Psychic Parasite

Chapter 172: Immersed in Lies
”How could they do such a horrible thing to you? The teachers said that your Trait causes you many problems, occasionally even leading to organ failures and that if not for the Unranked Skill Regen regenerating new organs in place, you wouldn’t have survived.” Haesha’s eyes were slightly red as she lost her cool, unable to digest such a cruel fact.

”Traits are a hit and miss. I presume every Aristocratic Family does this.” A voice interrupted as a lady occupied a seat on their table. She then glanced around, smiling once, ”As expected, the cafeteria for Espers is far less crowded.”

”Success is the final outcome standing atop a mountain of failures.” A boy occupied the seat and began to dig into his food. He didn’t speak another word and concentrated on wholly eating the food on his plate.

Jyorta looked at the plate of the two people before him and glanced at his plate, sighing once. ’Warriors eat so much food.’

”But, subjecting people to cruel experiments goes against human rights,” Haesha said, glancing at the boy who had arrived last.

”It is, but the context changes if the person volunteers to be experimented upon.” The boy glanced at Jyorta, ”To continue existing as an Aristocratic Family, constant development is a must. And for constant development to occur, experimentation is the key. And for experimentation…you know how it goes.”

”Even for Traits that have been well-tested, the success rate is still not a hundred percent.” Jyorta nodded, ”Everything has risks. Besides, as he said, I volunteered for the role. Out of the volunteers in my family, I was the one to get some preliminary success, despite the side-effects I suffer.”

Jyorta’s back was drenched with cold sweat, having to weave lies one after the other. He was the type that never lied because, one way or another, he was bound to blurt out the truth in the future.

Lying is an easy feat but maintaining a lie takes skill!

”Khasta,” The boy interjected, ”My name’s Khasta. I am not from an Aristocratic Family but, I plan to join one in the future.”

”Oh, so you are Khasta,” The lady nodded, ”Of the three Aristocratic Families in the 7th Ring, who do you plan to join?”

”Your Family, Lady Dalna Doppler,” Khasta said, showcasing respect through his subservient tone. Though, he didn’t exhibit any action in accordance with his dialogue, painting a sense of disharmony. It was mostly attributed to their place, which was a cafeteria.

”Please, you can address me as Dalna. I am just a Tier 1 Warrior.” Dalna Doppler let out a wry smile, feeling uncomfortable at being addressed with such formality. ”I am surprised that you haven’t thought about joining the Veera Family. After all, they are the most powerful among all the Aristocratic Families.”

Khasta shook his head, ”I have zero knowledge about the Veera Family’s Unranked Skill. Their second Unranked Skill is Regen but it is meant for Espers. Everything is sketchy about the Bone Family so I would refrain from joining them. That leaves me with just one option, the Doppler Family.”

”What do you mean by sketchy?” Jyorta glared in his direction. Though, there wasn’t any underlying emotion behind his glare; it was superficial.

”That is what my father said before I arrived here. I don’t know the reason as to why he said that. Sorry if that offended you.” Khasta lightly bowed towards Jyorta, his tone filled with apology.

”It’s fine. The Bone Family is a newly established Aristocratic Family anyway, so its credibility hasn’t been defined yet.” Jyorta waved his hands, least affected by the claim. When thinking of the Bone Family, the first image that came to his mind was of his grandfather. So, his personal opinion of the Bone Family was the lowest it could ever be.

”You can try to inquire about the details from the students belonging to the Veera Family here.” Haesha said, ”There is the top scorer of the November Batch. He should be from the Veera Family.”

”Rakh Veera is indeed from the Veera Family but, he didn’t say a single word about his family to me when I approached him a week ago.” Khasta sighed, ”Besides, joining an Aristocratic can only be done through marriage.”

”So, who’s that girl from my Family?” Dalna Doppler smiled, sporting a grin.

Khasta blinked once, twice, thrice, comprehending her thought process. He then shook his head, ”I don’t have a lover from the Doppler Family. That is something for the future. I am just inclined to join the Doppler Family because I am knowledgeable about their Unranked Skill and it perfectly suits my tendencies.”

”Coming back to the topic,” Khasta looked at Haesha, ”The Traits listed in the pamphlet here have been modified countless times until their side effects have been completely removed. There are many more Traits, with each organisation having its own exclusive set of Traits.”

”Only through trial and error can we tread forward. Besides, as long as the success rates for the implantation of Traits aren’t zero, most would choose to participate. After all, you won’t die due to a failure in the Trait implantation. Even for this boy here, despite his side-effects being severe, as long as it can be treated, it is not life-threatening.” Khasta turned silent and continued to eat his food.

’So, the lie Psychic Ancestor Marble fed Madam Mila hasn’t been circulated, thankfully.’ Jyorta mentally sighed.

In the first lie, Psychic Ancestor Marble complained about the countless lives that were lost during the process of getting the Trait of Corrosion implanted, with the sole success being Jyorta. Thankfully, that part of the lie hadn’t been used in the lie fabricated by Grapple Force.

Also, Madam Mila might have just shoved it off as a cover-up of the death-rate by the higher officials, hence the lack of the details, saving him the trouble.

”You can address me as Jyorta.” He looked at Khasta, ”The Trait that is troubling me is pretty useless. After learning about the Trait Room, I am getting worried.”

Jyorta sighed, feeling scared at his own behaviour. He was immersed in his lies, concocting and weaving it into higher complexities. A lie repeated 10,000 times might just become the truth.

”I just feel it is cruel to subject people to such harm,” Haesha spoke with a sullen tone, recalling a certain image before turning silent. Her mind seemed preoccupied with something as she closed her textbook, pulling forth the small plate placed beside.

The food she had ordered had long since turned cold but she paid no heed to it and continued to eat. Whether hot or cold, it tasted bland anyway.

Jyorta glanced at Dalna Doppler, feeling as if the other party was a different individual from before. He then gazed at Khasta, recalling his identity after looking at the number ’1’ printed on his shirt.

’The third-ranked student from the January Batch.’

”Cruel or not, as long as it improves our survivability, we must strive for them. Besides, as long as it is not forced, everything is fine.” Khasta finished wiping his plate clean, standing up from his seat.

”This is why the Trait of Temperance exists. It has a hidden effect that suppresses the side-effects of the other Traits. That is why it is so expensive.” Dalna Doppler smiled. She then stood up, ”Anyway, we would have a lot of free time in the upcoming days thanks to the Graduation Ceremony. If you are okay with it, we can group study.”

Before heading to drop her plate, she glanced at Jyorta; her eyes brimmed with fighting spirit, ”Only for girls though.”