The Over-Break System

“Do you want to tell them, or should I kid?” Fighting back a few more chuckles, Norik asked when Cynrik finally calmed down and got back to his feet.

“I got it, hehe, so, Norik here just confirmed two valuable pieces of info for us, and the way he pulled it off was genius. Not only did he leak the minimum amount of Turning Point quests we will have to face as well as how many potential Blessings we’ve received, but in one fell swoop, he neutered every Deity competing in the Strife, leaving them in a weakened state.”

“With this, even if their Charges die, he has severed any potential refund they could have received. Remember when we were first summoned to Odin and Yahweh? They specifically stated that if we die, our souls become part of their Divinity; that was false information. Although they may believe that to be the case, if what Norik said is true, THEY NEED US TO SURVIVE, OR ELSE THEY WILL TAKE A HUGE LOSS AND POTENTIALLY DIE! THEIR LIVES ARE LINKED TO OURS NOW, BUT THE SAME CAN’T BE SAID ABOUT THE OPPOSITE!

“Huh…” Selene and Brance said at the same time before the realization soon set in for both of them.

Unlike Cynrik and Brance, Selene didn’t have much time to talk to Freya; plus, her Deity had already died, so she wasn’t bogged down by the threat of the potential repercussions of failing during the Strife. Still, she soon broke into a bright smile because of the infectious smile of Brance and Cynrik, who were over the moon with glee.

“You missed one part, CynBrat; you forgot the part about being removed from the cycle of Reincarnation. Vinestra is different from other realms, planes, or territories; due to the size of our planet, we have our OWN cycle; thus, when you die, you will be added to the Vinestran Cycle.” Norik added while smiling.

“Oh, shit? Really, I guess that’s cool too, but I don’t plan on dying any time soon, so don’t be raising flags for my death, you asshole.” Cynrik snorted with contempt.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you weeb.”

“OI, that’s big fucking talk from someone who modeled his academy after Earth Literature.” Rolling his eyes and flipping Norik the middle finger, Cynrik snarkily shot back.

“Moving along, with the terms ironed out, every Deity who wished to join the newly modeled Legacy Strife signed the terms which bonded to their Soul and Divinity, locking them into a non-breakable contract, lest they wish for utter termination of their lives. And with that, the current Legacy strife was set to begin 30 years later.”

“It was only after the arrogant assholes left that I finally had a chance to speak with the Supreme Adjudicator, who was the spitting image of my Wife, and to my surprise, she wasn’t just the image, but actually her.”

“I learned that during the completion of the formation, my Wife merged her body and soul with the formation, effectively turning herself into the highest authority within the program, a true System Admin in a sense, but as a consequence of burning so many resources to kill the three Tier-11 beings, she was forcefully demoted, and her power dropped all the way down to Tier-6 leaving her as a regular Moderator.”

“Not only that, but as a last-ditch effort, her physical body still existed, and inside the womb of said body, which was left in a state of suspended animation, was my still growing unborn child.” Life seemed to return to Norik’s face when he got to the topic of his son.

“I see…” Breaking off eye contact with Norik, Cynrik turned his head and spoke to Brance and Selene.

“Elves have a gestation period of 200-300 years; as such, it is complicated for them to get pregnant and even more difficult actually to bring the child to term.” Turning back to face Norik, Cynrik expanded on his statement further.

“I assume that due to the suspended animation, the growth rate of the fetus was even slower, resulting in the child needing several thousand years to reach the optimal growth stage.”

“Correct, Elanalu’s mind and Soul had already completed the transfer to the CSH, yet her body was forcefully kept alive because she didn’t wish to lose the baby; that was a sign of our love. So for thousands of years, she kept her body alive with pure Mana directly from the planet’s core.”

“To allow my son to be born normally, my wife, the Tier-9 being known as Elanalu, had to die on the day of his birth, and so, with the cries of my newly born son, her body disintegrated into particles and became one with Vinestra.”

“Wishing to give up her true name and identity, she came to me requesting I rename her, and at a loss for what to call her, I chose the first name that came to mind, Yennifer…Elanalu always resembled the character’s physical description, and I used to joke that I resembled Geralt, so it was inevitable that I called her that.”

“As for naming my son, well, since he carried most of my physical traits, I gave him the name Geralt Rivia.” Shrugging his shoulders, Norik felt helpless.

“Well, it looks like your naming sense is as good as mine; it’s nice to see that even the almighty hero of Vinestra sucks at something, OOOF.” The moment the remark left Cynrik’s lips, he was violently thrown across the room before slamming into the wall and being buried under a pile of armor.

“Knowing that time was short before the beginning of the Strife kicked off, and the first batch of Legacy Charges would be born on the planet, I created VSFA. I built a place that could train up the country’s youth and eventually passed it down to my son, with Yennifer taking an active role as the one in charge of the Obelisk Trials and myself as the history teacher.”

“The three of us, as a family, stayed out of politics and had a singular goal: preparation for the war looming on the horizon. You need to know that the Legacy Strife is broken into three parts, the first is the Reincarnation of Beings into Legacy Charges, the Second is a growth period, and the Final part is the actual Battle.”

“We have already moved into the 2nd phase of the Strife, and even if there are several years left until you start receiving quests pertaining to the hunting and slaying of other Legacy Charges, you three need to get strong, stably, of course, as you have, but you two especially,” breaking off his statement to point at Cynrik and Brance, Norik continued.

“You two especially need to speed up your pace. The two of you were the final two Legacy Charges to be born, and you are the farthest behind.”

“Tsk, you say that, but resources are hard to come by as it is, and XP ain’t free. Unless you plan on sponsoring us and becoming our Sugar Daddy, I don’t see how the fuck we are going to steamroll our way into higher Tiers.

“Will you shut up, CynBrat?”

“Seriously, Cyn, shut the hell up.”

Norik and Brance snapped their heads in Cynrik’s direction and scolded him as the boy in question raised his hands in defeat.

Only Selene stayed quiet, as she didn’t feel the need to scold her boyfriend.

“Now, with the history lesson out of the way, let’s talk about the real reason I revealed everything to you three.” Snapping the fingers on his left hand and waving it toward the three members of MyrkLys, several glowing orbs appeared around Norik before flashing away from him and hovering quietly in front of Selene, Brance, and the back on his feet, Cynrik.

“Selene and Brance, the two of you have acquired two very powerful and rare Affinities, ones that will no doubt lead you to become two of the most sought-after beings by the many powers of not only our country but also the world as a whole.”

“By having HolyFire and Abyss Affinities, many will covet your abilities, and even more will seek your death. Although my Academy has quite the backing, that doesn’t mean people won’t offend us to get to you, as you have already seen, thanks to the spies sent by Headmaster Jetlensr and Opurn.”

“Tsk, I fucking knew it was those two assholes.” Hearing confirmation that their Grandfather and Cynrik’s natural enemy Viktor Opurn were the ones behind the spies, Cynrik clicked his tongue without tearing his eyes away from the cluster of floating orbs only an arm’s length away.

“It was to be expected; your Grandfather Lithlen is a cruel man who rules his family and Academy with an Iron Fist. Setting aside the fact that in his eyes you stole Selene, who was touted as a high-level seed in the Selections, you two have created quite the negative situation with him.”

“As for Viktor Opurn, I don’t have to mention why or how you succeeded in pissing him off and getting onto his radar.” Leaning back on his throne and releasing a tired sigh, Norik said.

“Regardless of the how or why, you three have targets painted on your backs, and it will only get worse if you reveal the existence of your Affinities. The same applies to your two Nátt Hrafn CynBrat. If you show off their Omnipoison Affinity, they won’t stay YOUR Nátt Hrafn for long. There are dozens of ways to break the Soul Contract between a Tamer and their beast, and plenty of greedy bastards will try.”

“You act like we didn’t already know that, Old man; you aren’t saying anything I haven’t already predicted and prepped my Party for.” Uncrossing his arms and swiping the orbs out of the air, Cynrik snarkily replied.

“Cool it, Cyn,” eyeing his brother out of the corner of his eye, Brance too reached forward and grabbed the floating orbs, which soon lost their luster and revealed themselves to be the Affinity Stone Pieces required for his Evolution to Tier-3. Unlike Cynrik, Brance quickly thanked Norik for his help.

Selene hesitated for half a breath before reaching out and grabbing the two orbs that turned into a Dark Affinity Stone Piece and an Abyss Affinity Stone Piece.

“The only thing I will ask of you three in return for those resources is that you not only win during the Competition but make a statement. For too long, my son and VSFA have been under scrutiny from the other, older, and more prestigious Academies; now is the time to show them that we aren’t a joke and should be taken seriously.”

“Keep in mind that every event in the Competition is televised, which means many eyes will be watching you. Be careful, follow the rules, and don’t reveal too much.” Standing up and pulling his Cane out of his inventory, Norik walked down the stairway and stood in front of Cynrik, Brance, and Selene, seemingly examining them from head to toe with faintly glowing amber eyes.

“One last thing before I send you on your way, CynBrat, you and Brance will trigger your next Turning Point quest upon completing your Tier-3 Evolution, so be prepared ahead of time.”

“WHAT, MOTHER FU…” Before Cynrik could finish his cursing, Norik tapped his Cane on the ground and teleported them back to the Academy, more precisely to the Boys Dorm, causing the Throne room to fall silent.

“Sigh, my love, are you sure this was the right thing to do? You know how fine of a line we are walking by helping that group out; one wrong move and we will face a reaction from the Strife Contract.

Tap, tap, tap.

|”Darling, whether what we are doing is right or wrong doesn’t matter; it was a necessary decision to make. Of all the Legacy Charges on Vinestra, only those three have a similar mindset to us back in the day.”|

Seemingly materializing out of nowhere, Yennifer walked up behind Norik, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his right shoulder.

“I hope so; this Strife will be very different from the previous one, the stakes are infinitely higher, and the destruction it will bring may very well spell the end of our planet.

(Chapter 370 – The Truth About The Grand Strife, Headmaster Rivia, and Yennifer (Final) )