Ryker entered his dorm room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The silence wrapped around him like a blanket but his mind was far from resting. The moment his coat came off, he slipped his hand inside the inner pocket and pulled out the small, faintly glowing skill book he had retrieved from the Academy Vault.
His fingers traced the worn edges of the cover and a familiar blue screen came in front of his eyes.
[Skill: Mental Resilience]
[Type: Passive]
[Rank: F (Growth-Type)]
A slow, satisfied smirk curled on Ryker's lips.
"This… solves everything."
He activated his mana. A soft glow surrounded the book before it dissolved into light and surged into his chest. His mind instantly felt... anchored. Grounded. There was a subtle but undeniable clarity.
"Status Window"
[Mental Resilience]
Rank: F (Growth Type)
A rare mental type defensive skill that fortifies the user's mind against external intrusion and manipulation. As the user's experience and strength grow, so does the depth of this defense.
Effects:
Mental Shielding:Automatically nullifies or heavily mitigates mental assaults, illusions, and psychic interference based on skill mastery and user willpower.
Thought Veil: When subjected to telepathic scans or mind reading, the user can project false thoughts, emotions and memories entirely fooling most psychics into perceiving only what the user desires.
Cognitive Anchor: Prevents mental disorientation, memory manipulation or forced suggestion. Maintains clarity even under extreme pressure or invasive mind techniques.
.
.
.
Ryker opened his status window and sure enough, a new passive was listed.
"Now with this two of my problems are solved. My low wisdom stat won't be a problem anymore."
Among the many powerful skills and artifacts present in the academy vault Ryker chose This low rank for two reasons.
One, it will save him from any kind of mental attacks.
Second, to hire the most important character for his team, that character having psychic powers, this skill's second effect will help him there.
As Ryker was about to start planning his next step to choose the next members of his team at that moment his smartwatch buzzed. A message came from Sasha.
[We need to talk. Meet me behind the East Garden. Alone. It's about what you said.]
Ryker stared at the message for a long second, then chuckled to himself.
"I completely forgot about her…"
He typed back a quick reply and made his way toward the garden.
******
The East Garden was quiet. It was lit by the sun filtering through tree canopies. A soft breeze rustled the leaves. It was isolated and hardly anyone comes here this time of the day.
It was just like Sasha wanted.
She was already there.
Sasha stood near the tall stone wall that framed the garden. She was standing there, her arms crossed, her gray eyes sharp and unwelcoming. Her raven black hair framed a face carved in stone, unreadable except for the cold fire burning in her gaze.
Her presence was tense, like a drawn bowstring.
"You came," she said, voice clipped.
"You asked. And it wouldn't be polite not to accept a proposal from a beautiful lady like you," Ryker replied casually.
A beat of silence passed.
"I heard from Arthur," he continued. "He said you have been… quiet since the simulation."
Sasha's eyes narrowed. "Don't..."
"Don't pretend you care."
Ryker tilted his head slightly. "It's not pretend. I just wanted to see how you were holding up."
"Stop the act," she snapped. "Just tell me how you knew about Emily."
There it was.
Ryker's smile vanished, replaced with something colder and deeper. "I told you before," he said, voice steady. "I know everything about you."
Sasha's glare darkened. "That's not funny."
"This isn't a joke."
He took a step forward, hands still buried in his coat pockets. "I know what happened to your sister. I know about the night Lucas Lockhart… assaulted her. I know how she tried to speak out. And how she was silenced."
Sasha flinched. A sharp breath escaped her lips.
"She took her own life," Ryker said softly. "And no one did anything."
"Stop it!!!!!" she shouted.
But Ryker's voice only lowered, turning his glaze razor sharp,
"I know how you blame yourself for not being there. I know how you have hated your own powerlessness. How you trained in silence. How you have been waiting, planning."
His gaze pinned her. "And I know about the poison you coated your blade with during your duel against Lucas."
Sasha's body tensed.
"The slow kind," Ryker added. "The kind that rots from the inside out."
Her fists clenched tightly.
"I also should let you know," he continued, "that I am the one who healed him. Pulled him back from the edge."
"You nearly had your revenge… and I took it away."
Sasha staggered half a step back. Her eyes wide, breath caught in her throat.
"WHAT!!!!!!"
"Why?" she asked, voice trembling.
Ryker's expression didn't shift. "To keep the game going."
She looked stunned.
"You…"
Ryker gave a cold, calculated smile. "I know what you want, Sasha. Revenge. But you are going about it all wrong."
Sasha's lips trembled. "What wrong. You think you know everything. But you don't know what it is like. People like me… we are nothing. I come from a no name family. We don't get justice. We get silence."
"You think I came to Nexus Academy for prestige? No. I came because it was the only place I had a chance. A chance to get close to that bastard. A chance to strike him."
Ryker's tone softened slightly. "And now you see how hard it is. One mistake and it is all over."
"You did get that chance in the duel… and it slipped."
"It didn't slip," she said bitterly. "I just wasn't lucky."
"No. You just weren't smart about it."
She glared. "Smart…."
"What the hell do you know about being smart?"
"What the hell do you know about my pain?"
"I don't," Ryker admitted. "And I won't pretend to. But I do know how the system works. I know how people like Lucas always win… unless someone plays smarter."
Her breathing slowed. The fury in her chest gave way to something else.
Confusion.
Uncertainty.
"You think I need your help?" she muttered.
"I think you want justice," Ryker said. "Real justice. Not just revenge. Not just a knife in the dark. You want to ruin him. Break him. And you can't do it alone."
"And you are offering help?"
"I am offering you a choice," Ryker replied, circling her slowly. "You can keep pretending you are noble. Keep hating yourself for failing Emily. Or…"
He paused. His voice dropped like a stone in still water.
"Work with me. Not under me. With me. Get your revenge the right way. Make sure no one else like her suffers."
Sasha's throat tightened.
"You don't know what it's like," she whispered. "To have your world ripped from you and be told you don't matter. That you should smile and move on while your soul screams for blood."
"I do," Ryker said quietly. "And that is why I am offering this. Not mercy. Not kindness. Power."
She shook her head. "You are trying to manipulate me."
Ryker smiled. "Yes."
Silence.
Sasha looked away, her fingers trembling as she remembered Emily's laughter. Emily's screams. Emily's silence.
And Ryker's voice cutting through it all.
Then, he leaned in, eyes gleaming.
"So let me ask you this… if you could tear everything from Lucas, ruin him piece by piece, make him feel every ounce of pain your sister felt… would you still want to do it alone, unprepared?"
The question stopped her cold.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
Her thoughts raced. Her mind, usually so guarded, cracked open for just a moment. That question wasn't just bait. It was a mirror.
'Do I want revenge… or justice?'
Ryker stepped back, watching her carefully.
Sasha looked away, biting her lip. The fire in her eyes hadn't vanished, but it had changed. It was no longer wild. It was focused.
"I… I need time," she whispered.
Ryker nodded once.
"You will find me when you are ready."
And with that, Ryker turned and left, leaving Sasha alone in the dying light, drowning in her thoughts.
She watched him go,
Her fists still clenched,
Her heart was pounding.
"What the hell am I getting into?"