Chapter 403: A Record of His Own (1/2)
It was midnight, with the beginning of the 13th of November. There wasn't anyone exploring the Labyrinth at this hour. So, all the students from the October, November, and December Batches were in the Red Building—of the Psychic Block.
Everything was spurred from the conversation between Haesha, Ashten and Esina. When they were conversing about Jyorta, another student had overheard them. He immediately clarified his doubts by barging in on their conversation, ”Are you telling me Jyorta Bone has stayed in the Labyrinth of Frenzy for more than 2 days already?”
”Yes,” The moment Haesha nodded, the student excitedly ran away. A second after seeing his reaction did Haesha's eyes widen in realisation. She looked at Esina, ”What has been the record of the highest duration a student stayed within the Labyrinth?”
”Hmm,” Esina thought for a couple of seconds, finally recalling the information, ”It was around 42 hours or something. It was achieved 6 years ago, but the student only ventured in layer 1 to set the record.”
”How did Rakh Veera fare?” Ashten Coorg thought.
”His explorations were quick. Most of the times, he finished within 2-3 hours, returned to eat, rest for 10-15 minutes before he dove into the labyrinth. If we are considering the total time he spent in the labyrinth, it is almost 3 months. Rakh Veera practically lived in the labyrinth, but none of his explorations exceeded 12 hours.” Esina replied, having memorised all the details pertaining to the individual.
”So, Jyorta broke the record of the longest exploration.” Haesha gazed in the direction the student ran, sighing, ”I think this is bound to make a commotion.”
Just as she had suspected, the boy shared the details to everyone in his Batch that spread like wildfire throughout the academy. The names of Jyorta and Laila were famous in the academy for being record breakers, that too by eight times. So, details concerning Jyorta spread without stopping.
Some of the curious students even approached the staff only to be met with a reply like, ”Head to the labyrinth's entrance and find out for yourself.”
That was what sparked everyone, causing the students to rush towards the Red Building in anticipation. As the students from early Batches weren't allowed to step foot within the Red Building, they could only wait at the entrance and ask for details from the one who could enter.
Now, students from the final 3 Batches, comprising almost 2600 students stood within the Red Building, gazing at the flight of stairs with bated breaths. The staff had intervened from the start, being the cause that spread the news quickly. They didn't have any hesitation to blow up a matter that would ignite the fighting spirits of the students and cause them to work harder to strengthen themselves.
Now that they got the perfect excuse, they hyped it to the maximum. Except for the select few students busy with their training, the remainder of the students had already converged on the ground in anticipation.
Madam Mary smirked, stealthily spreading her psychic energy that caused the sounds of Jyorta's footsteps to be audible loud and clear everywhere within the building. The moment the sounds of the footsteps resounded, the Espers among the students turned around, trying to look at the traces of the staff. Unfortunately, they were unable to sense the ones hovering near the ceiling.
The students at the front involuntarily swallowed their saliva, for the suspense caused them tension. As the sounds of the footsteps resounded closer and closer, they spotted the silhouette of Jyorta, watching his hair come into vision first.
It was wet, followed by his face on which patches of skin were still stuck due to the water. The moment his upper body came into view, the students at the front involuntarily took a step back in fear. For, Jyorta's appearance was different from their memories.
Jet-black ripped arms, concealing tremendous power, a body mostly covered by hair that was akin to steel, covered by an armour that was tattered, only possessing thin strips on the verge of snapping. His body was a bulky presence.
Jyorta was confused when he exited the labyrinth and saw the crowd huddled at the entrance. For a moment, he wondered if an event of sorts was happening and he had interrupted them. He then noticed their eyes gazing at him and showing a myriad of expressions, getting the intention that they were there to see him.
Before he could wonder about the reason, his view changed as Jyorta noticed he was within the nursing room, seated on a bed. Vaika stood before him, staring at him with praise as she slammed a pale blue fist on his head.
”Ouch!”
”You deserved it for losing your arms. That was reckless of you. You could have dodged the Lava turtle's attack before retaliating against it.” Vaika's voice was tinged with anger as she slammed another pale blue fist at him the moment he tried to speak in his defence. It didn't hurt him though, but rather healed him.
”Alright, alright, your choices weren't the best in some situations, but overall, you did fairly well.” One of her psychic arms grabbed hold of the Bundle Flea that acted like his belt, pulling it out as its hair flowed over Jyorta before returning to cover its body.