At the dinner table at night, my father asked me, "So what career are you planning on pursuing? You should decide early so you can take proper advantage of your talent."
"I haven't thought about it," I replied.
"You should think about it," he said
My mother then asked me, "What are your plans for the coming weekends?"
"I will be going to the laboratory for future testing. I want to learn how to better control my powers," I responded.
Suddenly, I asked a question that surprised my parents: "I haven't asked until now, but what do you two do?"
"We work in a research facility. That's where your mother and I met," my father replied.
My mother smiled and added, "I work in the field of genetics, specifically studying the mutations that cause genetic disorders."
"My father added on, "And I specialize in the development of cutting-edge technology that allows us to study the brain and the nervous system."
"By the way, what type of Numinator are you?" I asked.
"We both are psychic, and your sister is one too. Most members of the Sanskrit lineage awaken as psychics," my father explained.
"I will tell you which university I plan to study at next Monday," I said.
"No hurry, you should think carefully about it," my father advised.
We then focused on dinner. To my liking, my mother had made lasagna that night.
After finishing our meal, I retreated to my room, while my parents went to watch TV.
The following day, I arrived at school thirty minutes early, thanks to my telekinesis that aided me in running. Upon reaching the classroom, I noticed that Julius and Leela had already arrived, looking much better than the day before.
"Have you both recovered?" I asked, taking my seat.
"Yeah, I slept throughout yesterday. My body was sore, and even after taking painkillers, the pain persisted," Julius responded.
"I also slept the whole day. It was more like being unconscious for the whole day," added Leela.
Julius then turned to me and asked, "What about you? You seemed unfazed by the liquid yesterday."
"I discovered that I have a perfect soul," I replied.
"What's that?" they asked in unison.
"Long story short, the liquid doesn't affect me negatively. You can research it if you want to know more," I explained.
Shortly after, Adelina arrived, and I had to repeat what I had told Julius and Leela.
After school, we walked towards the school entrance.
"I can't believe you have a perfect soul. I'm so envious," Adelina complained.
"Repeating it won't change anything," I retorted, feeling a sense of schadenfreude.
With that, I bid them farewell and headed home, stopping by the factory before doing so.
It was Saturday noon and I was dressed and ready to go to the laboratory. I had already made an appointment with Dr. Mei and Dr. Wilson.
After patting the cat who was rubbing his head on me, I announced, "I am leaving."
"Be safe," my mother replied.
I hailed a taxi, but it turned out that the taxi did not go outside the roads, so I had to fly the rest of the way.
Upon arriving outside the lab, I saw someone waiting for me, who turned out to be one of Dr. Mei's assistants. He escorted me to Dr. Mei's office where both Dr. Mei and Dr. Wilson were waiting for me.
After exchanging greetings, I asked, "What is the plan for today?"
"Not much different from before. First of all, drink this," Dr. Mei said, handing me a vial of metamorphene.
I drank it but felt no difference. Dr. Mei tentatively asked, "No different from before?"
I shook my head.
"It seems your metapowers are really powerful," Dr. Wilson noted.
Dr. Mei then said, "Let's go to the testing room."
We went to the testing room and arrived before a row of blocks made from different materials.
Dr. Mei said, "Same as before. We will start with bakelite."
I nodded and motioned my right hand in a fist. The block of bakelite got compressed into a junk of 0.9m^3, 0.1m^3 smaller than in the previous test.
"Looks like your powers did increase, but not by much. Therefore, you did not feel anything ingesting two vials of metamorphene," Dr. Wilson noted down on his watch.
"Maybe we can try increasing the dosage," Dr. Mei proposed.
She took out two vials of metamorphene from her lab coat pocket, seems like she was prepared.
"Stop when you feel anything different," Dr. Wilson warned.
I nodded and slowly gulped down the first vial. Nothing happened. I drank the other vial, and again, I did not feel any different.
Looking at me, Dr. Mei asked, "Still nothing?"
I nodded. She sighed and ordered a robot to bring more vials of metamorphene.
Finally, after the 10th vial, I felt something. I felt a little light-headed, like the day of awakening. It was a dreamy/fantastic experience which I could not enjoy on the day of awakening because of stress.
Dr. Wilson and Dr. Mei looked relieved seeing my reaction. "Finally, something," they muttered.
"So, how is it?" Dr. Wilson asked.
"It felt like my awakening," I answered honestly. I was very tempted to shake my head in denial to make fun of them and see their reaction.
"Looks like you promoted to level 3 psychic. Many psychics experience something like the day of their awakening when promoting to level 3," Dr. Wilson said, looking troubled.
"What is it?"
"It looks we were wrong in assuming you had a perfect soul. It looks like you have characteristics that have not yet been recorded."
"What do you mean?"
"In the documented cases of Numinators with a perfect soul or body, there is no description of them being able to improve so quickly. Numinators with a perfect soul or body still need to practice so that the metamorphene in their system will be utilized to develop their powers rather than get released out of their body."
"Let's test your power level again," Dr. Mei suggested.
I quickly agreed as I was feeling powerful enough to decimate this entire room, which I felt I could not do before.
This time, I reduced the already compressed bakelite block into bits of pieces of junk.
After we returned to Dr. Mei's office, she announced that it was the end of the day's testing.
Dr. Wilson added, "Unlike until level 3, you cannot improve further by just ingesting metamorphene. Even if your powers increase, you won't reach level 4."
"I was wondering if you could suggest which university I should attend," I asked, trying to socialize.
"That reminds me, you don't have to complete your high school now that we have found that you have a perfect soul or something more than that. You can take the university entrance exam next year after completing the first year of high school," Dr. Mei informed me.
"With your level of psyche, you can easily finish the three-year high school curriculum in a month. And with your perfect soul, any university would be happy to accept you even if you fail the written exams," Dr. Wilson explained further.
I was pleased to hear this piece of information. Finally, I was going to enter university. My father and mother would be proud of me for this achievement.
"Oh, thanks for the pleasant information," I said, smiling.
"You still haven't answered my question, though," I added.
"Well, the Academia Primordia is the leading institution in research on metamorphene and other such sectors. So that's my recommendation," Dr. Mei replied.
"I recommend Academia Primordia as well," Dr. Wilson said.
When I arrived home, I found my parents already home. My mother was busy preparing dinner, while my father was engrossed in a TV show.
Over dinner, I revealed to them the felicitous news that the researchers had given me the green light to attend university next year. My parents appeared unsurprised, but my mother voiced her concerns, "Are you ready to leave your friends and live on your own?"
I reassured her, "Yes, I am ready."
My father chimed in, "Have they suggested any universities for you?"
I replied, "Yes, they recommended Academia Primordia. I have already done some research online and I plan to discuss this university with my teacher tomorrow."
My father encouraged me, "Good, it's always important to do your research before making such an important decision."
After we finished our dinner, I retreated to my room with Mr. Cat in tow. As I settled into bed, Mr. Cat curled up next to me and purred contentedly. The events of the day replayed in my mind as I drifted off to sleep, excited about the prospect of attending university next year.