Psychic Parasite

Chapter 334: Plans for Credit Usage
”Thank you, ma’am.” Jyorta weakly replied, his face jubilant, almost tearing up. He got up, stumbling in the process before a psychic arm caught him, lifting his body. The moment he stepped out, the rectangular apparatus disappeared.

”The viscous solution is tremendously nutritious. When your body digests it, you will recover more than enough energy to fill up your Brain Crystal. The excess energy will be stored in your body that you can expend when necessary.” Madam Mary disappeared and reappeared on her seat, picking up the storybook from before.

”Head to the nursing room and talk to the nurse, Vaika. Once you say you obtained Regen, she will guide you through all the basics through her hallucination.” She waved her hands, ”That’s all, you may leave.”

”Thank you, ma’am.” Jyorta bowed and exited the principal’s office, his body feeling strange, the sensation foreign as compared to before. Something was settling in his body, subtly affecting it, invading every nerve, and implanting something everywhere.

’Is this how the presence of an Unranked Skill feels like?’ There were many things he was clueless about it, deciding to first have a meal and some rest before consulting the nurse Vaika.

’I finally obtained it.’ Jyorta clenched his hand into a fist, excited. A wide smile covered his face as he hopped while walking, humming a tune, greeting every staff he passed by with thrice the enthusiasm.

6:30 PM, finished with a round of snacks, Jyorta returned to his room, laying down on the bed. He sensed the changes in his body, noticing his presence subtly mix with the foreign presence, getting enriched in the process.

The foreign presence was like a network of veins in his body, present everywhere in distinct forms, slowly mixing with the rest and turning unnoticeable. Thanks to the aura training he underwent every day, Jyorta could precisely sense it.

”Regen,” Jyorta smiled, unleashing his stronger psychic arm, sensing if there was anything different about it. His psychic arm was the same as before, unchanged. Jyorta retracted it and closed his eyes, allowing the changes in his body to finish before beginning his experimentation and practice.

Theoretically speaking, after the Unranked Skill was imbued in the body, it needed some time, ranging from two hours to a day to finish its fusion process. Until then, it was advised to not exert oneself, which might prolong the fusion process or even damage the Unranked Skill in the process.

Based on what he surfed in the Portal, there was a precedent where an Amplifier became too excited after receiving the Unranked Skill, Flight. Without waiting for the Unranked Skill to fully fuse with himself, he activated it and flew around crazily, performing acrobatics in the air until he felt pain all over his body, falling mid-way.

Later, he was unable to fly, only able to activate the Unranked Skill occasionally. Upon research, they discovered that the Unranked Skill had been damaged, limiting its potential. It was no longer an Unranked Skill, its abilities capped at Tier 2. Moreover, it was like a broken faucet, activating and deactivating by itself without warning, its flight efficiency plummeting to rock bottom.

That Amplifier regretted his actions for the rest of his life, the Unranked Skill he obtained had become his doom. He had to cripple himself and undergo surgery to remove the Unranked Skill, the side effects troubling him for life. His life as a Warrior had ended on that day.

The blue soul severed a couple of connections, instantly putting Jyorta in a state of sleep. His body relaxed, allowing the fusion to continue without trouble.

4:30 AM, Jyorta woke up, rubbing his eyes as he regained clarity, turning around to switch on the lights. He noticed the time displayed on his alarm clock, yawning once as he got up, placing the day’s clothes in a basket.

After adding his toiletries to it, he picked up the basket and exited his room, returning after 40 minutes, refreshed, dressed in a tracksuit. Placing the basket in a corner, Jyorta exited the room and locked the door, pocketing his key as he strode through the corridor, pausing for a second before the room next to the flight of stairs.

’She’s probably sleeping.’ Jyorta descended the flight of stairs, humming a tune as he exited the dorm. The cold air and the lingering scent in the air refreshed him. The morning rays of the sun brightened up his mind, making him look forward to the rest of the day.

Jyorta lightly jogged a lap around the ground, taking his sweet time, greeting a couple of students who were also jogging at this time.

6:00 AM, Jyorta ate some snacks in the cafeteria, sensing the quantity of psychic energy in his Brain Crystal. ’It is around half the maximum capacity. Probably around evening, my Brain Crystal would be filled up.’

He smiled, heading towards the Red Building, intending to check if the nurse Vaika had arrived. Until now, he had only visited her during the evening hours. There was a fair chance she wouldn’t be present at this time; he didn’t know her shift hours.

’No harm in visiting once.’ Jyorta continued with his jog, soon arriving before the Red Building, noticing its doors had been put back.

He lightly pushed open the double doors, entering to find it vacant. He took a couple of steps inside and noticed the double door slam shut behind him, the loud sound echoed in the massive hall, startling him.

Jyorta looked around, noticing empty cages everywhere, those that had housed a Frenzy Beast each before. The entire area was bereft of any living beings. Jyorta looked around in curiosity, walking towards the counter on the other end of the massive hall.

He then spotted a lady in a nurse outfit sitting behind the counter, looking bored. The moment she noticed his approach, her eyes lit up, playfully beckoning for him, ”There is pretty much nothing in the Labyrinth of Frenzy. The ones that had survived are wounded pretty badly and are recuperating.”

”Then, we can still explore the labyrinth now?” Jyorta asked in surprise.

”Of course,” The nurse replied, ”Though, there probably won’t be anyone who would be willing to explore for the time being. The incidents from a day ago had affected them pretty badly. It would take some time before the students attempt an exploration.”

’If they are wounded, it should be easier.’ Jyorta then showed an expression of inquiry, ”Ma’am, when will nurse Vaika arrive?”

”Hmm,” The nurse gave him a knowing smile, chuckling once, ”Her shift is from 4:00 PM to midnight. You can visit her then.”

Jyorta bowed and turned around, heading towards the exit. The nurse stared at his back for a couple of seconds before shouting in amusement, ”She’ll probably be free today. Make use of the chance, brave Cadet.”

Jyorta looked back before choosing to speed up his pace, the sounds of the nurse chuckling resounded from behind. Soon, he exited the Red Building and walked on the ground, thinking up his plan.

’I have accumulated around 1,15,000 Credits in total. The Trait of Efficiency, Recovery, and Resistance in total amount to 25,000 Credits. And, I had paid 10,000 Credits for Regen, so I have around 80,000 Credits remaining. The Trait of Severability costs 90,000 Credits, so I only need 10,000 more Credits. I’m close to obtaining all my objectives.’

Jyorta smiled, realising that he had obtained most of what he had sought to achieve in the first place. In his prior plans, he wasn’t even confident of obtaining the Trait of Severability. After all, the Credits needed for it were no joke, something impossible to achieve as an Esper. If he had been a Warrior, he would have had a fair fighting chance.

”Once I obtain the Trait of Severability, I can focus on obtaining a suitable Tier 3 Relic. There is no disadvantage in having more Relics.” Jyorta waved his hands at the jogging students that passed by, thinking further.

It would have been better to use the remainder of his Credits on Frenzy Fruits and increase his Sync Rate. But, even a Tier 3 Frenzy Fruit cost 1000 Credits. The increase in Sync Rate wasn’t enough for him, considering the cost as he received nine Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits every month.

In response, a Tier 3 Relic only cost 8,000 Credits, a massive bargain for the rate. A Tier 4 Relic cost 60,000 Credits so he didn’t even think about aiming for them. Thanks to the Trait of Severability, he would increase his Sync Rate over time. He had some plans to achieve it.

Therefore, using his Credits to exchange for Frenzy Fruits wasn’t efficient. He could use them to exchange for a helpful Relic that might even save his life in the Wilds.

”A Tier 3 Relic obtained from a Warrior would have an emission-based Skill, which is perfect for an Esper like me. That would give me a lot of advantage in my battles.” Jyorta nodded, recalling the information listed in the pamphlet.

’Since there are only 20 Tier 3 Relics to be exchanged, I should hurry. There is a fair chance many had already exchange for them.’

The scores of the top 10 in the October Batch were above 80,000 Credits. The scores further down the rank steadily reduced, with the person at the 100th rank barely crossing 10,000 Credits. For students at such a rank, their best bet at survival was to exchange for a Tier 3 Relic.

Those who had around 40,000-60,000 Credits would aim for a Tier 4 Relic, or the Unranked Skill, Flight if they had been Warriors. But, the fraction who had Credits between 10,000 to 40,000 numbered at least 40, those that competed for the Tier 3 Relics or such. Jyorta’s only hope was that most of them were gunning for the Trait of Temperance and hadn’t opted for any Tier 3 Relics.

After all, the advantage of the Trait of Temperance lasted for decades, and allowed them to be on duty for that much longer, possibly even giving them enough time to breakthrough to a Tier higher.

’Should I exchange for a Relic now? Will the expenditure risk my situation from obtaining the Trait of Severability? After all, if my hunt in the Labyrinth is lacklustre, even 10,000 Credits might be too far a goal.’ Jyorta frowned, heading towards the Head Office Building. He planned to first inquire the number of Tier 3 Relics that remained, planning to decide based on that.

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