Psychic Parasite

Chapter 102: Optimal Mentality for the World
10:45 AM, seated in the cafeteria, Jyorta frowned a little, pondering the contents of the lecture.

’The Artifact inside the small box is supposed to be a Tier 5 Artifact. The crystal lens given by Rhachis Ancestor Light is a Tier 4 Extracted Relic. Psychic Ancestor Marble modified it and fused another Tier 4 Extracted Relic into it. Moreover, he also gifted me a Tier 6 Artifact that had fused with a Tier 5 Relic. The items in my possession are beyond my capabilities.’

Jyorta looked at the three people seated around him, immersed in thought. Each of them sported pondering expressions, their intentions apparent on their faces. They were thinking about methods to accumulate more credits, eventually being able to exchange for a Relic of their choice.

After gaining knowledge about the uses of Artifacts and Relics, their horizons were broadened. If they obtained a suitable Relic, they would be able to elevate their battle strength by a whole margin.

[Tier 3 Relic] [8000 Credits] [x20]

[Tier 4 Relic] [60,000 Credits] [x3]

Ashten Coorg slapped the pamphlet on the table, one that he always carried with him, ”If we hurry, we can probably exchange for a Tier 3 Relic. Tier 4 Relics are just too expensive but, we have a shot at the Tier 3 Relics. After all, there are twenty of them listed in the pamphlet.”

”That may not be a wise decision,” Esina shook her head, ”Even though we can use the Relics to invoke different Skills, we have to keep a note of its energy expenditure. Moreover, if our strength is lacking, having a Relic or two will prove to be useless.”

”What Esina said is true,” Haesha nodded her head, dissuading Ashten, ”We must first improve our abilities. Only then can we make better use of Relics should we exchange for one.”

”Traits are the most important at present,” Jyorta broke out of his thoughts, gazing at the three, ”I have already exchanged for the Trait of Efficiency and can feel my abilities improve at a faster rate. If we grow faster, we can also accumulate more Credits. After all, the Martial Arts subject is vast, the field where we can accumulate the highest number of Credits.”

”I plan to appear for a couple of tests now,” Haesha heaved a sigh, picking up her empty plate, shooting a glance at the pamphlet. ”Many items in the pamphlet are available in limited numbers. If I want to exchange for them, I would need to accumulate as many Credits as I can.”

”But, if you appear without proper preparations, your losses would outweigh your gains in the longer run,” Esina said, looking determined to appear for the test too.

”I have been studying a lot this past week. I am confident of giving my best,” Haesha smiled, feeling slightly pressured. She then looked at Ashten and Jyorta, ”What about the two of you?”

”I too plan to appear for a test. Maths is my strong suit, I am confident in it.” Ashten echoed the decision, also getting up from his seat.

”I don’t plan to appear for any tests for the time being. I had overtaxed my body the past week. I will take it slow for now,” Jyorta said, taking a bite of his hard bread, sandwiching a gelatinous mixture. His mind was preoccupied with many things, without dealing with all of them, he didn’t have the focus to appear for exams. After all, he had exchanged for the Trait of Efficiency; it was enough for the time being.

Blindly charging forth without any preparations were tantamount to foolishness, something he never had the habit of reciprocating. Jyorta waved his hands towards his friends, watching them head towards the White Building through the open section in the cafeteria.

He continued to eat the food, his mind whirring in thought. The blue soul in him operated in full earnest, compressing the Soul Cornea to its limit, making it into the thinnest strand possible.

The Soul Cornea floated within the blue soul, gently brushing past the white layers that surrounded the memory fragments. Based on the information it obtained, Kaushik’s persona had fused into the soul core, turning into the blue face. It was the reason for its facial features looking similar to his past life.

Every memory fragment that had to do with Kaushik had been condensed into the blue face, leaving behind the memory fragments—belonging to the previous Jyorta and the subsouls—floating in its body.

Layers of white coated each memory fragment, their thickness varying according to the impact the memory fragment had on the individual. Even though the persona enveloped around them were attuned to his, Jyorta still felt wary.

After all, once they accumulate to a certain degree, there was a fair chance the persona would become a collective whole, creating risks. The situation would have then regressed to the time when the blue soul had just erased the ego of the previous Jyorta, resulting in his persona remaining behind.

If the blue soul hadn’t been careful back then, it would have ended up with a split personality.

Even though he had taken many measures against them, he couldn’t state anything for certain, having witnessed the previous night’s incidents. There were innumerable things he was ignorant about, the domain of the soul was too vast a subject.

Hence, Jyorta wanted to destroy them, only leaving behind the pure memory fragments in the blue soul—nipping it in the bud before it could bloom.

The blue soul controlled the Soul Cornea, turning it jet black, making it brush past a white layer. Within a second, the white layer vaporised, leaving behind the undamaged memory fragment.

The Soul Cornea only required a thought to move, resulting in its actions being rather precise.

Jyorta didn’t need to use much brain power for the task. The blue soul in him was more than capable of executing it, only requiring the brain to process minimal information. A soul tendril emerged from it, connecting to the Brain Crystal, siphoning energy from it to augment its actions.

As the process continued to happen in his soul, Jyorta stood up, placed his empty plate in the designated location, and washed his hands. He exited the cafeteria and returned to his dorm, locking the door behind him.

Placed next to him, atop the table was a glass jar—10 centimetres in height, shaped like a pepper jar—filled with yellow marble dust. It was the gift Madam Mila had given everyone, their task being to convert every dust fragment inside it into a Refined Object.

Jyorta held it in his hands, feeling the coldness seep into his palms. The glass jar was hard to the touch, heavier than he had expected. He closed his eyes, emitting a gentle flux of psychic energy, directing it into the glass jar, forming a stream.

The glass jar offered faint resistance, expending ten percent of his psychic energy as it permeated through it.

Jyorta summoned his psychic arm and passed it through the glass jar, planning to first refine it.

The glass jar offered resistance for the fraction of a second before it turned into his Refined Object, giving him the sensation of his body part placed outside his body—still maintaining a connection with him.

The dispersed psychic energy retracted into his psychic arm, reinforcing it. The psychic arm was about 60 centimetres long, spanning 3 centimetres in diameter. As it passed through the glass jar, it occupied most of its base area, making contact with thousands of marble dust.

Immediately, like a pool of water coming across a sinkhole, his psychic energy dispersed, its contents expended after making contact. Jyorta gazed at the scene, showing no surprise. He had been learning about a lot of things these days, so he knew that each fragment in the marble dust was equivalent to a Tier 5 Artifact.

Since they were of negligible size, the amount needed to refine each fragment was minuscule as compared to a regular Tier 5 Artifact. But, even in such a case, the amount required was greater than what a line Controller was capable of producing.

”I think her primary objective for giving this assignment was to better train us in refining Artifacts. This would raise our refining rate; after all, efficiency is pursued everywhere, no matter the situation.

11:30 AM, placing the glass jar down, Jyorta wiped the sweat formed on his forehead, feeling the presence of numerous dust fragments in it. They were the fragments he had successfully refined, a total of one hundred.

When he was about to retract his psychic arm, he obtained some feedback through it, one that wasn’t grainy and indescribable. The feedback contents were simple, detailing to a cluster of information. It was like a puzzle, missing most of the pieces.

The information received through the feedback was different when compared to the memory fragments in the blue soul. But, the information he received through the former settled in his brain, designated into a separate place, one that was discreet, unwilling to intermix with the rest.

Jyorta could readily recall the contents. Moreover, they had startling clarity, similar to the high definition images he pulled up in his computer one after the other.

”I should refer to this in the Portal.” Jyorta sighed, feeling slightly strained. There was plenty of information he had to remember, pertaining to the abilities of an Esper. It wasn’t just a convenient tool that could be readily wielded. It had its own laws and working principles, only the ones who deciphered its essence would be able to better use it.

Moreover, the abilities they obtained were a double-edged sword, they had to always be on guard against the entity that grew within them, absorbing their life experiences, and enriching itself.

The Higher the Tier, the greater the Wisdom Parasite’s development; this led to the Warriors and Espers at Tier 3 and above to constantly be on guard, straining their nerves. A moment of carelessness was all that led to their demise.

Moreover, once they lose control and weren’t swiftly put to rest, they would harm everyone in their surroundings, including their families, the reason the cause of which they strived to get stronger in the first place. This led to their city possessing a warped nature.

”A chaotic society that is suppressed into order by brute force. The three Ancestors are the lifeline of our city; chaos erupts in their absence.” Jyorta muttered, thinking of the sole question he had posed to Rhachis Ancestor Light while being interrogated, recalling the answer he received.

’Selfless at all times but, selfish when necessary; desperate for knowledge and power but, never cross your mental blocks to achieve them; cherish your bonds but, never despair when they are severed.’

”The optimal mentality for this world,” Jyorta let out a self-deprecating smile, changing into his tracksuit. He pocketed his room key and exited the room.