novelraw Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104 : Extortion
After finishing his meal, Sal witnessed Silver Class and Gold Class students trickling into the cafeteria one after another.
‘Why are they so late?’
Since class had ended and there probably wasn't much to discuss with Lars, he felt doubtful.
At the cafeteria entrance, Divinity made eye contact with Sal and held up an object in her hand.
Sal squinted and saw that what Divinity was holding was none other than his sunglasses.
Sal smiled, gave a thumbs up, and turned his head to find Barry staring at him with suspicious eyes.
"Your mime skills are still as good as ever. There's actually a class that teaches sign language specifically for the battlefield. Remember seeing it in the raid videos?"
Sal scoffed lightly.
"Yeah, but is there sign language for sunglasses? I don't know how to do that without looking like an idiot."
Barry paused for a moment, then took out his tablet and nodded.
"Let's look it up then."
He scrolled through various materials, typing a message on the screen with one hand.
Soon, he finished and smiled at Sal.
"You're right. It's hilarious."
To demonstrate his point, Barry made circles with his thumbs and index fingers, flipped them, and placed them over his face.
"This just means glasses. apparently you have to make some weird wave motion with your hands first to represent the sun."
Sal couldn't hold back his laughter at the comical sight, but a groan escaped as his chest throbbed with pain, resulting in a strange sound mixed with laughter and groaning.
Barry took his hands off his face, looked at Sal with a weird expression, and asked.
"How on earth did you end up in that state? Don't tell me you were too absorbed in meditation. Lars might believe that, but I've been training hard for years and never ended up this messed up."
Sal twisted his body slightly in discomfort and swallowed a deep breath.
The pain he was feeling now was mild compared to what he had endured all night and throughout the morning.
It was more akin to the aftereffects of mounted combat training.
With a heavy sigh, Sal tapped his chest and smiled faintly at Barry.
"My Body Manipulator absorbed every bit of Essence from my joints and completely wrecked my Essence Gates. My Core level is in the early 40s right now. But I have to endure immense pain in return. And before you ask, no, it's not Nova. I can't say who it is."
Sal shrugged and gave a weary smile.
Barry looked at Sal as if he were completely out of his mind and asked.
"How much did you spend to get something like that? I know you have plenty of Credits, but you could use them more efficiently! Seeing how Nova jumped after you when you fell from the building, she probably would have done it for free!"
Before Barry could finish his sentence, Sal raised his hand to stop him.
"Ah, please stop making me laugh. I'm already dying of pain!"
Just as Barry was about to continue, Divinity and her team members approached the table.
Divinity looked around to check for empty seats, then raised an eyebrow.
"Why does it feel like everyone is avoiding you two today? Why is everyone acting so distant?"
Sal pointed at Barry and laughed, fearing the conversation would turn against him.
"It's his fault. Not mine!"
Barry made a pitiful face at Sal for no reason.
Turning his gaze to Divinity, he saw her standing with her arms crossed.
Barry smiled again.
"Some damn second-year was bullying the first-years. I just made him show his true colors. He's been called to the Headmaster's office now. Well, no big deal."
Sal added a remark filled with vindictiveness.
"Tables were flipped, glasses shattered, and people couldn't even stand properly because of the severe pain. It was something that could have been totally prevented."
When Barry tried to kick Sal under the table, Sal quickly pulled his leg back to dodge.
Divinity sat down next to them and shook her head.
Meanwhile, Jack and Blanid were arguing on one side, and Anthony was sitting next to Barry.
Divinity picked up her fork, pointed it at Barry, and asked.
"Did you really hurt someone?"
Barry stared blankly at Sal, then slowly turned his head to look at Divinity.
"No, my illusion confronted that short-tempered guy. He brought it all on himself. Technically, that was just my illusion, not me, right? So legally, I'm innocent. It's not my responsibility that he fought with hostile Essence."
Divinity seemed to try holding back a laugh, but soon a faint smile spread across her face.
"Honestly, Barry... You two shouldn't be away from us for even 5 minutes. You missed Rust explaining the next class schedule. I was going to tell you, but you guys disappeared out the door as soon as Lars finished speaking."
Divinity trailed off and slid the sunglasses slightly toward Sal, who received them with a grateful look.
Sal glanced at Barry with a frown, then turned back to Divinity and asked.
"What schedule is that? Not today, right? Even if I try my best, I probably don't have the strength to throw a proper punch right now."
Divinity picked up some salad with her fork and sighed.
"Don't you know we have a schedule? It's all on your tablet. You don't need to ask me about the next class schedule like you're consulting a fortune teller every time!"
As Divinity started eating, Sal turned his gaze back to Barry.
Barry was looking at his tablet and scrolling down.
Sal waited patiently until Barry looked up with a smirk and said.
"Hey, actually I'm not looking up the schedule. I already know the next schedule."
Sal let out a deep sigh and started rummaging through his pockets.
Before he could even take out his tablet, Anthony lowered his body with an awkward laugh and spoke to him.
"It's lunch time now, and then free time. Analysis class starts next week, and tomorrow morning, a Skill class with Professor Lombardi is scheduled."
Sal leaned over the table with a smile and spoke to Anthony.
"Thanks, Anthony. It's really nice to have someone to rely on. What did Professor Rust say about the next class?"
Anthony stopped smiling for a moment and leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Actually, I didn't hear that part properly... Sorry."
Sal sat for a moment looking at Divinity, trying to hear what he missed, but she kept her mouth shut till the end.
Sal smiled and decided to try another method.
"Right, Divinity... How is that crown restoration work going?"
As if a switch had been flipped, Divinity's attitude changed completely.
Her voice was full of only forced enthusiasm without any sincerity.
"Ah! Sal, you didn't hear that. Professor Rust explained the new formation to be introduced in the Battlefield Simulator run. The funny thing is, it's a formation we already practiced during the preparation for mounted combat. So, no need to worry!"
She spoke in an acting tone for a while longer, then laughed wearily and returned to her original voice.
Sal just stared calmly at the tip of the fork Divinity was pointing.
"If you threaten me again, I'll only give you the worst advice from now on! Got it?"
Her tone was threatening, but the smile did not leave her face.
Sal also readily agreed, raising both hands in a defensive posture.
Sal pushed his tray away, rested his elbows on the table, and propped his chin up, lost in thought.
‘Would resting flat on my back all day help with recovery?’
It was still early afternoon, so doing that would completely ruin his already messed up sleep rhythm.
But if he could feel even a little better when he woke up, he was willing to do it.
A tingling pain spread along Sal's leg.
Remembering the cramps from last night, he groaned inwardly.
It felt as if his body was giving him the answer.
Sal vowed to endure the remaining time by focusing on other things.
Eventually, he would have to sleep, though.
Barry took his eyes off the tablet and looked around.
"What are you all going to do from now on? Should we restart the inter-Cohort competition training soon?"
At that single remark, Sal felt a chill run down his spine involuntarily.
But Divinity shook her head and laughed it off.
"The future of the inter-Cohort competition is like being in a fog right now, so even I can't be sure if it will be held. It will depend on whether Chatfield can push things through as he intends. It would be better to focus on self-improvement until a clear path opens up."
Sal frowned and stared at Divinity.
"Did your foresight go weird by any chance?"
Divinity's gaze looking at Sal was sharp enough to turn him to stone.
Realizing what he had inadvertently said, Sal laughed awkwardly and hurriedly corrected himself.
"No, sorry. Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean it was wrong. It's just that when we were on the zipline, you shook your head, so I thought it meant I was going to fall."
Divinity frowned slightly but held a faint smile on her lips.
"You asked if you could step aside. I just shook my head meaning you shouldn't skip that class."
Sal stared at her with a blank face, and Barry burst into hearty laughter.
Anthony also seemed to be holding back a laugh.
"Then you didn't think I would fall?"
Divinity laughed and shook her head.
Then, as if realizing something, she raised her hand high and said mischievously.
"Wait, sorry... Did you mistake my head shake for something terrible happening?"
Sal slumped in his chair, laughing as he looked around at his friends.
"Ah, I really hate you guys."
Barry banged the table with both hands and nodded vigorously.
"Hey, you didn't answer my question properly. In my opinion, Divinity will sneak into the Skill Lab and focus on practicing control, and Sal will lock himself in the workshop and work his bones off. Blanid and Jack... honestly, I don't really know what they're up to. So what's left is... Anthony, what are you planning to do?"
Barry turned his body to look straight at Anthony.
Sensing an unusual atmosphere, Anthony hastily made up an excuse that he had plans.
Divinity tried to retort but hesitated for a moment, and seeing her reaction, Sal guessed Barry was right.
Sal shook his head and spat out a lie.
"Actually, I planned to sleep early today. I'm not going to the workshop."
Barry scoffed and smiled.
"Uh, sure. Once you go back to the dorm, you'll stare blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes and then end up working on the Tracker. Please be honest with yourself at least."
At that moment, Anthony, eyes widening enough to surprise Sal, cut Barry off.
"Can you make a Tracker? How much do you charge to make one?"
Divinity also showed a slightly flustered look at Anthony's sudden excitement.
Sal looked at Anthony with a curious expression and asked.
"Why do you need a Tracker? Are you interested in Appraisal class?"
Disappointment flashed across Anthony's face.
"Ah, it was an Appraisal Tracker. I was hoping it would help with crafting class."
He laughed and shook his head.
"Of course it's an Appraisal Tracker. You're an Appraiser!"
Sal couldn't just let that thought pass and didn't hide his curiosity.
"Anthony, Mythos is helping with this. I can ask what you want. What exactly do you need?"
Barry sent a blank look toward Sal, rolled his eyes, and said to Anthony.
"Anthony, are you good at keeping secrets?"
Anthony answered immediately.
"Not at all."
Barry nodded and said.
"That's enough!"
Before Sal could even open his mouth, Barry twisted his arm and activated his ability, the green rune.
A distortion of light wrapped around Barry and Anthony, flickering for a few seconds before disappearing, revealing a deeply shocked Anthony.
Then Barry smiled and deactivated his ability.
"See? I can do it subtly too. Plus, thanks to the Headmaster, the professors all know, and soon this will be the trend. Hey, you should have at least told your friends."
Sal hesitated for a moment, then nodded and sent an apologetic smile to Anthony.
"Sorry I couldn't tell you in advance."
Far from being angry, Anthony's face brightened up instead.
"I have overflowing ideas but no way to make them. Detection devices are just the beginning. Have you thought about process improvement equipment like automation? I've drawn up a few blueprints and really wanted to show you."
Sal laughed and raised his hand.
"Let's deal with those ideas one by one later. Tell me exactly what you need right now."