Psychic Parasite

Chapter 289: Frenzy Beasts Can Also Increase Their Sync Rates
Jyorta returned to his dorm, took a bath, and changed into his uniform. His weapons and armour were placed in a bag that prevented the aura in them from leaking out. Jyorta exited his room and headed towards the Head Office Building.

’I obtained 312 Credits this time. I used up most of my strength against the Amplifier Steel Porcupine. It was too strong. Otherwise, my exploration would have gone smoother.’ Jyorta thought, revising his actions from a calm perspective.

He then tallied his Credits, ’Adding this exploration’s worth, I now have 1,11, 841 Credits. I have used up 25,000 Credits for the Traits of Efficiency, Recovery, and Resistance. So, 86,841 Credits are remaining with me. I need 1,10,000 Credits to exchange for the Unranked Skill, Regen. It would be difficult to obtain anything else with my current speed.’

’Espers are drastically disadvantaged in this aspect. Warriors would have been able to explore more. Amplifiers would have been able to reach the third layer by now. As the nurse said, my greatest weapon at present is my aura. Only through this will I be able to accumulate more Credits.’

As he walked on the grass, he remembered something, plopping face flat on it. The grass was soft, emitting a pleasant aroma that served to relax him. He breathed out, unleashing a tinge of his aura, concentrating on it through his senses.

He unleashed part of his domain, limiting himself to his official range. His aura lingered on his breath, mixing into the air around him. When he inhaled again, he was astonished at the lack of that aroma.

When he exhaled and inhaled again, he could smell the aroma once again. He once again unleashed a tinge of his aura, sensing it mix with the aroma, turning heavier. It flew downward and was absorbed by the grass.

After it absorbed the aura, tiny droplets precipitated on it, evaporating to produce the aroma once again. Jyorta experimented for five minutes before getting up and started walking towards the Head Office Building.

’This grass can actually absorb aura as nutrients.’ He decided to experiment with it in detail later, once he completed the task that weighed heavily on his mind. Soon, he arrived on the first floor in the Head Office Building.

This was his first time here, a reason because he didn’t have any necessity to visit before. Along the way, he noticed some potted plants in the corridor, placed every twenty metres. The pots were built into the wall.

The plants resembled bonsai, their growth stunted, unable to ever grow beyond a certain height. Above them existed the section of the wall that acted as their ceiling. Jyorta stood closer to a plant, gently emitting a tinge of his aura, watching the plant absorb it similarly to the grass.

’So, this is why there is no aura in the Military Academy. But what is the limit to their absorption? To what extents or intensities of aura can they absorb? I can only find out later.’ Jyorta thought, planning to pocket some grass for his next exploration if they had considerable absorption capacity.

The plaque atop a door read ’Staff Room’. It was his destination. Jyorta glanced at the time on his watch, seeing that he still had 20 minutes before the staff left for the day.

After that, only those who had a night shift would remain. But they never taught any students anything. Their sole task was to monitor the military academy until dawn and prevent any trouble from erupting.

The door was ajar, Jyorta peered through and caught a staff looking his way. He made a light bow, watching the staff permit him to enter. Jyorta entered and looked around, finding a cabin on one side with the name of the staff he wanted to meet.

Seeing his gaze, the staff that had permitted him entry returned to his task, scribbling something on a stack of paper. Jyorta walked past the seats of many staff, finding the names of most unfamiliar.

Each Batch had its respective set of staff that taught accordingly. All the Batches only had one teacher in common, Madam Rizenne. She taught them about all the basics. The teacher common for the Espers from all Batches was Madam Mila while it was Sir Cosmi for the Warriors—both Tier 5 beings.

Therefore, if they had any doubts apart from their field of operation—Rhachis and Psychic—they approached Madam Rizenne for clarification. Though everything they needed was available in the Portal so hardly anyone approached her.

If not for the incident he had witnessed, Jyorta too wouldn’t have arrived here for clarification. On the way from the Labyrinth of Frenzy, he noticed that construction for the Graduation Ceremony Battlefield hadn’t begun yet. It meant Madam Mila hadn’t returned.

To avoid delaying it, in fear of the Crust-Mantle getting killed by another Frenzy Beast preying on its weak state, Jyorta was in a hurry. Therefore, he arrived at the staff room without hesitation.

The staff room was no different to the university from his previous life. Soon, he arrived before a cabin with Madam Rizenne’s name attached. The door was ajar, seated inside was Madam Rizenne.

The cabin was 4 metres long and 5 metres wide. Seated behind a desk was Madam Rizenne, her expression a frown. On her back was a rack stacked with thick books, made from Floating Spider silk to prevent erosion over time.

To her right was a detailed map of the military academy. Jyorta glanced at it once, the blue soul extracted the memory, planning to comprehend it later thousands of times to learn it by heart. It was on the off chance he missed something of value through ignorance.

To her left was a human mannequin, donned in full-body armour, realistic to the extent he assumed it was a real person for a moment. Madam Rizenne glanced at him, motioning two fingers at him, implying him to wait for two minutes.

Jyorta did as told, gazing at the books to pass the time. Seated before Madam Rizenne were four staff, engaging in a flurry of discussion. All sorts of emotions were expressed on their faces as they conversed. Of the four, Jyorta could only recognise Rishen Veera, their physical training instructor. Since their conversation was shielded, Jyorta couldn’t hear anything.

As he looked through the book titles, a familiar cover caught his eye. The moment he glanced at it, his expression morphed. The blue soul overlaid the face mask, calming him down before he reacted. Thankfully, Madam Rizenne seemed busy, not catching the mild change in his expression. Even if she had noticed it, she didn’t seem to care.

’The Fundamental Flaw in Human Cognition, by…’ Jyorta took in a deep breath, unable to grasp his feelings after seeing a name he hadn’t ever thought of encountering.

’Father…’ He closed his eyes, opening after exhaling, retaining the face mask. The book’s author was his father, from his previous life. Just this alone further concreted Psychic Ancestor Marble’s claim of him reincarnating to the future.

’No, based on what he said, I was brought to the future by their decision.’ Jyorta then noticed the four staff stand up in unison and bow a little towards Madam Rizenne. As they walked past Jyorta, they glared at him, continuing forth in anger.

Jyorta was confused about their reaction for a second before he tossed it over to the back of his head. Seeing Madam Rizenne nod his way, he entered the cabin.

”Take a seat, Jyorta Bone.” Madam Rizenne motioned for him to take the first seat on the right. Jyorta sat and took in a deep breath; the blue soul retracted the face mask once his emotions pertaining to the book were calmed.

He thought of the order of things he had to say, speaking concisely, ”When I explored the labyrinth just now, I came across an Observer Crust-Mantle that attempted a breakthrough with a 64 percent Sync Rate. But after breakthrough, its Sync Rate had increased to 97 percent.”

”It was really weak, and judging by its state, it seemed like a Frenzy Beast that didn’t have the confidence to successfully breakthrough to Tier 2. But not only did it complete its breakthrough, but its Heart Crystal also healed within a mere three hours.” Jyorta said.

He also detailed everything that led to the incident and at the two Frenzy Parasites jumping into the Crust-Mantle’s mouth and it absorbing the spikes of the Steel Porcupines into it while breakthrough. When he was done, Madam Rizenne wryly smiled, ”Do you know the loss in Sync Rate after each breakthrough?”

Before Jyorta could nod, Madam Rizenne continued, ”4-10 percent from Tier 1 to Tier 2, 12-20 percent from Tier 2 to Tier 3, 22-32 percent from Tier 3 to Tier 4, and 34-46 percent from Tier 4 to Tier 5.”

”The highest Sync Rate in your Batch was 86 percent by Dalna Doppler,” She gazed at his eyes in seriousness, ”Suppose she made breakthroughs with minimal losses, she will only end up with 48 percent Sync Rate at Tier 4. That means a guaranteed death.”

Seeing him open his mouth, Madam Rizenne interjected, ”The actual situation is different thanks to the Frenzy Fruits. But in the case of the Frenzy Beasts, they have inferior intelligence to humans. So, their losses from breakthroughs are higher.”

She raised her hand, ”Based on the loss in Sync Rate during breakthrough, theoretically, there should be no Tier 5 beings among the Frenzy Beasts, not to mention Tier 6. But, the reality is different.”

She shook her head, ”And no, Frenzy Fruits are exclusive to humanity. But, the presence of Tier 5 and Tier 6 beings among the Frenzy Beasts point out to a method in which they can increase their Sync Rates.”

She glanced at his eyes, her gaze boring into him, ”What you had witnessed was just that.”