"God damn it, what the fuck is going on!? How does this keep happening!?"

Ahh, music to my ears... ​​

The angry yell came from Tairo, who had just fallen on his face for the seventh time today. And all seven times, it was because his shoelaces were tied together. Yeah, I'd been using my Tier Two ability to freeze time and tie his shoelaces together every time he stood up or walked around...juvenile, I know, but damn, was it satisfying! The sheer enraged confusion on his face was indescribably beautiful, it almost brought a tear to my eye...I wonder, is this what they call art?

It was a few days into February, and over a week had passed since the first round of monthly exams ended. Things had been a little hectic for a couple of days after the teamwork exam, but they had returned to normal before too long. Oh, and I passed that exam, along with the three who'd been teamed up with me...as it turned out, Instructor Reed had been taking notes on how we were doing during the exam on her I-Watch, so the Academy was able to properly score our performances since I brought her corpse back with me.

X-Warriors dying was pretty common, so her death wasn't treated as a big deal. The four of us were advised to go get some counseling or therapy, but I didn't bother with that, it was just a waste of money, and I didn't really feel traumatized or anything like that...speaking of money, I was saving up to buy a more destructive weapon.

My current weapons weren't exactly bad, but they were only significantly effective against J and Q-Ranked Mutants, I needed a weapon that could guarantee a kill against a K-Rank with, at most, a couple of shots. Something like that would probably consume a ton of XFE, but it was totally worth it, I could really use some more destructive options in my arsenal.

Back to the subject of the exam, after everyone woke up and we ate and talked in the bunker dining hall, some of the instructors teleported in, since it had been a few hours past the time we were supposed to return to the Sanctuary. They then took us back in and we were thoroughly questioned for the next couple of days, which was super annoying.

On the bright side, I came out of the whole situation looking really good. I mean, a non-Prodigy managed to escape two Two-Headed Serpents while carrying three unconscious people and half a corpse. Additionally, I had scored a lot of points in Instructor Reed's observational notes.

As a result, I got a near-perfect score on the teamwork exam, the exam I'd been most worried about. My teammates got decent scores too. As for the other three teams...well, no one failed, but all of them just barely scraped by. I shouldn't let myself get too overconfident, but looking at the facts, I can't deny that my analysis and instructions to the others was what made the difference between the team I was in and the other teams. I was pretty surprised at that myself, but I should use this...if I can develop a reputation as a skilled leader, that would open up a lot of possibilities...

Now that I think about it, the role of a strategist appealed to me...I enjoyed controlling people and situations. I also liked the idea of being skilled at manipulation...of both people and situations. I'm no genius, I definitely can't think several moves ahead like those crazy smart anime characters, but within the limitations of my intelligence, I think I managed my brainpower pretty efficiently.

But I also liked being involved in the fighting, and while I do prefer long-range, I enjoyed fighting at close-range quite a bit too.

Looking back on the events of the exam, I definitely made the right call in not using Tier One when the Serpent first showed up...not only would that have prevented me from unlocking Tier Two, but I also ended up gaining a significant amount of insight into my own abilities, not to mention that the events of the exam resulted in me getting the top-score in my class. But that's all in hindsight, I had to face the fact that if not for the Unlock Condition for Tier Two of my Anomaly X-Ability, I would have definitely died back there.

Well, anyway...there was an especially interesting event today, an important figure would be coming to give this Level J class an inspirational speech or something along those lines. And that important figure was none other than the Minister of Internal Paragon Affairs of the North Quadrant...yup, the asshole with whom I regrettably share genetics with, my biological father, Kilrafhe Floence.

The reason for this speech thingy was a reactionary measure taken in response to the 'trauma' we'd all suffered during the teamwork exam...yeah, my team easily had it the worst, but the other teams apparently had some rough moments too, though none of them ran into any K-Ranked Mutants.

"Hey, man, let's skip this crap and duel, I wanna fight you!" Remarked an exasperating voice, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, no, I'm good. Maybe another time, Taayin," I replied with a sigh, pushing him away.

Ever since the exam, he'd been interacting with me way too much, constantly challenging me to duels. It was really annoying.

"Aw, you're no fun...I'll ask again later!"

"Please don't-...," I began, but his attention had already shifted elsewhere.

"New friend?" Inquired Kiran, yawning under his face mask.

"Yeah, no."

"Hm...could've fooled me," He replied with a shrug.

"Then I guess you're a fool," I retorted, starting to get a bit irritated.

I'll make this clear, no one in this class was my friend. There are some I tolerate more than others, sure, but at best, they were friendly acquaintances, and even that was kinda pushing it. I knew from experience that no matter how genuine or nice someone seemed on the outside, they could be the complete opposite on the inside. Speaking on two-faced bitches, Bytra was unfortunately wearing shoes that didn't have laces, so I couldn't trip her up that way...oh, well, for now I'll just enjoy tripping up Tairo, because you know, fuck that guy.

The door to the classroom then opened, and in walked Kilrafhe Floence, whom I was seeing for the first time in over five years. He looked pretty much the same as I remembered, except for a bit more gray in his black hair, which was neatly combed back. He was wearing a black expensive looking suit, and he still had that fat, ugly mustache.

Kumar was with him, probably his escort. The old bastard didn't notice me, but to be fair, I was tucked away in the back corner of the classroom, so I wasn't the easiest to spot. Oh, what do you know, dear ol' dad is wearing shoes with laces...

"."

I stood up and walked over to him, he was almost at the bottom of the stairs, it was the perfect spot to stage an 'accidental' fall. I bent down and undid his shoelaces, before tying them together in a way that they'd come undone once he tripped and fell. I had tied Tairo's laces together the same way.

With the way I've tied his laces together, after he falls it'll simply look like he hadn't tied them tightly enough and they'd come undone on their own, which caused him to trip...it was a simple, yet perfect, plan. After I finished tying it up, I made my way back to my seat and sat down.

"."

A satisfying crash echoed out as the old bastard fell forward onto his face with a yell, startling some of my classmates. I was really struggling to keep myself from grinning widely right now. Kumar helped him back on his feet, while the old bastard tentatively rubbed his jaw with a grimace. The two of them went up to the front of the class, before Kumar addressed us...

"Attention, brat-...er, I mean, students, we have a special guest here today, one of the most influential people when it comes to matters concerning X-Warriors, the Minister of Internal Paragon Affairs of the North Quadrant, Minister Kilrafhe Floence. He'll address you now," Introduced Kumar, before stepping aside.

The old bastard then began talking, his annoying-ass voice echoing through the classroom. I wasn't even sure what he was talking about, something along the lines of 'yeah, things went wrong during your last exam, but don't let that get you down' kinda bullshit. I then received a notification on my I-Watch, I moved my arm under the desk and opened the notification...it was a message from Kumar.

'Don't look so bored, Zax, I've arranged a little treat for you...well, technically, Kilella asked, or more like ordered, me to do this. Won't ruin the surprise, you'll see soon enough.'

Oh? Alright, half-pint, you've got my attention...let me see what you've got up your sleeve...

...

Half an hour later, the old cunt finally wrapped up his speech, my classmates giving him some polite applause as he finished.

"An excellent speech, sir. Now, then, all that's left is to personally congratulate the student who top-scored on their teamwork exam."

Ohh, so that's what he was upto...heh, well played.

"Ah, yes. I did not hear the specifics of what this student accomplished, but I believe it was quite remarkable, yes?"

"Right. The late instructor who observed his team noted down that he displayed excellent analytical, tactical and strategic skills, and after the team was attacked by a pair of Two-Headed Serpents and killed the instructor, he managed to escape the Mutants while carrying all three of his unconscious teammates back. And all while not even being a Prodigy."

"I see-...wait, what was that last part again?"

"Oh, we shouldn't talk about him like he isn't here, let me call him down here...hey, Kilzachs, get over here!" Called out Kumar, a stifled smirk on his face.

I stood up while maintaining an innocent expression on my face, struggling to keep myself from smiling smugly at that old bastard. Oh, man, the look on his face was pure gold, he was struggling to keep his shock and disbelief from showing. Gotta hand it to Kumar, I owe him big time for this.

"It's very nice to meet you...sir," I greeted him in an overly polite tone, with an innocent smile.

"Wha-...er, I...ahem, y-yes, nice to meet you," He replied, trying to play it cool, but I could see him sweating.

"Oh, are you alright, sir? You look a bit pale and pathetic," I inquired with a polite tone.

"Er, no, it must be your imagination. W-well, then, let us get to it...congratulations on your performance, keep it up and I am certain you will continue to excel," He remarked with a strained smile, congratulating me through gritted teeth...after all, everything he just said contradicted everything he'd said five years ago.

That sad part is that this fake congratulations and disingenuous encouragement is the closest I'll ever get to getting parental support from this piece of shit...

"Ah, I appreciate you saying that, sir...see, in the past, I was told that I'm worthless...so I decided to prove those words wrong," I replied with a slight smirk.

And with that, he left in a hurry, Kumar following after him as he exited the classroom. I quietly returned to my seat, fighting back the urge to grin widely and gleefully...that was fucking great. I had really wanted to tear into him, but I couldn't exactly do that with an audience.

"It's finally over, goddamn, that was boring! That took more than half an hour, what a waste of time!" Groaned Taayin loudly, before letting out a dramatic sigh of relief.

I noticed Tairo looking at me curiously...oh, right, I almost forgot that he knew who my father was, and he almost definitely didn't know about what went down on my fifteenth birthday...I mean, I guess he could've figured out that I'd been disowned since my last name was now different from when I was at the same school as he was. Hope he doesn't bring it up, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he did.

"Congrats and stuff," Yawned Kiran, as I returned to my seat.

"Oh, uh...thanks, I guess."

We were five minutes away from classes starting for the day, and I was in a great mood after what happened.

"Hey, was it just me, or did that minister guy seem really uncomfortable after he saw you?" Suddenly came a curious voice from in front of me.

Suri, she sat right in front of me, but had never spoken to me before the teamwork exam. Since then, though, she occasionally addressed me from time to time. Zoya regularly greeted me and stuff too. It was a little strange, but I guess it wasn't a bad thing. While I had no intention of making friends, the 'loner' tag was something I was better off avoiding getting labeled with.

"Probably just you," I replied with a shrug.

"Do you know him or something?" She asked curiously.

"Or something."

"Tch, your attitude pisses me off."

Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's because I don't want to talk about it. Come on, take a hint and drop it.

"Huh, come to think of it, that old dude did seem pretty weird when Instructor Silva called you up," Added Jian, who was in the middle seat of the row in front of me, to Suri's right.

The third person in their row was Misaki, who thankfully showed no intention of joining in.

"What makes you think I know anything about that?" I responded with a shrug.

All things considered, I think I might prefer being a loner at times, talking to other people could get pretty annoying sometimes. Thankfully, with my brief replies, the conversation around this topic was starting to die down, the others slowly losing interest...

"Hey, Dud...that was your father, wasn't it?" Suddenly chimed in another curious voice, from right in front of Suri.

Tairo, he sat at the corner seat of the front row of the left column, and had probably been listening it...well, it's not like Suri and Jian had made particular efforts to keep their voices down. And Tairo had just gotten nearly the entire class's attention with what he just said. His tone indicated genuine curiosity, so this time, he was inconveniencing me unintentionally. With nearly everyone's eyes on me, I felt a growing sense of irritation and annoyance, before replying...

"You're wrong, that man is not my father," I remarked in an icy cold tone, my expression blank as I added, "Now drop it."

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