Lynx had seen a lot of bizarre things since joining Castillian: Mico's inhuman discipline, Uno's brain working faster than his mouth, Felix's terrifyingly calm logic, and Jairo… being Jairo.
But nothing— absolutely nothing— prepared him for Imperian academics.
He sat cross-legged on the floor of the Emperyo-built dorm, surrounded by the four Imperians' open notebooks, digital tablets, printed schematics, and layers upon layers of coded, encrypted, or just incomprehensible schoolwork.
The dorm itself didn't help. It was too comfortable. Too big. Too sleek. The beds were memory foam. The lights were voice-activated. The whole place looked like a futuristic condo designed by a billionaire who liked black and gold.
And Lynx basically lived there now. So he thought he had seen everything.
He was wrong.
Because right now, staring at Mico's notebook, Lynx genuinely wondered if Casa de Imperium was still teaching humans.
"What… the hell… is this?" He whispered to himself.
The notes were a mess, not because they were messy, but because they looked like a mixture of: mathematical expressions, quantum symbols, diagrams of circuits, arrows pointing at other arrows, scribbles of "variable fluctuation point detected", and a note that simply said:
[ Run again. If unstable, rewrite protocol. ]
Lynx shut the notebook. Then immediately reopened it, because he wasn't convinced it was real.
"…Is this even English? Chinese? Martian?!"
Next, he grabbed Uno's notebook. At first, he saw normal words. Adaptive architecture, intelligent mapping, interface shells...
Then the page turned and he stared at something that looked like calligraphy drawn by an AI having an identity crisis.
"What the— Uno, what is this?!" Lynx blurted out.
Uno, half-asleep on the couch, waved without looking. "Algorithmic shorthand."
"That's NOT shorthand! That's a migraine!"
Uno groan. "Works for me."
Lynx groaned too and reached for Felix's folder.
Big mistake.
Felix's notes weren't notes... they were small essays written in Mandarin, English, and occasionally… Greek?!
Plus charts. So many charts. Graphs, tables, formulas. Half of it looked like he was designing a spacecraft.
"Oh hell no," Lynx muttered. "Nope. Not reading that." He tossed it aside like it burned him.
Finally, he picked up Jairo's notebook, hoping, praying that at least one of these guys wrote like a normal student.
He opened it. Stared. Closed it. Opened it again.
"Why is half of this notebook doodles of fists, flames, and wings—? And why is the other half… some kind of engineering blueprint?!"
Jairo popped his head out from the kitchenette. "That's for my Impact Efficiency Systems module."
Lynx nearly choked on air. "Impact WHAT?!"
"It calculates optimal force output for controlled environments," Felix said helpfully.
"That does NOT make it less alien!"
Jairo flexed. "I know."
Lynx inhaled deeply. Slowly. Dramatically. Then he pointed at the mountain of notebooks and computers.
"Okay. Listen. I know I'm an out-of-school youth. I know I only finished high school. I know I didn't touch anything advanced. But THIS! This is some next-level alien scripture!"
Mico looked up from his laptop with the calmness of someone who didn't realize he was traumatizing his friend. "You're overreacting."
UNO, FELIX, and JAIRO simultaneously said "No, he's not."
Lynx threw his hands up. "Why does it look like you're taking classes for NASA, the Pentagon, and Tony Stark all at once?!"
Felix nodded thoughtfully. "Casa modules do overlap with aerospace, defense, cybernetics, and advanced AI programs."
Lynx stared at him. Blankly. Dead inside.
"…You're joking."
"No," Felix replied, genuinely confused. "Why would I—?"
Lynx grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.
Because now, he understood.
Why Casa de Imperium was considered the most intimidating university in Asia, or in the globe. Why its students were treated like prodigies. Why even normal Chinese students struggled to understand Imperian materials. Why four of the smartest, most frighteningly capable students ended up forming Castillian — and still acted like chaos incarnate.
Because this wasn't a normal school. This was a machine designed to forge geniuses.
And Lynx? Lynx was the one normal person accidentally thrown into the deep end of the smartest pool on Earth.
He dropped the pillow and glared at the four Imperians. "You guys," he said slowly, "are no longer allowed to judge me whenever I forget a math formula."
Uno snorted. "Bro, we can't even judge normal humans anymore."
Felix nodded seriously. "It's not your fault. Imperian curriculum is… specialized."
Jairo added, "Also terrifying."
Mico closed his laptop and sighed. "Welcome to Casa de Imperium, Lynx. You're officially stuck with us."
Lynx groaned and flopped onto the couch. "God help me."
Uno grinned, tossing him a drink. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Felix corrected him. "He won't."
Jairo nodded. "He really won't."
Mico shrugged. "But he'll survive."
Lynx threw pillows at all of them while screaming.
---
For the first time since he started living in the Emperyo dorm, Lynx felt… motivated.
Determined. A man on a mission.
Tonight, he would prove something— not to the world, not to China, not even to Castillian fans who kept flooding their notifications— but to himself.
To prove that he wasn't the dumbest person in the room. (He was 94% sure he was, but that wasn't the point!)
He sat in the common room with his phone, browsing the internet like a man possessed. Because if Jairo was the "goofy one," the sunshine boy, the energetic gremlin…
…then he should be the easiest one to academically humiliate, right?
Right?
So Lynx searched:
[ "Hardest chemistry questions in the world"
"Advanced Materials Science Olympiad final exams"
"Impossible chemistry quizzes that ruin your self-esteem"
"Why do chemical engineering majors cry in the bathroom" ]
He downloaded PDFs, screenshots, articles, entire problem sets used for PhD qualifiers. Then he compiled them. Arranged them. And made a neat binder titled:
[ Jairo Study Challenge — LEVEL: IMPOSSIBLE ]
Lynx grinned proudly.
Even he couldn't understand what the hell half of the symbols were. His brain hurt just by scrolling.
Perfect. This would finally humble someone.
He rushed to Jairo's room.
"Jairo! Bro! I have something for you."
Jairo looked up from his desk, hair tied, glasses perched on his nose— his rare serious look—nwhich somehow made him even prettier AND scarier.
"Oh? For me?" He bounced on his chair. Excited. Bright. Like a golden retriever.
Lynx felt confident.
"So, uh… I found the hardest quizzes related to your course. Chemical and Material Sciences. Like... these are insane, bro. People online say it's the type that makes chemistry majors drop out."
Jairo blinked. Then his eyes sparkled with interest. "Oooh! Fun! Let me see!"
Lynx handed the binder like offering a sacrificial lamb to a god.
Jairo opened it. Began reading.
Page one.
Page two.
Page five.
Page TEN.
His expression did not change. He didn't struggle. He didn't even pause. He just… processed everything like he'd read it before.
Then he looked up with the most innocent smile ever created by man.
"Lynx?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"This is so basic."
Lynx felt his soul leave his body. "BA—BASIC?! BASIC?! HOW—WHAT—WHERE—"
Jairo nodded happily. "Yeah! This is like… first-year stuff. Maybe highschool Olympiad level? Honestly it's refreshing."
REFRESHING?!
Lynx grabbed the binder and flipped through it again. Rapidly. Panicked.
"These... these are molecular-level reaction mechanism puzzles!"
"Yeah! Like I said. Basic!"
"THIS ONE IS AN ADVANCED CRYSTAL LATTICE STABILITY DERIVATION!"
"Mmm-hmm! Basic!"
"AND THIS IS A NANOSTRUCTURE RESONANCE ANALYSIS!!!"
Jairo tilted his head. "Oh. That one's actually simplified."
Lynx stared at him. Blankly. Dead inside.
"Jairo… my friends in the Philippines who are CHEMISTRY HONORS STUDENTS can't even touch this without crying…"
Jairo giggled. "They need better professors!"
Lynx sat down on the floor. Shell-shocked. Existential crisis unlocked.
"Jairo, man… you're supposed to be the dumbest-looking one in the group…"
Jairo gasped dramatically. "HEY!"
"I mean... you're the goofy one! The childish one! The sunshine ball! You're not supposed to open a binder of academic nightmares and call it BASIC!"
Jairo puffed his cheeks. "Being goofy doesn't mean I'm dumb!" He crossed his arms. "No one studies at Casa de Imperium if they're just a goofball."
Lynx froze. Because that was true.
Casa de Imperium wasn't a "university." It was an intellectual fortress. A hyper-engineered technopolis that produced the world's next scientific elite. Its curriculum wasn't just hard. It was designed to break and rebuild you.
Every Imperian student— Mico, Uno, Felix, and Jairo— were shaped inside those concentric rings and radial academic districts. Trained under the Central Spire's shadow, where the brightest minds gathered. Forged by policy, pressure, and impossible expectations.
Of course Jairo wasn't normal. Of course his "goofiness" was a disguise. Of course nothing Lynx found online would challenge someone molded by Casa de Imperium.
Lynx whispered, "I hate this school."
Jairo leaned over and hugged him. "Aww, Lynx, don't worry! We can study together! I'll explain everything!"
Lynx paled. "No. No, you will not. Explanation from you will kill me."
"But—"
"NO."
Jairo laughed, and the entire room somehow felt brighter.
Lynx groaned and covered his face. "God… I really am the dumbest in this team."
Jairo ruffled his hair. "But you're our dumbass. That's what matters!"
Lynx glared weakly. "That didn't help."
"It was meant to!"
Jairo grinned again. And Lynx? Lynx accepted his fate.
This was Casa de Imperium. This was Castillian. And he was hopelessly stuck with them.