Brance found himself at a loss for words when confronted about his presence in the Psychic Connection; luckily for him, however, a certain young lady was ready to hop in and save his ass from a potential interrogation.

‘Pardon me for interrupting, sirs, but I have been here the whole time, too. As for why neither of you can pick up on other people while part of my connection, that is simple. Think of it as a one-way call where the other person is muted. A formal link isn’t made until another party speaks up. Thus you won’t be able to sense their presence immediately.’

With an explanation brief and to the point, Gabby cleared the misconception about her skill, causing the two men to nod in understanding.

‘Kay, I’ll leave you guys to it then.’ With that, Gabby muted herself again, and as she stated, her presence disappeared from the connection.

‘Anyway, Cyn, start talking because as it stands, the moment we leave this building, all hell will break loose.” Brance scolded as he shifted uncomfortably.

‘Tsk, it isn’t that complicated. If my theory is correct, the asshats who organized that ambush are pulling their hair out, trying to figure out what happened to their forces. Their first move will likely be to check any CCTV footage from the last half hour. Unfortunately for them, they won’t find anything there.’

“And that just about does it for our analysis of VSFA’s incredible Tier-3 team. Now then, if we could please have the participants from Bracket 3A vacate the central zone of the Arena and head to their assigned seating so that we can continue the Opening Ceremonies.”

Cesar’s annoyingly loud voice sounded off from all directions, triggering an exodus of movement toward the opposite end of the Arena, where an access stairway had been opened to allow the participants access to the stadium-style seating.

‘With the lack of visual proof and no corpses or physical evidence available, the only excuse they will come up with is that the two of you had a team of highly trained beings lying in wait as bodyguards. The whole point of me following through with the plan alone was because I knew my Ravens and I could easily hide or eradicate all trace evidence due to our Affinities.’ Keeping his eyes straight ahead, Cynrik motioned with his left hand for everyone to move out when their time came to advance.

The professionalism and leadership of the Tier-3 team drew a wild reaction from audiences watching around the continent, as was evident by the loud roar coming from the speakers. Hundreds of small camera’s circled around the group as they walked, and several spotlights even trained on them to highlight MyrkLys on the main screen.

‘Had I brought along anyone else, things would have become overly complicated, and I had no way to ensure there wasn’t any trace left behind. The nature of Dark Mana, or in my case Umbra Mana, causes it to disappear as quickly as it manifests. As you know, it is one of the most prominent reasons why most Assassins are Dark Affinity users.’

However, before he could continue speaking, Cynrik’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and his head snapped to the right as he passed a specific group of students.

Hmph, would you look at that? It appears our cousin got quite strong. He still looks like a prissy **boi, though. Cynrik snorted as his eyes met those of Leelan Jetlensr.

Unlike Cynrik’s calm expression, Leelan’s was one of utter disgust as he looked down on his younger cousin from several rows above.

As if to prove the thoughts Cynrik had, Leelan sneered and mouthed the words “You’re dead brat,” to which Cynrik cockily responded by flipping his middle finger at the guy, drawing another roar from the virtual audience.

Even the commentators picked up on this interaction and couldn’t help but begin spreading gossip. With Cynrik and Brance’s full names out in the open, it was a heated topic as to why the brothers didn’t attend their Grandfathers Academy, and the brief visual dispute between Cynrik and Leelan blew up the message boards with all kinds of theories.

However, none of that mattered to Cynrik as he promptly turned away and ignored the idiot to single out the second annoying pest who was exhibiting another heated gaze. This time, it was from Jason Opurn, who, similarly to Leelan, had a few colorful words for Cynrik.

Unfortunately for Jason, who was quick to make a grand gesture and declaration of war, Cynrik chuckled and didn’t give him the time of day. Instead, he opted to pull down his hood and smirk cockily at the cameras while mouthing the words, “Bring it on,” before walking up the stadium stairs and guiding his team to the front row.

‘As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by some dumbasses; even when it comes to the sorry state of that Tier-5 guy, there is no evidence it was me who did it. That guy was doing a search technique using his Aura, but I was too quick and outside his range for him to spot me.’

‘In other words, we are free and clear when identifying the source of the attacks on either the operatives or the Tier-5 guy. The same thing goes with the crash sight. When I pull people into the Shadow Realm, it leaves ZERO traces, so all they can do is make assumptions that some high-level guy saved us and attacked the strong guy when he was getting too close with his Aura Search.’ Metaphorically shrugging his shoulders, Cynrik sat down on the uncomfortable plastic fold-down chair, which was the signal for everyone else to sit as well.

‘Without proof, their next option is to try kidnapping us again, whether when we travel to and from the Arena or when we are free to move about the city. But after what happened today, I doubt anyone with half a brain would try again. Not with the heavy losses some of the groups sustained.’

‘Still, that only counts for the smart ones; I’m sure there will be dozens if not hundreds of greedy idiots who don’t heed my warning and will try coming after us, so I have formed around thirty contingency plans for such an event. Not to mention I have predetermined all our routes and have left zero chance for error.’ Finishing his statement there, Cynrik nudged Geralt’s arm with his left elbow since the man was sitting beside him.

‘Heads up, the cameras are on you; time to be personable; wave at your adoring fans, Geralt.’ He said while pulling his hood back up to conceal the smile on his lips.

‘Shit,’ Geralt grumbled as he jumped back to his feet and struck a pose before waving at the round camera drones the size of a basketball.

Once the production staff had their fill, the drones flew away to harass other Headmasters while Cesar and Roni explained the schedule, and a way-too-long video showing highlights of last year’s combat finals was played on the large screen center field.

‘Moving along, between Brance and me, the two of us can keep eyes on just about anything using our ocular skills; all that’s left is making our lodgings into a secure compound. The only thing that bothers me is why no one did anything after we almost blew up the VIP booth.’ Bringing his hand to his chin and acting as if he was analyzing the footage from last year’s final match, Cynrik sighed heavily.

‘It’s troubling that no one stepped in to stop Lithlen or Viktor from assaulting us; that tells me that there are corrupt people in positions of authority officiating things, and THAT is something that needs to be worked into my future assessments.

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