The Over-Break System

-Challenge Complete, Score: Perfect.-

-You have received 1,000,000 XP.-

-You have received +5 Points for Every Basic Stat.-

-You have received 1000 Merit Points.-

Opening his eyes, Cynrik was met by the dark and enclosed space of the full-dive capsule, so he sat still for a few seconds before feeling the rustling under his arms from Vii and Sie.

“Are you both okay?” Curling his arms around the two American football-sized ravens, Cynrik gave them a soft hug and received a few chirps in response.

“Alright, let’s get out of here.” Once he received confirmation from the birds, Cynrik lifted his right arm and tapped the surface of the full-dive capsule with his Watcet, which then beeped loudly and depressurized before opening.

“Gah, I hate closed spaces, Oi; why can’t we just use like, I don’t know, VR headsets.” Swinging open the capsule hatch, Cynrik sat up and immediately started complaining when his eyes found Headmaster Rivia.

“Sure, you can use VR headsets if you don’t want the advantage of 100% synchronization between your mind and the avatar inside the program. Sure, you will be utterly destroyed by the other competitors if you do so, but at least you won’t get claustrophobic.” Resisting the urge to smack Cynrik upside the head, Headmaster Rivia walked up to the computer, monitoring Cynrik’s vitals, and did a quick check before moving on to the other members of MyrkLys as they left their capsules.

“Bah, how bad could it be? 70 percent? 80 percent? I bet the difference between them isn’t that bad.” As Cynrik spoke, he picked up Vii, placed him on his left shoulder, and then carried Sie in his arms.

The two Nátt Hrafn were quite particular about where they sat, and time had shown that Vii preferred being perched on Cynrik’s shoulder; that way, he could have a full view of the surroundings, whereas Sie preferred the warmth of being held in Cynrik’s arms.

At least that is what Cynrik assumed, but it actually had to do with how Gabby always held Milo.

After seeing Gabby walk around for two weeks without ever putting down Milo, Sie got the idea that it looked super comfortable and thus began forcing her Tamer to carry her the same way, leaving Cynrik helpless.

“COUGH, listen up, MyrkLys, you all executed the mission exceptionally. Your teamwork, as always, was outstanding, and if I am being honest, I don’t have much to critique.” Stepping into the middle of the room and looking at the six students standing at parade rest in front of their full-dive capsules, Instructor Garrison began his praising lecture.

“Ivar, you kept control as a leader from start to finish and had everyone moving according to your thought-out plan. By utilizing your two Tamed Beasts, you scouted and located the Target relatively quickly, and the only thing I can advise is instead of only using one of your birds, maybe use both next time.”

“There was a point where the bird on your shoulder went in the wrong direction, causing you to lose a few minutes. This could have been avoided if you had both of them in the air.”

Hearing this criticism, Vii tilted his head at a downward angle and cawchiiped unhappily, earning him a head pat from Cynrik, who chuckled.

Rolling his eyes and dismissing the antics of the bird, Garrison continued.

“You and Selene cleanly infiltrated the Chief’s hut and stole the artifact, going unnoticed in the process and allowing ample time for the other team members to get into position.”

“I don’t have much to say about this part of the plan, considering it was flawlessly executed. Overall good job.” Nodding at Selene and ignoring the smug smile on Cynrik’s face, a creepy smile crept up on his lips before saying the following few words.

“With that said, you two can now take your medical examinations, out the door, down the hall, fifth room on the right. Get a move on.”

Cynrik’s chuckles were instantly silenced as he suddenly felt as if all the blood had drained from his body, and a tingling sensation shot from the top of his head to his toes. His eyes rapidly searched the room for an escape route, only to come up empty.

Headmaster Rivia and Instructor Garrison had anticipated this reaction. Thus they had prepared by choosing this room near the center of the building, and with only one door leading out, there was no escaping.

Clapping his hands and shooting Cynrik a smile reminiscent of one a hungry lion would give its prey, Headmaster Rivia snapped his fingers using one of his Affinity skills and confined the entire building with a massive aqua-colored cube.

“Now, Student Ivar, I’ve already locked down the area; you can’t use your shadow teleportation skill this time; you are going to see the doctor today whether you like it or not.”

With those words, panic set it for Cynrik as he activated [Mana Sight] and saw it wasn’t just the room locked down but the whole building.

“Haa…haa…Headmassster you jest. I would nnever rrru rrun away fromm going to a doctor’s visit.” Feeling the trickle of sweat running down his temple and his heart pounding frantically in his chest, Cynrik experienced a full-blown panic attack at the thought of going to the doctor.

[You’re stuttering.] Wearing a shit-eating grin, Brance teased. No one knew his brother better than him, which is why he knew how much Cynrik hated going to the doctor. It wasn’t even just on Vinestra; this innate fear was ingrained in his soul.

Even on Earth, Cynrik was more likely to set his broken bones and relocate dislocated joints, and there were even several cases of him stitching himself up with a fishing hook and line after getting a nasty cut.

Cynrik had always been a fix-himself-up kind of person, who swore never to need a doctor, but this was all because of deep-seated fear, and quite frankly, one of Cynrik’s very few fears at that.

Casting a casual glance at his older brother, Brance could practically hear the poor hamster running as fast as its little legs would carry it in Cynrik’s mind. Watching the rapid rise and fall of Cynrik’s chest and even noticing the pulsing vein appearing on his brother’s left temple, Brance was sure Cynrik was only a few seconds away from snapping entirely and making a mad dash out of the room.

[WHAT DO YOU KNOW? FUCK THE DOCTOR; I AM OUT OF HERE! DOES GERALT FUCKING RIVIA THINK HE CAN STOP ME?]

Brance’s thoughts were proven correct not even a full second later as Cynrik screamed into the mind link, placed Sie and Vii into his [Mark of the Tamer], and burst into motion toward the door.

Unfortunately, Headmaster Rivia anticipated this reaction. With another snap of his fingers, half a dozen translucent Aqua-colored rings bound Cynrik so tightly that he suddenly ended up hugging the ground with his face and sliding headfirst into the wall.

BANG

“OI, FUCKING LET ME GO! LET ME GO GERALT! HOW DARE YOU CHAIN ME DOWN!” Screaming maniacally, Cynrik thrashed around on the ground like a worm in an unsightly manner.

“Language student Ivar.” Covering his mouth to stifle his laughter, Headmaster Rivia scolded the bound Cynrik as he continued thrashing about to no avail.

“FUCK THAT! IF I WANNA CURSE. I’LL FUCKING CURSE! I RAHH WILL GRRRR BREAK UGHHH THESE STUPID THINGS!” Flexing all his muscles and channeling Mana into his arms, back and legs, Cynrik struggled against the Tier-5 Mana constructs helplessly.

Meanwhile, Gabby, Benny, and Selene looked questioningly from the grounded Cynrik to Brance for answers.

“I don’t know what to say, honestly. Big Brother has always been like this when it comes to doctors.” Shrugging his shoulders and unsure what to say to defend Cynrik’s actions, Brance shook his head.

“Cough, Student Björn, could you please escort your brother to examination room one?” Fighting the urge to burst out laughing at the helpless student he had confined, Headmaster Rivia put on a professional and empathetic expression as he made his request.

“Yes, Sir Headmaster Rivia.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that Geralt didn’t want to deal with Cynrik’s crap any longer, so he passed the buck to the younger brother.

“TRAITOR, YOU ARE NO LITTLE BROTHER OF MINE, YOU FUCKING OOF!!

Sighing loudly, Brance calmly walked over to his older brother, placed a well-timed kick into Cynrik’s abdomen to rob him of oxygen, and scooped him onto his right shoulder before exiting.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a traitor. Big Brother, take your freaking lumps and get it over with. Never forget that YOU accepted the terms during your negotiations with the Headmaster. You have no one but yourself to blame for this doctor visit, and since you already blew off the first couple and this is the last check-up, it is mandatory.”

Looping his arm around Cynrik’s body, Brance gave his older brother a firm squeeze to make him stop struggling, causing Cynrik to fall limp in defeat.

It would be one thing if it were Selene, Gabby, or Benny carrying him into the gates of hell, but Cynrik was fully aware of how much higher Brance’s STR stat was than his own.

With his fate sealed, Cynrik glared at Headmaster Rivia, Instructor Garrison, and his party members; Melody included sending a shudder down all of their backs.

“I will remember this and repay your travesty tenfold, especially you, my treacherous party members.” Having clenched his teeth so hard his gums were bleeding, Cynrik decided to leave everyone with a sinister quote. Revealing a bloody and sadistic smile to everyone in the room, he made a vow for revenge and was whisked off to what he could only think of as the worst thing in the world.

Once the two brothers were gone, Selene was the first to speak up.

“I apologize for the scene my boyfriend caused. Honestly, I don’t know why he overreacted like that, but please don’t think poorly of him.” Stepping forward and bowing at a 90-degree angle, Selene took up the position of a responsible partner.

“It’s okay; we already had a feeling he would freak out, especially since he ditched every other appointment with the medical staff; that was why Garrison and I set things up as we did.” Waving his hand dismissively, Headmaster Rivia continued.

“But I do hope that none of you will react the way Student Ivar did, or else things will get complicated. Thankfully each of you has completed all your previous check-ups, so I have no doubt today will be any different. Now, Garrison, please continue with your observations so we can get the rest of the party on to their final medical examinations.” With that, Headmaster Rivia quickly excused himself and made his way toward the exam room Brance had whisked Cynrik off.

However, when he made his approach, he smiled bitterly since he could already hear the anguished howls from the hallway.