**For Starters, I wish to thank everyone who has stuck by my side in this difficult time. Between the comments on here and in discord, I have gotten through the struggles of losing my cherished family member. To per into perspective, it was my Uncle, whom I at one point lived with after high school.
He was a man who taught me more than I could have ever asked for, and in my adult life, I have carried his teaching on. Of everyone in my life, he was also the one who supported me the most in my venture of finally becoming an author, so to say this story happened because of his urgings would be an understatement. His passing hit me harder than I could ever have imagined, and I will miss him dearly.
With that said, I thank you all once again from the bottom of my heart and am ready to move on with the story of Cynrik and Brance, so it is back to business as usual, two chapters a day.
One last thing, be on the lookout because my second series, titled The Conduit Chronicles, will be going live along with the WSA shortly, and before you panic, I have already prewritten well over 200 chapters, so you don't have to worry about it affecting my release schedule for TOBS.
Thank you all again for your understanding and love...now then, ONWARD, HOBEY-HO, LET'S GO!**
Gabby had remained relatively quiet throughout the entire time the arguments were taking place, but upon hearing Brance talk about Cynrik's inflated ego, she couldn't help but giggle lightly.
Her laughter created a chain of reactions, and soon enough, everyone was softly laughing at the mental image of Cynrik with his nose tilted to the sky.
Stifling his laughter, Brance covered his face with his right hand and watched the other members of MyrkLys burn off their tension.
Although the laughter was a brief repose from his rage, Brance still fumed whenever he thought about Cynrik's actions.
It took some time, but eventually, everyone in the spatial cube calmed down and looked toward Brance as if asking, "well…what next?"
"Sigh, let's head back to the Condo. We have a week before the start of the next round, and honestly, things will likely turn chaotic pretty quickly." Dropping his hand and examining his team's reactions, Brance explained further.
"Aside from training and consolidating our new abilities brought about by Evolving to Tier-3, we still haven't chosen our new Sub-Classes yet. Growing never stops, and we can't allow this lull in time to dull our combat awareness."
"Although we can't enter Egresses or gain static XP like we are accustomed to, that doesn't mean we shouldn't work on increasing our proficiency in terms of our Mana control."
Pausing momentarily and trying to remember all the info Cynrik had dumped on him over time about their Progression Path, Brance realized something he otherwise would have overlooked.
"During our battles…everyone practically used only basic skills and techniques. While this is technically a good thing, if we don't work on it, there will come a time when we get outclassed by those who have spent years as Tier-3 beings."
"I agree with Brance; even though all of you outclass basic Tier-3 individuals, the further you advance into the later rounds of the Competition, the more likely it is that you will come up against the true powerhouses. There is no substitute for experience in this case, and I had already planned on bringing this up when we started our lessons."
"As for gaining Static XP, as you called it, that is where you would be incorrect. If each of you truly has over a million Basic Essence, then technically, the way to resolve your lack of levels is pretty easily completed. Just build your Relic-Totem, and convert it all into SPN-XP." Shrugging his shoulders, Headmaster Rivia couldn't help but sigh when he recognized the looks everyone in MyrkLys was giving him, indicating they had forgotten entirely.
"…You guys…how could you possibly forget about something I spent so much effort explaining?" Feeling at a loss for words, Headmaster Rivia wanted nothing more than to bonk everyone on their heads, but in the end, he restrained himself.
"Fine; when you get back to the Condo, everyone is banished to their rooms to work on creating their Relic-Totem. Think of this as being grounded, or put on house arrest. You are only allowed to leave your bedrooms for meals and team meetings; otherwise, I don't want you to even think about doing something like going and exploring the City or stepping foot in the training room." Using an authoritative tone, not unlike a parent's when scolding their children, Headmaster Rivia chided MyrkLys like the kids they were.
"Uh, Headmaster, is now a good time to say that I already completed my Relic-Totem…."
However, while Gabby, Benny, Melody, and Kurza were looking down at their feet, Brance raised his hand and spoke the words which shattered Geralt's perspective on the monstrous talent of the Jetlensr Brothers.
"You what? What in the actual fuck? You must be messing with me, Brance; it shouldn't be possible." Flabbergasted, Geralt stared at Brance with traces of amazement and even fear visible in his eyes.
"Uh…pretty sure my brother did too. But I haven't been able to confirm it yet. The conversion rate is a bit slow, but I have already completed the visualization stage and begun converting all of my XP to SPN-XP." Shrugging his shoulders, Brance put on a bashful expression and avoided eye contact with Geralt.
"Why do I even bother? Fine, Brance, you are exempt from my previous words, but I don't want to find you slacking off." Giving up on pushing further, Geralt waved his hands, and with a sound akin to glass shattering, the Spatial Cube broke down, freeing everyone and allowing those attempting to spy on the group access again.
Turning around without another word, Geralt led MyrkLys out of the room and towards the Arena exit in silence.
Everyone knew there must be multiple beings attempting to spy on them, so an unspoken agreement was formed between Geralt, Garrison, and MyrkLys, stopping them from saying anything that could be considered privileged information as they moved through the building.
---
Meanwhile, while Brance's group started the slow walk back, Cynrik and Selene were drenched in sweat with physical strain visible on them.
For the last short while, the couple had sat in utter silence, training their bodies as Cynrik slowly but steadily increased the gravitational force on their bodies. It was an agonizing process, and through it, Cynrik realized how easy he had had it until now.
Previously not only he but everyone in MyrkLys had been able to breeze through the first 15 increments of gravitational force. However, that all changed upon reaching 15g.
In the past, when Cynrik and Brance were training everyone, their bodies only took 20-30 minutes to acclimate to the pressure weighing them down. Still, after so much time had passed, their yield was minuscule compared to their gains before reaching 15g.
This wasn't to say that Cynrik and Selene weren't steadily increasing their resistance; in fact, if Geralt were to see what they were doing, he would add Selene to the list of monsters lurking in the ranks of MyrkLys.
Unknown to them, the 15g checkpoint was widely known to native Vinestrians as the goal to reach. This was due to just how difficult it was to progress further. Usually, it would take days, even weeks, to gain a single point in resistance after the fact; however, in a short period, the two Mutated Dark Affinity users had climbed to 16g.
The strain on their bodies increased by many times at 16g, which was what caused the couple's invasive silence.
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