Psychic Parasite

Once they had rested, the team leaders—Amplifiers with the Unranked Skill, Flight—flew away and sped through the battlefield, trying to find any other teams to help. But sadly, the teams they tried to help were either already buried under too many Frenzy Beasts or had lost some members.

The team leaders of such teams sighed as they were pulled up soon after. After all, one of the conditions of the mission was to reach the top with all the members. So, despite being Amplifiers, they were unable to protect their teammates completely.

The only teams that still moved on were those led by Amplifiers who possessed the Unranked Skill, Flight. There were 10 such teams in total now, all had reached the top. Among the side of Espers, there were only three teams, Jyorta's, Haesha's, and Laekha Walta's.

It was only because they possessed the Unranked Skill, Regen, and were able to heal their injured teammates. The rest of the teams lead by Area Controllers eventually fell along the way. Just that alone showed the importance of Unranked Skills and the versatility they gave others.

Even Unranked Skills like Flight, one that was incredibly inferior to all other Unranked Skills was still useful because of one reason, it allowed one to fly. And, as it was an Unranked Skill, one was able to freely use it and fly at tremendous speeds.

If a flight contest was kept between Floating Spiders, Spindle Bees, River Whales, and humans with the Unranked Skill, Flight, all at Tier 2, the ones that would be in the lead were the humans. As it was created by Rhachis Ancestor Strongest with the sole intention of making it available to the general populace, he tried to keep as few restrictions in it as possible.

By maintaining it at one anchor point, even Observers could obtain it by sacrificing their Tier 1 Skill. Moreover, at times, just the ability to fly away was incredibly useful. That was why he had created it in the first place.

Even if only some students managed to obtain it during their stay in the military academy, the Unranked Skill, Flight was still available to the populace to be exchanged for some contribution points.

Those that had the confidence to reach Tier 4 usually didn't choose it, for they could marry into an Aristocratic Family and obtain their Unranked Skill. For those without that option, they still picked Flight in the end.

As for the rest, they definitely chose the Unranked Skill. As the creation cost of the Unranked Skill, Flight was the cheapest out of all, Marble City was able to cater to the demand. After all, as long as they accumulated enough merit points, even Developers were able to obtain it.

And, with the ability to fly, the versatility of the Developers using their Tier 3 Skills took another leap. They became meat grinders that hunted down Frenzy Beasts the swiftest. That was why despite only being able to imbue the ability of flight, the Unranked Skill Flight was never looked down upon.

Ashten looked at Esina in wonder, "How did you drag something of this size through all that attacks?"

"It was hard, but thankfully, we were a team of two. So, we managed in the end." Esina replied as she patted the back of the Lava Turtle shell. It was a Tier 2 Lava Turtle, one that was alive. Esina had bound its neck onto its shell using Floating Spider silk.

Without being able to move its limbs, the Lava Turtle had become helpless. Its shell had been stuffed full of Hunter Clam corpses, preventing it from retreating into its shell. As the final two coils had a layer of water on the ground, Esina used the floating property of the Lava Turtle to easily drag it through them.

Moreover, the sphere of Floating Spider silk they had carried before had been tied onto its shell, reducing its body weight, and allowing her to drag it better.

"But, why did you bring it in the first place?" Ashten Inquired, noticing Jyorta arrive and look at the Lava Turtle in curiosity.

"This will work," He nodded, touching the Lava Turtle shell as he retracted it immediately, wincing in pain as the heat singed his finger. "Its shell can be used to defend against the attacks of the Tier 3 Lava Turtle. We can also use its blood to melt through some of the silk of the Tier 3 Floating Spider."

At this time, all the team leaders that had set off returned with disappointed expressions. They only managed to free up two teams, one of them was Laekha Walta's, and the other was an Amplifier that could fly. His team had been injured, so he was struggling to protect them while advancing together.

Once they came to his help, they immediately carried the injured teammates and flew away.

Jyorta looked around, noticing the remainder of the teams on the battlefield be pulled up by the staff through flashes of light. Now, all the humans on the battlefield were at the top.

Upon a count, Jyorta smiled, for there were 15 teams. It was enough for them to fight the Tier 3 Frenzy Beast inside. Though, if he said he wasn't anxious, he would be lying. For they had cut it close, really close. They narrowly made it through for the next and final phase of their graduation ceremony.

Even though there were 43 teams with a Tier 2 student leading them, not all of them managed to prevent all their teammates from getting injured to the extent they had to eventually be pulled up by the staff.

In the end, they were only left with 15 teams. The silver lining of this was the fact the team leaders of all the teams, save for two, had Unranked Skills. There were 10 Amplifiers that could fly and three Area Controllers that could heal.

So, they were able to put up a tough fight against the Tier 3 opponent. As for George and Dalna Doppler, even though they couldn't fly, there were the strongest Amplifiers of their Batch, so they were able to make do even without flying.

After a moment of thought, Jyorta changed his plan. It was because the Tier 3 Spindle Bee had exited its nest. A glance was all he needed to determine that his teammates wouldn't be able to handle it. Just the sheer aura it unleashed would completely paralyse them.

So, equipping them wouldn't make any sense. So, he took out all the five domes—inhabited by a Tier 2 Floating Spider each—and stitched them into the armours—that he made using Tier 2 Floating Spider silk—of himself, Haesha, Laekha Walta, George, and Dalna Doppler.

This way, everyone was at least able to fly a bit when necessary. Moreover, he also gave a couple of mental cues to the Tier 2 Floating Spiders, making them react based on certain voice commands. He tuned them to the respective person that used them.

The commands were simple and only consisted of one word each. And, they also made the Floating Spiders move linearly. And, their speed of flight wasn't too fast, for they were carrying the weight of a person.

It was only thanks to the armours—made from Tier 2 Floating Spider silk—that they could lift the humans.

He also distributed the cylinders housing the Spindle Bees, making them practice shooting using them until they got the hang of it. The three Espers held one each, while the remaining two were given to two Amplifiers who were the most confident with their shooting skills.

Once they had practiced to their heart's content and were ready, it was time they took action.

All the teammates stood behind and prevented the Tier 2 Lava Turtle Esina had brought from escaping. They then cheered on as all the fifteen team leaders assembled as a group. Only they were going to fight now.

"This lightness will save a lot of my energy in flying." One of the team leaders said as he felt the thick layer of silk armour that protected him from head to toe. As it was made using Tier 2 Floating Spider silk, it had considerable defensive strength.

Moreover, Jyorta had taken measures to make them as sturdy as possible since they were about to face a tough opponent. Once he had finished making the weapons and armours for all, he also replenished the energy reserves of all nine Frenzy Beasts under his control.

"This sword is pretty great too," Another team leader smiled as he made a couple of slashes, feeling that the quality of his sword was greatly superior to the weapon he found in the yellow circle.

"Just act based on our plan. And if anyone is injured," Dalna Doppler looked at three Amplifiers that were in charge of carrying the three Espers, "You know what to do."

Ashten, Esina, and one more Amplifier nodded. Tugging the rope extending from the Battleship, Dalna Doppler arrived before the dome housing the Tier 3 Spindle Bee, watching the yellow dome's door be tinted with a shade of green, displaying that they were now allowed entry.

Having noticed the change in atmosphere, the Tier 3 Spindle Bee too wasn't lazing around anymore but had entered a battle stance as it pointed its stinger towards the door, ready to shoot.

Jyorta closed his eyes for a moment, feeling trepidation as his heart thumped. He sensed the psychic energy in him, taking in a deep breath as he focused his attention on a patch of aura on his skin resembling a tattoo. It was the prime player for their subsequent plans.

He finished recovering his aura to the peak as Jyorta opened his eyes, jumping on the back of Ashten as he piggybacked.

"This is how we graduate," Dalna Doppler uttered with a solemn tone as she opened the door.

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I started working on the storyboard for Chapter 1 of Psychic Parasite. Stay tuned for the comic adaptation~

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