"Tell me, Uru …" It was the first time Dr. Date hadn't called someone in an official manner. "What are your achievements? It's unusual for the academic world to send children over, since it's both easier and safer to form them on Earth first. Who recommended you, and why? It even says here you're unaffiliated and alone. What were they thinking?!"

Uru shrugged, as if it was nothing special, completely disregarding the bewilderment he caused. It wouldn't be a productive idea to transfer a talented child over if they had caretakers waiting for them on this side, much less throw them into deep and dangerous waters with no support. The adults here were thus understandably alarmed, wondering whether someone in charge made a judgment error.

"I wanted to come here, and after I did well at the last Olympics, they let me," he said flatly. This, however, was far from enough for Dr. Date.

"That's very good, but you're still too young," the man summarized while shaking his head with disapproval. "You probably don't even know your future career path yet, and are likely to change your mind several times before you finally settle for one. Many fields of study on this side are lagging behind Earth, with no hope of catching up any time soon. Besides, plenty of children do well at the Olympics, and I don't recall the AIA ever entertain their capricious requests in the past. Is it because no one before you was brave enough to ask for it, or did you somehow manage to impress them this much? Youth Olympics are just a tournament, they may be at the top world level, but at your age they don't mean all that much. Do you have a specialty that can be efficiently pursued here? Is it perhaps dimensionalism? What was your major at the Olympics?" Dr. Date kept questioning, eager to get to the bottom of this perplexing situation.

Everyone else was curious as well, including the other kids, since it turned out that Uru was a celebrity after all – to them, who were surrounded by fighters and grew up in an environment where strength was the norm, intellectual prowess appealed greatly. Especially dimensionalism, which was so hard that it seemed like the figurative magic to them, yet was unanimously acclaimed the queen of all magic arts, a boon for those seeking to understand the origin energy better, and fundamental knowledge for humanity's front-runners. Take Uru's explanation – it appeared logical and maybe even obvious, as any basics should. Yet if they were asked to recap what he just said, they couldn't do it. Coming from Uru's mouth, however, it sounded beautifully simple and elegant.

The overachieving girls were particularly amazed, doubly so because of their own interest in sciences, and the fact that they found it incredible to even make it to the Olympics – of those present, only Steffi managed to pull it off, but she always failed at the first qualifying stages, which depressed her so much that she rarely ever mentioned her accomplishment. The event turned out to be very different from the nationals she regularly competed in, and now that she was older, it got even harder to win a ticket. But the way he spoke, factoring in his remarkably humble yet dignified demeanor, and the reality of him convincing the authorities to sign him up on this unusually crowded trip, it was apparent that Uru was a medalist, he just didn't want to admit it. Maybe even gold …

Of course they wouldn't know him, since the term 'celebrity' was used rather liberally in regard to scientific Olympians. It wasn't a televised event, and although some people watched the stream on the internet, they were all denizens of the intellectual world. Most of the public didn't even know that such a competition existed, only privy to the sports Olympics. But the repercussions were far more severe in this case – if champion athletes typically just got the right genes and diligently made the most of them, being admirable, yet otherwise regular, approachable and relatable people, then geniuses were anything but. While sports stars quickly aged and faded away, brilliant minds were only winding up to their biggest moves, possibly to leave an everlasting impact on the world.

Uru's powerful statement, with which he so awesomely shattered Dr. Date's oppression, his brave feat of fooling all the adult mages and Enigma, finally his muscular silhouette topped off with an imposing and mysterious scar – an image so conflicting with his mental capacity – all compounded to the impression he made so far. Even Baldomero shrunk back in shame and didn't dare to have any ill thoughts towards Uru after getting repeatedly humiliated by him. There was something very much off about this kid. He was familiar with the counselor, was backed by the state, and apparently he wasn't intimidated by warlords, or anyone else for that matter. He felt … invincible. Poor Baldomero's confidence was in bits right now, making him forget that Uru was a category 0, a hopeless non-fluxer. Instead, he appeared like an unscalable mountain …

… like someone you look up to, not look for trouble with.

"I don't actually have a specialty, I'm more of a jack of all trades," Uru admitted with slight embarrassment, while scratching his head. "I like to dabble in all fascinating subjects, that includes dimensionalism, though I don't really understand any of it yet." This statement provoked some gentle scoffs and made a few kids roll their eyes. If he didn't understand it after everything he said before, then what were they supposed to think of themselves? He was unnecessarily modest in their opinion, which made them look even worse. "I competed in mathematics, astronomy and physics," Uru added.

"All three?!" Dr. Date shouted out in shock, and everyone was immediately taken aback.

How was that dabbling?! Being a jack of all trades logically indicates being a master of none, isn't that how it works? All subjects require an equal amount of effort to learn, it's not like swimming, where each style is still essentially the same sport. How hard would it even be to qualify for three majors at a single Olympics? Surely harder than winning gold in one event, right?

"Did you take a MAP-SAT? What was your score?" Dr. Date interrogated with excitement. Those three subjects were the basis for dimensionalism – the hottest, most prestigious, and most mind-bending field of study in the world – and the boy excelled in all of them at a supreme level. No wonder he was allowed through the gate!

"Only unofficially, just for fun. I got 2330 on average, out of ten attempts," Uru replied unemotionally, since he was discontented he failed to get a full score even once. He took the test a few days before, while wrapping up his preparations for the trip. He wasn't planning on studying dimensionalism, but he was still very much interested in it, and having a result would give him more options, which was now proving to be useful. Though it was very hard for someone as young as him, with his rich competitive experience Uru was able to accurately deduce many answers, which he otherwise couldn't calculate.

Disbelief and astonishment filled the room. Everyone, who was privy to the standards, was stunned. The test was designed for 18 year old applicants to the International Institute of Dimensional Technologies on Earth, with a maximum score of 2400, which less than one per mille of the candidates attained, even though they were all the cream of the crop. Despite the academy being besieged by prospective students from all over the planet every term, with a hundred hopefuls vying for each spot, 2330 should be more than enough to place in top 1% and meet the cut-off point. If it were true …

Dr. Date looked like he wanted to blurt something out on impulse, but he stopped himself and thought it through. His no less stimulated colleague whispered something to him, and the man nodded. He operated his holo device with lightning speed and in just a few seconds put something together, which he then sent to a tablet and passed it to Uru.

"Solve these as fast as you can, please."

Uru gave a quick glance and smiled subtly, before looking up at the scientist with fiery poise, causing the man to shiver. It wasn't even the real deal, for it would take far too much time, so he was instead given a short and simplified blitz test of choice.

He devoured those ever since he got his first interactive quiz as a little child, making them his primary learning tool …

…

After the fateful incident, Uru's behavior changed dramatically.

He would constantly seek solitude and avoid company, despite the caretakers' efforts to make him play with others in order to get over the trauma that was haunting him. He kept running away and sitting in a corner, facing the wall, brooding. Claiming that he liked it that way and wasn't bored at all, and getting annoyed whenever he was unnecessarily bothered.

AI-assisted quizzes turned out to be just the right means to help him recover a semblance of normalcy. It was a very popular personalized teaching method, much more engaging and thus superbly efficient in comparison to traditional learning, so all kids were bound to pick it up eventually. But then a problem arose – Uru didn't want to stop, and if he was forced to, then he'd just go back to his corner. He simply didn't enjoy interacting with others, he wanted to be alone.

Nothing could be done, though, since the boy seemed perfectly healthy – he merely had a lot of profound questions, which was a good thing. The caretakers naturally worried and didn't want to rob him of his childhood, but the psychologists agreed that he should be allowed to pursue his interests and even further encouraged. And so Uru kept alienating himself, exploring the world in his mind.

The outcome was what the experts predicted, but its scope wholly exceeded their expectations. By the time his peers were due to begin their education, Uru was already far beyond their horizon in most subjects. He lagged in linguistic development, because he hardly ever spoke to anyone, but he did memorize a lot of raw data. And because he burned through the material like fire, it quickly run out, inevitably steering him towards the world-wide database, picking up English and steadily expanding his vocabulary.

It immediately became apparent that he had to be pushed forward to the older groups, both in class and in competitions. But his introverted nature and scary appearance presented a dreadful obstacle – he'd never find himself among his seniors, and much less in society. He was exceptionally smart, but he couldn't really talk about it, since he barely ever said a few concise words, and so his speech didn't develop along with his aptitude.

That's when an excellent behaviorist came to his rescue. Old Auntie Anna was understanding, gentle and patient, but most importantly, she was very wise. She kept admiring and complimenting his scar, asking him adequately difficult questions, and waiting for him to talk to her of his own accord. She also recognized it would only do the boy more harm to put him out there among older kids. Instead, she suggested an individual learning program with an advanced interactive AI for the boy to talk with, effectively setting him on the course to forgo his childhood – which he didn't want anyway – and attain outstanding intellect, which might help him find the answers he was looking for.

And he was all for it. He would hole up in the gaming cabin at the youth center every day for hours on end, having long conversations with the AI, slowly shaping it to fit his preferences. And whenever he wasn't there, he'd always have his pocket console with him, that the AI kept updating with random challenges for him to solve.

The effects were staggering. Uru was rapidly changing and opening up, because he was gradually becoming more able to express himself. The chasm between him and the rest of his peers only grew wider, since he spent practically all his time researching what interested him, musing or playing educational games with the AI, while they had to be often forced to fulfill their minimal quotas. He was going through various competitions like a storm and eventually got to the national level, where he started meeting other little erudites, and was finally noticed by dedicated institutes.

Once they examined him and saw the complex interface he built for himself with the AI's assistance, they were thoroughly dazed. They couldn't wrap their heads around the fact, that a little child was capable of such abstract and sophisticated thinking. Because Uru had a short attention span and jumped from one subject to another, he became proficient in them all, which made his IQ skyrocket, and even though he was still emotionally immature, he was already capable of having grown-up conversations with other adults. What shocked the counselors the most, however, were the topics he was discussing with the AI when he wasn't exercising. Death and meaning of life, valor and cowardice, justice and egoism, higher values and base instincts – and since the therapeutic program was ill equipped to explain such humane subjects, it was basically Uru teaching it what he discovered and understood so far …

He was instantly whisked away and enrolled on top scholarship to the leading science camp for teenagers, long before he could be counted as one. Fluxers were all celebrities, but here the kids were taught that fluxers couldn't even hold a candle to scientists, in fact they wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for them. That soothed the pain in the boy's heart a bit, but didn't stop the bleeding – he only ever wanted to be a hero. And yet he was a category 0, a lost cause, like the overwhelming majority of people, and his athletic aptitude was deplorable even among the brainy kids.

Well, he wasn't a geek in a typical sense. Sure, he was ridiculously fast and knowledgeable, but while the other children were already beginning to do basic scientific research and apply themselves to practical solutions in a proper academic spirit, he found it unthinkable to pursue a single assignment for more than a few hours. He deemed the inception of ideas fascinating, but their execution awfully tedious and deathly dull. He had no rigor to jump through all the difficult hoops and go way out of his comfort zone to achieve some distant goal, which was ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Even if he ever convinced himself he had one, he'd lose interest halfway.

He saw how much better the others were, and he admired them for it. But still, he imagined replicating their routines to be a waste of his time. His new caretakers were slightly disappointed – he had the best tools at his disposal, but he didn't want to use them to create something tangible. His papers were always short and to the point, and he often didn't complete his lab assignments. He was wasting his talent.

Of course, his competitive prowess was indisputable, and the trophies and prizes never stopped flowing in, getting more valuable every year. But despite all that, he wasn't happy. The sad reality of powerlessness was starting to get to him, the scar a constant reminder. He was brooding more, and studying less.

He was once again offered a cosmetic surgery, but he refused. Even though he wanted to look normal, he also didn't want to ever forget who he was. Plus, on the pragmatic side, his education cost a lot of money, and all his winnings were still symbolic in comparison. Whenever his accomplishments allowed him to ask for a favor, he would only consider something useful.

Eventually he got so disheartened, that the counselors realized they required outside assistance to help the withering prodigy. They called over the old doctor, who convinced him to share his troubles, and found the root of it all – the boy wanted to achieve flux sense and be a brave warrior. He heard it was possible for warlords to awaken it in their children, and that some primordials were rumored to be helpful in that regard as well. He was thus thinking of a way to get to New Earth …

They tried explaining to him that primordials were all but wiped out and that warlords needed years of dedicated nurturing to promote their offspring. He was already years late for the treatment, and even if he had billions to begin right away, he'd still struggle as a fluxer. There was simply no point. And if he still persisted, then he should first try to make a fortune with his brilliant mind.

But he didn't want to have any of it, and asked what would it take to get his transfer approved. In return he was told that there was no such precedence, lone children simply didn't do dimensional travel, they had to have a powerful backer taking care of them. Subsequently, he inquired about the state's backing, and finally found a ray of hope. He was given an ultimatum, though – an international acclaim, a solid ground for justifying the massive expenditure. Like an Olympic medal.

At last, a long-term project he could get behind.

And it was going to be close, if he wanted to make the next jump in summer the following year. The Olympics were going to take place a month earlier, so if he staked everything on this one card and missed it, he'd have to wait several years for the next opening. Thus, he elected to go all out for a mad push, tripling the chances by trying for all his favorite subjects.

Theoretically, he was also allowed to apply for older age groups simultaneously, but he decided against it. He saw some of their tasks, and they were already getting complicated. He'd be stretching himself thin for a small probability of success, while lowering his odds against his peers. If he was ever good enough to fight for a medal in a higher group, then he should just focus on securing one in his own.

He gave his statement with determination, and was let loose for the next year. He got his artificial teacher to render an unending stream of variations to the problems that were most likely to be posed, and did nothing but grind them tirelessly, only switching to theory and other subjects to unload his brain when he got fed up. The AI was tracking his progress, and with its help he adjusted the intensity and diversity for optimal gains. And the adults around him were very appeased – it was as if he got a second wind, and the unyielding enthusiasm he emanated spread out to other kids, creating a fantastically productive atmosphere around him.

His scores also showed great promise, culminating in many podiums and exceptional performances in the following months. He soon got signed up by the national committee to the mathematical team, and his momentum indicated, that he might be able to qualify for the other two disciplines as well. If that happened, it would already be an awe-inspiring feat, that only a handful of remarkable scientists managed to pull off in their youth.

But then another obstacle popped up – the boy started fainting on a regular basis. When the doctors looked into his regime, they were horrified. What he was doing was self-destructive, with documented casualties in the past. The human brain wasn't designed to handle such loads – it was like sprinting in a marathon. His cerebral storage of glycogen was running out so fast from the constant, prolonged effort, that his body couldn't keep up with replenishing it from the liver. And since he was as thin as a rake, he didn't have much muscles to stockpile it, either. It was a norm for him to shake from exhaustion and sugar depletion whenever he left the cabin after each session.

To Uru's great disappointment, he was banned from continuing with this kind of severity. But in the next few days of an obligatory break, he did a lot of sports activities and contemplated deeply. An interesting idea popped into his mind, and he contacted Auntie Anna again. With her help, he soon arrived at a life-changing conclusion. He was doing it all wrong!

He completely neglected his body in his quest for mental prowess, and now it was the weakest link, the bottleneck that prevented him from attaining higher levels of cognitive ability and computing power. It was also a ball and chain that dragged him down, made him self-conscious, and thus even more reluctant to engage in group activities.

He desperately needed to activate his metabolism and hormones, to make his body run like clockwork in overdrive. The way that bodybuilders did it for mass gain – eat many small meals with the proper composition and in fixed hours to keep digestion at full throttle throughout the entire day, and with it the flow of nutrients. Exercise with weights allowing acceleration of motion until he couldn't accelerate any more, for optimal stimuli. Then a lot of swimming to improve stamina and constitution, as well as ancestral breathing techniques and cryogenic treatments to enhance the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems. Fixed diet, fixed training, and fixed schedule.

Such constant state of physical devastation and hyper-regeneration would as a side effect guarantee a substantially heightened amount of glycogen, through improved storage and flow rate. Plus the activity would give his brain an opportunity to relax, and his neural pathways – a well needed boost.

Being only 12 at the time, this seemed like going from one extreme to another, but much to Uru's gratitude, the old doctor volunteered to monitor his condition until the Olympics, since she was already retired, writing books and pursuing hobbies for the most part. Under her guidance, he moved to a sports camp to have access to the coaches and facilities, because all he needed for studies was his personal AI.

Again, he stopped holding back again, battering his way to the top. He was relentless, and with his improving physique he was able to withstand more and more exertion. By the end he was overdoing it already. There was a few weeks left and the previous year made its mark on his psyche, but he was fully determined to persevere until the end or die trying.

He pushed himself past his limits on a few occasions, both mentally and physically, but Auntie Anna was always there for him. He used the following breaks to ponder life. He missed it, the tranquility of his mind.

Finally, there was only a week left. He made one last dash for the finish line, and then took a few days to relax and fully recharge. He felt powerful and ready. He nearly doubled his old body weight, could swim for hours, dive for several long minutes, remain in freezing water without succumbing to hypothermia far longer than the safety guidelines allowed, and his scores looked spectacular – he made it to all three teams, much to everyone's awe.

The event this time took place on Kagayaki, a beautiful artificial island on the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Japan, where a technological resort was built purposely by the AIA, the Academic International Association, to serve as a global science center. Although there was no comparison to sports Olympics – laics would find it about as entertaining as watching paint dry – there was still a lot of buzz in the collegiate world. The course might have been boring, but the results mattered to the world. Brilliant young minds were required to build the future, and many educational institutions were ready to throw money at them in order to bring them in.

Competition was fierce, since the top prizes were scholarships worth millions. The learning methods were extremely polished by this point, and scientific talents were treated almost as well as promising fluxers, so there were thousands of little geniuses around the world being trained to become champions.

Each discipline had several aspects to it – challenges of knowledge, speed, accuracy, perception, imagination, logical thinking, and most notably computing power. Because formulas and instructions might have differed, but algorithms and calculations were based on the same foundational principles.

Uru had his routine drilled to perfection – take in the whole problem at once, determine its difficulty, estimate its value versus the required solving time, then decide if he tackles it properly, goes for an educated guess, or leaves it for later.

And boy, was he fast. Whenever it was strategizing, topic elimination, choice of priority questions or weighing time spent against probable gains, he fought for the tiniest advantages. And he made all three finals, which were going to take place on the last day, with mathematics being the last, as the queen of all classical sciences. That in itself was an extremely rare, massive accomplishment, putting him in the spotlight and all but guaranteeing a favorable reply to his request.

There was a one day break, and he didn't do any exercises. He just rested, wandering the island and thinking about it all. Now that he was so close to success, he realized that in his ferocious offensive he completely forgot to prepare for what awaited him on the other side.

What was he going to do there?

Find another science camp? What for? That's the life he wanted to leave behind, and he was slowly getting old anyway.

Attend university? He never really went to a normal school before, much less one that required an awful lot of personal initiative. And if he wanted a degree, he could just get it on Earth before migrating.

What was he expecting to achieve once he stepped through? How would he even begin?

He drew a blank. The thought depressed him, and powerlessness overcame him yet again. The day of his finals arrived, but he was deflated and somber.

Many people saw his expression in the waiting hall and tried to cheer up the rising star, but he was in no mood to talk. Soon, the first part of the finals for astronomy began, and Uru entered it like his own execution. It did not go very well.

Momentum pushed him through it, but he wasn't his usual self. He ended up in the lower half. Then the second part came, and it went even worse. He was now at the bottom of the list. It looked bad – the points they worked hard to collect so far would be their capital in the last, deciding run.

During the short break before the final showdown, Uru went out to the hall to catch a breath. He felt exhausted. Many people were filing in to the audience, because this part was designed to be thrilling and gripping, worthy of the occasion. That's when he noticed an unassuming yet elegant man walk nearby at a leisurely pace. He was studying Uru unabashedly, with no intention to look away. So the boy kept glaring back at him, angered.

This prompted the man to stop.

"What are you thinking, brave warrior?" he eventually asked to break the stalemate, his voice very kind.

"Hmph," Uru scoffed with disdain. It wasn't the first time someone had called him that or something similar, making an obvious reference to the scar. He didn't like it at all, but he chose to answer the man anyway, taking on a dark and resentful tone. "What's all this for anyway? People are ugly and disgusting, and so am I. There's no such thing as perfection. It's just a lie, cruel and wicked. A carrot on a stick, meant to manipulate naive fools."

The man looked on solemnly. He smiled compassionately, before growing sad. "I couldn't tell you. I often wonder the same thing, when I'm tired of fighting," he admitted with grief. "But then I see all the evil around me, all the disgrace, and it hurts me even more," he said slowly while looking down with pain, as if remembering something. After a short silence he sighed, as if shaking it all off, and brightened up back to his usual self. "Forgive me, young man. On this subject, I probably need more help than you. All I can really do … is stay true to myself." He shrugged carelessly, and then he went in.

Uru delved into deep thought again. Somehow, letting out his sorrow managed to reignite his spirit a bit. He put on his earphones and played some epic orchestral music. His mood was recovering.

"Time to fight!"

"Hey!" some guy brashly interrupted him. "Do you want to get disqualified? The panel is about to start!" It was a disgruntled staff member who came out to find him. Uru didn't dawdle and practically sprinted inside.

There were only 20 contestants left, and this time they were all standing behind podiums in a neat line, separated with thin walls so they couldn't see their opponents. Each one had a display beneath their name, currently showing their previously gained points, and there was a huge screen with the broadcast above the scene.

They were now going to be quizzed simultaneously – multiple choice questions addressed to everyone would run for 10 seconds, one after another without pause, deducting 1 point each time a new one appeared. Hitting 0 meant being knocked out, and the order of elimination would decide the final standings. A correct answer would neutralize the point lost each turn, and incorrect – remove a second one. There was also an important bonus point for each question, awarded to the first competitor to get it right.

Uru saw the mysterious man in the audience. Something made him stand out, maybe just his demeanor – confrontational, yet casual and polite, as if he didn't care about correctness, only did as he deemed fit. Initially he was looking directly at Uru, but then he glanced at the scoreboard below, shook his head, mouthing a "tsk, tsk, tsk", before locking eyes with the boy yet again and smiling innocently.

Uru scowled at him for the insolence. Then, he ignored the cheeky guy.

This was his round. Endurance, speed and judgment – go for the bonus point or slow down and not risk a wrong answer, leave a blank to avoid a penalty or try an educated guess? Though he excelled at such formats, his margin for error was tiny – he only had one third the points of the leader.

Each youth wore noise canceling headphones, and Uru requested to play his favorite power piece on a loop. This wasn't going to take long – in a few minutes, there would be only one left standing. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them when the timer on his display showed mere seconds left. And then he began.

Very rarely would he get a first correct answer for a bonus point, there were 19 of the best in the world next to him, after all. Sometimes he would skip a question and lose a point, but crucially he didn't make any mistakes. The competition, however … was thinning out. He was dropping dangerously low, but a few others were knocked out before him, despite starting with more chances. The leaders, naturally, were still going strong, while he was running on fumes, and it seemed he'd be a goner soon …

… but something unbelievable transpired. Everyone was getting drained by the adrenaline rush, while Uru was in his element. The less people were left, the more often he would get the first answer in and recover some points. He was hovering above zero for a good while, but managed to jump back up, and then – he went on a roll. Whenever he knew an answer, he'd select it so fast that nobody had a chance to compete – because they were getting shaky and more meticulous, opting to go slow and be sure to not err.

While they were gradually failing, he … kept rising. He only saw his own counter, no standings and no scores. So he didn't relent – he went into overdrive, and from the perspective of the audience, started answering unnecessarily fast. While everyone else was often taking until the last moment to make their selection, he would usually answer in a couple seconds, rarely he would hesitate and skip a question, or answer late. And yet, he wasn't making that many mistakes, the bonus points handsomely offsetting the penalties.

Eventually, only a few competitors remained, while he had 10 points left, a big margin. From the amount of first answers he got, he knew that he was likely in the lead already, or close to it. He slowed down and saw that he was still getting bonus points, so he hit his ideal tempo and stuck to it. And then he really took off, because the other teens were feeling the effects of hypoglycemia, while he continued to rampage at full force.

Soon he got to 15, then 20. And he knew, he had won. He was scooping almost all the bonus points, leaving only scraps. Overflowing with confidence, he improved even further. There were only 100 questions in the pool, 16 minutes 40 seconds worth. Only warlords were able to sprint for that long, normal people could never hope to repeat such a feat, much less children.

The conclusion was inevitable. If more than one person survived the onslaught, which was an extremely rare occurrence, then the score decided the winner. One outstanding girl managed to keep it up until the end, with 2 points left.

But Uru had 33 …

Crushing performance. Likely to force a redesign of the format into something more balanced.

He looked for the man, but couldn't find him any more – he must have left when the outcome was set in stone. But Uru didn't mind. He wasn't one to gloat, he was just curious. But then, he already knew what the man felt, so he simply smiled to himself.

He had a gold medal.

But his appetite wasn't sated yet. He recovered his lost energy and went for a relaxing swim, entirely dismissing the commotion he had caused. In an hour he was up again for physics part one and two, run in a similar fashion. He was on fire to begin with, and went to the showdown as one of the leaders, where he encountered the man again. But this time … there was no challenging gaze. He knew Uru would stare him down, so he preemptively withdrew and pretended to be busy with something else. Uru smiled imperceptibly from the corner of his mouth and let him be.

He didn't leave a shred of hope for the competition.

And then there was his strongest subject – mathematics. He was already tired, but his body worked flawlessly, as intended. He didn't look for the man any more, it would be meaningless at this point, even counterproductive. There was simply no need.

Uru became the first ever to get 3 gold medals in a single event. There were double golds in the past, but this? This was something new. An absolute victory, a slaughter of innocents.

Many disparaging protests about the unfairness of the showdown and the loopholes it presented arose all around him. Intellectuals could be really … immature. Just as many, however, defended the truth – the boy was astonishingly good, he had strengths and weaknesses, and overall he was the best. Maybe the format needed to be tweaked a bit, but the triple gold was well deserved.

He made quite the ruckus, but he resolved to put it behind. He was now looking forward to the challenges that New Earth would present him, and he had an idea what to do there – he always wanted to fight, so he would do just that! Regular people could still use flux empowered tools, and this day's experience had shown him that wisdom was a terrifying weapon, allowing one to bridge realms and achieve unexpected results.

Taking advantage of his newfound status, he visited the event organizers, and as predicted, they led him to the people responsible for handling the operation of dimensional ports, including the selection process for applicants. They were shocked by the boy's request, and told him that unfortunately the queue was full, and that they'll gladly put him on the next migration in a few years time, once he grows up a bit. But he was adamant, and forced them to admit that there was indeed still a theoretical possibility to make adjustments to the currently prepared departure, though it was above their authority and far too much trouble anyway.

Yielding to the persistent young petitioner, however, they contacted their superiors, who had to contact theirs, and eventually … some bigwig gave a positive reply.

It was so great being a superstar!

Uru also asked for his old nation, specifically the institutions that cared for him, to be doubly paid back, since he wanted to settle all accounts and sever all ties in order to have absolute freedom and peace of mind. To start over and not look back. Such resolution was unheard of, but the youth's miraculous performance and impressive visage completely won the dignified personalities over. They believed that Uru was mature enough to understand what he wanted, and that he'd be able to fend for himself. Thus, they helped him tie up all loose ends, sponsored his ticket, and sent him on a guidance course to introduce him to the new reality he was about to face.

The recommendation letter they gave him was basically a free pass to go wherever he pleased, but he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention. Being famous was nice at first, but people were far too bothersome for Uru, besieging him on all sides and permitting him no respite. He much preferred peaceful solitude. The phrasing he used with Bernard only indicated the color of his medal, not the quantity. And at the orientation he only admitted to participating in three disciplines, concealing the details.

He learned from stories, that keeping one's strength hidden was not just noble and cool, but it often played a vital role in cliffhangers and caused spectacular reversals. Withholding from immediate benefits and indulgence was an investment into the future, after all.

…

The test Dr. Date gave him had 20 practice questions from a MAP-SAT training program, each offering 5 answers. Uru could solve them slowly, making sure not to blunder. He could also go berserk, spending 2 seconds per question, and still get a decent score. But there was a sweet spot between those two options, that maximized success and minimized time for optimized impression. And this was precisely Uru's specialty. He took about a minute and returned the tablet. A minute during which everyone waited in anticipation – but not for the result. They already knew it.

Because they saw the look on Dr. Date's face, who had an insight to the test's progress via his own device. His disbelief just kept growing exponentially …

"Why Periculum?! You can go anywhere you want! Why not Paradisum? Its facilities trounce all other cities, and I also work there, I could regularly take you to the port for internship. You would have a limitless future! You are bound to be a dimensional astrophysicist, while Periculum deals with practical sciences and flux application. It's not a place for someone like you!" Dr. Date implored.

The boy's speed and accuracy terrified him. Right now he himself would be several times slower. After all, he dealt with higher mathematics and complex problems, and was thus out of touch with competitive formats, even the simple ones. But no amount of preparations would ever allow him to come close. 3 seconds to comprehend the instructions and pictures, process the information and select one of 5 answers, getting only a couple wrong out of 20 tries? If that wasn't a fluke, then it must have been a top world level performance, and a record-breaking one at that. He couldn't help but remember Stefano Conti …

Of course he didn't know that this kind of questions was Uru's bread and butter for most of his life. He must have solved more than a million per year. Every example he looked at readily showed similarities to the ones he'd seen before. The numbers and formulas changed, but he navigated them outright instinctively, and either calculated or estimated the answers at the edge of his mind's capacity.

Uru smiled wistfully, and the man had a bad premonition. After all, the young champion's imposing appearance painted an obvious picture.

"I know I'm running out of time. I'm not a scientist, but a trickster. This road has no future for me, at least not one I'm looking forward to. I'd be miserable. Heh, I already am," he said whimsically. "Combat, on the other hand, I find very exciting. I'm sure if I put my heart to it, I can make some breakthroughs."

The other kids felt respect and envy yet again. The adults were looking at the boy as if he was an archmage already. Now – despite him not being a fluxer – they all felt inadequate. Silence descended.

"I understand. You're still just a child, and you want to explore the world. I won't pressure you, but think it through, Uru. If you see that it's not as pretty as it promised to be, you can always transfer to the capital," Dr. Date advised sincerely.

"I still find the topic interesting and would like to delve into it in spare time, but only for fun. If I'm free to do what I want, then I want to pursue what my heart longs for," Uru explained the misconception, giving Dr. Date a pause.

"You grew up too fast, and lagged behind in many aspects that require experience. That's why I won't rush you. Go and see what's out there. It will only benefit you and help you develop harmoniously." Dr. Date's paternal tone only added to the youth's resplendence. The contrast to his previous, harsh behavior was just too much. "Did you decide on a field of study yet?"

"No, I first want to research the options and the current trends. Then I'll calculate the optimal route," Uru declared. This was the strategy that he always applied, and it was unquestionably universal. Everyone was using it to some degree, but he went so many layers deeper, that it reached a whole new meaning.

"Good, smart move. I'll convince them to assist you in personalizing your own plan," the man promised.

Uru smiled. His individual learning path would not stray.

…

The youths were separating into their own groups, while their caretakers were boisterously flooding into the spacious pavilion, many people of great stature among them, curious to find out how the two big factions compared, politics always on their mind. In the overall din Uru retreated to the side, relieved to finally be out of the spotlight. He still had to wait for Dr. Date to go over the material he missed, though he was no longer worried about that part, and he could also use this chance to ask some burning questions, knowing that the man will gladly provide him all the information he needed.

"Wow, you're amazing!" Eleanor quickly approached him, cheerful and excited. "So that's why Bernard was taking his time with you! Did he help you enough with your problems? If there's still something left, don't be shy!" She promptly expressed her generosity.

"Oh, thank you, Miss Bell. Mr Hughes did a great job, I'll get my documents soon. Right, Mr Hughes! Did you get a word from your grandmother yet, Miss Bell?" Uru remembered the poor wretch and became anxious for him. He had a bad feeling ever since the predatory woman dragged her prey away.

"No, not yet, why are you asking?" Eleanor flustered. Her surprise was so genuine, Uru was thoroughly stumped with how clueless she was.

"Well, if I am to be honest, I'm not entirely sure your nana went easy on him. You might have to postpone your date …" he carefully explained, trying not to sound too dramatic.

"But it's not a date! I just wanted to show him the recent pictures of the formation of a young hidden dimension … my mum and her team …" Eleanor began to quickly clarify, going on the defensive, but then she stopped to think, an image of a grim reality clouding her sunny face, when she realized what she had done. "I … better go …" she eventually stammered. "Good luck out there, Uru. I hope we'll meet again, maybe even here at the port." They said their goodbyes, and she hastily took off.

"Ouch, that's gonna hurt. Well, maybe it will work out in the end."

Romance was a topic Uru always refrained from, so he blithely put the matter behind him, waiting patiently for his turn and listening intently to all the talks. It was probably the last he was going to see of this exclusive world, so he wanted to make the most of it. Soon he was going to be back to a scholastic environment, and a very different one at that. No more caring adults leading him by the hand and allowing him to focus solely on the things he pursued, forcing a dramatic change. Life was about to get hard, and even though deep down Uru was confident he was up to the task, he could feel the tension rise within him, his timid nature inevitably resurfacing.

It didn't take long for everyone to disperse, safe for him and Dr. Date. The scientist was very invested into Uru's future, giving him plenty of advice and analyzing all the academic courses at Periculum in great detail. Uru didn't want to heartlessly disillusion him, declaring that he was only interested in combat-related subjects, so he let the man continue. In any case, he learned a lot about the faculty and now had a much clearer picture.

Dr. Date also settled an urgently important matter for Uru – scholarship. Most prestigious schools were free of charge, only imposing high entry barriers, in order to scoop all the talented youths. The institutions specializing in lucrative fields, however, like medical or, most notably, flux sciences, often required ludicrous fees, and Periculum University was an absolute beast in that regard. Quite understandably, since being a mage was practically synonymous with being rich, although there was also a significant percentage of non-fluxers eager to seek a career in theorycrafting, weaponization or secondary manipulation. If they didn't have a wealthy family and multi-million student loans weren't a viable option, then the only chance for them was the state's sponsorship, which only granted a handful of the brightest applicants each year, additionally obligating them to prove themselves every semester.

Here Uru was taken aback by the reach of a dimensional port's senior staff member. It only took one call to get him on the short list. What's more, Dr. Date showed great insight and didn't ask Uru about his final results at the Olympics, he also didn't mention it in his talks. But then, he probably didn't need to. The actual experience felt stronger than hearing about it.

Funny, how quickly one could turn their attitude around …

…

The party was still in full swing, since many of the combat enthusiasts arrived to rekindle the fires.

Uru had some time before his scheduled departure, so he intended to find out about the state of matters between Cybercore, Aquila and the Prime. He also wondered, whether the ancient warlord lingered around, hoping to catch another glimpse of the old monster. Probably not, but Cronus and Vulcan were still fascinating targets to investigate for a teenage boy.

Unfortunately, he didn't even leave the corridor, when he bumped into someone, stopped in his tracks.

One of the presumed warlord's daughters blocked off the exit, standing right in front of him and striking an intimidating pose. Uru didn't even notice how she got there, and was instantly uncomfortable, so he started backing away. But then he felt another presence right behind him, and the conclusion was obvious – cloak …

… He was trapped.