Psychic Parasite

8th May, three days later; 7th Ring, Sector 12, the Mansion of the Bone Family was bustling with activity. Three men and two women, dressed in long, hooded robes stepped foot in the Bone Family mansion. Old man Bone stood in the front, followed by many elders of the Bone family, nervousness and excitement in their faces.

"Welcome, esteemed Administrators." Old man Bone motioned for the crowd to part to the side, creating a path that allowed them entry into the mansion. "It is my utmost honour and a lifelong dream to live to witness this day."

"Enough with the pleasantries; let us begin." A middle-aged man who looked old enough to step into the final phase of his life curtsied. With a wave of his hand, he muted the bustling sounds, creating a disharmonious atmosphere. People were talking among the crowd, but the sounds didn't appear, seemingly dispersed in their oral cavity, striking a sense of fear into them.

"Yes, please." Old man Bone took charge, hurriedly dispersing everyone away, including the important members of the family. Before the Administrators, even he didn't dare to speak, not to mention the others.

'Three Transformers and two Sky Controllers; they can destroy the Bone family in a matter of seconds if they wish to do so.' Cold sweat drenched his clothes as old man Bone lead the team of investigators to the topmost floor. Opening the door to his research room, he beckoned for them to be seated while he fished out a glass bottle from within a safe.

In order to not disturb them, old man Bone had taken measures, vacating everyone from the topmost floor and the one below. He posted guards everywhere, tightening the security, also placing the Shifters and Ground controllers of their family at key locations.

The team of investigators sat in a curved sofa, designed in the shape of a crescent moon. The man who had silenced the surroundings before sat in the centre, looking like a statue. He had a rigid face, his sharp jaw giving him the feeling of a reptile while the other aspects of his face gave him a feminine vibe.

"I never thought we would get such a fast response. We were almost caught off guard, but thankfully, my daughter has finished recovering. On your cue, I can summon her for a demonstration." Old man Bone placed the glass bottle atop the table before them. He stood a couple of feet behind the table, not daring to sit as a show of respect.

The moment he placed the glass bottle on the table, the eyes of the five Administrators focused on it, inspecting the grey dot floating in the centre. The Administrator sitting in the centre waved his hand, lifting the glass bottle and making it hover in the air before him.

The air around him changed as mysterious symbols flashed. The symbols formed an eye that entered the grey dot, lighting it up, and drowning out the resplendent hue emitted by the surrounding solution. A minute passed as the eye emerged out from the other side, morphing into a grey coloured neuron, black lightning flashing across its nerve endings.

'Deific Inference; the Unranked Skill of the Light family, personally created by Rhachis Ancestor Light.' Old man Bone exclaimed, marvelling at the sight before his eyes.

The neuron expanded until becoming as big as his head, its every component being disassembled, allowing its mysteries to come to light. The black lightning flashing across the nerve endings converged into a huge ball. The ball flashed with jet black lustre as if it could swallow all light, splitting into three irregular parts, one huge and two small.

The huge part elongated into a wriggling worm, having a cylindrical body. The moment it appeared, it immediately jumped towards the man at the centre, intending to burrow into his body. A hand reached out to grasp the wriggling worm, squashing it into dust, and vaporising the remains.

"Thank you, Antira." The man at the centre said, focusing on the remaining two parts oozing out jet black lightning. One of the parts moved forward, morphing into the shape of a porcupine, its spindle-like needles shooting towards all directions. A middle-aged man waved his hands, making all the needles pause in place as Antira shattered them all. She then proceeded to destroy the porcupine with a smack from her fist.

Focusing on the final part, the man at the centre concentrated, morphing it into a one-horned rhino. The rhino charged at the man, releasing a gust of air from its nose, its horn releasing a blinding hue. Antira sent a kick to its stomach, dispersing it into smoke.

The man at the centre focused on the neuron, studying it in detail. After a couple of hours had passed in such a manner, the man at the centre finally retracted his gaze, sighing. "Your Unranked Skill, it has quite the potential. I see you have put a lot into consideration, making it all-rounded."

"I am unworthy of such praise." Old man Bone bowed, expressing humility. He then noticed the man at the centre beckon for his attention, beginning to speak.

"Antira, make note." He said, "The Skill requires three anchor points, needing to sacrifice Skills of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. The base ability is derived from the Frenzy Beast Life Leech, while the supporting ability is derived from Steel Porcupine and the One-Horned Rhino. The three are in perfect sync with each other, creating a synergising effect. The final product has zero side effects."

He then turned towards old man Bone, "I am Ankrakhen Light, Head Administrator, Aristocracy Governing Board. I find your Skill to be fully functional. It has the ability to grow along with the Warrior, evolving into higher Tiers. I have no issues with declaring your Skill as an Unranked Skill."

The man in the centre looked towards his right, beckoning for the person to give his opinion. The man who had stopped the spindle-like needles of the porcupine shot a glance at the man in the centre before focusing on old man Bone.

"I am Wunris Marble, Administrator. I noticed your requirement of three Tier 4 Frenzy Beasts to create a single Unranked Skill. This expense cannot be shouldered by any aristocratic family in the long term, not to mention your Bone family. Do you have any plans to lower the cost, like trying to create the Skill from Tier 3 Frenzy Beasts of the same race?"

Hearing him mention the term 'Unranked Skill' when pointing at the Skill he had created, old man Bone realised that he had already obtained the approval of Administrator Wunris Marble. What followed next was a discussion for future research and development.

Old man Bone thought for a minute, carefully analysing his thoughts before choosing to speak, "In my initial days of research, I used the Tier 3 versions of the Life leech, but its effects were disappointing. Moreover, the end product was incapable of evolving and growing with the Warrior. I am still in an impasse in this aspect."

"That is normal." Wunris Marble nodded, "Continue with your research. Don't slack off just because you have perfected the Unranked Skill, you still need to make its production efficient. Continue to upgrade it; who knows, maybe you can derive an entirely different skill from it."

"I will keep your words in mind." Old man Bone nodded, showing his appreciation. After that, Ankrakhen Light shook hands with old man Bone, congratulating him.

"The methods of manufacture, experimentation, implantation, and the details of the Unranked Skill, send a copy to us. You can send it at a later date if it's not available with you at present. Also, send 5 finished products for preservation. You know why we do this right?"

Old man Bone nodded, showing his understanding. The Unranked Skill would be a property exclusive to the use of the Bone Family. Its usage and distribution fell under the sole discretion of the Bone Family. But, in cases the Bone family waned, probably because of suffering from a Raid or a Wave, leading to their decline, or possibly destruction, then Central Command will begin to use it.

This was because there was only a limited number of Unranked Skills in their City, only 18 of them excluding the Bone family's Skill. It was also really difficult to create one, thanks to the exorbitant manpower and funds required to research and develop them. The raw materials for them being high Tiered Frenzy Beasts further added to the costs and risks. This made the data of the Unranked Skill precious.

Hence, after every evaluation, the Administrators would collect five samples of the skill along with all the necessary data. This would prevent the Unranked Skill from being lost to history unless their entire city gets wiped out.

"I already have everything prepared. Please give me a second." Old man Bone said as he walked to a cabinet, retrieving four glass bottles and a hardbound book. The cover of the book was seemingly made from a shining material while each of its pages were thin like the wings of a housefly but shone with a hardened lustre.

When he took out the hardbound book, the eyes of the Administrators widened with shock. A faint suffocating aura spread out from within it, making the legs of the Team of Administrators unconsciously shiver. Seeing their looks, a faint smile crept across the face of old man Bone.

"Since there is a small chance of information leakage if I stored the data in an electronic device, I inscribed everything in this notebook. Its materials came from the Tier 5 Floating Spider, the child of Rhachis Ancestor Web. I killed it when it was trying to breakthrough to Tier 6, so this book will never be destroyed even after hundreds of years."

Hearing his description, Ankrakhen Light frowned before his eyes lit up. He flashed a smile as he nodded his head, "So, you were the star of the Flying Throne Raid. No wonder the name 'Jyovic Bone' felt familiar."

Holding the hardbound book in his hands, Ankrakhen Light flipped it once, noticing a dense cluster of information written in it, each word looking like a symbol of knowledge. Activating his Unranked Skill, 'Deific Inference' Ankrakhen Light read through the book in detail, cross-referencing the details based on what he had observed in the grey neuron.

When he was done, his hands were shivering, affected by the aura permeating through the book. He silently praised Jyovic Bone and placed the hardbound book and the five glass bottles in a prepared suitcase. He carefully sealed it and handed it over to Antira Light, allowing her to safeguard it.

"Now, we have to inspect its performance on the battlefield before we give an official declaration." Wunris Marble said.