The Automaton was a nightmare of engineering. Standing ten feet tall, its obsidian plating shimmered with a dull, predatory light. It didn't breathe, but the hum of its internal mana-core sounded like a swarm of angry hornets.
"Commencing execution," the machine droned.
WHOOSH!
It moved faster than a Tier-two machine should. Its massive arm, heavy enough to crush a tank, swept toward my head. The students in the balcony leaned forward, some even covering their eyes, expecting to see me turned into a red mist.
"System sage? Please undo the learnt skill for now, I can't handle this thing with my current strength".
[Host is pathetic but this will be the last time I will answer to your pleas.]
[Zero-Point Martial Arts is reacting to the Host's adrenaline.]
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ZERO-POINT MARTIAL ARTS (GOD-TIER)]
Suddenly, the machine's movement didn't just look slow, it looked like a series of still photographs. I didn't jump back. I didn't panic. I stepped forward, sliding into the Zero-Point of the machine's swing which was the exact spot where its momentum was neutral.
The giant fist whistled inches past my ear, the wind pressure ruffling my black hoodie.
"He... he dodged?" someone whispered. Even Suki stepped closer to the railing, her icy blue eyes narrowing.
I didn't give the machine time to recalibrate. My hand moved toward its chest, where the blue core pulsed behind a layer of divine obsidian.
"Heaven's Judgment..." I began.
[WARNING: Using S+ Magic in a closed space will result in a 100% casualty rate for students.]
[ I suggest channeling the energy through Zero-Point to create a focused pierce.]
"Fine," I grunted. I focused the infinite rotating stars from my Heart of Nebula into the very tip of my index finger. The energy didn't glow outward; it compressed inward until my fingertip turned a terrifying shade of violet-black.
CLANG
I tapped the obsidian chest.
At first, nothing happened. The students laughed. "He just poked it! He's too scared to--"
CRAAAACK.
A spiderweb of white light erupted from where my finger touched the metal. The obsidian, meant to be indestructible, began to vibrate at a frequency so high it emitted a piercing shriek.
"Overload," I whispered.
BOOM!
The blue core didn't explode outward. Instead, the Heart of Nebula energy sucked the machine's mana into itself. The massive Automaton collapsed in on itself like a crushed soda can, imploding into a tiny, dense ball of scrap metal before falling silent on the marble floor.
The Great Hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Headmaster stood up, his golden robes trembling.
"You... you destroyed a Divine Obsidian Automaton with a single finger?" his voice cracked.
"And the scanners... they still show you as E-Rank! How is this possible?!"
I looked up at him, then turned my gaze to Suki. She was staring at me in awe. I didn't give her the satisfaction of a smile.
"Alright,Does this mean I'm in?" I asked, my voice flat.
"Or do you have more toys for me to break?"
The Headmaster cleared his throat, trying to regain his dignity.
"Oliver Veyron...I hereby grant you entry into the Vanguard Academy. You will be placed in the E-ranked class which is the class for those with defective ranks. But make no mistake, the high-rankers will not be kind to you."
"But wait, that wasn't our agreement. I said if I am here to take the top spot or don't you get it?."
The Headmaster looked at me with an irritated gaze and suddenly cleared his throat.
"Well... Oliver. You should be grateful for even having a chance to enroll in the academy with such an insignificant rank. Your only option now is to fight your way to the top."
"Good," I said with a grin, turning to walk toward the location of my class.
"I'm better at dealing with enemies than friends anyway."
"As expected of the heir of the Veyrons. He must be unique... but why did fate make him an E-ranker?" the Headmaster muttered.
As I walked away, I felt a sharp gaze boring into my back. It wasn't the Headmaster's heavy pressure this time. It was Suki.
In my mind, I smiled. My heart gave a steady, confident beat. I was already devising ways to get close to her.
****
Immediately after stepping from the main hall, I was directed to my classroom. I was placed among the E-rankers--students who, like me, were lucky enough to be enrolled, likely due to their influence, yet unlucky enough to possess such low potential. The room was vast, filled with two hundred students, and featured a massive holographic projection that served as the class board.
I took an empty seat at the back, sliding in beside a guy who had a black tattoo peeking out from his wrist, though the rest was hidden beneath his long sleeve. His head was down on the desk, a clear sign he didn't want to be disturbed. I didn't mind; I was about to do the same thing.
After a few minutes passed,everyone from Tier 1-9 started gathering into the hall.
"Seems today's topic is general". I muttered. Finally, the professor--a man known as Dr. Aris, entered the hall and began the lecture. He spoke at length, enlightening the class on mana theories and the intricate ways mana functioned. But I wasn't paying any attention; my mind was drifting, already devising ways to approach Suki.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
The sound of a laser pointer hitting the board snapped me back to reality.
"Oliver?" Dr. Aris called out, his voice cutting through my daydream.
"We would like you to emphasize more on the mana theorem I have just discussed."
All the students looked backward to spot my helpless figure. But instead of panicking, I stood up and just smiled.
"Your theorem is based on the Aether-Flow Principle, Doctor," I began, my voice flat and cutting through the room.
"You're teaching that mana efficiency is determined by the volume of output. But you're ignoring the Law of Static Friction in the mana veins."
I walked toward the board, and the students whispered as I took the digital pen from the stunned professor's hand.
"If a student tries to force a Tier-4 spell through a Tier-7 body, they lose 40% of the energy to heat-resistance. That's why your prodigies get tired," I said, glancing briefly at the front row where the elites sat.
"If you treat mana not as a flowing liquid, but as a standing wave, you can achieve 100% resonance. You don't need a high rank to be powerful, you just need to stop fighting your own energy."
I drew a quick diagram of a concentrated wave-point on the screen and pointed to the screen, where I had drawn two overlapping waves. One is a messy, jagged line (Standard Mana), and the other is a perfectly still, straight line with a single sharp peak (Zero-Point Resonance).
"Most of you," I said coldly, "attempt to use mana like a Traveling Wave. You push energy from your core to your hand, and in that transition, you lose half of it to the friction of your own body. That is why your spells are messy and your ranks are limited."
I tapped the sharp peak on the diagram.
"This is a Standing Wave. By vibrating your mana at the exact frequency of your own soul's Zero-Point, the wave doesn't move forward or backward. It oscillates in place, building energy without losing a single drop of power to the environment.
I sat back down before the professor could even respond. Most of the high-ranking students were shocked, some were left speechless and in awe.
Dr. Aris stood frozen. He had spent forty years studying the Linear Fluid theory, and this eighteen-year-old boy just dismantled his entire career in four sentences.
"We…well" he cleared his throat. That's correct Oliver.
Suki was staring at me with a look of impression. Her Ice queen mask was slipping. She didn't just see an E-Rank student anymore; she saw an impossibility.
BRRRRING.
As the bell rang, a massive shadow blocked the doorway. It was a student--tall, scarred, and with an imposing aura wearing a Tier-7 badge. He was Caleb's older brother, Marcus Cinandra.
"So," Marcus growled, his voice vibrating with killing intent.
"You're the Oliver who touched my brother right?. I don't care whether you're that intelligent. Let's see how that theory holds up against a real fist. I am going to break every bone in your body for trespassing against we Cinandras.
I walked close to him slowly, the Monster's Cold Veins chilling my blood.
"Cinandras? You're a nobody" I replied coldly. Marcus gave me a ferocious stare. "What did you just say to me brat?" he asked coldly.
"System," I whispered.
"Calculate the fastest way to humiliate a Tier-7."
[Calculating... Analysis Complete. Host, would you like to use Marcus's own momentum to shatter his arm, or should we show the class what a Standing Wave punch feels like?]
"Both," I muttered, taking a step forward with a grin.