Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8 : White Eyes
“This bastard… won't answer?!”
A familiar voice came from behind Sal.
He could tell without turning around.
It was that annoying voice he heard in the restroom last night.
Along with the sound of people being pushed aside, Sal sensed the problem man approaching toward him.
‘Surely he’s not trying to pick a fight here again? In front of all these people and the faculty?’
Sal instinctively clenched his fists and activated the ability in his eyes.
But the man walked right past Sal and charged toward his real target, the friend who had been with him in the restroom last night.
“I’m asking if you went around blabbing!”
It was a tone closer to a sentence than a question.
Without warning, the problem man shoved the friend who was with him.
Some students looked back with curious gazes, but no one showed any sign of stepping in to stop it.
Sal didn't watch the scene any longer and quietly left his spot.
He didn't want to get involved and tangled up for no reason.
If he even made eye contact with those guys, he didn't know what would happen.
His stomach felt slightly twisted.
The start within this group was the worst.
However, it was only two out of a hundred.
There must be good people here too.
Sal had learned how to converse while dealing with countless customers at the auction house.
He was adept at continuing conversations and confident in naturally opening topics.
But that confidence stemmed from the certainty that ‘I can appraise this item.’
A situation like now, where kids his age were gathered each possessing special abilities, was different.
He felt completely like a frog seeing the world outside the well for the first time.
Meanwhile, the faculty member leading the group suddenly stopped everyone.
Then he pushed through the crowd and ran toward the back where something had happened.
Sal looked back too, and only then realized that the two were actually fighting.
At that moment, a startled voice burst out from behind Sal’s back like a scream.
“That person is going to fall! The kid on the right.”
Sal turned his head sharply toward where the sound came from.
There, milky white eyes stood as if piercing through him.
‘Is she blind?’
A ridiculous thought flashed through his mind, but without a moment to ponder it, a desperate scream from one of the students rang out.
Sal looked back again and gasped at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
That violent guy had sprung 6 meters into the air as if flying, and his trajectory was too clearly heading outside the platform.
Without even a single moment for Sal to think, the guy disappeared over the edge.
The faculty member soared into the air, snatched the falling student's ankle, and stopped his fall just like that.
There was no sign of worry at all, rather an expression mixed with annoyance.
Seeing that, Sal realized that something like this was trivial to him.
Even after landing, the faculty member held the student while he was dangling upside down.
“Did you learn nothing even after what happened last night?”
Sal was startled.
The faculty member last night was definitely a different person.
‘Did that guy cause another accident? or do the Academy faculty share what happened with each other?’
The faculty member continued speaking while still holding the dangling student.
“I will say it one more time so the people in the back can hear too. Since you probably couldn't hear properly amidst this commotion.”
“Fighting outside designated combat zones is absolutely forbidden. Even if it is within a zone, there must be clear consent from the opponent. And this goes without saying, but fighting each other on top of an 80-story high aerial platform is truly absurd behavior.”
A few students looked at the faculty member with puzzled expressions.
“As I said before, using abilities itself is permitted. Since you came here to polish your abilities. However, using those abilities on others is absolutely not tolerated. Today you will officially register your abilities, and in that process, you will be guided on whether your ability is permissible for daily use.”
He finally let go of the student's leg, and the student fell to the floor with a thud and groaned in pain.
“To tell you in advance…”
The faculty member looked at the student who had sent that student flying and said.
“...Your ability is confirmed as impermissible for daily use.”
Sal breathed slowly and calmed his pulse.
He turned his head again and looked at the girl with milky white eyes.
But what met his eyes were clear blue pupils.
“Hm?”
She asked first, and Sal couldn't think of a single word to say.
“Ah… that… sorry.”
Answering awkwardly, Sal hurriedly turned his gaze to the crowd, inwardly cursing himself for just staring at the girl foolishly.
But the girl tapped his shoulder and spoke to him again, whether as a sign of reconciliation or pure curiosity.
Sal looked back nervously thinking he might be scolded, but the girl was wearing a smile.
“I know asking this is rude… but you have an eye-related ability too, right? Can I ask what kind of ability it is?”
It came.
That moment Sal always conflicted over.
He could tell the truth, or bring out the obvious lie as always.
In one corner of his heart, he just wanted to lie.
However, the other side warned him that this girl could see the future with her eyes.
And finally, his rational brain stepped in.
They would go register abilities soon anyway, and it would remain as a record after being shown then.
Whether because Sal hesitated too long, or because the girl originally had a defensive personality, she raised her hand and bowed her head slightly as if sorry.
“Sorry, I was too rude, right?”
Sal laughed softly and spoke calmly, preparing for the contempt that would soon follow.
“My skill is Replication. My eyes are silver because I replicated my father’s appraisal ability when I was young. I’m using that to handle my ability now. I can replicate any ability I see with my eyes.”
Sal slowly exhaled seeing the awe-struck expression rising on her face.
Usually, he would stop the explanation here.
But this time, strangely, he wanted to confess everything.
Maybe it was a desire to be honest, or perhaps due to a dark instinct wanting to verify the conclusion he had made about people.
Sal had never met a single person who didn't dislike him after seeing his ability until now.
“To be exact, it’s looking into and analyzing another person’s ability, then reproducing it in my body as long as there are no restrictions. But if I try to copy something I don't know how to handle or my body can't withstand, it's dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
“Mildly, a coma for a few days, severely, I'll die.”
Sal deliberately emphasized the downsides.
It was in the hope that she wouldn't misunderstand it as the best ability.
But she didn't blink an eye.
Sal prepared for the familiar reaction of telling him to prove it now, but she threw a completely unexpected question.
“Can I try using my ability on you? It’s a kind of precognition ability, peeking into possibilities of the future. Lately, I've become able to focus on specific individuals, but like you said, it's really hard to control. Once I use it, I get completely exhausted, and when I think I've caught it, it feels like it slips through my fingers again.”
She shook her head with a playful smile.
“Actually, I almost became the type I hate the most just now. I was about to say something like ‘Prove it’ but stopped myself.”
Sal was completely speechless.
It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't even know her name yet.
He held out his hand and said.
“Salvatore Argento. Friends just call me Sal.”
She laughed and took his hand.
“Divinity. Before you ask, my mom kept seeing future events before I was born. She said she deliberated between ‘Divinity’ and ‘Destiny’, but I’m glad she chose the former.”
Sal relaxed the tension in his shoulders and continued the conversation comfortably.
“Sure, you can use your ability. But you must tell me what you saw.”
Just in case, he turned back to check if the faculty member was still dealing with the crowd.
Divinity noticed his reaction at once.
“I’ll just check.”
Before Sal could ask what she meant, her two eyes turned completely white.
Just a few seconds later, Divinity smiled as if slightly surprised.
“You definitely have good intuition. That person is getting more annoyed seeing me use my ability on you.”
She laughed and looked behind Sal.
The faculty member was only a few steps away.
“He must have said this. ‘I thought such things would come from low-ranking kids, didn't expect it from Rank 2 and Rank 19.’”
Sal’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Divinity was 2nd on the ranking board?’
At that moment, as if confirming her words were true, the faculty member looked toward them as he passed and said.
“I hope you two become examples for the Silver Group.”
It might have been just a passing remark, but Sal nodded.
In just 24 hours, he had been acknowledged by several strong individuals.
And even Sal with his cynical brain had to admit now that they were seeing some possibility in him.
The commotion subsided not long after, and the group tour resumed again.
From the back, stifled giggles mixed with laughter were heard, likely directed at the humiliated delinquent student and his victim.
On the other hand, the front was much quieter.
Although they sent unpleasant glances looking back occasionally, they were generally continuing conversations calmly.
Sal suddenly wondered if his group could become one team, or if it would eventually be divided into factions.
“If I explain how my ability works and how I control it… would it help? I mean, when you replicate my ability.”
Divinity’s voice felt slightly expectant.
She was still walking next to Sal looking forward, but it was clear she kept thinking about Sal’s ability.
“But you said you can use your ability without restrictions? Then the control method I use might not be particularly effective?”
She asked herself and answered herself, making a frowning expression.
But Sal’s interest had already been piqued.
“Right! That’s exactly it! Like, usually people explain abilities as filling a cup with water from a faucet, right? They’re clear about when to turn off the water, and say how effective that method is. But my ability… feels like holding a cup standing under a waterfall. Everything pours down at once. But it’s okay. Even if everything doesn't match perfectly, just knowing the fact that water comes out can be a big help.”
Divinity’s smile grew bigger and bigger.
“Then how about trying this? In a way of repeating trial and error. When you use the ability, I see the future a few seconds ahead and advise you on things you says there.”
“Warning beforehand if there’s a risk?”
“Yeah! If there was someone with an ability similar to mine, I’ve wanted to train like this for a long time. For me, it’s also training to increase the accuracy of precognition on individuals.”
Sal was surprised by the idea itself, but more than that, he was surprised by Divinity’s warm and honest attitude.
‘How can she accept me so easily and treat me kindly?’
When her gaze met Sal’s eyes, Divinity’s smile wavered for a moment.
“Sorry, I went too far ahead. I didn't mean to scare you. It’s my first time meeting someone with an eye-related ability, so I guess I got excited and talked too much. Really sorry.”
Sal shook his head and showed both hands.
“No, not at all. It’s just… I’m not used to this kind of reaction. Most people don’t believe it at first. And when I show the ability… they reveal hostility. Because it’s hard to endure seeing me reproduce their own ability with much higher completeness. Honestly speaking, I’m also afraid to show you on one hand.”
There was a bitter tone mixed in Sal’s speech, but suppressing that emotion, he smiled quietly at Divinity.
“I haven't seen the future, but you won't regret it.”
Divinity laughed again hearing Sal’s words.
“Still, I understand that feeling. When I say I see the future, people treat me just like a horoscope. It’s not like I can predict everything, I can only see a few possible outcomes, but those results don’t go their way, right? Then… they resent me.”
“You?”
“Yeah, whenever that happens, it’s too hard to distinguish their sincerity, whether this person really wants to know me, or just wants to use me like a magic doll that tells only the future good for them.”
She shook her head and pointed to the students walking around.
“Honestly speaking, I don’t deserve to get 2nd place. There are many people much more outstanding than me. But I saw the competition composition in advance, and arrived at the dormitory earlier than others. At the party last night, I even knew who to say what to in order to look impressive. But think about it. In the combat test this afternoon? Will I really look like the 2nd rank? Absolutely not.”
“…Wait a minute.”
Sal stopped walking and said.
“There’s a combat test?”