The Over-Break System

[Battle is over; head over when you are done with what you need to do.] Cynrik stated as he allowed his body to loosen up after being so tense during the last few minutes of the fight.

[Already?] Standing in the command center of his [Radiant Tower] with Gabby, Selene, and Benny, Brance asked while looking back at the others.

[Yeah, I locked up my guy with [Shadow Sewing] and began my interrogation. Once I had wrapped things up, Garrison showed up with the Squad Leader, threw him in front of me, and now he’s under the skill too.]

[Alright, we will be over in a minute; the others are downing the last of their potion reserves. How are you holding up?]

[Been better; my right arm is wholly fucked; I got forced into blocking a full-on kick from the dude. I can tell it’s broken in four spots, two on each of the radius and ulna, and although I set the bones, it’s pretty much lifeless right now,] Pausing for a second, Cynrik took a moment to draw back his sleeve to examine how bad the breaks were.

Hissing in pain, he was greeted by severe swelling and a lot of bruising. His actions drew a humored whistle from Alistar and Garrison. Luckily, the two bones hadn’t pierced his skin because of his assassin’s tool and thick skin. Upon poking the tender spot, Cynrik noted that a decent-sized chunk of both bones was floating loosely, even though he had gotten the bones back in place.

[It’s a compound break, the tops and bottoms of both bones midway down my forearm are entirely severed. There are no sharp edges, so it seems to be a clean break; nonetheless, I will need a few healing uses out of you.] Cynrik said as he pulled his sleeve back down and rolled his eyes at the two Instructors.

[Yikes, yeah, we are almost done; I’ll see what I can do when we get there; for now, just burn through your potions; if the bone doesn’t fuse properly well…it’s not like it’s the first time we’ve had to rebreak a bone when fixing it.] Shaking his head, Brance stuck his fingers into the dial on the command column and turned it, revealing the Pseudo-Codex.

Gently picking it up, Brance closed his eyes and focused on the tricolored swirling mass of Mana contained within the small orb.

[Oh yeah, totally take your time; not like I have anything better to do than sit here with MY NOODLE ARM!] Unknown to Brance, Cynrik flopped his arm around animatedly but soon winced and held it against his body.

[Calm your ass down and let me concentrate on this damn Pseudo-Codex so I can get my shit back.] Snapping his eyes closed and frowning, brance began absorbing the available MP from the orb into his body.

Ignoring Brance, Cynrik looked up to the sky, where he could see the Headmaster Floating above with his arms crossed.

“OI, Headmaster, you gunna come down, or are you leaving these guys to me?” Raising his voice so that he could be heard, Cynrik motioned toward the Squad Leader and Brawler with his head.

Above the confinement cube, the Headmaster scoffed, uncrossed his arms, and deconstructed his skill before descending slowly and landing beside the two Instructors and Cynrik.

“We only got two of them; that’s our bad,” Cynrik smiled unrestrainedly before looking up at Geralt, who stood towering over him.

“I thought we agreed to capture them, not kill them. I assume you gave the opposite order to your Faction members Ivar.” Calmly looking away from Cynrik and towards the unconscious Squad Leader and shaking in fear Brawler, Headmaster Rivia struggled to scold the boy kneeling on the ground.

“To be fair, Headmaster, XP is XP, and that free ten mill goes a long way toward our goal. Just think of how many fewer dives into the Academy Egresses that equals. Don’t you think I deserve a commendation for saving you money in the long run?” Shrugging his shoulders, Cynrik shamelessly justified the actions of his Faction.

“Knock it off.” Staring at Cynrik for a moment, Headmaster Rivia continued.

“Initially, I planned on using this little event as a test to see how you and the other students would handle facing Tier-3 beings; I never expected you to kill four of them. I gave Instructor Alistar and Garrison the original order to stand by and only jump in when your lives were in danger. However, that changed when the Squad Leader broke through mid-battle into Tier-4.”

“Well, I figured as much, but it’s quite surprising to find out the dude Instructor Garrison threw down like a sack of potatoes Evolved into Tier-4. Wait…why didn’t I notice? HEY HEY, Headmaster, did you do some wonky space shit to block him off?” Shooting Geralt an accusatory glare, Cynrik chided.

“Indeed, I didn’t want any of you getting distracted, and although you could roughly handle the Tier-3s, there was no way you would be able to stand up against someone of the same strength as an Instructor. Thus, Garrison stepped in and handled it. You six were lucky even to dodge that [Ice Chasm] the spy launched at you earlier; if he hadn’t stepped in when he did, odds are things would have gone very differently.”

Looking away from the Geralt, Cynrik tossed a thankful glance at Garrison, who shrugged as if to say, “Not a big deal.”

CRACK, CRACK, RUMBLLLEEE!

Just as Cynrik was about to reply, the ground in the Core area began to shake, making everyone turn their heads and look in the direction Brance’s Tower stood, only to see it crumbling floor by floor until only the Boys Dorm was left in one piece.

“That skill is quite impressive; for some reason, I couldn’t see inside. Did you two come up with it on your own?” Cocking an eyebrow, the Headmaster watched as Brance, Selene, Gabby, and Benny hurried over, carrying their loot from their battles. Brance was wearing a red sheath on his hip. For Selene, a jagged three-meter long purple spear was strapped onto her back. Gabby was holding what appeared to be either a stick or a wand, only Benny had nothing and was jogging empty-handed.

“Un, we did, but don’t expect us to spill all the details on it; we are entitled to some level of privacy, Headmaster,” Cynrik said, clicking his tongue and admiring Brance’s sword.

“Your secrets are your own, Ivar; I would never impose in such a way as to breach your privacy.” Headmaster Rivia snorted and glared at Cynrik for a moment.

“You say that, but the 15 cameras and microphones I found in my Dorm say otherwise. Regardless, it’s okay; I dismantled them either way. I assume you want the Squad Leader to yourself, but I gave my word that this man would have a warrior’s death. He has answered my questions satisfactorily, so if you don’t need him for interrogation….” Standing up and flicking out his hidden blade, Cynrik half limped, and half walked to the Brawler, who had been sweating profusely since the arrival of Headmaster Rivia.

“Hold on a moment Student Ivar.” When Cynrik stepped within 4 meters of the Brawler, a muscular arm blocked his path.

“Instructor Garrison, I am already running thin on patience, and my temper isn’t quite in check right now.” Cynrik spat while looking directly at Garrison’s arm with [Mana Sight] active. He had just about had it with teachers stopping his actions today and was already looking for weaknesses he could exploit if forced to fight the man.

“Ivar, I understand your need to fulfill a promise, but I can’t in good conscious stand here and allow you to kill a defenseless man. We are not savages; this is not Supremacy Uni nor Finwan. Your actions have to have meaning to them.” Stepping up alongside Garrison, Instructor Alistar added his two cents.

“They are right, Ivar; although their ideals and yours may not align, and I see where you are coming from, just cutting down an unarmed opponent doesn’t match the goal of our Academy. We are a school of thought, one where we teach our students not to only view the darkness in people’s hearts and ruthlessly slay opponents. We want our students to think things through and show at least a modicum of respect to their opponents, who are also living beings with souls.” Headmaster Rivia spoke next.

‘To be fair, my Codex is right by my heart, and it’s filled with Dark Mana.’ Cynrik thought but didn’t say it aloud.

[Listen to them; their viewpoint is why you were punished in the first place.] Merging with the group of people clustered around his brother, Brance interjected his opinion.

[I am well aware, I already pretty much secured the XP for the Brawler, but I don’t know what happens if someone else kills him. That is why I am pushing this in the first place.]

[Stop being an idiot and just listen to them, Cyn. Stop being so hardheaded and goal-oriented. Sure, we lose out on some XP and Stats, but we are about to jump head first into farming. Worst case, we lose out on a few sleepless nights of grinding. On the other hand, if you concede here, not only will you put a good image of yourself in their minds, one that is learning and growing emotionally, but you also put up the façade that you are adhering to their rules. There is no losing in this situation.]

Brance’s words aggravated Cynrik to no end, but he knew his little brother was correct in his way of thinking, so he chambered the hidden blade back into the bracer, sighed in an annoyed manner, and tilted his head to the side so he could meet the Headmaster’s gaze.

“Then what would you have me do, Headmaster, let him go? Hand him over to you? Pin a 2000 credit bill to his chest and wish him the best of luck?” The words spewing from Cynrik’s mouth held no malice but a heavy level of sarcasm.

“For now, we will lock him and the Squad Leader up in the Academy brig. The two of them will serve as part of your final test; at that time, no one will stop you from doing what you want.” Narrowing his eyes and holding back the urge to backhand Cynrik, Headmaster Rivia quickly thought of a plan that benefited the student. In doing this, he also gave himself enough time to pressure the two spies for more information.

“Tsk, fine, Oi, Björn, how long do you plan on sitting around and leaving your dear old brother half-crippled? Do you even realize how bad this shit hurts, ugh?” Spinning around and facing Brance, Cynrik flapped his broken arm, which moved like rubber for effect, only to wince in pain a second later.

“Yeah, yeah, get over here, you dipshit.” Rolling his eyes, Brance rolled up his sleeves and started channeling Light Mana into his palms to perform [Lay on Hands.]

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