Chapter 274: The Objective

"Finally, it's done." Jyorta smiled, clenching his fist and bending a couple of times to check if the armour fit him correctly. He glanced outside his window, watching the students walk on the ground, going about their various ways.

He frowned, "Why haven't they begun to build the battlefield for the graduation ceremony? Did Madam Mila still not return?"

Madam Mila had three tasks in the military academy: training the Espers in basic Esper abilities, monitoring and grading the activities of the students in the Labyrinth of Frenzy, and creating the Graduation Ceremony battlefield every month.

When he returned from his first labyrinth exploration, Madam Mila had been absent. Occupying her seat was another staff. Now, despite there being only two days for the August Batch's Graduation Ceremony to start, there was no sign of any building activity. This meant she had gone somewhere far and couldn't return for the time being.

Jyorta was less enthusiastic to explore the labyrinth now. 'I had planned to use and experiment with my corrosion today. But, since she is unavailable, I'll put it off for next week.'

He turned around and grabbed a pouch, strapping it to his hip, also attaching a sword to his belt. Worn on his left was a bracer with a sharp blade, designed similar to the blade of an ice skate. It was in hopes the blade would damage his attackers when he defended against their attacks.

Attached inside an apparatus to his back was a chakram, a tad heavier than the previous one. Over the week he rested and recovered his psychic energy, his psychic arms had grown further. Therefore, he switched to heavier weapons.

He carried one chakram and three spindles, with only one spindle being less heavy, meant for his second psychic arm. It was a contingency measure since he planned to use his second psychic arm to shield his body.

All four weapons totalled around 14 kilograms in weight. He didn't wish to carry any more in fear of becoming exhausted quickly.

Since he planned to use his stronger psychic arm to carry the chakram, he only needed to carry around 10 kilograms while on the move.

Jyorta took in a deep breath as he arrived before his table, taking a seat. Placed above the table was a glass jar, and settled within it was yellow dust. It was something Madam Mila had given to everyone in December, stating it was a gift for them.

He had long since received the gift in it. But thankfully, its effect was recurring. He was thankful to Madam Mila every time he used this gift.

Jyorta seeped his psychic arm into the glass jar, unwilling to disturb the yellow dust. The moment his psychic arm covered all the yellow dust, mild feedback was transmitted through it, forming an image in his mind.

The image was of two psychic arms gently floating in space, unaffected by everything. They gently moved up and down, making motions similar to a handwave, directed at him. Jyorta closed his eyes, relishing in the memory.

As a result of the feedback, his focus improved, entering his most optimal state. The blue soul extracted this memory and implanted it on the eye mask, the false persona of martial devotion, mental peace, and one of body and mind.

It was the false person he had created to increase his training progress and efficiency. At present, he had three false personas: the face mask, the Hoberman sphere, and the eye mask.

After creating them, he didn't set them aside. The moment he found any flaws or chanced upon experiences that would better help him, he modified the false personas. Of them, the eye mask had experienced the greatest modification.

He was currently in his training phase, learning new knowledge and abilities every day. Therefore, he had to constantly modify and improve upon the eye mask. Only in such a way would he obtain the greatest result from his training.

'Good, I have extracted enough memories of this incident. In the future, I can enter my optimal state using the eye mask.' Jyorta gently bowed to the glass jar, thanking Madam Mila for her consideration.

Normally, unless a person was a Wave Controller or above, he/she was unable to make sense of the psychic arm's feedback. Thanks to his uniqueness and experience in using the blue soul to deal with experience fragments of all sorts, he could understand bits and pieces of the feedback.

The so-called gift in the glass jar was something that optimised the mental state of an Esper while also getting them used to the feeling of feedback. This way, the moment they reach Tier 3, they would instantly be able to understand everything their psychic arms relayed.

It was their training partner until Tier 3. This was why every Esper in the military usually roamed with their respective glass jars. Moreover, they could also practice their other abilities by modelling the yellow dust within. It was every Esper's training partner.

Jyorta got up and arrived before the door, intending to exit the room. Before he left, he inspected his equipment, noting that he had everything he needed. He also adjusted the spindles in their holds so that any passer-by wouldn't notice the tag on them. After all, a single glance at the tag was all it took to raise a truckload worth of suspicions.

He turned the doorknob when a familiar voice resounded in his ears, "The part about Laila being Gajara Rahi, don't mention it to anyone else. Even I wouldn't be able to save you should that happen."

"I understand, Ancestor Marble." Jyorta promptly kneeled on one knee, taking a respectful posture. "I haven't said it to anyone else. The reason I informed you before was to prevent any disaster from happening should she have any plans of."

"Since you have similar abilities, you understand her threat more than anyone else. Isn't that right?" He chuckled once, "Anyway, keep working hard. I won't be free enough to help you but Mila will be there to aid you, even after you graduate from the academy."

"Thank you, Ancestor, for your consideration." Jyorta bowed a tad lower, his tone one of genuine admiration.

"It seems you have soaked this era's culture pretty well." After a pause, the voice said, "If you are facing any problems, tell me now. Since I am here, I will help resolve them."

"None, Ancestor. My situation is under my control." Jyorta replied.

"Good," The tone held a hint of praise as the voice disappeared. After waiting for a couple of minutes, and seeing that Psychic Ancestor Marble hadn't said anything else, Jyorta exited the room, locking the door behind him.

He arrived before Haesha's room and knocked on the door, waiting for a few seconds before it opened. He handed his room key to her, "I am exploring the Labyrinth now. I will collect it when I return."

The room keys were made from a material that was good at absorbing aura. After an exploration, it would be akin to a dangerous weapon. Hence, after wising up, they decided to leave their keys to their friends while exploring the labyrinth.

"Be careful," Taking hold of his keys, Haesha spoke in concern, "I could barely tread a hundred metres before I was pulled out by the staff."

"That is impressive," Jyorta flashed a thumbs up. "You fared many times better than my first."

Haesha clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes once, "That was because you had entered without much knowledge of the Labyrinth. In my case, I had yours, Ashten's, and Esina's experience to act as a base of reference."

Haesha had finished her first exploration in the morning. When she returned to the dorm, she similarly picked her room keys from Jyorta and slept the first thing once she entered her room.

He had yet to inquire about the details of her exploration. Jyorta waved his hands, cheerfully smiling, "Let us talk once we return."

Seeing her wave from behind while he marched forth to battle, Jyorta relished in the experience. It felt as if she was saying farewell to him while praying for his safe return. For a moment, it was like they were newlyweds and he was a soldier who had to leave on a dangerous mission. All she could do was pray and wait for his safe arrival.

Though, most of it was his imagination. But, such a thought still roused his fighting spirit to its zenith. Jyorta hummed a tune as he entered the Red Building, walking to the counter on its end. He sighed in disappointment, noticing the staff behind the counter was not Madam Mila.

After finishing the formalities, he entered the tunnel on its right. The atmosphere was still as dreary, making his heart skip a beat. His nerves automatically tensed up while his gaze hardened, becoming attentive, focusing on everything around him.

His body entered a battle-ready stance, even though he was still descending the flight of stairs. Soon, he arrived before a large double door, the same as his previous run. He stood before it, taking in deep breaths to calm his nerves and absorb the vibe in the atmosphere.

He mentally iterated his objective for this exploration, 'I will head to the deepest layer, the 5th layer. And, the moment I come across a Tier 2 Crust-Mantle, I'll launch the Hoberman sphere into its soul and grab all of its semi-solid memory fragments. That way, I'll be able to learn more about that incident.'

He was both curious and excited at the prospect of unearthing a meticulous plan arranged by the world's top experts.