The Over-Break System

Fifteen minutes earlier, in the VR  SRD World, 2 minutes remaining until MyrkLys was expelled from the world. The members of MyrkLys gathered around in a circle, with Cynrik standing in the center with his arms crossed.

'The fact that they beat us by 20 minutes is evidence enough that something of that nature transpired. Now they have 15 points, meaning they are only five points shy of tying us, and if that happens, we get dragged into a Tie Breaker Match. However, since I am very, VERY angry right now, here's the plan moving forward.' Reaching over his head, Cynrik pulled up his hood with his left hand and grinned evily in the safety of the shadow cast by it before explaining his new plan.

'There is a 95% chance that Derrek, that little shit whose Romeoville's Captain, will try starting shit with me during the face-off before the start of the next Event. When he does, and I say when because he is fairly predictable, I will establish dominance over that little shit.'

'Hold up, Cyn, don't tell me you plan on hurting him…if you do, won't we be disqualified from the rest of the tournament?' Brance interjected, only to be silenced by Cynrik.

'Yeah, we would be, but if I planned on hurting him, I would have already done so. The guy is a coward; I only predicted his team to beat us and execute a Record Break if he sacrificed one or more of his teammates to speed up his approach to the search location.'

'Him doing that proves that he doesn't care about his image per se, but is single goal oriented. For me, it's easy to pick at someone like that, but I won't stop there. Step one of the plan is to scare the fuck out of him, carve a fear so deep that when we get to step 3, he acts the way I want.'

'Step two falls on Gabby and Melody, and before you freak out, I need you both to trust me.' Looking away from Brance, Cynrik met the confused gaze of the two young ladies but was pleased when they both nodded.

'You two are going to throw the last Event. Stand still, play pattycake, or pick your noses; I don't care how you do it, but you will not destroy a single target under any circumstances. The goal is to run down the clock until it hits zero and then come out as if nothing happened.'

'Uhh…' With wide eyes, Melody couldn't find the words to argue. Her goal in the Competition was to show her Mom that she wasn't as weak as the image she had formed stated. However, here Cynrik was, telling her to give up the Event, her foremost talent showcase, all for the sake of his plans.

'I understand, don't worry, Big Bro Cyn, I have an idea, and it will be classy enough to suit your idea.' Nodding her head and catching Melody's hand for support, Gabby spoke up, drawing a nod from Cynrik, but her words weren't enough for Brance.

[Listen, Cyn, I get that you're angry, but you trying to force the Tie-Breaker Event; isn't that going too far? You and I both know why Melody has been training so hard, and now, when it's her time to shine, you rip away her opportunity. That's fucked up, and you know it.]

[There will be plenty of other opportunities, Brancie, but this is our moment to show everyone we aren't pushovers. And for that, I need to make an example out of Romeoville. They just scored a huge W over us, and by riding that high and letting their emotions take over, they fall right into my trap.]

Heaving a sigh, Cynrik looked up at Melody, who appeared about to cry, and he shook his head. Although he understood wanting to show your family you aren't useless, he still didn't trust Melody one bit; even so, he consoled her not to garner suspicion.

'Melody, I know you have a lot you want to showcase, but there are plenty of other rounds for you; you and Gabby are the only two I plan on using in the Accuracy Event, so hang in there. As a Faction, we need to establish ourselves in the minds of our foes as someone they can't pick on, and now is the opportunity to do so.'

'Now then, step three is easy; when I go up for the third face-off after we throw the Accuracy Event, I will continue poking the bear with my trademark charisma. By that point, he and the rest of Romeoville should be petrified by me, so it won't be difficult to get him to snap finally.'

'Like a rubber band stretched too far, he will snap, and his fear will instantly shift into a rage. Hopefully, when this shift occurs, he will attack me. When that happens, I will reinforce the dominance I've built up and give him a little push to make him want to fight me with everything he's got.'

'That…leads me into step four, entering the Final Event…alone.'

'ABSOLUTELY NOT!'

'NO WAY IN HELL!'

'ARE YOU CRAZY BIG BRO CYN?'

Brance, Selene, and Gabby cried simultaneously, causing Cynrik to chuckle at their concern.

'My plan, my rules, besides, do yall honestly believe any one of them is even remotely a threat to me? All seven are Peak Tier-3, sure, but I have a decent idea of their abilities, and the only ones who will annoy me are the two archers competing in the Accuracy Event. So I will watch how they fight, and once I've learned enough, we are good to go.' Looking up at the timer, Cynrik noticed only 30 seconds remained until everyone was brought back to the real world, but just as Cynrik was about to say his final piece, Benny cleared his throat and spoke up.

'You are hiding the real reason behind why you've come up with this plan, Big Bro. From day one, I've always noticed you taking everything on alone, and I usually don't say anything since I understand your reasoning.'

'I even understand the idea behind showing everyone watching, enemies and friendlies, that we are the last group to mess with, but that alone isn't enough for you to devise a plan of this level. Risking it all when there is so much riding on our victory, what is the reason?'

'Benny Boi…heh, there are two byproducts created by doing things as I have planned. The First is for us as a group; we are making a statement that will foreshadow every other team in the Competition, skyrocketing us in popularity, which can only benefit us when the time comes to branch away from VSFA on our own.'

'And the second is for me. You see, during the last few minutes of this Event, I reached 99% on my Susanoo Proficiency, meaning I need only a couple of minutes of activation before I unlock the second form. What better time to show off than when my Ribcage manifestation grows limbs and transforms into its Skeletal Form?'

---

Opening his eyes in the waiting room, Cynrik, surrounded on both sides by a quad-colored ribcage, looked up and saw there were still 4 minutes until the battle began. Everything had gone to plan, and now…it was time to start the final step. When he first arrived, Cynrik activated [Mana Sight] and noticed no restrictions on activating Affinity Skills in the Waiting room. So he had been using Susanoo this entire time, and just now, he received the notification that his Proficiency had reached Perfected, bringing along with it the unlocking of Susanoo's Skeletal Form.

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