Chapter 165

“So much for being low key,” Brance said as he elbowed a boy twice his size in the face, dropping him to the ground, rendering him unconscious instantly.

“Bah, we have a time limit; there’s no point in dealing with idiotic arrogant brats like them. It’s better to just walk over their bodies than stop and banter with the fools.” Cynrik said while dusting off the sleeves of his hoodie and continuing forward.

Flanking Cynrik on both sides, Gabby and Benny dusted their hands and followed after him, leaving Brance to stand back for a moment and admire the fact that MyrkLys had dropped nine other kids within seconds.

To Brance’s surprise, there was a minimal reaction from the surrounding children, as if this was a common occurrence, so he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and followed after the party.

[Hey, Cyn, what do you mean we have a time limit?] Catching up and falling in behind Gabby, Brance asked as he set about examining everyone’s wrists.

[Eh? Did you never pay attention to what was going on during the tv programs about the Selections?]

[Uhh…not really; it all seemed pretty dull to me.] Brance said, tapping his chin with his index finger.

Cynrik facepalmed under his hood when he heard Brance’s reply.

[Heh, okay, so you basically, from the time the gates open, are put under a silent timer, allowing applicants 30 minutes to reach their zones. You can think of this as a final test to ensure that those who have made it this far can follow simple instructions. Once we arrive at our “Zone,” which in this case is A-1, and the timer runs out, a Mana Barrier will be erected, blocking off anyone else from entering. How do you not know this shit? It literally turns the entire venue into a checkerboard.]

[Hold up, so that group who tried to stop us just now was trying to make it so we would be late?]

[Precisely, and if I had to guess their reason, it probably has something to do with that Opurn family I pissed off at the pet store last week. If memory serves, the Headmaster of one of the Academies should be the family head.] Shrugging his shoulders, Cynrik crossed over the line marking Zone B-5 and Zone B-4.

[Which is why you were so quick to resort to violence, makes sense.]

[Wrong again, I just didn’t like their snooty faces, plus I’m still pissed about that kiosk guy yelling at me earlier. So I figured beating up a couple of idiots would ease my tension.] As he spoke, Cynrik balled his hands into fists and ground his knuckles against each other, making each of his fingers pop loudly.

[Hooligan.] Brance shook his head in disappointment. He should have known better than to expect Cynrik to have a legitimate reason to pick a fight with someone.

[Regardless, we still have four more zones in the B area to cross before reaching the beginning of A, A-3, so get the lead out of your ass.] Cynrik chuckled as he picked up his pace with his eyes darting around rapidly.

The further they trekked into the B zones, the more frequently he spotted other people moving in the same direction as his party. This realization caused Cynrik’s forehead to crease in thought.

[Keep on your toes; there are far more people moving towards Zone-A than I expected. Even if I ignore half of them and factor them into B Applicants, there are still well over 50 bodies moving in our direction.]

Cynrik’s warning alerted Brance, who only now noticed the same thing pointed out. All around him, Brance could see numerous children shuffling about and walking calmly towards the large Zone-A flags. This left him somewhat unsettled as usually, the Selections would be lucky to have a maximum of 10 A-Rank applicants. Yet here he was, counting in the high 40s.

[Tobs, can you spot any abnormalities in anyone walking with us?] Concerned that there were Legacy Charges hiding in plain sight, Cynrik chose to rely on his system. But unfortunately, the answer he got back was highly unfavorable.

-As per Article 78h paragraph 22c, All systems are forbidden from revealing the identity of other Legacy Charges to their hosts.-

[Fuck, so we are on our own.] Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Cynrik flicked his wrists and equipt both assassin’s tools under his sleeves unnoticed by anyone, including his party members, everyone except Brance, who picked up on the ridged way Cynrik was carrying his arms.

[What? Did you see something? Should I bring out my shields?]

[No, it’s okay; I will give you the signal if I find something off. I’m just over-preparing. Plus, it’s against the rules to openly carry weapons during the Selection; luckily, I’ve spent so much time thinning out the shell of my hidden blades, allowing them to be easily hidden under my hoodie.]

[Ahh, so that’s why you’ve been fiddling with them so often. Huh? Wouldn’t you lose out on durability by reducing their size and weight?]

Smirking at his little brother’s ignorance, Cynrik kept his mouth shut and sent over the newly updated profile of his Assassins tools.

-Custom Assassins Tool (Creed MK2)-

-Tier-2: Special Grade(Upgradeable)-

-Classification: Bracer with revolver Hidden Blade and Ejection mechanisms-

-A highly customized Assassins tool that has been redesigned from the ground up by Cynrik Jetlensr. The outer shell is formed with a layer of Runic Inscribed ShadeDrake hide, while the internal skeleton has been reinforced with ShadeDrake Bone. The inner portion of the device has been completely redesigned. It now has two extra compartments on either side of the primary drawer mechanism, which can house three additional blades for a total of four. The extension mechanic has been modified to quickly and automatically swap blades in a revolver style. This device has an upgraded ejection mechanism; by infusing Mana Particles into this device, a hidden blade can be fired from the central housing drawer, giving the device projectile attack capabilities before automatically swapping to one of the reserve blades.-

– Slot 1: Cold-Steel Hidden Blade-

– Slot 2: SunFlare Hidden Blade-

– Slot 3: Dark Infused Hidden Blade-

– Slot 4: Cold-Steel Collapsible Grapple and Teather.-

– +10 DEF-

– +10 DEX-

– +5 AGI-

– Ability: Allows the wielder to receive four attacks without being knocked out of Dark Affinity Skills that hide the user’s appearance or presence.

– Passive Special Skill: Quick Change – By making a particular flicking motion, the revolver mechanism will grab one of the available blades and automatically slot it into the drawer chamber.-

– Special Skill: Blade Shot – The wearer can fire the chambered hidden blade by infusing Mana into the firing mechanism. The range and power of this attack depends on how much Mana is expended.-

– Special Skill 2: Grapple Shot- The wearer can fire a small collapsible grappling hook attached to a 15 meter, high tension wire. This wire is wrapped tightly around the bracer, adding to the durability lost by constant shaving. Additionally, since firing the grapple utilizes the ejection mechanism, the wearer only has to input a sufficient amount of Mana to fire.-

[HOLY FUCK CYN!] Stumbling over his feet, Brance shouted into the mind link, causing his older brother to laugh out loud, confusing the Sanford siblings.

[So are you gonna swing around like a web-slinger now, or…you know what, who am I kidding, you basically ripped off the 3d maneuver gear from AOT, didn’t you.] Brance furrowed his brow and glanced to see his brother’s reaction, and when Cynrik locked up for a second before coughing loudly, he felt satisfied.

[Liiisten, I’ll have you know, these bad boys run off Mana, not compressed gas. So no. I did not rip off the great Isayama-sensei’s idea; okay, fuck off.] Snorting while shoving his hands into his pockets, Cynrik stepped into the zone marked B-1 and stopped on the threshold of A-3, waiting for the rest of his party to catch up.

Looking out over the small crowd of people standing under the Zone-A flag, Cynrik’s eyes narrowed as he noticed something that couldn’t be seen on tv, which made him instantly activate his [Mana Sight]. Then, feeling the presence of Gabby, Benny and Brance walk up behind him; Cynrik extended his left arm, blocking the path to the next zone, and turned to face them.

“Careful; once we cross into the next zone, the gravity will steadily increase. It starts off at 2g, and from what I can tell, we can expect the pressure to increase by a total g every zone until we reach our destination. Meaning we will be under a minimum of 4g. Gabby and Benny, I know you are still sitting at a resistance of 3.5, so you may struggle for a few minutes, but bear with it for now.” Speaking in a hushed whisper, Cynrik quickly informed them of his findings, saw the Sanfords nod in understanding, and stepped forward into the 2g of gravitational pressure.

[Interesting, this isn’t typical Killing Intent; it must be the pressure of Aura. The Mana particles are vibrating similarly to how they do under KIN, but at the same time… it’s more like a squelch instead of a squish.] Thinking out loud in the mind link as he walked, Cynrik moved his right hand through the air as if cutting through water.

[What the hell does that even mean? How can Mana go squelch or squish? For crying out loud, can you at least speak normal English?] Brance couldn’t help but rub his temples in frustration at his older brother’s weird description.

[Well…toooo beee faiiirrrr.]

[SHUT THE FUCK UP. I KNOW, WE ARENT REALLY SPEAKING ENGLISH THANKS TO OUR [Language Proficiency] SKILL, FUCK OFF!] Brance had to clench his teeth and fists as hard as possible to stop himself from attacking his brother.

[Hehe, you said it, not me.]

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