Psychic Parasite

7th Ring, Sector 12, Mansion of the Bone Family; Jyovic Bone walked through a corridor, smiling as the people of the Bone Family greeted him respectfully as they passed by him.

His back was slightly crouched, but his face was full of pride. His eyes shone with the cunning of a political schemer that had maintained practice for a long time. Jyovic Bone entered a lift and reached the topmost floor of the Bone Family mansion, opening the door to reveal a massive hallway.

On one side, a massive screen was attached, akin to a cinema screen. All the Bone Family members at Tier 4 and above were currently seated, looking tensed. The air seemed to spark from time to time thanks to the friction between the different branches of their family.

They seemed to be in chatter, discussing about some matters that decided the future of their family's line of succession.

"Jyorta Bone had been in a coma for almost five years. Even if he has some accomplishments in the military academy, his foundation is lacking when compared to the others. He's not mentally developed enough. Supporting him would be unwise."

"Indeed, I agree with you. It's better to focus on others. Even if he possesses Regen, it is of no value to us since we have Bone Devour. Moreover, he's only an Esper and doesn't possess our Unranked Skill. So, giving him focus would be a waste."

"But, he would also become affiliated to the Veera Family because of this. And considering who his grandmother is, that would give us some benefits in the long run."

The moment Jyovic Bone entered, all the discussions stopped as they all simultaneously turned their heads towards Jyovic Bone, watching him speak, "Is it time yet?"

"Yes," Hubert Bone stood up and switched on the screen, "We just received the file from the military academy. Unfortunately, we cannot see it LIVE."

"Highlights are enough, I just want to see his performance." Jyovic Bone smiled as he took his seat in the centre.

"We have around eight minutes worth of video footage here," Hubert Bone said as he played the clip on the screen.

There were choices for people to witness the fight of the students on the Battlefield, albeit after paying some homage to the military academy in terms of funds. Most of the time, the people generally wished to see how their children fared.

There were also times when people from many organisations wished to look at the fights of the students who had garnered their interest. After all, seeing the students use their naïve but ingenious ways to solve their issues was fun, and sometimes even proved to be rewarding by giving onlookers some insights.

So, anyone that could afford the price usually booked a slot every month to witness the scene. And, the price they paid was used by the military academy to fund their budget every month. After all, they had to prepare a variety of things for the students in the military academy.

And usually, it was the staff that worked on them nonstop. So, such funds acted as a bonus for them. Thereby, this served as an incentive for them to work harder. After all, by working harder, the students would profit from it.

And, because of it, the students were able to better themselves more. And because of this, the number of people who would be interested in watching their fights during the Graduation Ceremony would be higher. So, the funds collected from them would be accordingly higher.

And, since the funds were divided between the staff based on their contribution to the respective Batch during their stay in the military academy, it gave an incentive for the staff to work harder. This created a beneficial cycle that enriched the military academy as a whole.

Moreover, based on their performance, the military academies were ranked accordingly. There were 10 military academies in total in Marble City. So, they were ranked accordingly to their contribution. And, this varied based on the quality of the students they nurtured, the strength of their top contenders, their average performance, and the contributions made by the graduates in the future.

All these factors were taken to constantly evaluate the military academies, giving them comprehensive scores. As to their ranks, only the principal and the vice-principal of the respective military academies knew.

The screen flashed and displayed the scene of a group of students, numbering around 80 running out of the yellow platform the moment it landed on the battlefield. And, leading them was the figure of Jyorta, accompanied by his teammates.

There were two individuals worthy of note in the scene. Jyovic Bone commented, "Is that…Dalna Doppler? That child?"

"Indeed, she is," Havita Bone said, "She's grown to become strong and beautiful."

"Nice," Jyovic Bone said as he watched the ground beneath them collapse as Jyorta and the group fell into it. On seeing how Jyorta reflexively actuated an aura beam by collapsing his psychic arms, Jyovic Bone smiled, "He's done well."

On seeing how his one attack killed almost a hundred Ring Worms and turned them into a pool of blood, some of the Shifters seated at the back felt shocked, wondering if they were able to replicate that when they were in the military academy.

Upon realising how they were able to do it, they didn't show any reaction, silently looking at the scenes like a statue.

Jyovic Bone didn't seem to mind about their behaviour nor did he seem intent to hear their opinion on the matter. He had a firm grip over every affair of the Bone Family. After all, the Bone Family currently possessed three Transformers, all of which were related to him.

Other than him, the remaining two Transformers were his children. So, a significant amount of power and authority was solely exercised by him thanks to this. Before this, the other branch families too wielded considerable influence.

It was because even though they were part of one family, they weren't entirely blood-related. After all, the first generation of the Bone Family was a collection of like-minded individuals that had come together to create an Unranked Skill.

They declared themselves as a family and began to operate as one to achieve their common goal. So, they didn't share any blood ties with each other. Even though there were some marriages between each branch family over the years, the Bone Family hadn't become unified as a single bloodline yet. Only the Royal Families had managed to achieve that. 

Therefore, there were power struggles. They only never had a conflict of interest. Except for that single fact, there were all sorts of political conflicts waged in the family, both mentally and socially.

They then saw the scene of Jyorta creating the Battleship and how he used Floating Spiders and Spindle Bees to his advantage by making them do all the grunt work. After every scene that panned, their expressions morphed accordingly, turning grim.

Jyovic Bone was happy though, laughing, "In the future, our Bone Family would obtain a Sky Controller. Here's the proof!"

His statement thundered across the minds of everyone. After all, the weight behind the term, 'Sky Controller' was of significant importance. With the presence of one, their research capability alone would improve by leaps and bounds. That would elevate their development by another level.

With the completion of Bone Devour, the Bone Family was already developing at a pace that had long since surpassed the other Aristocratic Families. And, within a couple of decades, it had the potential to become the most powerful Aristocratic Family.

The appearance of a Sky Controller would further boost this speed. So, despite their misgivings, they were still happy that Jyorta was doing well.

'But, how has he become so strong?' One of the Shifters thought, making eye contact with a couple of Shifters he confided by. He then glanced at the back of Jyovic Bone, wondering what the other party had done to warrant this.

And if possible, he wished to claim it for himself and give a greater advantage to his children.

Finally, the scene showed the Battleship flying across the path with a breeze, enduring most of the attacks while killing a lot of Frenzy Beasts along its wake.

'He can take charge of a situation, has created multiple solutions and backup plans for himself, and can also use the abilities of others to the limit and imbue a synergy between them.' Jyovic Bone smiled, 'You've grown a lot, Jyorta.'

'I guess I should push forth my plan too. I too am running short of time now.' There was no change in his expression; but, the moment Hubert Bone glanced his way, he felt a chill in his spine.

'What is this lunatic planning now?' Hubert Bone frowned, looking at the face of Jyorta in the scene as he reached the end of the path, 'I wasn't wise or strong enough back then, Henrietta. But now, I'll at least be able to protect your children.'

As the screen switched off, Jyovic Bone turned around to look at all the seated members of his family, "So, what is your opinion on my grandson?"