It was like a snake, slithering its way through the murkiness. The murkiness in response attacked the invader, seeking to invade it in return. But, a formless force protected the soul tendril, preventing the murkiness from coming near.

The moment the murkiness neared the soul tendril, it collapsed, its structure destabilised. After the soul tendril passed through, the murkiness in the region recovered.

Its presence was akin to an invincible predator in a field of grass. When the predator roamed the field, the fate of the grass was to be stomped. The murkiness churned, behaving based on the laws that governed it. But, irrespective of what it did, the soul tendril was unfazed.

A suction pod-like projection formed at the tip of the soul tendril. The projection grabbed hold of a part of murkiness, one that looked semi-solid. It exerted its influence, affecting the semi-solid murkiness, causing it to instantaneously vaporise.

A pure memory fragment appeared. The suction pod-like projection expanded, swallowing the memory fragment. Its serpentine body bulged in response to the memory fragment's travel, soon disappearing from view.

A second later, it spat the memory fragment, watching the fragment disappear into the murkiness. The murkiness constantly moved, its motions random. But in truth, it was the blue soul manipulating the currents. It was to prevent the soul tendril from coming into contact with any memory fragment concerning its secrets.

The soul tendril slithered through the murky region, swallowing any semi-solid murkiness it came across. Everything it consumed was related to the memories of Jyorta's daily life.

After making a couple more rounds, the soul tendril paused, emitting faint blue light, causing all the murkiness to freeze.

The soul tendril circled Jyorta's soul; its suction pod-like mouth bit on its serpentine body, making a loop. The soul tendril emitted blue light, seeping it through the soul, exerting its influence.

Jyorta finished his task, watching a detailed figure of him within the glass jar. A blue light flashed across his eyes, his psychic arm began to move, actuating different segments.

The figure within the glass jar slowly changed shape, morphing into Laila.

Eyes like a fawn, expressing playfulness, and glistening with wisdom. Thin lips, sporting a bright smile, showcasing the cheerfulness of the character; it was a vivid figure.

Jyorta's right hand moved up, using the index finger to outline from his forehead to his chin, eventually proceeding to his neck. The hand then shot up, pinching his cheek once. The flash of blue disappeared from his eyes.

Jyorta heard Madam Mila's voice in his ear, "Well done, replicating your friend with such accuracy. I commend your observational skills. Retract your psychic arm now, I will lift the illusion."

Jyorta looked at the figure of Laila crumbling in his glass jar; his psychic arm retreated into his head. He blinked a couple of times, feeling mildly confused. But, as if everything was natural, he didn't delve into the topic, focusing on Madam Mila's class.

While personally guiding each student, Madam Mila instructed the rest. "There is a certain Artifact that would help in your training. This is what we use to train our Espers faster. It helps you improve most of the basic techniques in a short period."

"During their 10th month here, every Batch will get the opportunity to use this Artifact and better their abilities. After all, based on what you have seen, training even a simple ability takes months. Your access to the Artifact will last until the end of the month."

"Wave Formation; that is the name of the Artifact. It is a Tier 3 Artifact; thankfully, we have enough for everyone. The Cadets I have guided can head to the 17th floor and begin using the Artifact." A psychic arm opened the door.

Seeing that Madam Mila didn't say anything else, the students that had received guidance stood up, exiting the class. After that, the students exited in batches of two. It was strange since she usually guided at least 4 students at a time in her previous classes. But, the students didn't ask, assuming reasons of their own.

Soon, it was Jyorta's turn. Madam Mila's psychic arm entered his body, prompting him to unleash his psychic arm. "You have already achieved today's objective. So, I'll teach you a small trick."

Jyorta noticed his surroundings turn translucent, implying that Madam Mila had erected another illusion around him. Without worry, Jyorta unleashed his psychic arm, watching Madam Mila's psychic arm take control of it, kneading it like dough.

Soon, his psychic arm enveloped his body, forming a layer. "You can make your psychic arm assume any structure and consider it its base form. Now, after layering your body, this is your psychic arm's current structure. Now, should an enemy make contact…"

The spike—formed by his psychic arm—emerged from his arm, travelling for a metre before retracting. Similarly, another spike emerged from his back, enacting the same. Spikes formed all across his body, attacking in all directions, at varying angles.

After the spikes had emerged from all possible locations, Madam Mila said, "Area Controllers have limited speed and power. The chances are, most enemies would be able to evade your attacks and close in on you. This trick will help you in both offence and defence."

Her voice became a notch serious, "Remember, this is only a trick. After all, the sturdiness of your psychic arm is limited to the power at its disposal. That is why the prime method of attack for Espers is by actuating external objects. There is a certain armour that will help better make use of this trick. Search around the armoury."

"Thank you, ma'am." Jyorta bowed a little, etching the sensation into his memory. He planned to train this later and grasp it until it became practically applicable. The translucent surroundings dissipated, prompting Jyorta that his guidance had ended.

Jyorta got up, watching Laila get up in response. It seemed the two of them had been guided at the same time. The duo exited the class and walked through the corridor. It was only the two of them at present. It would take a while before others followed suit.

"How is your training coming along? Have you mastered the barrier?" Jyorta inquired, watching Laila sigh in return.

"I barely managed to create my face yesterday. If I hadn't become an Area Controller, it would have taken me another week or two to finish it. Keeping the structure in position while moving every dust one at a time, it is hard." Laila massaged her forehead.

"Your progress is astounding. I am still far from completing my face."Jyorta let out a wry laugh. It was based on his official capabilities. Madam Mila had already instructed him before, helping him in setting the standard of improvement every day.

It only took her a couple of seconds to instruct him. So, she helped him every day. The signal to that was the yellow card she had given him in December. The moment Jyorta wrote a word on it, her psychic arm would enter his room and help him. Since it was an initiative by the other party, Jyorta was thankful.

Laila was short, around 15 centimetres shorter than him. So, he had to slow his pace to match hers. A flash of blue flickered across his eyes, changing his gait, making it resemble Laila's for a moment.

The soul tendril stopped exerting its influence, noticing the still murkiness begin to move. It then retreated out of his soul. No sooner had it done so did the flash of blue in his eyes disappear. Jyorta continued to walk, automatically reverting to his gait.

He didn't realise his earlier change, continuing to accompany Laila as they arrived on the 17th floor. All along, despite her cheerfulness, a mild frown was ever-present on her face.

Laila slowed her pace, watching Jyorta walk a couple of centimetres before her. It wasn���t a large enough distance for him to notice. She glanced at him once, her mind whirring in thought. Her frown deepened.

As Jyorta glanced at her, her frown disappeared, replaced by her usual expression. She smiled at him once, entering the room. "Let us train to our best!"

"Yeah," Jyorta nodded in return, following her. It was another corridor, with doors lined across the one side, numbering more than a hundred.

The moment he stepped foot inside, a voice resounded in his ear, "Head to room number 24."

Jyorta noticed Laila walking to the other side, concluding that the rooms were allocated at random. Based on the numbers, he walked towards one end, seeing the number of the last room being '26'.

There was a flight of stairs beside, running along the wall, proceeding further. He took the stairs and reached the 18th floor, soon spotting room number 24.

On the 17th floor, at the point of entry was room number 50, and at the end was room number 26. Therefore, Jyorta concluded that there were 50 rooms per floor. But, as for the weird arrangement of numbers, he couldn't care less.

The room was 4 metres in length and breadth, spanning a height of 3 metres.

There existed a single object, occupying most of the space. It was a blue coloured cube, its side being 3 metres. Inside it were many contraptions, their designs complex, and the concept similar to the Hoberman sphere.

Jyorta placed his hand on it; the texture was akin to glass, but slippery. Jyorta knocked it once, failing to hear any sounds. The material seemed capable of absorbing all the shock produced from his knock.

Jyorta glanced at his back, watching the door close shut. Embedded in the walls were tube lights, their luminescence gentle. He scowled, feeling vexed. Thanks to the effect of his false persona, his expression became placid at the next moment.