Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
Chapter 15 : First Experience
Thud thud thud thud…!
At the sound of Hannah running to her room, Sal burst into laughter.
He wondered if this was really happening.
Just a moment ago he made an excuse that he didn't have materials, but hearing that, Hannah had shot off the bed and run at full speed to her room.
And really, in less than a few seconds, Hannah appeared smiling with the corners of her mouth hanging from her ears, holding a backpack into which she had hurriedly shoved materials.
Without a word, she turned the bag over and poured it onto the bed.
Gasping for breath, she pointed to the items scattered on the bed one by one.
“This is… from the administration office… received it… use whatever you can use!”
Sal tried to hand Hannah a bottle of water, but stopped because she waved her hand refusing.
“No, it’s fine. That’s later. Do this first, hurry!”
It seemed her judgment was clouded because she was too excited, but Sal eventually obediently knelt down and sat beside the bed.
Just as he activated his ability to analyze the materials she brought, he heard a suppressed gasp from the side.
Looking up, Hannah was covering her mouth and looking at him.
“Why, what, is something wrong? Are these materials not usable?”
“Hey… your eyes are seriously amazing…”
Sal smiled as if relieved.
“What, I thought something bad happened. Thanks.”
“They were cool in a cold and heavy way when they were silver… but the purple right now is truly enchanting!”
Sal paused.
“…Purple?”
Hannah tilted her head.
“You should go look in the mirror.”
Sal didn't say anything and ran straight into the bathroom.
‘Hannah must be playing a prank. There’s no way my eye color changed, right?’
Gripping the sink and looking down at his hands, he steeled himself before looking in the mirror.
And when he raised his eyes, his irises were pulsating with purple light.
As he let essence flow, the color became more vivid, and Sal was captivated by that vibrant hue.
For the first time in his life, he could look properly into his own eyes without a headache.
He continued to stare at his own face without a word.
A smile slowly appeared on Sal’s lips at the unbelievable situation.
It was the first time he looked into his eyes this closely.
This time, he wanted to see how his eyes changed when he activated his ability to the maximum.
Without any preparation or experiment, Sal pushed essence into the threads as if squeezing it out.
Then everything in the room changed.
Mysterious light emitted from his eyes, and countless blueprints poured into his head.
His brain unconsciously filtered out most of them, but optimal designs were retained.
Transformation paths for almost every object in the room came into view.
When his uniform was seen through the mirror, the reaction was much more intense.
Sal couldn't explain why, but he instinctively knew how to improve it.
It was a struggle to suppress the impulse to upgrade his uniform.
‘Can I make cool armor like Upgrade too?’
Walking out of the bathroom thinking that, Upgrade’s suit came to mind, and Sal had no choice but to stop, staring blankly into empty space.
Hannah, who was sitting down classifying materials, raised her head.
“Uh, wow, you’re shining dazzlingly right now? Are you using max output?”
When there was no answer, worry began to load in her voice.
Hannah got up from her seat and waved her hand in front of Sal’s eyes.
“Are, are you okay? Sal?”
As Hannah’s hand brushed in front of his face, Sal was startled and stumbled backward.
Only then did Sal look at Hannah properly and gather his wits.
With great effort, he closed his eyes and deactivated the ability.
It felt as if an amount of adrenaline he had never experienced before was flowing through his whole body.
Sal picked up the water bottle he was going to hand to Hannah earlier, took a long drink, and looked back at Hannah.
“Is your mind back a little?”
Hannah asked carefully.
“You looked like you lost your mind for a moment earlier. Are you okay?”
Sal didn't know how to express what he saw, but decided to try explaining.
“I thought about an armor suit… and it really floated in my head!”
Hannah just burst into laughter.
“That’s… naturally how it should be. With Crafter abilities, stored blueprints naturally pop up in your head.”
Sal laughed, waving his hand and shaking his head.
“No, I mean… that blueprint just popped out. From a memory I just saw in passing, and without even using a skill! I learned how to disassemble the memory of an item and remake it!”
Excited, Sal poured out words like a rapid-fire gun.
“But the version I saw was incomplete. I could see all the flaws. Then something really cool happened.”
Suddenly Sal pointed a finger at Hannah, and she blinked in surprise.
“When you waved your hand in front of my eyes, the armor suddenly changed. It transformed, and a barrier was added as a function. Your barrier function!”
Hannah narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Are you saying you’re going to absorb my ability and make me into armor right now?”
Hannah crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly, and smiled playfully.
“Honestly speaking, it’s on the decent side among the flirtations I’ve received so far.”
She deliberately swept back her hair once and smiled slyly.
Sal was still ruminating on the blueprint he just saw.
Although it was just a simple thought, his body itched with the desire for armor production.
Even knowing he wasn't going into battle right away.
Then the gloves Upgrade wore came to mind.
Outwardly they were ordinary, but they changed into a completely different appearance when using an ability.
Snapping out of it at a rustling sound, Sal looked at Hannah holding materials on the bed.
“The materials aren’t that good but… should be worth a cup of premium coffee? You can do whatever you want.”
“Let’s see what I can make with this.”
Sal activated his ability again and looked at the materials on the bed.
Instinct wanted to upgrade each material, but Sal suppressed that temptation.
He wanted to make something useful, but his eyes were filtering out all the materials in front of him.
It seemed it would take time to get used to this ability.
Although he couldn't explain, it felt like some resistance clearly within the skill was instinctively rejecting use on low-grade materials.
To test that theory, Sal picked up a small discolored metal ingot.
Hannah looked at his hand with expectant eyes, but Sal immediately put it down and picked up another material.
Hannah’s shoulders visibly slumped.
Sal repeated the same action for all materials on the bed, and finally gathered his arms as if hugging himself and watched quietly.
After a few minutes passed, and Hannah made an expression on the verge of exploding, Sal let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Okay! Let’s do it!”
Sal shouted with a broad smile, but Hannah seemed unable to grasp the situation at all.
Sal groaned as he got up.
His legs from sitting were completely numb.
He waddled to open the closet and took out a set of gloves.
He intended to try making crafting equipment like Upgrade.
Sal sat back down.
“It might take a little while… hope watching isn't too boring.”
His eyes shone stronger, and his fingers pressed the hard metal, starting to compress it into a new form.
Hannah changed her posture on the bed and watched the process closely.
As Sal started adjusting the now softened metal, her eyes grew slightly wider.
When Sal’s hand started rubbing metal onto the glove fabric, Hannah made an expression wondering if she should stop Sal.
She guessed what Sal was making, but seemed to notice the metal wasn't enough to cover all fingers.
But Sal just smiled at her.
A moment later, he lifted his gaze and said.
“Hannah, could you place just one of your blue spheres here?”
Sal asked, pointing to the space next to the glove.
Her expression changed from expectation to hesitation.
She looked at Sal silently as if weighing the pros and cons of granting Sal’s request.
‘Is it okay? Am I overreacting out of excitement? He’ll use my ability as he pleases with that equipment?’
‘How long has it been since I saw him…?’
Just as negative thoughts arose, the image of Sal handing her coffee came to mind.
In an academy prepared for competition, the pure goodwill extended without asking rank or ability.
Hannah eventually nodded carefully.
Making her two fingers like a gun as before and aiming, she sent one blue essence sphere flying to the spot Sal pointed.
“Thanks!”
Sal smiled and didn't stop his hands trimming the metal.
Hannah looked extremely curious, but didn't ask.
She leaned forward and watched Sal pick up the blue sphere and connect it to the glove following an invisible line with his fingertips.
Then something amazing happened.
The blue sphere disappeared without a trace, and Hannah gasped and jumped up from her seat.
“Now, this is the really fun part.”
Sal said jokingly and looked into the crudely finished gauntlet.
Even without using an appraisal skill, it was obvious the gauntlet was a mess.
Without tools or experience, he had created something new with just an image in his head.
His skill opposed the attempt from start to finish, but Sal insisted on new creation and refused the step-by-step procedures the skill suggested.
The result was in his hands now, and naturally, it was far from beautiful.
A pair of old leather gloves.
Hannah smiled helplessly and tried to comfort Sal.
“Sal, for a first time this is pretty amaz….”
“Starting now.”
The gloves were in a form with metal plates added only to a few finger parts, but high-grade essence and Hannah’s ability symbol were injected.
Sal hoped that alone would enable the next step.
He now followed the system’s guidance exactly, and the result was exactly as he wished.
As soon as his gaze fixed on the roughly finished gloves, he saw an upgrade proposal pop up before his eyes and Sal naturally fluttered with excitement.
‘Upgrade.’
Sal poured his energy into the design, and let the skill handle the rest.
The processing was faster than expected, but required much more energy than expected.
By feel, it seemed about one-fourth of his total energy was consumed to raise the gauntlet from Common to Uncommon grade.
Of course, that might be because he kept using the ability in the prototype making stage.
Since three-fourths of energy still remained, he decided to challenge one more step.
The goal was Rare grade.
The gloves were still shining strongly so Hannah couldn't even look properly.
Black residue dripped from the object onto the bed, looking like it would never wash off.
Sal gritted his teeth and endured.
Sweat poured down from his forehead.
Hannah watched Sal, who was now immersed in his own ability rather than the gloves.
Meanwhile, Sal was calculating the essence and resources required to refine and upgrade the gloves to Rare grade.
Insufficient.
Impurities in the materials were already purified, but processing metal and reinforcing leather was a task more arduous than imagined.
To raise to Rare grade, something more must be added.
Working as is would be impossible with current materials and essence alone.
In the current state, the gauntlet would stay at high-grade Uncommon, and Sal didn't want to waste all his power on just that level of crafting.
Although he wasn't picky about quality, growing up in an auction house, he had learned bone-deep the difference between Common and Rare, and how large the value gap was.
Sal struggled to recall a method, rummaging through his head.
Then one answer emerged from the memory of the previous day.
‘Self-charging Rune’
Absorption type and charging type runes he realized while appraising the bogus core handed by the guy named Marcus.
Focusing, he bit his lip and began engraving a self-charging rune on the metal surface.
Utilizing his ability was much faster and more efficient than using tools, but he had to save essence as much as possible.
Sal wanted to stop what he was doing due to pouring drowsiness and exhaustion, close his eyes, and just sleep.
But the anticipation in his head made Sal hold on.
At this very moment, he was creating something that didn't exist in this world, and finally completion was approaching before his eyes.
It was a pride felt for the first time in his life.
‘Made by me, mine.’
Not borrowing someone’s ability, but the fact that he created something with only his own power.
With that thought alone, essence surged and flowed into the gauntlet held in his hand.
Simultaneously, the upgrade was completed.
Sal closed his eyes and collapsed onto the bed.
It was a bed damp with material residue, but it didn't matter.
His first creation was completed, and he watched with satisfaction as it cooled down.
“Wh-what on earth is this, Sal?”
Hannah shook Sal’s arm and pointed at the gloves.
“Are you kidding me? Without good materials or tools… how did you make something like this?”
Those gloves had silver metal casing wrapping the thumb, index, and middle fingers over black leather.
Finger joint parts were processed with expert-level precision, and engravings were carved into the metal.
Faint blue energy was flowing along the engravings, making the gloves look as if they were breathing.
Sal turned his body sideways, propped his head on his elbow, and laughed.
“Why don’t you try them on?”
“Huh? What do you….”
Sal looked at her with playful eyes.
Hannah looked back and forth between Sal and the gloves, then her face turned pale.
“Don’t tell me you… this….”
Her voice was trembling.
A face engulfed in shock.
Sal kept smiling.
“I made the metal casing modeling your hand movements.”
He said lifting his hand in a pistol shape.
Hannah’s eyes grew wide.
“But to make it truly yours, your ability was needed. That’s why I asked you to share some power.”
Sal reluctantly got up.
His whole body ached, and he felt like collapsing soon.
He thought resting properly tonight was out of the question.
But seeing Hannah standing blankly, he picked up the gloves and threw them straight at her.
Hannah caught the gloves as if surprised, and at that moment Sal’s eyes followed the gloves and shone.
His appraisal skill activated.
Name: Barrier Gauntlet
Origin: Crafted
Age: New
Grade: Rare (Low)
Size: 6 inches circumference
Material: Artificial Cowhide | Iron | [Unidentified] Essence
Attributes:
-Prism: Can create custom prisms by aiming essence through the gloves
-Barrier: Creates a shield in front of the wearer
-Counter: Adds counterattack effect to barrier and prism, and grants damage reflection effect with a certain probability
Abilities: Prism | Barrier | Counter
Power Source: External Essence
Evolution Status: None
Quality: Excellent
Condition: 100%
Estimated Value: $9,500.00 ~ $15,000.00
“Don’t throw it!”
Hannah, receiving the gloves with trembling hands, gasped seeing the gloves shrink to fit her hand size.
She made a complex expression, as if wanting to say something but unable to express it.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, she suddenly opened her eyes wide as if realizing something and looked down at the gloves.
‘Custom-made dedicated equipment. An opportunity to break through ability limits or transform into a completely new ability’
Sal could guess it was the first time she wore equipment custom-made for her.
Could her essence melt well into the equipment? There was only one way to verify.
Sal raised his hand and mimicked the hand gesture Hannah showed before.
Tears flowed down Hannah’s cheeks.
Facing the gauntlet filled with her essence, soaked in surprise and emotion, she seemed to understand what Sal wanted.
Bursting into happy laughter, Hannah aimed her finger toward the wall.
Straightening her finger and pulling back her thumb, she quietly uttered one word.
“Bang.”
The entire room was covered with cold blue energy, and a shield was created.
Sal marveled at how drastically her ability evolved, and felt proud of what he had accomplished.
Getting up from the bed, he examined the shield and said.
“Not bad for a first wo—”
Before Sal could finish speaking, Hannah’s lips blocked his mouth.
Her two hands wearing gauntlets grabbed his shirt, pulling Sal down to her eye level.
As her heels touched the floor, Hannah shared a deep and intense kiss.
Catching her breath a moment later, Hannah quietly let go of Sal and looked toward the door.
The automatic door connected to the hallway was open, and she hesitated for a moment before walking silently in that direction.
Hannah closed the door and turned around.
A playful smile hung on her lips, and at the changed atmosphere, Sal’s heart beat like crazy.
“Sal, seems like there are quite a lot of functions in the gauntlet.”
She flicked her finger lightly, deactivating the shield covering the entire room, and this time unfolded a new defensive barrier only around Sal.
Sal instinctively touched the wall, and spaced out for a moment at the solid feel.
At a rustling sound, his gaze reached Hannah.
Hannah overlapped her hand with Sal’s on the barrier.
It was a suffocatingly natural and relaxed movement.
Silently, she snapped the fingers of her other hand.
Then the shield surrounding Sal disappeared.
“Let’s test it with me all night.”