Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10 : Perfect Skill
Divinity had an utterly exhausted look on her face.
Sal felt sorry, thinking he might have asked her to use her ability excessively.
Before leaving the dining hall, Sal wanted to buy Divinity a coffee at least, but Divinity shook her head worried that the effect of the Sleeping Tiger would wear off.
Although signs of fatigue were evident, she still wore a smile and was finding quite definite answers by looking even a few months into the future.
Every time she took a short breath, she told Sal little by little about what she had seen.
Sal felt it was okay to stop around here, but Divinity didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
She wanted to find a skill that Sal would feel genuinely interested in, and she said the reaction future Sal showed was indifference, not expectation or excitement.
The biggest problem was finding someone he could actually contact and copy the ability from before skill registration.
At that moment, a heavy sigh was heard from beside him, and Sal knew Divinity had returned to reality.
Currently, the two were standing near a water purifier on one side of the hallway, and the group of students was slowly moving to the next destination.
Since it took less than a few minutes for Divinity to see one future, they had only fallen slightly behind the group.
“Okay! Finally found an excited Salvatore!”
Divinity shouted with a smile full of relief.
“Took exactly three months. Seriously… you are picky.”
Sal noted in his mind that Divinity’s irritation level was proportional to her fatigue.
He pointed to the water purifier, but Divinity shook her head.
“Let’s follow the group first.”
A few students who had fallen behind made way for Sal and Divinity to go ahead.
‘Guess they are people who dislike having someone behind them.’
Sal didn't think much of it.
However, Divinity glanced at them cautiously, then gestured to Sal to go further ahead.
Most students let them pass indifferently, and some sent puzzled looks.
Eventually, the two reached near the front of the group, and only then did Divinity relax.
Her voice was heavy, but Sal soon noticed she was whispering on purpose.
“Those kids behind us just now, I think they appeared in the future I saw. I don't know if it will definitely happen, but it looks like they will bully weak kids to steal Q-Credits. Right now, due to the system, strong kids with low ranks are blocked from entry opportunities. So… kids like us are perfect targets for them.”
Sal knew the difference between the Supporter class and the Combat class better than anyone.
He vividly remembered his father being forced to change a contract just because the other party was stronger when he was young.
Although the situation changed after signing a protection agreement with the United Guild Association, the era before that remained an unforgettable memory for Sal and his family.
Perhaps such experiences made Sal into this cynical personality.
He didn't want to know, nor did he want to argue.
Just the situation of the strong bullying the weak was something that made him very angry even now.
Sal wanted to verify if those delinquent-looking students actually committed such acts, so he considered staying behind.
However, Divinity slightly grabbed his sleeve.
“You must stay in front in the next part. Trust me.”
Before Sal could react, the faculty member in front clapped his hands loudly.
“Silver Group!”
It was a sound quite annoying to students in the front row, but an effective tone clearly audible to the back.
“From now on, we enter the Workshop Zone. It will be a valuable opportunity to gain information about each occupation. Please line up in groups of 4 to move. Only five groups will be admitted at a time, and this grouping is for simple tour purposes.”
As if the words to follow were key, he paused for a moment and spoke even louder.
“Do not waste time trying to form groups by calculating who is best. Consider the time spent in each zone. The experience time for students following behind may decrease.”
His warning was ignored by more than half of the students, and several students began moving busily to find their friends.
Divinity and Sal approached the faculty member a little closer, and he recognized the two immediately.
“You two, and you two. 4-person group complete. Go inside. Go clockwise from the left, no need to rush. I’ll block the back.”
He let them enter leaving a playful wink.
At that moment, a small laugh flowed from Sal’s left, and what greeted him was a girl beautiful enough to be dazzling.
Sal felt like it was the first time seeing someone this enchanting, and for some reason felt a strong impulse to please her.
“Stop it, Victoria. He came with me.”
When Divinity sighed and spoke, Victoria flinched as if surprised and said.
“Ah, Divinity… Damn. Sorry. Really.”
Victoria waved her hand lightly to deactivate her ability, and at that moment, Sal was released from the power that had wrapped around him.
As his senses returned all at once, he couldn't understand why he had acted like just now.
Divinity led Sal toward their first destination.
“Rank 69, Victoria. Say hello.”
Sal turned around and nodded politely.
A faint sensation still remained in his head, but even that was gradually disappearing.
Victoria was a pretty face, but not to the extent of losing his mind.
Victoria smiled apologetically and said.
“Sorry~ I was using my ability to extract some information from a staff member. Seems you were in the influence range.”
Standing next to her was a male student with a naive smile.
When Sal glanced that way, Victoria shook her head and added an explanation.
“Ah, he’s just for emergency use. Right, honey?”
The male student nodded gratefully, and Sal felt goosebumps as it seemed drool was forming at the corner of his mouth.
Sal felt grateful once again for the fact that Divinity was by his side.
At that moment, feeling a pinching sensation on his shoulder, his hand went up instinctively, and looking to the side, Divinity was looking at him with a relieved expression.
“Good, looks a bit better now. If you were caught in her Charm skill, this plan would have been ruined. Because…”
Divinity smiled brightly and pointed to a woman standing among machines.
“The person over there has the perfect skill for you.”
Divinity didn't have time to explain in detail, but Sal trusted her and moved his steps.
They moved to the first table together as a group of 4.
There stood a man with a bushy beard wearing an apron, starting an explanation about the request and commission system.
Sal tried to ask about his dormitory door repair, but Divinity nudged his side with her elbow.
“I’ll stall for time here, you go talk to that woman over there. I don't know what the skill is, but future you totally falls for her skill. Go quickly.”
Sal nodded and moved to the second table.
There sat a bored-looking woman.
It was a completely different atmosphere from the man in the apron.
Instead of a staff uniform, she was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and inside a tight-fitting black sleeveless top.
It was hard to gauge her exact age, but Sal thought she would be around her mid-20s.
She was standing leaning her upper body as if she would collapse without the table.
Sal was at a loss on how to start talking, but fortunately, she opened her mouth first.
“Welcome to the workshop. If you stayed long enough at the first table, you probably heard what we do and how we operate? Interested in the Supporter class? Or want to register for one of our courses?”
Her voice was soaked with lethargy distinct enough to be excessive, and Sal almost burst into laughter.
It sounded so mechanically memorized that Sal was certain she wouldn't even intend to listen unless his answer was standardized.
Before he could answer, she pushed a tablet in front of his eyes and said.
“Write your name, check the items of interest, and move to the next zone. Thanks.”
Her gaze turned toward the group of students waiting for entry behind, and Sal saw the last piece of her soul extinguishing.
“I received this from the guild.”
Sal placed the silver token on the table.
If this was a workshop and she belonged to the crafting side, he thought she would know the meaning of this token.
Since services for guilds generally belonged to the Supporter class.
Her gaze brushed past the token, and her eyes widened just a tiny bit.
She picked it up, waved it in the air, and shouted.
“Porge! Look at this!”
When Sal turned around, a more seasoned-looking man a little distance away was squinting at the token she held.
If this bored-looking woman was around her mid-20s, that man looked at least 30 years older.
His face finally turned into a laugh, and he pointed a finger at Sal as if asking if it was this guy.
Sal couldn't tell if that laugh was sarcastic or genuine, and felt strange.
Porge called a young employee and instructed him to take over the woman’s table.
“What are you spacing out for? Guide this friend.”
When Sal looked at her again, she was wearing a smile this time.
“What’s your name, kid?”
The word ‘kid’ stung more than expected.
Sal swallowed his pride and held out his hand.
“Salvatore Argento. Friends call me Sal.”
Instead of shaking hands, she put the token back in his hand and said.
“Sorry, but this is precious.”
As she waved her fingers slightly, Sal noticed the unique gloves she was wearing.
Sal inadvertently activated his ability out of habit.
Those gloves weren't an artifact, but exquisitely crafted equipment.
Only after finishing the grasp with his eyes did he realize the fact that he carelessly appraised an item, and Sal tried to apologize hurriedly.
But she was looking straight at him.
“No, don’t stop. What do you see?”
This was an opportunity for him.
Instead of looking at the gloves, Sal stared at her and focused his ability.
Although he couldn't know exactly what the ability was, he saw threads of light.
There were a few knots, but much fewer compared to people Sal had seen so far.
The flow of power was also balanced and distributed, and this was a very good sign.
It meant whatever ability she had possessed an output structure that was controllable.
The threads were heading toward her eyes and fingertips.
Sal smiled in relief that the threads weren't heading to an embarrassing place.
Looking at it overall, that ability didn't look that special.
So Sal started replicating those threads into his own body.
He didn't intend to activate or upgrade the ability right now, planning to maintain it only until just before skill registration.
But the moment he added knots, Sal hesitated for a moment.
The fact that the system recognized the grade difference between abilities like Repair and Restoration in the previous future registration flashed through Sal’s mind.
If so, replicating the complete form of the skill might yield the best results.
Having finished his judgment, Sal completely omitted the knots that were in her threads and replicated a smooth and complete composition of threads.
It had been years since he did such work, but Sal didn't worry.
Maintaining it for a short while wouldn't be too much of a strain.
After finishing the replication, Sal examined her gloves this time.
Because he had to give her an answer about the gloves.
“Oh, really fast?”
As Sal’s eyes returned to normal, she said as if surprised.
“I thought all appraisers took a long time.”
She lowered the gloves, looked at them once, and looked up at Sal.
“So, how’s the evaluation? Is it decent?”
This time her expression seemed a bit wary, and Sal felt like he had to be honest for some reason.
“Honestly speaking, it’s my first time seeing something like this. Before, I saw antique gauntlets or power gloves more often. Those were all custom-made for crafting exclusively.
“Then what about this?”
“These gloves were originally regular gloves. They are made of Infused Cotton, and Infused Cotton has good electrical resistance effects, but above all, it can completely block the effects of conductive metals inside. Looking at quality standards, it’s about Uncommon grade, but for a craftsman where precision work is important, it’s close to Rare grade.”
“Price?”
“You could easily get about 4,500 dollars.”
Sal realized he was speaking in an auctioneer tone at some point.
He came to his senses at her surprised expression.
Just as he was about to apologize, she raised one finger.
“Then what about now?”
Watching her ability activate, Sal’s eyes widened greatly.
The gloves on her hands glowed briefly, then changed into a completely different form.
It wasn't just the hands.
Internal essence began to flow out like waves from her entire body.
Sal watched her neck and confirmed that the crystal pendant hanging there was providing the energy source for this transformation.
The moment the transformation was complete, Sal was speechless.
“Whoa, wh-what is that!”
“Cool…!”
“Is she a transformation ability user? Does such a thing exist?”
“That is… Upgrade! It’s Upgrade!”
Exclamations and cheers sounding like gasps came from the group of students outside, and she smiled playfully.
Her jeans and shirt had changed into a reinforced suit completely covering from neck to toe, and both hands had changed into mechanical claws with precision tools attached.
It might have looked like completely different equipment on the outside, but Sal wasn't fooled.
Unlike students simply spitting out admiration, Sal was feeling the value of the equipment and the change in her ability from the closest distance.
Engulfed in complete shock, he looked at her and said.
“How did you evolve the equipment?”
“Ooh, good intuition.
So you’re the freshman with the Silver Token?”
She laughed clearly and deactivated her ability.
Taking off the gloves and tossing them onto a nearby bench, she turned toward Sal and finally held out her hand.
“I am the exclusive crafting instructor here.”
Sal shook hands with her while still unable to understand the scene he just saw.
The spectacle he saw didn't make sense.
Cheers from students were still continuing outside, and she raised her remaining hand to lightly greet them.
“It’s embarrassing, but my fans call me Upgrade.”