Psychic Parasite

Chapter 171: Trait of Recovery
”Yes, Ma’am.” Jyorta saluted, feeling a shiver pass through his spine, making his legs feel numb. He didn’t try to hide his emotional upheavals through the usage of his false persona, being his self to not induce any suspicion from the other party.

”But,” Madam Mary changed her tone, reverting to her previous self. ”The fact that you have attained Tier 2 cannot be refuted. We can only make it official after 9 months have passed and allot you the respective 20,000 Credits to be displayed in the Dedicated Credit Ranking System.”

”Unofficially, you have now been rewarded with 20,000 Credits. If you want to exchange for any Artifact, Trait, etc. you can do so now.”

Seeing the gentle smile on her face, a stark contrast to her previous expression where she spoke of his death as if it didn’t mean much, Jyorta felt his head spin. He couldn’t control his warping expression, taking deep breaths in an effort to stabilise himself.

There was a sense of fear and anxiety in him, the cause resulted from a single sentence by Madam Mary. The fear stemmed from his Wisdom Parasite, the suppression brought about by a higher existence of the same species. It was the primal fear brought about by a higher levelled lifeform when it prowled around in search of prey.

This was the trait of Parasites, whether they were Wisdom Parasites or Frenzy Parasites. The higher their evolutionary phase, the greater their presence, and the greater the suppression effect they induce on the lower evolved Parasites.

After some time had passed, Jyorta controlled the shivering of his facial muscles and opened his mouth, leaking out a voice that was akin to a whimper, ”I’ll exchange for the Trait of Recovery.”

”I won’t comment on your choice,” Madam Mary waved her hand, motioning for him to leave the Principal’s Office, ”Come here at 6:00 PM tomorrow. I’ll implant the Trait of Recovery in you. Since we planned to hide your Tier, it is for the best to avoid heading to the facility where you obtained the Trait of Efficiency. After all, the Credit exchange there is done through the system. Updating your Credit in the system means announcing your Tier to everyone here, so we’ll avoid that.”

”Yes, ma’am.” Jyorta bowed and turned around, quickly holding the handle of the double door, stopping his tumble. Just when he was about to pull open the door, Madam Mary’s voice resounded again, this time possessing the tone to instil a gentle reminder.

”In the suitcase you brought from Grapple Force, I have been informed that there are 70 Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits altogether in it. I advise you to not rush with their consumption. Only take one Frenzy Fruit per day, and that too after your Brain Crystal has finished repairing its damage.”

”I was instructed to do the same,” Jyorta slightly turned his head, glancing at the table to notice the absence of Madam Mary on her seat. There was only a stack of papers and a pen that wrote on it, despite her absence, akin to a horror story.

”Good,” The voice originated from the same place as before but Madam Mary wasn’t at the scene. Jyorta glanced around, finding the room bereft of any living presence. ”It might look like your Wisdom Parasite has fully recovered, but it has not. Even though it has begun to Nurture, it is not at its full strength yet.”

Jyorta blinked once and noticed Madam Mary sitting in the same place as before, her seating posture hadn’t changed. He then saw Madam Mary look at him, ”The moment when you sense your Trait of Efficiency functioning again is an indicator of your Wisdom Parasite having made a full recovery.”

”Thank you, ma’am.” Jyorta bowed and turned around, grabbing hold of the door’s handle, intending to pull it. He took in the view of his blue soul, watching his surroundings turn dark, or so he expected.

Everywhere around him was the broiling fog, as if he had been submerged inside. There was a thin layer separating him from the broiling fog, looking on the verge of being drowned. Jyorta felt a scare; the blue soul in him instantly overlaid the false persona, one of calm, optimism, and filled with focus.

Jyorta craned the door open and exited the Principal’s Office, ignoring the stare of the door guard as he hurried towards the flight of stairs. He descended the flight of stairs and arrived on the ground floor, soon exiting the Head Office Building.

A scent of nature wafted his way, the fragrance alleviating his tensed nerves. It worked in conjunction with his false persona and soon brought his emotions under control. Jyorta took in a deep breath, the evening breeze refreshing his lungs.

There was a massive yellow wall facing his way, spanning from one end to the other. It made the military academy seem cramped, thanks to occupying the entirety of the ground’s area. Jyorta proceeded left, walking along the sides of the wall, passing beside a group of students who touched and inspected the wall.

”This has been created from Madam Mila’s Unranked Skill, Marble Sonata. This entire setup is one giant Tier 5 Artifact.” A student exclaimed, brushing his hand along the yellow surface.

”The ability to create Artifacts on the fly, just this fact alone will give us endless riches. Also, all physical properties can be varied, both before and after creation. Also, after use, it can be dissolved into psychic energy and retracted back into ourselves. This is so…”

”Amazing!”

”Hear this,” Another student sported a mysterious expression, as if he held a mystical secret. But, the excitement in his eyes betrayed his expression. Whether his friends were to listen or not, he was bound to reveal it anyway.

He coughed once and crouched low, beckoning for the rest to huddle, speaking in a soft voice, ”Someone mentioned to me that there is a counterpart of Marble sonata meant for Warriors.”

”Wait, seriously?” There was a collective exclamation before they inhaled a sharp breath of air. Everyone’s eyes lit up with desire, their heated gazes looking intent to burn up the surroundings.

”What is it called?” One of them, a relatively calmer student took the opportunity to ask.

”I have no idea,” The student who mentioned the subject shook his head, ”It was something Madam Mila mentioned in passing in the November Batch yesterday. It seems that unaffiliated parties could apply to join that particular department and after lots and lots of merit accumulation, they would finally get the chance to obtain that Unranked Skill.”

”With that Skill, our chances of survival would drastically increase. After all, the number of deaths in the Wilds has been the lowest among Marble Family.”

”Well, we would need to work a lot for that to happen. Besides, how many Credits have you accumulated?”

”Somewhere along 88,000; what about you?”

”I crossed one lakh yesterday.” Another smiled, raising collecting exclaims from everyone. He flexed his arms, showcasing his well-toned muscles, ”I hunted a lot yesterday.”

Jyorta glanced at their uniforms, finding the number ’1’ printed on them. He nodded in understanding as the figure of someone flashed in his mind.

’The January Batch; as the top scorer in the Batch, I wonder how much Hrita Bone has accumulated. 14 days ago, she had almost 80,000 Credits. Now that the Labyrinth of Frenzy has been opened to them, no wonder their Credits are skyrocketing. It is somewhat disadvantageous for Espers, considering we are weaker than Warriors at Tier 2.’

Jyorta arrived at the cafeteria, finding Haesha seated alone on a bench. She had a book opened before her, busy going through the contents.

’She is working hard.’ Jyorta smiled and headed towards the counter, handing over his ID card to be scanned before he informed of the items he wanted to eat. He was hungry, thanks to his raised energy expenditure.

The battle was still ongoing in the subsoul belonging to his Wisdom Parasite. With his Soul Cornea present at the scene, using the ability of corrosion from time to time, the red mass birthed from the memory fragments couldn’t win against his ego.

Though, this meant that all the psychic energy produced in his body as a product of the Nurturing was consumed. In the long run, this would impede his growth.

’But, once my Brain Crystal heals its damage and the effect of the Trait of Efficiency begins, I would have enough room to deal with the issue. I would then also be able to use the Tier 5 Artifact to further increase the speed of Nurturing.’

’Thanks to the Trait of Recovery I will get tomorrow, my efficiency in using the Tier 5 Artifact will improve. This way, I will be able to use it for longer durations.’

Grabbing hold of a slip and his ID card, Jyorta walked towards the service section, handing the slip to a chef. The chef glanced at his face and smiled once, ”Don’t waste the food.”

”Yes, sir.” Jyorta nodded, waiting for a minute before he received all the food items he had ordered. He then waved at Haesha and headed her way, carrying the tray filled with food items.