Caterpillar

"I want to exchange for the Trait of Efficiency," Jyorta said, his raspy voice rang out, further straining him. He wanted to lie down and sleep but, he chose to sprint towards the first objective as soon as possible.

The Trait of Efficiency increased the body's metabolism. It led to a faster digestion of food in the stomach; it also sped up the process that happened in the large and small intestines. This allowed the body to eat at greater frequencies and store up more energy in their body.

Also, the prime reason for it being his first preference was because it raised the speed of 'Nurturing' by the Wisdom Parasite. Based on the data available in the Portal, and based on his experiences in the past few days, Jyorta concluded it to be better than when he used the Tier 5 Artifact.

The aura released by the Tier 5 Artifact forced the Wisdom Parasite in him to increase its Nurturing effect. Though, it was only for a limited duration—lasting for 20-30 minutes until the effect of the aura wore off—and put the body in great strain.

But, the Trait of Efficiency boasted an effect similar to it, and also worked 24x7. Moreover, it neither made the Wisdom Parasite feel threatened nor put the body in a strain. The details to its inner workings weren't available but, just its effects alone were more than enough to convince him.

'If the nurturing effect of the Wisdom Parasite at Tier 1 can be assumed as a Tier 1 Skill, then the nurturing effect using the Trait of Efficiency is equivalent to a Tier 2 Skill. Moreover, it is mentioned in the records that the limit of the Trait of Efficiency is Tier 3. It will automatically upgrade in effect to Tier 3 level when I become a Tier 2 Esper.' Jyorta thought, looking at the reception lady type on her keyboard.

Traits were equivalent to the Skills of Warriors but were passive in nature. The number of Traits under the control of Marble City was unknown but, of the ones listed in the pamphlet, Jyorta could infer their worth based on the Credits required to exchange for them.

'The Traits that cost between 10,000 and 15,000 have the effects of Tier 3. Below that are the ones at Tier 2 level. I guess the Trait of Severability and Trait of Growth are equivalent to Tier 4 Skills.'

The reception lady typed on her computer for a good 20 seconds, printed a slip, and placed it in an envelope. She handed it to him, "Wait here until I call your number. It is printed on your envelope."

Jyorta took the envelope, looking at the number 84 printed on its front. Underneath it was his name, printed in black, forming a sharp contrast with the white background. Printed on its back was the image of a soya bean, reddish-brown in colour.

Holding the envelope in his hands, Jyorta stood in an open area, away from everyone. He kept watch on the people that entered and exited from each door, looking at their expressions. Time passed in such fashion; after more than 30 minutes, the reception lady shouted, glancing his way.

"Token number 84; please proceed through door number 41."

Jyorta gave her a perfunctory bow, walking towards the door. As he neared it, the door opened and out came Laila, looking haggard but her eyes radiating spirit. The blue soul overlaid a false persona over him, feeling it shatter before it could take effect.

It was as if the functional blocks that made up its essence had been destroyed after shattering numerous times. The moment the false persona was destroyed, the persona of the previous Jyorta reverted to its regular state—one attuned to his personality.

The two looked at each other in shock and surprise. There was a feeling of fear cropping up from within him, one that was instinctive. Jyorta tried his best to rein in the fear, nodding at Laila as he entered the lift.

The lift closed upon entry, taking him higher up. Laila looked at his back that disappeared from view, blocked by the doors of the lift. Her expression was filled with puzzlement, her thoughts turning chaotic.

'Has Jyorta become his subsoul? What is he planning?' She warily glanced at her surroundings, her spirited expression vanishing. She then walked through the hallway leading out of the reception, taking the flight of stairs.

She exited the Head Office Building and walked towards her dorm. Throughout the entire duration of her walk, she gazed at the ground, not lifting her head, seemingly in deep thought. Finally, when she reached the dorm, she glanced opposite to it, looking at the dorm belonging to Warriors at the far end of her gaze.

Exiting the lift, Jyorta appeared in a room. The moment he stepped out, the doors of the lift closed but, it stayed in place, seemingly awaiting his return.

Jyorta took in the view of the room, gazing at its expansive atmosphere. The room had an elevated ceiling, almost 9 metres tall. The four sides had been furnished into a cabinet, the drawers spanning 10 centimetres tall and 20 centimetres wide. It had no hooks to pull them out, looking barren.

If not for the many drawers left open, Jyorta would have assumed them as decorations done to the wall, conforming to the weird aesthetics of the person in charge of the place. Other than the drawers, there was an elevated platform in the middle, circular in shape, raised a metre high.

It had the radius of a metre, shining with a green lustre. As Jyorta neared it, he wondered about the person responsible for giving him the Trait Fruit. Suddenly, the figure of a middle-aged man appeared on it, his expression warped to the extreme, his body covered with green sludge.

"Gah," Jyorta retreated, clutching his heart that was thumping loudly; there was shock, surprise, and fear in his demeanour. The blue soul in him chanted the verse of the creepy haired man, creating the two Soul Corneas. It extended three soul tendrils to his Brain Crystal, forging a strong connection in order to suck a greater volume of the energy.

As the two Soul Corneas emerged out of his head and shot towards the sludge covered man, Jyorta heard the sounds of laughter coming off him. The next moment, the green sludge vanished, revealing the pristine appearance of the man, his face no longer looking warped.

"You were slow to react." Followed by raucous laughter, the man commented, "Cadet, if I was a Frenzy Beast, you would have been breakfast by now."

"…Sorry," Jyorta retracted the two Soul Corneas, bowing his head in apology.

His Soul Corneas were a part of his soul, its build-up composed of the knowledge stored in it, condensed into its essence. It was ethereal in nature, undetected to others. Even the magenta figure of Psychic Ancestor Marble couldn't sense it, not to mention the others.

Through his encounter with Psychic Ancestor Marble, he had learnt of some important details; the discreetness of his Soul Corneas being one of them. So, he wasn't afraid of being found out unless he used it and affected an object or a person.

"It's fine," The man waved his hands, picking up the envelop he had dropped. "You are only a Line Controller. There is no way you could ever hope to sense my presence when I am hiding from you."

"We Ground Controllers can affect the surrounding environment and alter the weather to conceal ourselves amid them. What I showed you just now was one such example." He sat on the elevated platform, "Oh, the sludge was created through my Unranked Skill."

He then opened the envelope and fished out the slip from within, reading through it. In the meantime, a flash of green appeared behind Jyorta and formed into a chair for him to sit.

"Oh, another Cadet from October Batch has managed to accumulate Credits to this extent." The man flashed him a thumbs up, "You have worked hard. Keep up the effort as long as you don't burn out. Though, you definitely look closer to the dead now; so, I advise you to tone it down it a notch."

Seeing Jyorta nod obediently, the man lifted his arm, opening a drawer through his psychic energy, and fishing out a glass jar from within. "So, your first choice is a Trait of Efficiency. A wise decision I must say. Getting the Trait of Temperance at a later date wouldn't affect you much anyway. After all, the Wisdom Parasite's development would occur at a snail's pace in Tier 1."

"So, I presume you can't create the Caterpillar either. The girl before you had said the same." He placed his hand below his chin, showing the expression of one in thought. "Hmm, yeah; no wonder. If I remember correctly, you would have Madam Mila's classes today. She is bound to teach you the method to create the Caterpillar."

"Having to teach this twice in a day, this is a royal pain." The man muttered, waving his hands to change the chair of Jyorta into an elevated platform, a metre in radius. He then raised the elevation of the platform until Jyorta's line of sight aligned with his.

"Close your eyes and concentrate on your Brain Crystal. Every Esper will be able to do this innately once it begins to form." Seeing Jyorta's signal of having sensed it, the man continued, "Now, sense the surrounding region. You would feel a prickling sensation, one that feels foreign to your own. Try to pull it out."

"Follow the path I guide with my psychic energy and try to pull it out. Be as slow and steady as possible. If you damage it, your Sync Rate will get affected." The man directed his psychic energy, continuing to guide Jyorta.

After an hour of effort, faint tendrils of blood seeped out of Jyorta's nose, forming two thin streams. They continued to gush out for more than a minute, finally forming a blood-red sphere that was the size of his thumb.

Two parallel lines appeared on its surface, forming a gorge that travelled in a zigzag manner, starting from one end and making a full circle. Starting from it as the centre, the gorge spread towards the middle, forming a circle and creating numerous sections like the compartments of a train.

Tendrils of blood appeared from the gorge; they converged together in batches, separated by varying distances, forming a wriggling stump each. The parts below, and above the gorge rotated in opposite directions, unravelling a long ribbon, possessing a cylindrical body.

Mini gorges appeared along the width of its body, creating full circles, and forming 6 segments in whole. It had 3 pairs of stumps at the back and another 3 at the front, turning into legs. Under the man's direction, Jyorta brought his hand forward, displaying his palm.

Its rear legs rested on Jyorta's palm while its upper body bent to its back, making the forelegs parallel to the ground surface.

Suddenly, its three pairs of rear legs shrunk into its body, disappearing into the mould. Its three pairs of forearms, on the other hand, merged into one, forming a pair of hands that looked thick. What appeared to be cropped hair grew on its head—the first segment—triangular in shape.

A pair of antennae grew alongside the cropped hair while an item similar to a wine cup appeared on its right hand. On its left appeared a cigar that it raised towards its face.

The area of its face that looked blank formed a set of facial features, resembling human. With half-closed eyes, its mouth was slightly twisted, resembling the scowl of a gangster typically depicted in mafia movies. It brought the cigar towards its mouth, taking a puff, despite it being unreal.

"This is your caterpillar." The man replied, showing a trace of interest.