The Over-Break System

-Roughly Three Years after the Collapse of the DPZ-

”Upon entering your dropship, the event staff will scan you from top to bottom, and all external items will be confiscated until you leave the Spatial Realm. That includes your clothing and armor; however, we will supply you with a basic outfit.”

With this announcement, the bulk of those youth present became agitated, and some even voiced concerns, throwing around family names or titles.

Unfortunately, those bratty youngsters were all ignored, and soon enough, the President closed his speech before ushering the youths toward their respective dropships.

{{Guys…is it just me, or does the Advancement Strife seem eerily similar to a fusion of the Hun***-Games and Pu*-G.}} Leaning back on his couch before pulling Gabby into his arms, Brance found himself unable to shake the thought from his mind.

{{Darling…you don’t think the President is…}} Selene’s words trailed off, and soon, her fears were confirmed.

{{There is a strong possibility that President Lallinstien is a Legacy Charge, and one from Earth at that. However, that isn’t a conclusion we can make just yet. There is still a chance that he has a staff member from Earth who helped design the event.}}

{{Hold up, if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean that it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he has already recognized you, at the very least, as a Reincarnator from Earth?

I mean, you have a habit of ripping off Anime techniques, and even your Alter-Ego as Char could have been picked up on by him.}} Coming to a startling realization, Brance shot Cynrik a worried glance only to be met by his older brother’s usual passive gaze.

{{Wow, usually you leave jumping to conclusions to me, Brancie; this is oddly refreshing. Anyway, the answer to your question is not necessarily. Since the President is significantly older than us, even if he knows something as big as the Hun***-Games and Pu-G, which were considerably mainstream in the late 2010s onward, the odds that he gets the abundant anime references I make are slim at best.}}

Cynrik mulled over his thoughts for a few seconds, running through every potential situation and scenario that could out his identity as a reincarnator and LC.

{{I think it is more likely that he has a staff member organizing the event instead of himself doing it. Such as either Jason or Leelan; rumor has it, Jason Opurn has been extremely interested in my Uchiha skills, which leads me to believe he may be our leak.}}

{{The fact that he and his team did so well in this year’s Competition is proof enough that he is more than capable of getting onto the President’s Radar, and from what I’ve sniffed out, he is a pretty introverted nerd, so signs point to him.}}

While the three conversed using their Mind Link, the TV scenes rapidly changed as the competitors boarded their Dropships, changed clothes, relinquished any items they had, and prepared to move out.

{{Either way, our talking about it can’t change anything; the best thing to do is watch and wait. Unlike us, Jason and Leelan don’t have an ocular skill allowing them to spot oddities in the world easily, so apart from the Anime references, they technically shouldn’t be assured that we are Charges, or they would have long since made a move against us.}}

{{Besides, it’s almost time for my little Presidential Surprise to kick in.}} As Cynrik spoke, his lips curled into a sinister smile, and he brought up his Watcet before tapping away for a few seconds.

{{Presidential surprise?... Cyn…tell me you didn’t do something that could potentially kill a bunch of innocent people…again…}}With confusion and hesitation, Brance’s eyes quivered. In his stunned state, he unconsciously pulled Gabby closer for support, much to her enjoyment.

’Hehe, Brancie is more affectionate than usual today; maybe we can get frisky tonight; hm, should I wear that new thing I bought a couple of weeks ago and have been hiding.’ Wearing a sheepish smile, Gabby tucked herself into Brance and breathed in his scent happily.

{{I mean...}} Refusing to meet his brother’s gaze, Cynrik didn’t give a definitive answer, causing Brance’s nerves to fray as the seconds ticked by.

{{Darling, stop teasing our little brother; one day, you may give him an aneurysm; just look at that bulging vein in his temple; what if a blood vessel bursts from the constant stress you give him.}} Coming to Brance’s defense in name alone, Selene playfully slapped Cynrik’s shoulder, earning herself a chuff in the process.

She was already in on the plan and had even dawned her persona to aid her Eiginmaður in his endeavor.

Contrary to the rest of the nation, Cynrik had long since hacked his way into the proper databases, which would give him specific amounts of information about the Advancement Strife. Hence, he knew weeks ago about the dropships since there were multiple acquisition orders for them to begin with.

Due to the size of the order and the oddly specific requirements each ship needed to work within the Spatial Realm, along with being large enough to hold the competitors, each ship was Brand spanking new.

Because of these factors, it was nearly impossible for the President and his cabinet to hide the paper trail from Cynrik. As such, with some clever plotting, a lot of spending, and some espionage, ”Char” had left a few presents through his organization.

{{It’s beginning,}} Cynrik stated with an ominous tone, causing Brance to flinch.

Funny enough, he had chosen to speak in the mind link instead of aloud for a reason. Because he was still suspicious of a certain Fiance, even after having her around for several years, Cynrik had yet to tell Benny, Gabby, Melody, and Kurza about his alter ego. As such, they were left in the dark regarding his plan, much like Brance was at present.

GOOONG, DOOOOM, GOOONG, DOOOM!

At Cynrik’s command, two distinct sounds came through the Holo-Tv sound system. The first was a loud, gonging, profound bell toll, and the other was a resounding echo.

With the two chimes, every one of the competitors and event staff went entirely still, fear evident on the younger generations’ faces, and the camera panned away from the dropships to President Lallinstien, who could be seen gritting his teeth through a deep frown.

”Heh, well, isn’t this surprising? It seems the Usurper false President has chosen to make quite the show this time.” The charismatic and noble voice belonging to Char Azanable seemed to appear from every direction.

This effect was brought about by Cynrik hacking into not only the broadcasting software used by the new outlets but also the stage speakers…not even the dropship speakers were left alone, making it so those outside the Spatial Realm could hear his every word.

”Char…” President Lallinstine found himself unable to refrain from uttering his adviser’s name as a giant hologram projection screen appeared over the open field housing the dropships.

On this screen, Char lazily sat upon a gothic-style throne in a room that appeared to be an ancient vampiric-style throneroom. Slightly behind and off to his right stood the beautiful Nanai, silently guarding over him.