Psychic Parasite

Chapter 170: Madam Mary’s Warning
Jyorta stood up and stretched his arms, letting out a short yawn. He walked on the path, approaching the exit, watching a figure brush past him. The girl slightly glanced his way through the corner of her eye and exited the auditorium.

Her friends trailed after her, stealing subtle glances his way before following Dalna Doppler out. Unable to make sense of the situation, Jyorta scratched his head a little, deciding to ignore them for now.

The moment he exited the auditorium and took a step further, a voice whispered in his ear. It was the voice of Madam Rizenne, ”Madam Mary has summoned your presence in the Principal’s Office. It is related to your experience for the past few days.”

”Yes, ma’am; I’ll head there right away,” Jyorta replied, brushing past the new batch that had arrived. Just as the timing in their stamps had indicated, the batch of Jyorta and co finished at the exact time as the arrival of the subsequent one.

Moreover, they had arrived 15 minutes early, as designated by Madam Rizenne. They quickly occupied the first three rows and waited for Madam Rizenne to begin. After drinking some water, Madam Rizenne cleared her throat and noticed the presence of everyone designated to arrive.

She then started with the same topic as before, summoning for the presence of five people on the dais.

Taking a turn in the hallway and proceeding in the opposite direction from the students in his batch, Jyorta headed towards a flight of stairs. There was more than one flight of stairs in the Head Office Building, considering its length surpassing 400 metres.

Even though he didn’t know the location of the Principal’s Office, Madam Rizenne had briefly detailed the route he had to traverse upon. Even if he couldn’t remember them all, he now knew the general direction. He could ask any staff along the way for directions.

Arriving on the first floor, Jyorta headed towards a spot centred on the floor, coming face to face with a large double door, spanning the height of the ceiling. A man stood guard next to the door, whose sole existence was to inform about the visitors inside.

”I am Jyorta Bone, Esper from the October Batch. Madam Rizenne had informed me that Madam Principal had summoned me.” Jyorta controlled his voice, appearing bold but having the sound limited to his immediate surroundings. It was to avoid being loud and appear disrespectful.

”Wait here,” The Guard replied with his gruff voice, seeping his psychic arm through a differently coloured section on the door. Jyorta noticed it through his senses, wondering about the oddity when he recalled the sense of familiarity oozing from the door.

’Gulvana!’

A material that prevented the seepage of psychic energy, used in boxes that stored Brain Crystals and in rooms to prevent peeping by Espers, that was Gulvana. It had three types, based on the Tier of psychic energy it could block.

Gulvana Harr blocked the psychic energy of Tier 1 and 2 Espers, Gulvana Forr blocked the psychic energy of Tier 3 and 4 Espers, and Gulvana Vorr blocked the psychic energy beyond that. It was information taught to him by Atika Light. Though, she hadn’t mentioned if Gulvana Vorr could block the psychic energy of Psychic Ancestor Marble.

Except for the differently coloured spot in the door, the rest seemed to be made from the material, Gulvana.

’It doesn’t seem as if an inanimate object could block Psychic Ancestor Marble, irrespective of its functions.’ Jyorta noticed the Guard look at him, slightly craning the door open to allow his entry.

Jyorta entered and gazed at the spacious room displayed before him, surrounded by racks on three sides. The racks were stacked with papers of all sizes, some shaped into bundles, some into rolls, and some pined into folders.

There was nothing on the floor, save for a table and a chair at the back where an old lady sat, busying about through a stack of papers. There wasn’t a single electronic instrument in the room, even the lighting and air conditioning seemed to have been executed by the placement of Relics, the Skills imbued in them beyond the knowledge of Jyorta.

There wasn’t any chair for him to be seated, as if the place wasn’t used to accommodating guests. Just this action alone signified the status symbol carried by Madam Mary, the principal of the military academy in the 7th Ring.

There existed one military academy per every Ring in Marble City, starting from the 3rd Ring. It was unknown how the two innermost Rings operated. Every military academy was headed by either member from the two Royal Families.

The fact that an individual apart from the two Royal Families was in charge of a military academy spoke volumes about the prestige she garnered and the influence she exerted.

Jyorta stood a metre from the closed door, with his back facing it. His hands were positioned to his back as he stood ramrod straight, posing along the norms of the established doctrine. For the first five minutes, there was no response.

Madam Mary busied about with her work, her concentration split into five places, apparent based on the five tasks he noticed, each proceeding in distinct locations. Though, even when he closed his eyes and strained his senses as an Esper, he couldn’t make out the presence of psychic energy in the room.

But, he knew for a fact that Madam Mary had been using her psychic arms to execute all the work. It was just that he couldn’t sense it. The psychic arms of Espers were invisible but, fellow Espers are capable of perceiving it.

Even Warriors at higher Tiers were able to perceive the psychic arms, just that he didn’t know how they achieved it. But here, irrespective of how he tried, he couldn’t sense any psychic energy in the room.

’Higher Tiered Espers are scary.’ Jyorta mentally sighed, unmoving from his position. He silently watched Madam Mary continue about her work. He took in the view of his blue soul for an instant, watching his surroundings turn dark.

There was nothing new in his vision, with Madam Mary seated beyond his range. Jyorta exited the vision of his blue soul and silently watched her actions, trying all methods he could think of to try and perceive her psychic arms.

”It is good that you returned alive from there.” Madam Mary spoke, not once lifting her head from work, continuing with her tasks. Her voice was pleasant to hear, as if originating from a lady in her twenties, unbefitting of her old age.

”I was treated well,” Jyorta replied, unable to think of anything else to say. The prime reason he was invited there was due to his uniqueness and in order to help his sister. They had hidden identities that were unknown except for select individuals.

Based on his knowledge, Jyorta was sure Madam Mary wasn’t one of them. In all of Marble City, the ones who knew about him and Heima were the three ancestors, Atika Light and Jyovic Bone. The only reason Jyovic Bone had come to know of the full details was thanks to Rhachis Ancestor Light informing him of everything, both as a form of protection and to help nurture them accordingly.

Until that point, Jyovic Bone only had faint guesses due to the abnormalities he perceived in Jyorta, and under the repeated urgings of Jyorta’s mother, Henrietta. From what Heima told him, the act of her becoming Gajara Rahi’s subsoul was a voluntary act initiated by Rhachis Ancestor Light and of Jyovic Bone going along with the order.

It seemed it was compulsory for every Aristocratic Family. He couldn’t understand the underlying significance of the action but he came to conclude one thing, and that was to never trust Jyovic Bone, irrespective of the situation at hand.

Since Madam Mary wasn’t privy to his or his sister’s identity, he couldn’t tell her about his experience in Grapple Force. In the official statement prepared by Grapple Force, Jyorta was admitted into a hospital to be treated for the side-effects brought about by his Trait of Corrosion.

This excuse was enough for all the students and teachers but, Madam Mary knew of the ruse. After all, she was the one who had escorted Jyorta and left him with Atika Light. As Jyorta wondered about what he could say and what he could not, Madam Mary chuckled.

”I won’t put you in the spot. Besides, if I were to wring out the information from you, Atika Light wouldn’t leave me alone.” She then said without a change in expression, ”This is concerning your current Tier as an Area Controller.”

”Since Rakh Veera had already explained it, I won’t repeat it. It is not publicly announced but when you achieve Tier 2 here, you will be awarded 20,000 Credits. It will raise unnecessary commotion if people were to learn of your breakthrough into Tier 2 at such early stages.” She aligned a stack of papers, pinning them and placing them to the side.

Madam Mary lifted her head, making eye contact with Jyorta, ”Based on Atika Light’s request, I decided to not announce your breakthrough until 9 months have passed. This is the time when the top scorers from your Batch will attempt a breakthrough to Tier 2. I will act as your protector at that time and help you tide through the situation.”

Her gaze turned sharp, ”Until then, try your best to not reveal your state as an Area Controller to the Cadets. The day you violate it is the day your name will be stroked off your family register. Do I make myself clear?”