1 Week Earlier
Inside the grand halls of Malacañang Palace, Richard had been imrsed in a relentless cycle of etings, blueprints, signatures, and visions. For an entire week, he had stood at the confluence of national ambition and technological evolution. Flanked by governnt bodies—DOST, DICT, DOE, and ERC—and representing Bytebull, the tech behemoth he co-founded, Richard had beco a keystone in a project that could redefine the Philippine future.
The core of the mission: Reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant with a staggering $11 billion initiative. But it was far more than energy. Richard and the Departnt of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) drafted a $3 billion cyber defense initiative, forming a unified firewall around the nation’s digital architecture, with Bytebull’s cutting-edge AI-driven protocols at the helm.
And then, there was the crown jewel—the acquisition of the Pheonix AI frawork for $15 billion. This technological marvel was now licensed across multiple domains: governnt database optimization, automated budget accounting, traffic AI regulation, and the deep digitization of bureaucracy. With Phoenix, inefficiency would beco obsolete. The old, paper-based structures were to be phased out, replaced by machine learning algorithms and real-ti data flows.
The President himself had greenlit Richard’s ambitious vision: the developnt of a Technological Hub in Clark, Pampanga. Not just for Bytebull, but for giants like IBM, and other global tech contenders. It was a declaration of the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s rising digital titan. The clock was ticking—everything was to be operational by 2020 or earlier.
Present Day
The gates of Malacañang closed behind Richard as he stepped into the humid Manila morning. At the foot of the stone steps waited Ciano, his own personal security detail, flanked by Mr. Reyes, the veteran governnt official who had been their silent escort all week.
Richard loosened his tie slightly as he sank into the backseat of the black sedan. His mind buzzed—not from caffeine, but from sheer exhaustion. The endless hours of paperwork, policy discussions, and executive logistics had taken their toll. But it was worth it. Every form he signed was another gear in the machine he was building.
He glanced out the window as the vehicle began the drive to the airport. "We need to digitize this entire thing," he thought, imagining a system where no one would ever need to physically sign 800 pages again.
Ciano broke the silence. "We could assign soone to represent Bytebull here permanently. Maybe Jorge. He’s ticulous with governnt liaisons."
Richard nodded slowly. "Yes... but the governnt needs to respect the person they’re dealing with. They need to trust that whoever’s in front of them knows what they’re doing. And right now, that still needs to be ."
As the skyline blurred past, a soft smile played on Richard’s lips. The palace etings were over—for now. The seeds were planted. Let the governnt water them. He had other fields to sow.
Next on the list: electric mobility. Cars, motorcycles, possibly a nationwide charging infrastructure. The most crucial technology about electric vehicles are battery but he already planning to buy sothing from the system and the true leap would co after the nuclear plant was online. After the next presidential term—2016 onwards—he would begin charting a new frontier:
The Rocket Industry.
Bytebull Aerospace. Spaceports. Satellites. Perhaps even low-Earth orbit logistics. The country wasn’t ready—yet. But by the ti Richard was done, it would be.
And as the convoy neared the airport, the co-founder of Bytebull leaned back, eyes half-closed.
3 hours later.
As the black sedan rolled to a gentle stop beside Bytebull’s private jet, the engines of the aircraft humd softly, ready for departure. The tarmac reflected the burning orange of the late afternoon sun, casting long shadows beneath the wing.
Mr. Reyes, ever the composed governnt liaison, stepped forward and extended his hand to Richard with a respectful nod.
"It was an honor working with you this week, Mr. Santamo," Reyes said. "I hope we cross paths again."
Richard chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a tired smirk. "I hope not," he joked. "Not unless soone finds a way to make paperwork sign itself."
Reyes gave a knowing smile, then stepped back and remained by the car as Richard and Ciano made their way up the boarding steps. He watched until the door sealed behind them.
Inside the luxury aircraft, Ciano nodded to Richard and then moved towards the cockpit to coordinate with the pilot and security. Richard barely acknowledged him. He was drained.
He made his way straight to the private rear quarters of the plane—a sleek, high-tech bedroom suite with matte-black walls, smart glass windows, and biotric locks. The bed folded down as he entered, and without removing his shoes, he let himself fall onto it.
Finally, stillness.
He exhaled slowly and whispered, "Status window."
With a quiet shimr of blue light, the familiar digital interface materialized in front of him, projected by his internal system.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
Na: Richard Santamo
Race: Half-Human, Half-Anu
Anu Blood Concentration: 50.34%
Age: 23
Weight: 190 lbs
Height: 6’8"
SP: 8,147,234
[SHOP] [SKILLS]
Stat Points Left: 685
STR: 100
CON: 100
AGI: 100
PER: 100
VIT: 100
INT: 101
PSY: 10
Technology Learned:
• Vector Core
• Advanced Modular Fabrication System (AMFS)
• Quantum Server Architecture (Quantum Server Rack 34QU - ZT Model)
Skills:
• Information Processing (Lvl 3)
• Knowledge Acquisition
• Keyboard Warrior
[ ... ]
Richard blinked. "Half-Anu?"
He stared at the term, brows furrowing. This was new. He hadn’t noticed it before. He’d only just recently maxed out most of his physical and ntal stats through the system’s obscure training prompts and side quests, never really thinking about the deeper implications.
But now, that strange entry: Anu Blood Concentration – 50.34%
Was he even fully human anymore?
The system responded without prompting, as if reading the ripple of thoughts across his neural pathways:
[ The Anu gene already existed within your DNA. It may exist in all humans. Your consciousness expansion activated it. ]
[ The Anu blood amplifies psionic capacity. As a Half-Anu, your psionic output is now increased tenfold. ]
Richard’s breath caught in his throat.
That much?!
He turned his gaze to the new stat: PSY: 10
[ The PSY stat is a multiplier. Each point amplifies the strength, range, and control of psionic abilities. ]
[ Current output: 10x baseline potential. ]
[ Additionally: Stat Points Shop is now unlocked. Daily Quest is now optional. ]
Richard sat up slowly. For a mont, silence filled the room, save for the soft rumble of the engines preparing for takeoff.
Was he... a half-demigod now? The thought seed absurd, fantastical—out of place in a world of energy grids, bureaucratic etings, and digital infrastructure. And yet...
He rembered the monts when his instinctive understanding of nuclear fission and reactor types. When he helped redesigned the Bataan Nuclear Plant blueprint in a matter of hours.
He rubbed his temples. "No. That’s ridiculous."
Waving it all off, he went to sleep,
The mont Richard closed his eyes, he wanted peace.
But it never ca.
The low hum of the jet’s engines wasn’t the worst of it. It was the whispers, the quiet moans from the forward cabin—soone from the flight staff, likely indulging themselves or the pilots, but he hoped not—and the constant flickers of noise like static waves brushing against his brain.
It wasn’t fatigue from work that wore him down. Not really. Not the signing of docunts. Not the back-to-back etings. Not even the exhausting ntal strain of outmaneuvering bureaucratic labyrinths in Malacañang.
It was everything else.
Ever since his Perception (PER) stat hit 100, his senses beca hyper-real. Every vibration, every muttered conversation, every flicker of eye contact beca information. A whisper in a sealed room ten floors away might as well be spoken in his ear. He could sll the oil from the Manila Bay air drifting into the palace even from the deepest chambers. He heard corruption, not taphorically, but literally—cash sliding into envelopes, deals whispered in hurried breaths, favors exchanged in the shrouds of officialdom.
The world, unfiltered, was unbearable.
"Ahhh... fuck," he muttered, sitting up in bed and rubbing his temple.
Without hesitation, he called up the Skill Shop.
The glowing blue interface blood again before him, hundreds of classified skills cascading downward. His mind was too alert for sleep. He needed control.
After only a few monts of ntal filtering, one item caught his attention.
[Active Skill: Adaptive Perception & Kinetics]
Description: Grants the user active control over their sensory input (sight, sound, touch, sll, taste) by either dampening or amplifying them. Also provides temporary, significant enhancent to physical Strength and Agility. Prolonged use of kinetic enhancent may lead to ntal strain and disorientation.
[Price: 20,000 SP]
Richard bought it imdiately.
The effect was instantaneous.
The pressure behind his ears vanished. The drone of the engines softened to a distant echo. Voices faded into aningless hush. His breathing slowed. His body, once clenched under the weight of perpetual awareness, relaxed into the mattress.
He exhaled with relief.
This is what silence actually feels like.
But just as his mind began to settle, another panel caught his eye—one not categorized under combat, utility, or technology, but sothing new: Psionic Knowledge.
[Knowledge Skill: Psionic Harmonization Breath]Description: This skill grants mastery over esoteric breathing techniques that synchronize the user’s biological and psionic energies. Through controlled respiration and focused ditative states, the user may enter an altered state of mind, vastly accelerating ambient energy absorption and rapidly renewing psionic reserves.[Price: 200,000 SP]
The cost alone said everything. This wasn’t a beginner’s skill. This was the kind of ability only those with awakened minds could even perceive, let alone use.
He bought it.
Imdiately, a wave of information flooded his consciousness—not words, not images, but sothing between. Breathing patterns, ntal structures, ancient resonance patterns humming through atoms.
His eyes glowed violet, montarily eclipsing the usual cyan. Then, just as quickly, the glow receded.
He understood now.
The breathing wasn’t just to center the mind. It harmonized frequencies—biological rhythm, cerebral pulse, and the unseen currents of quantum energy flowing around all things.
Richard sat cross-legged at the center of his cabin, eyes half-lidded. He inhaled.
His lungs didn’t just take in air—they pulled in ambient currents. His Psionic Core, nestled deep in his solar plexus, began to react.
To his awakened senses, the air was alive.
In urban environnts, energy swirled erratically—tinted with emotion, confusion, ambition. In rural regions, it flowed with a slower rhythm. But the sky—the sky was thick with untapped quantum particles, silent harmonies waiting for an attuned mind.
And humans? Each had a unique vortex—a fractal pattern of light and geotry surrounding their hearts and minds. But his own vortex...
He focused on it.
In his solar plexus, the structure spun—a hyperdinsional bloom, vast and intricate, symtrical yet chaotic, like a living mandala woven from equations and emotion.
It was breathtaking.
And as he breathed deeper, the energies around him spiraled inward, pulled into his body in gentle, rhythmic pulses, flowing through ridians he never knew existed.
[ 0.0001 PSY ]
He didn’t even notice the notification at first. But it was there.
The tiniest growth. Proof that the technique worked.
Reviews
All reviews (0)