10th September, the year 334 of the Dawn era; Jyorta sat on his bed, eyes closed. He was focused on something in his blue soul.
The blue soul was pristine, lacking any murkiness, the same as always. Settled within it were two bags, created from soul husks. Stored within them was the murkiness produced in his soul. Hovering next to them were three objects: a Hoberman sphere, a face mask, and an eye mask. They were his three false personas.
Jyorta made a full recovery from the damage Laila had inflicted, faster than he had expected. He had struggled to activate his Soul Cornea and move it around. But, once he managed to do so and freed his Soul Cornea of the murkiness, it was an easy process.
He had almost glossed over this fact; only when he began to take action did he recall it. He first exerted his Soul Cornea's influence, limiting it to its internal. Upon vaporising the murkiness within it, his Soul Cornea could move freely, even though his soul was still almost inactive.
It was a simple process after that. He had finished cleaning his blue soul within a day, better understanding the limits of his abilities. After that, he resumed the work he had been engaging in before.
Two days ago, his psychic energy had completely recovered. He then went to the Yellow Building, beginning to practice with the Tier 3 Artifact, Wave Formation. But this time, he didn't wait until he finished training with a contraption—meant for Line Controllers.
Instead, he experienced the ability in a red contraption about 20-30 times, obtaining enough memories. As for these memories, he didn't even feel the need to modify them. They were already perfect as is, thanks to the Artifact.
He then proceeded to train with the remaining contraptions; the blue soul extracted everything and piled them in its corner. Before his psychic energy was exhausted, Jyorta had finished going through all the 12 red and 24 white contraptions.
As for the blue contraptions he desired to witness, his psychic arm was unable to even seep into them. Moreover, his psychic arm lacked the facility to follow its training. After all, the psychic arm of a Wave Controller was able to actuate in three directions.
Seated on his bed, Jyorta relished the fruits of his memories. His blue soul sent the memories of a contraption into his brain, to be processed. When the brain processed the memory, it was as if Jyorta had practiced it a second time.
Having made a copy using the brain, the blue soul sent the same memory, allowing the brain to process it the third time. He then repeated the process.
Jyorta felt a vivid scene. He was back in the room, gazing at the Tier 3 Artifact. His psychic arm was shaped by a contraption, taking the form of a shield. The sole effect of this shield was to allow the passage of air while restricting everything else.
Creating the shield from scratch, varying its shape while maintaining its effect, and limiting the expenditure of psychic energy while in use, Jyorta experienced everything again and again. He had 30 sets of memory for each contraption, allowing him to experience the same effect through different angles.
This not only enriched his experience, but it also served as a form of training. After all, when in battle, he wouldn't only create the shield before him. He had to guard against all possible directions. So, keeping in mind the requirements, Jyorta experienced the contraption in different positions, poses, and mental states.
The 30 tries conformed to that. He couldn't think of any other variation, so he limited himself to 30. If he thought up a different scenario/situation, Jyorta planned to replicate it while using the Tier 3 Artifact and extract the memory fragment.
This would give him comprehensive development, increasing his versatility. Instead of learning only after experiencing trouble first hand, he wished to be as prepared as possible. In the military academy, he had the option of choice. But, it was every man for himself in the Wilds.
There, even Tier 5 beings had a chance of death, not to mention a Tier 2 sapling like him. Jyorta continued with the process, experiencing each memory.
The experience got etched in his body, becoming muscle memory. Also, this process hardly expended any psychic energy. All it consumed was his mental energy. And, considering his capabilities, and past life's experience, he had more than enough to continue for hours without rest.
It was a frightening advantage. As long as his mental capacity wasn't strained beyond the limit, he could continue without a decrease in efficiency. So, Jyorta was able to experience each ability thousands of times until he mastered it.
'That Artifact is a godsend opportunity.' Jyorta smiled, taking a glance at the watch. He stood and began to get dressed, pulling out an armour. He had skipped the morning classes to engage his training. He had already learned through the contents of the day's classes on the previous day when he was browsing through the Portal.
Thanks to his blue soul's ability to extract information, he didn't have to worry about forgetting anything. If he couldn't memorise something the first time, he would just experience the incident again and again. This way, he would never forget the memory.
Also, for junk information that he wasn't required to know by heart, he could just store them in his soul and pull them up when necessary.
11:00 AM, the sounds of bells reverberated through the military academy. Faint winds stirred up, swirling around as they formed a weak twister. The scent of grass intensified, accompanied by gentle music.
Jyorta walked on the ground in his battle attire. He then noticed the commotion before the White Building, initiated by the sounds of the bells. Its white walls now had rows and rows of information.
"Dedicated Credit Ranking System," Jyorta murmured, having come in range to read the title plastered above. The commotion had attracted a large crowd. Almost everyone in the military academy had congregated around the White Building.
Ever since December, the bells chimed every month, on the 10th. So, the students were excited to see how long the top scorers of the October Batch maintained their record streak. Jyorta weaved through the crowd, taking measures to prevent the students from seeing his weapons.
Each weapon had a tag, a serial number inscribed onto them. A single glance at them was all it took to guess a person's strength. This was more pronounced in regards to the Espers. After all, Espers carried around weapons that were at the limit of their abilities. Only in such a way could they display their maximum potential.
Jyorta soon made his way through half the crowd, finally able to see the rankings he wished to observe. No sooner had he done so did a wry smile emerge on his face. Jyorta sighed once and browsed through the rankings, seeing the position of his friends.
[Rank 1—Laila: 1,14,112 Credits]
[Rank 2—Jyorta Bone: 1,11,403 Credits]
[Rank 3—Dalna Doppler: 90,102 Credits]
[Rank 4—Haesha: 88,496 Credits]
[Rank 5—George Eagle: 88,494 Credits]
[Rank 6—Esina Hawker: 81,393 Credits]
[Rank 7—Laekha Walta: 80, 604 Credits]
[Rank 8—Ashten Coorg: 80,001 Credits]
"Oh, Haesha managed to overtake George this month. Also, everyone seemed to have broken through to Tier 2. Getting a reward of 20,000 Credits for a successful breakthrough; no wonder our scores are so high this month." Jyorta sighed, feeling slightly alarmed at the intense competition.
Even though he was still in second place and maintained a considerable lead, Dalna Doppler and the rest were closing in. He had an advantage of 12,000 Credits in December. Over the months, he steadily increased the gap until it crossed 21,000 Credits.
But, he wasn't arrogant. If any, he felt the lead wasn't enough. After 9 months of stay in the military academy, Hrita Bone had a score of 79,348 Credits, claiming first in her Batch. But, at that time, she hadn't broken through to Tier 2.
Since she had been part of the January Batch, her score had been displayed on the 1st. She had only broken through to Tier 2 a couple of days later, getting awarded another 20,000 Credits.
Being in the October Batch, their score was displayed on the 10th of every month. And for records, the scores of all previous Batches on that day were compared. Currently, Laila had topped the records once again. It meant her score had surpassed the accumulation of everyone in their military academy history, on the 10th day of the 10th month.
But, here came the situation. In their final three months of stay in the military academy, the students obtained access to the Labyrinth of Frenzy. They would be able to fight and earn Credits according to the Frenzy Beast they kill within it.
At Tier 1 and Tier 2, Espers were super weak while Warriors enjoyed a significant advantage. Therefore, he wouldn't be surprised if Dalna Doppler surpassed him by next month. After all, Jyorta could vividly remember Rakh Veera's performance on the day he broke through all records.
Jyorta had inquired about Rakh Veera after that, feeling mildly surprised at what he had obtained. Rakh Veera's performance wasn't stellar in the first 9 months. But, after the Labyrinth of Frenzy was opened, his score surpassed all records. He was like a crouching tiger lying in wait within a bush, sharpening its fangs.
Unless Jyorta did something remarkable, he wouldn't be able to maintain his rank. The Warriors were bound to improve faster.
"It will be a long, bumpy ride ahead." Jyorta weaved through the crowd, heading towards the Red Building situated in the Psychic Block. He didn't have time to waste. Before the Warriors left him in the dust, he had to improve his abilities to be able to contend with them.
'I wonder what Laila is planning next. It won't be possible to surpass Rakh Veera's record through normal means. I have already appeared for most of the tests. The case should be the same for Laila. So, the only option to accumulate such massive Credits is through the Labyrinth of Frenzy.' He closed his eyes, sensing the Hoberman sphere in his blue soul. With a smile, he walked towards the Red Building.