The Over-Break System

[[UGH, FINE!]] Realising there was no arguing with the brothers’ logic, Selene caved in.

“Headmaster, due to the nature of my Affinity, I would like to request that you are my chaperone. Your name isn’t on the list, but I hope you will consider my request.” Bowing her head and waiting, Selene used flowery words to attract Geralt’s attention.

“Me? That’s…unconventional but also understandable, sigh; I don’t expect anyone on our staff would be able to handle the Abyss Affinity; request approved, we have to wait for these two to finish, and we will head down to Floor B-22.” After some thought, Headmaster Rivia nodded his consent before glancing at the two brothers silently scrolling through the long list of potential chaperones.

[Tsk, Norik isn’t on the list.] Triple-checking the list of dozens of staff members, Cynrik unhappily clicked his tongue and went back to the top.

[Well, do you really think that Headmaster Rivia would put his own father up to be a chaperone? If it weren’t for your girlfriend having such a rare Affinity, I doubt he would even take Selene up on that offer.] Mimicking Cynrik constantly scrolling from top to bottom, Brance narrowed his options to three specific Professors.

[Aside from how he mind-wiped our meeting him from Geralt and the other’s memory, he should still have shown up on the list since Gabby, and I attend his lessons. We technically have a working relationship with him, so I assumed he would have made the cut; I guess I was wrong.] Sighing as he put down his arm and met the steady gaze of Headmaster Rivia, Cynrik ran through the list in his mind, eliminating any Professors who he didn’t personally know.

In the end, only one was left. The Professor he had in mind was one that he had spent a lot of time over the school year attending every single one of her lessons, Professor Morningdale.

Still, even though he had already determined his chaperone, Cynrik waited patiently for Brance to finalize his choice.

After several minutes of deliberation, Brance chose a surprising staff member, and once he spoke up his decision in the mind link, Cynrik nearly burst out in a fit of coughs.

[SERIOUSLY, BRANCIE? Of all the people, I thought you would go after one of the Nurses, one with a Light Affinity.] Looking at his brother with wide eyes, Cynrik quickly pulled up his list and read the profile of his brother’s choice.

[AH, fucking hell, that bastard has some good shit; no wonder you chose him; still, his temper is pretty notorious. Need I remind you how he acted during my meeting several weeks back with the Headmaster?]

: Kristoff Rimsfel :

: Head Dean of Year One, Former Lead Instructor For Year Six. :

: Retired Colonel in the United Defense Corps. :

: Academy Staff, 21 Years. :

: Peak Tier-4. :

: P-Class= Master Magic Swordsman. :

: Affinities, Light, Fire, Plasma, Terra, Magma. :

[Hehe, no wonder he has such a big ego. The man not only served in the military but was the former lead instructor of Year-6 students. Not to mention his Affinities are stacked, plus he is a Magic Swordsman, the requirements of which are pretty strenuous. Overall not a bad choice Brancie; I only hope he isn’t too big of an asshole the whole time…on second thought, I hope he’s a total dick to you the entire time so that you feel my pain.] Rubbing his hands like a villain, Cynrik grinned and spoke up.

“I’ll be choosing Professor Morningdale as my chaperone.”

“Oh, interesting choice, but considering how many Affinities you have, she is a solid choice and shouldn’t have any trouble guiding you through your Advancement.” Nodding and sending a message to Professor Morningdale, Headmaster Rivia faced Brance waiting for his response.

“I’ll be choosing Head Dean Rimsfel.” Using a firm tone, Brance vocalized his decision, surprising Geralt since he too believed that Brance would choose a Professor or Staff Member who focused on Healing. But once he put more thought into it, he remembered that Dean Rimsfel indeed had the Light Affinity, even if he used it primarily offensively instead of as a support Element.

“I see, alright then,” tapping his Watcet a couple more times; Headmaster Rivia informed Dean Rimsfel that Brance had chosen him.

Three minutes later, Geralt, Selene, Cynrik, and Brance left the office and made their way to the elevator. Along the way, the brothers informed Selene about their decisions before ever stepping into the elevator.

“Listen up, you three, we are going to floor B-22; it is a heavily protected and fortified floor buried hundreds of meters underground. So don’t panic when you feel your bodies begin to get heavier. You may not know it since it isn’t taught in Year-One classes, but the lower into the planet’s crust you go, the heavier the gravitational pressure becomes.”

“This has to do with how massive and dense the planet’s core is; for every 100 meters below the surface of the crust we go, the gravity multiplies by 0.5g. Floor B-22 is located approximately 800 meters below the surface. Thus you will be subjected to 4g of gravitational pressure.” Once everyone had entered the elevator, Headmaster Rivia put a key into the console, changed the numbers on the button display, and pressed B-22.

[[Well, that’s new.]] Rubbing his chin and enjoying the calm ride down, Cynrik’s mind spun up.

[[What?]] Not understanding what Cynrik was talking about, Brance watched Cynrik’s left foot start tapping the elevator floor rapidly.

[[Oh no, Brancie, he’s got that look again, and his foot is doing the tappy-tap thing!!]] Selene’s pupils dilated as she took in her boyfriend’s body language.

[[Listennn, now hear me out. I don’t know how much you two know about science, but there is a HUGE difference between Vinestra and Earth.]] Cynrik started.

[[No shit sherlock, one has Mana, the other doesn’t, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Then there is the massive size difference between the two bodies.]] Brance rolled his eyes and ignored Selene’s panicked expression.

[[Besides that shit Brancie, did you know that the gravity at the center of Earth falls off the deeper you get, similar to how it is in space, it is estimated that you would be weightless at the center of the Earth, well aside from the immense pressure that is.]]

[[Where as, here on Vinestra, it is the exact opposite, I can already feel the steady uptick of the gravitational force on my body, and we only just passed floor B-2, this is amazing.]] Not hiding the excitement in his voice while speaking, Cynrik practically vibrated.

[[Science Geek,]] Brance responded with dead fish eyes.

[[Darling, your nerdiness is showing, and while I find it cute, you are annoying your brother.]] Smiling sweetly at Cynrik, Selene chided.

[[Tsk, you both suck, how could you not find this groundbreaking?]]

[[I have long since accepted that Vinestra is all around weird as shit, why would this information be any different.]] Sighing as he hung his head and stared at his feet, Brance blurted out, earning a frown from his brother in response.

[[Brancie is correct, we see so many strange and new things regularly that I guess we are kind of numb to it by now. It’s ok, Darling; you have your moment, and we will both listen, nod, and smile.]]

[[SEE IF I DON’T PUNISH YOU LATER, WOMAN!]] Gritting his teeth and turning his head in the opposite direction toward the shiny metal wall of the elevator, Cynrik closed his eyes and felt the gravitational pressure increasing on his body.

[[Teehee, I look forward to it, you better not promise me a good time and not follow through.]] But Selene had other plans. Creeping up and lacing her arm through Cynrik’s, she teased him.

[[GAG! GET A ROOM, YOU TWO, AND GET OUT OF MY HEAD WITH YOUR GROSS FLIRTING!]] Wishing he had a power drill to erase the image forming because of Selene’s flirtatious words, Brance felt like crying.

DING DING

“You have arrived on floor B-22; please watch your step as the gravity has increased by 4gs compared to the surface.” A pleasant Artificial voice chimed through the elevator speakers as the doors opened, revealing a contrasting hallway.

Unlike the upper floors of the building, which resembled an office, at a glance, Floor B-22 looked like an underground military bunker, with heavy concrete walls with faintly glowing green runic inscriptions painting the walls as far as the eye could see.

[[Tsk, again, with these weird ass walls that stop our [Mana Sight], the worst part is that not even [Inspect] can tell me what the hell they are made from.]] The instant the door opened, Cynrik set about with his usual habit of viewing his surroundings with his ocular skill but was nearly blinded the moment he did.

“Follow me; your chaperones are already waiting in the assigned rooms designated for your Passing Down and Evolution Advancement.” Stepping off with his left foot, Headmaster Rivia took the lead, walking down a winding corridor filled with numerous hatch-like barricade-style doors.

Soon, he stopped outside a door inscribed with D-01 and turned to face Cynrik.

“This is your stop, Ivar; Professor Morningdale is already waiting inside and has been briefed on your situation. She has signed a Soul Binding Contract and will be unable to speak about any of the information she learns during your Evolution process, even to me. Everything will stay confidential between you and her, so you shouldn’t need to worry.”

A loud scraping sound was heard as the concrete door opened after Headmaster Rivia pressed several buttons on the digital panel to its right.

“Oh, one more thing, due to the nature of the materials the room is built out of, no Mana or Electronic Signals can pass through, so you will have zero contact with anyone outside the room until you have finished your evolution.”

[[Good luck, you two; see you in a few hours. Brancie, double-check the contract the Head Dean signed, and if everything is squared away, you have my permission to ask for his help when you begin your Turning Point Quest. I won’t be there, so you are on your own this time, but Rimsfel should be able to back you up; be careful how much you divulge; I trust your judgment.]]

[[Selene, you should be fine, good luck, and try to get as much free shit out of Geralt as possible, kuekue.]] Flashing Selene a smile and wink, Cynrik nodded at Brance and stepped into the room.

The moment he was entirely in, the door slammed shut like a stone slab sealing a tomb, making his left eye twitch.

“Well, hello there, Student Ivar Ragnarsson; color me surprised; I would never have expected to be chosen as a chaperone for a Tier-3 Evolution so soon in the school year, let alone by a First Year Student.”

Looking around the room and taking note of how Cave like it appeared, Cynrik’s eyes fell on the only two objects in the room, the first being Professor Morningdale, who was sitting in a plush reclining chair with one leg crossed over the other. The second was a Large sarcophagus-like stone object.

“Of course, I would choose the best person in the country with Affinity Theory; I would have to be an idiot not to want someone of your prestigious caliber to aid me in my advancement.” Flashing a very Brance-like smile at Professor Morningdale, Cynrik laid on the flattering words heavy, much to the joy of the plump woman sitting across from him.