Chapter 48: Special Exam
"Aron made an absurd request." John said while Ryan was setting the tables in the morning.
"Did he now? What was the request?" Ryan asked mid-yawn, disinterested. To him, no request was absurd, except for the Unnamed Game. At that point, he couldn’t picture himself going back to that game even if forced.
Even though the Boss had asked...
He would probably flee the country if they insisted he return.
Nobody knew the horrors he had dealt with. If they truly did, they would never ask him to go back.
But compared to what he had lived through before, any request from here on out was simple.
"He wants you to pass the special admission exam at Gran-Mozart University." Ryan continued setting up the coffee for opening. He simply nodded upon hearing it, without giving it much thought.
John swallowed hard seeing his lack of reaction. Heavy sweat was already running down his forehead just from thinking about the subject, while Ryan didn’t even grasp what was happening. He sighed, knowing he would have to explain a great deal of things he had no desire to talk about, not even with a gun pointed at his forehead.
"Cool..." Ryan said with some suspicion in his voice. John seemed far too nervous, far too reactive. John was always like a block of ice, unresponsive to anything, nothing shook him. His voice was always short and to the point.
How did something so small make him react so hysterically?
"You don’t know Gran-Mozart University, do you?" He asked with a tense voice, to which Ryan shrugged, making him sigh deeply and slap himself on the forehead. "This is going to be a long conversation..." He said, dragging a chair over while beckoning Ryan to do the same.
Ryan started to grow tense, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
Soon they sat facing each other.
"If anyone ever asks you what the greatest and most prestigious University in the world is, there are only a few answers you can give, and only one answer that needs no explanation." John said soberly. "Gran-Mozart University. You can say it’s the greatest university in the world and no one will argue."
Ryan crossed his arms. "And what’s so special about it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Everything." John said. "But let’s start from the beginning."
He then cleared his throat before continuing:
"Only the Elite of society attends that place, and by that I mean: Royalty, Nobility, Children of the greatest military figures in this country’s history, and also of the major tech CEOs. Coming, of course, from every corner of the world."
Ryan swallowed hard, beginning to take the topic more seriously.
"We won’t talk about how expensive enrollment is. Let’s just talk about the requirements to even get in." John said with a grim expression. "Your academic record has to be nearly flawless, and by that I mean your academic performance has to be above at least 95% of your peers. Your grades have to place you among the top 5% most smart and diligent students, in the entire world. On top of that, you still have to pass an incredibly difficult exam against everyone else who also reached that same mark. In the end, you will stand above them. Ultimately, you will be among the top 3% of the most talented youngsters in the entire world and all of humanity."
John then smiled sadistically, to which Ryan leaned his body forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his interlaced hands propped against his face.
"And that’s just the beginning." John said with an even more sadistic tone. "You still have to prove you are educated, refined, and elegant. Through interviews. You also have to prove cultural richness, being capable of mastering at least one activity that stimulates the mind and one that stimulates the body. For example: knowing how to play piano and knowing how to play basketball, at a level close to professional, of course."
John threw himself back in his chair, smiling and enjoying himself, while Ryan grew increasingly grim.
"All of that just to get in. Inside, the routine is peculiar. But that’ll be saved for if and when you actually get in. After all, not even the Elite who spends their entire life preparing for this can guarantee their enrollment. And worse..." John smiled broadly, feeling a strange pleasure in challenging the gifted young man. "It turns out your admission will be a special case. And for that to happen, being among the top 3% most brilliant and physically gifted youngsters in all of humanity won’t be enough."
Ryan took a deep breath, knowing he’d regret even asking. "What percentage? How far above my peers do I need to prove I stand? In each of these areas?"
John raised his fingers with a smile bordering on insane, first forming the already-expected number: Nine.
With a megalomaniacal laugh and a gaze just as provocative as the guardian who had killed Ryan an uncountable number of times, he formed the second number: Nine.
Ninety-Nine.
Ryan had to stand above Ninety-Nine percent of all youth of the entire world in every imaginable area, physical and mental.
Ninety-Seven, and Ryan would already have to be a superhuman to reach that goal. Otherwise, it was simply impossible. Only a superhuman would be capable of so much. But those weren’t born in laboratories.
At least, no one had ever done it.
It took time to create someone like that. It wasn’t strange to think that even the Elite spent their entire lives preparing for that overwhelming exam.
But his job was Ninety-Nine.
It was beyond that already hellish goal.
"To be honest, you need to be among the top less-than-1% most Talented and Gifted people, in the entire world, in all of humanity. Out of more than 12 Billion human beings in existence. At sixteen years old"
Ryan sighed deeply. Being as realistic as possible. "Tell Aron I’ll need Twenty Years to complete the mission. Since it’s a university, I imagine it won’t be a problem to enroll in middle age."
"That wasn’t the deadline given for the mission." John said with a treacherous voice.
"Then he gave Ten Years. It’ll be tough, but I can manage." Ryan said, to which John shook his head once more.
"Less than that." John said, making Ryan sigh in resignation.
"How much?"
"Two weeks."
Ryan stared John dead in the eyes and said, for the first time in what must have been his entire life. "That’s impossible. I’m not capable of that much."
"..."
Deep Silence took over Manhattan.
In that moment, John didn’t know exactly what to say. Even he understood the difficulty of that special exam, and he didn’t even want Ryan entering that university. He found Aron’s idea ridiculous, absurd, and dangerous.
He didn’t want any of this for Ryan.
Even so, he also had a role in Ryan’s upbringing, and that upbringing didn’t include bowing his head and saying: I can’t do it.
Ryan had no right to say something was impossible.
He was supposed to laugh every time someone said that to him. He was the miraculous leader they had been desperately waiting for.
’He’s going to hate me for this.’ John mentally prepared himself. ’But it has to be done.’
Ryan would have to give a different answer.
