The Anomaly's Path

”Place your hand on the surface, Mr. Celestial,” Professor Veyra said, her voice dropping its playful tone and becoming sharp.

I held back a heavy sigh, stepped up to the stone stand, and pressed my palm flat against the cool surface of the crystal ball.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, the colorless mist inside went wild.

The crystal shook hard under my hand. A sharp, jagged line of black lightning tore through the center, followed quickly by the dark purple bend of space folding in. Before the orb could settle, a tongue of dark flame burst from the bottom, swirling into the small storm.

The three forces did not blend. They fought hard for control, crashing against each other inside the glass like trapped animals.

The students in the front rows leaned back, a few putting their hands over their chests.

”Amazing...,” Isolde said, her pale blue eyes reflecting the wild flash of elements. She did not look scared. She looked really interested.

”Look closely, class. Notice how the space element tries to separate the lightning, while the flame feeds on the leftover? Normal mana paths would have turned to ash under this kind of inside conflict. Your core must be very strong to act as a cage for three opposing ideas.”

She raised her silver ring, tapping the air once. A calming wave of pure ice mana washed over the stand, pushing the orb until the mist settled back into a quiet swirl.

”You may return to your seat, Leo,” she said, giving me a small, approving nod.

”You have raw adaptability, but your control is like a man holding three wild animals by one rope. If you do not learn to separate your paths, the next time your core has a breakthrough, the inside backlash will do your enemy’s job for you.”

I pulled my hand back, feeling a faint, familiar sting in my veins. ”Understood, Professor.”

As I walked back up the stone steps, a heavy silence followed me. Lyssaria gave me a sympathetic look as I slid back into my seat, while Amelia kept her eyes on her desk, her fingers tightly locked together.

”You really enjoy making an entrance, do not you?” Lyssaria whispered, her lips twitching with amusement.

”I was trying to stay quiet,” I said back, sinking into my seat. ”The world clearly has other plans.”

Professor Veyra turned back to the big board, drawing a complex three-level diagram to explain the basics of elemental clash.

She detailed how unseparated paths cause harmful feedback loops, forcing students to picture inside mana walls to keep their different energy currents from tearing their cores apart from the inside.

For the next hour and a half, Professor Veyra went deep into the heavy theory of elemental clash and path separation. She explained how an Awakener must see their mana not as one flowing river, but as separate currents that need careful inside walls.

I tried. I really did.

But after forty minutes of hearing about elemental absorption limits, my brain completely shut off. The warm, heavy air of the room and the steady sound of chalk on the board became a powerful sleep spell. My eyelids felt like lead.

I propped my chin up with one hand, staring blankly at a picture of a mana core, fighting a losing battle against sleep.

The moment the heavy front doors opened to signal the end of the class, I was already on my feet.

Before Lyssaria or Amelia could even pack their notebooks, I slipped out the side exit. I needed air, and more importantly, I needed to get away from the staring eyes of the remaining students.

_

Ten minutes later, I realized I had a much bigger problem.

I was standing in the middle of a big, unfamiliar stone courtyard surrounded by high, arched stone paths. I looked left. I looked right. Every building looked the same — tall walls covered in protective marks. I was completely lost in the academy’s big maze.... again.

”Cursing the builders is not going to give me a map,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

Buzz. Buzz.

A sharp shake on my left wrist cut through my frustration. I pulled back my sleeve, showing the sleek, dark metal band of my Mana-Link Watch. The single blue crystal at the center was pulsing with a bright, wild purple light.

An unknown incoming call request.

I tapped the crystal, sending a small thread of my mana into it to accept the link. A tiny picture flickered to life above the watch, and instead of a normal text, the sharp, messy face of Professor Morgana appeared in the blue light.

She looked like she was sitting at her desk, her eyes narrowing the moment the call went through.

”Where the hell are you right now?” she asked, skipping any form of greeting.

I tilted my head, looking around the empty, grand yard. ”In the academy?”

Morgana let out a sharp, irritated laugh, running a hand through her messy dark hair. ”I know you’re in the academy, brat. I mean where in the academy?”

I looked around again, staring at a big stone statue of a knight holding a glowing crystal staff that I had definitely not seen before. I held the watch up, moving the picture around to show her the walls.

”Well,” I muttered in a low, flat voice, ”I wish I knew where I am...”

”What did you say?” Morgana snapped, her brow furrowing.

I quickly coughed, bringing the watch back to my face. ”Nothing. I am in the inner campus grounds. But tell me, Professor, why did you call me out of nowhere?”

”Get to my office in the instructor’s wing,” she ordered smoothly, ignoring my question entirely. ”You have exactly ten minutes. Don’t be late.”

”Wait, why—”

Before I could even finish the sentence, the blue light snapped off. The crystal dimmed, cutting the call.

I stared at the blank metal face of the watch, my lips twitching with pure irritation. ”Cursed women... at least send me the damn location coordinates if you are going to give me a deadline! How the hell am I supposed to know where to go?”

Groaning under my breath, I picked a direction and started walking fast, using the tall spires of the main building as a rough guide. After several wrong turns and a lot of running through long, echoing halls, I finally reached the heavy double doors of the Teacher’s Wing.

The air here was different — quieter, thicker with the power of the high-ranking teachers who ran the academy. I looked at the brass nameplates on the dark wood doors until I finally found the one carved with Professor Morgana - Class Ascendant.

I knocked hard on the heavy wood.

”Get in here,” her voice drifted through from the other side.

I pushed the door open and stepped in.

Morgana’s office was not calm.

It was a reflection of her personality — useful but very messy. Stacks of papers, restricted maps of the Human Domain, and half-empty ink bottles covered her big oak desk. She was leaning back in her leather chair, a smile on her lips as she looked at her watch.

”Nine minutes and forty seconds,” she remarked. ”Barely made it. Sit down.”

I dropped into the heavy wooden chair across from her and let out a tired breath. I looked at the messy desk, then back to her face. ”Are not you going to ask your student if he wants a drink after running across the whole campus?”

Morgana’s eyes lit up, a sudden look crossing her face. ”Oh yeah! Now that you remind me...” She reached into her desk drawer, pulled out a heavy ceramic mug, and slid it across the wood toward me. ”Go down the hall and get me a cup of hot black coffee too.”

My lips twitched hard. I stared at the empty mug in front of me. ”Are not you being a bit too shameless, Professor?”

”I am teaching you the value of hard work, brat,” she laughed, waving her hand. ”Forget the coffee for now. Look at this.”

She slid a thick, leather-bound paper across the desk. The cover had the gold seal of Headmaster Vega.

I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. ”What’s this?”

”We are going on a trip,” Morgana said, her tone turning a little more serious, though the dangerous glint was still in her eyes.

”Headmaster Vega is running a surprise field exchange program. He wants the first-years to stop staring at the school walls, get out into the real world, and learn how the rest of the world works.”

I opened the paper, my eyes scanning the high-level plan. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the location and the title at the top.

The Magic Tower City.

As someone who knew the game’s story inside out, I knew exactly what that place was.

It was a big, advanced city — a place where old stone buildings met high-tech, runic towers. It was the smart and magical heart of the whole land, ruled by the Arcanum Sage himself.

”To be exact, our real target is the Arcane Academy,” Morgana added, her face sharpening.

”It is the most famous institution of magic in the Magic Tower City, a tall monument to arcane knowledge and power that trains the next generation of mages, scholars, and magical engineers. Unlike this academy, which focuses on combat and military training, the Arcane Academy is all about the study, improvement, and mastery of magic in all its forms — from elemental theory and rune writing to space control and concept magic.”

”The Magic Tower City...” I murmured, looking up at her. ”Are we going alone?”

”Not a chance,” Morgana chuckled, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the desk. ”Vega is splitting the four first-year classes to cover different areas so everyone gets a taste of what is out there. Arthur’s class, Veritas, and Elisabeth’s class, Audax, are being sent toward the Holy Kingdom’s.”

She paused, her eyes locking onto mine with a sharp smile.

”So if Arthur and Elisabeth’s classes are going toward the Holy Kingdom, that means the remaining class left for us to pair up with is...” I trailed off.

”Class Fortis,” Morgana said, tapping her fingers on the desk. ”Professor Valerio’s group.”

I held back a sigh. That meant Riven, Caster, and Lyssaria would be on the same ride.

”You are going to be the student leader for the Ascendant side,” Morgana added casually, throwing another paper on the pile.

”All one hundred students from both classes will be under our watch. Well, actually, my watch. You will be handling the ground work with Fortis’s leader.”

I blinked, catching her words. ”Wait. Your watch? What about Professor Valerio? Is he not going?”

Morgana leaned back, waving a hand. ”No, Valerio is not going. He has to stay behind to teach the second-years.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, a doubt popping into my mind. ”Hold on. What about you then? Do not you also have other students to teach here?”

”Nope,” she said, popping the ’p’ with a smug grin. ”I only teach the first-year Class Ascendant.”

She looked perfectly relaxed, a little too happy about the situation.

Seeing her face, I could not help but stare. A stray thought crossed my mind — was she just taking free money from the school by doing the least work while poor Professor Valerio got stuck working like a mule? It was definitely funny.

Morgana’s sharp eyes caught my shift in posture at once. Her smile turned into a dangerous look. ”What? Are you thinking something bad right now, brat?”

”No, definitely not,” I said at once, shaking my hands in front of me to stop the coming storm. I cleared my throat, pushing the talk back on track.

”Anyway, Professor... what exactly do you want me to do? Surely you did not ask me to come all the way to your office just to tell me we are going on a trip.”

Morgana let out a loud laugh, clearly amused by my reaction. ”Good. At least you are quick to ask the right questions.”

She reached to the corner of her desk and picked up a big, dangerously thick stack of messy papers, dropping it right in front of me with a heavy thud.

”I want you to solve these,” she said plainly.

I stared at the tower of sheets, then back at her smiling face. Disbelief washed over me. ”Huh? Are not you just dropping your own work on me, Professor?”

”Uh, no,” Morgana replied without a shred of shame. ”This is what a Primus does. You have a duty to fulfill, you know? Besides, you are in charge of both classes as the student leader for this field exchange program, so handling these papers falls under your job.”

I cursed under my breath, keeping a flat, deadpan stare. This woman was absolutely, clearly dumping her paperwork straight onto me. I sighed inside, wondering if this was how Sylvia felt whenever that crazy president dumped his work on her.

”Furthermore,” Morgana continued, completely ignoring my inner misery, ”I want you to form a combined group and bring the students from both classes together. Set up a way for them to talk to each other before we go. We need both classes on the same page before we step into the Magic Tower City.”

She stood up from her leather chair, stretching her arms out like she had just done a hard day of work.

”We are going on a two-day trip,” she said, heading straight toward the office door. ”I am leaving the room now to go get that coffee myself. You can take your time sitting here, but make sure you finish that assignment before those two days are up.”

With a final, teasing wink, she stepped out and left the room, the heavy door clicking shut behind her.

I sat alone in the quiet office, staring at the mountain of papers left in her wake.

”Fucking hell...” I said, cursing out loud as the weight of the work trap finally hit me.