The Over-Break System

Although Cynrik was caught in a fit of quiet evil laughter, it went unnoticed by Professor Dennis and the majority of the class, leaving the Professor to continue explaining his syllabus for the entire school year.

“The first month will consist of me pushing you all to your breaking point. Only then will I have a full grasp of your abilities. Consider it hell month because I will try my best to break you physically and mentally.” Seeing the scared expressions of the students, Professor Dennis was pleased with himself until he looked over and saw that Cynrik, Brance, and Selene looked utterly unphased.

Usually, when he gave his boot camp speech, there wouldn’t be a single person not shaking in fear and worry, yet when he caught those three’ expressions and body language, Professor Dennis couldn’t help but frown.

[[I don’t get why everyone, including Gabby and Benny, is freaking out, isn’t it just basic training. Pretty sure the three of us had worse, especially you, Brance; Marine Corps Boot Camp is the hardest out of the bunch. Didn’t the crucible nearly kill you because you were running a fever and had pneumonia?]] Tilting his head to the side and making eye contact with the Professor, Cynrik shot the man a pleasant grin, which made Dennis grit his teeth.

[[Un, compared to your Airforce Basic Training and Selene’s Army Boot Camp, mine was indeed the most difficult. Also, wasn’t what you put the Sanfords through just a simplified hybrid version of both the Airforce and Marine Corps?]] Brance said while patting the back of Gabby’s hand to calm her down.

[[Kind of but not really. All I really did was keep the generic schedule while increasing the physicality and book learning. In theory, it was probably way more demanding than what we all went through. But at the end of the day, it was completely necessary to get those two to even remotely resemble something that could keep up with our pace and training.]] Leaning forward and bunting Benny in the back with his knee to get his attention, Cynrik gave his opinion about the hellacious four-year training he put Gabby and Benny through.

[[YOU DID WHAT? GABBY AND BENNY COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE THAN FIVE OR SIX YEARS OLD, AND YOU FORCED THEM INTO THAT LEVEL OF REGIMENTED TRAINING? ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?]] Selene, who was hearing the extent of the hard life the Sanfords had been subjected to for the first time, couldn’t contain her surprise and blurted out in the mind link, causing Cynrik and Brance to flinch from her screeches.

[[Damn it, woman, there is no fucking need to yell; we can both hear you just fine. But yes, we had no other choice. You have to remember that the two of us were fresh outta WW3 and were still in that militaristic mindset. Then our parents basically forced us to babysit, and one day the Sanfords saw the two of us sparring and demanded we teach them…so we did.]]

[[What? Did you think the two of them learned to fight so well by me being nice? Hell no, they were both lazy as shit back then, but because of the maturity increase that comes with the INT and MIND stats, the two needed to be whipped into shape. Not to mention they were wild hand grenades, unable to control their strength back then.]] Shrugging his shoulders and ignoring the look of protest on Selene’s face, Cynrik explained his reasoning further.

[[You need to remember, this isn’t Earth, Selene, I know I say it a lot, and Deities know I bring up the past more than I should, but we can’t keep the same mindset. Here, on Vinestra, kids learn to fight monsters as soon as they can walk and talk. I am sure that shebitch who birthed you got at least that part right; look at you, you can already stand toe to toe with someone a Tier above you, yet you find it offensive that I trained Gabby and Benny from an early age? After the near-death experience those two had, even the holier-than-thou Brance was on board with the idea. They were literally kidnapped and in the clutches of some beefy cornfed mother fucker; if it weren’t for Brance and me showing up, who knows what state they would be in now, if not dead.]]

[[Cynrik is right, Selene, I wasn’t keen on forcing Gabby and Benny to train to the extent we did back then, but after they were kidnapped, tortured, and handed over to someone to become a plaything, I found it better to teach them the right way so that it didn’t happen. The worst part is, that guy wasn’t even strong by our current standards.]] Clenching his free hand tightly, Brance forced down the memory of Gabby and Benny being held hostage.

“Ivar Ragnarsson, am I boring you? Or do you just have something to add since you are a self-proclaimed High-Class Combat Instructor?” Fed up with Cynrik’s rapidly changing facial expressions and smug attitude, Professor Dennis finally snapped and called him out.

“Eh? Um, I don’t really have anything to add. Physical and Manual Stat training works wonders, but it won’t aid newbies much in live combat drills.” Cynrik replied in an uncaring tone. He had picked up on the fact that Dennis was lacing his every word with sarcasm, so he matched it.

“To be honest….” Cynrik leaned forward with his hands still in his pockets and stepped forward, placing his left foot on one of the benches.

“If we are expected to go through this Boot Camp, you should also force everyone to adjust their diets. High in protein, and low in carbohydrates, if you just have us constantly working out, most of my peers will collapse within two days. But that only applies if this was the only Course we have every day. Luckily it’s slated as the last class on our schedules…well, almost everyone’s schedules, so you can efficiently run them ragged and whip them into shape.”

“Are you saying you know better than the tried and tested course structure created and refined by thousands of Professors and Instructors?” Professor Dennis didn’t get baited by Cynrik’s comments and instead raised one of his eyebrows in response.

“Of Course not, Professor Dennis; I wouldn’t dare. But what I am saying is something like that will only give everyone a crash course in the short term. If you expect my peers to be able to dive into higher Classifications of Egresses or punch above their Tier, they will need more.” Cynrik’s words had many of the students nod unconsciously. After all, they had just got done watching the boy fight, and the effect he had was very apparent.

Brance, on the other hand, was already gripping Cynrik by the back of his blazer and tried to force him back into his seat before he pissed off the Professor.

“You have a fascinating point Student Ivar Ragnarsson. However, your theories do not supersede the years of training I have under my belt in molding young minds. This may only be an introductory course, but I am proud to say that not a single one of the students who have been under my tutelage has flunked out of the Academy. I won’t speak ill of my colleagues, but you’re quite lucky that you ended up in my class and not one of theirs.” Taking a smug stance, Professor Dennis countered, causing Cynrik to fall silent before smirking as an idea sprang into his head.

[[He’s testing me, hehe, this bastard wants to put me in charge of the class like a rep or something. Odds are he is a little too impressed by how all the party handled themselves in combat.]]

[[Cyn…]] Sensing his older brother was about to bite off more than he could chew thanks to the Professor’s bluff, Brance warned. Cynrik had always been like that when someone challenged him. He always NEEDED to win or one-up whoever issued the challenge. Now was no different, and it was apparent to both Cynrik and Brance that Professor Dennis was trying to goad Cynrik into becoming a teaching assistant.

“Student Ivar, if you were paying attention instead of being lost in your own head, you would have realized I only detailed the first MONTH; there are ten months in an academic year, so pray tell, if only Month 1 is an intensive training, what do you suppose the other nine are?” Then, cupping his chin and hiding his grin from the class, Professor Dennis challenged Cynrik, but to his surprise, he didn’t get a reaction from the clearly confrontational boy.

“That, Professor, is for you to know and us to find out; I apologize for butting in where I shouldn’t have.” Then, giving a shallow bow, Cynrik returned to his seat and acted as if he hadn’t said anything, to begin with.

[[As I live and breathe, did I just witness my stubborn and belligerent older brother yield an argument to an adult. Holy shit…*sniffle* They grow up so fast.]] Brance began using an emotional tone to tease Cynrik, but it was met by silence.

Even Gabby, Benny, and Selene were shocked to see Cynrik not go off and try taking control over the class from Professor Dennis.

[[The hell? Did you guys seriously think I was about to take on a bunch of know-nothing kids? Fuck that; I have my hands full, keeping Benny, Gabby, and now Selene in check and on the right path; you can’t seriously expect me to train another 60 plus kids. NO THANK YOU!]] Cynrik scoffed and shuffled his hands in his pocket; it was difficult not to cross his arms due to the pain.

Professor Dennis stood rooted in place, clicking his tongue. Then, realizing that he had been fooled by Cynrik once again, he could only toss away the idea brewing in his mind to make the boy his teaching assistant for the year. Left with no other option, Professor Dennis continued explaining the course syllabus until the bell signaling the end of class rang.

“Remember to rest tonight, everyone; tomorrow begins the hard part; oh, and as Student Ivar suggested, you’ll need to eat a hearty dinner because your body will need the extra nutrients; I don’t want anyone to pass out on the first day of training.” With those last words, Professor Dennis dismissed his students and watched them migrate towards the elevator, with his eyes lingering on the backs of the MyrkLys members.

[[Whew, dodged a bullet there, I thought for sure he was gunna force the class rep position on me. Luckily I gave in when I did, or he probably would have continued grilling me until the question came up in natural conversation. OI, remind me to watch my mouth around Dennis.]] Cynrik chirped at Selene and Brance while following behind Benny.

[[I think you have other things to worry about right now, Cyn. Hehe, like the fact that Gabby and I are done for the day. Yet you, Selene, and Benny have Annngerrr Manaagmennntt~.]] Holding Gabby’s hand lovingly and swinging their arms back and forth, Brance brought up the fact that he and Gabby could have some alone time since their school day had officially ended. However, the other three still had an hour-long class left before they could head home.

[[TSK, you two better have dinner ready and the house fucking cleaned before I get home, or so help me, I will fucking roll through your bedroom like a god damn hurricane.]]

[[YEAH, Cyn and I will trash your well-crafted and neatly organized bedroom, hehe, I’ll totally rearrange all your books on your shelf upside down and out of order, kuekuekue.]]

[[Kuekuekue, my dearest Selene you are sooo evil, I totally approve.]] Cynrik said while shooting her a thumbs up, cringing at the pain in the process.

Unfortunately for the two Dark Affinity Users, Brance had already severed the mind link connection, said his goodbye to Benny, and hurried off to have a little date time with Gabby before everyone got home.

-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