The Over-Break System

With the few remaining days before the brothers needed to go to the testing site, Cynrik and Brance continued their peaceful lives, with Brance continuing to work and learn from Jessup and Cynrik taking care of his eggs.

During this time, Cynrik learned a valuable piece of information from Tobs after several lengthy interrogations. According to the System AI, to speed up the incubation period of his little Ravens, Cynrik had two options. The first was to acquire two devices to house the eggs and keep them at the optimal temperature and environment; the second was to constantly infuse some of his own Mana or Essence (XP).

Since the first option was out of the picture thanks to the little hiccup at CharChar, Cynrik decisively chose option two. However, this brought up a separate issue. When he finally sat down to begin the infusing process, he was spammed with several notifications.

-An Avian species egg has been located, and you are attempting to infuse Mana directly from your Codex into it.-

-This egg can withstand the integration of two types of Affinity Mana; please choose which type you would like to infuse. Dark (Y/N), Fire (Y/N), Wind (Y/N).-

-Be aware, the choice of Mana you wish to bestow on the egg will change the growth phase of the Beast within.-

‘Eh? Tobs, what is this about? What kind of changes are we talking about here?’ Ever since Cynrik had made the unconscious decision to place his trust in the AI, he found himself going to her more often than he would have previously been comfortable.

-As the notifications stated, you can choose which secondary Affinity you want to infuse with the egg. Nátt Hrafn are beings capable of withstanding up to two Affinities at birth. This is why you have been given the option. Effectively you are allowed to choose which Affinities they start with.-

‘Wait, what happens if I don’t add a secondary Affinity? Will they only have Dark?’Tilting his head to the side, Cynrik lightly caressed the closest of the two eggs.

-Not necessarily. Although the Beasts may be born with only the singular Dark Affinity, everything is based on random probability. However, if you chose the device option, it would be different as higher grade Incubation Devices can draw specified Affinities from Ambient Mana and infuse them into the egg during the growth phase.-

-At the end of the day, if you only infuse Dark Mana into them, the Central System HUB will take over, and as you would say… “roll the dice.” There is an 80% chance of the Beast obtaining a Basic Grade element, a 14% chance of not receiving an Affinity at all, a 5% chance of getting an Advanced-Grade Affinity, and a 1% chance of getting a Special Advance Grade Affinity.-

‘And the difference between the manual infusing and using an Incubation device is?’ Cynrik rolled his eyes and looked up at the space above his head, where he imagined Tobs was floating.

-Well…there isn’t much point in breaking down the difference as you are too poor to afford top-of-the-line technology, but the higher the device’s grade, the better the chance at receiving a higher Grade Affinity.-

‘POOR! Who the fuck is poor? I HAVE TWO MILLION CREDITS AND A FUCK TON OF SKILL POINTS!’ It took Cynrik a tremendous effort not to scream the sentence aloud as Tobs was again bullying him.

-Poor is poor Host Cynrik, especially when the technology you are desiring is well over 50 million Credits.-

COUGH COUGH

Tobs’ reply caused Cynrik to choke on his saliva and fall into a coughing fit.

’50 MILLION, WHO THE FUCK WOULD PAY 50 MILLION!’

– (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞ that would be you Host Cynrik. Based on previous actions, it is within your character to spend all your wealth the moment you are given the opportunity.-

‘GOD DAMN IT, TOBS, WHY MUST YOU BULLY ME! WHO EVEN TAUGHT YOU FUCKING EMOTICONS? Was it Brance?’ Cynrik’s eyes narrowed as he started forming a plot to prank his brother in retaliation.

It had to be said that even though Tobs’ voice would be directly transmitted to Cynrik and Brance’s brains, there was still a subtitled notification that popped up when she spoke. This was how Cynrik was aware she used an emoticon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have a clue she had.

-Hehe, who knows…maybe I learned it from you, Host Cynrik.-

Cynrik’s body went rigid, and his eyes widened in shock when he heard Tobs giggle for the first time.

‘HOLD UP! Tobs did…did you just giggle?’ Completely flabbergasted, Cynrik’s mind nearly exploded at the potential thought of Tobs gaining sentience. Over time both he and Brance had picked up on subtle changes occurring with the System AI; even if they didn’t speak about it, they had their suspicions over the years. Moreover, her newfound habit of bullying Cynrik added substance to this theory.

-I am not a sentient being Host Cynrik; it is simply an adaptation to my Host’s behaviors. Therefore, stop overthinking irrelevant things.-

[BRANCIE! TOBS JUST GIGGLED; IT WAS FUCKING ADORABLE!]

Miles away, at Pinhurst Cold-Steel, Brance heard his brother through the mind link and dropped the broom he was using to tidy up the store, startling a couple of teenagers nearby who were checking a rack of armor.

[She did WHAT? HOLY FUCK, IT’S HAPPENING, CYNRIK, ITS FUCKING HAPPENING, DON’T PANIC, NO NEED TO PANIC AHHH, WAIT, WAIT WAIT WAIT, DID YOU RECORD IT SO I COULD PLAY IT BACK? PLEASSSE TELL ME YOU DID!] With his breathing unsteady and his heart-rate accelerated, Brance swiftly apologized for startling the teenagers before scooping up his broom and running to the storage room in the back.

[How the fuck am I supposed to record something in my mind Brancie?] Snorting in contempt, Cynrik did the only thing he could think of and tried mimicking the sound for his brother. But unfortunately, even if he was good at imitations, Cynrik could not capture the moment perfectly, and after several attempts, he gave up.

[Looks like It doesn’t work like the autotune feature with singing. Tsk sucks to be you, Brancie. Better luck next time; you’ll have to get her to break that monotone character of hers on your own time, hehe.] Chuckling to himself, Cynrik ignored the howls of anguish ringing out in the mind link and focused on his eggs.

The Affinities of his future pets were at stake, so Cynrik needed to weigh his options appropriately. Unfortunately, the odds of him coming up with the necessary funds to purchase a high-grade Incubator were slim at best, if not non-existent, so he was limited in his options. Then, sitting on the carpet with his legs extended and the eggs in his lap, Cynrik suddenly remembered something in his inventory sitting untouched for years.

With a wave of his hand, a softball-sized purple and yellow orb appeared in his palm. It was the Lightning Affinity Orb.

‘Oi, Tobs, when I Evo to Tier-2, I can learn another Affinity, right?’

-That is correct; once Host Cynrik Evolves to Tier-2, not only will you be able to obtain another Sub-Class, the Affinity restriction of 3 will be increased to 4.-

‘Hmm, welp, nothing I can do about it for now. As much as I’d like to hatch my eggs as soon as possible, I can’t hinder them by restricting them to only Fire or Wind.’ Heaving a disappointed sigh, Cynrik placed the Lightning Orb and his two eggs into his inventory and leaned his back against the wall of his bedroom before pulling up a panel window showing his Mana Integration Skill, Requiem of Dusk.

-Ancient Tier Mana Integration Skill: Requiem of Dusk.-

-Proficiency 2%-

-Mastery: Wood Tier.-

-Technical Rank: Tier-0.-

-By cultivating with this Ancient Technique at night or in the Dark, the User can restore all of their Mana by opening their Codex to absorb ambient Mana Particles directly from a surrounding area of 3 square meters.-

-Description; A cultivation technique passed down from Ancient Times that primarily focuses on nighttime cultivation. Its strength has fallen from Ancient Tier to Tier-0 forcing the User to increase their Proficiency in the technique to receive increased benefits.-

-Replenishes MP.-

-Chance to increase all Affinities Proficiency.-

-Increases Mana Stat.-

-Increases Random Stat.-

-Cooldown time after use 168 Hours.-

‘Sigh, back when we first got these skills, they seemed more important. Those days when a single point in VIT or MP would make us ecstatic seem so long ago. When Brance gets back, we should start using this skill again tonight. I wonder how far we could have advanced if we hadn’t been shut out from Mana for five years.’

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of someone lightly knocking on his bedroom door pulled Cynrik from his daydreaming, making him bounce to his feet and answer it. On the other side was an anxious Cinyah who fidgeted with her hair.

“What’s up, Mom?” Seeing her condition, Cynrik looked at her with concerned eyes.

“I just got a call from the Sanfords; someone is coming to the house to speak with you from the Board of Academies; get dressed; they will be here in 10 minutes.” Cinyah noticed her son was still in his pajamas, so she quickly hurried him to change his clothes and wash his face before dragging him into the living room and forcing him to sit on the couch.

“Why are you so nervous, Mom? It’s not like I am being tried or anything…wait…I’m not being put on trial for anything, right?” Concern spread across Cynrik’s face as he watched Cinyah pace back and forth in the living room.

“No, no, its nothing like that, it’s just…my babies are going away to the Academies, it isn’t time yet, you are both still children…listen, honey, why don’t you just stay with Mommy for a couple more years until you’re 14 and then you can go to school.” As she spoke, Cinyah’s words spewed faster and faster out her tiny mouth as she franticly looked between the front door and her beloved oldest son.

“PPFFTT HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, come on, Mom, it’s just school. It’s no biggie; we gotta go at some point, and the sooner, the better right? We will be fine, plus we are dragging Gabby and Benny with us, so everything will be fine.” Bursting out into a fit of laughter at his mother’s expense, Cynrik quickly tried to soothe his overly protective parent. But just as he was about to continue, there was a loud rapt at the front door, causing Cinyah to freeze in place.

Shaking his head in pity. Cynrik jumped off the couch and flashed to the door in less than a second. He spotted two muscular adults wearing black suits and sunglasses when he opened it.

“Hello, how can I help you?” Appearing as polite as possible, Cynrik planted his feet and met the gaze of the two men.

“Good afternoon, son; I am Professor Hues. This man beside me is Dr. Effrin; we are here on behalf of the Board of Academies to give you the proper documentation and paperwork for the Selections happening in three days. May we come in?”

“Of course, Professor, my Mother already informed me of your arrival; please come in.” To Cynrik, they gave off a typical FBI vibe, so he didn’t daddle and ushered them into the living room of the Pinhurst Mansion.

-This series is exclusively published on Web if you are reading it anywhere else…You Wrong Fam. PS Check out the Discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg