🎓 Chapter 17: The Imperial Mask
The shuttle came to a stop in front of the most imposing gates I had ever seen. Gold lettering arched over the entrance: Imperial High Academy. This wasn't just a school; it was a training ground for the future leaders of the world.
As we stepped out, the girls looked up at the towering spires.
"Remember," I whispered, adjusting my bag. "If anyone asks about our background, we are just here on a special bank sponsorship. We study hard, we stay quiet, and we win."
"Got it, Sadd," Tersa said, though she looked a bit nervous. "Just a normal student.
I walked into the "Advanced Theoretical Mechanics" hall. The room was filled with students from the wealthiest families in the city, all wearing the gold-trimmed blue blazers of the Academy. I took a seat in the back, hoping to blend into the shadows.
At the front of the room stood a man with graying hair and a very stiff posture. He adjusted his spectacles and tapped his tablet.
"I am Professor Karl," he announced, his voice echoing. "In this room, your family names do not matter. Only your brain matters. Most of you will fail this course. Some of you will barely pass. And perhaps, once in a decade, someone will actually understand what I am teaching."
Professor Karl turned to the holographic board and began writing a series of equations that made the other students gasp. It was a problem regarding "Zero-Point Energy Loss" in high-speed engines.
"This is the current limit of human engineering," Professor Karl said, his eyes scanning the room. "The company Anroud Dynamics has supposedly solved this recently, but the math behind it remains a secret. Can anyone here even begin to explain the logic of a heat-less core?"
The room fell silent. Students looked at their desks, afraid to make eye contact.
UIA: Master, the professor is using an outdated model to explain your Silent Engine. Would you like me to highlight the errors on his board?
"No," I thought. "Not yet. I need to be a 'scholarship' student, not a show-off."
Professor Karl's eyes landed on me. He saw my plain expression and the fact that I wasn't taking notes.
"You there," he said, pointing his finger. "The new student. Mr. Venan, is it? You seem bored. Perhaps our Imperial curriculum is too simple for a 'sponsored' student?"
A few students snickered. I could hear them whispering about the "charity case" in the back.
"I was just thinking about the friction coefficients, Professor," I said calmly, standing up.
"Is that so?" Karl walked toward me, his arms crossed. "Then why don't you come to the board and show us where the 'friction' is in this equation? If you can even solve the first line, I'll give you a pass for the week."
I walked down the steps of the lecture hall. Every eye was on me. I took the digital pen from his hand. I didn't just solve the first line. I rewrote the entire third section, using the secret logic I had used for the Silent Engine, but simplified enough so it didn't look like a direct copy.
The room went so quiet you could hear the hum of the air conditioner.
Professor Karl froze. He moved closer to the board, his glasses nearly falling off his nose. He looked at the math, then at me, then back at the math.
"This... this is a revolutionary shortcut," Karl whispered. "Where did you learn this, boy?"
"I read a lot of books, Professor," I said with a humble shrug. "I'm just here to get my certificate."
As I walked back to my seat, the snickering had stopped. In its place was a heavy, curious silence. I had meant to be a ghost, but I realized that with a brain like mine, hiding was going to be the hardest job of all.
I had just sat back down when the door to the lecture hall hissed open. To my shock, Doah walked in, clutching her tablet. She scanned the room until her eyes met mine, then walked straight to the back and slid into the seat right beside me.
"Doah? What are you doing here?" I whispered, leaning in. "Weren't you in the Art class?"
She gave me a playful but determined smile. "I changed my course, Sadd. I want to do the same as you. If you're going to build an empire, I need to know how the gears turn too."
"And Tersa?" I asked.
"She did the same," Doah replied softly. "But since she's younger, she's in the junior class. She wasn't happy about being separated, but she promised to study twice as hard to catch up to us."
I nodded, feeling a bit of pressure. We were all First Year Seniors now, just starting our upper-level journey at Imperial High.
The morning passed in a blur of complex theories. However, toward the end of the final period, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Professor Karl walked back to the podium, his expression stern.
"Attention," he barked. "I have an announcement regarding the Annual Research Fair. As you know, this is the biggest event for the country of Galena. It is hosted here at Imperial High this year, but it is open to every 5th and 6th-year student in the nation."
The room buzzed with excitement. This fair was the ultimate gateway. For the seniors, it was a chance to attract massive investors and secure high-paying job opportunities before they even graduated.
"However," Karl continued, his eyes scanning the freshmen seniors like us, "this fair is strictly for the 5th and 6th years. Those of you in the lower years—the 1st through 4th years—cannot participate. You are here to observe, to learn, and to see the level of excellence Galena expects."
A collective sigh of disappointment came from the students around me. Doah looked at me, her shoulders slumping. "So we can't show anything? We just have to watch?"
"It seems so," I whispered back, though my mind was already racing.
I looked at the older students in the front rows. They looked confident, even arrogant. They were the ones who would be showing off their 'inventions' to the world. But I knew something they didn't. I knew that the 'Anomaly' was sitting right in the back of their classroom.
Even if I couldn't enter the fair officially, this was the perfect chance to scout. I could see what the top minds of Galena were capable of, and more importantly, I could see which investors were looking for the next big thing.
"UIA," I thought. "If we can't participate, we will observe. I want a full profile on every investor who walks through those doors next month. If SIGLAV CORP can't be on the stage, we will be the ones pulling the strings from the shadows."
UIA: Understood, Master. I will begin compiling a database of all registered schools and visiting corporations. Even as a spectator, your influence will be felt.