Psychic Overlord

Chapter 53: Undercurrents

"I seem to have already been marked either way, so my choice doesn’t matter. Isn’t that right, Dean Rochester?" Kaizer answered, glancing to the area behind Madam Sylvia, which was occupied by nothing.

A soft chuckle sounded out as Dean Rochester walked out of nothingness and appeared within the conference room, shocking everyone else. Madam Sylvia especially became pale as she realized her near corrupt promises to take advantage of her position for her pupil’s benefit were heard by the dean, but the fellow didn’t even look at her.

Dean Rochester simply stroked his chin and laughed. "Truly an S-grade Telesthesia ability, even able to sense me within the folds of space."

Kaizer, as a matter of fact, did not sense the dean with his telesthesia ability. Telesthesia was based on his five senses expanded outward using psychic power as a base, and that could not possibly pierce through the folds of space yet.

What he did sense was the dean’s mind, which could not be hidden from his telepathic ability when within the range of his telesthesia. It may sound contradictory, but the mind was a transient thing that was not necessarily based on spatial location, but on existence.

"Well? What is your offer then, Sir Dean?" Kaizer asked calmly, not willing to fall into the dean’s trap.

Dean Rochester narrowed his eyes and cursed inwardly that this young man was as crafty as his grandfather. Why couldn’t he be a dumb bimbo like his cousin there, who seemed to only eat, sleep, and think about clothes all day?

If Rina knew that her questions had created this perception about her in the dean’s eyes, she would... probably not care because she didn’t value his opinion anyway.

"How about this? I will offer you what Madam Sylvia gave to your cousin, and on top of that, ensure that you become the new strongest esper in the world." Dean Rochester proposed as he waved a hand grandly.

Huh?

The instructors here were shocked, glancing at the dean with skepticism and confusion. Firstly, the dean had never taken in a student ever since the disappearance of his last one 20 years ago, the former number one esper, Reaper!

Secondly, he also guaranteed that Kaizer would become the new strongest? This S- esper youngster who barely clawed his way into the S rank? What about his own cousin, who was so strong that S+ was the limit they could give her? Was she not a more likely candidate?

Kaizer’s heart was filled with alarm even if his face was stoic, because he understood that there was no wall that was immovable in the world. There would always exist means and ways beyond his cognition that could pierce his defenses, and it was likely the case with the dean since he must have realized something about him to make such a claim.

As it were, his current S- rank was truly deserved based on his current ability. Even if one added his Telepathy, he would only be similar to Rina, at the S+ rank, but not someone that one could point to as the definite candidate for the next strongest esper.

To be sure of that, one had to know of his ability to grow endlessly, which was something only he and Rina knew. Rina would never tell, and she had Anir guarding his psyche and subconscious from external invasion, so how?

"What do you say, lad?" Dean Rochester prompted with a cryptic smile, as if he could see all of Kaizer’s doubts.

Kaizer raised his eyes to look at the crafty old man and seemed to see the scene of him being tricked out of his pocket money by his late grandpa when he was a kid. That was probably the first time he ever saw Aunt Katherine become like a fierce tiger, scolding his grandpa who raised her and his father together until his face became red.

"Sure, let’s hope I can live up to your expectations, Sir Dean." Kaizer responded as he stood up to shake his new tutor’s hand.

Dean Rochester shook it back with a happy smile. "Please, no need for that. Just call me Grandpa William on account of my brotherhood with Gerald."

Kaizer nodded and did not say more, only turning to Rina to give her his regards. "Don’t forget to call me when you’re done."

Rina smiled and stood up, walking towards Madam Sylvia, who also stood up with a bit of sweat on her brows, still slightly overwhelmed by the situation.

"Right, we shall take our leave then. Sylvia, make sure to see me in my office later." Dean Rochester said with a genial tone, tapping his foot as he and Kaizer disappeared.

Madam Sylvia, who thought she would be getting off easy, had an expression akin to seeing her parent finding out about her terrible report card that she had hidden under the bed.

...... _{𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪}

Within a dark room that was filled with braziers that were spread out equidistantly on each side of the walls, one could barely make out an altar at the summit of the room’s podium that existed at the northern end of its space.

The altar was quite complex, featuring a small table wrapped in ceremonial cloth that held a carving of a humanoid creature standing atop another, this creature wielding an orb with rays similar to the sun in their hands.

The wooden door to this room opened creakily, admitting a face that was slightly excited yet greatly subdued. It was a man that would have been familiar to Kaizer especially, as his plain features were ironically hard to forget.

Leo knelt before the altar and waited for around 5 minutes when the sun held by the humanoid creature began to glow slightly, signaling that a certain presence had arrived. However, Leo didn’t even need to see the orb to realize that he was no longer alone, for his breathing became labored due to the sheer pressure he was feeling, like an ant trying to comprehend the existence of an elephant.

"Supreme Lord, I have come to report to you some new updates on the specific mission you bestowed upon me." Leo began quickly, knowing that this being didn’t like to speak, nor did they like to waste time.

"After sensing the death energy within Summit Hill University in Alpha City, we confirmed that the deal was true, that the agreement made was adhered to. However, after searching through the few survivors of that incident, we were met with constant dead ends minus a young esper that managed to cause difficulty in our operation, also being the one to kill Carla."

"However, we have received reliable news from our informant within the Esper Academy that this young esper has enrolled with them, his grading coming out as an S- class esper." Leo stated, lifting his head slightly.

"Is this what you came to report? Are you trying to mitigate your punishment for losing to an upstart esper?" A majestic voice spoke from the altar, causing Leo to become slightly dizzy as his ears buzzed.

Leo panicked slightly. "No, my lord! Rather, it was by this enrollment that we learned that his cousin had awakened an S+ class esper ability related to death!"

"Oh?" The voice from the altar became significantly more interested.

"My lord, that is not all. We cross-checked the survivor list of the Summit Hill University attack and found that she was one of the few who came out completely unscathed, along with the young esper. We initially thought she had been rescued by him and our target was someone else, but it is likely that she awoke her power in the midst of danger!" Leo said all in one breath, his voice trembling.

The voice was extremely satisfied when it next spoke. "Good, you have done extremely well. Your past mistakes will be written off and you will be rewarded heavily. Does anyone else know about this?"

Hearing that he would be rewarded, Leo was filled with excitement, but the subsequent question made him pause. Barnes and Lyle knew about this, but if he shared their names, they would likely end up getting some of the reward too.

Instead, he could make up a story to them that only their mistakes were forgiven due to the discovery and pocket the rewards for himself!

Leo thought fast and maintained his excitement as he replied no, he was the only one aware of this and he was certain no one else knew.

"Good." The voice from the altar spoke sinisterly as a flash of sunlight burst from the orb, washing over Leo who was kneeling and turning him into ash faster than he could think.

"Humph, the little wench must not be found by those fanatics. Just send someone to take her life and prevent the deal from coming to fruition." The voice spoke coldly, its strength significantly reduced, likely due to the cost of making that attack over a long distance.

The lights on the braziers went out, and a cold breath entered the room as the presence left, with only a little handful of ash representing the greedy man that once knelt here.