The Over-Break System

“My fourth Affinity is quite rare, and I am not sure if you will be able to help much, but I still wish to seek your guidance, Head Dean.”

“The Headmaster has informed me of such, but he was quite secretive about why and what Affinity you have obtained.” Wearing a poker face, Head Dean Rimsfel could feel his heart rate accelerate as his mind was a mess of ideas and theories about what this mysterious Affinity could be.

Instead of responding vocally, Brance held up his right hand, palm facing the ceiling, and manifested a beautiful and glorious golden flame with a brilliantly shining white core.

“The Affinity in question is this….”

“H…h…HolyFire!” Before Brance could say the name of his Affinity, Head Dean Rimsfel was already on his feet, gawking at the golden flame floating while radiating an oppressive force.

Brance watched as a mixture of emotions flashed through Head Dean Rimsfel’s eyes: remorse, fear, despair, greed, hope, and excitement. Narrowing his eyes and examining the Head Dean, he knew that if it weren’t for the Contract binding him to silence and loyalty, the man across from him would undoubtedly attack him or try forcing him into an unfavorable situation.

“How…how did you find HolyFire? It is one of if not the rarest Affinity to appear in the last 10 thousand years. Only two beings came forward during those years to show the world their prowess, and both led legendary crusades to rid the world of evil and darkness.” Straightening his uniform and clutching his trembling hands behind his back, Head Dean Rimsfel never broke eye contact with the floating ball of golden fire hovering above Brance’s palm.

“I didn’t find it; it was something that was always meant to be mine. You can say it was passed down to me.” Picking and choosing his words mysteriously, Brance closed his hand and released his grasp on the HolyFire Mana particles used to manifest the ball of fire.

“The problem I am facing is that I still don’t have complete control over this Affinity since I have only had it for a few short weeks and haven’t had the time to invest in exploring it thoroughly.” Dropping his hand and placing it in his lap, Brance looked for assistance from the Head Dean. Although he was hopeful, after experiencing difficulty controlling an SEC Grade Affinity, he was aware that there was only so much the man could assist him with.

“I see; how much do you know about Secret Grade Affinities?” Calming himself down and feeling embarrassed due to losing his composure in front of a student, Head Dean Rimsfel sat back down with perfect posture.

“Not much; before obtaining my HolyFire, my highest Grade Affinity was my Light, which, as you know, is a Special Advanced Grade. Being my Origin Affinity, I have had it since I was a baby; even so, I struggled for years to get to where I am now.”

“Light SAG, Wind BG, and Terra BG, these were the three Affinities I’ve had as far back as I can remember. When it comes to experience in handling and controlling them, I have come a long way. However, the HolyFire is an entirely different case altogether.”

“The most I can do is create a few small fireballs and use them to purify things similar to what I can do with my Light Affinity, but even that is mainly me relying on Skills instead of controlling the Elemental Particles.” Propping his elbows on his knees, Brance sat up straight and manifested his other three Affinities in the form of three small glowing orbs, one white, one light green, and the last a tan color.

“So when you told me to release my final Affinity into the air for the walls to absorb, I was at an impasse.” Wearing a bitter smile, Brance laid the situation out for the Head Dean in a way that showed his concern.

“It is to be expected; if Secret Grade Affinities were so easy to control, there would be multiple low Tier beings wreaking havoc all over the country, no, the world. Although I am no expert on handling such a complex Mana particle, my experience with the Light Element should allow me to give you some insight.”

“To better understand, I must first break down how Elements are graded. As you know, there are multiple classifications: Basic Grade being the lowest, and the list expands in the following order, Basic Advanced Grade, Special Basic Grade, Advanced Basic Grade, Advance Grade, Special Advanced Grade, Ancient Grade, and lastly, Secret Grade.”

“There are a total of eight different classifications, each representing the complexity of the makeup of the particles and the difficulty involved in controlling that particle.”

“The higher in the list an Elemental Particle is seated, the stronger a being’s mental power and Codex must be to dominate said particles. In the case of Secret Grade Mana Particles, which are considered the pinnacle of Mana in existence, simply having the Affinity will not allow one to have complete control over the particle in question.” Without moving his body, several powerful orbs snapped into existence as he spoke and moved into a line in front of Head Dean Rimsfel.

“SAG Light, AG Fire, ACT Plasma, AG Terra, ABG Magma, each one of my Affinities has its own challenges, and the hardest one I have dealt with was Light, even if it isn’t my most powerful Affinity. The reason lies in how like you, my Light Affinity is my Origin Affinity.”

Brance’s eyes fell on the Pinkish purple orb with hints of light blue in the fringe, which he assumed to be Plasma due to the oppressive feeling he got from it.

“As my beginning Affinity, I struggled for years; although I may have reached a certain level of strength at my age, it took longer to train than I would have hoped. If I didn’t start with a SAG Affinity so early in my life, there is no doubt I would have advanced my Mana Control significantly quicker.”

“But eventually, I found my stride and became a pioneer in the Light Affinity, creating a unique method for fighting with an Element that otherwise was known to be only capable of defense or support.” In a flash, the other glowing orbs disappeared, leaving only the Light orb, which underwent an interesting mutation.

Before Brance’s eyes, the orb elongated into a sharp, sturdy-looking longsword. If he didn’t know that it was a Mana construct, he would have been convinced it was an actual, physical sword made of metal.

“Light Mana is known for its easy transformations into constructs; however, it is not known to be the most durable Mana type. 99 out of 100 Light Affinity users will primarily use their Elemental control to either heal, buff stats, or create temporary shields that can withstand only a few strikes at best.

“In contrast, I took a different route, one that saw me increasing the durability of my constructs to their extreme. As a result, I no longer require the aid of external weapons because my Mana Construct Weapons are significantly more robust than their natural counterparts.”

“To compare it, if I create a Tier-3 Sword, it will be just as strong, sharp, and durable as a Tier 4.5 sword. Not only that, but I have developed over twenty different offensive attack Affinity Skills.” Wearing a neutral expression as he boasted, Head Dean Rimsfel clutched his hand into a fist and shattered the Mana Construct Sword into a scatter of particles, which then took the form of a beam of Light that flashed around the room and disappeared.

“My high level of control allowed me to evolve my Affinities further and eventually led to me obtaining my Plasma Affinity by combining the properties of my Light Affinity with my Fire Affinity.”

“So while I may have been weaker at lower Tier’s, once I advanced out of the Mortal Stage and into the Supernatural Stage, the power of my skills and control over my Affinities soared to new levels.”

“Now, how can this be translated to aiding you in controlling your HolyFire? That is simple; at its core, HolyFire is a mutation of the Fire Affinity and Light Affinity. The complexity of the particle is leaps and bounds beyond that of your Light Affinity, so you must first understand the makeup of the particle itself. From there, your next step should be to understand how that particle interacts with its surroundings.”

“You felt the oppressive pressure exerted by my Plasma Affinity. I saw it in your body language; the same can be said about your HolyFire. For it to even apply a modicum of pressure on me, a being significantly stronger and of a higher Stage than you, is telling enough just how powerful that particle can be.”

“I want you to take some time, close your eyes and FEEL the Mana flowing in your body. Ignore all the interfering external stimuli, such as your other Affinities, and focus solely on the HolyFire Mana residing in your Codex.” After saying that, Head Dean Rimsfel fell silent and gave Brance a moment to collect his thoughts.

‘Feel the Mana, that is the same shit Cynrik has been telling me for years, yet I still don’t fully understand it. I get an odd sensation when I use Mana, but unlike him, I can’t channel it willy-nilly.’ Following the Head Dean’s words, Brance closed his eyes and thought back to all the lectures he had received from his brother over the years.

Since the day Cynrik determined that Tobs was heavily assisting them in using skills, his brother had been adamant about wrestling control of everything micromanaged by the System AI and not relying on her so much.

Focusing on his heartbeat, Brance made a mental image of approximately where his Codex should be located based on what he would see when looking at his brother or other people with [Mana Sight] Active.

‘Thinking back, whenever I use a skill, it feels like my blood is rushing away from my chest and into my target area. In that brief moment, I could tell something was happening. Still, no matter how hard I focus, unless I use [Mana Sight] to see what is happening, I cannot tell how it is supposed to feel any different from my blood rushing around.’

‘It is the same thing when I channel Mana for just about anything; it feels like my blood is moving around and seems to be no different than what happens when you cut off the blood flow to your finger by gripping it tightly before letting go.’

Channeling his Mana to the palm of his right hand as he usually did, Brance still couldn’t differentiate how or why it would be different, and this was more so his outlook on things rather than him missing something important.

From the moment he stepped foot in Vinestra, although he had the same tools, abilities, and basic knowledge as his brother, Brance had never thought of Mana as anything other than Magic instead of a property of nature. Due to that misunderstanding, Brance had limited his potential unknowingly.

This fact alone was why, when he fought, Brance primarily relied on his physical strength and body rather than Affinity Skills the way Cynrik does.

If Cynrik were here and knew what his younger brother was thinking, he would be ranting and raving about how much of a Meathead Brance was being.