Awakening a 10,000x Skill Proficiency Multiplier in the Apocalypse

The teleportation transit to the Imperial Capital was drastically different from the rough jarring trips to the slums.

The runic circle in Sanctuary flared with a pristine pure white light. When Sebastian and Valerie materialized, they weren’t assaulted by terrible odors or blinding grit.

Instead, the area was stunningly pristine and visually breathtaking.

Sebastian stepped off the marble dais and immediately scowled. ”I hate this place.”

The Imperial Capital was a masterclass in high fantasy elitism. The streets were literally paved with gold veined marble. Towering spires of pristine white quartz reached into a perfectly rendered crystal clear blue sky. Fountains sprayed sparkling enchanted water that danced in the sunlight.

Everywhere they looked, high level NPCs and wealthy beta testers strolled about in utterly ridiculous overly complicated silk robes and shining ceremonial armor.

”It’s gorgeous,” Valerie breathed, adjusting her own azure silk robes. She seamlessly slipped into her old world corporate persona, tilting her chin up and adopting a look of mild aristocratic disdain. ”Try not to bleed on anything, Raven.”

”No promises,” Sebastian muttered from behind his white half mask. He kept his hands buried in the pockets of his long black coat, keeping his head down as they navigated the pristine streets.

They approached the towering wrought iron gates of the Imperial Magic Academy. The campus was massive, surrounded by floating magical wards that pulsed with intimidating power.

A massive line of hopeful players and eager NPCs was formed outside the registration courtyard. They were all chattering nervously, holding wooden staves and practicing basic elemental sparks.

Valerie didn’t get in the back of the line. She walked straight past the hundreds of waiting students, her heels clicking authoritatively against the marble.

”Hey! Back of the line, lady!” a sweaty player in green robes yelled.

Valerie stopped, slowly turning her head to look at the player as if he were a particularly disgusting insect. She didn’t say a word. She just snapped her fingers.

A pulse of raw hard light magic erupted from her staff, knocking the player backward into a fountain.

SPLASH.

The crowd instantly parted. The aristocratic NPCs murmured in approval of her sheer unapologetic arrogance.

Sebastian followed silently in her wake, perfectly utilizing the distraction. While all eyes were glaring at the haughty Arcane Valkyrie, nobody paid attention to the brooding guy in the black coat slipping through the shadows.

They reached the registration desks. They were manned by senior Academy instructors. They were NPCs wearing deep crimson robes with gold trim, looking supremely bored.

Valerie stepped up to the primary desk, tossing a heavy pouch of gold coins onto the polished wood.

”Valerie of the Blue Rose,” she demanded, her tone dripping with entitlement. ”Enrollment for the advanced combat courses. Skip the basic evaluations. I don’t have time to play with children.”

The instructor NPC’s eyes widened at the gold. He hastily scrambled to produce the registration parchment, completely overwhelmed by her aggressive rich girl routine.

Sebastian peeled away from her side. He approached a quieter desk at the far end of the courtyard.

The instructor here was an older severe looking man with a monocle and a permanent scowl. He looked Sebastian up and down, taking in the plain black coat and the cheap mask.

”The Academy is not accepting charity cases today,” the instructor sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. ”Go find a local militia to join, vagabond.”

”I’m here for the exam,” Sebastian said flatly. He didn’t posture. He didn’t threaten. He just stared through the eye holes of his mask with absolute deadpan exhaustion.

The instructor scoffed. He reached under his desk and pulled out a heavy perfectly spherical crystal orb. He placed it roughly on the desk.

”Fine. Let us humor your delusion. This is a Mana Resonance Crystal. To even be considered as a novice, you must channel enough pure mana to illuminate the core to a mild yellow hue. Place your hand upon it, and try not to hurt yourself.”

Usually, players had to carefully regulate their mana flow, balancing their output to match the crystal’s fragile capacity. It was a test of finesse and class based affinity.

Sebastian was a Drifter. He had zero affinity. But he had a broken system multiplier.

He didn’t gently place his hand on the crystal. He slapped his palm flat against the top of the orb.

He didn’t carefully regulate his flow. He tapped into the infinite glitch fueled reservoir of his corrupted magic and violently shoved the conceptual law of pure unadulterated energy into the stone.

”Illuminate,” Sebastian commanded.

The system reacted instantly.

[Action Registered: Channel Mana]

[Nexus Glitch Activated: Proficiency x10,000]

[Basic Channelling evolves to Conceptual Law: Absolute Overflow]

The crystal didn’t turn yellow.

It instantly bypassed the entire color spectrum and turned a blinding furious white!

”What in the Maker’s name?!” the instructor shrieked, falling backward out of his chair as the heat radiating from the orb singed his eyebrows.

The crystal began to hum. A high pitched terrifying vibration filled the immediate area. The sheer volume of raw data being forced into the fragile testing item was causing the physical object to violently reject reality.

CRACK.

A massive fissure split down the center of the orb. Blinding beams of pure blue light shot out from the cracks, slicing through the air and scorching the wooden desk.

”Stop! Stop channelling! You’ll shatter the containment matrix!” the instructor screamed in absolute panic, crawling backward across the marble floor.

Sebastian casually pulled his hand away.

He didn’t step back. He just watched.

KRA-SHATTER!

The Mana Resonance Crystal exploded. It wasn’t a magical fireball, it was a physical detonation of overloaded capacity.

Shards of crystal rained down across the courtyard, accompanied by a shockwave of displaced air that blew the registration papers high into the sky.

Silence fell over the immediate area. The surrounding students and instructors stared in horrified awe at the smoking crater where the desk used to be.

Sebastian stood amidst the falling ashes of the destroyed paperwork, completely unharmed. He looked down at the trembling wide eyed instructor on the floor.

”Oops,” Sebastian deadpanned. ”I think your rock was defective.”

The instructor swallowed hard, his aristocratic sneer entirely gone. He looked at the smoking crater, then up at the terrifying masked anomaly standing before him. The AI logic was actively rewriting itself to accommodate a power level it couldn’t comprehend.

”Y-You...” the instructor stammered, scrambling to his feet and desperately brushing the dust off his robes. ”The density... the sheer volume... That wasn’t magic. That was a localized anomaly!”

”Do I pass?” Sebastian asked, crossing his arms.

The instructor frantically dug into his pockets. He bypassed the standard bronze and silver student badges. His trembling hand produced a heavy intricately carved badge made of pure black onyx.

”P-Pass?” The instructor choked out, holding the badge up like an offering to a wrathful god. ”Sir, with that level of raw capacity... you are exempt from the standard curriculum. Please, take this. You are hereby registered as a Special Auditor.”

Sebastian snatched the heavy onyx badge from the NPC’s shaking hand.

[Item Acquired: Special Auditor Badge]

[Status: Grants unrestricted access to all Academy grounds, the Forbidden Library, and immediate entry into the Grand Tournament.]

”Pleasure doing business with you,” Sebastian said smoothly. He pinned the badge to his black leather coat.

He turned and caught Valerie’s eye across the courtyard. The heiress was holding her own gold trimmed student badge, trying very hard to hide a smirk as she took in the absolute chaos he had just caused.

They were in. The tournament was a lock. Now, Sebastian just needed to find the library and steal every piece of forbidden knowledge this school had to offer.