Psychic Parasite

Layer 3 was devoid of Frenzy Beast carcasses now. A weakened River Whale lay on the water, its body shrunk until only skin and bones remained. Its eyes were hazy, its final expression of a man who had been stabbed in the back by his mother. It expressed the betrayal it felt as it closed its eyes—devoid of life.

Standing beside it, Jyorta closed his eyes, relishing the mild pain that showed the growth in his Sync Rate. The Bundle Flea floated on the water, coiled around his legs, gazing at his face as it trembled in fear.

All he did was stand in the place and gaze around. He exerted a formless presence, brought about by the previous actions he committed. It wasn't because he was still unleashing his aura, it was a mental pressure brought about by fame or rather the power he wielded. It was the power of words and information at play.

As he noticed the Bundle Flea's state, Jyorta's eyes widened in surprise before glistening with intelligence. 'I didn't take any action but was still able to affect its mind. This was brought about by its memory of me and my actions. I see, through something related to the mind, I affected the mind of others.'

"This is probably the base of Mind Path," Jyorta muttered, letting out a devilish smile that automatically morphed into a wry smile. His false persona was continuously suppressing the effects on his behaviour and personality brought about by the foreign aura.

"There's not much time left. Do you want me to pull you out?" The voice of a staff resounded, calm and collected, as if the owner wasn't surprised at the feats Jyorta achieved.

"Sir, exactly how much time do I have now?" Jyorta shook his head, retaining clarity of thought, sensing his final Sync Rate once he expended most of the psychic energy, only retaining a quarter in his Brain Crystal.

"Eight minutes, 34 seconds." The voice replied.

"I'll return on my own then, sir." Jyorta slowly sat on the water, struggling as he lacked the hands to balance himself. The Bundle Flea helped him in the process, making his body float on the water as it dragged him.

The staff's voice disappeared, no longer uttering anything. The Bundle Flea dragged him to the entrance of layer three, proceeded through the flight of stairs before dragging his body across the sandy dunes of layer 2.

Jyorta shielded himself using his psychic arms, creating a barrier that reduced his friction with the sand, allowing him to be dragged faster. He mentally counted the time left as he commanded the Bundle flea to move accordingly.

Even though it was injured, the Bundle Flea manipulated its hair accordingly, making it perform most of the grunt work while it rested on his stomach, curling into a ball. After a glance, Jyorta didn't try to move it somewhere else.

As it rested on his stomach, its reach extended to both his sides almost equally, so it made moving and balancing him less strenuous. As the Bundle Flea was also exhausted, Jyorta didn't disturb it, watching it do its thing while he kept count of the time.

Sand flew as dust clouds were raised by the Bundle Flea's actions. It used its hair to paddle through the sand, moving slowly but steadily. Finally, when they reached the start of layer 2, Jyorta counted down to three minutes. 'We can barely make it there.'

The Bundle Flea helped him stand up as Jyorta stretched his legs for a moment, motioning for the Bundle Flea to act as his belt once again. But this time, it didn't form an armour, for it hadn't recovered enough to go through such strenuous activity.

Its hair coiled into two tentacles that swiftly shaped themselves into his arms, attaching themselves onto the stumps. Through his aura inputs, Jyorta made the Bundle Flea move them, indirectly controlling them.

This way, he balanced himself as he began to run, starting with a light jog. Soon, he got accustomed to it to the extent he wouldn't trip awkwardly. Jyorta ran through layer 1, careful in his steps, stepping foot on the rocks that tried to break his balance with every step.

"Soon, almost there. I'll make it on time."

…

"Madam principal, how's my student?" Vaika smiled, sporting a smug expression, unable to conceal her wide smile that was becoming wider and wider. "He's using everything I taught him splendidly. Just see how he cleared almost four layers in one exploration."

"You did make it as if he had already lived through and trained those abilities for years using your aura powers," Madam Mary sported a trace smile, "It's to be expected that his performance would be this good."

"I worked a lot this time," Vaika winked, "Please give me a raise."

"Won't you earn 15 percent of his income every month after a couple of months?" Madam Mary didn't comment much about the matter, "I'll send an application. Let's see what the higherups say."

'What higherups? The only one who is higher than you is Ancestor Marble.' Vaika mentally rolled her eyes, for she knew the old lady beside her was a lunatic, a crazy lady that went nuclear whenever agitated. There were instances where she had wiped out an entire Frenzy Beast race because of that. 

Though, she dared not show anything on her face, not even internally, for Madam Mary would be able to read even her thoughts like a book through the information of her body activity she perceived. So, the moment the thought appeared, Vaika instantly erased it.

"I knew he was a promising candidate, but I never knew he was this exemplary." Madam Mila spoke. She was positioned next to the wall, looking as if she had become one with it. Even while speaking, she just transmitted the voice by causing undulations in her psychic energy.

Even normally, Madam Mila made the least body movements possible. But now, after recovering from the injury she sustained from Rhachis Ancestor Warlord, she had changed further. Now, she didn't move her body, including most of the organs.

Her lungs were in a semi-inhaled state as she pulled in the air through the nostrils using her psychic energy, sent it into the lungs until it filled the current lung capacity. Her heart was still beating normally while her other body functions too proceeded the same.

But, judging by her plans, she planned to completely change them. It was easy to notice, considering the direction she was proceeding towards. Without a change in tone, Madam Mila spoke, "After seeing his actions, I can safely say that he's a pillar candidate."

"That's obvious," Madam Mary nodded, looking at the figure of Madam Rizenne that flashed into existence before her, "What do you think, Rizenne? Does he have the potential to surpass a pillar?"

"Hmm, considering everything he had shown us, he's on the same level as Rakh Veera, if not slightly weaker. At Tier 3, the two of them might be evenly matched. But…" Madam Rizenne frowned, "I haven't seen anything striking about him that gives me the guarantee that he has a non-zero shot at Tier 6."

"In comparison to that," Madam Rizenne observed Jyorta's running figure, commenting her thoughts, "Laila is by far the perfect candidate I have chanced upon. While seeing her, I am reminded of Ancestor Strongest."

"Indeed," Madam Mary, "As someone involved with his growth personally, I have seen numerous instances where Laila showed similarities to Angrushen Light. Considering the limitless talent she showed on numerous occasions, and especially her mental state, they made me confident that she would become an Ancestor one day."

"Her chances are that high?" Madam Mila's hand moved in surprise before returning to its initial position as her voice resounded, "What makes you say that with such assurance? Even for Ancestor Strongest, you weren't this sure even once."

"I could just feel it," Madam Mary sighed, "Ancestor Marble seemed like he had known of this in advance. The moment her character development reached a certain level, he took her away."

The three Sky Controllers were huddled in one corner of the Red Building while Vaika floated an arm's distance away from them. As a Wave Controller, she didn't have the qualification to speak on par with three Sky Controllers, that too old veterans among them that were at peak Tier 5.

As they didn't exclude her from the conversation, she listened to everything, feeling happy when they addressed Jyorta on the same level as Rakh Veera. 'One way or another, Jyorta would become a pillar at the very least. And, based on what he plans for his tattoo world, his growth would sprout further.'

"I am excited to see the height he would reach in the future and the progression he would give to the aura path." Vaika gazed at the crowd below. They were all students that had come to know after the news. They were part of the October, November, and December Batches, those that were allowed to enter the Red Building.

Most were curious about the individual that was neck-and-neck with Laila and had broken the records of most of the months only to fare with subpar scores in the final results. They wondered what he was doing, still huddled within the Labyrinth after more than three days had passed since his entry.

"He has already surpassed the records of the longest stay in the Labyrinth of Frenzy?"

"How can he stay in such an aura-infested region full of Frenzy Beasts for so long?"

"Isn't he just an Esper? How can he survive for so long?"

"Maybe he was just hiding near the entrance and used his Esper powers to remain invisible from the weak Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts?"

"That is possible. Maybe he is just desperate for attention so planned to break a record through any means possible."

"Yeah, whenever I saw him, he looked deranged."

"We'll know the truth once we see him."

"Shh…He's coming!" The crowd instantly turned silent, hearing the sounds of boots clacking on the hard steps.