Meanwhile, as Cynrik began gravity training, the rest of MyrkLys was still at the arena. Unlike his older brother, who had brushed off Geralt and practically fled the crime scene, Brance stayed back to do damage control.
"What the fuck was that all about? Whose bloody idea…no, you know what, what that brat did was completely on brand for him." Clenching his fists tightly, Geralt vented his frustrations to no one in particular.
"Headmaster Rivia, can we please take this conversation elsewhere? There are eyes and ears all over the place." Glancing around with [Mana Sight] active, Brance stepped up and whispered in a soft voice that Geralt alone could hear.
Shutting his mouth instantly and shooting a glance at Brance, signifying he understood, Geralt turned around and led the way out of the main arena area and into a private box meant for teaching staff and administrators.
To ensure their privacy, once everyone had entered the room, Instructor Garrison included, Geralt snapped his fingers and enclosed the room in a spatial cube, preventing outside sights and sounds from leaking in any way.
Nevertheless, even though the room was fully secured from prying eyes, that wasn't enough for Brance. Having spent so much time around his paranoid older brother, he observed his surroundings with his ocular Skill activated before noticing five invisible drones in various places throughout the room.
Narrowing his eyes and wrinkling his nose, Brance held up his hand, manifested ten stone spikes, and launched them into the drones, exploding them into shrapnel instantly.
"Huh," was all that Geralt could say as he watched five machines drop from the sky in pieces.
"Headmaster, I know you are smart enough to understand that just because you cut off the outside world with your Space Affinity doesn't necessarily mean the enemy isn't already present in the segregated zone." Shaking his head, Brance motioned for Gabby to store away all the broken drones in her inventory since it was a given that Cynrik would want to study them.
Even though he was furious with his older brother, he wasn't blinded to the real threats constantly chasing them.
"How…what the hell are these things, and why wasn't I able to feel their presence." Stopping Gabby from placing the final drone in her inventory, Geralt swiped the basketball-sized piece of machinery and examined it carefully.
"More importantly, how were you able to identify them in the first place? I understand you and Cynrik have an Ocular Skill, but since neither of you is keen on filling me in on its abilities or, better yet, Description, all I can do is guess."
"Generally, I can sense anything entering the space 10 meters around my body because the particles shift around, and I always keep a steady supply of Space Mana around myself. In this way, I create a field where I can, for lack of a better word, "see" everything."
"However, these drones escaped my purview."
"I can't help you on that one, but the Ocular Skill my brother and I have allows us to see Mana particles. Although not a powerful skill in its own right, with enough time and experimentation, Cynrik has figured out multiple uses for it, one of which happens to be separating things that don't belong from those that do." Brance began explaining while double checking nothing else snuck into the spatial cube created by Geralt.
"That is what I did just now; if I am being honest, I only did it because I watched my brother do it back in the apartment. Had I not seen him do it, I wouldn't have been so hyper-vigilant about these damn things." Finishing his statement by sweeping away some of the debris with his foot, Brance turned and faced Geralt.
He didn't expect the pleased expression on the Headmaster's face.
"Well, as surprising as it is, and as much as I want to compliment you, we have more significant problems to deal with right now. Such as the fact that your brother decided it would be a brilliant idea to torture an entire team of Students from a different academy on live broadcasts shown around the whole continent."
Hearing the tone of Geralts voice shift from pleasant to aggressive caused almost every member of MyrkLys to drop their head, except Brance, who stared back at Geralt without flinching.
"I don't know what to tell you that will ease your concern, Headmaster. What Cynrik did was a calculated risk in his mind. Whether we agree with it or not, it wouldn't have swayed him from ultimately making the choices he did."
"In this case, he claims that Romeoville was a necessary and planned Collateral Damage. From the beginning, we wanted to put on a showcase that exemplified our talents. But halfway through the round, things changed; instead of being a showcase, Cynrik chose to make an example of them."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Brance never broke eye contact with Geralt and examined the man's every facial expression, followed by his body language.
"He has chosen to go public and face our enemies in broad daylight, in contrast to hiding behind your leg. While I have my own misgivings, no matter what path he sets, I will support Cynrik in his plans. But that doesn't mean I will allow him to freewheel and do as he pleases; you can rest assured that I will be beating the ever-living shit out of his dumb ass…when I find him, that is."
"Tsk, not that it will change anything," standing in the corner of the room with her hood up, Selene snorted.
"If I wanted a reaction from the peanut gallery, I would have fucking asked for it, Selene." Whipping his head around and glaring at Selene, Brance retorted, causing Selene to drop her arms in take a step forward.
"Come off it, Brancie; you know just as well as I do that a "physical" beating will do nothing; if anything, Darling will cackle the entire time." Rolling her eyes, Selene continued.
"Plus, what does it matter if we cripple some kids in VR? It's not like there will be any lasting effects anyway. I am all for what Cyn did; at the very least, it's nothing a little therapy can't fix. Not to mention, it's nothing worse than any of us have gone through." Flipping her long hair over her left shoulder, Selene finished her statement by cocking out her left hip and crossing her arms.
While Geralt and Instructor Garrison were at a loss for words, Brance grit his teeth before glaring long and hard at Selene for a moment.
[[And the reason you didn't just say that in the mind link is what? Did you want to show off or something for the Headmaster?]] Brance spat, enraged that she had vocalized her opinion for everyone to hear.
[[Brance, you know as well as I do that Cynrik does what Cynrik wants, and none of us can stop him, not you, and certainly not me. I may not have years of experience around you two, but even I can see that you counterbalance him in ways I never could.]] Leaning back against the wall and slowly shaking her head, Selene continued.
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