The Over-Break System

“Who FUCKING DARES TO MESS WITH MY ACADEMY AND THE STUDENTS UNDER MY PROTECTION!” Gritting his teeth as he controlled his Mana from spilling out, a furious glint flashed through Norik’s eyes as he read through the messages coming through in real-time directly from the CSH.

Retrieving his cane from his inventory and quickly changing into his robes, Norik looked in the direction of the Headmaster’s tower and underground through the planet’s surface.

In an instant, three things happened; the first was all the Chaperones, his son included, were knocked out cold, along with Gabby, Benny, and Melody, next he sent a mental transmission to Cynrik, Brance and Selene before teleporting into Cynrik’s room.

Even if every room meant for Evolution Advancement was sealed off from the outside world, it was too easy for someone of Norik’s strength to bypass all the save guards and appear on Floor B-22 with a simple thought.

—

‘A micro-sized dongle that the naked eye can’t see.’ Laying flat on his back and propping his head up with his hands, Cynrik narrowed his eyes and stared at the component box.

Tilting his head slightly, he caught sight of the worried Professor Morningdale frantically pacing around the room and got the sudden urge to tease her. Luckily for the poor unsuspecting Professor, Cynrik knew now wasn’t the time or place for pranks, so he quickly tossed that idea to the wayside.

In cases like the one he had found himself, speed was everything. Like a bomb, he had a sneaking suspicion when he began working on the Capsule some kind of signal could potentially be sent to the culprit by removing components or the dongle.

However, the more he thought about it, the less likely that situation could present itself. The fact that the Headmaster had made a point to state no signals could make it in or out of the rooms on B-22 was something that needed to be factored into Cynrik’s plan.

Still, something felt off about the entire situation; in a world where technology and magic were so prevalent, who’s to say that there didn’t exist some means of transmitting a signal out of a seemingly impenetrable facility?

Following that train of thought, Cynrik jostled in place and scrunched up his face as he realized something.

‘No, there very clearly is a way to bypass the signal blocking material. One that I hope I am wrong about because if I go down this rabbit hole, the consequences could be drastic.’

THUMP

As Cynrik was about to say something, the sound of a body impacting the ground nearby pulled him out of his thoughts, making him roll over onto his belly and stare out from under the Aether Capsule at the unconscious body of Professor Morningdale.

Before moving against the potential intruder, Cynrik felt a familiar force wrap up his body. In the next second, he was dragged out from under the Aether Capsule and up off the ground, coming face to face with an enraged Norik.

“Ayo Oldman Norik, what brings you to my neck of the woods? I didn’t expect to run into you so soon, hehe.” Going from panic to calm in half a breath, Cynrik smirked cockily at the Legendary Figure as his disguise melted away, revealing the Hero in all his glory.

“Knock off the bullshit, CynBrat, explain what the fuck is going on, and don’t skip on any details.” Releasing his grasp on the boy, Norik pressed Cynrik for information, and after around four or five minutes, he was brought up to speed on what Cynrik had found out.

“You’ve got a severe breach this time, Norik; the fact that someone placed these dongles into your Aether Capsules under the nose of both you and your CSH is a big deal.”

“Although I haven’t located the device in question and can’t speak for its purpose, I believe it is the direct reason for the stunted growth potential of the student body. The question is, for how long has this thing been here?” Cynrik stated as he looked over his shoulder at the Aether Capsule.

Norik and Cynrik stood silent for several more minutes, contemplating the presented information. Eventually, with a loud sigh, Norik stepped over the unconscious Professor Morningdale and collapsed into the recliner.

“How sure are you that you can find this device and remove it without damaging the Aether Capsule?”

“It is entirely within my purview as a Tier-2 Engineer to locate it, but to remove and destroy a piece of technology on this level without harming the Aether Capsule is WAY beyond me, and I would be forced to rely on my previous technological experience from Earth.” Cynrik didn’t hide the complexity of the task and continued aloud with the theory he had come up with minutes earlier.

“Even if I somehow pull this off, an overarching issue must be addressed. And that is the consequence of removing the device. As it stands, I have no idea its function nor whether or not it is capable of sending out a signal to the outside world. I know it’s been thousands of years since you watched an Earthling Movie; however, it would be best if you kept in mind all those action flicks where the main character either defuses a bomb or removes an integral chip placed by the main antagonist. The result is always BOOM!”

“My biggest worry isn’t the extrication of the dongle, but instead the chain of events put into play when I remove it. The fact that this person could sneak the dongle into the Capsule at some point indicates a high level of planning and technological know-how.”

“My time on this planet has taught me that nothing is impossible, and to top it all off, this so-called impenetrable room has a glaring flaw that is obvious by you showing up in front of me on a second’s notice.”

Norik who was by no means a fool, stiffened at the implication Cynrik was alluding to and glared fiercely at him while staying quiet and allowing him to state his case.

“The rule of no signal in, no signal out is explicitly stated before entering this room, yet my System AI was not only capable of sending out a signal to the CSH, but it also created a support ticket. Next, she communicated with my brother and girlfriend, who share the same AI, and accessed the rest of my parties’ systems.”

“This information in hand is enough for me to err on the side of caution when dealing with this dongle.” Crossing his arms while drumming the fingers of his left hand on his right bicep, Cynrik dropped the bombshell that Norik didn’t want to hear.

“Fuck,” he said while leaning back in his recliner. Although he wanted to refute the apparent paranoia and conspiracy Cynrik was spinning, even he felt it was a possibility that needed to be addressed before moving forward.

“Yep, fuck. As much as I enjoy being the bearer of bad news, I must get back to work.” Without waiting for permission, Cynrik dove under the Aether Capsule spun onto his back, and wiggled himself back into position under the component box, leaving Norik stunned at how quickly he had gone into action without a moment of hesitation.

‘Tobs, I should be able to spot this thing with [Mana Sight], right? It is, after all, made of Mana particles just like everything else in this world.’ Cynrik asked as he freed up some room by shuffling around the untangled wires as if sifting through weeds.

-You are correct. But due to its size, you will be unable to locate it from a simple glance; you need to comb through the entirety of the component box’s 2nd quadrant while channeling ample amounts of Mana into your eyes to sharpen your vision. Also, don’t forget to shield your eyes with Dark Mana to prevent blindness; prolonged exposure to the counter interference of the Cachint will damage your retina.-

‘Come on now, why do you have to be so uptight? Couldn’t you say, “hey Cyn, check the top right corner? That’s approximately where it should be.” Is it really necessary to be so formal with me? I thought we had gotten past that point in our relationship.’ Cynrik rolled his eyes and activated [Mana Sight] while shading his vision with Dark Mana before scanning every centimeter of the 2nd quadrant of the component box using a radar pattern.

After making five passes of the 2nd quadrant and coming up empty, Cynrik took a slow breath and channeled more Mana into his eyes, sharpening his dynamic vision and effectively zooming in on what he saw like a camera lens.

‘Tsk, nothing on the times two dynamic vision, enhancing it further to times four.’ Cynrik thought as his eyesight blurred for half a second before clearing up and revealing a much closer view of the now massive cables.

While Cynrik was sifting through a forest of cabling, Norik’s fingers on his right hand twitched upon feeling the slight fluctuation in Mana from under the Aether Capsule. In response, Norik channeled his own Mana to see through the Capsule and view the swiftly moving hands combing through a seemingly never-ending supply of wires.

‘Hm? Tsk, did no one teach that boy anything? The way he abuses the blood vessels in his eyes is rudimentary and reminiscent of how beings first attempted to enhance their vision. Then again, I suppose he is only a first year and hasn’t been through the proper training.’

‘Still, if he keeps this up, as soon as he tries to zoom in his eyesight past 4x zoom, his eyes will burst. I might as well step in and stop him from hurting himself.’ Groaning softly and standing up, Norik cleared his throat before addressing Cynrik.

“Hey CynBrat, stop channeling your Mana and come here.” Feeling the slight shift in the Mana radiating off the boy’s eyes and realizing Cynrik was about to attempt to use 6x zoom, Norik stopped him.

“Huh? What are you on about, old man? Don’t you know it is improper to interrupt a master when working on his craft?” Halting his hands and popping his head out from under the Aether Capsule, Cynrik shot Norik an aggravated glare.

“Master my ass, a so-called master wouldn’t be about to explode his Oculus Uterque.” Not giving him a second to snap back, Cynrik found himself floundering helplessly off the ground after being yanked from under the Aether Capsule with a snort and flick of Norik’s wrist.

“Oculus, what?” However, Cynrik was more confused by Norik’s words and concerned about being ripped away from his work in such a ruthless fashion.

“Your eyes, Kid, the way you are channeling your Mana into your Eyes, also known as the Oculus Uterque, is a sure-fire way to pop them like grapes if you try and increase your vision past the 4x level.” Opening his hand and releasing Cynrik, who landed on the ground butt first, Norik began explaining something Cynrik had been unaware of since the moment he started constricting the blood vessels of his eye to see further.