Road Of Advancement

Theodore blanked out. In his mind, he was sorting out all the relevant information that he could quickly process on the Kelper Military University.

Unlike what you would expect, the universities were never affiliated with a state. At least on paper that is. The G.C.D. and G.R.D. wished that humanity would unite against the outside threats. Therefore they enforced the rule of separating state and school. Mixing with your peers without having nationality or background create conflict would improve the overall unity of mankind, or so was the thought.

On paper, this rule was strictly enforced. However, these universities still needed funding. Therefore local powerhouses and influential people would naturally become entangled with their local academy/university. They would provide funding and in turn, find promising gems and scout them early on into their companies or - in some cases, they would be scouted by military detachments.

Like with all things that are considered important, a ranking has been made. Based on their academic performance, their prowess in certain fields and their staff a university gets a certain 'influence rating'.

For a university, it was very important to have great pupils. Great pupils would have better academic results, would be better support for the research of the teaching staff and would also do well in the galactic tournaments. A good batch of students could gain more 'points' for the university! A good ranking would mean more attention would be paid by biggers companies, resulting in bigger funds for research and salaries... This was the upward cycle all universities dreamed of!!

Therefore they would go all out in scouting talented recruits!

Getting accepted was a big deal for the 'common' folks! IT would light up their path to a bigger and better future! Many strived to gain acceptance in a prestigious university! However, most would fail in their endeavour. Even for those who managed to get accepted, university was not smooth sailing! It was well known that at only the best 50% would eventually graduate!! Therefore universities crushed many peoples dreams.

For the more wealthy and influential families, this wasn't a big deal. Unlike the 'common' folk, they would be well educated and trained. Their upbringing made them stellar recruits in any university. However, for a university like KMU (Kelper Military University) even the 'good' families would have a hard time! The KMU was highly ranked!

Universities were split into four categories, simply Tier 1 to tier 4 and unranked.

Tier-one universities would only accept as much as 4% of the brightest and best students.

Tier-two universities would only accept as much as 15%/20% of the best remaining students.

Tier-three universities would scramble for the few great unlucky ones that managed to slip through the nets of tier-one and two universities and fill up their ranks with the best remaining applicants.

Tier three universities worked hard to keep their status and try and promote to a higher tier. They would take the most promising students and then try and groom them as best as they could.

And lastly, there are unranked universities. Their influence scores are so small that they're hardly on anyone's radar. All applicants that cannot go to their prefered 'tiered' universities would attend an unranked university. There they would fight to be noticed by a higher tiered university or strive to improve heir university into a ranked university.

Even with several thousand star systems being occupied by humanity and having a population running in the hundreds of billions, tier 1 academies were very scarce! And relatively few would be accepted! They would only accept the best students of the entire galaxy! You can imagine the competition to get in.

KMU was a tier two university. However, it was not very highly ranked among the tier two universities. It attracted their students from far and wide and had a decent reputation. As a military university, their rules were very strict! Because of this, many of the geniuses prefer a more loose environment for their studies.

However, for those with great ambition, this was a dream university! Many of the political and military elite families would send their scions here! the university would teach discipline, have high standards on their students and would still provide stellar education. But most importantly they were very well known for their research in cutting edge technology.

As a military university, they would patent their innovations to their patrons! This was big business! Therefore building a good rapport, having the right connections and background was very important to the big powerhouses! Another detail was that it was a great place to gather the many scions and have them make relations with each other. It would also stimulate them to compete against rivals and steadily improve.

Now his grandfather told him he had to be accepted to this prestigious university on his own strength! This was very unexpected! As the heir apparent, he would normally gain entrance based on their good and long-standing relationship with the university. However, even though he was homeschooled, he has never had the greatest results! Expecting to gain entrance based on his academic report this far ... it was definitely a big challenge!

Now factor in that Theodore over the last eight years had shut him in his room and only put minimal effort in his studies, barely getting passing grades with his home teacher, his recent comatose, and the fact that Theodore had now been replaced by Bryan... and the challenge goes from big to astronomic!

'How can he even expect me to get accepted!' Bryan thought slowly powered back on after digesting the information that rushed into his brains.

'Even though he doesn't know I've transmigrated, my previous self didn't deserve these expectations or this praise!'

His confusion slowly cleared up as he realised his grandfather must've also considered this.

'This grandpa was definitely not a slow-poke! He is absolutely a big shot that has been successfully running this powerhouse family!'

"Grandfather, you must be joking. Based on my results they would never accept me! However, I don't believe grandfather has not considered this."

'This junior will wait for grandfather to enlighten him!' Theodore thought!

"As expected! You've seen through this old man's ploy. I did not expect anything different. Ever since you've recovered you've changed. I've seen lights return in your eyes where I haven't seen them in years.."

A small pause was held between the words that his grandfather said as he sized Theodore up and nodded appreciatively. Even a small smile formed on his otherwise serious face.

".. there is a fire been lit in you, that I've only seen in your father. The son of my son can never be ordinary!" He chuckled.

"Then what is your plan grandfather, I am not even eligible due to my neural aptitude?" Theodore askes, putting the praise aside as changes being noticed due to his transmigration. He knew his attitude and demeanour were different than the original Theodore.

"First things first, Theodore. I have to explain some things first. -

Your neural aptitude was never any good. We've tested you and you did not meet the bar. This is true. However, during the tests, Dr Morgan performed he noticed that in the last couple of days of your coma, your aptitude has been rapidly improving! This was rather unexpected, but definitely a cause for joy! During your lasts tests, your aptitude has stabilized at 89%. This more than qualifies you for the University. Only your father and the founder of our family had a higher aptitude in the entire history of our family!"

"When these results came through it was truly shocking! Now things become interesting.

You see, your nephew has taken your rightful place at the academy. Though he cannot return your place, his father has definitely been in a pickle ever since you made a full recovery! Though his son came by his place rightfully, how can he ever face you if he hasn't tried to placate you?"

"To compensate you, he has decided to pay up big time! You will gain a full round of enhancements by Dr Morgan on his costs. This is not just anything, boy! I've only been able to invite Dr Morgan with a seizable 'research grant' and teasing him with the unique poison that you were inflicted with."

"The poison was never seen before, it didn't get matched to any known substance. This ignited Dr Morgan's interest. The sum of grants made hum commit to research the poison and also try to cure you. Your uncle must have truly bled money to buy this round of enhancements for you." His grandfather chuckled.

"That's pretty great and all grandfather, but even with the enhancements, there's very little time to prepare for the entrance exams! How would I be able to ace the exams and get accepted?" Theodore asked confused. Even though the enhancement sounded nice, he was sure it would not instantly turn him in a genius!

"Now, now, be patient Theodore. You don't think the discovery that your aptitude has 'magically' increased is worth something? You think I would let Dr Morgan off that easily with such a discovery?" his grandfather gleamed.

'This old fox! He has definitely wrung the doctor dry!' it dawned on Theo that his grandpa was not easily taken advantage off! A smile also formed on Theodore's face as he knew his grandfather managed to get him a big win!

"What did you get off the poor doctor, grandpa?"

"Ohh, now were affectionately calling me grandpa, are we?"

" Well, you're right about what you're thinking. You owe me one for this negotiation! I don't think Dr Morgan will do business with us for a while." He chuckled.

"Well, I won't get in the nitty-gritty details, but just know that Dr Morgan is an absolute expert when it comes to biological research and engineering. He is the creator of many incredible innovations. However, he is most known for his being a pioneer in the field of biological implants. He has recently even been given a honorary function at the G.C.D in recognition for this work! One of his most recent creations is a biological AI implant. It fully integrates with your brain and it will function like a 'second brain'."

"Unlike traditional AI, which runs on chip implants, this implant is fully biological! It merges with your brain and then becomes undetectable! The greatest gain with this technology is that, unlike traditional AI, the implant will literally grow and learn with you!"

"Like any other AI, it will help you with calculations, storing and arranging large amounts of data and it also has the other common functions of AI. However, this biological AI is a part of your brain! It will help you understand your study material! This will greatly improve your learning ability!"

"With all that AI can do these days, they are still great assistants at best. This bio-AI is much better than the current available AI on the market. Its value is incredibly high. With just money, you would not be able to get your hands on it as it's a classified technology of the G.C.D."

"Even then, the value of a potential new aptitude enhancer might not be far off. However, this opportunity is just perfect for you and our situation! We've truly lucked out." His grandfather explained.

"In order to get you accepted, we must maximise the gains in a short time! I've already consulted some old buddies of mine and hired the best possible tutors we can get on short notice. In the next three and a half month, you will be learning everything you need and more to ace this entrance exam."

"Another matter is your neural aptitude. With your current aptitude, you can interface with many incredible machines. The most popular choice is to become a mech pilot, like your father. However, Theodore, I hope that you will strive for more! With your aptitude, your enhancements and the AI-Implant you can do much, much more! I have high expectations for you!"

"Naturally, we will keep a lid on everything we've discussed. As for your enhanced aptitude, we've already published a statement that your tests were rigged and at a retest, you've passed the bar. We're, like other big families, not disclosing your actual aptitude. Though there will be sceptics, once you pass the entrance exams, the rumours will naturally die out." His grandfather stated.