The North American Qualifiers were held in a vast, refrigerated warehouse in Atlanta, an appropriate setting for the clinical nature of the first round.
Gabriel sat in a sterile, soundproof booth. He was surrounded by hundreds of other contenders—mostly lanky, jittery young men, with a handful of serious-looking professionals and gym rats—but the only thing that mattered was the screen in front of him.
[ROUND ONE: THE MIND TEST - DURATION: 30 Minutes]
Objective: Achieve a minimum score of 135 (IQ Equivalent).
Pass/Fail threshold is too low, Gabriel thought, analyzing the requirement. His real-world IQ was documented higher than the threshold, but the test's structure—pure logic puzzles, sequence completions, and spatial reasoning—was what interested him. He analyzed the test format, not the questions themselves. It was designed not just to test intelligence, but speed of processing.
He tapped the 'START' button.
The first question appeared: A complex series of geometric transformations.
[Problem 1/150: Identify the next permutation.]
Most people saw a shifting collage of shapes. Gabriel's mind, trained on data models and Jeet Kune Do's threat analysis, saw an algorithm.
Rule set: Shape one rotates 45 degrees clockwise. Shape two flips on the Y-axis and shifts color.
Time Elapsed: 0:02.
He selected C and moved on. The input mechanism—a pressure-sensitive trackpad—was clunky, a flaw he instantly noted, but he minimized the interaction time to compensate for the lag.
The test became a blur of quantifiable data streams. He wasn't solving puzzles; he was compiling, executing, and debugging logic gates.
"The four-digit sequence is a modified Fibonacci spiral. The number in the center is the product of the square of the two outer digits, minus the third. Standard deduction."
Time Elapsed: 0:01.
The booth remained quiet, but Gabriel could feel the mounting pressure radiating from the other participants. He knew the typical completion time for this type of test was closer to twenty minutes for a professional logician. His goal was not just to pass; it was to maximize the time remaining, allowing for mental cooldown before the more physically demanding rounds.
At the 8-minute, 47-second mark, the screen flashed.
[TEST COMPLETE. RAW SCORE: 147. SUCCESS.]
[Completion Time: 8 Minutes, 47 Seconds.]
[RANK: 1st (NA North-East Bracket)]
A new notification flashed, accompanied by a sound like a single, perfectly tuned bell chime.
[ATTRIBUTES RECORDED. INTELLECTUAL EFFICIENCY RATING: S-Rank.]
Gabriel leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, his electric blue eyes focusing on the notification. S-Rank. The video game terminology felt ridiculous, yet satisfyingly precise. It confirmed his core competency.
The door to his booth clicked open. A petite, severe woman in a Centurian Entertainment uniform stood there, holding a tablet. She looked mildly shocked.
"Mr. Knightwing," she said, her voice tight. "You... finished. You are the first in the North American bracket to conclude Round One. You've broken the previous speed record by almost a minute."
"Efficiency," Gabriel replied simply, rising from the chair. His 6'2", 225-pound frame filled the small doorway. He didn't ask about his next objective; he simply looked at the woman, waiting for the necessary data stream.
"Right. Follow me," she managed, recovering quickly. "Round Two: The Maze Runner, starts in two hours. You'll be in the first wave."
As Gabriel followed her down the aisle, he heard a frustrated crash from one of the adjacent booths—a contender reacting poorly to failure. Gabriel didn't look back. The weak links were already culling themselves.
Round One completed. System successfully analyzed.
His mind, already racing, was now focused on Round Two. Spatial reasoning. Navigation. DEX and WIS factors. He hadn't just won a round; he had purchased himself two hours of prime preparation time for the next challenge. Now, that was efficiency.