Chapter 372: Pressure

9th November, the year 334 of the Dawn era; Jyorta descended the flight of stairs through the narrow dungeon, hearing the sounds of his footsteps echo around. Even though he had gone through this region many times, his heart always began to thump faster whenever he stepped foot in it.

He was donned in a black suit of armour, its surface covered with hexagon shaped patterns, the material light and flexible. The armour was only three millimetres thick, paper-thin in considerations of armours.

The material also wasn't something to boast about, looking like it could be torn to shreds by the cumulating attacks of Tier 1 Frenzy Beats. But to Jyorta, this level of base defence was enough. After all, he wasn't a tank but an Esper.

His arm guards had blades running on their midframe, curved aerodynamically according to his body's structure. The soles of his shoe contained numerous holes in it, bored partway through its material. Everything was charcoal black, dull, lacking any lustre.

His visor was only two gelatinous membranes over the eyes, inserted into the armour. They were faintly layered with a substance to prevent reflecting any light. Worn on his back was a contraption through which half the body of a chakram peaked out.

Strapped on his thighs were two spindles respectively, spanning a length of 10 centimetres. Type 1 Spindle: weighing 250 grams, 10 centimetres in length, and a curvature of 50 centimetres. They were the most basic of spindles.

It was like Jyorta had given up on using them as weapons. He carried a total of four such spindles. Hung on his back, strapped to his belt were two chakrams, their centres empty, and one side of them sporting a soft edge.

The soft edge portion was meant for the palm to be rested on while the fingers curled through the gap in the centre. The other half was sharp-edged and the portion used to attack. Jyorta carried the two bladed chakrams, intending to wield them using his hands. They were his focus in close combats.

Strapped to his belt on the left was a bag, shaped into a cuboid, supposed to house basic first aid. But, Jyorta had swapped out its contents, only keeping a spatula and a tiny blade inside. He also placed his two Relics in their designated sockets. There was also a socket to place the Heart/Brain Crystal he would be harvesting.

This bag was a miscellaneous item not listed in the pamphlet the military academy had given. Only important items like Traits, Relics and such were listed in the pamphlet. But, after roaming through most of the departments in the military academy, Jyorta had found many other items that could only be bought with Credits but were normally hidden. They weren't displayed unless one asked about them. It was the military academy testing the student's investigation prowess.

This bag was one of them. It wasn't overly expensive, but it still cost him 1000 Credits. Still, he was content for having bought it. After all, the cuboidal bag was made from a mixture of Gulvana and Stronea, the materials capable of blocking out all energy.

Though, the materials used in the bag could only keep out energy until Tier 2 levels. It would have been more expensive otherwise. Still, for his exploration in the labyrinth, this was enough. The bag could be customised for use, so Jyorta gave the details for its inner compartments according to his expectation.

Two compartments for holding his two Relics respectively, a strap along the sides meant to hold the two tools, while the remainder was a closed unit in which he could dump the Heart/Brain Crystals. Jyorta inspected its contents, also checking if he had everything in place.

He clenched his hand into a fist, inspecting his preparations, having arrived before a door. He gazed at the plaque displaying the number '11', muttering, "This will be my last exploration. It will be my only opportunity to test the limits of my strength without danger to my life."

Jyorta's gaze was solemn, feeling immense pressure. Laila hadn't returned to the military academy after that day, as if she had disappeared. After the first round of shock and surprise, there was no more news about her.

Jyorta didn't know what she was planning, or why she attended the military academy in the first place. He didn't know her objectives, nor the plans she had set in motion. This only meant one thing, his predecessor was actively making a move. And, considering her strength, she was bound to set off waves.

Rhachis Ancestor Space!

Tier 6 Psychic Parasite!

Just one identity would have made her a peerless expert, but she had two such identities. Now, she was starting her journey from scratch, using all her knowledge to her advantage.

'After reaching the top, reincarnate into an individual at the bottom. Then, using your experiences of having reached the top, become an expert surpassing your previous life. Laila is very likely trying something like this.' This was Jyorta's premonition. Though, he didn't know why Laila had even joined the military academy.

She possessed the ability of space, capable of teleporting anytime and anywhere she deemed necessary. To her, any item she wished could be obtained with a snap of her finger. Even his sister, a Tier 3 being with a limited understanding of space could achieve a similar feat, though the range and intricacy were drastically inferior.

But just this fact alone meant one thing: if Laila so desired, there was nothing in this world stopping her from obtaining it.

And, the action of Laila disappearing all of a sudden, without any warning cast a formless pressure on him. When even an old monster like her had begun to move, as the only other Psychic Parasite, he couldn't be slacking behind.

He wasn't slacking at all until now, rather he was working very hard using all the time at his disposal. But now, this sense of urgency further pressured him. After Laila had left the military academy, despite him having clenched rank 1, not once was there a grand ceremony on the day of results.

After all, in the results of the final three months, one student had surpassed all scores and set a resounding record. Even by the pace Laila increased her score, she wouldn't be able to surpass his total, that is if she didn't use her real ability.

Rakh Veera!

His total Credit accumulation was still deeply etched in Jyorta's mind. It displayed the dominance a Warrior had at Tier 2 level. There was just one day left before his score on the final month would be displayed, but Jyorta's score wasn't even close to Rakh Veera's.

Jyorta unleashed his weaker psychic arm, morphing it to layer his body—over his armour. He slowly modified its abilities, creating the contraptions he had learnt to turn invisible, prevent his smell from leaking, shield himself from the ambient aura, etc.

Finished with his preparations, Jyorta slammed his hand on a rectangular slab of yellow near the double doors, watching them open with a rumble. The doors had only opened a little when he slid through the gaps, slamming on the rectangular yellow slab inside, watching them close.

His surroundings immediately turned pitch black; he was unable to see anything. Jyorta took in a deep breath, noticing his psychic arm barrier was functioning alright, filtering out the surrounding aura.

He opened the cuboidal box on his left, gazing at the cup-shaped Relic inside. It was the Tier 3 Relic, Enhanced Healing Salve. Currently, the healing salve half-filled the cup. Using his stronger psychic arm, Jyorta scooped out a tiny amount and swallowed it.

It tasted bland as usual, like ice cream mixed with cotton that had weathered out overnight. Jyorta didn't mind the taste and closed the bag. He wasn't worried about the aura affecting the healing salve or the other contents, for his psychic arm barrier layered them too. So, even when he moved his hand, the layer shielded both his body and the objects he carried on him.

He had been training to maintain it without any fluctuation—even under the most intense body movement while in a strained mental state. After achieving it once, for even the tiniest fraction, the blue soul extracted the memory and made him experience it over and over again. Eventually, something that he achieved once through fluke was now fully mastered by him.

The layer of his psychic arm under his shoes thickened, seeping into the holes in the soles. When he took a step forward, they cushioned his step, also absorbing the normal reaction of the rubble he set foot upon.

This way, his walking didn't produce any footsteps. Now, he was hidden in the truest sense. Jyorta sensed the aura broil around without any semblance of coordination, a product of the aura unleashed by the Frenzy Beasts wantonly.

Jyorta unleashed his domain, closing his eyes to sense the range. Since it was dark, he couldn't see with his eyes anyways. So, instead of straining them without use, he might as well close them. Just this fact alone took him over a week to get used to. After all, people feared taking a step with their eyes closed. This was a psychological fear that had to be overcome through sheer effort and practice. Using the false personas, Jyorta could achieve it without any side effects.

Jyorta carefully trod forward, sensing everything through his domain. A Spiked Lizard slept right before him, half-awake, in response against any danger that might befall it. Jyorta carefully stepped past, going around many Spiked Lizards on his way.

From his numerous fights with them, he judged them as inefficient for Credit accumulation. They were harder to kill while their Tier 1 Heart Crystals barely netted 6 Credits each. They also expended a lot of his energy reserves to be killed, so Jyorta wished to just tread past them.

Soon, he approached a boulder along the path, drawing closer as he sensed numerous aura signatures through his domain. He extended his stronger psychic arm, seeping it into the boulder before unleashing a tinge of his aura through it.

"Come out!"