The Over-Break System

’Oh, you have GOT to be fucking kidding me.’

The moment Professor Annika Wallin finished introducing herself, Cynrik damn near burst out laughing, and from the way those golden, reptilian eyes swept over the back of the Classroom, the feeling was mutual. Five years at VSFA, and only now had they landed in the same Class.

Not that their first meeting had been particularly memorable. Nope, not at all. Just a five-versus-one-hundred-and-seventy-three Faction Battle against Epsilon Chall before MyrkLys had even attended First-Year Classes, with Wallin refereeing. The fight itself had earned his Faction its S-Rank, but what came after was probably the part she remembered best.

Something about a detailed explanation of how he planned on torturing Levin, followed by all 5g of his Killing Intent directed at ten referees who had the bright idea of questioning his methods. In his defense, he had been twelve at the time, and twelve-year-olds weren’t exactly known for their diplomatic skills. Come to think of it, he had threatened people for less since then.

{{HAHAHAHAHA! NO FUCKING WAY!}} Selene practically shrieked through the Mind Link, forcing him to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from joining her. On his other side, Brance looked as if someone had personally come to collect every embarrassing memory he’d spent the last five years trying to bury. {{Please. For the love of everything holy, don’t bring it up.}}

{{Bring what up? I was twelve, Brancie. Kids do stupid shit.}} Leaning back, Cynrik innocently crossed his arms while his Brother twisted toward him, visibly offended by what he’d just heard.

{{YOU THREATENED TO TORTURE SOMEONE TO DEATH AND THEN USED KILLING INTENT ON A GROUP OF PROFESSORS!}}

{{Allegedly.}}

{{There were witnesses, Cyn!}}

{{Snitches get stitches.}}

That did it. Selene snorted, loud enough to draw attention from the nearby Students, and promptly buried her face against his shoulder in a completely unsuccessful attempt to hide her laughter. Cynrik hadn’t said a damn thing out loud, but Wallin clearly remembered him. The smile on her face grew when their eyes met.

”Mr. Jetlensr.”

”Professor Wallin.” He even gave her a polite little nod, mostly because Brance was sitting close enough to kick him under the desk.

”Five years at VSFA, multiple championships, and more incidents than I care to remember, yet somehow this is the first time you’ve ended up in my Class, Mr. Jetlensr.”

”Heh, what can I say, Professor? I like to make an entrance.”

”Yes...I remember.”

’Pfft, oh, she DEFINITELY remembers.’ He heard Selene lose another battle with herself beside him, while his little brother stared so hard at the front of the room that Cynrik half expected the projection screen to catch fire. At least he wouldn’t have to spend several weeks teaching her that he was a menace to civilized society.

”Now then, before anyone begins making assumptions based on what they witnessed when I entered the room, there is something I want to establish first.” With a gesture toward the screen behind her, Wallin brought up two words large enough for everyone in the auditorium to see.

[LINEAGE]

[BLOODLINE]

”These terms are related, but they aren’t interchangeable. Lineage refers to the ancestry that led to your birth, the people and Races who came before you. Your Bloodline is something you carry, a collection of inherited traits which may continue expressing themselves through that lineage, although how much of it survives from one generation to the next is another question entirely.”

Around the room, Watcets flashed to life as Students started recording her explanation. Cynrik didn’t bother right away. Families sharing Affinities, unusual Skills, or physical features wasn’t groundbreaking information, and neither was the fact that those traits could dilute over generations. He knew all that much already; hell, between his own Æsir Bloodline and Brance’s LightBringer Bloodline, they had more firsthand experience than most people in the building.

Forty-five percent and twenty-five percent purity, respectively. Tobs had provided the numbers, nice and neat, but that didn’t mean either brother fully understood what was happening inside their bodies whenever those numbers changed. Anyone could stare at a percentage. Knowing what the fuck to do with it was an entirely different story, so Cynrik kept his mouth shut and allowed the Professor to continue.

”Bloodline Purity measures how concentrated a particular Bloodline is within its carrier,” Wallin explained. ”Useful information, certainly, but I’ve encountered far too many people who see a large number and immediately assume they’ve learned everything worth knowing.”

”Wouldn’t higher purity mean stronger traits?” A girl near the front lowered her Watcet after asking, earning a shake of the head from their Professor.

”Not necessarily. Even if two people carry the same Bloodline at identical purity, that doesn’t mean their bodies will express it in identical ways. Their Affinities, Skills, physical development, and Evolutions can all influence the result. You aren’t pouring the same liquid into two identical bottles.”

’Oh?’ Now THAT was something worth listening to. Straightening in his chair, he brought up a fresh note on his Watcet and began recording the details, already comparing Wallin’s explanation against the way his own purity had risen over the years. More Æsir blood had always seemed to mean more access to Æsir capabilities, but her example suggested the percentage wasn’t necessarily a direct measure of what someone could actually accomplish.

He already had several experiments in mind. Maybe a dozen.

{{Stop smiling like that.}} The warning came from Brance, who hadn’t bothered turning his head.

{{Like what?}} Cynrik kept typing.

{{Like you’re deciding which person to dissect first.}}

{{Don’t be dramatic. I’d ask permission.}}

{{No, you wouldn’t.}}

{{...True.}} Beside him, Selene’s shoulders began shaking all over again, although this time she at least managed to stay quiet.

”Professor Wallin, does that mean Evolutions increase Bloodline purity?” another Student asked, rescuing Brance from having to continue that argument.

”No. An Evolution CAN change how Bloodline traits express themselves, and sometimes purity will increase as well, but those two events occurring together doesn’t prove one caused the other. Different Bloodlines respond differently, and anyone who promises you a universal method is either ignorant or trying to sell you something.”

’Heh, tell me about it.’ The distinction lined up with what he’d experienced, which was saying something when his and Brance’s Evolutions rarely followed the same rules as everyone else’s. Each explanation gave him another piece to fit against what Tobs had been telling them for years. Sure, most of the lecture was still introductory, but the qualifications buried between the basics were worth their weight in fucking gold.

Twenty minutes later, he’d stopped waiting for dismissal and started wondering how many questions Wallin would tolerate before regretting this Class.

Up went his hand.

{{Oh, fuck me,}} Brance complained the instant he noticed, earning an affectionate pat from Gabby, who seemed to have recognized the same disaster approaching. Selene practically radiated anticipation, while Benny sank a little deeper into his seat and Melody watched with the resigned patience of someone who had already seen this particular show far too many times.

”You’ve been holding that question in since I started speaking, haven’t you?” Wallin asked, folding her arms as she turned toward the rear of the auditorium.

”Me? Professor, I’m just an innocent young man trying to further his education.” The snorts from surrounding Students earned a click of his tongue before he rested both forearms on the desk. ”Fine, hypothetical question. Say someone already knows the name, origin, and current purity of their Bloodline. They’ve recorded every increase, along with the physical changes and new abilities that came with it. What would you tell that person to study next?”

Wallin took her time with that one. No offended lecture, no warning about appropriate Classroom behavior. Instead, she stood there for several seconds, apparently weighing how much of an answer she could give the Student who had once threatened her entire referee team. For once, he didn’t try filling the silence with something stupid. He actually wanted to know.

”The difference between possessing a Bloodline and understanding what carrying it is changing you into.”

Cynrik’s fingers froze over the Watcet. Shit. He hadn’t expected an answer like that, and judging by the sudden silence from his Brother and Kona, neither had they. Everyone else could treat Bloodline traits as a few extra Stats, a Skill or two, and whatever physical features came along for the ride.

The three of them knew considerably better.

’Well, fuck. Guess this Class might actually be worth showing up for.’