“This is our design lab, where we draw up proposals. Your eyes might be able to create blueprints, but you’re going to learn to draw them here. Every invention of note from the last few decades…has a blueprint in here!”

  Upgrade was in her element as she made a beeline toward a particular shelf. Her hand traced along a row of cylinders before she found the one she was looking for. In a graceful sweep, she withdrew a cylinder from the shelf and removed its cap.

  Sal watched her roll out the physical blueprint on one of the many tables in the room.

  Upgrade spoke to him excitedly as she pointed at various features, but Sal couldn’t hear her. His eyes lit up. Until this moment, his ability tried to create solutions based on minimal information. Sal’s breath caught in his throat as he saw thousands of tiny details that were wrong on the blueprint. He instinctively knew how to correct them, but forcefully tore his eyes away from it to look at Upgrade, who grinned at him.

  “First thing we need to teach you is how to create blueprints! You can sell them back to the university if they’re of high quality, and you can also take commissions. But this one here…” Upgrade pointed at the blueprint that had caught his attention. “…is a blueprint I created a few years ago, and it’s probably the first thing I’d make if I had your ability. Material cost was insane and like ninety percent of it would have to be commissioned out to other Crafters with specialist skills…but if it worked? How many lives would it save? I come back to look at it every few months to see if I can improve it or make it more realistic.”

  Sal’s eyes returned to the blueprint, and his heartbeat quickened. Every part of him wanted to start correcting and refining the blueprint, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t want to delude himself by thinking that his ability would solve every issue or magically make the best version of everything. The shirt that knocked him unconscious should have been lesson enough that his ability wasn’t infallible.

  He deactivated his eyes, allowing him to see the blueprint in its basic form. He smiled at Upgrade, deciding he should take things one step at a time. “Can you teach me how to make one of these?”

  Upgrade laughed as she walked around the table to stand beside him. Reaching under the desk, she picked up a single role of graph paper and laid it out over the existing blueprint. As Sal smoothed it out over her drawing, Upgrade handed him a pencil. “It’s an archaic method, but it’s good practice.”

  Before Sal could say a word, Upgrade touched a button at the side of the desk, illuminating the surface and making the original blueprint much more visible. After a few moments, a chime filled the air, and Upgrade slid out the original blueprint from underneath the new page. Sal’s eyes widened at the sight of the drawings still being displayed on the table, despite Upgrade rolling up the original and placing it back on the wall. He lifted his blank page and saw that the drawings were coming from the surface of the table.

  She stifled a laugh and gestured at the light table. “Well…maybe not that archaic. But this way, you get to try out those ideas without fucking up my design.”

  Sal chuckled to himself as he reactivated his eyes and saw the same issues popping up that he had seen on the original design.

  Rather than leaving him to his work, Upgrade pulled over a stool and sat beside him.

  “Theory is great, but learning by doing is better. I’ll help you as we go…but the first part of every blueprint is the title.” Her finger tapped the top of the page, and Sal leaned across and wrote the proposal blueprint title in his own handwriting, followed by his own name.

  Self-Sustaining Combat Drone – Salvatore Argento

  Chapter 23:

  Accusation

  Divinity sat quietly with her hands laid flat on the table. She bit her lip as she alternated between looking down at her hands and looking back up at Sal. She had asked to speak with him before they got food as she wanted to clear the air between them.

  Sal was happy to have the opportunity to apologize to her for what happened with the shirt, but another part of him was watching all the happy faces with their food streaming around the canteen.

  “Sal, I know that the shirt wasn’t your fault…and that it could have happened to anyone. The Skill Registration incident was a freak accident too, and you missing the Combat session was unavoidable.” Divinity took a steadying breath between sentences.

  Sal frowned at the mention of the Combat session. He wasn’t sure why she was bringing that up all of a sudden, but he didn’t interrupt her.

  “I appreciate that you don’t know what is around the corner like I do, so it’s unfair of me to get annoyed by things that haven’t even happened yet.” Divinity winced ever so slightly, and Sal anticipated the next word perfectly.

  “But…” He started for her and opened his hands as if to give her space to speak.

  Divinity nodded solemnly. “But yes…your recent actions and…your actions to come, don’t really help the Silver cohort. After induction, we start getting assessed more harshly as both individuals and as teams. You’re Rank #2 in our group, and you need to start stepping up if we’re going to be on the same team.”

  Sal wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the conversation. They were still in their first week, and she was annoyed with him for how he wasn’t performing in a future that had yet to happen? He wanted tell her that she was overreacting, but she hadn’t done a single thing to make him distrust her.

  She’d helped him get the Purple Punch and pick out the Upgrade ability, which led to him getting the Mythcrafter ability. She guided him to the workshop to get the shirt off when, without her, he might have collapsed in a heap somewhere or been locked away in the infirmary. With those considerations in mind, Sal decided to accept whatever blame she was throwing in his direction.

  Her voice was strained as she quickly explained what was going to happen in the future. Her panicked voice was only made worse by Sal’s continued silence. “You eventually stop going to classes. You don’t make any effort to get to know other people in our cohort, which makes them unwilling to group up with you for the team-based exercises. When we have to go into the field, you get exemptions from Upgrade or the headmaster…which results in everyone resenting you for special treatment.”

  Divinity’s voice got higher in pitch with each reason, and Sal could see the start of tears at the edges of her eyes.

  “Even though you don’t turn up to classes, don’t do assignments, they still keep you here. So many people are sent home, but you’re still here, without even trying.” Her voice finally ran out of energy, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Eventually, I come to hate you too.”

  Sal exhaled slowly. Any lingering resentment evaporated at Divinity’s last words. She didn’t look hopeful in the slightest, and Sal wondered if he was destined to disappoint her and ruin their friendship regardless of the choices he made. Yes, a part of him would jump at the opportunity to skip out of Combat or Survival classes. He didn’t feel any attachment to anyone else in the cohort, nor was he supposed to. They were just temporary classes until they were ranked at the end of the semester.

  “I’m sorry…okay? You’ve been a great friend to me since I’ve gotten here, and helped me every step of the way. Whatever I can do to make it right, let me know and I’ll do my best.” Sal said in an earnest voice as he thought through his next sentence. The headmaster and Upgrade had cautioned him about revealing too much about the Mythcrafter ability, but Divinity had to have put the pieces together.

  “When I registered the Upgrade skill, it didn’t turn into a super Upgrade ability like I told you.” Judging by the surprised expression on her face, she definitely hadn’t put the pieces together. “It combined with the Restoration and Appraisal abilities that I already had and became Mythcrafter. It’s an ability that allows me to create Mythic-grade items.”

  “You’re Myth?!”

  Sal nodded and was happy to see a delighted smile cross her face. “I guess that in the future you saw, I was spending a lot of time with Upgrade and the headmaster to work on secret projects. Right now, I’m working on a really cool project with Upgrade, and I would happily skip the next month of classes if it meant I could work on it! But,” he said quickly, realizing what he just said, “I’ll do my best to not miss classes, so I can help with the upcoming challenges. Thanks for letting me know!”

  He glanced eagerly at the canteen behind Divinity, and she laughed and waved him off.

  “You’re free to go, but you better come back!”

  ***

  “Don’t you ever get tired of steak?” Divinity asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like, it’s not even real. Are you sure that you want something artificially processed like that?” She averted her eyes from Sal’s plate as he happily cut into it.

  He chuckled as he gestured at the plate. “I will never get tired of steak. Also, I’ve no idea what the real thing is supposed to taste like, but this one does just great.” As if to emphasize that point, he groaned as he shoveled more of it into his mouth, eliciting a shudder of disgust from Divinity.

  She had pretty much finished her salad and was patiently waiting on Sal to finish. It took a few more minutes of silent judging before his cutlery hit the plate.

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin and gestured with his hands. “Are we able to talk about stuff now?”

  Divinity nodded and leaned forward. She had cut him off when he came back with his plate and told him that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on him explaining and eating at the same time, and that she’d listen to him when he was done.

  “Okay. I was thinking about what you said…that I wasn’t there for our other classmates and how I pretty much let the cohort down,” Sal began as he straightened his back in the chair.

  Divinity shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked like she wanted to interject and apologize for how she had spoken to him before, but Sal raised a hand and smiled.

  “Oh, I’m not bitter about it or anything, don’t worry. I was just thinking about your visions and how we might be missing something.”

  Divinity cocked an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt.

  Sal smiled as he raised his hands defensively. “I’ve no doubt that what you’ve seen will happen, and I’m not trying to weasel out of any blame my future self might deserve. It’s just that you saw Hannah as one of the top graduates. The girl who was able to make those shields? Well, I made equipment for her, and suddenly she appears more prominently in your visions?”

  Realization washed over Divinity’s face as the mystery behind the new vision was solved. “Wait, so you made that happen?”

  “Yes, I made her some gauntlets and infused them with her own power…allowing her to access more essence and giving her a method of recharging faster. It’s likely a game-changer right now based on our current abilities and trajectories, but how will it be in six months? That’s what I want to know,” Sal explained excitedly. “What if there are people we could promote to the top ranks who wouldn’t get there normally? I could create custom equipment that would showcase their abilities.”

  Divinity didn’t interrupt him, probably because she already knew how the future would play out. If he was Myth, he was going to make things for people anyway.

  “What if we were able to prevent people from getting expelled prematurely? You said that so many good people went home? We can jump-start their potential with knowledge of the future and the best equipment!” Sal grinned at her shocked expression. It meant that he had caught her off guard, which was always exciting. “There are a hundred people in our cohort, which means that there has to be a group composition that suits us perfectly. Something that will help us sail through assignments and allows us to use our abilities to their fullest. What do you think?”

  Divinity stared at him as though he had two heads. “So instead of trying to team up with the best people, you’d enlist those at the bottom of the rankings?”

  Sal nodded, as though it were obvious. “We were essentially judged on a race and then a popularity contest. Why should a thousand people be judged on their physical capability? Hannah’s shield could save countless lives, but she was in the low hundreds. I’d rather create a group of people with useful abilities than align with high-ranked people like me who got lucky.”

  Divinity listened to Sal as he spoke through his ideas, and put forward a few of her own, then they discussed the best course of action. His suggestion for her to use her power on each student was immediately quashed as it would lead to her exhausting herself or passing out. She suggested that she try to look into alternative timelines of the students she saw getting expelled, but there was no guarantee that it would give them what they needed.

  They left the canteen and wandered around the amphitheater outside the towers, spending nearly an hour discussing the different ideas, but each of them became more and more challenging because of the sheer number of students they would need to assess. When Divinity half-joked that they should just break into the registration office, Sal stopped walking abruptly.

  A wide grin cross his face. “Could you teach me how to control your power?”

  Chapter 24:

  Divinity

  Sal sat with his legs crossed, his exhaustion throughout the day was long forgotten. His entire focus was on Divinity as she explained the principles of her power. He had dismissed the idea as soon as he said it, because he couldn’t imagine a person being comfortable in revealing the limitations of their powers, yet Divinity was practically giddy at the prospect of explaining it to him. Apparently, she had wanted to try this out, too, when she first found out about his ability. Her logic was heartbreakingly earnest, though, and Sal was left speechless when she requested that he use his ability to prevent outbreaks. That had been her only condition in teaching him how to use the ability.

  She believed he would be able to see much farther into the future than she could, which meant that he’d be able to save more lives if something she couldn’t see was on the horizon. Although she had referenced her abilities before, he had no idea how regularly she sent in reports of pending portal breaks to the academy. Sal felt humbled when he heard what she was already doing for society and knew that she was already a hero.

  Divinity framed her power in a much more understandable way than Sal had expected. Most people used their powers instinctively, almost like breathing, but Divinity was able to break it down piece by piece and explain how it worked.

  “So, if you think of a large event as a focus point, use that as a reference or anchor. It works best if it’s a strong memory, especially to start with, then you can move around it from moment to moment. Visualize it like a web being constructed, with you never straying too far from the focus point, but building out a net that expands in every direction.” Her fingers traced the outline of a net as she spoke, watching Sal’s reaction intently as she did so.

  “Remember I told you about the ceremony that happens in a few months? When the Saviors are picked? That could be your focal point in the future. You can build a net around it and explore…but you’ll need to use a different approach to get there in the first place.”

  Sal nodded in understanding. It was vital that he grasped how the power worked for him to be able to use it properly, especially the methods that would prevent him getting lost within the power. Although he was a little confident in the fact that both of them had eye-based skills, he knew that control would likely be harder when dealing with visions. The other factor that he needed to be conscious of was that he would be channeling the best version of her power. He tried not to think about what he would see and instead listened to Divinity’s instructions.

  “Rather than a web, I want you to imagine a tree.” Divinity’s voice was calm as she moved her hand and wiggled her fingers downward. “Imagine that the past is a set of roots, deep in the earth. They are facts and events that have already happened. The trunk of the tree, at least in this example, is brimming with potential…and branches are ready to shoot off in every direction.

  “You can continue to grow upward and experience things as they happen…that will show you the future as it is, wherever your tree is planted. You want to see what will happen in a certain place in the future? Plant a tree there in your mind and watch it grow tall.” Her hand gestures mimicked what she was saying, and Sal nodded.

  Divinity moved her hands back to the imaginary tree between them. “The energy that allows you to grow your tree can be pushed outward to create branches. It will be harder, and you’ll need a clear understanding of what it is you’re hoping to find or see. Follow that branch and see where it goes. But know that the farther you go from the trunk of your tree, the weaker your branches will become. You’ll break out of those visions faster than others, so be careful.”

  Her smile returned as she gestured back to her other hand. “Which brings us back to the web! When you find a point in a branch that you want to explore, imagine there are twigs and leaves around your branch. These are events that you can latch onto, and you can build your web around them. Find out all the information and build a picture to see all the possibilities around them. That’s how I use my power. It’s grown with me over the years, and I can go farther up the tree and wider with the branches…but who knows what it will be like for you?” The excitement in her voice was clear as she clapped, surprising Sal, who was almost in a trance-like state.

  “You’re up! Do you want to maybe try to replicate my power with the knots? Is that what you call them?” Divinity suggested gently. It was clear that she didn’t want to overwhelm him with the power and mess up their opportunity to see more of the future.

  “If we’re at the same level, I can guide you through the basics while you’re using your power. It might be easier for you to look at the future right here! Since we’re beside the amphitheater, it should be easy for you to see a preview of tomorrow’s lessons?” Catching what she just said, Divinity quickly corrected herself. “Sorry, I don’t mean easy! I just think it could be a good exercise to start with.”

 

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