The Over-Break System

After rushing off the adults, Cynrik went through sealing the condo back off from outside interference, but while he was doing so, Selene pointed out the seemingly permanent scowl resting on his face.

[[What's wrong? Your scowl is deeper than usual.]] She asked while adjusting herself to get comfortable for what would more than likely be a long night of watching Cynrik work.

[[It's this world, just when I think I have a handle on the weird shit we come in contact with, new possibilities pop up, forcing me to adjust my viewpoint.]] Cynrik said as he raised both hands and manifested an extensive collection of Visible Umbra Mana in the form of a dense purplish black cloud.

Then, swiping his hands in an X-shaped gesture, he forced the particle cloud to rush forward. For a few moments, complete chaos ensued, as the particles appeared to be a living entity attacking and devouring invisible prey.

[[For all that I have learned, I never imagined people could control Mana particles to such an extent that they can see and hear using them as a proxy.]] Releasing a snort and walking around the condo while controlling the cloud, Cynrik had it attack several more times before finally dismissing it.

[[Huh? How did you come to that conclusion? Oh wait, let me guess, your eye skill?]] Tilting her head to the side and calmly petting Sie's crest feathers, Selene spat out the first thing that came to mind.

[[Yeah, I automatically assumed the moment I opened the door an outside party would try some shit, but you'll never believe what I just saw. Someone controlled multiple clusters of Mana into the shape of an invisible camera drone.]] Dusting off his hands and observing his surroundings to ensure he didn't miss any intruders, Cynrik reached out and caught hold of another batch of metal sheets.

[[Huh? Now I'm lost; how could you tell they weren't simply invisible drones or something of the sort?]] Pausing her pets and causing Sie to open one eye unhappily, Selene looked at Cynrik with a confused expression.

[[Easy, the density of the particles was a dead giveaway. Take these metal sheets, for example. When observed through my [Mana Sight], the particles are so tightly packed together that there is very little space between them. Whereas Mana constructs, or clusters of controlled particles, have large gaps between them, well, I say large, but the difference is pretty minuscule.]] Cynrik stated matter of factly.

[[At a glance, normal people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them, but when you've been using my ocular skill as long as Brancie and I have, we can tell the difference instantly.]]

[[Regardless, that was no physical object, it was like a hybridized Mana Construct, where the particles were so loosely stitched together that they could move through solid objects like a ghost.]]

[[What…the…fuck, yeah, I will leave that complicated shit to you and Brancie, without being able to see them, my only course of action would be to swarm the room with Abyss Particles and devour them. At least that way, I could get a vague sense of where they came from and how strong the other party was.]] Shaking her head and continuing her loving of the small raven in her lap, Selene reached over to scoot Vii closer so she wouldn't be accused of favoritism later on.

Peeking over his shoulder at the heartwarming sight of his woman and the two birds, a small smile crept unto Cynrik's lips before he turned back and began plating the living room.

[[You don't have to stay up all night and watch, you can go to our room and get some sleep, you know.]]

[[Un, I know, but I wanna be out here with you. We may not be having smexy time right now, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy just being nearby, you dork. Plus, I'm super comfortable and don't wanna get up.]] Puffing out her cheeks in a pout, Selene rebutted, making Cynrik chuckle at her antics.

[[Suit yourself then.]]

Like that, the four spent the rest of the night and most of the morning's early hours fortifying the condo.

Meanwhile, in Brance's SOC, aside from the sudden gusts of wind, the only sound for kilometers was the subtle swearing of Brance as he held his hands up and articulated them in conjunction with about a hundred massive metal parts.

These metal parts had taken Brance the better part of five hours to fabricate, and each time he completed one to perfection, he was forced to find a decent place to lay it down on the ground. Through trial and error, and thousands of scrapped parts, Brance was finally nearing the final stage of assembling his Relic-Totem.

"I still don't get it; what do all these metal parts have to do with you as a person? Some of them are familiar, and I swear I have seen them before in a memory or two, but I can't figure out what the point of this is?" Tobs complained while sitting on a rock not far from Brance with her legs crossed in a lady-like fashion.

"Tobs, for someone who has lived in my head and Cyn's for over a decade, I thought you would have recognized what I am making. Especially since not only me but Cynrik has also had a lot of experience with this object," Brance stated with a small laugh as he finished making a 60-meter-long T-shaped piece out of a combination of all his Affinities.

"Hm, that should do it for the attachments; let's see, Cam pin, bolt, extractor, bolt carrier, grip…." Running through the list of parts, some way bigger than others, Brance got a feel for the scale of what he was creating, and he knew that once fully assembled, his Relic-Totem would be larger than most Skyscrapers he had seen in both lifetimes.

"You know, when Geralt said you had to envision and create a Relic-Totem, he really did leave a lot up to interpretation. If not for my help, you wouldn't have even known where to begin. Tsk, such a slacker of a Headmaster." Tobs chided as she used a nail file to work on the cuticles of her right hand's fingers.

"Agreed, I'll have to fill in the others, but it makes sense why the Headmaster said nearly no one can complete their Relic-Totem on the first try. Aside from myself, I think only Cynrik has the know-how and control over his Mana to such an extent that he can create an intricate Mana Construct of such scale."

Nodding his head in agreement with Tobs' statement and jumping to his feet, Brance thought about the other members of MyrkLys and realized it would take some time to get them to a point where they could make such an object, even with the infinite Mana available in one's SOC.

"Right, now comes the fun part. Are you ready, Tobs? Once I float everything up, you should get a rough idea of what I am making, don't be too surprised, though." He said with a wide smile before holding up his hands like a music conductor and willing the over 100 objects to rise off the ground into the air.

"Uh, okay, if you say so, Brancie." Shrugging her shoulders and putting away the nail file, Tobs rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her open palms while watching Brance.

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