The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!

Returning home, I found my parents watching TV. I approached them and declared, "Mom, Dad, I will be gone for a few days. I’ll be back before the Nobel ceremony."

My father asked, "Where are you going?"

I responded, "Well, somewhere I can’t come back even with an Observer, but I might be back sooner, who knows."

My mom said, "If he doesn’t want to say, just leave him alone."

Afterward, I asked, "Is Oliv home?"

My father nodded, saying, "Yes, in her room."

I headed to our room, where she was seated at her desk. She turned to me, "Hey!" She greeted me and stood up.

I informed her, "Oliv, I need to be gone for a couple of days."

Surprised, she asked, "What?"

I assured her, "Yeah... but I’ll be back before the Nobel Ceremony for sure, so get ready."

She looked sad but replied, "Come back safely, then."

I nodded and returned to my office, sitting in silence for a moment, contemplating what I wanted to achieve by going to the Ulthars cluster.

After a period of waiting with uncertainty swirling in my mind, I approached the wardrobe, stepped inside, and reappeared at Coelus.

The Lord was waiting for me in his signature pink suit. He was calm and did not say a word. He just waived for me to follow him.

We entered the sleek bubble, smoothly gliding through the city until we reached the Science Tower, a level below.

We left the bubble at the Science Tower and walked up to the doors of the Separation Division. The doors slid open, and we went inside.

Inside the Separation Division, there was a room that we had used before to put my family and friends through Separation.

Additionally, there was another room with a heightened sense of security.

Face recognition, palm prints, and voice authentication were just a few of the security measures that surrounded its door.

Approaching the heavily guarded doors, The Lord passed through the security measures. The barriers yielded one by one, granting us access to the room.

The Lord said, "You can sit in the chair."

Above the chair, there were two openings and several cable antennas hanging from the ceiling.

I asked him, "What are these cables for?"

He explained, "Quasars flow through them into the analyser so that we can look for your counterpart."

As I sat down, he opened a metal door and took out two Nyctallum orbs—one yellow and one blue.

After placing the Nyctallum orbs into the openings above the chair, The Lord stated, "We will be sending you to the Ulthar cluster as there is no other option."

"Just a heads up, be prepared for the unique appearance of Ulthars; you might be automatically suspected. Fit in and be cautious."

The Lord continued, offering more insights into the Ulthar cluster. "As far as we know, the civilization you’ll be joining is just barely reaching the 3rd Quantum Layer. They are still using cars to move around."

"It is basically Earth, but a little more modernized. You will need to figure out how to live there, but I will let you think about that."

I knew I had to get used to the things people do and the technology for a few days while I thought about what to do.

I nodded and assured him that I understood.

The Lord, curious about my goal, asked, "By the way, what exactly is your goal? Do you want to kill them?"

To which I responded, "No. That would only lead to short-term repercussions. If they want me to be aggressive, then I must do something special."

The Lord left the room, saying, "Just sit there. We will take care of it."

After a few minutes, the Nyctallum orbs above me lit up, and I sensed electricity flowing through them into my head.

Suddenly, I felt like I was falling asleep, losing consciousness.

It was a familiar sensation, similar to the day when all of this had started.

I got lost in the darkness.

...

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room, its ceiling painted in a clean white.

Turning my head, I discovered a modern black-and-white space with a holographic screen on a simple black desk.

There were shelves with metallic plates and a peculiar picture of what seemed like a vampire on the wall.

As I sat up, something strange struck me – it took a few moments for my memories from before the Jump to flood back.

The unique experience of not knowing who or where I was lingered for a brief moment.

Glancing down at my hands and legs, I realized I was now an Ulthar.

My skin was pale, my legs skinnier compared to my original body, and I wore simple clothes—a white T-shirt and black shorts.

I stood up from the bed and surveyed the room.

A voice from outside the door called, "Maximillian!" I didn’t recognize the voice.

I pondered how this person might have behaved with his family, considering I had to fit into a life that wasn’t mine.

Despite the uncertainty, I left the room to investigate.

Entering the room where the call originated, I found a woman looking at me.

Her skin was extremely pale, but surprisingly, she wasn’t as skinny as I expected. In fact, she was quite good-looking.

She spoke, "What are you looking at? Sit down. You’re going to be late for lectures."

I complied and sat at a table with hard metal chairs.

Strangely, when I sat down, the metal transformed, becoming as comfortable as soft water.

In front of me was a piece of bread with a strange green paste on it.

Taking a bite, I found it surprisingly sweet.

I assumed that the woman was my mother, I asked "Could you give me a lift?"

She looked at me confused and replied, "What are you talking about? Just drive yourself."

Quick on my feet, I said, "I am a bit hungover."

I deliberately avoided mentioning alcohol, but I was sure there was some form of substance or drink that was more common among the youth in this world.

The woman sighed, looking at me with a mix of concern and understanding. She asked, "You took? What made you do that? You don’t need to fit in, son."

Her words felt ironic, given that fitting in was precisely what I aimed to achieve.

Then she says, "I will give you a lift, but you know my driving. You will be late."

I simply replied, "No problem," even though I knew it was a significant issue.

I had no clue about my class or where I needed to go. If I was on time then maybe someone I knew would bump into me.

Being late would complicate matters even more.

After a minute or so, the woman wore a thin gray jacket, and as she left the house. She said, "I will be waiting in the car. Don’t forget your purse."

The mention of a purse caught me off guard.

Men carrying purses to school? Regardless, I rushed back into the room I had just exited.

Next to the bed, there was a small black purse. Confused about the societal norms here, I picked it up.

Looking at the hanger next to the door, I found a couple of jackets. Not knowing which one was mine, I decided to go without wearing anything.

Exiting the house, I was greeted by a surprising sight.

There was no grass, just grey pavement stretching everywhere. A white street ran in front of our house, and there was another house directly opposite ours.

The next house on the right was quite far away leaving an open space. On Earth, there would typically be three more houses between them.

I saw the woman sitting in a silver car that resembled Earth’s vehicles but sleeker, with no mirrors and a more aerodynamic design.

Approaching the car, the door opened automatically, seemingly recognizing me.

I sat inside, and the pale-skinned woman started driving. She drove unusually slowly, even though the roads were nearly empty, mirroring the sparse housing.

As we drove, I noticed some other families coming out of their houses. Everyone appeared as if the sun never touched them, leaving them pale. Like they hadn’t eaten, their bones were visible.

Curious about the person I Jumped into, I decided to inspect the purse, hoping to learn more about this Maximillian.

Opening the purse’s top button showed a surprising inside. The purse was about the size of three fists.

Inside, pills of different colors filled the purse. White, black, red, yellow.

Were those drugs?

I wondered if his mother was aware of her son’s situation.

After another 10 or so minutes, we reached a vast parking lot filled with cars of various faded colors.

I don’t know if they liked things spacy, but everything was just bigger and took more space.

Exiting the car, I noticed many young adults around, though their appearance suggested an age beyond their years.

Dressed in plain clothes, they moved towards a colossal building, which I assumed to be the university.

The dull clothing and their skinny appearance made me wonder if this was the preferred style here.