The renovation drones whirred above them like mechanical hornets, slicing through steel, spraying weld-light, and lifting entire beams with cold, precise strength. Dust hovered in the air, sunlight fractured by the half-demolished ceiling. The old gym smelled like history being torn open— old varnish, rusted metal, and the faint memory of sweat from an era long gone.
Lynx sat on a folded metal bench, legs stretched out, chin resting lazily on one hand. He watched his teammates, still stunned, scattered across the gym like they had just been told gravity was optional.
Felix stood near the far wall, staring at the reconstruction map projected by the engineers, his expression unreadable. Uno sat cross-legged on the dusty floor, poking a broken scoreboard like it might speak to him. Jairo kept touching the old bleachers as if confirming they were real. Mico was silent again, gazing up at the drones with that calm, sharp thinking-face he wore before every game.
Lynx sighed. "What is wrong with you guys?" He asked, voice echoing slightly in the half-empty space.
They all looked at him in various levels of disbelief, like he was the weird one here.
"You're all staring like you saw a ghost."
Jairo snorted. "Because we might as well have."
Felix pushed up his glasses. "This… shouldn't be happening."
Lynx frowned, confused. "Why not? It's just a renovation. Gyms get renovated all the time."
Uno laughed— one sharp, incredulous sound. "Yeah, in normal universities." He gestured around them dramatically. "But this is Casa de Imperium, Lynx. Renovating a gym instead of demolishing it? For basketball? For us? This is something out of science fiction."
Lynx raised a brow. "Okay, but why does that matter?"
Mico crossed his arms and sigh. "Because Casa de Imperium is the most technologically advanced campus in the entire Casa Universities network. They're the commanding heart of science, engineering, robotics, defense R&D... everything futuristic."
Felix added, "They don't waste their time upgrading facilities that aren't aligned with their goals. Everything here is about innovation. Purpose. Function."
Uno pointed at the dusty wooden floor beneath them. "And basketball is not part of their 'purpose.' At all."
Jairo stretched his arms behind his head, leaning back on the bleacher. "They don't even have a P.E. class, dude. Not even one."
Lynx choked. "Wait— WHAT?!"
Four pairs of eyes turned to him.
"What do you mean no P.E. classes?!" Lynx sputtered. "Every university I know—Philippines, China, even countries I've only seen in documentaries— they ALL have P.E. in their curriculum!"
Felix gave him a flat look. "Well, we don't."
Uno grinned. "Welcome to Casa de Imperium, where you learn quantum mechanics before you learn to do a proper warm-up."
Jairo shrugged playfully. "Sports aren't really… a thing here, unless it's for military-grade conditioning."
Mico nodded. "Basketball isn't even officially recognized as a program. We're practically an extracurricular anomaly."
Lynx stared at them. Then stared at the gym. Then stared back at them again. Eyes wide, brain visibly glitching.
"You guys… didn't have P.E… ever?"
His teammates shook their heads in perfect unison.
Lynx gaped. And that was the moment realization hit him like a meteor.
He wasn't just playing basketball with talented boys. He was playing with four geniuses who learned the sport without the foundation every other athlete in the world had.
And now their hyper-advanced university was renovating an entire building just for them.
The drone hovered away, leaving behind a brief gust of cold air. Lynx blinked, still processing the revelation, his mouth half-open like his brain had abruptly hit a blue screen.
Mico finally sighed and sat beside him, elbows resting on his knees. "That's not how Casa Universities work," he began, voice calm but firm like he had explained this a hundred times before, but never this thoroughly. "It's not your ordinary university, Lynx. Not like the ones in the Philippines, or in China, or anywhere else."
Lynx frowned. "Yeah, I know it's advanced, but... no P.E.? Zero?"
Mico nodded once. "Casa de Imperium is… different. Far more different than the universities you're used to."
Felix shifted. Uno and Jairo fell silent, listening as Mico continued.
"Casa de Imperium doesn't offer a traditional P.E. program because everything here is built around advanced science, engineering, defense research, and high-level technology. Their curriculum is designed for people who will literally build the future. Because of that, they don't waste hours on general physical education when they can use that time for something more aligned with their mission."
Lynx's eyes narrowed in confusion. "But… how do students here stay active? What, do you all just sit and code your whole lives?"
Uno snorted, shaking his head. "Nope. They replaced P.E. with something crazier."
Mico nodded. "Instead of P.E., Imperians train in simulation chambers, robotics-assisted fitness labs, tactical movement arenas… basically high-tech environments designed for mission-oriented development."
Jairo leaned forward. "Some of the training is military-grade. Others are for robotics testing, biomechanical research, or advanced physics applications."
Felix added quietly, "Traditional P.E. would be considered too basic. Too outdated. Too inefficient."
Mico summarized it plainly. "Casa de Imperium doesn't teach you how to run laps. They teach you how to move with purpose. Everything is integrated into academic or research activities. Every exercise is data-driven, monitored, or tied to a technological workflow."
Lynx stared at them like they had just casually admitted they were raised inside a secret scientific bunker— which, honestly, wasn't far from the truth.
"So… you're telling me," he said slowly, "that here… basic P.E. is basically… obsolete?"
Mico nodded.
Lynx blinked. His brain was actively rebooting. You could practically see the processing fan spin up.
He knew Casa de Imperium was big. He knew it was elite. He knew it was the technological heart of the entire Casa University system.
But this?
This level of "we are too advanced for push-ups and jogging"?
That was new.
"That's…" Lynx whispered, staring blankly at the air. "That's insane."
Uno patted him on the shoulder. "Welcome to our world."
Jairo laughed. "Now imagine how surprised we were when this place started renovating a gym for basketball of all things."
Felix looked around the dusty, half-demolished structure. "This is the most un-Casa-de-Imperium thing I've seen in years."
Lynx leaned back, overwhelmed.
Casa de Imperium was big. He had known that. But not this big. Not this advanced. Not this insane.
And definitely not advanced enough to consider an entire global standard — P.E. — as something too basic for their curriculum.
Lynx rubbed his face. "I think my brain needs a system update," he muttered.
The others laughed.
---
Lynx sat there, still stunned, staring at the half-renovated gymnasium like it held the answer to a question he had never thought to ask. He had always known Casa de Imperium was different — prestigious, intimidating, unapologetically academic — but he hadn't realized just how deep that difference went.
Now it felt like the world he knew about universities had tilted sideways.
He turned to the others, voice quiet. "…So if you guys don't have P.E… then what else don't you have?"
The four Imperians exchanged looks — the kind that carried years of pressure, expectations, and sleepless nights in labs instead of classrooms.
Uno leaned on a stack of unused gym mats. "Alright, Lynx. You want to know how Imperium really works?"
Mico crossed his arms. "Then you need the real version. Not the brochure."
Lynx straightened, suddenly alert.
Felix spoke first. "Imperium doesn't follow the usual Gen Ed curriculum. No 'PE 101,' no 'Art Appreciation,' no long lists of electives that have nothing to do with your degree."
Jairo nodded. "Everything you take is tightly connected to your field. Engineering, computer science, biotech, data sciences — that's it."
Lynx frowned. "So no unrelated classes at all?"
Uno shook his head. "Imperium's whole philosophy is depth over breadth. If it doesn't strengthen your specialization, it's not part of the curriculum."
Lynx blinked. "That sounds… intense."
Mico snorted. "It is. There are no semesters here. No 'midterms,' no 'finals.'"
Lynx stiffened. "Then how do you even pass anything?!"
"You pass when you master it," Jairo said. "Some finish a course in a month. Some take a year. The pace is yours — the standard is non-negotiable."
Felix added, "Imperium cares about competence, not time."
Uno gestured toward the half-renovated gym. "At other universities, you study to prepare for real work. Here? The studying is the work."
Lynx blinked. "Meaning…?"
Felix pushed his glasses up. "Meaning every subject is attached to a project. A prototype. A paper. A dataset. Something real."
Mico smirked. "Companies send problems here for students to solve. Sometimes government agencies, too."
Jairo added with a laugh, "That's why Imperians aren't really 'party people.' You can't exactly celebrate when your prototype's AI keeps crashing at 3 a.m."
Lynx swallowed. "…Okay, that part sounds terrifying."
"It is," they said in unison.
Uno stretched. "Now you understand why P.E. isn't required."
Felix shrugged. "Imperium isn't a liberal arts university. It's a STEM powerhouse. PE didn't fit the academic spine, so it's optional — student-run, not part of the curriculum."
Mico added, "They cut anything that takes time away from research and specialization."
"So no P.E. No mandatory arts classes. No random electives?" Lynx asked.
Jairo chuckled. "Oh, we have art. But usually the kind used in interface design or simulations. Not painting sunsets."
Lynx stared. "…You guys are a different species."
Felix's tone softened but stayed firm. "Imperium students are chosen because they show potential to innovate, not because they fit the system."
Jairo added, "Everyone here is expected to contribute something someday. A study. A patent. A breakthrough. Something meaningful."
Uno shrugged. "It sounds dramatic, but it becomes normal."
Lynx exhaled slowly.
For the first time since he joined the team, he looked at the four Imperians differently — not just as friends, but as products of a university built to sharpen, accelerate, and transform people.
A university that didn't just teach. It forged.
And somehow… he was now part of that forge.
He leaned back into the newly installed bleachers, letting the truth settle. "…Wow," he whispered. "I don't think I'll ever see this place the same way again."
Mico chuckled. "No one ever does."
But Lynx wasn't just overwhelmed. He was intrigued.
Because now he understood why Castillian mattered. Why the university cared enough to rebuild an entire gym for them — the first time in years the space was being used for something student-led.
Casa de Imperium didn't invest in hobbies. It invested in potential.
And Castillian... Castillian was becoming exactly that.
A new force rising in the heart of the Imperium.