The Anomaly's Path

”The way a tracking array works in Aetheris doesn’t depend on physical wires or lines,” Professor Eleanor’s clear voice echoed off the walls of the lecture hall. ”It depends on the natural shape and energy of the land itself.”

The room was a mix of old and new. Rows of heavy oak desks faced a big chalkboard that covered the whole front wall. Magic lights hummed quietly along the ceiling, giving off a steady glow.

Eleanor, a beautiful elf teacher in flowing silk robes, kept her back to the class. Her slim fingers held a piece of white chalk, drawing fine lines across the black stone to show a complex mana-flow picture.

Scribble. Scribble. Scri—

A strange, low whistling sound suddenly came from the very back of the room. It was steady, and it did not care about the seriousness of the lesson.

Snap.

The chalk in Eleanor’s hand broke. Her long ears twitched. A cold, still feeling settled over her shoulders, but she did not turn around. She reached into her sleeve, pulled out a new piece of chalk, and pressed it to the board.

Scribble. Scri—

Snap.

The second piece of chalk turned to dust between her fingers.

A heavy silence fell over the room like a weight.

The students sitting in the front rows instantly stopped murmuring, their bodies freezing in place. The entire room held its collective breath. Everyone knew what that rhythmic snoring meant, and everyone knew exactly who it was coming from.

Professor Eleanor turned around slowly. Her green eyes flashed with anger, her long blonde hair moving even though there was no wind. Her gaze locked directly onto the very last bench of the class.

There, in the soft morning light, sat the most exhausting sight of the freshman class.

In the center of the bench, Leo was slumped forward, his face buried directly into an expensive book, dead to the world. Leaning heavily against his right shoulder was Roan, his head tilted back toward the ceiling as a tiny bubble of drool formed at the corner of his lips.

And on Leo’s left sat Alice Scarlet.

Far from looking like a proper student, Alice was completely out cold. Her red hair was a mess, her mouth wide open, her head tilted at a sharp angle over Leo’s left shoulder. She was letting out a low, rough snore that sounded like a broken engine.

”You absolute slackers...” Eleanor’s voice rumbled with cold anger.

Leo’s eyes snapped open.

The first thing he felt was a heavy weight on both shoulders, followed by the killing intent of a Grandmaster locked on his head. He sat up fast, his white hair flying. The sudden movement made both Roan and Alice lose their support.

Roan slumped down with a groan, while Alice’s head jerked sideways. Alice’s eyes snapped open in a flash of anger. She glared at Leo like he had ruined everything.

”Hey! Wake up, you useless elf! You too, Alice!” Leo hissed, jabbing his elbow into Roan’s ribs.

”Mmm... five more minutes, mom... the wind spirits are dancing...” Roan muttered, his head sliding down before his eyes opened, blinking at the bright room.

”What do you mean wake up, Leo?! I was sleeping fine until you moved like a scared horse!” Alice snapped, reaching over Leo to slam her palm on Roan’s desk. ”Wake up, lazy elf!”

Roan finally noticed the dead silence of the room and looked toward the front. His face went pale. ”Uh... Leo? Why is the teacher looking at us like she wants to kill us?”

Thud!

Eleanor slammed her hand on the podium, leaving a faint frost mark on the wood.

”Leo! Roan! Alice!” Eleanor barked, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

”This is the fourth time this week! The official academy tournament begins tomorrow morning! The entire world is watching this academy, and yet, the Rank 1 Primus and his top classmates are treating my advanced theory lectures like a joke!”

Leo let out a loud cough, locking his fingers together on the desk. He sat up straight, staring ahead like nothing had happened.

”Don’t give me that silent posture, Leo!” Eleanor snapped, turning her glare to Alice. ”And what about you, Miss Scarlet? Care to explain why your advanced theory involves sleeping through my lecture?”

Alice stood up, her chin high with zero respect. ”Your tracking array lesson was so boring it made me fall asleep, Professor. Personally, I think the rich nobles in the front need the lecture more than we do.”

Several noble students turned around to glare at her, but Alice just bared her teeth at them, ready to fight the whole room.

”Get out! All three of you!” Eleanor waved her hand toward the doors. ”Go find a bed if the floor is not comfortable enough! Class dismissed!”

The three of them grabbed their things and scrambled out. Alice shoved her papers into her bag, cursing under her breath. Leo sighed and fixed his cuffs and slipped out the heavy doors behind them.

_

[Leo’s POV]

”Man, she has a terrifying aura for someone so beautiful,” Roan muttered as we walked out of the building, stretching his arms behind his head.

”Scary? She’s a stuck-up, chalk-breaking hag,” Alice spat, kicking a pebble so hard it stuck in a wooden pillar. She glared back at the building. ”Three weeks of Morgana beating us into paste, and now I have to deal with her lectures on tournament eve. If any of those high-born bastards laugh at us today, I’m breaking a jaw.”

”Hey, don’t blame us, Alice,” Roan chuckled, keeping a safe distance from her. ”Speaking of which, I am starving. You want to grab some food at the cafeteria, Alice? I heard they’re serving high-grade beast meat today to celebrate the tournament eve.”

Alice stopped complaining, her ears perking up at the mention of meat. ”High-grade beast meat? The expensive stuff?”

”The very same,” Roan smiled.

”Fine,” Alice huffed, crossing her arms, though her stomach growled loud right on cue. ”But you’re paying, elf. Consider it tax for your snoring ruining my focus. Are you coming, Leo, or are you going to stand here looking pretty?”

”No,” I sighed, rubbing my tired head. ”...You guys go ahead. I still have to submit my team list before the office closes tonight. Tomorrow is the competition, and I shouldn’t have waited this long.”

”Suit yourself, playboy,” Roan laughed, throwing an arm around Alice’s shoulders to pull her along.

”Touch me again and I’ll take your liver,” Alice said loudly, but she didn’t actually push his arm off as they started walking toward the main yard. ”Let’s go.”

”Got it,” his voice came back as they headed off toward the cafeteria.

Once I was alone, I let out a heavy breath, my boots clicking against the floor as I walked away from the sectors.

The rumors had spread down the halls faster than lightning.

For three weeks after that day in the old sectors, Roan did not let me live it down. Every time we passed a girl, he would cough and mutter about ”the playboy’s secret kingdom.” Even Alice gave me a cold look when she heard his jokes about me being a ”harem protagonist.”

But eventually, the teasing stopped.

Not because Roan grew a conscience, but because Instructor Morgana turned our lives into hell. Three weeks vanished in a blur of blood, sweat, and total exhaustion. Nearly three weeks had passed since that day, when I first met Malva.

If anyone asked why I was running on no sleep on the eve of the biggest competition, I would not blame the tournament. I would blame Instructor Morgana. The woman was a demonic sadist disguised as a teacher.

Every morning, before the sun came up, she dragged Roan, Alice and me to the training grounds for what she called ”basic training.”

It was just a one-sided beating.

My reaction time had gotten better, but it cost me my sleep. She would push us for hours, and by the time classes started, my brain was fried. I was not a masochist, but I had to admit it was working. I could feel the change in my mana flow.

During the rare moments I was not bleeding on a field or sleeping in class, I had been digging. I asked Lyra to find information on Morgana.

The results were thin but clear: she was a former student of Headmaster Vega and a past Primus of this school. She was deep in the school’s history, which explained why the other teachers put up with her crazy methods.

But Morgana wasn’t the only one I had researched. My thoughts drifted back to the quiet commoner girl.

Malva.

I had checked her files over the past few weeks. She was a commoner, ranked 114th, which meant she lived down the hill in the basic dorms.

According to the whispers Lyra picked up, Malva was desperate for money and points. She took every hard task she could find and lived on almost nothing. She was clearly trying to save someone or pay off a big debt.

Honestly, I had been incredibly busy these past few weeks focusing on my own art and training, otherwise I would have tracked her down sooner. A sharp smile touched my lips as I walked down the long path leading away from the hall.

She had been refusing my team invitations, and maybe I could have just used someone else. But maybe it was my pride? I didn’t like being told no. Besides, I had a plan for the future. My inner circle was small — Lyra, Julia, and if things went well today, Malva.

Later, I planned to bring in Caster. But there was one more person I needed. My eyes darkened as I thought of him. In the original story, he was a minor villain.

I will find him after the tournament, I thought. For now, let’s make her join my team.

_

The buildings changed as I reached the bottom of the hill. The big stone houses of the high ranks were gone, replaced by plain, blocky buildings. These were the basic dorms where Ranks 51–200 lived.

As I stepped through the iron gate, the noise in the yard died. Students stopped and stared at my white hair and the platinum badge on my chest.

”Is that... Leo?”

”The Rank 1? What the hell is he doing down here in the commoner dorms?”

”Did someone offend him?”

I completely ignored the whispers, walking straight into the main lobby of the female dorm building. The elderly attendant behind the front desk nearly choked on her tea when I approached, her hands shaking as she stood up.

”L-Lord Leo! How can I assist the Primus today?” she stammered.

”Malva,” I said smoothly, leaning against the counter with a polite smile. ”Which room is she in?”

”Room 114, my lord! Just down the left corridor!”

”Thank you.”

I walked down the dim hall, the faint smell of cheap soap in the air. When I reached the plain wooden door marked 114, I knocked three times.

A few seconds later, the door clicked open. A young girl with short brown hair stepped out, a tired expression on her face that instantly froze into fear the moment her eyes landed on me.

”L-L-Leo?!” she squeaked, her face turning bright crimson as she scrambled backward, clutching the doorframe. ”The Rank 1?! Why—why are you at my door?!”

”Good morning,” I said, offering a casual wave. ”Does Malva live here?”

Before the poor girl could faint from pure shock, a flat voice drifted from inside the room. ”Let him in, Chloe. He is persistent.”

Malva stepped into view, her black hair damp, wearing a simple white shirt and black skirt. Her face was blank.

I looked at the flustered roommate and gave her a gentle nod. ”Miss Chloe, can you leave us alone for a few minutes? I have some business with your roommate.”

Chloe’s face turned even redder. She nodded quickly like a toy running out of power, squeezed past me in the hall, and practically ran toward the common lounge without looking back.

I stepped inside the room, my lips twitching a little as I looked around. It was small. Two beds, a shared desk, and a tiny closet. Nothing like the big, fancy room I had up the hill.

”I have already told you many times, Lord Leo,” Malva said, her voice flat as she leaned against her desk. ”...I don’t want to join your team. It’s a waste of time, and I can’t afford to get caught up in the trouble that comes with being around Rank 1.”

”No,” I said, closing the door behind me. ”Today... I am not asking. I am making an offer you cannot refuse.”

Malva tilted her head. ”I am listening...”