The Anomaly's Path

A heavy, suffocating silence hung over the grand hall. It wasn’t the respectful quiet that everyone had spent hours preparing for; it was a tense, trembling buzz of pure disbelief.

Thousands of eyes from the seats were pinned directly toward the middle section — directly onto me. The giant glowing board still showed that impossible gold number, casting a sharp light across the faces of the crowd.

87,450 Exam Points.

”No way...”

A trembling voice broke the silence from the upper rows. ”There’s no fucking way! The highest entry score in the entire history of Astra Academy was forty thousand points! It was set by Lady Seris Lunaria herself last year! How did a failure from Celestial family double it?!”

”He must have cheated! It’s mathematically impossible!” another noble student shouted, his face turning an ugly, frustrated red as he leaned.

”We also fought! We formed entire strike teams, hunting day and night, risking our lives against Grade 3 and Grade 4 beasts just to scrape together a few thousand points! How can one person amass nearly ninety thousand?! The system is broken!”

The shouts began to spread through the crowd like a wave.

The thousands of normal students and minor nobles who had barely survived the Sealed Valley were shaking with anger. To them, the truth was simple: Leo von Celestial was supposed to be a careless, untalented waste of shit.

Seeing him at the top felt like an insult to their own hard work.

Then, a high-ranking student from a well-known knight family stood up in the front rows, his chest heaving as he stared at the glowing board, then down toward the middle aisle.

”Answer us!” the boy demanded, his voice cracking under the pressure but filled with envy.

”We killed monsters until our swords chipped and our mana channels nearly burst! If you really earned those points legally, tell us how! What could you possibly have hunted in that valley to reach a number that high?!”

I let out a slow, heavy sigh, keeping my hands inside my pockets. I didn’t even bother to answer him. Why waste my breath explaining myself to an extra?

But up on the high balcony, the lazy smirk on Zephyr von Celestial’s face vanished, replaced by a sudden, chilling coldness. He leaned forward over the marble railing, his, ocean-blue eyes locking onto the shouting student like a predator eyeing a particularly stupid rabbit.

”You really want to know how he got those points, you little grasshopper?” Zephyr’s deep voice boomed through the hall, instantly freezing the rising murmurs of the crowd.

The auditorium went dead silent.

”While you lot were running around in packs, sweating over basic Grade 1 and Grade 2 beasts, and praying you wouldn’t stumble into anything worse than a low-tier Grade 4... my grandson was busy handling actual threats,” Zephyr stated, his tone dripping with casual disdain.

He gestured toward the massive golden number on the screen.

”Let me break it down for your tiny minds. First, the Weeping Knight — a Grade 5 Mid-tier monster. Leo tracked it alone, fought it alone, and shattered its core. And while he was at it, he also saved two candidates who would have died if he hadn’t shown up. Then came the Shadow Guardian, another Grade 5 monster that he and the Hero candidate put down together — and in that fight, he saved a lot more than just himself. Finally, the Statue of Unforgotten Sorrow — a Grade 5 High-tier monstrosity pushing toward Grade 6. Leo led his team through the nightmare, broke the statue’s core with his own hands, and killed it. Without him, everyone in that sanctum would have died.”

He paused, letting the silence stretch.

”So not only did he kill three Grade 5 monsters, he also saved the lives of everyone standing in this room who would have been dead without him.”

A collective gasp echoed through the auditorium, sharp and violent.

”Three... three Grade 5 monsters?” a young faculty member whispered, his face pale. He was one of the newer instructors, a man named Professor Vance, who had not been briefed on the full details of the exam. Like most of the room, he was hearing this for the first time.

”An Elite-rank student... fighting Grade 5 threats? And coming out alive?”

”Not just coming out alive,” Zephyr continued, a dangerous, grin returning to his sharp face.

”He hunted down dozens of Grade 4 and Grade 3 beasts along the way. Every single high-tier core in that area was destroyed by his hands. He did not just pass your little test. He broke the system because your standards are far too low for someone of his skill. An Elite-rank beating Grade 5 monsters is something no one has heard of in your generation. So stop wasting my time with your crying.”

A deep, heavy hush fell over the entire auditorium. The furious shouting completely died out, replaced by a cold awe. Hearing the raw truth from a real Sovereign broke their reality.

Damn the old man is badass, I thought.

Zephyr shifted his gaze onto me, pointing a finger toward the stage steps. ”Leo von Celestial. Get your lazy ass up here and claim what belongs to you.”

I sighed, pushing myself up from my seat.

Everyone expected me to show hesitation or maybe a sudden burst of arrogance as I walked past the noble families. But as I moved down the long carpet, my face stayed completely blank. A perfect, unreadable poker face.

My steps were steady, measured, and quiet.

Part of me was doing it because of the ancient monster standing on the balcony above; whether I liked it or not, Zephyr was a man who could read a soul with a casual glance, and playing the fool too much in front of him was a quick way to get cut open.

I walked past the front rows.

Arthur watched me pass with an intense, burning focus in his golden eyes. Beside him, Amelia sat frozen, her silver-violet eyes fixed on my back, her lips pressed tight. I could feel their stares — not just theirs, but everyone’s. Hundreds of eyes boring into me from every direction.

Roan grinned, giving me a mock salute, while Elisabeth practically burned a hole through my head with her glare.

I did not look at any of them. I climbed the stage steps with smooth ease, my long black cloak trailing behind me, and stopped right in front of the center podium.

For a brief second, I looked up toward the high balcony, my eyes meeting my grandfather’s.

I wanted to say something — a sharp remark, a joke about his dramatic entrance — but I stopped myself. I simply gave him a short nod. Zephyr chewed the inside of his cheek, a low chuckle staying between us as he waved toward the headmaster

Headmaster Vega stepped forward, carrying a beautifully crafted velvet case.

Inside sat a badge made of a strange, shimmering platinum metal that seemed to absorb the light of the room. It bore the intricate engraving of the Primus — the symbol of the person who stands at the absolute apex of the entire first-year generation.

The true leader of the freshman batch.

Vega handed it over to me. I took the platinum badge and pinned it to my coat without a single word of thanks.

”And now,” Vega announced, stepping back, his voice echoing through the massive hall. ”According to the traditions of Astra Academy, the newly Primus will deliver the opening speech to the student body. Representative Leo, the floor is yours.”

The teachers nodded, the guests from the Astra Union leaned forward in their expensive suits, and the two hundred freshmen waited for a classic, inspiring speech about honor, duty, and academy glory.

I stepped up to the shiny marble podium, looking down at the hundreds of people packed into the seats. I did not pull out the three-page speech my sister had written for me. Instead, I used my Soul Perception skill, letting my awareness spread across the whole room.

Right away, the world changed. I did not just see faces. I saw their raw emotions. The air around the front rows was thick with a heavy fog of envy and greed. The middle rows gave off a mix of fear and silent anger.

They were all looking up at me, their souls screaming with jealousy.

I leaned closer to the microphone, looked directly into the center of the crowd, and opened my mouth.

”First of all... fuck you all.”

A massive, collective gasp echoed through the auditorium.

In the front row, Arthur’s jaw dropped. Amelia froze, her eyes widening in pure shock. Beside the podium, Sylvia let out a long, tired sigh, already pressing her fingers to her temple. She didn’t even look surprised anymore. Just exhausted.

I did not even blink. I kept going, my voice calm, flat, and relaxed through the speakers.

”...I mean it,” I said, leaning my forearms against the podium.

”I can see the envy coming off the crowd right now. Every single one of you is sitting there, looking up at me, and your souls are filled with jealousy. Your eyes are drilling holes into me. It is kind of funny.”

The students looked at each other, completely dumbfounded. Was he seriously insulting the entire freshman batch during a live broadcast to the world?

”But honestly?” I shrugged, a lazy, arrogant smirk finally crossing my face.

”I don’t blame you. If I had to sit down there in the crowd, cramped in those tight seats, and look up at someone as naturally gifted, ridiculously handsome, and brilliant as me... I would be jealous too. It’s just a normal reaction to feel inferior when you are looking at true greatness. So, don’t feel too bad about yourselves. It’s not your fault you aren’t me. Life is unfair like that.”

”Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?!” a loud, angry shout suddenly echoed from the middle rows. A noble student stood up, his face red with rage, pointing a finger at the stage. ”You think just because you got lucky in the exam, you can stand up there and talk down to the rest of us?! We are the elite of this generation!”

I slowly turned my head toward the shouting student. ”With that kind of strength? You call yourselves elite?” I asked, my voice flat and dripping with sarcasm. ”That’s cute.”

I did not look angry. I looked bored, like a man looking at an annoying fly.

”Now, sit down and shut up,” I said, my voice cutting through the speakers like a blade.

Before the student could shout back, I didn’t just speak — I acted. I released a fraction of my real aura, mixing it with a sharp, killing intent.

Boom!

An invisible, heavy pressure slammed into the room. The air instantly turned freezing cold, and the gravity inside the hall felt like it multiplied by ten.

The student who had been yelling instantly choked on his own words, his knees buckling as he collapsed back into his seat, sweating profusely and trembling. The students sitting next to him paled, clutching their chests just trying to breathe.

”See?” I murmured, leaning closer to the microphone, my eyes completely dark. ”You can’t even handle a tiny bit of my presence, and you think you have the right to look me in the eye and complain? How can a person be this stupid?”

I raised my hand and pointed toward the front rows, looking past the top ranks like Roan, Alice, and Arthur.

”Look at them. Even the monsters sitting in the very front row — the ones who actually have a shred of talent — can’t defeat me. So what makes your pathetic, nameless asses think you can?”

The auditorium was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I turned my gaze toward the special balcony where the high-ranking officials of the Astra Union and the Academy directors were sitting, letting out a short, mocking laugh.

”Look at this grand auditorium. Look at all this expensive white marble, the high-grade mana stones, and those fancy old men from the Astra Union sitting up there in their tailored suits, sipping expensive wine. They love to talk about ’future leaders’ and ’academy glory.’ It’s a great script. Too bad it’s total bullshit.”

The Astra Union guests froze, their smiles instantly vanishing. One older official slammed his wine glass down on the table, his face turning purple.

”Let’s talk about reality,” I continued, leaning over the podium.

”...Almost thirty thousand students died in the Sealed Valley during this entrance exam. Thirty thousand lives vanished into the dirt just so this prestigious Academy could filter out the ’weak.’ Let me ask you all a simple question: how many of you remember their names? Anyone?”

I paused, looking over the silent crowd.

Nobody answered.

”One? Two? Maybe three if they were your friends? You don’t remember them. And honestly? I don’t care about them either. Do I look like a cold bastard? Good. Because I am. To the world, they were just nameless strangers. Just like all of you sitting out there right now.”

I slowly gestured with my hand toward Arthur, Roan, and the other top-tier candidates.

”The world only cares about the face of the future. Look at those guys sitting in the front. Let me tell you a brutal truth about how this world works. They... they are the real main heroes of this story. The world will remember their names. The Astra Union will print their faces on newspapers.”

A pause.

”And all of you? You all are just some nameless fodder to them. You are just stepping stones. Some minor villains or extra characters in someone else’s story, meant to show up, look weak, and be forgotten. Nobody is going to remember your names when you die in some random ditch.”

The crowd stared, completely shocked. The words were simple, but they cut deep. It was a brutal insult, but it carried a terrifying weight of truth.

I know exactly how normal people, desperate people, and arrogant nobles think, I thought, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the sea of students.

They get called the ’elite’ just because they passed a single test, and then they waste their entire lives on pointless politics, family fights, and meaningless status games. They sit in their comfortable houses while the world burns around them.

In the original timeline, that kind of petty fighting is exactly why humanity lost so badly to the Abyss King. We didn’t lose because we didn’t have enough people. We lost because too many of our people were weak and didn’t see the storm coming until it was already too late.

I wasn’t being sentimental. I genuinely didn’t care about their personal lives. But for the future I wanted — the future I needed to forge if I wanted to survive the coming war — I needed people who could actually wield a sword without shaking.

I am no saint, I thought. I know most of these people are going to die when the real war begins anyway.

But if my words right now can provoke them, if their anger can push them to train harder, to lift their swords just a little bit longer, and to grow strong enough to kill even a single extra demon before they go down... then that’s more than enough.

Anything is better than dying like useless background trash without accomplishing a single thing.

”...Do you think I would waste my time on some random ass strangers?” I asked out loud, rolling my eyes. ”I don’t care if you live or die. I don’t care if you drop out tomorrow. But if you are pissed off by what I’m saying right now... good. Fuel it.”

I leaned forward, my gaze sweeping over every angry face in the stands.

”Take that anger. Take that fierce competitiveness. Take that absolute feeling of being completely powerless right now, and use it as fuel. Fuel your drive to get stronger. You think I became the Primus easily? You think I just woke up with this power? You are all fools. I almost died a dozen times gaining this strength. I had to drag my soul out of hell to get this powerful. Nothing is fucking free in this world.”

I paused, letting the heavy words sink into their minds.

”So, if you think you are any better than me, then prove it. Come at me. All of you. Challenge me every single day. Come at me anytime you want, anywhere you want. If you step up, I will respond.”

Then, the terrifying pressure instantly vanished, and that lazy, sarcastic smirk returned to my face.

”Of course... it’s not like any of you can actually defeat me anyway. Let’s be real. But hey, feel free to try! It might give me some decent entertainment between classes.”

I straightened my posture, shoving my hands back into my uniform pockets.

”So, consider this my praise to you: Congratulations on surviving long enough to stand in the same room as me and hear me insult your existence. Try to keep that survival streak going. I need some people around to remind me how great I am.”

Without bowing, without saying thank you, and completely breaking every single rule of academy tradition, I turned around and casually walked off the stage.

For several seconds, nobody moved. The audience was a complete mess of conflicting emotions. They were furious, terrified, insulted, and yet... oddly fired up.

”What... what the hell was that?!” a student whispered, staring at the empty podium.

”He basically told us we are all background trash... but why do I suddenly feel like I need to go train until my arms fall off?”

”He’s a complete psycho! A narcissistic demon! Did you see how he looked at the Astra Union?!”

Then, a slow sound broke the heavy silence.

Clap... clap... clap...

For a moment, everyone thought it was Roan. But the clapping came from a different direction. Heads turned toward the source.

It was Marius Valmont.

Sitting near the back, his brown hair still messy, his eyes still tired, but his hands moving together in slow, deliberate applause. There was no smirk on his face. No sarcasm. Just raw, quiet respect. His gaze was fixed on the stage where I had been standing.

A chill ran down my spine.

Then another clap joined his. And another.

Soon, Roan was slouching in his chair, a massive grin on his face as he applauded loudly, completely loving the chaos.

”Man, that bastard is completely out of his mind!” Roan laughed out loud, leaning over toward Arthur. ”He just spat right in the face of the Astra Union and the directors on live television! That was fucking brilliant!”

Arthur didn’t laugh. He just stared at the stage, his fists clenched tightly on his knees, his golden eyes burning with a strange mixture of respect and intense, unyielding rivalry.

Down the row, Alice glared at the stage where I had disappeared, her face bright red with anger and irritation.

”Fuck that bastard,” Alice muttered under her breath, her teeth grinding together. ”He was totally trying to act all tough and cool up there. Calling us fodder? I’m going to wipe that smirk off his face the first chance I get in the dueling arena. I’ll show him who the real fodder is.”

Sorry to Alice, but the real show was happening somewhere else.

Meanwhile, I was already walking toward the food tables near the wall.

Heh. The ceremony was almost over. The food would open soon. Priorities first.