Psychic Parasite

It was midnight, with the beginning of the 13th of November. There wasn't anyone exploring the Labyrinth at this hour. So, all the students from the October, November, and December Batches were in the Red Building—of the Psychic Block.

Everything was spurred from the conversation between Haesha, Ashten and Esina. When they were conversing about Jyorta, another student had overheard them. He immediately clarified his doubts by barging in on their conversation, "Are you telling me Jyorta Bone has stayed in the Labyrinth of Frenzy for more than 2 days already?"

"Yes," The moment Haesha nodded, the student excitedly ran away. A second after seeing his reaction did Haesha's eyes widen in realisation. She looked at Esina, "What has been the record of the highest duration a student stayed within the Labyrinth?"

"Hmm," Esina thought for a couple of seconds, finally recalling the information, "It was around 42 hours or something. It was achieved 6 years ago, but the student only ventured in layer 1 to set the record."

"How did Rakh Veera fare?" Ashten Coorg thought.

"His explorations were quick. Most of the times, he finished within 2-3 hours, returned to eat, rest for 10-15 minutes before he dove into the labyrinth. If we are considering the total time he spent in the labyrinth, it is almost 3 months. Rakh Veera practically lived in the labyrinth, but none of his explorations exceeded 12 hours." Esina replied, having memorised all the details pertaining to the individual.

"So, Jyorta broke the record of the longest exploration." Haesha gazed in the direction the student ran, sighing, "I think this is bound to make a commotion."

Just as she had suspected, the boy shared the details to everyone in his Batch that spread like wildfire throughout the academy. The names of Jyorta and Laila were famous in the academy for being record breakers, that too by eight times. So, details concerning Jyorta spread without stopping.

Some of the curious students even approached the staff only to be met with a reply like, "Head to the labyrinth's entrance and find out for yourself."

That was what sparked everyone, causing the students to rush towards the Red Building in anticipation. As the students from early Batches weren't allowed to step foot within the Red Building, they could only wait at the entrance and ask for details from the one who could enter.

Now, students from the final 3 Batches, comprising almost 2600 students stood within the Red Building, gazing at the flight of stairs with bated breaths. The staff had intervened from the start, being the cause that spread the news quickly. They didn't have any hesitation to blow up a matter that would ignite the fighting spirits of the students and cause them to work harder to strengthen themselves.

Now that they got the perfect excuse, they hyped it to the maximum. Except for the select few students busy with their training, the remainder of the students had already converged on the ground in anticipation.

Madam Mary smirked, stealthily spreading her psychic energy that caused the sounds of Jyorta's footsteps to be audible loud and clear everywhere within the building. The moment the sounds of the footsteps resounded, the Espers among the students turned around, trying to look at the traces of the staff. Unfortunately, they were unable to sense the ones hovering near the ceiling.

The students at the front involuntarily swallowed their saliva, for the suspense caused them tension. As the sounds of the footsteps resounded closer and closer, they spotted the silhouette of Jyorta, watching his hair come into vision first.

It was wet, followed by his face on which patches of skin were still stuck due to the water. The moment his upper body came into view, the students at the front involuntarily took a step back in fear. For, Jyorta's appearance was different from their memories.

Jet-black ripped arms, concealing tremendous power, a body mostly covered by hair that was akin to steel, covered by an armour that was tattered, only possessing thin strips on the verge of snapping. His body was a bulky presence.

Jyorta was confused when he exited the labyrinth and saw the crowd huddled at the entrance. For a moment, he wondered if an event of sorts was happening and he had interrupted them. He then noticed their eyes gazing at him and showing a myriad of expressions, getting the intention that they were there to see him.

Before he could wonder about the reason, his view changed as Jyorta noticed he was within the nursing room, seated on a bed. Vaika stood before him, staring at him with praise as she slammed a pale blue fist on his head.

"Ouch!"

"You deserved it for losing your arms. That was reckless of you. You could have dodged the Lava turtle's attack before retaliating against it." Vaika's voice was tinged with anger as she slammed another pale blue fist at him the moment he tried to speak in his defence. It didn't hurt him though, but rather healed him.

"Alright, alright, your choices weren't the best in some situations, but overall, you did fairly well." One of her psychic arms grabbed hold of the Bundle Flea that acted like his belt, pulling it out as its hair flowed over Jyorta before returning to cover its body.

She used a hallucination to control it easily. Jyorta then saw the figure of Anruk Light standing beside him, taking control of the Bundle Flea using a psychic arm. Anruk Light smiled, "It's been a while, Jyorta Bone. You've grown stronger since then."

"Thank you, sir." Jyorta tried to get up but felt difficulty since he lacked the arms for support. Anruk Light patted his shoulder, motioning for him to remain seated.

He nodded at Vaika once before continuing, "The Frenzy Beast race you created, Bundle Flea, will be protected and monitored by Grapple Force until the time you join us. In the meantime, we'll try to breed it with other Steel Porcupines and see if we can birth more of the Bundle Fleas."

"When you join Grapple Force in the future, you can take command of the project related to them." Anruk Light smiled.

"Does that mean Grapple Force considers I am qualified to join them?" Jyorta felt happy, for joining there meant he was considered as a talent Marble City will focus on nurturing into a powerhouse.

"You misunderstood me," Anruk Light smiled, "You had the qualification the moment Madam Light brought you there. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been brought there in the first place."

He then gazed at the time on his watch, looking at Vaika, "I'll take my leave now. I'm not on duty today."

"We'll meet again once you become a Wave Controller. Until then, Jyorta Bone." Anruk Light vanished from the scene as Vaika started to heal him. "A lot of foreign aura has settled within your body. When you are in the wilds, refrain from shooting your aura beams unless you are left with no other choice. It places a burden on your body and leaves you defenceless against foreign aura."

"I thought I could just heal my presence using Regen and expel them out." Jyorta watched the stump that was his arms begin to grow, slowly but steadily. It grew a centimetre every second, the healed part looking similar to his arm from before the exploration.

"Yes, that can be done easily. But, if the foreign presence surpasses more than half your total capacity, it would create a lot of problems. In such a situation, you would have to be assisted by others to successfully treat yourself. In the worst-case scenario, your Wisdom Parasite would become a Frenzy Parasite." Vaika said, "And, that is the most fearsome part."

"Once it becomes a Frenzy Parasite, you could be influenced by Rhachis Ancestor Parasite any moment once you leave the defences of Marble City," She sighed, "It's not without reason that we fear it as the Mother Parasite."

"I'll remember it, ma'am," Jyorta nodded, "In the Wilds, even if I were to shoot an aura beam, I should swiftly recover my presence to the peak while preventing the ambient aura from touching my body. Is that right?"

"As long as you maintain that state, you won't have anything to worry about." Vaika nodded, "The River Whales are of ample use in such a case. Make it or a Floating Spider as your vehicle when you venture out in the future. And…"

She smiled, knocking his head, "Even I never thought of using the Shoe Fishes like that. That was ingenuous of you. Accumulate enough resources later and create one like that when you explore the Wilds in the future. You have my Aura Induction to help you after all."

"Yes, ma'am," Jyorta nodded as he recalled what he wished to ask her before, "Speaking of Aura Induction, ma'am, how do you manage your tattoo world? Wouldn't such a massive world with so many elemental dynamics need all the mental power you can get?"

…

The moment Jyorta disappeared from the scene, Madam Mary appeared, floating in the air before everyone, "It seems all you Cadets are curious about Jyorta Bone's exploits. I also see that some of you have doubts and are wondering if he hid at the entrance and waited for such a duration."

Seeing their facial expressions, Madam Mary smiled, "I can tell you this, he didn't do that. Rather, he was constantly hunting the Frenzy Beasts without rest. I'll show you some scenes to act as your inspiration. Jyorta Bone's exemplary behaviour is what every Cadet must strive to possess."

"Mila Marble, please begin." Upon her shout, a marble slab appeared behind her, occupying the entire width of the Red Building, spanning 40 metres. It was positioned 10 metres from the ground, spanning a height of 20 metres.

A couple of seconds later, the screen came to life as the roar of a Frenzy Beast thundered across the area.