Let Me Borrow Some Abilities at the Hero Academy

Chapter 100 : Chapter 100

Chapter 100 : Pain

Sal frowned as he barely rested his head on the pillow.

Amidst the surging dizziness and intense pain piercing his entire body, the way to the dormitory had seemed endless.

He thought he would feel better once he lay down on the bed, but the pain showed no signs of subsiding at all.

Unlike the sharp pain he felt when Vanessa manipulated his essence, this time it felt like a deep bruise throbbing irregularly.

Groaning, Sal turned his body to the side and fumbled for the locker next to the bed.

After searching for a few minutes, he found a small black case he had almost forgotten about since entering the academy.

"Ah... got it."

It wasn't easy to open the case with one hand, but after persistent attempts, he eventually took out the black sunglasses.

Those sunglasses had been a lifeline for Sal over the past few years whenever his ability tried to overwhelm his senses.

He put them on without hesitation.

It was to prevent him from using his eyes unconsciously.

Only when his vision was submerged in darkness did a sigh of relief escape him.

"Phew..."

Now he didn't need to focus solely on suppressing his ability.

Staring at the ceiling, he suddenly tried to recall when the migraines that used to come when looking at others' abilities had disappeared.

'Was the skill registration the turning point that allowed me to fully control my ability?'

The mean healer had diagnosed that his eyes were damaged when treating Sal for the first time.

Dr. Bob also reached the same conclusion when examining Sal at the Doom Society.

"Ugh...!"

Sal gritted his teeth at the pain that felt like his chest was being carved out.

He desperately wanted to fall asleep, but the pain still showed no signs of fading.

In the deep silence, he fell into the thought that his body lacked the diversity it ought to possess.

'If my body becomes stronger, will the condition of my eyes improve too? Does this mean the cause of the problems appearing when using my ability is ultimately due to a lack of control and nutritional imbalance...'

Sal looked back on the past few weeks.

Although he trained day and night with his teammates ahead of the Cohort Battle, all that effort was meaningless to the sharp Vanessa.

He was still lacking, and the casual remark Vanessa threw left a deep scar on him.

He knew well himself that a few kicks and punches couldn't block everything built up over a lifetime.

Staring at the ceiling, he tried to sleep, but only the fact that tomorrow morning would be more painful became clear.

However, that was tomorrow's problem.

Right now, escaping the extreme pain was the priority.

Even if it meant losing consciousness, he was willing to accept it.

Sal closed his eyes and focused on his senses.

To feel what changes had occurred in his inner core after Vanessa's adjustment.

The strands of light that intertwined when exerting his ability looked thin and precarious like spiderwebs.

Those threads, which seemed likely to snap at the slightest pressure, were densely connecting invisible points throughout his body.

'Are these points the gates?'

Looking at that delicate structure, he felt dizzy with the fear that he might unintentionally damage it.

However, he put those thoughts aside for a moment and began to look for the gates directly with his eyes.

They were in the shape of small round rings.

Instead of threads being wound individually around each gate, all gates were connected by a single thin thread.

Only then did Sal realize why Vanessa had forbidden the use of his ability so strongly.

'The thread seems like it would snap even with a single breath.'

No matter how much he looked, he couldn't guess how this structure would operate in the future.

Even if he strengthened the thread, he wouldn't be able to produce as much power as before.

Sal took a deep breath and withdrew his gaze from the internal thread structure.

"Did Vanessa perhaps make a mistake?"

Ending with those words, he lost consciousness, and his body found rest for a moment.

***

"Ugh...!"

Sal sprang up from the bed with a painful roar.

Leaving his pounding heart behind, he frowned and struggled to put his sunglasses back on.

While the moonlight outside the window illuminated the sweat-soaked sheets, his arms trembled irregularly.

As his grip strength failed and the sunglasses fell to the floor, pain flowing down his spine rushed in again.

Muscles in both legs cramped, and he barely moved his trembling arms to massage his legs.

However, the pain was much worse than expected.

Pain soared doubly every time his hand touched, but there was no other way.

Sal gritted his teeth and endured.

While clumsily trying to manage the cramps, anger rose in his heart.

Not at Vanessa, but at himself.

Sal's body clearly showed how weak and pathetic he was.

All Vanessa did was make the essence in his body flow again.

"Does this mean my body can't even function properly without essence at this level..."

As thoughts repeated, the anger grew larger.

The pain in his legs slowly subsided, but the flames in his head grew fiercer.

Soon, he sat on the sweat-soaked sheets, panting and glaring at his legs.

The self-reproach that was about to rush in was swept away by anger.

Sal quickly put on his sunglasses, ignored the pain in his ribs, and picked up the tablet on the side table.

In a few seconds, he opened the exercise list Vanessa had sent.

"Haa..."

He caught his breath slowly and stood up.

He knew it was a foolish thing to do.

He was injured, needed rest, and wasn't supposed to use his ability.

But in that moment, he couldn't stop.

Sal placed the tablet on the edge of the bed and kicked his shoes under the bed to make space.

As if his body predicted the movement, pain rushed in again.

He swallowed a groan and endured.

The first exercise was a stretching list with videos attached.

Although his two legs didn't listen, he assumed a lunge position.

Tears welled up from the extreme pain.

Nevertheless, he vowed to complete at least one set.

Thinking of Vanessa and Quest, his resolve hardened even more.

'I will prove to everyone that this is where I belong.'

***

"Is it a hangover?"

Divinity asked upon discovering Sal in the cafeteria.

She put down her salad, sat opposite him, and made a puzzled expression.

"Or are you trying out a new style?"

Instead of answering, Sal took another sip of vending machine coffee.

He wanted to escape, even for a moment, from the pain he had brought upon himself.

Although his body refused, he finished one set with stubborn obstinacy.

Adjusting his sunglasses, he smiled slightly.

"I'm not allowed to use my ability for a while. I'm taking precautions in case I use it unconsciously."

Divinity's fork stopped.

She looked at Sal sharply.

"Not allowed, what does that mean? Did something happen? Is it related to the knots you untied with other people before?"

Sal shook his head and immediately regretted it.

"It's not that, don't worry. I trained too much... my body and core just need some time to recover."

Relief flashed across Divinity's face.

"Ah, then you were training in the Skill classroom? I didn't see you. I was completely out of it focusing!"

Sal tried to pick up the coffee without shaking his hand as much as possible and smiled.

Then Divinity raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, just what and how much did you do to end up in this state?"

The coffee cup showed no sign of going up any further, and eventually, he had to lower his body to barely take a sip.

As a moment of relief washed over him, Sal took advantage of that energy to straighten his body and continue drinking.

Divinity shook her head in disbelief.

The salad had long been forgotten.

"Sal, what happened?"

Over several minutes, Sal explained the Chatfield matter.

But Divinity didn't show much reaction.

Whether she had already foreseen part of that future, it seemed only her suspicions had turned into conviction.

Sal wanted to ask more, but she told him to explain his current condition first.

When he told her about what happened with Vanessa, Divinity was furious.

Sal tried to defend Vanessa, but Divinity raised her hand and looked at Sal as if he were a crazy person.

"Let's talk about the core later. So you're saying the Delvers kids sold that debt to the Credit Floor? Just because she rejected that pervert?"

When Sal nodded, Divinity crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

She stared at the table silently for a while with a dark face.

"So Professor Jez knew everything? He knew and left Vanessa neglected on the Credit Floor?"

Sal blinked as if that was absurd.

"What do you mean?"

Divinity stared intently at Sal, then softened her expression and shook her head.

"Professor Jez mediates hero contracts for students in the Administration class. That's one of the main advantages of gaining an edge in that class. It's information heard on the first day of class, but you didn't hear it because of the skill registration... that incident."

Sal put down the coffee cup and clenched his fist.

Suddenly, he recalled the smile disappearing from Vanessa's face when Jez's name was mentioned.

Sal shook his head, trying to shake off that thought.

"No. I don't think Professor Jez neglected her. Maybe Vanessa didn't tell him that story. Vanessa isn't the type to vent complaints, and Professor Jez isn't the type to cover up such things either. He probably didn't know."

Divinity looked at Sal's face for a moment as if trying to read something, then turned her gaze to the salad.

Then, after taking a bite of lettuce, she pointed her fork at Sal.

"Okay, let's talk about that damn core now. What on earth were you thinking?"

Sal sighed and lowered his gaze.

A weak tremor still remained in his hand from the excessive training the night before.

"Without my ability, I'm just a weak Support Class. I lack versatility and capability. So I think Vanessa wanted to help me. Since the Trainee Guild will start soon, making me as strong as possible is beneficial for Vanessa too. If suffering like this now allows me to be stronger tomorrow, I think it's worth it enough."

Divinity looked at Sal as if he were a two-headed monster, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"You really enjoy pain, don't you? Did you even check today's schedule?"

Sal's heart sank.

Divinity showed a playful smile.

Sal thought it was better not to know, but Divinity looked like she was dying to see his reaction.

"It's Combat class and Survival class all day today..."