The Anomaly's Path

The heavy silence in the hall was hard to breathe in. Professor Morgana’s final warning about getting kicked out at mid-term hung over our heads like a falling rock. No one dared to breathe, let alone speak.

Then, a trembling hand rose from the back of the crowd.

”Ah... Um... Professor?” a male student said, his voice cracking under the weight of her power. ”How do we... actually earn Class Points?”

Morgana stopped just as she was turning toward the back doors. She let out a long, tired sigh, rubbing her nose like explaining the rules was a pain.

”Class Points are a shared pool for all fifty of you,” she began, her sharp voice echoing through the quiet hall.

”Your own skill does not matter if your class pool is zero. You earn these points together through academy trials, class-wide tests, and direct fights against Veritas, Fortis, and Audax. This whole system is a new experiment starting with your batch. The older students do not have it, but the classes after you will.”

She paused, her dark purple eyes shining with a mean glint.

”To keep things interesting, the school added a twist. Every teacher has their own reserve of 10,000 Class Points to give out for tasks. But to keep things fair, the homeroom teachers will only have 5,000 Class Points for you. For the other three classes, they will have 10,000. That means if a student from Veritas or Fortis impresses me, I can give them double what I can give you. If you want my personal points, you have to work twice as hard to get them from me.”

A wave of shock and anger moved through the students.

”Do not think you can just take easy, low-level tasks to win either,” Morgana cut them off, her voice getting colder.

”The points you get depend on how hard the task is. If another class finishes one high-risk, high-reward task, it will easily beat a dozen easy tasks done by trash like you. Every two months, the class with the highest points gets the best rewards — good potions, good training rooms, and special resources. The losers get whatever is left. Every two months, the board resets and the ranks change.”

”Professor!” another student called out, getting braver. ”Then what about Credit Points? How do we get those if Class Points are shared?”

”Credit Points are personal idiots,” Morgana said bluntly.

”You earn them by doing things that help yourself or the school. Doing solo academy missions like hunting monsters, guarding supply runs, or helping teachers. Top exam scorers get bonus credits, and helping weaker classmates improve gives a small reward.”

My ears perked up at that. Personal growth. Class Points kept us alive as a group, but Credit Points were what really mattered for getting stronger on your own.

”...And at the end of every two months,” Morgana added, her dark purple eyes shining with a hint of mischief,

”the class at the top of the board gets a big Credit Point reward given to every single member. The best student in that class gets the biggest share. So if you want to buy the good stuff, you better make sure the idiots next to you are not dragging your score down.”

”What happens if someone fails out?” Alice called out, her voice sharp and cutting through the whispers. Her jaw was tight, not caring about the noble titles around her. ”If one of these... misfits gets kicked out, does our shared pool get hurt?”

”If a student drops out or gets sent home, nothing happens to the class points,” Morgana said bluntly. ”No replacements. No automatic point fixes. Your points leave with you. The students left behind just have to work twice as hard to fill the gap. The school does not give free replacements.”

She looked around the room one last time, her gaze stopping on the pale faces of the noble heirs who were finally realizing that their family names could not buy their way out of this system. ”Now. Any more stupid questions?”

Silence.

”Good. Because I am already bored of looking at your faces in here.” She turned on her heel, her loose, unbuttoned jacket moving behind her as she waved toward the exit. ”Stop standing around like statues and follow me. Our first real session starts now. Move.”

_

With a flick of my wrist, I swiped down, closing the glowing screen above my arm. The blue crystal on my watch dimmed to a faint, steady pulse under my coat sleeve.

My mind was racing as the class began to move. The game timeline is gone. In the original game, the top fifty students were put together in an elite class while everyone else was left in normal courses.

Now, by linking every student’s growth to a shared pool, Headmaster Vega was forcing strong and weak students to share the same cage. It was a harsh, smart move to force growth.

And looking around at the forty-nine other walking disasters in Class Ascendant, we were starting at a big disadvantage.

”Hey, wait up!”

A heavy arm suddenly dropped over my shoulder. I did not even need to look to know the lazy grin next to my face belonged to Roan. He matched my step as we walked through the big doors behind the stage, his sharp eyes looking down at my left wrist.

”Hahaha, a hundred thousand Merit Points right from the start?” Roan laughed, his voice light and relaxed despite the heavy power that had just filled the room. ”A hundred thousand Merit Points right off the bat? Man, being the Primus comes with a lot of perks. Want to sponsor a poor elf prince?”

I pushed his arm off my shoulder with a sharp move. ”Tch. Stop putting your arm around my neck and poor elf my ass. You’re literally Rank 2. If anyone has a lot of points after me, it’s you.”

”Ah, do not be like that, Leo,” Roan teased, not bothered at all as he leaned back against a stone pillar near the walkway, moving sideways with a lazy step. ”We are friends. And besides, sharing is caring.”

Alice let out a sharp, mocking laugh from a few feet away, her arms still crossed over her chest as she walked forward. ”Enjoy your little title while it lasts, Primus. Next month, the challenge system opens. I’m coming for your spot. Try to hold on until then.”

I paused for a second, turning my head just enough to see her face. I did not look her in the eyes. A small smirk pulled at my lip.

”I did not need a title to beat you in the valley, Alice. And I will not need it next month either. If you want to get embarrassed in front of the whole first-year class, go ahead. Just bring enough medicine to fix whatever I break.”

”What the fuck did you just say?!” Alice yelled, her face turning red. Her body went stiff, and her wild power almost burst out right there in the hallway as she got ready to step in my way.

Roan just smiled wider, his eyes lighting up with real fun as he stepped between us, throwing his arm toward Alice’s shoulder. ”Hahaha, relax, relax, Alice. Do not worry about it—”

Smack.

Alice pushed his hand away before it could touch her, glaring at him with a deadly heat. ”Shut your mouth before I shut it for you, spear-boy!”

Roan easily dodged the follow-up elbow, laughing under his breath.

Before the fight could get worse, the temperature in the hallway suddenly dropped. A sharp, heavy pressure hit the backs of our necks, making my chest tight and forcing everyone to freeze.

”If I hear another word of useless fighting back there, I am taking 1000 Class Points from the pool before we even get to the floor,” Professor Morgana’s voice came back to us. She had not stopped walking, nor had she turned around, but the coldness in her voice shut the whole class up.

”Save your breath for what is coming. You are going to need every bit of air.”

The silence was total. No one dared to test a Transcendent. Alice bit her lip and spat on the stone floor in anger. Roan just shrugged, his face back to its usual lazy look.

_

We followed her deeper into the school’s lower levels, going down a big, twisting stone staircase that seemed to go on forever. We walked down hundreds of feet, passing under walls of black stone with glowing silver marks that hummed with a low sound.

The fire lights above threw long, dancing shadows, making the tense faces of the students look even more empty.

Then, the tight stone hallway opened up, showing a huge underground training area.

The size of the place was shocking. It looked less like a classroom and more like an arena under the ground. The ceiling was easily a hundred feet high, held up by big pillars of enchanted stone that glowed with a deep blue light.

The whole floor was covered in a thick layer of dark grey stone tiles , made to take the hit of big spells. Around the edges, heavy iron cages and special magic-absorbing walls stood like quiet guards.

The air down here was thick, smelling faintly of sulfur, old iron, and thick mana.

”...Listen up,” Morgana said, finally stopping in the middle of the floor. She turned slowly to face us, hooking her thumbs into her pockets. Her deep purple eyes looked over our group, not caring about the awe on the students’ faces.

”Your first real session is simple. We need to find your starting point,” she said, her voice echoing. ”I have read your test scores from the valley exam, but numbers on a screen do not tell me how you really react when the air leaves your lungs and your blood turns cold.”

She stepped back and pointed to the open space of the dark grey stone tiles behind her. ”Right now, the other classes are sitting in warm, cozy lecture halls, taking notes on basic theory. But Class Ascendant doesn’t do theory. Today, we find your limits.”

Morgana’s eyes locked onto mine. Her bored, lazy look finally broke, giving way to a sharp, wild smile that sent a jolt of pure fear down my spine.

”Primus. Step forward.”