The Over-Break System

“Is this really necessary? I don’t see why something as private as our personal Status, Stats, Skills, and Affinities are required by the Academies for enrollment.”

Gripping Brance’s shoulder to stop him from walking up to the machine, Cynrik spoke with one eyebrow raised.

“This…” Both confused and slightly stunned by Cynrik’s words, Professor Hues, wasn’t sure how to respond. This was the first time he had encountered someone unwilling to present their Status profile.

It had to be said that all major combat industries, be it the Reaver Society, Military, or even Academies, all had a standard testing procedure where they would need to check the applicant’s stats; it was commonplace. However, since their parents sheltered Cynrik and Brance so severely, they were unaware of this.

“Excuse me, instructors, may I have a moment alone with my children.” Then, realizing the fault was solely her own for this incident, Cinyah stepped up.

After a moment of acceptance from Professor Hues and company, Cinyah whisked Brance and Cynrik into another room, wearing a complicated expression.

“This is my fault…I should have realized you would have been overly cautious, Cyn. But, heh, listen to me, boys, I know you have always been careful not to show the full extent of your abilities, and that is understandable. I only realized how much you two were hiding after the kidnapping incident all those years ago. But this is different. It is my fault for not warning you both, but no matter what you want to do in the future, be it joining the Reaver Society, or another industry, so long as it pertains to combat, you will have to meet specific assessments requirements. To determine that you do meet them, it is required that you reveal your Status profile during the application process.”

Cynrik’s face contorted in anger for an instant before returning to his neutral deadpan expression.

“Mom, that makes ZERO sense. From the time we could talk, you told us never to reveal our info to anyone other than each other, yet now you are telling us the exact opposite.”

[Cyn… just stop.] Brance pleaded, knowing that Cynrik was about to make a scene.

[No, Brance, I won’t. This is bullshit, and you know it. We can’t just reveal our shit like that; I am not about to be looked at like a freak. We have trained too fucking hard for that shit. It is one thing to be looked down on, but if people know that we are so far ahead of kids our age, that’s when the jealously begins. You know damn well that I won’t be able to keep myself in check if someone steps up and starts something, which means I will inevitably pick the WRONG fights with the WRONG people putting our party and even our parents in danger.]

Even though his words were fierce, the tone Cynrik used was one of complete calm.

[We don’t know how these schools are run, who’s to say we won’t be added to some UBER elite class or some shit. WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION, BRANCE! We don’t know how we stack up with other so-called geniuses.]

[Calm down; you are freaking out right now. It would be best if you remembered this isn’t one of your novels or mangas Cynrik. The whole world isn’t against you.]

[HAHAHAHA! The world as a whole isn’t, but the fucking Gods are. Are you forgetting that we were the direct cause of killing a fucking Deity less than two weeks ago? There are thousands of LC just like us floating around out there; who’s to say that by registering ourselves as everyone wants, we won’t be put on a list? Who’s to say there isn’t a faction of those bastards out there actively hunting down other LC? Can you seriously not see how big of a fucking issue it is if we just show up with our maxed-out stats at Tier-1 when every other 11 or 12-year-old kid is barely reaching the end of Tier-0.]

The more he spoke, the more Brance felt Cynrik had a point. To some extent, he had been worried about the same things his older brother just mentioned, but as he had total trust in Cynrik, Brance found himself worrying less and less as time went by.

Cinyah stood there in silence as she watched Cynrik and Brance glare at each other without saying anything. She knew they were communicating with one of their unique skills, but it didn’t stop the uneasiness from rising in her chest.

[Aside from the fact that we have absolutely no idea how weak or strong high-level geniuses are, Tobs can’t nuke all of our stats down to an acceptable range, ESPECIALLY since we just kicked the asses of two members of the Board. They must have caught on to the fact we were already at the Peak of Tier-1 during the fights.]

[CYNRIK, WHY MUST YOU BE SO FUCKING PARANOID ALL THE DAMN TIME? WHY CAN’T YOU JUST ACCEPT NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE WITHIN YOUR ACCEPTABLE PARAMETERS?] Finally losing his temper after hearing his brother’s rants, Brance yelled in anger.

Ripping down his hood and getting right in Brance’s face, Cynrik glared coldly into his little brother’s eyes.

[Because someone has to make sure the two of us don’t get FUCKING KILLED…AGAIN! Do you seriously believe I sit there twiddling my thumbs like a braindead monkey all day? No, from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, I am training both my mind and body so that when a situation like when I got dragged into my SOC to fight a being WAY MORE POWERFUL THAN I presents itself, I will be even a LITTLE prepared. This has always been the most significant difference between us, Brance; you only live in the present while having grand dreams about the future, while I dwell in the past to prepare for future challenges. You can’t see the big picture, and honestly, I don’t blame you for that. But someone has to constantly be planning, staying four steps ahead of the enemy.] Cynrik ended his statement by jabbing a finger into Brance’s chest to add extra punctuation.

Taking a step back, Brance sighed but never broke eye contact with Cynrik.

[Cyn, look, this world is nothing like Earth, we cant carry over the same mindset we had there, ok? It’s fine to be paranoid to an extent, but you are borderline neurotic right now. So tell me something, wouldn’t it be best if we played the part of Geniuses from Vinestra. Other than being plotted against, we don’t know if the other LC can sense us. Hell, if it wasn’t for that quest Tobs gave us, we wouldn’t have even known that lizard guy was another LC. If the Academies value us, won’t that be a good thing? Think about it, Cyn; if we put on a show, won’t all of those recruiters scramble to get us by throwing all kinds of resources. I get why you are worried, but we CAN NOT LET THAT HOLD US BACK.] Brance tucked his hands into his pockets and tossed a glance at Cinyah.

[Just look at how worried Mom is; she is taking the blame, thinking she is a terrible parent for sheltering us so severely. She doesn’t know what is going on in your head, and she can only see it as her parenting has been so poor that her oldest son is about to fuck up his future.]

It was only now that Cynrik tore his eyes away from Brance and looked at that distraught appearance of Cinyah. He didn’t blame her for being an overprotective parent, especially after learning how she and Rikard ran from their families because she had gotten pregnant. Nevertheless, a single look at Cinyah was enough to short circuit Cynrik’s brain, allowing him to push away the bulk of his paranoid thoughts for a second.

[Fuck…I hate when you do this shit, Brance.]

[All I do is bring you down a peg by making you realize that YOU DO have emotions, no matter how warped they may seem.] Brance covered his mouth to hide his smile; he knew he had chipped away at Cynrik’s stone heart and paranoia for a moment by making him look at Cinyah.

[Tsk. Fuck off.]

“Mom, listen…this isn’t your fault, ok. You are a great Mom; because of you, Brancie and I are kick-ass fighters who sling Mana around like water balloons. Of course, this is just me being paranoid…I don’t want people to think Brancie and I are some kind of weirdos.” Cynrik walked over and hugged the woman who usually seemed so strong but at this moment looked weak enough that an infant could bully her.

Cinyah forced a weak smile and hugged her oldest son tightly; her eyes flashed towards Brance, telling him to join the hug, which he happily obliged. Then, after a few moments of hugging, Cinyah broke away and knelt down, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

“I am so proud of both of you; I know that you are worried about people finding out about your strength, but always remember, your father and I will always have your backs, no matter what. If you want to get into an Academy or even become Reavers, you have to take that test, ok?”

“TSK, fine, but im not gonna be polite.” Cynrik snorted while looking away.

His reaction made Cinyah and Brance chuckle.

“When are you ever to begin with Big Brother.”

“Alright, enough jokes; we can’t keep the instructors waiting for too long; they are on a tight schedule.” Cynrik pulled up his hood and turned away.

The group quickly made their way back to the training room and met up with Professor Hues.

“Professor, we were ill-informed and didn’t know it was necessary; please don’t take my Big Brother’s words to heart.” Brance bowed respectfully towards the instructors and stepped up to the machine.

“I will go first, then.” The machine resembled a large 4 meters tall thin PC, where the keyboard would have been was two handprints. Even though a flash of hesitation went through Brance’s eyes, he still placed both feet on the little mat with footprints, and his palms hovered above the recessed dents.

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