I sat in my underground lab, watching the data streams fly across the monitors. My world was moving faster than a jet engine, and I needed to keep track of the fuel.
"UIA," I called out, my voice echoing against the cold metal walls. "How much money is left in our main vault after all these moves?"
UIA: Master, let us look at the ledger. You started with 12,750,000,000 Creds after the Anroud Dynamics deal. Here is the breakdown:
Home Project: -4,000,000,000
Luxury Estate: -500,000,000
Sisters' Allowances: -400,000,000 (200m each)
Bank Purchase (10m Star Cash): -1,020,000,000
Donations & Tips: -30,000,000
Remaining Balance: 6,800,000,000 Creds
"Six point eight billion," I whispered. "Still enough to buy a few more cities."
I looked at the bio-scans of my sisters. "UIA, they are getting older. It is time for them to awaken. Should I buy the awakening serums or the rare mana stones they need?"
UIA: No, Master. That is not necessary. Their bloodline is pure. They will awaken on their own when the time is right. Buying artificial boosters would only muddy their potential. Just wait.
The Request
I walked upstairs to find Doah and Tersa sitting at the massive dining table, surrounded by stacks of holographic textbooks. They looked exhausted.
"Sadd!" Tersa cried out, slamming her book shut. "We need help. Back in our old village school, we were the top scorers. Everyone called us geniuses. But here at Imperial High... we feel like we don't know anything! The other students talk about things we've never even heard of. We look like mediocre students."
Doah nodded, her expression serious. "We have the money and the clothes now, but that doesn't matter if our heads are empty. Please, Sadd. You understood Professor Karl's logic like it was a nursery rhyme. You have to teach us."
I looked at their tired faces and felt a pang of guilt. I had given them a palace and millions of creds, but I had thrown them into a lion's den of Elites without a weapon.
"Okay," I said, pulling up a chair between them. "I will be your tutor from now on. We aren't just going to study to pass; we are going to study to lead. I'll show you how to look at science and math the way I do."
For the next four hours, I didn't use the school's boring textbooks. I used the UIA to project 3D models of atoms and market flows directly onto the table. I explained complex physics through the simple metaphors of the forest we grew up in.
"Don't memorize the formula," I told Doah. "Understand the energy. The math is just a language to describe what the universe is already doing."
Their eyes began to sparkle. The "mediocre" fog was lifting. They weren't slow; they just hadn't been taught by a god-tier intellect yet.
"I get it!" Tersa shouted, her hand glowing faintly for a split second as she solved a calculation. "It's like the wind in the trees!"
I froze. That glow... UIA was right. They were awakening on their own, sparked by the sheer mental effort of learning.
"Very good," I said, hiding my surprise. "Keep going. Tomorrow, when you walk into Imperial High, I want you to look those Elites in the eye. You aren't 'sponsored' students anymore.
The month leading up to the fair was a blur of high-intensity studying and secret boardroom meetings. While most students were struggling with basic calculus, I was rewriting the laws of physics in my underground lab.
My performance at Imperial High Academy was causing a scandal. During my promotion exam, I finished a four-hour paper in twenty minutes. The examiners thought I was cheating until I sat in a room with five professors and answered every question they threw at me—some of which they didn't even know the answers to themselves.
"Mr. Venan," Professor Karl had said, looking at me with a mix of fear and respect. "You are wasting your time in the first-year blocks. As of today, you are officially promoted to the Third Year. You are the youngest student in the history of Galena to reach the upper senior levels."
With my new status, I called the CEO of SIGLAV Bank.
"I will be attending the Annual Research Fair at the school," I told him over the secure line. "I'm going as a student observer, but you and the General Manager will be there as official investors. I want you to scan every project. If I see something I like, I'll send you a signal. You will buy the technology or the researcher on the spot."
"Understood, Chairman," the CEO replied. "We will be ready with the liquid funds."
The Digital Fortress
As I hung up, the UIA's voice hummed in my ear.
UIA: Master, the bank's current digital infrastructure is like a house made of straw. Now that you are a Third Year and have finished your exams, you must prioritize the upgrade. I have designed a new security architecture that uses Quantum Encryption.
"I know, UIA," I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Between tutoring the girls and proving to the professors that I'm not a fraud, I haven't had a second to breathe. But you're right. If we are going to store billions, the vault needs to be unbreakable."
I stayed up late that night, my fingers flying across the keys in the underground lab. I wasn't just fixing the bank's security; I was installing a "backdoor" that only I could access. I added innovative specs: a predictive market AI that could tell me when a stock would crash before it happened, and a biometric shield that would lock out anyone who wasn't a Venan.
The next morning, the Academy was transformed. Massive banners hung from the ceilings, and the parking lot was filled with luxury shuttles from every corner of the country. 5th and 6th-year students were nervously setting up their booths, hoping to change their lives.
I walked through the halls with Doah and Tersa. Even though I was a Third Year now, I still looked like a young boy compared to the 6th-year giants.
"Look at them," Tersa whispered, pointing at a group of seniors. "They look so confident. Do you think their inventions are as good as yours, Sadd?"
"We'll see," I said, my eyes scanning the room. "But remember, we aren't here to compete. We are here to shop."
Just then, a 6th-year student with a sneer on his face blocked our path. He was wearing a badge that said 'Project Lead: Solar Pulse.'
"Hey, little Third-Year," he laughed. "The daycare is in the other wing. This place is for men who have real ideas. Why don't you move along before you trip over something expensive?"