Chapter 209: Hallucination

"I heard that Mavelin hardly makes a decision unless left with no other choice," Madam Mila transmitted her voice through her psychic energy, "What compensation did you present him that he readily agreed to sell his lifetime's accumulation?"

"When the seat for the Administrator of Sector 1 opens up, he will be the first candidate to be judged." Madam Rizenne sighed once, "Despite being a Deputy, he has little chance when compared to the other Deputies. Once I relayed the details of his work to the other Aristocratic Families in the 7th Ring, they readily backed away. After all, the position of an Administrator pales in comparison to getting an upscale in talents among their next generation."

"That is true," Madam Mila replied after a moment of thought, "To the Aristocratic Families, elevating the overall strength of their family as a collective whole is more lucrative. But, for an individual like Mavelin, the position of an Administrator brings about many benefits that are unimaginable for him."

"Indeed," Madam Rizenne glanced below once, continuing with her conversation, "When I conversed with him, he lamented about getting the Unranked Skill, Flight. If not for being deployed in Flying Signature Raid, he wouldn't have made such a rash choice. At least, he survived and even became a Transformer."

Jyorta had just landed on the floor when he noticed the aura in his surroundings dissipate, giving him a sense of freedom, the suppression from before no longer suffocating him. Dispersed along with the aura were the intense stench and the sounds produced by the Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts.

Jyorta turned his head, noticing the three transparent membranes on the cage—holding the Life Leech—mending themselves. He glanced around, spotting a similar phenomenon in all the cages whose transparent membranes had disappeared before.

Trailing along the gazes of his friends, Jyorta gazed up, watching the figures of Madam Mila and Madam Rizenne hover in the air, only a metre below the ceiling.

Madam Rizenne lifted her hand, forming a dense, pale blue sphere, a metre in size. Small wisps flashed from the sphere, seeping into the bodies of each unconscious student. A pale blue light enveloped them, coursing through their bodies.

Depending on the severity of the injuries they had faced, the number of wisps entering their bodies varied. A minute later, the wisps entered the bodies of the conscious students, the numbers per each a lot less than before.

Fifteen wisps entered Haesha's body, healing the injuries she had suffered thanks to overexerting her body. In the end, one wisp seeped into him, imbuing in him a warm feeling.

Jyorta immediately closed his eyes, getting a feel of its mysteries, trying to comprehend its essence. It was a rare opportunity to be healed, with the seldom chances he got used in comprehending its workings.

After all, he planned to obtain the Unranked Skill Regen. That's why, he wanted to get a feel for its mysteriousness beforehand. It was something he had been working towards since day 1, just that he hadn't been able to achieve much.

Still, he persisted. Everything was based on one's accumulations. After accumulating enough, his accumulations would one day experience a qualitative change and allow his comprehension of the Unranked Skill Regen to soar.

'From Tier 3, the effectiveness of the Skill directly varies with respect to one's comprehension of it.' Jyorta arrived at his prior spot, watching Haesha flash a smile his way.

"How was the transparent membrane?" Haesha gazed with curiosity, her eyes opened wide, not daring to miss anything.

"It is amazing," Jyorta praised without holding back, "It is a must for Espers to master that technique. We can learn it by visiting here every day."

"Yeah," Haesha nodded, springing forth from her seated position, expressing her vigour after getting healed to full health. "Once I temper myself to the aura lingering here, I will focus on learning the filtering technique."

"Yes, the filtering technique is of vital importance to Espers." Madam Mila's voice echoed around them, startling them for a moment, "You can visit here any time and try to learn it. It is a simple technique anyway."

Madam Rizenne's voice echoed around, prompting the unconscious students to wake up with a start, "It was a disappointing display, to be honest. Even in the Wild Zones, in a range 1 kilometre around our city wall, the air is filled with aura around the Tier 3 level. In future missions, you must be capable of working in such an environment."

"But, it is your first day, so I won't pressure you. The time is only 3:00 PM; we have a lot of time left for the day's classes to end." Madam Rizenne began to descend, sporting a gentle smile on her face, "It will take time for your body to be tempered under the aura. We can't wait until then. So, we will start our combat exercises."

A yellow psychic arm flashed around, forming a layer on the floor, seeping beneath the shoes of everyone. It lifted the students, gentle in its motion, stopping after reaching an altitude of three metres.

The students witnessed their bodies move on the yellow platform, beyond their control. Their positions changed, forming a circular pattern. Since the area in the hall wasn't wide enough to accommodate the 800+ students in a single circle, they were split up into five batches, forming five concentric ellipses, arranged in a step-formation. It was due to the rectangular structure of the hall.

"Take a seat," Madam Mila's voice prompted them to take a seat in their designated spots, allowing everyone to view the area before them.

Leaving a gap of one metre from the innermost circle, the wide area in the centre got pressed, the depth aligning to the floor—three metres. A stage had now been created, forming a depression based on their line of sight. It allowed the students to witness everything happening within the circle with startling clarity.

A cage from the farther end opened; a Growling Frenzy Beast was picked up and carried by Madam Rizenne's psychic arm. It was then dropped onto the stage. The students felt apprehensive, especially the ones seated in the innermost circle.

The depth of the stage was only three metres and wasn't deep enough to warrant their peace of mind. Most agile Frenzy Beasts were capable of jumping over this height. Some of the Espers hurriedly unleashed their psychic arms, sending them forth, watching them move unobstructed.

Their expression plummeted, unable to sense any barrier protecting them from the Frenzy Beast within the stage. The dropped Frenzy Beast was a One-horned Rhino, at Tier 1. It was an Observer, judging by its sturdy body.

The One-horned Rhino was 150 centimetres tall, sporting a single horn on its skull, 60 centimetres in length. It looked sharp and deadly. The One-horned Rhino looked massive due to its bulky frame, and the thumping sounds following each of its footsteps.

Its body possessed thick and tough skin, the folds along the shoulder, back, and rump gave it a naturally imbued armour with startling defensive properties. It released a gust of air through its nostrils, letting out a grunt filled with anger.

Its eyes glared at the students, expressing its bloodthirsty nature; the killing intent sent a chill in most students.

"Practical experience is always the best teacher." Madam Rizenne's voice echoed, traced with mild concern. "Your task is to kill this Observer One-horned Rhino using any methods you please. You won't be provided any weapons but, there are 878 of you and only one of it. I'm sure you can kill it in 60 minutes, right? Your time starts now."

The One-horned Rhino grunted once again, charging for ten steps before stopping. The students seated outside, facing its line of sight directly vacated their spots in fear. Noticing the One-horned Rhino stop its movement, they sighed in relief and hesitantly crawled back to their spots.

Jyorta's heart thumped due to a myriad of emotions. After the One-horned Rhino stopped its charge for some reason, it turned to its right, facing a student seated 10 people to his right. It was his first time facing a Frenzy Beast that expressed its intent to kill.

"Huff…puff…" His mind became occupied as he looked at the Frenzy Beast, the intent to kill unable to be generated in him. The image of the One-horned Rhino slowly dispersed, like a mirage in the desert. It was gradually replaced by a vague outline, greyish-black, blurred out.

The outline looked hazy, weak to the extent being dispersed by the wind. Faint black dust swirled around, defining its shape, gradually taking form, also creating subsets around it. It was a feminine figure, surrounded by many humanoid figures, smaller in size, numbering 27. Jyorta's breathing became laboured, his eyes glazed over.

Positioned next to him was Haesha, quickly noticing the abnormality. She shook him, "Jyorta! What happened to you?"

"Guh," Jyorta felt the air in his lungs escape, leaving him in a state of suffocation for a moment. His eyes regained clarity; his vision spotted the visage of Haesha, witnessing her confusion and concern for him.

Jyorta felt weak, lacking the strength in him to even lift his finger. His body lost balance, falling down. Haesha hurriedly grabbed hold of him, reducing his momentum, giving him the necessary balance to take a seat.

The blue soul in him overlaid the false persona—one of calm, optimism, and filled with focus—subtly affecting his turbulent emotions, slowly beginning to calm him down.

"Killer!" A voice bellowed in his ears. Jyorta's eyes widened in shock, he swerved his head, watching the attention of his Batch mates trained on the One-horned Rhino roaming about within the stage.

The source of the voice seemed to have been from afar but resounded within him. The voice seemed familiar but wasn't something he had ever heard to date. He then looked at Haesha, asking in a flurry, "Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Haesha felt confused, unable to find the cause for his strangeness, gazing at Madam Rizenne to seek help.

Hearing her answer, Jyorta felt confused but, the voice continued to resound in his ears.

"Killer!"

"Killer!

"Child Killer!"