The Over-Break System

DING

The instant the elevator doors opened, Head Dean Rimsfel burst out of the small box and into the hallway onto the highest floor of the tower, briskly moving towards the large oaken door of the Headmaster’s Office angrily.

Closing his eyes and sighing softly, Cynrik withdrew his hands from his pockets and followed after the man while shaking his head. If he had known the Head Dean would react in such a way, he would have just waited until the meeting began.

Knock Knock Knock

Without waiting for Cynrik to catch up, The Head Dean rapt on the large door three times before the Headmaster’s calm voice told him to enter.

Swinging the door wide open and storming in, Head Dean Rimsfel began chattering immediately.

“Headmaster, this Ivar Ragnarsson is too much to handle. On the way up in the elevator, he so casually dropped that he and his Faction picked up on several groups of Tier-1 and Tier-2 spies constantly tailing them. Unfortunately, instead of alerting us to the problem, the students took it upon themselves to deal with the issue alone, without backup. This is something beyond standard regulations, and I demand immediate punishment.” Frantically speaking in a mixture of rage and panic, the man spilled the gist of what Cynrik had told him on the way up.

“Tsk, congratulations, Dean Rimsfel, you beat me to the punch. Can’t say that happens often.” Then, wearing a lazy expression, Cynrik waltzed in as if the story had nothing to do with him and strode across the room to a chair next to a bookcase overlooking the Headmaster’s desk.

“Hold on, Head Dean, there is clearly more to this story, Student Ivar, explain.” Then, holding up a hand to silence the Head Dean, who was about to tear into Cynrik for once again purposely not saying his full title, Headmaster Rivia squinted while looking between the calm and relaxed Cynrik and the angry Rimsfel.

“Eh, there isn’t really much to tell, as I just got done telling him,” Cynrik pointed at Rimsfel with his thumb before continuing.

“Around our second or third week on campus, my brother and I picked up on our movements being tailed by at first a single group of 3 people wearing all black combat gear. Their power split was reasonably weak, two Tier-1s and a Tier-2, so instead of bothering you folks on high, I felt it was better if we dealt with it quietly.”

“But after dealing with the first group, we started noticing more and more pop up. Finally, the most recent group was eliminated two weeks ago for a total of eight spies, assassins, hit squads, whatever you wanna call them. The point is, these guys clearly bypassed whatever protocols you have in place and were able to make it not only onto campus but also into the Cavern of Dorms.”

“I had planned on bringing this up before the meeting, but someone couldn’t keep it to himself until then. Oh, and before you ask, our method of dealing with these groups was simple, we would lure them into a secluded area before I used my Dark Affinity Skill [Shadow Leap] and pulled them into what I call the shadow realm. It’s a parallel world devoid of light within the shadows that only Dark Affinity users can enter.”

“Anyway, not really the point, once we defeated whoever was tailing us, I sent my party home before thoroughly interrogating the captives, only to find out what I pretty much already expected, my amazingly assholish Grandfather over at Finwan sent three groups, two groups by SU, and the last four were all independently hired contractors who refused to divulge who sent them, but after a little TLC, I was able to extract they came from Underground organizations tied to the criminal world.”

Crossing his left leg over his right knee, Cynrik summarized what had occurred and the information extracted.

“Even though you can only trust about 30% of what a person says under…intense er… let’s just call it what it is, torture, I still was able to piece together a rough image of what they were after. Each group had a dossier on myself and all my Faction members. Withholding the groups from Viktor Opurn and my Grandfather who are solely targeting me cause of our history, the troubling issue at hand is these independents. From what I could tell, they were primarily searching for any info they could use to help gain an advantage over us and rig our matches during the Competitions.” Leaning forward and watching the reactions of Geralt and Rimsfel, Cynrik propped his elbows on his knee and his chin on his hands.

“Head Dean, take a seat; I need a moment to think.” Wearing an anxious frown, Headmaster Rivia tried digesting the shocking information spoken by someone who may look 16-17 years old but was only 13. Luckily Doctor Oswurn hadn’t arrived yet, because he was sure the man would have a shit ton to say about how nonchalantly Cynrik was speaking about killing and disposing of the bodies of these people.

Meanwhile, as the room descended into silence, Head Dean Rimsfel gritted his teeth and sat down at one of the three chairs in front of the Headmaster’s desk, his eyes never leaving Cynrik, who was sitting across the room from him expressionlessly.

“The bodies?” Headmaster Rivia asked seriously.

“Gone. I torched them with my BlackFire, so nothing remains of their bodies. I do have all their belongings, such as Spatial pockets, in my possession, but there is nothing of use or meaning other than the dossiers. Unfortunately, not a single one carried a Watcet, and anything resembling a communication device exploded the second the people realized they were compromised. None of these guys were amateurs.” Cynrik replied.

“Sigh, I wish you hadn’t done that. Hand over these files you are talking about; let me see them.” Massaging his left temple, Headmaster Rivia said as Cynrik got up, pulled out a thick stack of folders, and handed them over.

“It’s all pretty basic recon. Everything was tracked, our movements, what classes we were taking, and anyone we came in contact with. So basically, our whole school life was technically compromised, and I have no way of knowing how much of this information made it to the people setting up the operation. So while I could intercept these groups fairly early on, there was probably some data leaked.” Leaning back and shrugging his shoulders, Cynrik fell quiet and watched the Headmaster flip through the dozens of folders lost in thought.

The more information that Cynrik spoke, the more surprised the Head Dean became. At first, he was led to believe that the boy was carelessly wiping out anyone he suspected to be following him, but the more in-depth Cynrik’s story went, the less he could hold back his shock. No matter how he looked at the situation, it cast the illusion that the boy was clearly far more intelligent and experienced in this level of detective work than he gave him credit for.

It was hard to disassociate the fact that Cynrik was only a first-year student, as the more he summarized the events that transpired, the more mature and older he became in the Head Dean’s eyes.

However, for Headmaster Rivia, it wasn’t that shocking, as he had already dealt with the overly mature Cynrik during the contract negotiations several months back. Thus, even though the boy was dropping a lot of information and speaking calmly, it was all within the Headmaster’s vision of how Cynrik thought and acted.

Mind you, having a high IQ or maturity at such a young age wasn’t necessarily rare due to the presence of Systems on Vinestra. Still, the level of thought and investigation Cynrik had put into what could only be called a “case” made the Headmaster cast aside any thoughts of potential punishment. It was evident to him that even if Cynrik didn’t necessarily run to him or the staff for help, he could handle the situation on his own.

“Oh, and one more thing, while I was trying to check-in by scanning my badge,” Cynrik casually pointed at his chest, drawing the attention of both the men in the room.

“I noticed that the clerk seemed to run into an authority issue; I found out that you have restricted the information on myself and the rest of my Faction. This brings me to believe there may also be staff members who have potentially been paid off to try and access our files. It’s not too big of a conclusion to come to, as if people are trailing me, there very well should be a few trying to gain access through the Academy network.”

“You are saying there may be moles within our staff…this…is something I had already prepared for, thus sealing your student records.” Placing down the last file, Headmaster Rivia looked up with a contemplative expression.

“Honestly, I had believed our security would be tight enough to stop anyone from breaching our Academy; it appears I was wrong. Unfortunately, since you eliminated weaker groups, it isn’t too big of a leap to assume it won’t be long until they start sending Tier-3 or higher beings after you all. THAT we should have no problem stopping, but it is quite unsettling that the Tier-1 and Tier-2’s were able to fly in under the radar.” Steepling his fingers, the Headmaster informed Cynrik.

“With so many students in that level range, it’s a given they could sneak in if they disguised themselves well enough. Every single one of them was no older than their mid 20’s and looked young, allowing them to fit in easily enough. The genuine concern is how they passed the checkpoints without triggering any alarms.” Cynrik countered, placing both feet on the ground and sitting up straight in his chair.

“As for the free access to the academy campus, even then, anyone who enters must undergo a multidimensional background check…unless,” Headmaster Rivia’s eyebrows rose as he realized something important; before he could respond, Cynrik cut in and answered for him.

“Unless someone in civilian and staff processing is giving them access, bringing us back to the moles.”

“Indeed, giving the proper clearance level, a staff member with access to the screening process could wave them through, but, even so, there isn’t a single person on the security team that hasn’t been vetted thousands of times over.”

“Money talks, Headmaster Rivia; you know how easily credits or resources can corrupt the average person.” Sighing, Cynrik’s eyes flicked over to the Head Dean, who was lost by how quickly the conversation changed.

“Regardless, consider this as me now coming to you all. I admit I haven’t really felt the need in the past, but things will quickly snowball out of control if left unchecked. Sure, I don’t mind the free XP, but with the Competitions drawing closer and closer, my Faction and I need to buckle down and start training.” Just as Cynrik said that, there was a knock at the door and his therapist, Doctor Oswurn, walked in with a surprised look as he noticed the severe expressions on Cynrik, the Headmaster, and Head Dean Rimsfel, who wasn’t on the docket for their meeting.

“Oh my, it seems I’ve chosen quite the time to walk in and missed an important conversation topic.” The short, bald, and gentle-looking man chirped concernedly.

“Tsk, understatement of the year, Doc,” clicking his tongue and shaking his head slowly, Cynrik remarked, making everyone but the Doctor scoff.

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