The Over-Break System

Flying at her fastest speed, it didn’t take Professor Wallin long to clear the over 10km distance between the forest battlefield and the teleportation hub to get back to campus. Unknown to the members of MyrkLys, all of the battlegrounds were exclusively a significant distance away from the Academy to not cause any damage to the school itself.

Upon reaching the teleportation hub, Professor Wallin keyed in the corresponding information on her Watcet to the relay point nearest to Headmaster Rivia’s office. Within a few seconds, she walked out of a majestic glowing doorway, and a lavishly decorated hall came into view.

Walking at a brisk pace, she soon arrived at a large oak door, and after two loud knocks, the booming voice of Headmaster Rivia echoed throughout the hallway.

“Enter; we are already waiting for you.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Professor Wallin opened the door, entered the room, and greeted Headmaster Rivia and the Head Dean of Year One.

“We have just finished watching the battle from start to finish, and while I won’t say I am surprised by the performance of those five, I would still like to hear your conclusions.” Sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, Headmaster Rivia motioned Wallin to sit beside Head Dean Rimsfel.

As she had been in this office many times and was no longer enamored by the seemingly endless supply of nick-nacks hanging on every square inch of the room, Professor Wallin took a seat and crossed her left leg over her right while collecting her thoughts for a moment.

Beside her, Head Dean Rimsfel sipped a fragrant cup of tea and rewatched the replay of Cynrik holding Levin by the collar and forcing a small orb of Dark Mana into the other boy’s chest on his Watcet.

“This Ivar Ragnarsson is reckless, bloodthirsty, and borderline uncontrollable, yet at the same time, he shows an absurd level of combat awareness and ingenuity.” Placing his half-full teacup down, Dean Rimsfel commented.

“If I didn’t know he was a 12-year-old child, I would easily believe he had thousands of hours on the battlefield under his belt. Not only that, but he appears to have complete control over all the members of his party, establishing a highly effective chain of command.” Professor Wallin added as she pulled up the replay of the battle herself.

“The younger Ragnarsson, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. From what I could sense, as he went about disabling his opponents, there was almost no hostility or malice in all his attacks; instead, he felt substantial amounts of remorse each time he severed a limb.”

“Then there are the Sanford siblings, Gabriella and Benjamin; the little girl’s outstanding control over her psychic skills is almost mind-blowing. Watching her move about while controlling the replicas was like watching a work of art. Her skills with a bow are also relatively high for someone her age. On the other hand, her brother… is clearly the weakest of the group, yet his smarts on the battlefield and his expert level of planning are second only to Ivar’s.” Professor Wallin accelerated the playback to three times the average speed as she spoke.

Before she could continue with her thought, Dean Rimsfel cut in.

“And his mental stability is just about as bad as both Ivar and that girl Selene.”

However, he stopped commenting when Headmaster Rivia gave him a dirty look.

“There were clearly extenuating circumstances for his outburst. Allegedly he was doing it as revenge for the wrongs caused to his little sister, and while I cannot condone his actions, I can’t necessarily say it is wrong for an older brother to step up and protect his little sister.” Tapping on the playback again, Professor Wallin ignored the outburst of her colleague and continued her breakdown.

“As for Selene Nilsson, she appears quick-witted and moves like a ghost, perfect for the assassin class; however, at her age, she shouldn’t be as adept at killing as she appears to be. There was apparent hesitation nearly every time she attacked as if she was forcing herself to recalculate her point of attack. I believe this has to do with her trying her best not to land a fatal blow on her opponent.”

Heaving a sigh, Professor Wallin closed the battle replay and looked directly at Headmaster Rivia.

“Overall, if you solely consider their combat abilities, resourcefulness and unity, I would easily recommend them for S-Rank Faction placement…” the following words caught in her throat, and Professor Wallin fell silent, debating whether or not to say them.

“I sense a but coming.” Headmaster Rivia gave a tired smile and waved to finish her thought.

“But, the intense hostility and bloodthirsty nature of Ivar and Selene, along with the apparent changing mood of Benjamin, lead me to believe they should undergo an immense amount of therapy and anger management courses. If they continue unchecked, it will only be a matter of time before they become ticking time bombs or kill someone.”

“Headmaster, I understand there is a certain level of leeway given to S-Rank individuals and even more for someone like Ivar who has an SS-Rank classification, but we can not let him act freely, if we do…I fear what could happen to our school’s reputation in the future.”

“His utter lack of disregard for the well-being of a fellow classmate, whom he wholely seemed to believe he had permanently crippled by forcing his own Mana into the boy’s Codex, was almost as disturbing as the very words he spoke to me after.” Professor Wallin crossed her arms over her chest and fought back the chilling memory of the boy dropping 5g of killing intent on her while looking at her as if she was nothing but an ant.

“You did well not stepping in when he did that; if you had, who knows what kind of reaction Ivar would have had at that time. Although forcefully injecting Mana of an incompatible Element into another’s Codex is Toxic, it isn’t untreatable; all that is needed is the corresponding opposite element and someone with a Medium Level healing skill. However, if left untreated, the effects would be similar to what Ivar Ragnarsson stated.” Headmaster Rivia said while rubbing his temples.

“We are lucky that our medical staff has several Light Affinity healers on call; if not, it would have been a shit show. If memory serves, Levin’s family has quite a lot of friends in high places, even if he is a useless waste of campus space. Regardless, punishment is in order.” Sneering in discontent, Dean Rimsfel picked up his teacup and took another sip.

“Dean Rimsfel is right; we dodged quite a bullet here because of Ivar’s apparent lack of knowledge in curses or lingering effect skills on top of him not actually attempting to kill Levin. However, there still needs to be consequences for his actions.” Headmaster Rivia said while drumming his fingers on his desk.

“Setting aside the issue of him trying to cause permanent injury to another student, he also ignored the student’s pleas for a Referee and words of surrender. Therefore, we will dock his monthly allowance from 50 Merit points to 20 for six months. On top of that, he will have his discount on the training facilities removed for the same amount of time. In addition to these disciplinary actions, I will instill a curfew on him barring him from leaving the dorms past 6 pm every night.” He paused and looked at the Professors, who quickly nodded that they approved and continued.

“As for the mental health and stability of Ivar, Benjamin and Selene, I will add to their schedules a mandatory anger-management class once a week and will speak with our psychology professors about issuing therapy sessions twice a week, which the three must attend. But, you are correct that we can’t let them continue on the path they have already stepped foot in. So, changes must be made, and if I have to sit in on these sessions to make sure the kids stay put, so be it. I have already invested too much to let them go, and it would be a waste to expel them.”

“Dean Rimsfel, I will leave organizing their schedules to fit the minimum requirements plus punishments to you. Also, make the proper arrangements for MyrkLys to go on record as an S-Rank Faction.”

“Yes, Headmaster, I feel that these punishments are befitting of the crime, and I will see to it that everything is carried out in an orderly fashion.” Dean Rimsfel stood up and gave a courteous bow to the Headmaster before nodding at Professor Wallin and promptly leaving the room to carry out the task.

Upon his vacancy, Headmaster Rivia and Professor Wallin let out a tired sigh. Headmaster Rivia pulled out a bottle of whiskey from his desk and poured a glass for himself and Professor Wallin.

“Now that the Stuffy Rimsfel is gone, talk, what has you so shaken up, Annika?” Then, speaking with a familiarity befitting to people who had been friends a long time, Headmaster Rivia turned the conversation more casual.

“I can’t get it out of my head, the thought that something or someone had forced these kids to become so ruthless that they could slice limbs or take lives without batting an eye even at their age. When I was their age, I was more worried about what clothing I would wear to school and if my hair and makeup looked good. Yet here you have five young children who are practically killing machines.” Then, taking a sip of whiskey, Professor Wallin confessed.

“Those two, Ivar and Björn, have a fascinating past; unfortunately, the most significant points are classified, but they seem to be experts at getting themselves into trouble from a very young age. Having spent some time with them, I can assure you that the faces they showed you during battle are far different from how they usually are. I can only assume it is some kind of defense mechanism.”

“Selene Nilsson is another case altogether; I don’t even know where to begin with how tragic that poor girl’s life has been. FOR NOW, all I can say is that we must nurture them in an environment that will hopefully help their minds heal. If not…I am afraid we will create actual monsters once they leave these hallowed walls.”

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