"Huff…puff…" Haesha kneeled, feeling difficulty in her breathing. Droplets of sweat dripped from her, forming small splotches on the floor. The ear-piercing sounds, the nauseating smell, and the broiling aura served to collapse her bearing.

The barrier shrouding her fluctuated erratically, on the verge of collapse. Small pores formed on it, punctured by the impacting aura, affecting her.

Considering her accumulation, she possessed enough psychic energy to last long enough. But, her psychic energy barrier was beginning to crumble, its sturdiness unable to cope up with the unleashed aura.

Once he shielded himself from the sound and smell, Jyorta was fine for the most. As he had restricted his strength to official levels, his psychic energy barrier too was getting punctured in many places.

Though, when the aura seeped through the punctured holes and hit his body, he wasn't affected much. It wasn't something he had to conceal since it was a result of his training with the Tier 5 Artifact his grandfather had prepared for him. It was something he had long obtained permission for.

Jyorta's heart lurched when he gazed at Haesha struggling beside him, intending to slightly alleviate her pressure. But, after a moment of consideration, he decided otherwise.

'Just like how I tempered myself using the Tier 5 Artifact, this will temper her. If I helped her now, it will negatively affect her growth in the future. Sigh, is this what parents usually feel when training their children?'

Jyorta sat on the ground, assuming a cross-legged position, motioning for Haesha to follow the same, "Don't try to fully block the aura. Try to temper yourself with it, and filter the volume using your psychic energy barrier. You can also use this to further your control over your psychic arm."

Haesha nodded, mimicking his actions. She sat cross-legged, trying to control her breathing. Her body shivered, her skin turned a mild shade of red, worsening as time passed. Her trembling intensified with time, affecting her concentration, weakening the psychic energy barrier she had erected.

Since it was constantly getting punctured, Haesha had to continuously expend her psychic energy to mend it, also having to divert her concentration to keep up the shape, structural integrity, and stability of the erected barrier.

Under the barrage of influence that affected her concentration and suppressed her body's functionality, it was difficult to maintain a state of focus and control for a prolonged duration. Soon, a thin stream of blood dripped from her nose. Haesha wiped it off with her uniform's sleeve and persisted.

Seeing her determination, Jyorta's fighting spirit was ignited. He controlled his psychic energy barrier, fighting against the aura that punctured numerous holes in it from time to time. He increased the speed of mending the barrier, also improving its structural integrity in real-time.

The holes that had been punctured at first had been quite large, spanning greater than the size of his thumb, also numbering in the double digits. It was because of the uneven distribution of psychic energy in his barrier, and also because of the irregularity in the structure he had erected.

Jyorta modified it based on the damage, getting accustomed to it as time passed. Practical experience was the best teacher. Experiencing something once was equivalent to studying it a hundred times theoretically.

The size of the holes began to reduce, the number also decreased, soon approaching the single digits.

Jyorta had a vast energy reserve in his Brain Crystal, unflinching at the expenditure. Even Haesha, who was still a Line Controller, had enough psychic energy to last for a sufficient duration, not to mention him, someone who had been an Area Controller for more than eight months.

While he was improving, he split his focus into two. It was something possible thanks to his state as an Area Controller. One half of the focus was directed to maintaining and improving his psychic energy barrier, while the other was used to spy on his peers.

'Most have fainted. It isn't surprising, considering this was their first time experiencing a full-bloom aura.' Jyorta recalled the intense aura unleashed by the Tier 5 Artifact his grandfather had prepared for him. It was then he began to suspect something.

Tier 1 beings, both Warriors and Espers lacked an aura. At Tier 2, they possessed one. During his morning jogs, he experienced the aura from many seniors at Tier 2. Though, it wasn't something that would affect anyone, considering it was emitted by students who had newly broken through to Tier 2 and had yet to learn to control their aura.

To get a sense of the aura a normal Tier 2 being possessed, he had approached Hrita Bone and Rakh Veera, to which the two of them agreed. When they unleashed their aura, he made a note, thanking them.

He approached them in December, a day after Rakh Veera had finished his Graduation Ceremony. Even after the students finished their Graduation Ceremony, they stayed in the military academy until the end of the month, finishing the formalities related to their job allotment.

At that time, Hrita Bone had been an Amplifier, only 21 days into Tier 2. So, her aura was feeble. As for Rakh Veera, having been in Tier 2 for almost three months, he had a sizeable aura. His aura was also amplified by the Trait of Dominance he possessed.

"My current aura should be the limit of what an average Amplifier should possess." Thinking back to his words, Jyorta's mind whirred in thought. Even the aura Rakh Veera had unleashed was a considerable sum.

Considering how the aura would become more powerful at higher stages, also experiencing a qualitative change at Tier 4, Jyorta felt doubt about the intensity of the aura unleashed by his Tier 5 Artifact.

The difference between the aura unleashed by an Artifact, Relic, a Frenzy Beast, and a Human in the same Tier differed, with the highest being from humans and the lowest being from Artifacts. Even though the difference ought to have been considerable, Jyorta felt the aura from the Tier 5 Artifact in his possession was too weak.

As for the goggles and the magenta chakram, he couldn't even sense a trace of aura in them.

'Did grandfather limit the aura emission?' He shook his head, putting the thought to the back of his head. He then looked around, sensing the state of the conscious students. Based on the aura seepage into the bodies of the students that resisted, Jyorta obtained an inkling of their Sync Rate.

Due to a lack of aura, it wasn't possible to get a sense of a Tier 1 being's Sync Rate. From Tier 2 onwards, their Sync Rate would be observable based on the intensity of their aura.

A body, whether human or Frenzy Beast offered a certain resistance against external aura and psychic energy. This resistance was further pronounced in the Frenzy Beasts, thanks to the Essence of Frenzy in their bodies.

In the case of humans, since they possessed superior aura, they resisted against external aura and psychic energy on the same level as Frenzy Beasts, sometimes even surpassing.

This resistance was present even in Tier 1 beings.

The resistance stemmed from the aura, which was basically, the cells in the body exerting their presence. The greater their Nurturing, the greater the presence of each cell in their body; it signified greater resistance. The Nurturing effect directly corresponds to an individual's Sync Rate.

When the external aura tries to invade their bodies, it would face certain resistance, depending on the individual's Sync Rate. This would make it easy to guess the individual's Sync Rate. This was how most Warriors probed the Sync Rate of their foes.

At higher Tiers, one could easily vary the aura they emitted, even making the intensity fall by a couple of Tiers. This made the strength one displayed conforming to deceit. That is why Warriors unleashed their auras and used it to accurately gauge the strength of their opponents.

Using the remaining half of his focus, Jyorta grasped the Sync Rates of his peers, trailing his gaze along the faces of each, linking their identities with their Sync Rates. Soon, he noticed Dalna Doppler, resisting against the aura like an unmovable boulder, unaffected by the situation in the least.

'A startling Sync Rate of 92 percent. No, it is slightly above that. Calculating based on her Sync Rate and her rank every month, it is normal.' Jyorta nodded. Dalna Doppler started with a Sync Rate of 86 percent after the Induction Ceremony, the highest in their Batch.

She placed third every month in their Credit ranking, getting a reward of eight Tier 4 Frenzy Fruits each time. A Tier 4 Frenzy Fruit increased Sync Rate by 0.1 percent, and considering the rewards she obtained for eight months, it was pretty much guaranteed.

One's Sync Rate fell only due to three possible ways: during a breakthrough, suffering an injury to the fused organ—the brain for Espers and spinal cord for Warriors,—and during mating. Since she hadn't experienced any of the above three, her Sync Rate remained consistent.

Jyorta took in a deep breath, his face morphed due to the stench. It wasn't possible to filter the air using his psychic energy barrier, at least, not with his current Tier and expertise. Controlling his twitching facial muscles under the effects of the aura, the blue soul in him overlaid the false persona—one of calm, optimism, and filled with focus.

Making a double check on his false persona, he gazed at Laila, surprised at the eye-contact. Laila gave a wry smile, nodding in his direction. Her psychic energy barrier was stable, preventing the aura from seeping through.

Even though it wobbled under the aura, not one hole was punctured through, showcasing her dextrous control. Jyorta nodded in return and retracted his gaze, focusing on the barrier he had erected.

'I still have a lot to improve if I want to surpass the surface level ability she has displayed.'