The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 332

Chapter 332: Karma (L)

Tick… tack… tick… tack…

The student council of Divine Academy was silent except for the steady ticking of the celestial clock mounted above the window.

Themis sat with one leg crossed over the other, a cup of steaming celestial tea balanced delicately in her hand.

Her hair shimmered faintly, brushing against the collar of her white-gold uniform.

Across the long obsidian table sat Lunara, the president of the Student Council, calm, beautiful, and expressionless as ever.

Papers glowed faintly between them, covered in sigils and golden seals.

“Things have been… noisy lately,” Themis said finally, breaking the silence.

Her voice carried that soft, measured tone that made everything sound more serious than it was.

“Three students from the Sanctum Faction got into a fight with the Valkyric Knights again. It happened near the Southern Courtyard—blew half the arena apart.”

Lunara didn’t look surprised.

She kept reading through the reports in front of her, eyes glowing faintly under her dark lashes.

“Let me guess,” she said slowly, “they were fighting over recruitment again?”

“Mhm.” Themis set her cup down gently.

“The Sanctum students are trying to pull higher-tier gods into their group before the Midterms start. The Knights didn’t like that.”

“Typical.” Lunara leaned back slightly in her chair. “They forget that all factions answer to the council in the end.”

“Power makes people forget things,” Themis replied, a faint smile curving her lips.

She reached for another file on the table and tapped it lightly.

“The Heavenly Arts Department has also sent a request. They want access to the Trial Sectors earlier than scheduled.”

Lunara finally looked up.

“Already? That’s against academy policy.”

“They claim it’s for ‘educational purposes’—you know how they word it.”

“And the professors agreed?” The president sighed softly.

“Half of them,” Themis said.

“The rest don’t want to risk another accident like last time.”

Lunara closed the file, fingers tracing the faint gold pattern on the edge.

“This academy is supposed to be a place of order. Not a battlefield for divine politics.”

“And yet that’s exactly what it is.” Themis chuckled lightly.

The two of them sat in quiet understanding for a moment.

Outside, the faint hum of the academy could be heard, distant training grounds, lectures, and the constant flicker of divine energy that filled the air.

After a moment, Themis spoke again.

“By the way, the Seraphic Division sent word from the Council Tower. They’ll be assigning a new examiner for the second half of the term. Apparently, someone from the Eternal Tribunal will be observing the midterms personally.”

Lunara’s hand stilled.

“…The Tribunal?”

Themis nodded.

“Seems like the higher gods are getting restless. There are rumors of a few promising students this year… the ones with bloodlines that don’t fit the “normal” category.”

“Anomalies, huh?”

Lunara sighed lightly, furrowing her eyebrows.

She simply stared at the floating reports in front of her, golden letters slowly rearranging into new forms as data updated.

“Any of those students from your department?” she asked finally.

“Maybe~,” Themis smiled faintly.

Lunara looked up again, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“You sound amused.”

“Just cautious,” Themis said, swirling her tea gently.

“There’s something… interesting happening with the new generation. They’re stronger, more chaotic. Almost like they were born from something that doesn’t belong entirely to this realm.”

Lunara tilted her head, studying her quietly.

“And you like that.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t need to.”

“You know me too well,” Themis laughed lightly.

She leaned forward then, setting the cup aside, her expression shifting to something a bit more serious.

“Speaking of students… I’ve been reviewing candidates for the new secretary position. The council’s workload is getting heavier, and the last one, well, decided to join the Seraphic Division instead.”

“Understandable. So? Found anyone promising?” Lunara nodded.

A faint glint appeared in Themis’s eyes.

“Actually, yes. Someone caught my attention recently. Not from any major house, not even a recognized divine lineage. But his performance… It’s unusual.”

Lunara raised an eyebrow.

“Unusual how?”

Themis reached into the neat pile beside her and pulled out a folded sheet, simple, unadorned, unlike the gold-stamped documents around it.

She slid it across the table.

The paper stopped right in front of Lunara, who glanced down at the name printed neatly at the top.

The air grew still.

Lunara’s brows rose slightly.

“Aestrea…?” she read aloud, her voice calm but touched with curiosity.

“Yes. That one.” Themis rested her chin on one hand, smiling faintly.

“I’ve heard the name whispered lately,” Lunara said softly, eyes scanning the report. “He’s the one who recently won the Mana Football Competition as the captain, isn’t he?

“Mhm.”

“And now he’s climbing the Divine Stairway.”

Themis nodded once.

“As we speak.”

Lunara’s gaze lingered on the file for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she closed it and set it aside.

“If you believe he’s worth keeping an eye on,” she said finally, “then assign him as my secretary. I’ll review his progress personally later.”

Themis’s smile deepened, her eyes glimmering faintly.

“Understood, President.”

Tick… tack..

The soft ticking of the celestial clock filled the silence again.

Outside the windows, golden light streamed down over the academy’s countless spires, reflecting faintly against Themis’s cup of untouched tea.

And far beyond the clouds… a lone figure was still climbing.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It had already been six hours since I started climbing.

“Fucking hell…” I muttered, dragging a hand across my sweaty forehead.

The golden steps stretched endlessly above me — no end in sight. I was already standing on the tenth Heaven’s Stop, and still… nothing.

“Is this thing fucking infinite or something?” I groaned, letting myself drop flat onto the glowing platform.

“Haaa…”

My body felt like it had been crushed a hundred times over. Since the seventh stop, I hadn’t seen a single other climber.

Everyone else must’ve given up… or died.

Still, there was one good thing about this damn torture.

I grinned weakly.

I’d finally broken through.

My aura pulsed faintly, glowing with golden and silver threads. The divine energy inside me had solidified, and I was now a 2✯ True God.

But yeah… I’d definitely hit my limit. Every muscle in my body screamed, and even breathing felt like it might crack my ribs open.

I tilted my head back, staring at the endless golden stairway above.

“…I can probably climb one more,” I whispered.

So… I meditated for thirty whole minutes, and after feeling that my body was much better than before, I stood up.

The stairway shimmered faintly in the golden haze above, each step glowing like it was mocking me.

“…One more,” I breathed. “Just one more, and that’s it.”

My voice came out rough, more like a growl than words.

Then I took the first step.

BOOM.

The moment my foot touched it, the air crushed down like a mountain. My spine bent forward on instinct, and my knees nearly gave out.

“Ghh—!”

FUCK!

THIS PRESSURE IS TOO FUCKING HIGH THAN THE LAST STEP!

It wasn’t pain like I’d felt before.

It wasn’t even physical anymore. It was as if the weight of the world, the rules of existence themselves, were trying to erase me.

In simpler terms… it fucking hurts.

I clenched my teeth, forced my foot higher, and took another step.

CRACK.

I heard something snap, maybe it was the bones in my leg, maybe my soul. I didn’t care.

Blood dripped from my nose.

My skin started to split at the shoulders, faint golden light leaking from within. The divine energy inside me went wild, thrashing against the pressure like a caged beast.

“Come on…” I hissed.

“Move…!”

Every step forward felt like an eternity.

Second step.

Third step.

Fourth.

Each one was heavier than the last.

By the fifth, I couldn’t even stand upright anymore.

I was forced to bow, my back bent, head down, arms trembling as I tried to push myself up against the invisible weight pressing down on me.

“Fuck…pft!” I spat, blood splattering onto the golden stair.

Even the air here burned. It didn’t feel like breathing anymore; it was drowning, suffocating in divine pressure.

The seventh step came, and I couldn’t even lift my head.

My vision flickered, black spots dancing across my sight.

“Not enough…”

FLAP!

My black wings spluttered from my back.

Then I forced myself forward again.

Eighth step.

Ninth.

Tenth.

My fingers clawed against the surface, dragging my body upward.

My knees scraped, blood streaking down my legs.

By now, I was crawling.

The divine energy around me screamed violently, like it wanted to abandon me.

“Keep FUCKING going…” I whispered.

“Just… one… more…”

The pressure grew until it felt like my bones were melting. My skin cracked open in long, glowing lines, divine light pouring out like molten gold.

And then…

Step eleven.

“…A Heaven’s Stop… already?”

Everything…

The pressure, the pain, the light had completely disappeared.

I slumped forward, panting hard, my body trembling uncontrollably.

When I finally looked up… there was nothing.

No more golden stairs… just an endless white space.

But at its center it stood a single black door, completely out of place amidst the endless void.

I stared at it for a long moment, still trying to catch my breath.

“This is great…”

I was still surprised that there were only eleven steps to ascend to the eleventh Heaven’s Stop, since the others at least had one hundred steps each.

But I wasn’t going to complain because the difference between the steps in the tenth Heaven’s Stop and the eleventh… the pressure was on another fucking level.

Like turning easy mode into extreme hardcore with bosses with 100x HP and Attack Damage, or maybe fucking more.

“Well…”

I started approaching the black door before grabbing the doorknob.

“There’s no going back.”