Quest Academy: Silvers, page 37
Quest’s tone was still in a hushed whisper, and Sal couldn’t understand why they were having this conversation in private rather than with the other members of the Doom Society.
“Shouldn’t we assess the threat with everyone else?” Sal asked earnestly. The whole purpose of the society was to prevent things like this, so the idea of keeping it a secret seemed ridiculous.
Quest shook his head. “There are a few new Doom Society members, and we haven’t yet built up a sufficient level of trust in them. Believe it or not, there are people who would seek to capitalize on disasters rather than preventing them.” Quest winced ever so slightly as the words left his mouth, but it was soon replaced by his steady and reassuring smile.
“Both you and Divinity will be taking interviews with Scry next week, and he’ll assess your motivations and goals against future events. It’s nothing to worry about, and will bring you up to the next rank in the society. All I wanted to ask was that you keep those last events quiet.”
Sal looked over Quest’s shoulder and could see Neuro off to one side with Divinity, speaking to her in a secluded space at the edge of the Sky Lounge.
Quest placed a hand on Sal’s shoulder. “Any new information that comes from Recall will be a huge help to us, but there is a process to how we create countermeasure proposals. Telling everyone what you saw would only cause panic and uncertainty. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Headmaster. I understand.” Sal answered slowly, even though he was conflicted on the inside. He wanted to talk to Divinity to find out what she saw in her visions, but that would have to be later. She had looked incredibly tense when she’d warned him against speaking.
Sal shook Quest’s offered hand and nodded in understanding. “I won’t say anything.”
Quest smiled and gave him another light clap on the shoulder. “Great! Now, come on over and meet the rest of the Doom Society.”
Chapter 50:
Aspirations
“I graduated with one of the officers for the Paradox Guild. I’d be more than happy to make the introduction if you’d like?” Liam offered Sal, which was followed by a derisive snort from the other side of the room.
Dawn looked at Liam as though he were insane. “He’s barely finished his first week and the guilds haven’t even posted their quotas. What use will an introduction be if he hasn’t even passed his basic training? No offense, Salvatore,” she added quickly, making sure that Sal knew her condescension was aimed at Liam.
The two bickered for a bit until Alastair came to his rescue. The bearded man wore a waistcoat and a friendly smile as he sat next to Sal. Quest had introduced them earlier, but there were so many people, that Sal was having a hard time keeping up. Alastair’s deep voice cut across Dawn and Liam, interrupting their conversation.
“Let the boy breathe! Rather than telling him what he should do, have you tried asking him?” And with that, Alastair turned and gestured for Sal to speak. More than a few heads turned at the sudden booming of Alastair speaking, with their attention now locked onto Sal.
Sal thought about the question, and decided to go with the answer that was at the top of his mind. “I always thought I was going to join the Argento Auction with my family, but…a few events in the last week have made me reassess that goal. I think there is a lot more I could offer the world than a few Appraisals.”
A few good-natured chuckles met his words, and Sal smiled as he continued. “I haven’t picked any particular track yet, but I’m looking forward to learning more about Analysis, Administration, and Crafting. It might sound unrealistic or maybe a bit of a lofty goal, but I’d love to dispel the myth that Support classes are secondary to the others.”
Much to Sal’s surprise, Alastair barked out, “Hear, hear!”
Practically everyone around him nodded, wide smiles on their faces. It struck Sal in that moment that most of the people in the Doom Society had Support-based classes. Sal felt an odd kinship with the group and explained his findings from the other evening.
“There are only a dozen or so active Support guilds, and none of them are higher than tier three. If I was successful in getting into the Savior class, then I’d likely consider pushing for the guildmaster track.”
Sal expected some ridicule from the group, but the smiles were still in place. He understood that he was only a week into his first semester, so his words shouldn’t carry any weight at all, especially with how many students ended up not making the cut.
Alastair crossed his arms and grinned over at Liam. “Well, looks like you can stuff your Paradox offer!” When the laughter settled down, Alastair turned to Anna Sakura, who sat quietly by herself off to one side. “What about you? What’s your goal?”
The sudden question seemed to jolt her out of her reverie. She vaguely gestured over to Sal with a passive expression on her face. “I’ll probably join his guild.”
With a barking laugh, Harlan threw his own hat into the ring. “I’ll need at least a director-level position, Mr. Guildmaster. Head of Demonic Behaviors? I could work with that.”
Alastair raised his hand to halt Harlan as he looked at Sal in mock disbelief. “You promised me the first director role!”
Sal laughed at their banter and felt incredibly at ease. Testing the waters, he decided to poke a bit of fun at Neuro. “I’m going to need a Head of Threat Assessment, too. Who would you recommend, Neuro, as the best person for the job?”
Both Liam and Dawn looked directly at Neuro, who gave Sal a withering look in jest.
Alastair’s laugh tore through the crowd as he turned over to where Divinity was seated with the headmaster. “What about our new Seer? Miss Khan, what do you see yourself doing in the future?” He grinned at his own terrible joke, but Divinity took the question seriously.
“First officer for a tier-one guild. Learn and earn everything I can, and then move over to Sal’s guild and bring them up the tiers.”
From across the room, Anna Sakura raised her hand. “That answer sounds way better. I’m going to do that too.”
Harlan spoke up as the voice of reason in the room. “It’s easy to laugh and joke about it, but if he knows what he wants to do now…it’ll give him a good shot of having enough Q-Cred to set it up when the time comes.”
Many of the Doom Society nodded at the logic, but Quest snorted from his seat across the room. “He has over four thousand Q-Cred in his account, and he’s only been here a week. He could afford the registration already.”
And with just that sentence alone, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
Alastair chuckled, but the serious expression on Quest’s face caused even him to falter. Anna Sakura, Divinity, and even Neuro stared at Sal in shock. While all eyes were trained on him, Sal tried to make light of the situation.
“Well, if I’m going to afford all of you heavy hitters…I need to be earning at least that much a week!”
Alastair’s arm appeared over Sal’s shoulder as he was pulled into a half bear hug. “Quest, we’re keeping this one! Don’t go expelling him!”
***
Over the course of the evening, Quest, Divinity, and Anna Sakura left with a few others from the Doom Society. Sal was still seated with Harlan, Alastair, and Neuro, who had produced a bottle of whiskey from behind the counter of the bar. Liam had been the most recent exit at the sight of the bottle, and Sal felt as though he was intruding on their time. When he stood to leave, all three of the men protested and told him that he should stay. Sal felt much more at ease at that point and happily stayed to listen to them. Neuro gave each glass a healthy pour before placing it in front of each person.
“So, what did you all think of today’s meeting?”
Alastair sighed and shook his head with a smile. “Why don’t you just read our minds? It’ll be faster on everyone.”
Harlan, on the other hand, paused as he took the glass away from his lips. “Oh, that’s gorgeous. Great choice, Neil.”
Neuro gave a mocking half bow before he took his own seat.
Sal left his glass on the table for the moment and looked up at Neuro. “It was pretty intimidating at first, but I’ve become best friends with Alastair here, so it’s been worth it.”
The bark of laughter was followed by a playful shove to his shoulder as Alastair grinned. “Is nobody going to talk about the fact that he walked in here with two girls who suddenly want to join his guild? Support classes have changed since my day!”
With a shake of his head and a rueful smile, Harlan turned his attention toward Sal. “Have you given any consideration to what you’ll use all that Q-Cred for?”
Both Neuro and Alastair looked at him expectantly, and Sal could only shrug.
“I wanted to keep it until Jez had a chance to review it for the Administration class. After that, I don’t know…the outings don’t really appeal to me because I don’t want to be out on the field fighting demons, or consciously putting myself in danger. I might just use it for Crafting equipment or something like that?”
Leaning forward, Harlan placed his glass on the table with a thoughtful look. “Here’s my counterproposal! As Quest already mentioned, you have the funds to register a guild already…which is the last step of the process. I’d suggest that you put aside a chunk of that fund for course selection.”
Both Neuro and Alastair nodded in agreement as Harlan continued. “Right now, you’ll be in the basic classes for Survival, Field, Combat, Analysis, Administration, and Crafting. It costs Q-Cred to transition from Basic to Intermediate, then to Advanced. Masterclasses are necessary in certain subjects, and especially if you’d like to become a guildmaster.”
Alastair turned in his seat with a nod. “Whenever you see a Masterclass, you should absolutely do it. You’ll get an accreditation, which will increase your value as a Hero. The guilds have a checklist of sorts, and the higher their tier, the more they expect from their recruits. The other reason to keep the money to one side is because the Masterclasses don’t occur on a regular schedule. They’ll pop up randomly throughout the year with the availability of the instructor. So, you could find out that in one week there will be an Assassination Masterclass and it will cost up to two thousand, five hundred Q-Cred.”
“Surely it’s not that expensive?” Harlan asked, but Alastair just nodded.
“It’s designed so the guilds can offer contracts to students, to pay for their tuition. If Sal wants to go solo, then he’ll need to pay for everything himself.” Alastair turned to Sal with a grim expression. “Everything costs Q-Cred, but the highest fee I’ve seen so far is for work experience. That would be in your third year, and it’ll cost a minimum of three thousand if you want to get in with a good guild.”
Sal finally picked up the glass and took a drink. He was no stranger to whiskey as he’d had more than a few of them with his father over the years, but he wasn’t expecting it to taste so good. “That’s beautiful!” he remarked with an appreciative sigh before putting the glass back on the table.
Neuro gave him a playful smile. “You truly are full of surprises! Half of me expected you to throw up.”
Sal laughed as he reclined in his seat, enjoying the warmth of the whiskey coursing through his body. They had given him a lot to think about, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
“Do I get a Doom Society discount on Masterclasses?” Sal laughed as he threw the question to the room, expecting them to break into smiles.
“It wouldn’t be a huge one at your current rank, but it becomes more substantial as you build on your trust rating. I think it’s ten percent to begin with?” Harlan turned toward Neuro to verify the information, and the telepath shook his head slightly.
“I think it starts lower but can build up to around sixty percent. It would be pretty shit if you were stuck in here on the weekends and getting nothing for it.”
Alastair’s laugh cut through the din of conversation. “Thanks for saving humanity…fuck off.”
Sal chuckled with the rest of them, enjoying their company. They continued to talk about a few different topics, and Sal learned that Alastair had graduated around the same time as Sinclair. Sal wasn’t sure whether it was the drink talking, but if they were to be believed, Harlan and Alastair were going to enlist him in their next available Masterclass.
Neuro had waved away his protests that he was only in the Basic training at the moment. Apparently, they’d introduce him to a few guilds for work experience as they were well-connected. Sal kept it to one drink as he had classes the following evening, but he enjoyed himself a lot more than he expected. Just as the conversation was winding down, Alastair spoke about one of his recent students who had so much potential for tactical warfare.
“He can clone his body! One mind controlling a whole squad of people! It’s similar to Erika…” He gestured to Neuro, who nodded quietly. “But…different! If any of the clones perish, then what of it? The main body is still safe! It was just a clone.”
Alastair whirled around on the shorter man. “I swear, Harlan. Don’t try to talk to me about clone ethics!” Harlan burst out laughing as Alastair continued. “Imagine it, a one-man army with no cost of life?” He finished off his glass and slid it toward the center of the table, indicating that he was done. “Now, if only I could get the fucker to sit down and learn. He’d be unstoppable.”
Sal grinned as he, too, finished his glass. “Well, if he doesn’t work out, let me know. I’ve a friend with a similar power.” Sal frowned as he thought about it. “Although, there’s no cost of life…but I’d imagine it carries way more ethical issues.”
When he was met with silence, Sal faltered before Alastair finally broke with a laugh.
“You can’t just drop that bombshell and then clam up! Come on, spill it! Who is it and what is their power? I only half promise that I won’t scout them immediately.”
“Her name is Melanie. She’s in the Orange cohort and really low in the rankings. Right now, she believes her power is Spirit Channeling, but it will evolve into Necromancy. Divinity and I saw it in a future vision. She becomes incredibly powerful.”
Alastair shot to his feet as he clapped. “Lads! Are you hearing what I’m hearing?”
Harlan face-palmed, but Neuro grinned and humored his friend.
“That there’s a first-year who can actually be trained…before they get all those bad habits?”
Alastair frowned. “Okay, it’s no fun when you just read my mind.” With a turn to Sal, the bearded man grinned. “Sal, can you introduce me to this Melanie?”
Chapter 51:
Categories
“I’d like to welcome you all to your very first Skill class! My name is Professor Lombardi, and I was granted the Hero name, Forte. I want to get to know each of you in this class, but before we get to that, we need to know more about your ability…or more specifically, which category of essence it belongs to.” Lombardi spoke as he brought a screen up for the entire cohort to see.
“I’d ask each of you not to interact with the core on your desk yet. We’ll be using them later as part of your first exercise. If you could have a look at the screen, you’ll see a list of essence categories which all known skills fall into. I’ll give you a few moments to find yours, but if you have any questions or need guidance, please don’t hesitate to raise your hand.”
Essence Categories (Skills)
Psionic
Mimicry
Influence
Invention
Movement
Body Manipulation
Body Transformation
Energy Manipulation
Augmentation / Replication
Lombardi walked in front of the screen and raised his hand to point at each of the different categories. “Just to run you through them really quickly. Psionic comes in all forms but isn’t to be confused with Influence or Energy Manipulation. Psionic abilities are controlled with the mind, and can take forms like Telepathy, Mind Control, Clairvoyance, Divination, and so on.”
Turning toward the students, he listed off the different options with his hands. “There are a lot that fall under this category that look like they should be in the others. Like Teleportation, for example! There are ongoing debates if it’s a form of Psionics, but for the purpose of this class, we’ll be keeping it in the Energy Manipulation category.
“Next on the list is Mimicry! This is a nuanced one, so pay attention if you think this one might be your category. Mimicry allows the user to take on the traits of creatures and demons, but not like a transformation or a full replication. It could be enhancing certain characteristics, like strength, speed, sight, and so on. Mimicry users are typically excellent all-rounders as they can cover their weaknesses by amplifying traits. Most Mimicry users have no idea they’re even in this category, so if you’re unsure, I’ll be happy to help.”
Sal looked around the room and saw that more than a few people were looking at the list in complete confusion. He personally felt like his belonged in the last category, but he wasn’t sure about telling the professor about his secondary ability, which very much belonged in the Invention category. It got him thinking others might have two or more distinct skill categories.
Divinity sat beside him in the lecture hall and leaned back against her chair as she waited for the explanations to come to an end. Her skill was definitely in the Psionic category.
Lombardi looked at one of the raised hands in the room and pointed at the student in question. “Yes…” He glanced down at the tablet in front of him for a moment. “Victoria?”
Sal turned around to see Victoria smiling sweetly, her hand raised.
“That’s me, Professor. My ability allows me to control the opposite sex by releasing essence…but I do it with my mind, so would that fall under Psionic, or would it be Influence?”
