The Anomaly's Path

”Status,” I muttered.

A glowing black and blue screen appeared in front of my face.

_

—『 STATUS SCREEN 』—

NAME → Leo von Celestial

RACE → Human (High Noble)

AGE → 18

BLOODLINE → Continuum Bloodline (Half-Awakened)

CURRENT RANK → Expert (Low → Expert High)

CORE → ??? Rank

PATH → The Anomaly’s Path (Origin Rank)

『 TITLES 』

∟ Heir of the Celestials

∟ Scum of the Human Domain

∟ Human Domain’s Failure

∟ Anomaly

∟ The Watcher’s Apostle

∟ The Grumpy Spark of Duskfall

∟ The White Reaper

∟ The Primus

『 AFFINITIES 』

∟ Lightning

∟ Space

∟ Soul Flame (Evolved from Black Flame / Continuum Bloodline) — Now carries cold echo from Frost-Monarch

『 ATTRIBUTES 』

∟ STR (Strength) → B- → A-

∟ AGI (Agility) → B+ → A

∟ VIT (Vitality) → B → A-

∟ END (Endurance) → B+ → A-

∟ INT (Intelligence) → S → S

∟ WIL (Willpower) → S+ → S+

『 SUB-ATTRIBUTES 』

∟ LUCK → Unpredictable

∟ CHARM → SS

『 ENERGY RESERVE 』

∟ Mana Capacity → B+ → A (Continuum Bloodline)

『 MANA BREATHING 』

▸ Foundation Breathing Art

▸ Flowing Vessel Art

『 WEAPON ARTS & MASTERY 』

▸ Eclipse of the Singularity — Tier 2 (51%) → Tier 3 (12%)

∟ First Form: Fractured Eclipse

∟ Second Form: Heaven’s Divide

∟ Third Form: ?????

『 REGISTERED SKILLS 』

Combat Skills

▸ Flash Instinct — Active/Passive

▸ Spatial Slip — Active

▸ Volt Step — Active

▸ Starlight Steps — Footwork (Grandmaster-rank technique)

▸ Soul Perception (Passive)

▸ Echoes of the Unforgotten (Evolvable) — Active

Bloodline Skills

▸ Mana Generation — Passive

▸ Energy Siphon — Active

▸ Passive Healing — Passive

▸ Adaptive Resistance — Passive

Utility Skills

▸ Void Storage — Space Affinity

『 UNREAD SKILLS 』

▸ Spatial Awareness (Active/Passive)

▸ Frost Eater (Active) — Evolvable

▸ Ember Step (Active)

▸ Heat Resistance (Passive)

▸ Cold Resistance (Passive)

『 ACTIVE QUESTS 』

▸ [!!!!!]

—『 STATUS CLOSED 』—

_

I stared at the numbers for a long time. The jumps in my stats were huge. Going from B-tier to A-tier across the board explained why my body hadn’t torn itself apart when I used that strike.

My strength had gone from B- to A-, agility hit A, and both vitality and endurance had crossed into A-tier. It was a big leap forward. Facing death and forcing a breakthrough had changed my body completely.

My eyes moved to the bottom of the main stats. Intelligence stayed at S, and willpower stayed at S+.

I sighed, shaking my head. Willpower was already an anomaly at S+; expecting it to go higher right now would just be greedy. It was the only reason I could even try to anchor such destructive concepts in reality without my brain breaking.

Then I glanced at the sub-attributes. Luck was still its usual chaotic, unpredictable self. And my charm? Still sitting at a ridiculous, glowing SS.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. ”Of course that didn’t change,” I muttered. ”Because the world don’t want a handsome guy like me.”

My eyes drifted down to the weapon arts section.

Tier 3 (12%).

The mastery had jumped because I had finally touched the core of the style. But the Third Form was still listed as question marks.

”I guess you can’t name something you haven’t actually mastered yet,” I murmured to myself.

I had created the idea. I knew how it was supposed to work, and I had forced it into reality for a split second.

But until I could do it without collapsing on the floor, the system wouldn’t give it a proper name. It was just a blank space waiting for me to grow strong enough to fill it. I needed more time. With enough training and a higher rank, I was sure I could anchor it permanently.

Instead of focusing on the blank spaces, I looked at the blinking notification at the bottom of the screen. The Unread Skills section. Five new notifications. Five unread skills waiting to be used.

”Five at once...” I whispered, leaning back against the wall.

It made sense, honestly. I had pulled an insane stunt back in the exam, pushing my body and mana to the limits while dealing with the sheer, freezing pressure of the Frost-Monarch’s energy. My bloodline had been forced to adapt on the fly to keep me from freezing from the inside out, while my constant usage of space affinity had pushed my understanding past its old limits.

I tapped the air, opening the notifications. A new screen appeared in front of me.

_

Spatial Awareness (Active/Passive): The user can feel the space around them all the time, like ripples on water. They sense hidden enemies, traps, and spatial techniques without trying. When they focus, this sense sharpens — they can track enemies through walls, predict their movements, and feel everything in a wide area. The cost is headaches and tiredness, but in short bursts, it makes them nearly impossible to hit.

Frost Eater (Active) (evolvable): The user’s Soul Flame has gained a cold edge. When used, the flames don’t just burn — they drain heat from the air around them. Enemies nearby feel slower, weaker, and more tired as their warmth is stolen. Weapons coated in the flame leave frost on contact. It is not ice magic — it is heat being consumed like a void, leaving behind a cold that seeps into the enemy’s core.

Ember Step (Active): The user steps through folded space, leaving a trail of flames behind them. Their body breaks into fire and light, reappearing at a chosen point nearby. The path they take is marked by fading flames that eat away the space behind them, making it impossible for anyone to follow. It is perfect for closing distance, escaping, or moving mid-fight. The cost is high — it drains mana, and the user cannot use it repeatedly without exhausting themselves.

Heat Resistance (Passive): The user’s body has adapted to flames, even their own flames. They can withstand higher temperatures without burning, and their own techniques no longer damage them easily. Extreme heat can still hurt them, but they can fight in places that would kill others.

Cold Resistance (Passive): The user’s body has adapted to extreme cold. They can survive freezing temperatures without their mana slowing down, and frost attacks deal less damage. They do not shiver or lose focus in the cold. It is not immunity, but it gives them an edge against ice-based enemies.

_

I read through the text carefully, taking in each new skill.

The spatial awareness upgrades were exactly what I needed. The passive version meant I wouldn’t have to burn mana just to avoid being blindsided anymore, while the active version was basically a temporary cheat code for battlefield perception.

Ember Step was a clean upgrade to my movement, letting me leave a trail of black fire behind so no one could track me.

But my eyes kept locking onto Frost Eater.

Evolvable, I noted, staring at the screen.

I held up my right hand, focusing a small spark of mana into my finger. With a soft sound, a tiny spark of fire flickered to life over my skin.

Before, my black flames didn’t really give off heat or cold. They were just destructive emptiness. But now, as I watched the dark flame dance on my fingertip, the air around my hand dropped in temperature.

A small mist formed around my finger. I could feel it — the flame wasn’t spreading cold. It was pulling heat out of the air, leaving a sharp cold behind. My bloodline should have given me heat, but this new skill had turned that around completely.

Fire that freezes things by eating their heat.

”The Frost-Monarch’s echo really changed the nature of the Soul Flame,” I muttered, snuffing the flame out with a thought. My new Cold Resistance kept my own skin from freezing, but against an enemy, getting hit by a blade covered in this stuff would freeze their internal mana flow instantly.

I rubbed my temples as the screens dissolved into light.

The burst of energy from training was gone now. The stat jumps and the excitement of unlocking new skills didn’t change the fact that my body was completely drained.

Gurgle.

A loud, hollow echo echoed through the quiet training room. My stomach twisted into a tight knot, demanding attention.

I looked down at my midsection, then back up at the empty room.

”...”

”Maybe I should go eat something...” I said to the empty air.

I picked up Tempest from the floor, sheathed it carefully, and began the long, slow walk out of the training grounds.

Tomorrow was going to be a very long day, and I needed to be full to handle it.