The Over-Break System

POV: Selene

“Here we are, room C-01; this is your stop, Student Björn; Head Dean Rimsfel is already waiting inside….” Pausing and falling into contemplation, Headmaster Rivia formulated his following sentence carefully.

“Try not to anger him or taunt him. Dean Rimsfel is very temperamental, and even though he isn’t that bad of a guy once you get to know him, he tends to have an aggressive outlook on everything and is a bit stiff, if you get what I mean.” Showing concern, Headmaster Rivia entered a twelve-digit code, and with a compressed blast of pressurized air, the stone door slid open.

“Yes, sir, thank you for guiding me here.” Turning to face Selene, Brance nodded and spoke in the mind link to her.

[[Be careful and triple-check the contract; if anything is amiss, don’t say any confidential information.]] With Selene watching him, Brance stepped into the room, leaving her alone with the Headmaster as the door to the cave-like room sealed with a soft rumble and then thump.

“That should be everyone,” tapping his Watcet and pulling up the entry logs for the five rooms assigned to the other members of MyrkLys, Selene excluded; Headmaster Rivia double-checked that everyone and their chaperones had made it into the correct rooms.

Once he was sure, he dropped his wrist and guided Selene to Room B-01, the room at the far end of the hall. Just like every other door opened so far, Geralt punched in the 12-digit code specific for the room, opened the door, and stepped in.

Following behind the Headmaster by only a couple of paces, Selene stepped into the room, which was sealed shut a few seconds later. Following Cynrik’s example, Selene scanned the room from top to bottom and memorized it as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Taking in the infinite amount of runic inscriptions painting everything from the ceiling to the floor, leaving only the Recliner, herself, and Headmaster Rivia free of the strange light green glowing carvings, Selene committed it all to memory. She didn’t allow herself to get lost in the pretty green glowing runes. Lastly, her eyes fell on Headmaster Rivia, who had collapsed into the Recliner and pulled out a small coffee pot and mug.

“Long day, Headmaster?” Cocking her hip out and crossing her arms, Selene snorted with a smirk.

“Don’t start with me, Student Selene. I get enough sarcasm from Ivar; I don’t need it from you too. Take these potions, and sit down in the exact center of the runic inscription.” Withdrawing a pack of potion bottles and tossing them to Selene, Headmaster Rivia busied himself by brewing a small two-cup pot of coffee.

“OOF! RUDE! How can you throw a case of bottles at a girl without remorse? What would you have done if I couldn’t catch them, and they spilled everywhere after breaking upon crashing to the ground?” Acting overly dramatic, Selene complained as she stored the potions in her inventory and crossed over the pulsating green formation.

“Don’t play coy; you would never have missed that toss. I even threw it underhand. With your stats, if you couldn’t do something as simple as catching a case of Mana Potions, I would have to eliminate the possibility of allowing you to undertake your Passing Down Ceremony and Evolution.” Rolling his eyes and refusing to play along with Selene’s bratty attitude, Headmaster Rivia finished brewing his coffee, poured himself a cup, and began explaining the upcoming process that Selene would have to go through.

However, Selene’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, realizing it was clearly not his own words but a pre-written script. Putting aside the dead-eyed look Geralt was giving her as he spewed the monotonous words, Headmaster Rivia visibly was annoyed at having to say the repetitive phrasing, and it was evident to Selene that he had done this many times in the past.

“Headmaster, before we begin, isn’t there something we should be doing first?” Staring at the man sitting across the room, Selene pulled down her hood and tilted her head to the side.

“Oh, yes, you are correct. The contract! Unlike everyone else, I will be signing the contract with you instead of a Professor or Instructor because I am your Chaperone. Well, that and I didn’t make Professor Claire sign one since Melody is not only her daughter but still a minor as well.” Shrugging his shoulders and retrieving a mysterious paper, Headmaster Rivia went about going over the terms and making the proper adjustments since he would now be filling in the role of Party A.

However, Selene’s pupils constricted upon hearing that Professor Claire wasn’t contractually obligated as every other Chaperone was. Suddenly, Cynrik’s conspiracy theories didn’t seem so unreal anymore, but knowing there was nothing she could do about it at the moment, she kept her thoughts to herself.

It only took Headmaster Rivia a couple of minutes to get the contract written up, and not so strangely enough, he didn’t use a pen but instead, he made a pin-sized point of pure Mana on the end of his index finger to write.

Rereading it twice more, he flicked his wrist and sent the stretchy paper over to Selene, who caught it easily and began reading.

*Party A cannot reveal any information learned or displayed by Party B to any other creature, beast, being, or entity alive or dead under any circumstances.*

*Party A (Geralt Rivia) cannot use any information learned or displayed by Party B for any reason whatsoever and is only present to aid Party B (Selene Nilsson) in the form of a Chaperone.*

*Party A cannot betray Party B in any facet so long as this contract exists.*

*Throughout the Passing Down Ceremony (PDC) and Evolution Advancement, Party A must aid and assist Party B to the utmost of their ability.*

*Party A is obligated to give Party B the proper amount of recovery potions for their Advancement since Party A does not have the same Affinities.*

*The Cost of these recovery potions is to come out of Party A’s pocket, and the value of said potions will not be placed as a Debt on Party B.*

*Party A is banned from causing physical, mental, or spiritual harm in any way, shape, or form to Party B before and after completing the PDC and subsequent Evolution to Tier-3. This clause will be held in effect for one week, 168 hours.*

*If Party A is found to be in breach of this contract, their wealth will be instantly handed over to Party B, and Party A’s soul will be destroyed entirely, along with their mind and body.*

‘Interesting, this contract is way more binding than Cyn thought it would be, kekeke; we should be able to abuse the shit out of this in the future, especially since there is no end date to the Betrayal Clause.’ Selene thought to herself after she finished her fifth read-through and signed it the same way Headmaster Rivia had written, with her Mana.

The moment Selene withdrew her fingertip from the liquid-like stretchy paper, she felt a tug in her chest for half a second before it vanished, signifying the contract had gone into effect.

But even as she tossed the paper back to Geralt, Selene had a sinking feeling in her heart, thanks to discovering that Melody could potentially be leaking all kinds of confidential data to her mother.

‘I hope Cyn and I are wrong…it would suck to have to put down that girl like old yeller after wasting so much time training her into a semi-valuable puppet. Plus, I don’t want to hear Benny’s non-stop bitching if things come to that.’

‘For now, I need to worry about my Evolution, ok, 9k of Dark and Abyss Mana coming up.’ Holding up her hands, Selene began expelling an even flow of Mana particles into the air. Still, as she did, Headmaster Rivia’s body stiffened thanks to the ominous creeping sensation pricking at his skin due to the introduction of the strange Abyss Particles.

However, he stayed silent and watched Selene work, amazed at how high her Mana Control was. Compared to Brance, who still thought of Mana as a Magical component, Selene had taken every one of Cynrik’s sermons on wrestling control away from Tobs to heart. Thus she had developed a reasonably high level of control over her Mana.

“Heh, that was a pain, I still am not super flexible with my Abyss Affinity, but I was able to get the job done.” Chugging down several Advanced Mana potions and bringing her MP back up, Selene looked at Headmaster Rivia as if asking, can I begin?

“You members of MyrkLys are all monsters. I was 17 when I attempted my Tier-3 Evolution, and it took me over an hour to flood the room. Tsk, go ahead and pull out all your resources.” Shaking his head Headmaster Rivia waved his hand loosely, telling her to start.

Getting the go-ahead, Selene retrieved the 2 Efficiency Boosters, 5 Metabolism boosters, mental fortification pills, Evolution Stone Piece, and the Affinity Stone Pieces before laying them on the ground in front of her.

Next, Selene scooped up all the edibles, munched them down, and picked up all the stones before placing them in her lap.

‘Ok, Tobs, ready when you are.’ Clutching the Tier-3 Evolution Stone Piece in her left hand, Selene mentally prepared herself for the inevitable flood of notifications.

-The Host has met the requirements for Tier-3 Evolution-

-Primary Level Capped.- (Complete)

-Primary Class Level Capped.- (Complete)

-Sub-Class Level Capped.- (Complete)

-Body Strength Tier-3.- (Complete)

-Tier-3 Codex.- (Complete)

-Minimum 10k Mana Pool.- (Complete)

-Two Stats at 1500 or Higher.- (Complete)

-All Stats minimum of 65% to Cap *1137*.- (Complete)

-Origin Affinity at Tier-3.- (Complete)

-Scanning for Evolution Catalysts.-

-Tier-3 Evo-Stone Piece has been Located.-

-Dark Affinity Stone Piece has been Located.-

-Abyss Affinity Stone Piece has been Located.-

-Tier-3 Neutral Affinity Stone Piece has been Located.-

-All items have been Accepted as proper Catalysts.-

-Would you like to begin the Evolution to Tier-3 (Y/N)-

-Reminder, the process will be halted at 50% so that the Passing Down of the Tribulation Quest can begin.-

Taking a deep breath and popping a second Mental fortification Pill, Selene Pressed the Yes Option and was instantly assaulted by pain and a massive surge of Mana.

-Beginning Evolution to Tier-3.-

-Linking The Over-Break System to the Chain Breaking Formation.-

-Available Ambient Mana is Sufficient.-

-Absorbing All Mana stored in the Dark Affinity Stone Piece.-

-Absorbing All Mana stored in the Abyss Affinity Stone Piece.-

-Absorbing All Mana stored in the Neutral Affinity Stone Piece.-

-Beginning Complete Reforging.-

-Mana Codex is being restructured.-

-Mana Circuits are being strengthened and expanded.-

-Mana Codex is being strengthened.-

-Mana Codex is Expanding.-

-Density of collected Mana is evolving.-

-Attempting to break the restraints of the Mortal Stage.-

-Analyzing Hosts Body Tempering.-

-The Host currently has a Tier-3 Body, breaking it down to strengthen further to meet the standards of The Supernatural Stage.-

-Rebuilding muscular structure.-

-Rebuilding skeletal structure.-

Selene’s mind blanked out as she was overcome with a level of pain far beyond her tolerance, nearly causing her to black out.