Psychic Parasite

Chapter 224: Measures in Textures
’Same weight, but longer length; this will do.’ Jyorta held the long spindle in hand, descending the helical staircase after making a round through all spindle varieties. He finally landed on the floor; held in his hand were three spindles, two Type 59B2 and one Type 59BC24.

Jyorta then went to the next section and surfed through the Type 47 Spindles, finally choosing two Type 47B2. Done with all, he looked at his shivering hands, feeling the strain after having to carry approximately 14.5 kilograms.

’Are these too much?’ He wondered, following along the path, tracing the arrows to arrive before the section with the chakrams. He read an information box on the floor, ”Chakrams: Thin disks with sharp ends. The centre is thicker than the ends and both the faces are symmetrical. Note: the designs are not aerodynamically modified beyond the levels of symmetry. For reasons, ask the staff.”

Jyorta habitually stood up, sensing the same voice as before resound in his ears, ”Aerodynamic designs are primarily used to reduce the drag. If the chakrams were used solely to travel, then aerodynamic designs would have been the best. But, since they are required to cut into the flesh and bones of Frenzy Beasts, suffering damage in return, we have opted for a more stable design.”

After a nod, Jyorta walked to the rack where a board hung with the word ’Type 30’ and began to look into the details. A small metal board was affixed on the walls next to each shelf. He read through the details on the lowermost shelf, ”Type 30 Chakram: Weight 3.15 kilograms, a radius of 5 centimetres, and curvature of 60 centimetres.”

The voice resounded in his ears once again, ”Unlike the spindle, the rpm of the chakram is not dependant on the curvature. It is dependent on the radius. For a radius of 5 centimetres, and considering the abilities of your stronger psychic arm, you can spin it at about 10 rps or 600 rpm. It is not much, but it is not lacking either. Due to the sharpness of the chakram, even 10 rps is lethal enough.”

”Don’t consider getting larger chakrams. They will simply hinder you more than do you good. As for the curvature, when it is 60 centimetres, the chakram is 0.41 centimetres thick at the centre, and 0.5 centimetres thick when the curvature is 50 centimetres. The defensive property of the chakram is higher when it is thick, but the resistance it faces while cutting through a Frenzy Beast is higher. So, think through before making your choice.” The mechanical tone soon became lively.

It spoke with a hint of disdain, ”Having weapons for use is necessary, and having a spare is helpful. But, consider how much weight your body can handle. You would just tire yourself to death by carrying all the weapons you are taking along. You also have to take into account the weight of the armour, the clothes you wear, and the support items you take. Taking precautions is the best but, being overly precautious is equivalent to submitting yourself to danger.”

”Thank you, sir. I will keep it in mind.” Jyorta nodded, grabbing hold of a chakram at the bottom. The circumference of the chakram was sealed by a layer of plastic, to prevent the students from being injured while browsing through.

It was heavy, sporting a rough metallic texture, cast iron. He initially assumed their surfaces would be smooth like the spindles, but was surprised to find the rough texture. He noticed the case being the same for all the chakrams in view, unable to figure out the reason despite his knowledge.

’Wouldn’t a rough texture increase the surface friction while cutting through flesh?’ He stopped in thought, staying in place for more than five minutes. He broke free, unable to come up with an answer, deciding to ask, ”Sir, why is the surface rough? Shouldn’t a smooth surface be better at cutting into…”

The voice interjected him, carrying with it a tone of irritation, ”Think for a second before you speak, will you? A smooth surface is optimal for cutting into inanimate objects. Even for cutting through flesh, it is accurate; a smooth surface is optimal. But, have you forgotten about the Essence of Frenzy? Look at the chakram’s texture.”

Prompted by the voice, Jyorta took a closer look at the surface, gazing at the irregularities. The crests and troughs made the pattern seem smooth, like cups, equidistant from one another. But, he couldn’t find any overall pattern. Everything seemed to be in disarray.

”Spin it, one rps.”

Jyorta nodded, seeping his psychic arm into it, taking more than a minute to convert it into his Refined Object. Once it became his Refined Object, it began to spin firmly. He controlled the rps, limiting it at one revolution per second, watching the disorderly pattern form a uniform spiral, with about 15 lines.

”Now, two rps.”

As Jyorta increased the speed, the pattern changed, the number of lines making the spiral increased to 18. After that, he was told to increase the rps by one every time, finally stopping at his limit of 10 rps.

”You can stop it now. Have you seen the pattern?” Jyorta nodded in response, his expression still one of confusion. He then noticed the voice continuing with a grunt.

”The Essence of Frenzy can corrode all matter foreign to one’s own. And, the body of every Frenzy Beast produces an Essence of Frenzy unique to its own. Now, what do you think will happen if your chakram cuts into a Frenzy Beast?”

”It will be damaged,” Jyorta nodded.

”Yes, its edges will become blunt. And, after a couple of times, it might even break. Irrespective of the material and its toughness, it will be affected by the Essence of Frenzy. And depending on the type of the Essence of Frenzy, its effects might be pronounced or suppressed against various materials. You can’t expect to carry an arsenal of items with you while on the Wilds right? How many resources will that waste? That is not efficient.”

”Since we can’t do much about the Essence of Frenzy, we have to think about other countermeasures. The chakram’s texture is one such thing. When it cuts through a body, due to the shape of its irregularities, it forces particles of flesh to be lodged inside them. This creates a defensive layer around it, preventing the Essence of Frenzy in the Frenzy Beast from damaging it further.”

”And, due to your psychic energy within the chakram, it would be able to resist the Essence of Frenzy inside the lodged particles of flesh to a certain extent, thanks to its low concentration. In comparison to the situation where your chakram is damaged by the Essence of Frenzy it meets as it cuts through, this will prolong its life to a certain extent. It’s not a foolproof strategy but still, better than nothing right?”

”Also, see how the pattern changes with the speed of spin? That will try to somehow maintain a sufficient layer of protection over the chakram at higher rpm.”

”I see,” Jyorta nodded in realisation. He then glanced at the spindle in his hand. Before he could raise a question, the voice answered his doubts.

”Spindles are generally treated as consumables in most cases. Pierce a Frenzy Beast and lodge it into a sensitive part. The moment the Frenzy Beast moves, the spindle will continue to damage it internally. Or lodge it within a joint to constrict its movements. So, spindles have a smooth texture.”

”Chakrams, on the other hand, are designed to last for longer durations, acting as your primary means of offence and defence. So, they are built differently. Even the alloys they are composed of are by taking this into account.”

The staff’s voice disappeared; Jyorta began to look through the chakrams. He directly ignored the larger chakrams. They would rotate too slow considering his abilities, which would diminish their use. So, he stuck with the 5-centimetre radius ones.

Finally, after much thinking, he decided on the Type 30B Chakram. It weighed 3.15 kilograms, spanned a radius of 5 centimetres, and had a curvature of 50 centimetres. The thickness at the centre was only 0.5 centimetres.

He decided to focus more on the cutting ability than defence, thinking of relying on the 30-centimetre long spindle for defending. Thinking of the staff’s advice, Jyorta felt conflicted, unable to decide whether to take or leave the extra set of spindles.

’I am not diving into the Labyrinth of Frenzy Unsupervised. I will be training under the protection of Madam Mila. Let me decide after a round of experience.’ Jyorta began to walk towards the armour section, not having the intention to select a chakram for his weaker psychic arm.

He already had too many weapons, any more, and their weight would hinder him. He planned to decide everything else after experiencing a round of battles. No amount of thinking will help as much as practical experience. Also, since he was being protected, there wasn’t any threat to his life.

It was the same as playing a game. There was the danger of trauma, the ensuing pain should he get injured. There was also the threat of the Essence of Frenzy, something that was life-threatening. And should it seep into his fused organ, it could only be operated out, reducing his Sync Rate.

Should the seepage be too much, then the situation would have been something similar to what his sister had faced. Even though Madam Mila would save him before the situation develops to such an extent, variables existed everywhere.

Also, roaming within the Labyrinth of Frenzy were Children of Frenzy, birthed by the Frenzy Beasts living within. The Essence of Frenzy they possessed was many times potent than a regular Frenzy Beast’s.

’Carelessness at present may not cost me my life but it might cost me my future.’