Quest Academy: Silvers, page 8
“I don’t deserve Rank #2. There are countless people who are more capable, but I was able to foresee the competition and went to the dorms early. I could see who to talk to at the party last night, and tailored my approach to what impressed them the most. What do you think will happen when we get to the Combat test later today? I’m sure as shit not going to be much of a Rank #2, that’s for sure.”
“Wait.” Sal stopped abruptly. “What Combat test?”
Chapter 9:
Purple Punch
Sal and Divinity continued to speak throughout the tour. She told him that there was a Combat test later in the day, and the knot in Sal’s stomach tightened. It wasn’t an area he was confident with, and despite the wondrous effects of the coffee, he didn’t think his muscles would be fit to take the speedster’s ability again. It kept playing on his mind, and judging from Divinity’s expression, she noticed that he was feeling conflicted. They both did their best to talk around the topic, rather than worry openly in front of each other.
“A scholarship? How did you manage that?” Sal asked as he was drawn back into the conversation.
Divinity pointed at her eyes, as if it were a default answer. “Predicting a demonic outbreak a few days ahead of schedule was enough to get them to notice me. When they saw that our…means weren’t particularly high, they stepped in to help. There are a couple of caveats, though. They’ve picked a few modules for me that I need to attend, like Analysis, Field, and Survival.” Divinity listed off the three with her fingers. “They said that my visions would go from useful to invaluable when I know what I’m seeing.”
Sal exhaled as he shook his head. “That’s incredible. You’re already pretty much a Hero, but they’re going to make you an even better one. I’ve got no idea how I’m going to be able to help people. Do I become a copy-cat of the strongest person here? Is there an ultimate power that would save the world that only I can use? Would my fragile willpower and body be able to withstand it?” Sal chuckled as he listed off his fears.
“You even have direction in which classes to take. I don’t know what to pick, and the number of available seats is going down already.” He gestured at the screen that showed the available modules.
Before Divinity could offer him any sort of reassurance, their attention was pulled by the staff member at the front of the pack.
“The Gold group has just finished breakfast, so we’ll be entering the canteen now. Please be advised that although we offer a complimentary buffet, there are premium options available to those of you who can afford them.” With that said, he turned and led the way into the dining area.
Divinity practically snorted as she turned to Sal. “Have you seen the prices of those premium options? It has to be a trick to siphon off Q-Credits from the gullible rankers.”
Sal’s expression brightened as he realized he knew something that Divinity didn’t. “I bought a premium coffee earlier today, and they were something like two credits each. It completely restored my fatigue. I was like a corpse this morning because I used a physical skill yesterday, but now…I feel completely fine.”
Divinity’s expression went from disbelief to curiosity as she separated from the crowd going toward the buffet and veered off toward the premium options. Sal followed her and was surprised to see her eyes turn white as she walked. He didn’t want to interrupt her, but he also felt the need to warn her to be careful. Her eyes widened as she turned to each vendor. Was she asking each of the vendors what their options were? Before he knew it, her blue eyes were back, and wide open in shock.
“Come with me.”
Sal followed her out of curiosity. They passed a coffee place, a pastry stall, a grill, and a few others…only to arrive at a smoothie bar. Sal was about to protest that he wasn’t the biggest fan of them, but Divinity raised a hand.
“Trust me.”
Those two words put Sal completely at ease, and his curiosity grew even stronger. He took his card out of his pocket to pay, but Divinity waved him away.
“My treat. You can get me one next time.”
Sal didn’t protest and actually warmed on the inside, knowing that they’d be meeting again in the future. It was a different experience from Hannah and Kane. An ingrained cynicism had made him take baby steps with those two, but Divinity was different. She was a higher rank than him and knew about his powers. Sal tried to grasp at the doubts in his head, looking for a reason to be wary of her…but his mind came up blank. He resigned himself to going with the flow and seeing what happened.
Divinity handed him a large container of purple liquid with a straw. Sal refused to believe it was the normal serving amount but accepted it gratefully. Before he took a drink, he looked her squarely in the eyes. “Can you glance into the future and see if this ends up giving me the shits?”
The laugh that exploded out of Divinity was enough to make heads turn. Sal panicked and tried to shush her, but it was no use. All solidarity was gone as he jokingly abandoned her. He found a seat far away from her and made a show of covering his face, as though he didn’t know her. Divinity wiped a tear from her eye as she joined him.
Her blue eyes practically sparkled as she looked at him. “Can I try my power on you now? Before you take a drink.”
Sal was about to lift it to his lips when he paused. “Go for it.” He placed the container back on the table and folded his arms in anticipation. It was his first time seeing her eyes go through the change, and he had to admit that it looked awesome. The irises became an icy blue, which grew in intensity before it blossomed out and flooded the rest of the eyeball. When they were fully white, it looked as if she saw right through him. Sal thought of activating his own eyes to see how her power presented itself but stopped himself. She had gone to the effort of asking his permission, so he’d give her the same courtesy.
“Okay, now take a drink.”
Divinity’s face didn’t reveal a single tell. Sal had been trained by his father in reading facial expressions, which was useful in all parts of life…but was useless to him now. Divinity waited patiently as Sal took a long drink of the purple liquid. He was so caught up in his head that he hadn’t anticipated the suddenly cold sensation hitting his mouth. He let out an almost panicked noise, which elicited a chuckle out of Divinity. The taste was a blend of black currant and apple, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. The coldness of the drink was refreshing, but it didn’t pack as much of a punch as the coffee did. Sal frowned as he tried to pick up on any sort of feeling from it…but there was nothing. Divinity’s voice broke him out of his reverie.
“Okay, that should be enough.”
He glanced up to see she was still using her powers, and he glanced around while he waited. The canteen was large enough to fit a few hundred people, which allowed space for the different groups to sit together. A few people sat by themselves, while the largest groups didn’t number more than five or six people. Sal turned back to Divinity and unconsciously checked her out, which lasted less than a second and caused him to sigh. Quest Academy clearly designed uniforms to hide anything remotely interesting.
“And we’re back,” Divinity exclaimed with a laugh as she raised her own drink excitedly. It was the exact same color as Sal’s, and he suddenly felt like a test subject.
“So, what did you see?”
There were a few moments of silence as she took a drink, and she looked at him innocently before answering. “You definitely get the shits.”
Sal chuckled as he felt the last of his reservations about Divinity evaporate. She was on the same wavelength as him, had a great sense of humor and he found himself enjoying her company quite a bit. Rather than asking her for her findings, Sal just sat patiently and waited for her to continue.
“None of the effects are listed, so they’re trying to enforce a trial-and-error approach, I think,” Divinity said as she gestured at the different vendors. “The coffee did exactly what you told me. The effects will run out after about three hours, though, so be prepared for your muscle fatigue to return.”
Sal nodded appreciatively as Divinity continued.
“Some of the drinks and meals had no immediate effect with taste alone, so I looked a bit further throughout the day to see if there was any change.” She smiled widely as she turned to the smoothie bar. “And this one here was the most dramatic shift in results. I saw it happen for me already, but I wanted to see if it would work for you.”
Sal waited for her to finish the sentence, but she just smiled and took another long drink, leaving him in a state of pained anticipation.
Rather than begging, Sal played the waiting game.
Divinity broke almost instantly, as if she were excited to tell him. “There’s very little we can do to prepare for the Combat assignment, because there are some absolute monsters in our cohort. Some of the foods from the grill vendor help you, but your best results come from one of those energy drinks over there.” Divinity pointed at one of the vendors in the middle.
Sal questioned where she was going with this, because that sounded like the best option for him. Her smile didn’t disappear, so Sal wondered if the purple drink was going to be even better.
“But before that is the Skill Registration,” she said. “I think they’ve put us in this room with all the vendors for a reason, and that’s why this drink is so damn expensive.” Divinity gestured at their cups. “Drinks and food don’t go above five Q-Credits. But these were twenty each.”
Her voice was energized, and Sal could only stare at her, dumbfounded.
“It boosts our aptitude for a short time.” When Sal didn’t react, Divinity tried explaining it in a different way. “Without the drink, you went into the registration, and it gave you Appraisal, Skill Steal, and Mend. Okay?”
Sal nodded slowly, wondering why his mother’s skill was in there too, but Divinity continued.
“With the drink, you got All Sight, Skill Master, Restore, and Quick Step. You essentially get a whole new power registered because of that drink, and an upgrade. You’ll tell me that it feels different, and that it’s not slipping away like the other powers. I don’t know how it’s possible, but this drink somehow reacts to the Skill Registration and gives you that Quick Step ability.”
Sal sat in absolute disbelief. There was no way it was a lie. He didn’t even know the name of the speedster ability he took, but in his future, it was down as Quick Step. He stared at the drink in front of him and shook his head. An idea popped into his head, but he hesitated.
Divinity caught the look and grinned. “You want to change the future and check, don’t you?”
Sal’s eyebrows shot up. She saw straight through him.
She laughed. “In the future, you immediately regret that you registered a physical-based ability. You’ll tell me that you wish you had tried something more compatible, that didn’t leave you in agony after use.”
“I didn’t know that there were different power levels for abilities. Like, Appraisal is what I thought I had from my father, but it’s apparently All Sight? And Mend is a weaker variant of Restoration? I used that speed ability yesterday, but I used a weak Restoration skill this morning to clean my uniform.”
Sal sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “What does the Skill Registration even do? Isn’t it just a few words on our Q-Card to say we can do something?”
Divinity shook her head. “I’m pretty sure it’s a minor imprint. A lot of people talk about feeling more at ease with their powers after the registration, so I don’t think it’s a complete process to turn your ability inherent, but enough to make you comfortable with it. So maybe, it’ll give you some control over a new skill?”
Sal was confused, but he was grateful for everything Divinity was telling him. He probably would have been happy to have another skill, but he was very much the type of person who would feel regret over not making the optimal choice. “How far into my future are you able to see?”
Divinity placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. Her face was a picture of curiosity. “Days, weeks, months…depending on where I need to look. It’s easier if I know what I’m looking for.”
“Let’s say here. Every week at this break time?” Sal suggested and paused. Divinity nodded, which was Sal’s sign to continue. “Every time we meet, I’ll tell you the ability of a person that I think is the best. That I wish I had myself…would that work?”
He had no idea whether he was being an idiot, which made the stare Divinity gave him even more unnerving. He didn’t know the limits of her power, so he might have been asking for something unrealistic or unfairly demanding. Just when he was about to apologize, she leaned forward and spoke in a serious tone. “We can do that, but it’s going to cost you.”
Sal leaned forward in his seat too and took another drink. He could practically hear his father’s voice in his head, repeating the absolute rule of any negotiation: Never accept the first offer.
Divinity extended her hand. “If you want this help and we’re going to be meeting every week, you’re going to have to be my friend.” Her smile widened as she made her offer. “That means we don’t worry about rank, and we help each other going forward. Deal?”
Laughing, Sal quietly apologized to his father as he immediately accepted. “Deal.”
Divinity glanced over at the other students, who were starting to clear away their plates. “Guess we don’t have much time left…Let’s see.”
Sal waited apprehensively as he finished the rest of his drink. Divinity was going to take a bit of time, and he didn’t want to sit there just staring at her, so he decided to make himself useful. He got up from the table and went over to the vendor with his empty container in hand.
“Excuse me, but what was the name of this drink?”
Rather than answering immediately, the vendor scratched their chin. “It’s called Purple Punch on the menu…”
Sal caught his drift and took a step closer, raising his payment card in expectation.
The vendor laughed and waved the card away. “Good instincts, but I’m not that miserable. I’ll tell you this one for free. It may be called Purple Punch on the menu, but we call it Sleeping Tiger.”
Sal thanked the vendor and started to walk back to their table.
“Good luck in your Skill Registration,” the vendor called out with a knowing smile.
Chapter 10:
Perfect Skill
Divinity looked absolutely exhausted, and Sal felt terrible for asking her to use her power so much. He was tempted to buy her a coffee before they left the canteen, but she refused in fear of negating the effects of the Sleeping Tiger. She was still smiling, albeit tiredly, and was already a few months into the future, with a few promising answers, apparently.
Each time she took a small break on their journey, she filled him in. Sal was at the point where he wanted her to stop and would just settle for whatever the most recent answer was, but Divinity was having none of that. She wanted to find a skill that Sal was excited about, and apparently his demeanor in each vision was one of indifference rather than genuine anticipation.
The biggest struggle was going to be in finding someone he could interact with and acquire their power before the Skill Registration. A heavy exhalation from beside him told Sal that Divinity was back. They stood near a water dispenser in one of the corridors while the group of students meandered forward toward their next destination. It only took Divinity a few minutes to get a vision, so all that happened was that they fell behind a bit in the crowd.
“Okay, we’ve finally got an excited Salvatore,” Divinity exclaimed with a relieved grin. “Only took us about three fucking months. You’re a picky bastard.”
Sal made a mental note that Divinity’s irritation scaled with exhaustion. He gestured at the water, but Divinity shook her head.
“Let’s catch up with the group first.”
A few students at the back of the group hung back to allow Sal and Divinity to go ahead of them. Sal guessed they didn’t like people walking behind them, so he didn’t think much of it.
Divinity gave them a tentative look and gestured for Sal to move farther up the pack.
Most people let them through without so much as a glance, while others gave questioning looks. Eventually they were near the front, and Divinity finally relaxed. Her voice was heavy, but Sal realized after a moment that she was whispering intentionally.
“Those ones at the back just now, I’m pretty sure I saw them in a vision. I can’t be sure if it’ll happen or not, but I think they’re going to bully people for Q-Credit. Strong people with low ranks are being blocked from progression because of the Q-Credit system…so people like us would be a perfect target in their eyes.”
Sal was more than aware of the difference between Support classes and Offensive classes. He remembered as a child when his father had been strong-armed into certain deals and agreements just on the basis of his customer being stronger than him. That changed after he negotiated protection from the United Guilds Association, but Sal and his family remembered the time before that vividly.
Maybe that was one of the reasons he was so cynical? He didn’t know or care. The idea of bullies targeting the weak was incredibly frustrating, and he wanted to hang back to see whether they tried it.
Divinity’s hand caught his sleeve before he could move. “You need to be up here for the next part. Trust me.”
Before Sal could respond, the staff member turned and clapped loudly. “Group Silver.” The shout was unpleasant for those at the front but effective for those at the back. “We’re going to be entering the workshop now. Please form an orderly line in groups of four. We’re going to limit it to five groups at a time, and your arrangement is only for touring purposes. Don’t try to find an optimal group; it’ll only waste time. Be mindful of how long you spend on each area as it will limit the time of the people behind you.”
