Let Me Borrow Some Abilities at the Hero Academy

Chapter 46 : Caution

The moment she closed the door, Hannah wrapped her arms around Sal's neck and pulled him in for a light kiss.

Sal was awkwardly holding two cups of coffee in his hands.

As their lips met, Hannah's body pressed tightly against his.

She cupped Sal's face with both hands, let out a sigh, and pulled back.

"I'm late right now! So I can't do this... Huh? Is that mine?"

The moment she saw the coffee, her eyes sparkled.

Hannah flashed a bright smile, approached Sal again, and shared a deeper kiss.

Sal willingly kissed her back.

In that breathless moment, Hannah's right hand slid down along Sal's chest.

She whispered in a playful voice.

"Is this for me too?"

Sal wanted to just toss the coffee aside, but Hannah laughed and pulled away.

She took the coffee cup and started walking around the room.

Of course, it was questionable whether the word 'room' was appropriate.

The floor was completely covered with clothes and blankets, as if she had thrown down everything she had worn all week.

When Hannah threw him a faint smile over her shoulder, Sal's heart began to race.

"Sorry. I'm really late! Today is the external activity day. We have to leave in ten minutes."

She took a sip of the coffee and looked down at the cup with a strange expression.

Walking back to Sal without a word, she placed the coffee in his hand and took the other cup.

Making eye contact with Sal, Hannah cautiously took a sip.

Then, she immediately broke into a huge smile.

"You came to see me looking this handsome, holding my favorite coffee? This is just... I feel like I should just take you."

Hannah let out a satisfied breath, slowly looked Sal up and down, and bit her lip slightly.

"I really want to unwrap you, but..."

Sal laughed and pointed to the room.

"You're late! I have an interview with the Headmaster at nine, too. I just stopped by to apologize for last night."

Hannah scoffed and pulled a white short-sleeved t-shirt over her head.

It was a simple garment, but on her, it was eye-catching enough to make it hard to look away.

"What apology! We aren't dating, and it's not like you have to come just because I'm bored. You were busy last night, and I'm busy today... We can just see each other when our times match. Ah, could you toss me that jacket over there?"

Hannah pointed to a gray school uniform jacket crumpled on the edge of the bed.

As Sal picked it up, Hannah frowned and turned her head.

Sal activated his ability and began the Restoration process.

Thanks to skipping ironing for several years, it was almost a reflexive action.

In the blink of an eye, the jacket transformed, looking as neat as if it had just been ironed.

"Here."

Hannah accepted it, staring in disbelief before bursting into laughter.

She came straight to Sal.

"Can I ask for the pants too?"

Then she grabbed Sal's empty hand and brought it to her hip.

"Please."

Without a single word of complaint, Sal repeated the process, helping her achieve the maximum perfection allowed by the school uniform.

She approached Sal again, left a deep kiss, and pulled away laughing.

"You really have something new every time I see you, don't you?"

Sal laughed and replied.

"Call me when the outing is over."

Hannah held his hand, spun around once, and laughed.

"I'll call you if you promise to show me those amazing dance skills one more time."

Sal pretended to be reluctant.

"Fine. Promise."

***

Sal waited quietly in front of the Headmaster's office, looking around.

Having made eye contact with the secretary twice already, he was deliberately averting his gaze, trying not to look in her direction.

Hannah had been very successful in getting Sal excited.

Combined with sleep deprivation and the stimulation of Essence coffee, Sal was extremely restless.

On one hand, he was annoyed by the fact that he wasn't fully alert before such an important interview.

But the voice in his mind was praising the Q-Credit balance stamped on his account.

Sal wanted to go into the Q-Credit shop right now and browse what he could buy, but he decided not to touch it until he met Jez in the next class.

He was already looking forward to seeing Jez's expression when he found out he had earned over 4,000 credits in a single night.

That was nearly ten times the 'quite good weekly wage' for crafters that Jez had mentioned.

"Mr. Argento? The Headmaster is waiting for you. Please come this way."

The secretary quietly came out from behind her desk and called him.

With a gentle smile, she pointed to the large door beside her.

Sal stood up and held up his empty coffee cup.

"Thank you. Is there anywhere I can throw this away?"

He looked around, but there was no trash can in sight.

The secretary took the cup and carefully placed it on her desk.

"It's fine. I'll take care of it."

Then she walked toward the door, opened the left one, and gestured for him to enter.

Sal bowed his head in thanks.

As he entered, he immediately faced Quest sitting at his desk.

"Salvatore! Come in and sit."

Before Sal had even taken a few steps, he heard the door click shut behind him.

An inexplicable anxiety washed over him, but Sal dismissed it as fatigue.

Entering the Headmaster's office felt like getting scolded even if he hadn't done anything wrong.

Quest tapped on the console on his desk.

"Just a moment. I'm pulling up your profile..."

He smiled apologetically and manipulated the invisible screen with his fingertips.

In the meantime, Sal sat back in the plush chair and waited quietly.

A few more manipulations followed, and Quest soon let out a long breath and said.

"The screen is a bit slow... Ah, there we go! Here it is."

He looked at Sal with warm eyes.

"So, how was your first week?"

Sal blanked for a moment before answering.

"Uh... it was good. Really good. I spent a lot of time in the Workshop with Upgrade, and I learned a lot."

Quest nodded, still smiling as he scrolled down the invisible screen.

As a few seconds of silence passed, Sal began to wonder if he should say more.

Quest suddenly frowned at something, then looked at Sal with puzzled eyes.

"About the sniper rifle, did you receive compensation from the Reavers Guild? I received a full report from Upgrade. That's why I scheduled this interview so quickly."

Sal slowly shook his head.

"No, I haven't returned the rifle to them yet..."

Quest's expression grew more serious.

He tapped the interface a few more times and muttered.

"Something's strange... It says here that over 4,000 Q-Credits have been deposited into your account. And just over last night. As the person who designed this system myself, I really don't like seeing errors like this."

The Headmaster muttered in a half-apologetic tone, as if talking to himself, trying to figure out the cause of the problem.

Only then did Sal nod and say.

"Ah, I didn't explain. I'm sorry. That's from the Credit Floor. Last night, I used my Silver Token to process seventy-five Appraisal requests commissioned by the Reavers Guild. I just finished about an hour ago."

Quest looked at Sal with a face of disbelief.

"...Seventy-five? Overnight?"

Sal shifted awkwardly in his seat, feeling like he should explain.

"There's a limit on the exclusive Appraisal time. Once that time passes, it goes to the internal Appraisal team and the commission decreases. So I was trying to earn as much as possible before Professor Jez's Administration class."

Quest leaned back in his chair, looking lost in thought.

"Incredible. Honestly, you have far exceeded our expectations. So from now on, you need to be a bit more careful."

He placed his hands on the desk and continued, choosing his words carefully.

"Upgrade, Martin, and Gosha. You used your Skill Master ability on them, correct? If what you say is true, you untangled the knotted threads with that ability."

Quest fixed his gaze on Sal and spoke in a weighty voice.

"I also checked the feedback left by Divinity Khan. It's true that there was a noticeable improvement in abilities. But at the same time, there were side effects as their bodies tried to adapt to the sudden ability enhancement."

Checking Sal's expression, Quest immediately reassured him.

"Don't worry. Everyone will be fine! They will each undergo an adjustment process in the skill adjustment room for a certain period. Then they should be able to adapt sufficiently. Still, I wanted to talk to you, Salvatore. Starting next week, you will be taking Essence Control classes, and taking that class will help you understand this phenomenon much better."

He looked at Sal and continued.

"Your ability can certainly draw out the potential of others. However, their bodies might not be ready to handle that power yet."

Sal felt his breath hitch.

A cold anxiety washed over him like a wave.

He had never considered the possibility that he could put his friends in danger.

'Was it because I was always used to taking others' abilities? Did I suddenly start ignoring the safety of others?'

Sal felt nauseous as if his stomach were churning, gripping the armrests of the chair tightly to barely hold on.

"Salvatore, listen carefully. Your ability is a special power that opens up countless possibilities. But there isn't much we know yet. You haven't done anything wrong. Everyone is safe, and there are no problems. All we want is to move forward cautiously. To observe how their power changes and to ensure they adapt. If side effects occur, you can just restore those knots for them. Understood?"

Sal nodded as if dazed.

The thought that he might have put his friends in danger just to experiment with abilities to craft his weapon... it was suffocating.

"I'm really sorry. I won't do it again!"

Sal barely managed to calm his shaking heart and promised sincerely.

But Quest slowly shook his head and smiled gently.

"No, Salvatore. You must do it again. Because your ability might be the key to defeating the monsters. The important thing is how, and how carefully, you use that power. Now, we should move on to the Mythos topic here."

Quest smiled broadly and continued.

"You crafted a Legend rank sniper rifle with an evolution-type attribute. do you know how significant that is?"

It took Sal a few seconds to realize the question wasn't an interrogation.

He slowly nodded.

"To some extent. The stability will be higher... and Watcher will be able to respond more effectively to the rifts that open in the future."

Quest shook his head and laughed.

"A Mythos can create Legend rank equipment. The sniper rifle is amazing, but what would happen if you used your ability to outfit the people on the front lines with that equipment? Every hero who hears your story will try to monopolize you. They will make all sorts of offers for an exclusive contract. The purpose of this Academy is to train you to grow into the best hero. But the decision is yours. We only guide the way... Still, I want to give you one piece of advice."

Quest stood up from his chair and crossed his arms.

"Focus on training and learning for now. Don't get carried away by achievements. You have a long period of academic study ahead of you at the Academy. There are many outstanding people who will teach you over the next few months and years. It must be amazingly enjoyable for you to have mastered your ability and possess excellent crafting skills right now... And even if you dropped out right now and joined a guild, you could probably live quite a wonderful life."

Sal listened with an expression of disbelief at Quest's words, but the Headmaster smiled.

"However, I hope that one day in the future, you will explore other paths as well. The project goal for the Savior Class was to cultivate exceptional Guild Masters for the next generation. After completing the introductory classes and assignments, you will set a goal, which will be an opportunity to choose your career path after graduation. My advice is not to just stay a crafter or appraiser, but to look more broadly. I just hope you think it over carefully."

Quest smiled at Sal one last time, stood up, and extended a hand.

Sal stood up, shook his hand, and mulled over the Headmaster's words, feeling dazed inside.

"To summarize, Salvatore. Refrain from ability modification, but continue crafting. Always be cautious and aim higher. I'll tell Joanne to schedule another interview next month. Have a good day today, understood?"

As the door clicked open, he saw the secretary, who had come in unnoticed, holding the door for him.