The Over-Break System

Meanwhile, back in Valor City, things moved more leisurely than they had after the Gala Incident.

As chaos ensued at the underground City of Opurnium, and Darla Jetlensr informed her family of the findings, half a mile outside of the DPZ, in a mobile command center shaped like a building but made from pure Terra Mana, the four Military officials who had attempted to coerce Cynrik during the Gala sat around a large oak circular table.

They weren\'t alone; in the room as well were all of the Academy Headmasters, present in the form of life-sized holograms. This group of advisors included the newly appointed ones from Finwan Academy and Supremacy University.

The new Finwan Headmaster was a well-built man with features similar to Rikard\'s; only his skin was pristine and free from battle scars.

Royland Jetlensr, Leelan\'s father and the second to youngest of Darla\'s children, is only three years older than Rikard; however, you would never know it as he physically looked at least 15 years older than his brother, thanks to his wisened and slightly grizzled visage.

Like Rikard and nearly every member of the Jetlensr Family, Royland had bright Aqua hair, sharp brows, and glittering emerald eyes, which aesthetically went well with the hair and a chiseled jawline.

From Supremacy University was Viktor\'s oldest son, Inodis, a man who, if genetic testing hadn\'t been done, no one would believe he was related to the previous headmaster since he physically looked utterly different.

With tan skin, hazy grey eyes, and sandy brown hair, Inodis was far from the Caucasian Viktor or Jason. Adding to the ever-expanding list of differences, Inodis seemed physically frail, even sickly; however, this was due to his advancements in his Affinities, Poison, and Decay.

At a glance, unless you were physically present, it would even be challenging to tell that Inodis was alive since his breathing was extremely shallow; however, don\'t let his appearance fool you because of all those present in the room, he was by far the most sinister, cunning and above all dangerous.

Glancing around the table, in his stunning silver uniform, sporting four stars on each shoulder, General Kent Braddick cleared his throat and spoke up.

"The recession of the DPZ has begun, as we had previously surmised, the rate of dispersal of the Divine particles is as predicted, slow and steady. As it stands, the dome is currently breaking up between 25 and 30 meters a day."

"Fortunately, it seems to be slightly accelerating as each day goes by, so if things stay as they are and the growth rate persists, within six months, we should be able to reclaim Valor City." General Braddick stated, causing those present to nod in understanding, well, everyone except for the ever-inert Inodis.

"So until the DPZ finally disperses, I request the aid of each of your academies. I know that since the Gala incident, which saw you losing most of your backers and several of your greatest talents, times have been hard, and money is becoming scarce, but now is not the time to cease operations." Before General Braddick could continue his speech, a creepy voice cut in.

"Now, General Braddick, have we not already given enough aid? With the early ending of the Competition and the distribution of lackluster rewards due to its early termination, we are already running low on funds to continue aiding your efforts." Inodis\'s voice matched his appearance, and his words struck a chord with the other Headmasters, including Geralt.

Contrary to what was initially believed, with the loss of so many combatants, the Competition was cut short, and the points were tallied early by the CSH, generating a mere 5% of the rewards that had become a standard in past iterations of the Competition.

The Academy that came in first place wasn\'t even from a native Nation, and 5 of the six Main Academies failed to secure a spot in the top 25; only VSFA obtained that title, thanks to the efforts of MyrkLys, even though they only ended up coming in 18th place, a far cry from what Cynrik had been pushing for.

Still, since it was the CSH who put on the Competition, no one had a say in what happened, and all the Academies could do was suck it up and cut their losses.

"It was…after all, partly, the Military\'s fault that this incident occurred. Had you all done your job correctly securing the area, we wouldn\'t have been subjected to this attack from Haylon. And not a single one of the young competitors would have perished."

"As such, I will formally state my withdrawal from the relief efforts and pull my force back effective immediately as there is no benefit from continuing." With that said, the hologram of Inodis vanished, and off in the distance, the soft rumble of several battle cruisers taking off could be heard, causing General Braddick and every other Military official to frown.

"I, too, am pulling out of this farce; you have milked enough of our Academies resources." Before General Braddick could recover from the loss of Supremacy University, the self-proclaimed most prosperous institution present, Royland, too, spoke up before cutting off his hologram and ordering his forces to return.

Soon enough, two more holograms, those of the Headmasters from Banes College and Quest Combat Academy, withdrew their stationed forces from the DPZ, leaving only Col. Hawthorne from Renson Military Academy and Geralt present in the meeting.

The presence of Col. Hawthrone was a given, considering the largest source of both resources and funds came from the Military and Government, but what surprised those present was the fact that VSFA\'s Geralt had chosen to stay.

"VSFA will continue to aid in the border control for Valor city and the relief efforts so long as the DPZ stays standing. However, I do hope to request something in the form of compensation." Geralt stated upon feeling, all eyes fall on him.

"Sigh, and what would that be? You know we are already stretched thin, so the amount of compensation we can give out pales compared to what you deserve for staying." Massaging his temples and reeling in his budding rage at the four Academies who had left the meeting, General Braddick sighed tiredly.

"Worry not, General Braddick; what I am requesting is something that shouldn\'t be much of an issue. I only wish for access to a certain number of Egresses to help train my students faster…" Wearing a smile that wasn\'t a smile and imagining a particular confident, annoying laughter echoing in the back of his head (CLEARLY CYNRIK\'S), Geralt threw out his offer.

"How many and what Grade of Egresses are we talking about here?" Confused at the request from Geralt but willing to hear the man out, General Braddick soon felt as if he had been smacked in the face by the answer and couldn\'t believe his ears when he heard the response from Geralt.

"Well…all of them under your collective control..."