31st August, the year 334 of Dawn Era, eight months after the November Batch's Graduation Ceremony; once the November Batch graduated, a new November Batch joined in the next month.

8:15 PM, standing within the principal's office was Jyorta, his hands folded behind him, his position ramrod straight. He was silent, his face covered in sweat, his body faintly trembling. His eyes though, were vibrant, concealing a lot of wisdom.

The principal's room was bereft of any other existence apart from him. The table was a mess, with papers of all shapes and sizes scattered around. There was a lack of electrical devices in the room, with the lumination and conditioning actuated by Relics embedded in the walls.

After spending his time as an Area Controller for more than eight months, his strength had progressed steadily. Also, he had long finished consuming all the 70 Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits given by Grapple Force, causing his Sync Rate to increase by seven percent.

Thanks to the lead attained in his first month, he was placed consistently in second place for the past eight months, rewarded with nine Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits after each month, for a total of eight times. He would obtain August's rewards on the 10th of September when the results of his Batch would be displayed.

The rewards he had obtained collated to 72 Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits, giving him an increase in Sync Rate of 0.1 percent per each. Since he could consume one Tier 4 Frenzy Fruit every day, he had finished the rewards of July—which were handed out on the 10th of August—by the 19th of August.

After his breakthrough to Tier 2 in December, his Sync Rate had fallen to 57 percent. After consuming 70 Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits given by Grapple Force, his Sync Rate improved to 64 percent. Now consuming the 72 Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits over the months, his current Sync Rate surpassed 71 percent.

'My Sync Rate has slightly surpassed the one I started with.' Jyorta thought, standing in the principal's room all alone, feeling nervous. Today was the day his aforementioned breakthrough to Tier 2 was supposed to happen.

That was how he would be able to display his power without the need to hide it in the future. Since Madam Mary said she would supervise and protect him during his 'breakthrough', he had to wait until she became free. In response to that, he was summoned to appear in the principal's office by 8:00 PM.

'The memory power of a Sky Controller is no joke. But, I wonder why I've been told to wait. Is it another scheme? But this doesn't seem likely.' He thought. The last he spoke to Madam Mary was in December when she had summoned him to give a warning. After that, he had never been summoned ever again, since there wasn't a reason to do so.

All this while, he had taken plenty of care to never reveal his state as an Area Controller. But, despite knowing his summons was in response to his fake breakthrough to Tier 2, he still felt nervous. Madam Mary's tone back then was serious. If he did something that went against her plans, then he was bound to be erased without a trace.

Considering her strength, if she wanted all traces to disappear, then it was pretty easy for her to achieve. Unless Psychic Ancestor Marble personally paid attention to the area, then it wasn't possible for any clues of him remaining.

He didn't know if Psychic Ancestor Marble would arrive to defend him. He didn't have any assurance that would guarantee the other party's willingness to save him. At present, if Madam Mary decided to wipe out his existence, then he didn't have any methods to save his skin.

In such a case, his strength as an Area Controller was a joke. After all, the speed, range, and the methods under the disposal of a Sky Controller were beyond his comprehension. His abilities in the domain of the soul, though mysterious had their restrictions.

He didn't have much confidence in his soul surviving outside his body at its Tier 2 state. He might be able to prolong his survival by wrapping the two Soul Corneas around his blue soul, preventing it from vaporising until he took root in a different body.

But, if such a thing happened, then all his efforts till now would prove a waste. Also, despite the troubles attached, his current status as a member of the Bone Family was advantageous. The more he learned about the Aristocratic families in the military academy, the greater the importance he attached to them.

He had also been concocting his own scheme over the past few months, just that he hadn't completed anything in fear of being detected. Deific Inference was capable of prying open one's secrets, even going to the extent of pulling forth an individual's psyche.

Therefore, despite having many methods to preserve his life, he hadn't employed anything, placing his existence under the dictation of Madam Mary. All he could hope now is for everything to proceed smoothly.

9:00 PM, the double doors behind him opened as Madam Mary walked in, watching Jyorta standing in his spot, having not budged an inch for the past one hour. She smiled, "I was in a nearby room, attending to a guest. We can proceed with your breakthrough to Tier 2 now."

As she motioned for him to follow her, Jyorta heaved a sigh of relief, feeling his body relax, his tension abating, allowing him to appreciate the beauty of life for a moment. He silently followed her, not asking any questions, the fear imprinted deeply in his mind.

They walked to the end of the corridor, entering a room on the right. It was a tiny room, three metres in length and breadth, sporting another door on the opposite end. A tiny table was placed beside the door, with a monitor affixed over.

A lady sat behind it, hurriedly standing up after noticing Madam Mary's figure, performing a salute. Madam Mary nodded, her gentle voice echoing off the room, "I will be accompanying this child to oversee his breakthrough to Tier 2."

As the lady nodded in a hurry, Madam Mary glanced at Jyorta, motioning for him to listen to the lady's instructions, "You will need to complete a basic formality. Normally, one of your teachers will forward the application to us before we consider and give approval. Only then will a Cadet be allowed to attempt a breakthrough. In your case, Mila has already forwarded one yesterday."

Under the Lady's guidance, Jyorta handed his ID card, filling up a form before signing at the end. It was basically him giving a written declaration that he was solely responsible for his life, and that he was attempting a breakthrough after having considered all the risks it posed.

Once he finished signing, the door beside the desk opened, revealing a lift. He followed Madam Mary, entering the lift, watching it descend, its pace slow. 30 seconds later, the lift doors opened, allowing a narrow corridor to come into view.

There were four rooms, two on each side, their doors separated by a distance of 10 metres. At the end of the corridor was a door facing him; it had a signboard overhead, reading 'Recovery Room'.

The atmosphere was dreary, with the entire area vacant, bereft of any human presence. Madam Mary opened the first door on the right, beckoning for him to follow, "We rarely have more than one Cadet attempting a breakthrough within a day. So, this place is mostly vacant. Also, the number of Cadets attempting a breakthrough is very few, numbering between 30 and 50 per Batch, among the final three Batches here."

He entered the room, noticing a mat placed on the ground in the centre. Except for that, there wasn't anything else in the room, no lighting, no air conditioning, and no objects. It was empty, the atmosphere stuffy.

Madam Mary motioned for him to sit on the mat in the centre. She hovered in the air, seated cross-legged two metres above ground, watching Jyorta in silence.

He felt like a lamb whose neck was under the chopping board, with the butcher sharpening his knife in nonchalance, as if it was the most natural thing to do. Jyorta felt afraid, the darkness and the silence fear-inducing.

There wasn't any sound apart from his breathing and the sounds of his heartbeat resounding in his ear. Thankfully, it seemed the room had been aired out before his arrival, bereft of any lingering scents. Though, the lack of any scents also unnerved him.

Madam Mary chuckled, "You did a fair enough job in hiding your state as an Area Controller, so you won't be punished. There is no need to fear."

His heart calmed down while his breathing turned softer. Hearing her words of confirmation placated his tensed nerves. He then heard her continue, "Also, since Laila from your Batch made a successful breakthrough yesterday, as ranked second in the October Batch, it will not be a surprise if you breakthrough today."

"Thank you, ma'am." Jyorta bowed, his mind whirring with thoughts of Laila. Since his emotions had calmed down, the blue soul in him overlaid the false persona, one of calm, optimism, and filled with focus, showing no difference in his exterior.

He then began to think about Laila, fearing the scheme she was concocting. 'On the 10th of every month, when the results were announced, her score always surpassed mine by 1000 to 3000 Credits, irrespective of how I performed each month.'