The Over-Break System

Thanks to the early morning hours and the fact that it was the weekend, Cynrik didn’t have much foot traffic to contend with, so he could sprint the entire way to the waffle stand to grab his breakfast unhindered.

Even though he was running at his fastest speed and would appear as a streak of shadows to any average person below Tier-2, when he approached the medium-sized waffle stand, the Guard’s wife waved him over long before he was close enough to hear her voice. This was because the woman, who was named Claire, happened to be a Tier-4 being with an attunement for feeling and seeing Mana. Her method was similar to Cynrik and Brance, who used their ocular skill to see everything, but wasn’t nearly as strong as theirs.

Nonetheless, it allowed the pretty woman to spot him a mile away. Since her husband had already called to give her a heads up, Claire had prepared a large takeaway box with enough waffles for Cynrik and everyone in his Faction.

“Heyah, Professor Claire, what’s up with the big takeaway?” Skidding to a stop and jogging in place as he had done with her husband, Cynrik greeted with a raised eyebrow.

“Larry said you were swinging by, and since I had just finished a fresh batch, I figured I’d toss a few extras in for your brother and the rest of your Faction. Think of it as an old lady trying to give a little nudge to that boy Benjamin. Sooo~ hehe, my little Melody won’t stop talking about him.” The pretty silver-haired lady wore a catlike grin and gave Cynrik a big wink. Of course, the woman wearing the flour-covered apron wasn’t just any old lady. She was Cynrik’s teacher for “Skill Crafting Theory,” so she was well aware of his position as Faction leader and how obedient Benny was to everything Cynrik did.

“Mel is a good girl Professor; it’s just Benny is a bit…hm what’s the word, oblivious to the feelings of others; she’s definitely on the right track, though. She’s been eating lunch with us every day, and to top it off,” Cynrik looked around to be sure no one could hear him and leaned forward to speak quietly in the woman’s ear.

“She and Benny had a little ‘Date’ the other day, where they both grabbed a snack and went for a walk around the park before heading to the library, don’t worry, I’ll give him a little push in the right direction, Professor.” Winking mischievously at the woman, who covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles, Cynrik stowed away the box of Waffles in his inventory before tapping his Watcet against the payment tablet.

“Gotta head to see the Headmaster; thanks for breakfast, Professor; see you in class!” Then, waving at the still giggling woman, Cynrik took off again, passing the Battle Arena and making his way towards the tallest spire on the several-kilometer campus.

As he sped along, he couldn’t help but realize that at some point, he had gotten to know a few staff members and wasn’t totally against interacting with them. Of course, this by no means meant he wasn’t still highly anti-social, but when it came to people who could benefit him somehow, Cynrik was more inclined at least to have a bit of small talk with them.

This was precisely the case with Guardsman Larry and his wife, Professor Claire. So long as he stayed on Larry’s good side, he wouldn’t be hassled too much when leaving the dorms; plus, he was the backdoor to getting easy access to the trendy double chocolate, chocolate chip waffles that Professor Claire made as a hobby every morning. As it turns out, the woman had a cooking subclass and enjoyed making her daughter’s favorite breakfast food for other students.

Of course, in Professor Claire’s case, staying on her good side was never a bad idea since he was in her class twice a week. Thus, Cynrik was a bit more friendly around those two and a handful of other Professors or Instructors he saw on a day-to-day basis.

It didn’t take long for Cynrik to arrive at the massive gothic-style building where every teacher had an office. Walking in and scanning his Watcet with security, Cynrik calmly walked over to the front desk and pulled down his hood.

“Student Ivar Ragnarsson reports as ordered; I am here for my 7:30 meeting with the Headmaster and Doctor Oswurn.” Then, standing at attention and looking past the clerk with a dead look in his eyes, Cynrik announced himself in a very militaristic manner.

The clerk, a short-haired man with a cleanly cut auburn beard, looked up from his computer for a second only to see Cynrik in full school uniform standing at attention, making him raise an eyebrow.

“Student, this isn’t a Military Academy; there is no need for you to be so stiff.” The clerk said in a clear voice before sighing softly and waving for Cynrik to present his identification.

Hearing the man’s statement and shaking his head to clear his mind, Cynrik’s eyes regained their life as he pulled off his Faction badge from his chest and placed it on the counter.

“Some habits die hard,” Cynrik mumbled under his breath before stepping back and standing with his hands clasped behind him.

Ignoring the overly stiff student, the clerk quickly scanned the Faction Badge, pulling up Cynrik’s file. Still, when he did, his pupils constricted because his computer monitor went black, and a Confidential notification replaced it. Finding it strange, the clerk stepped away from his desk and went to an empty one beside it, only to get the same response when he tried to pull up Cynrik’s student record.

Watching with narrowed eyes, Cynrik examined the man’s facial expression as he returned to his desk and tried for a third time with no results.

“Student, I will need you to take a seat first in the waiting room. Unfortunately, it seems I don’t have a high enough clearance level to check you in and will need the assistance of a supervisor.” A bit flustered because he realized that this student seemed to be a well-kept secret of the Academy, the clerk continued speaking as he felt a trickle of sweat drip down the back of his neck.

“It will only take a couple of minutes. If you need anything to drink, like coffee or tea, I can have some brought to you.”

“There is no need for him to wait; I’ll bring him up, Mr. Fredrick.” Then, just as the clerk, apparently named Fredrick, was about to usher Cynrik over to the waiting room, a man’s voice with a heavy accent, one Cynrik recognized as similar to an English one on Earth, chimed in.

“Ah, Head Dean, fancy seeing you here.” Recognizing the voice butting into the conversation, Cynrik lazily rolled his eyes and gave a half-hearted and sarcastic greeting without looking behind him, where he felt the presence of someone walking up.

“Not in the least, come along, Student Ivar; we can’t keep the Headmaster waiting any longer than necessary.” Then, brushing past Cynrik, Head Dean Rimsfel stepped up and tapped his Watcet on the tablet, which wiped the memories of all the computers Clerk Fredrick had scanned Cynrik’s badge on.

“By the way, Mr. Fredrick, it’s best if you just forget you saw this boy here today; I don’t want you poking your nose where it shouldn’t be and getting yourself in trouble accidentally.” Shooting the clerk a warm and friendly smile, Head Dean Rimsfel turned his head to the side, indicating for Cynrik to follow, and walked off towards a large room filled with multiple elevators.

“So Dean Rimsfel, what was that all about? Am I going to be some kind of top-secret research subject or something?” Pulling up his hood and shoving his hands in his pockets, Cynrik asked once the two got into one of the many elevators alone.

“Head Dean Rimsfel, and not even close; you and the files of your Faction members have been stamped with our highest level of restricted security protocols we can use. Unfortunately, your big mouth has landed you in quite a bit of trouble outside our hallowed grounds, and as such, both you and your brother are being targeted by several powerful forces.”

“Oh, yeah, well, since you will probably find out anyway, you have…HAD a bunch of flies buzzing around the campus; every time we left the dorm, we would spot them tailing us, but don’t worry, we cleaned them up no biggy.” Shrugging his shoulders and watching the Head Dean’s reaction out of the corner of his eye, Cynrik casually dropped something that had been annoying him for a few months now.

Thanks to his paranoid nature or the military training he and Brance had gone through, the two brothers quickly found each group of people hiding in the shadows trying to monitor their movements and gather information. Luckily, taking out the spies and disposing of the bodies wasn’t difficult since all of them that had appeared were either Tier-2 or lower.

“You said what?” Head Dean Rimsfel’s body stiffened, and he snapped his head to the side to look at Cynrik in surprise. Although the Headmaster had warned him that other Academies would be sending people to spy on Cynrik and the members of MyrkLys, he wasn’t aware they had already snuck in and been dealt with. Even more surprising was that it was clear that if the boy hadn’t brought up the topic on his own, then he no doubt would have been left in the dark, as there wasn’t a single ounce of evidence left over.

“As I said, no biggy. You were bound to find out if you sat in on our meeting anyway, so there is no harm in giving you the heads up. So far, there have been around seven or eight different groups, every member decked out in black combat gear, with a power level between Tier-1 and Tier-2. Overall it wasn’t too difficult to deal with, and thanks to one of my skills, it’s basically gone unnoticed.” Cynrik rolled his head around casually to pop his neck before continuing to speak.

“I had already predicted that asshole Opurn and my shitty Grand Father would have sent people after us; it was just surprising that they flew under everyone’s radar and could get so close unnoticed by the Academy. Either way, it would happen sooner or later, and we were lucky enough to get some free XP from it, so no skin off my bones.”

“You…why didn’t you report this immediately? Do you even realize how SERIOUS OF A SITUATION THIS IS? OUR SECURITY HAS BEEN BREACHED, AND YOU, YOU, YOU JUST WIPED THEM OUT AND KEPT IT HIDDEN!” Thoroughly enraged at how casual Cynrik was speaking, Head Dean Rimsfel blew his top and, by the end of his statement, was only half a second from wringing Cynrik’s neck.

“You should probably lower your voice; I didn’t mention it because it WASN’T a big deal. It wasn’t like I simply kidnapped and killed them; I extracted enough valuable information through a series of…well, let’s just call them interrogation techniques. Anyway, I will be giving a full briefing before the meeting starts, so calm down, Head Dean Rimsfel; it’s a bit unbecoming of someone in your position, screaming at a student with the veins on your arms bulging like you want to hit me.” Turning his eyes, Cynrik fell silent and waited for the elevator doors to open.

-This series is exclusively published on Web if you are reading it anywhere else…You Wrong, Fam. PS Check out the discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg