mass isn't affected by gravity, only your weight is hence the term 'weightless' in space. You still have the same mass.)
Also I...was talking about the sword wielder >.> Vesta would take one look at a
golden sword and alarm bells would be ringing due to the amount of reading she does (she loves reading about things like that, since they are interesting). Also the magical presence which would surely be around it would be a decent enough hint that she isn't going to touch it (oh that and her obvious disdain for weaponry and armor)
A criteria for intelligence to me is a thirst for knowledge, which Vesta certainly has. She likes interesting things, learning about those things. They wouldn't be interesting to her if they were well known.
She knows little of the elves and wishes to learn about them from Blanc. She knows little of Avery and co's world and would love a chance to learn about it properly, not just the second hand information she has/can receive from the people sent over.
Also never said Vesta was going to win. Just because she was five steps ahead, doesn't mean she was going to win. If Aleph had done something she hadn't planned for, then her other plans were useless. However she had been using the rest of the fight to gauge his strength so her plans were made up with that knowledge.
In fact the only stupid thing she has done thus far is go the slums to allow Zin to accompany her XD (But once again, a dragon person is something she hasn't really heard about. So she wants to learn.)
Also if you can learn to memorize not just the word, but also the meaning and what context to use it in that sounds like you're rather intelligent. Don't see bogan's using the word injudicious do ya? (Neither has Vesta. Hasn't come up yet, besides she prefers the word idiotic)
Vesta should just carry a dictionary with her and hand it to people when she insults them.
The meaning of intelligence:
The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills
synonyms: intellectual/mental capacity, intellect, mind, brain, brains, brainpower, powers of reasoning, judgement, reason, reasoning, understanding, comprehension, acumen, wit, sense, insight, perceptiveness, perception, perspicaciousness, perspicacity, penetration, discernment, sharpness, quickness of mind, quick-wittedness, smartness, canniness, astuteness, intuition, acuity, alertness, cleverness, brilliance, aptness, ability, giftedness, talent
(It also means to acquire military knowledge but that's a completely different context to this conversation)
Intelligence has been defined in many different ways including as one's capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, planning, creativity and problem solving. It can be more generally described as the ability to perceive information, and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.
The definition of smart (for the context we're using it in)
having or showing a quick-witted intelligence.
"if he was that smart he would never have been tricked"
synonyms: clever, bright, intelligent, sharp, sharp-witted, quick-witted, nimble-witted, shrewd, astute, acute, apt, able; well educated, well read; perceptive, percipient, discerning; informalbrainy, savvy, streetwise, on the ball, quick on the uptake, genius; informalwhip-smart
"Joey will know what to do—he's the smart one"
Vesta ticks all those boxes last I checked. Her ego is very much a problem yes. She will make mistakes, it's impossible for anyone to NOT make one. Vesta's judgement is probably her weakest point, as it will be clouded by her own massive ego in certain situations.
There are other ways to throw a spanner in the works, one pretty obvious one and then another not so obvious.
Mistakes don't equate as to who is smarter than who, it's leaning from those mistakes which shows one's intelligence.
