Chapter 21：Matters of Family

Heima said after careful thought, "Does that mean the Unranked Skill will display the might of a Tier 5 Skill if the person wielding it is either a Transformer or a Sky Controller?"

"Indeed," Hancent nodded, "But, you must remember that irrespective of your Tier, the human body can accommodate only one Unranked Skill. So one is advised to give careful thought before considering the Unranked Skill they need."

"But," Hancent said with a shake of his head, "You wouldn't be aiming for that. Our family possesses an Unranked Skill of our own. Moreover, it is a perfect product. Old Man Bone had just perfected it recently. Our Unranked Skill is one of the 19 perfected Unranked Skills in our city."

"Grandpa is so awesome?" Heima muttered aloud, astonishment present in her tone.

Hancent gave a wry laugh and didn't comment on the matter. "Anyway, the two Unranked Skills: Flight and Regen are eliminated from the list. Regen can only be obtained by Espers, and Flight... it's not of much use to you for most of the cases."

"Also, don't bother about the Artifacts listed here; anything you need can be obtained through our family warehouse. You need to only focus on obtaining the Trait Fruits which are exclusively controlled by the military. If, at the end of the year, you still managed to save some excess points after all purchases, then exchange them for the Frenzy Fruits." Hancent then continued to explain the steps Heima had to take, the courses she could focus on first, the Trait Fruits she could exchange in priority order, etc.

"Especially, the Trait of Temperance; it will be of utmost help to you in the future, capable of saving your life. This will be your first priority." Hancent emphasised. Heima listened with rapt attention as Hancent continued with the topic until it was dinner time. He then stopped speaking about it when Gita knocked on the door, pulling her friend to have dinner.

The two girls shared the information their parents had imparted to them, creating muffled discussions as they slowly walked towards the cafeteria, pulling a couple of their friends with them, forming a small group. Even though they all looked skinny and frail, their expressions were a lot better than the morning.

Heima controlled herself to not speak about the details of the Unranked Skill exclusive to her family, only sharing the other insights imparted to her by Hancent. She then took the role of a bystander, listening to the others talk about the list, showing off their knowledge, acting like a know-it-all.

'It seems the Principal's gift was better than I expected.' Hancent thought, constantly monitoring Heima's mental health from a distance—noticing the changes that occurred to her in real-time as she interacted with her friends—using his abilities as a Wave controller to the full extent.

Even though he sat in the dorm room—with Heima separated by a distance in the cafeteria—he could still feel her location, ready to come to her rescue if necessary. Before she left for dinner, Hancent slid a small bangle on her wrist, looking metallic, having zero external components embedded into it.

The authorities had allocated different periods for their dinner time; the students had their dinner between 8:00 PM and 8:30 PM while the parents were scheduled from 8:45 PM, having no time limit. They also created a temporary curfew for the students to be at 9:00 PM, existing till the end of the month, reverting to a 24-hour operating schedule after that.

Intending to take a breath of fresh air, Hancent walked out of the dorm, coming out of the Indigo building. He then noticed a middle-aged man sitting on the edge of the pavement, looking carefree as he gazed at the bustling students walking to and fro on the ground. Finding a familiar face, Hancent walked towards him, striking up a casual conversation—a part of his brain constantly monitoring Heima.

"You are quite protective of her." The middle-aged man said with a smile. "I am quite perceptive when it comes to Psychic Energy, the only reason I could survive out there."

"Hancent Bone," Hancent shook hands with the middle-aged man, letting out a chuckle, not intending to continue with the topic. "Level 3 Research Fellowship, 7th Ring Unit Weapon Research Facility."

"Sorry, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself back then." The middle-aged man let out a chuckle, "Hrepschrit Grey, a colonel from the Long-Horn Battalion, Ring 7."

"I was surprised by the strength and decisiveness you showed back in the underground metro," Hancent said, surprised. "Now I can understand why. Long-Horn Battalion…"

"It's harsh surviving amidst monsters." The middle-aged man let out a self-deprecating laugh. "At least, I hoped my son wouldn't end up in such a place. Thankfully, he ended up becoming an Esper."

"Hiltol Grey, right?" Hancent inquired, having made a guess based on the last name.

…

Laila's mother felt her heart lurch, watching her daughter starve herself, not having any intention to eat until her father returned home. Seeing her, even George and Jyorta behaved similarly. Despite the grumblings of his stomach, the seduction by the tantalising aroma of the food, Jyorta desperately mustered every source of willpower from all nooks and cranny in his body, fighting against the desire.

Even though she felt sad, she didn't want the children to stay hungry. A cunning light flashed past her eyes as she silently beckoned for Jyorta to lean over. The unsuspecting youth followed after her, walking to the kitchen, taking a deep breath of the aroma permeating through the kitchen, his stomach trying to break out of his control.

"Aunty…?" Jyorta asked; hesitation lingered across his face as Laila's mother leaned near him, whispering into his ears.

"You know, Jyorta," She talked with a soft tone, "The last time Laila avoided food, she got a pretty bad stomach ache. You remember the time when she didn't come to school for an entire week right?"

Seeing Jyorta nod in all seriousness, she resisted her desire to pinch his cheek, continuing in the same tone. "So, skipping dinner will be bad for her health."

She then straightened her body, clasping her hands before her, "Can you do a favour for this aunty and make her eat? I even made your favourite Parathas."

"Parathas…" Jyorta wiped the drool leaking out, already distracted to the thought of food, having forgotten the past events. "Don't worry aunty; I will embark on this grand quest to feed Laila, through all tides and… sea waves."

'Trials and Tribulations' Laila's mother thought as she ruffled his hair, flashing a smile. "Clench victory, brave warrior."

Seeing Jyorta walk out with renewed vigour, Laila's mother let out a sigh of relief, setting up the utensils, her ears tuned to their conversations. She readily activated her Skill, giving her access to their conversations with striking clarity, finding Jyorta convince Laila in a matter of minutes.

'H-He's… what a charmer.' Laila's mother felt shocked, listening to the way Jyorta manoeuvred the conversation, leading Laila by the hook. After Laila gave in, George followed soon after. The four people silently finished the dinner when Laila washed her hands and rushed towards the bedroom, wrapping herself under a bundle of blankets.

Even though she was convinced to eat, she still hadn't forgotten the reason for acting adamant in the first place, silently shedding tears, leaking out muffled grunts from time to time.

The blue soul watched everything in silence, listening to Jyorta's use of words by connecting to his left ear. Jyorta didn't find anything amiss, using his little-finger to dig into his left ear, trying to clean it in order to recover his hearing in it. He assumed it was due to water droplets getting clogged in them.

If he was capable of displaying emotions, Kaushik, the blue soul would have frowned, expressing mild levels of shock. He suppressed his instinct to directly collide with Jyorta's soul, pitting them against each other for a battle of supremacy. He knew that, should he attempt something like that, then there was a fair chance that his soul would fuse with Jyorta's, erasing their ego, creating something foreign in the place as a result of the fusion—a disharmonious mess, filled with contradictions and insanity.

'The symptoms are already starting to show. Jyorta is unconsciously using my words, my lines, and my manner of speech. If it continues like this, at this rate, Jyorta might sense my existence sooner or later. If his body mounted some unwanted struggle, I might very well lose control over my host.'

The blue soul needed to access his brain to think, plan its actions, and execute them. Without using the brain to think, just by relying on its ability to passively invade his soul, it might take more than a decade to gain complete control over his body.

Moreover, once Jyorta becomes 20 years old, his life experience might very well be evenly matched with him. This might also spark off a chain reaction that would allow him to subconsciously take control of the blue soul, erasing Kaushik's ego.

…

At a floor just below the topmost floor of a skyscraper, inside a wide room that had a window scaling from the floor to the ceiling, taking the place of the wall on one full side, a frail lady stood in silence. Her bones were clearly visible at a glance, forming indentations that rose up in a rather obvious manner. Her skin looked dull, almost listless while there existed trace amounts of flesh beneath her skin, giving her a negligible amount of mass.

She watched a particular room on the 28th floor of the skyscraper opposite to her, looking at its dark interior, her mind drifting to somewhere unknown. The room she stood in was dark, the only source of illumination being beyond the glass walls. She stared with a vacant gaze, in silence, until the door behind her opened with sound, causing the air inside to stir.

An old man who looked to be in his eighties walked in, his back erect, concealing his slight hunch; his head was covered with greyish-white hair, the loose strands covering the majority of his forehead, giving him a sense of disarray. His beard was trimmed to match the style of a military veteran, his eyes shining with a sense of pride and excitement as he looked at the frail woman.

"Old bastard, I told you to leave me alone for tonight." The woman said in a cold tone, glaring at the old man. If not for the obvious difference in their strength, the woman might have sent a punch at him, knocking him out of the room.

"I am afraid that is not possible, my dear." The old man arrived next to her, bearing a faint resemblance to the woman. "Your current body condition will make the implantation of the Unranked Skill a simple breeze. It would require a lot of effort once you have accumulated some more strength."

"Moreover," The old man paused, seemingly in thought, his eyes gazing at her from top to bottom as if she was a lab rat. "It is free if you choose to accept it now. Delay it any further, and I would have to bestow it to someone else. After all, many family members have recently managed to breakthrough, creating a greater demand for the perfected Unranked Skill."

Gazing behind her, at the vacant house in the skyscraper opposite to her, Henrietta clenched her fists, feeling the lack of strength in them, finally relaxing them as if she had lost all her vigour. "Fine, begin preparations."

"As expected of my beloved daughter; may you lead our Bone family to usher in a new era!" The old man said, waving his hands as a giant rectangular apparatus was carried in by four able-bodied men. Placing the apparatus in the centre of the room according to his instructions, the four men hurriedly retreated out of the room, closing the doors shut. They locked the doors, standing guard to prevent the prying eyes of outsiders.

A huge shutter dropped down, shielding the glass walls from the outside world, making the room turn pitch black. As the old man pressed a button, a faint light flashed at the top of the rectangular apparatus as its shafts opened, revealing a berth fit for the woman inside.

"Make yourself home, Henrietta." The old man flashed a smile, "The moment you wake up will spark the rise of our family."