The Anomaly's Path

The main food hall of the academy did not look like a normal school cafeteria. It looked like a fancy royal party room.

A high ceiling with glowing crystals made the room look like a bright midday sky, shining down on hundreds of students from everywhere.

Right in the best part of the hall, the biggest round marble table was full. For the first time since the opening ceremony, the top students from Classes Veritas, Fortis, and Audax were all squeezed into one spot, trying to keep their sanity after a hard morning.

”If I have to look at another core diagram today, I am going to jump out a window,” Princess Cordelia groaned, dropping her royal posture and putting her face on the table. ”Being a princess does not prepare your brain for Eleanor’s lessons. Three hours of elf math... I am very tired.”

Sitting next to her, Julia let out a soft, real laugh, adjusting her simple plate of normal food. Class Audax had been hard, but as a commoner who had fought her way to Rank 18, she was just happy to have survived day one.

”Do not worry, Princess. I took extra notes on the stuff Professor Eleanor showed us. I can help you go over them later.”

Cordelia lifted her head at once, her eyes shining with hope. ”Julia, you are a real angel. See? This is why we are friends. Unlike certain people from other classes who just watch me suffer.”

”Do not look at us,” Arthur laughed softly, holding up his hands as he sat beside Amelia and Nyra. He looked clean and put together, though a bit of tiredness was in his eyes.

”Class Veritas was not any easier. Vice Principal Helene did not waste any time with nice talk. She treated our morning like we were already third-year fighters getting ready for battle.”

”Because the basic theory she taught is very important for the Vanguard track, Arthur,” Amelia cut in, her voice clean and sharp as she cut her food with careful moves. ”If the academy changes the core rules based on what Helene showed us, our training will get better by at least twelve percent.”

”Always looking for ways to improve, Amelia,” Caster laughed from across the table, leaning back in his chair with a lazy smile as he tossed a grape into his mouth. ”Over in Class Fortis, Valerios did not care about math. That vampire spent the whole morning giving off bloodlust to make half the room sweat through their clothes.”

”And you were slacking through all of it, Caster,” Riven cut in, his voice low and rough as he tore off a piece of bread, focusing on his plate. ”Your moves during the footwork drills Valerios made us run were very off. If you carry that bad balance into the tests next week, your side of the line will break.”

Caster waved his fork. ”Please. I was saving my energy. No point in using up my power for a basic drill.”

Lyssaria did not even look up from her tea. Her back was straight, and a cold feeling came off her. ”Being lazy on day one is a fast way to end up at the bottom, Caster. If you or the others let your guard down before the class ranks are set, do not expect the rest of Fortis to carry your weight.”

Beside them, Nyra did not say a word. She was not paying attention to the talk. She was focused on a big plate of spicy meat. She tore into the grilled food with a speed that did not match her neat uniform.

”See? Nyra has the right idea,” Caster laughed, pointing at her plate. ”No thoughts. Just food.”

Nyra slowly lifted her eyes, giving Caster a look that promised a very painful fight later, then went right back to her meat.

_

On the other side of the big hall, far away from the noisy talk of the main group, I was just trying to get through the lunch crowd.

To the busy room, I was just another face in the crowd.

I looked over at the center table for a second, watching the groups from Veritas, Fortis, and Audax laugh and argue around their big table. They looked like a tight, strong team. Good for them. Dealing with that much talk and politics on day one sounded like a huge pain.

”Holy shit,” Roan said from right behind me, his elf ears twitching as he stared at the glowing menus above the food counters.

”I knew this place was rich, but this is crazy. Look at those prices. One plate of that cooked Drake steak costs more than I have ever carried in my pocket. Back home, I just point at things and someone else pays.”

”Good thing we aren’t broke,” I smiled, tapping my watch.

With 100,000 Merit Points and a fresh 5,000 Credits in my account, I felt like a king. I walked straight to the best food section, ignoring the basic student meals. I loaded up a big tray with the best food — cooked beast meat, golden elf grains, and side dishes made to heal your body.

The payment cleared with a sharp ding!

I picked up the heavy, steaming tray, feeling the strong energy coming from the food. After three hours of getting my body beaten by Morgana, this was exactly what I needed to fix my mood. I turned around, looking for a quiet corner table where I could eat alone and think.

But as I took three steps forward, I saw two shadows right behind me.

I stopped and slowly turned my head and stared at the two idiots breathing down my neck. Roan was hovering over my left shoulder, staring at my pile of food with hungry eyes. On my right, Alice stood with her arms crossed, holding her own plate but staying two inches away from me.

”...Why the hell are you two following me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. ”Don’t you have your own food to go buy?”

Alice lifted her chin, pointing at her own tray. ”I already bought my food, you idiot. The halls are crowded and I am just walking this way to make sure you do not walk into another trash tunnel and ruin our class rank on day one.”

Saving me from trash tunnels? Sure. You’re just a loner trying to pretend you have somewhere to be, I thought. I kept my mouth shut, though. If I said that out loud, she would probably try to kill me.

”Right, an aggressive bodyguard. Truly, I am blessed,” I rolled my eyes, then turned my gaze to the elf. ”And what about you? You’re Rank 2 of the whole exam. Don’t tell me you’re broke.”

Roan fidgeted, avoiding eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck. ”Well... my friend Leo. Haha... you see... about that...”

I blinked, a sudden realization hitting me. ”Don’t tell me you already spent all your Merit Points?”

Roan’s eyes went wide. ”What the fuck?! How do you even know that?!”

”Are you crazy bastard?! Do you even know what you’re—”

”Hey! Do not shout!” Roan hissed at once, jumping forward to cover my mouth before pulling his hand back. He looked around the busy hall nervously, his elf ears twitching in fear. ”Keep your voice down! If Lyssaria finds out I lost all my money in a bet on the first day, she will kill me and use my skin as a training mat!”

My lip twitched. ”You fucking gam—? You know what, I’m not even surprised. You’re an idiot.”

”Come on, Leo, are we not close friends? Are we not brothers after surviving that crazy teacher?” Roan smiled without shame, rubbing his hands as he looked at my cooked meat. ”Just give me a bit of your points. I will pay you back next week. Or just let me have a small bite. A tiny piece of that meat will heal my soul.”

”Fuck off,” I said, turning back around and walking to a table. ”Go eat grass in the yard.”

We finally found a big marble table near the back of the hall, far away from the noisy center. We sat down and started eating. The good meat melted on my tongue, sending a wave of strong energy straight to my sore ribs.

Alice ate her own food quietly, keeping a sharp, clean look. Roan, on the other hand, made our lunch a sad, funny show. Because he had no money, he was stuck eating a bowl of the plain, tasteless student soup. Every time he took a spoonful of his bland food, he let out a loud, sad sigh, staring at my hot meat with wide, wet eyes like a hungry dog.

”If you stare at my plate any harder, your eyes will fall into your soup,” I said, not giving him a single piece.

”You have a heart of cold stone, Celestial,” Roan cried, chewing on a piece of dry bread like it was cardboard.

I ignored his crying and focused on my food. Let the main cast have their fun. Let the rest of the academy stress about their ranks. As long as I could eat in peace, I did not care about anything else.

Honestly, looking around this room, I thought I was the only sane person here. On one side, the so-called heroes were arguing about tiny number improvements and throwing out killing intent over a simple salad.

On my side, a top elf prince was begging like a lost dog because he lost all his money gambling in just three hours, and a crazy girl was following me around for no reason.

If this was day one, by week three I would probably be fighting off the apocalypse just to finish breakfast.

I took another bite, letting the silence settle.

Then, I felt it.

A pair of eyes on me.

I looked up. Across the hall, near the windows, Elisabeth was sitting alone. Her violet eyes were locked on me. She didn’t look away when our eyes met. She just tilted her head slightly, then stood up and walked out of the hall.

I watched her go, my grip tightening on my fork.

...What the hell was that?