The Anomaly's Path

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

I did not reply right away. Instead, I reached into my void pocket. Space bent around my fingers as a faint ripple tore through the air, and I pulled out a rolled piece of paper glowing with a faint, golden light.

A Mana Oath Contract.

”I know you need money. I know you need merit points, and I know you’re barely getting by,” I said, my voice losing its playful edge as I laid the golden paper on the small desk between us. ”...Sign this. Not just for the tournament — join my faction permanently. In return, I will back you fully.”

Malva’s eyes narrowed a little. She did not reach for the paper right away. Instead, she looked up at me, her dark, unblinking gaze studying my face with deep suspicion. The silence grew thick as she looked at me.

A strange, deadpan guard settled over her face.

”A permanent contract?” she asked, her voice dropping lower. ”For a commoner, an offer from a high noble usually comes with... strings attached. Lord Leo, let us be clear before I read your terms.”

She paused, her cold gaze moving down my body.

”Are you... after my body?” she asked bluntly, her face entirely devoid of emotion despite the nature of the question. ”Because if you expect duties outside of combat and faction operations, I am a fighter, not a noble’s plaything. No amount of gold will change that.”

I nearly choked on my own spit. The terrifying, heavy atmosphere I had been trying to build up completely evaporated in an instant.

Just what kind of childhood did she have to go through to think that way? Why is her first thought always about her body? What the hell happened to this girl...

”What?! No!” I hissed, coughing sharply into my fist to regain my composure while a sudden flare of heat rushed up my neck. ”Get your head out of the gutter! I have zero interest in using my contracts for something like that. Read the terms yourself, you cautious brat!”

I tapped the parchment aggressively.

Malva finally leaned over the desk, reading the letters word-for-word, checking for loopholes to ensure her safety:

_

MANA OATH OF SERVICE:

Between Leo von Celestial (hereinafter ”The Patron”) and Malva (hereinafter ”The Sponsored”)

Terms:

The Sponsored shall serve Leo von Celestial with loyalty and secrecy. She shall not share his true powers, hidden affinities, or faction secrets with outsiders without his permission.

The Sponsored shall not act against the interests of Leo von Celestial or his family. She shall not betray him, harm him, or work with those who wish him harm.

The Patron shall give a base of fifty Gold Pieces per month, with more for big jobs. Training, gear repair, and breakthrough supplies shall be fully paid by House Celestial.

The Patron shall provide the Sponsored with protection and resources necessary for her growth as a fighter, alongside an equitable split of team merit points.

The Patron shall not ask for any actions that are suicidal, sexually exploitative, or against the Sponsored’s moral beliefs.

Penalty for Breach: The violator’s mana core shall collapse, rendering them permanently unable to use mana.

_

She spent a full two minutes checking the terms, looking for hidden traps. She was very careful — just what you would expect from a girl who had to survive in the shadows.

But before she could speak, the room turned cold.

The playful, embarrassed look on my face disappeared completely. My eyes turned cold, and the heavy, crushing weight of my energy leaked out just enough to make the wooden floorboards creak under the strain.

The air grew thick and heavy, filling the small room with the sheer force of my intent.

”But remember two things,” I said, my voice sending a cold shiver through the small room. ”First, I really hate people who do nothing. If you accept my backing, you work, you train, and you perform. Second...”

I leaned forward, my eyes locking onto hers like a hunter locking onto its prey.

”I hate people who... betray. I don’t care what kind of tragic, fucking sympathetic reason you think you have. If you ever betray me, if you ever give away my secrets or turn your back on me when the blades are drawn, I will personally give you the most painful, horrible death you have ever heard of in your entire life. Do... we understand each other?”

The heavy pressure filled the room, a physical weight that could crush a normal student. A normal freshman would have been on their knees.

But Malva didn’t even flinch.

Her face stayed completely blank. She used her emotion control to keep her feelings hidden, her eyes staying steady as she faced my killing intent without letting it shake her. Yet, even with her emotions shut down, the weight of my aura was too strong to ignore.

Her small hands were trembling slightly at her sides under the pressure, a small sign of fear she couldn’t hide.

”...The terms are acceptable,” she said flatly, the freezing temperature in the room not bothering her in the slightest.

”Fifty gold pieces a month is more than enough. I have no intention of betraying my source of income. But if I am to join, I need to know one thing. Why me? There are dozens of rankers who would beg for this amount of gold.”

As expected, I thought, a quiet wave of satisfaction washing over me. She didn’t cry, she didn’t beg, and she didn’t let the threat break her composure. She focused entirely on the utility of the transaction.

A girl who had survived hell only cared if the predator was going to pay.

”Because.... I know what you are,” I said aloud, the coldness leaving my eyes as I reined in my aura, a small smirk returning to my face. ”...Or rather, I know you have the capability to be exactly what I need. Pick up the pen, Malva. Let’s make it official.”

She didn’t hesitate any longer. She picked up the pen, dipped it in the ink, and signed her name at the bottom of the paper.

The moment her name was written, the ink glowed bright gold.

The letters pulsed, and a wave of mana moved over the desk. I felt a soft, binding pressure at the edge of my mind, confirming the link. Across from me, Malva paused for a second, her shoulders tightening as she felt the same magic lock into her soul.

The light faded, leaving the paper looking normal again.

”Now that the contract is sealed,” I said, leaning back against the door, my eyes on her. ”I need your stats for the tournament. Your path, your rank, and your true affinity.”

Malva looked down at the signed contract, then back up at me. Slowly, she exhaled a breath. ”My power is currently Elite Low and I have a S-rank core,” she stated monotone, her voice completely level. ”My path is The Void Path. And my affinity... is Void.”

Elite Low, I noted, my mind comparing her to my other people. That means she has the same rank as Julia, who is also Elite Low. For a commoner climbing up from nothing without any noble help, reaching Elite Low on raw skill alone is very impressive.

But my thoughts caught on the second part of her answer. Void?

In the world of Aetheris, Void was completely different from normal darkness. Darkness was an element of shadows, hiding, and corruption. But Void? Void was total nothingness. Emptiness. The exact space where something used to be.

It didn’t destroy or block an attack, it erased it completely.

A fireball thrown at a Void user wouldn’t explode — it would simply be swallowed into nothing, the mana making it ceasing to exist. A sword swing would pass through an empty tear in space, hitting absolutely nothing. It was the ultimate, terrifying form of erasure.

That explains it, I realized internally. That is why my soul perception felt nothing from her. Her soul was not just quiet. She was hiding her whole presence in a void.

But as I looked at her blank face, a cold drop of sweat ran down my neck. I knew the game inside out. I knew every major character, boss, and villain.

Yet, I had absolutely no memory of a girl named Malva with a Void path.

Did she die early in the original story? I thought. With a rare affinity like that, she was either killed before the main plot began, or she never made it out of the academy alive.

”Lord Leo?” Malva’s flat voice broke my thoughts.

”Right. Just thinking about our teamwork,” I said, shaking off the dark thoughts. I walked closer to the desk, tapping the roster sheet. ”Tomorrow is just the start, Malva. After the tournament, I will introduce you to the others in our group — especially Julia Moss. You two will work together.”

Malva nodded slowly. ”I know of her. She’s from Class Audax, right? Rank 18.”

”Good. Make sure you two get along well.”

”Understood, Leader.”

”Good,” I grinned, pulling out the tournament roster and writing her name in the second slot next to mine. ”Well... I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I turned and walked out, leaving her alone in the small room.

_

The heavy door clicked shut behind me, cutting off the cold from Malva’s room.

I walked down the dim hall of the lower dorm, my boots tapping on the stone floor. I looked at the paper in my hand, her name now next to mine. A small smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.

A Void user.

The usefulness of her power changed my whole plan for the matches. Most of the noble teams in the tournament were relying on big, flashy mana spells to clear the arena. They had no idea they were about to run into a black hole that would swallow their expensive moves whole.

I stepped out of the dorm, the cool air hitting my face.

I hope the test format is the same as the game, I thought. If the rules are like the lore, we wouldn’t even fight with our real bodies. Instead, the school would use the Virtual Reality Chambers.

In the game, students would enter sealed metal pods.

Once the mana lines filled the system, our minds would be sent into a fake, real-looking world. You would lie in a capsule, close your eyes, and wake up inside a fake battlefield with a fake body that matched your real powers exactly.

It was the perfect way for the school to allow brutal fights without losing their best students to death or bad injuries. If you ”died” in the simulation, your mind would just snap back to reality inside the capsule, with nothing but a bad headache and a hurt pride.

But the pain was real. Meaning if you died, you would feel the pain of death. How scary.

Which is exactly what I need, I thought, a dark gleam in my eyes as I walked onto the main path back to my own room.

Because if it was a fake arena, I would not have to hold back. I could let Malva loose without worrying about the teachers stopping the match to save lives. It was the perfect place to test her skills.

But more importantly, this tournament was the push I needed for my own growth. I needed a perfect win.

My current standing was good, but ”good” would not be enough for what was coming. The timeline was getting tighter. The dark threats and the political purges in the empire were getting closer every day. I had to push harder, grow my group fast, and reach the next big level before the real disasters started.

Tomorrow was not just a test. It was the launch pad for everything I was building.

A smirk appeared on my face as I walked forward. Tomorrow, I will hunt.

_

Author’s Note

Currency in Aetheris

Copper Piece — Smallest. Used for bread, cheap meals, small supplies.

Silver Piece — 100 copper. Used for better meals, basic gear, training fees.

Gold Piece — 100 silver. Used for weapons, armor, rare items, noble transactions.

Platinum Piece — 100 gold. Used for estates, high-end artifacts, massive transactions.

Academy Currency

Merit Points (MT) — Earned through exams, quests, tournaments, achievements. Used for rare techniques, exclusive skills, high-grade equipment, private training.

Contribution Points (CT) — Earned by helping the academy, completing tasks, serving the student body. Used for standard supplies, library access, basic resources.