Astralis Institute's Aptitude Classification was a formality.
A lie, dressed in ceremony.
I had written it that way—an institutional illusion of fairness, hiding a carefully orchestrated power structure.
The evaluation was based on two things: your mana signature and your resonance score—both tested through a pair of ancient obelisks gifted by the Eluvian Concord. One measured raw magical capacity. The other measured "attunement"—how naturally your mind aligned with mana's structure.
Both were flawed.
Both were manipulated.
And both had just become my enemy.
"You sure about this?" Sylva asked as we entered the Grand Testing Hall.
"Absolutely not," I said.
The obelisks loomed at the center of the marble chamber—one silver, one black. Their surfaces were etched with shifting runes that rearranged themselves every few seconds like a living code.
Students lined up across the hall, some already murmuring in panic or anticipation. Professors in gold-trimmed robes stood at the edges, their notebooks floating behind them.
Sylva stepped ahead without fear, joining the line marked "Arcane Candidates." That made sense. In the original timeline, she was a prodigy. The youngest spellweaver to integrate three elemental forms simultaneously.
She didn't need luck.
She had inevitability.
I, on the other hand, didn't belong anywhere.
There was no line for "truthweavers."
And certainly not for background characters.
[System Advisory]Upcoming Event Flagged: Classification CeremonyCharacter Role: Background SupportRecommendation: Accept Logistics Assignment. Minimize Entropy Risk.
I ignored it.
Instead, I pulled up my internal knowledge archive—something I'd started compiling the moment I realized I could still "write" in this world.
Narrative Bypass Technique – Entry 04: Obelisk Sigil Looping
Weakness: The black obelisk can be tricked by reflecting layered resonance using a truthweaver glyph.
Result: Artificial increase in attunement score.
Risk: Detection if two or more professors are watching simultaneously.
I moved slowly.
Waited for the rotation to cycle.
Three students ahead of me. Two were already dismissed to the "support division." One burst into tears. The last barely registered on the resonance scale and was sent to Menial Studies—Class E.
That was where Caelum had originally gone.
E-Class.
No spells. No duels. Just filing, cleaning, and eventually, dying to a monster during the outer-ring breach.
Not this time.
When it was my turn, I stepped forward, hands calm, heart loud.
The silver obelisk activated first.
A faint pulse scanned me head to toe. I felt nothing. That was expected. Caelum had no elemental core—his mana signature was effectively null.
"Mana capacity: sub-threshold," the professor to my left called out. "Unranked."
Whispers.
Laughter.
"Poor guy."
"Shouldn't even be here."
I blocked it out.
Then came the black obelisk—the resonance tester.
I reached into my coat, fingers brushing the corner of a truthweaver glyph etched into the fabric.
I whispered under my breath: "Let the world misread."
A subtle twist.
Just a flicker.
The glyph shimmered once. The obelisk responded with a whine.
[System Alert]Unauthorized alteration detected.Override Class: TruthwriterBypass Accepted.
A soft hum filled the air. The black obelisk surged.
"Resonance score: 43%."
The hall went silent.
That was… unprecedented.
Untrained first-years rarely scored above 10%. Sylva had scored 61% last year. The best ever recorded was 78%.
But 43%—for someone with no mana?
Now I had their attention.
"Name?" the examiner asked, stepping closer.
"Caelum Veritas."
He frowned. "Affiliation?"
"None."
The man looked to the silver-robed scribe beside him and muttered something.
Plot Divergence TriggeredCharacter Reclassification: Tier 4 - Potential Scholar ArchetypeAssigned Class: B-1 – Experimental Track
I exhaled quietly.
Not Class E.
Not combat, either.
But it was better.
Class B was for anomalies. Students who didn't fit neatly into traditional spellcasting molds. In the story, the Experimental Track barely got attention. But now, it was my safe zone.
A place where entropy could hide beneath innovation.
Later, as the tests concluded, I found Sylva waiting outside the hall. She was leaning against a stone pillar, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You manipulated the resonance," she said bluntly.
"Yes."
"That's illegal."
"It was also necessary."
She stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. "I knew you were strange, but this fast?"
I looked at her, serious. "If I don't move early, I die early."
"You're not making any sense."
"You will. Soon."
[System Notification]Chapter Milestone Reached: Survival Route ActivatedCharacter Path: Divergent ScholarPlot Risk: ModerateNext Threat: Arcane Trials (Day 5)Entropy Rate: +1.4% per hourNarrative Core Status: Unstable
The world was groaning under my weight.
But I wasn't going to stop.
If this system wanted a silent background extra, it picked the wrong author.
I didn't plan to play the game.
I planned to rewrite it.