The notification appeared in my vision the moment I opened my eyes, same as it had every morning for the past 5,840 days.
**[New Passive Skill Acquired: Dimensional Phase Shift]**
**[Description: Allows partial phasing through solid matter. Can be activated subconsciously during sleep or stress.]**
**[Current Skill Count: 5,841]**
I stared at the translucent blue window floating before me, then slowly sat up in the cramped dormitory bed. Around me, my three roommates were still sleeping—Marcus snoring loudly, Derek muttering about his fire magic in his dreams, and Jin curled up with his arms wrapped around his pillow like it might run away.
All of them had awakened powerful skills at thirteen. All of them belonged here at Valorian Academy, the most prestigious skill development institution on the continent.
And then there was me. Zephyr. The charity case. The academy's only "skillless" student, accepted purely out of pity in case I was a "late bloomer."
If they only knew.
I dismissed the notification with a thought and activated [Perfect Memory - MAX], recalling yesterday's events with crystal clarity. The humiliation during Professor Ashworth's combat class. Vincent Ashford's "accidental" fire blast that singed my uniform. The cafeteria incident where someone had "tripped" and spilled soup all over me. Each memory was preserved in perfect detail, every sneer and whispered insult catalogued in my transcendent mental archive.
[Emotional Control - MAX] kept my expression neutral as I processed the memories. Sixteen years of practice had taught me that showing any reaction—positive or negative—would only make things worse.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, careful to move like a normal human. [Lightspeed Reflexes - MAX] made every motion feel sluggish, as if I were moving through thick honey, but [Perfect Acting - MAX] helped me maintain the awkward, slightly clumsy movements expected of the academy's weakest student.
"Morning, Zero," Derek mumbled without opening his eyes, using the nickname they'd given me. "Try not to embarrass our dorm today, yeah?"
"I'll do my best," I replied, keeping my voice soft and defeated. The irony wasn't lost on me—I was probably putting on the greatest acting performance in human history, and my only audience thought I was pathetic.
I padded to the shared washroom, passing the mirror without looking. [Perfect Self-Image - Legendary] meant I knew exactly how I appeared to others: average height, lean build, messy brown hair that never seemed to cooperate, and forgettable features that helped me blend into crowds. Nothing about my appearance suggested I could bench press a dragon or perceive seventeen different dimensional layers simultaneously.
The cold water on my face should have been shocking, but [Temperature Resistance - MAX] made it feel merely cool. As I brushed my teeth, I noticed my toothbrush handle had developed a hairline crack. Another casualty of [Superhuman Strength - MAX]. Even with [Fine Motor Control - Transcendent], I occasionally forgot to modulate my grip.
**[Danger Sense - MAX] activated suddenly, flooding my awareness with warning signals.**
Three seconds later, Marcus's pillow came flying toward my head. To anyone watching, it would look like he'd caught me completely off guard. In reality, I'd seen it coming from the moment he'd decided to throw it, tracked its trajectory through seventeen different probability matrices, and calculated the optimal reaction to maintain my facade.
I let it hit me square in the face, stumbling backward with perfectly choreographed clumsiness.
"Nice reflexes, Zero!" Marcus laughed, now fully awake. "Good thing you're not planning to be a warrior, huh?"
"Yeah," I said, picking up the pillow with hands that could reshape continents. "Good thing."
The morning routine continued predictably. Jin "accidentally" used his wind magic to tangle my uniform while I was dressing. Derek critiqued my "pathetic" mana reserves during our mandatory meditation. Marcus offered helpful advice about "maybe considering a career in farming" since I clearly wasn't cut out for skill-based professions.
I nodded along, playing my part perfectly. [Soul Resonance - Legendary] let me sense their true feelings—a mix of genuine pity, mild annoyance, and superiority that came from sharing space with someone they perceived as fundamentally lesser.
They weren't malicious, not really. They just couldn't comprehend sharing their world with someone who appeared to be evolutionary deadweight.
If they knew I'd been accumulating transcendent abilities since before I could walk, if they understood that I experienced reality on levels they couldn't even imagine, would they still pity me?
Or would they run screaming?
The academy bells chimed seven times, signaling the start of another day. As we left the dormitory, I caught sight of my reflection in the common room's polished window. Just another forgettable face in the crowd. Just Zephyr, the broken boy who'd never amounted to anything.
[Aura Suppression - Transcendent] wrapped around me like a second skin, containing the cosmic forces that would otherwise announce my presence to anyone with magical sight. To the world, I was invisible. Powerless.
Perfect.
Walking across the academy courtyard, I observed my fellow students practicing their skills. Sarah Chen's water manipulation had improved since yesterday—she could now create ice formations the size of her fist. Impressive for a second-year.
I could have flash-frozen the entire courtyard while juggling seventeen other magical effects and composing a sonnet.
But that wasn't the game I was playing.
Not yet.
As we approached the main academic building, Vincent Ashford fell into step beside me, his perfectly styled golden hair catching the morning sunlight. The academy's star student, heir to a noble family, possessor of [Solar Dominion]—a skill so rare that the instructors treated him like visiting royalty.
"Zero," he said, not bothering to look at me. "I heard you'll be participating in today's combat evaluation."
"If that's what's required," I replied.
Vincent finally glanced my way, his blue eyes filled with the kind of casual contempt reserved for insects. "Try not to get hurt too badly. The medical wing is busy enough without dealing with your inevitable injuries."
[Soul Resonance] picked up his surface thoughts: *Why do they even let him stay here? It's embarrassing. The academy's reputation...*
"I'll be careful," I said.
Vincent nodded dismissively and strode ahead, his movements radiating the confidence of someone who'd never faced real adversity. Students moved out of his way instinctively, like planets orbiting a star.
[Cosmic Awareness - Legendary] showed me the broader picture—energy patterns, probability streams, the subtle ways reality bent around individuals of power. Vincent's aura was impressive for a human his age, bright and commanding.
Compared to what I was suppressing, it was a candle flame next to the sun.
We entered the main building, and I prepared myself for another day of the most elaborate performance in human history. Each class would bring new challenges to my acting skills. Each interaction required perfect calibration—weak enough to maintain my cover, but not so pathetic that they'd actually expel me.
It was exhausting in ways that fighting cosmic entities would never be.
But it was also necessary. Because the moment the world learned what I really was, everything would change. The academy, society, the carefully maintained balance of power—all of it would crumble.
And honestly? I wasn't sure I was ready for that responsibility.
So for now, I remained Zephyr the Failure. Zephyr the Broken.
Just a normal boy with absolutely nothing special about him.
The irony would have been hilarious if it weren't so isolating.
**[New Daily Skill Acquired: Enhanced Loneliness Resistance]**
Even my system was starting to feel bad for me.