The private training room beneath the Valemont estate held no mirrors or decorative elements. Only precisely arranged weapons, training equipment, and a single observation window of bulletproof glass. At five years old, Caspian stood in the center of the room, his posture perfect as Walter demonstrated a sequence of movements.
"The basics first," Walter instructed, his cultured British accent at odds with the lethal grace of his demonstration. "Your body carries the legacy of centuries of Valemont training. Now we discover how your awakened abilities enhance them."
Caspian's newly manifested power activated automatically, crimson bleeding into his irises as golden patterns emerged. The world shifted into pure mathematics - angles, velocities, and probable outcomes calculating in microseconds as he watched Walter move.
"Fascinating," Walter observed, noting the changes in his young charge's eyes. "The Valemont Chromosome has manifested more strongly in you than any previous generation. Shall we test its limits?"
Without warning, Walter launched a precise strike - fast enough to test but carefully measured to avoid actual damage. Caspian's body moved before his conscious mind finished processing, flowing around the attack like water around stone. His enhanced vision showed him not just Walter's movement, but the minute muscle tensions that telegraphed future attacks.
"Six possible follow-up strikes," Caspian noted clinically, already moving to counter the most probable one. "Your weight distribution suggests the right cross has highest probability."
Walter's right cross cut through the air where Caspian had been a moment before. "Very good. But physical attacks are merely the beginning. Tell me what else you see."
Caspian let his enhanced vision expand, taking in the entire room. "Structural stress points in the reinforced walls. Four hidden weapon caches. A surveillance system with three redundant backups." His eyes narrowed slightly. "And the fact that we're being observed."
Behind the bulletproof glass, Tobias Valemont made a note on his tablet. Beside him, Carrie watched their son with analytical intensity, her trained eye catching every nuance of his movement.
"The power in his eyes," she noted, her tone professional despite the subject being her son. "It's beyond anything recorded in the family archives. The Valemont Chromosome appears to have evolved."
Tobias nodded once, his attention never leaving the training room. "Generations of selective breeding and training, culminating in this manifestation. The question is whether he can maintain analytical clarity under genuine pressure." He touched a control on his tablet. "Walter, proceed to level two assessment."
The training room's hidden panels opened, revealing automated combat drones - a Valemont Enterprises prototype that wouldn't be declassified for another decade. They moved with inhuman speed, attacking from multiple angles.
Caspian's eyes flared brighter, the golden patterns spinning faster as combat calculations increased exponentially. Each drone's movement became a series of mathematical equations, their attack patterns resolving into solvable problems.
He moved through their attacks with fluid precision, each step exactly where it needed to be, each counter striking with measured force. His enhanced vision wasn't just showing him where to move - it was calculating the most efficient path through the entire combat scenario.
"Remarkable," Walter observed, watching his young charge dismantle the drone attack pattern. "He's not just reacting. He's solving the entire combat equation simultaneously."
In the observation room, Carrie's eyes narrowed slightly. "This level of ability... the family chronicles mention the possibility, but we've never seen such a complete manifestation."
"Yes," Tobias agreed, his expression unchanging as he watched his son systematically disable the last drone. "The Valemont legacy has reached a new threshold."