Zero to Overlord: The Forsaken God's Ascension

The Academy Gate

The Silver Spire Academy sat atop a mountain like a jagged crown of white marble. It was the most prestigious school in the Empire, designed to turn noble children into killing machines. To me, it was just a target.

"Remember," Valeriana whispered as we stood in the massive queue at the base of the mountain. "You are my 'attendant.' Keep your head down, don't speak unless spoken to, and try not to look like you're planning a massacre."

"I’m a servant," I said, adjusting the rough linen of my collar. "I've got the part down."

Thousands of noble kids in silk and gold-trimmed tunics were being fanned by servants. High-end carriages blocked the road. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and arrogance.

"Next!" a sharp voice barked.

We reached the front. A thin, middle-aged man with a monocle sat behind a desk. This was the Proctor. Behind him sat the Talent Testing Crystal, a massive jagged shard of quartz that pulsed with a faint, neutral light.

"Name and House?" the Proctor asked without looking up.

"Valeriana Frost. House Frost of the Northern Wastes," Valeriana said, her voice shifting into a perfect, haughty noble tone.

The Proctor paused, his pen hovering. "The Northern Wastes? I thought that lineage was... extinguished."

"We are survivors, not ghosts," she replied coldly.

The Proctor cleared his throat and gestured to the crystal. "Touch it. Let’s see your aptitude."

Valeriana placed her hand on the stone. It immediately flared with a sharp, brilliant blue light. Frost began to creep across the desk.

"Ice Attribute. High-tier. Impressive," the Proctor muttered, scribbling. "You’ll be in the Silver Wing. And this... boy behind you?"

"My servant, Zero," Valeriana said. "He’s here for the auxiliary testing. He has no mana, but he’s useful for carrying things."

The Proctor looked at me with pure disdain. "A commoner with no mana? Waste of space. But regulations say everyone must be tested. Get on with it, boy. Touch the stone so we can move on to someone important."

A group of noble students nearby started snickering.

"Look at his clothes," one girl whispered. "He looks like he crawled out of a sewer."

"Ten gold says the crystal doesn't even flicker," a boy laughed.

I stepped up to the crystal. I looked at the jagged surface. I remembered the last time I touched a ceremonial stone—the day my father stabbed me.

I placed my hand on the quartz.

I didn't push. I didn't try to show off. But the Void Eater inside me felt the mana stored within the crystal—years of residual energy from thousands of students. It was like a buffet.

THUMP.

The crystal didn't glow blue. It didn't glow red.

The light inside the quartz was suddenly sucked out. The bright white center turned grey, then charcoal, then a deep, oily black. The blackness began to swirl like a hurricane inside the stone.

"What is... what is happening?" the Proctor stammered, standing up.

The temperature in the courtyard dropped twenty degrees. The noble students stopped laughing. They huddled together as a shadow seemed to stretch out from the crystal, swallowing the sunlight.

CRACK.

A hairline fracture appeared on the surface of the "indestructible" testing stone.

"It’s turning black!" someone screamed. "Is it cursed?"

I pulled my hand back. The blackness vanished instantly, leaving the crystal dim and clouded.

The Proctor was shaking. He adjusted his monocle, staring at the fracture. "Void Attribute," he whispered, his voice trembling. "It’s... it’s the rarest attribute. And the most useless."

The tension in the air broke. A noble boy stepped forward, laughing loudly. "Void Attribute? You mean the 'Empty' talent? My father told me about that. It means he can't hold mana at all. He’s a literal hole. A magical sponge that stays dry."

The laughter returned, even louder than before.

"A Void student!" the girl mocked. "He’s not a genius, he’s a defect!"

The Proctor wiped sweat from his brow. "Yes... yes, a defect. Zero mana capacity. Rank: F-minus. He will be assigned to the North Dorms—the servant quarters. He is forbidden from attending combat classes unless as a target dummy."

"That will do," I said softly.

Valeriana gave me a subtle look—part relief, part warning. "Come, Zero. Carry my bags."

As we walked through the gates, I passed the noble boy who had mocked me. He purposely bumped his shoulder into mine.

"Watch where you’re going, Sponge," he hissed. "In this Academy, commoners like you are lower than the dirt on my boots. Don't let me see your face in the Silver Wing."

I didn't hit him. I didn't even look at him. I just brushed his arm as I walked by.

[Skill: Trace.]

In that split second, I felt his mana signature. A weak Fire attribute. Shallow. Pathetic. I took a tiny, microscopic sip of his energy—just enough to make his knees wobble for a second.

"Hey! What did you do?" the boy yelped as he stumbled.

"I didn't do anything," I said, walking away. "Maybe you're just as empty as I am."

"You...!"

We kept walking until we reached the North Dorms. It was a crumbling stone building at the very edge of the cliff, far away from the golden spires of the nobles.

"Nice place," Valeriana said sarcastically. "Very atmospheric."

"It's perfect," I said. "No one looks at the basement. And from here, I can see the whole Empire."

I pushed open the door to my assigned room. It was small, damp, and smelled of old paper. A small, pale boy with messy hair and thick glasses was sitting on one of the bunks, frantically scribbling in a notebook.

He looked up, his eyes wide. "Oh! Are you my new roommate? I'm Rin! Please don't hit me!"

I paused. "Why would I hit you?"

"Because everyone else does," Rin said, clutching his notebook to his chest. "I'm a 'Scholar-Servant.' I'm only here because I can do math. They use me for homework and... as a punching bag."

I looked at his arms. They were covered in bruises.

"I'm Zero," I said, dropping my bag on the empty bunk. "And nobody is going to hit you anymore."

Rin looked at me like I was crazy. "You're a Void student, right? I saw the test. We're at the bottom of the food chain, Zero. We're the prey."

"The thing about being at the bottom," I said, looking out the window toward the Emperor's palace in the distance, "is that eventually, you have to look up. And when I look up, I see things I want to pull down."

Suddenly, the door was kicked open.

Three Noble students stood there, led by the same boy from the gate. He was holding a heavy wooden training sword.

"I told you, Sponge," the boy sneered. "I don't want to see your face. This room is too good for you. You and the nerd are moving to the stables."

He stepped toward Rin and grabbed a silver locket hanging from the boy’s neck.

"No! Please! That’s all I have left of my mother!" Rin cried.

The Noble laughed and raised his training sword. "Who cares about a peasant's mother? This looks like it might be worth a silver coin."

I stood up. The air in the room didn't just get cold—it went still.

"One," I said.

"One what?" the Noble mocked.

"Two," I said, stepping forward.

"Are you counting your teeth? Because you're about to lose them!" He swung the wooden sword at my head.

I didn't move my head. I caught the wooden sword with my bare hand. The wood groaned, then turned to grey ash where my fingers touched it.

"Three," I whispered.

The Noble’s eyes went wide. "What the—"

I punched him. Not in the face. I punched him in the gut, right where his mana core was located.

BOOM.

He didn't fly back. He folded in half as I drained every drop of fire mana from his body in a single second. He fell to the floor, gasping, his skin turning a sickly blue.

"My... my power... I can't feel my power!"

"You didn't have much to begin with," I said. I reached out and took the locket from his shaking hand, tossing it back to Rin.

I looked at the other two nobles. They were frozen in terror.

"Take your trash and leave," I said. "If I see you near this room again, I won't just take your mana. I'll take your breath."

They grabbed their leader and scrambled out of the room.

Rin stared at me, his mouth hanging open. "You... you just beat a Silver Wing student. Zero, do you have any idea what you've done? They'll kill you!"

"Let them try," I said.

I sat back down on my bed. My chest was humming. The fire mana I’d just taken was being purified by the Void.

"Rin," I said.

"Y-yes?"

"Tell me everything you know about the Crown Prince, Julian Thorne. I heard he's coming to visit next week."

Rin paled. "He is. He's coming for the 'Opening Ceremony.' They say he’s the greatest genius in history."

"Genius?" I smiled, a dark, jagged expression. "We'll see how much of a genius he is when his battery runs out."