novelraw Chapter 110
Chapter 110
Chapter 110 : Anger
"So, all of these came in overnight?"
Sal asked with a skeptical look, scanning the countless commission requests on the digital bulletin board.
When he looked at Upgrade, she just shrugged, showing a nonchalant reaction.
Sal turned his gaze back to the board and sighed.
It was no longer surprising that a new memo was added even while he looked away for a moment.
Nearly a hundred requests with varying requirements were piled up on the board.
Sal reached out to open one of them, but Upgrade stopped him with a laugh.
"Sal, you know what will happen, right? If you start opening these, you won't be able to leave here for a month. Weren't you supposed to prepare for a meeting?"
Sal frowned and lowered his hand.
"I know I should be happy, but I'm a bit nervous. Does everyone think I have to handle all of this? There are even multiple tabs from the same person."
He looked at the board with a weary face, tilting his head slightly.
Requests had finally started pouring in from those who knew his identity as Mythos, but the timing was very bad.
Upgrade poked Sal in the ribs with her elbow and deliberately stepped in front to block his view.
"Go to the meeting with Chatfield. In the meantime, I'll look through these and pick out a few that are realistically manageable. But your focus must remain on the new Tracker project. The Headmaster gave full approval to Chatfield's proposal, and the Guild Association will be watching your progress with interest. It's a huge opportunity to show your skills!"
Upgrade's smile was genuine, and Sal hoped he could be infected by her enthusiasm.
Over the past few weeks, Sal had constantly agonized over Chatfield's proposed evolutionary armor crafting plan and its impact on the Crafters' workshop within the Academy.
Before Sal could open his mouth, Upgrade raised her hand to stop him.
"I told you before. I support this plan. Saving lives is more important than creative activities. That's why we're here, so whatever you're worried about, stop it now. You have to focus."
Sal flinched when Upgrade slapped both hands on his shoulders with a clap.
Seeing her raise an eyebrow, Sal laughed and wiggled out of her grip.
"Even though I'm keeping up with the training schedule, my body still feels a bit weak. Still, thank you. I think I needed to... remind myself of these words again. But I can't shake the feeling that it's pathetic... like I'm tying up all the Crafters on a production line just to get cool materials for my Tracker in return."
Upgrade shrugged.
"It's easy for me to tell you what to do, but ultimately, it's your decision. But keep this in mind. With this plan, the chances of everyone staying in the Academy increase significantly. There have been many times we had to say goodbye to truly talented students just because they couldn't endure other classes. This is the opportunity for those students to establish themselves as indispensable talents in the Academy. Do you think the Guild Association would want to kick them out? No, rather, they'll pour more resources into the Academy to guarantee armor set production. Headmaster Quest's side will also welcome more students completing the course, so it's a win-win for everyone."
Upgrade laughed and looked straight at Sal.
"Really, this is a no-brainer. If they want to create, they can do it after filling their quota. Giving direction and goals is a good thing! I'm going to make their crafting process much more detailed so they can acquire other practical skills too. With the level of blueprints you showed, they can acquire quite a few advanced skills."
Sal nodded slowly and smiled.
"Professor, you really don't give me any time to wallow in self-pity."
Upgrade shook her head and pointed to the exit over his shoulder.
Sal turned around with a laugh and looked back at the bulletin board one last time.
Upgrade blocked the list of requests and smiled even brighter.
Sal picked up his tablet from the table and put it in his pocket without even looking at the screen.
It was certain that Credit Store notifications were still flooding in.
When blueprint orders first poured in, he was incredibly excited, but it soon turned into stress weighing down his stomach.
Because he provided perfect blueprints but omitted the crafting process, inquiries about optimized crafting methods flooded in.
He knew the Credit Store wasn't a shortcut to wealth, but his sales performance so far had been quite decent.
If time permitted, he could have detailed the crafting process to generate more profit... but right now, he couldn't even dream of it.
"Send my regards to the Captain."
Upgrade called out when he reached the door.
"Before or after emptying his material warehouse?"
Sal retorted like that and stepped out the door before hearing her answer.
When Sal looked around the workshop, it felt like blatant hostility was reflecting back at him.
Over the past few weeks, Crafters had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the special treatment Upgrade gave Sal.
Assignment to the workbench next to Upgrade, Room 17 assigned for crafting as Mythos, everything was like that.
So he couldn't possibly receive favorable looks from other Crafters.
A more serious problem was that while senior Crafters spoke comfortably to Sal, they treated the second-years as nuisances.
Sal thought at least a few would have tried to build friendships with Crafters in the workshop, but that was merely his own delusion.
According to Martin and Gosha, there were some decent people among the third-years, but the second-years had just passed through the arduous first-year gateway.
They were mostly absorbed in their own interests until they got used to their roles and hit a growth limit.
Sal hoped they would hit that limit as soon as possible.
‘It might be a mean wish... but if that could make them kind to me, I'll count the days waiting for that day.’
When the second-years started occupying the workshop, Sal approached them first offering to help with projects to alleviate hostility.
He offered free appraisals a few times to win favor, but what returned was the stigma of being an arrogant first-year.
A few sarcastic remarks about him wearing Epic rank equipment fueled the rumors, and within days, Sal was being ostracized among the Crafters. Even Josh Mitchell turned away when he saw Sal in the workshop.
Among the first-year Crafters, only Anderson Royce treated him like before.
Of course, only among those he knew.
Blanid, Jack, and Anthony still treated him warmly, but they didn't spend much time in the workshop like the others.
While Sal sighed and headed toward Room 17, a second-year student blocked his path.
A black uniform with purple epaulets and chest decorations indicated his affiliation.
The blond student had short sides and tied the top hair up.
Sal looked at him calmly, posturing to hear what was going on.
The second-year student looked around at the other students, then turned his back and sighed at Sal again.
As if he didn't want to say these uncomfortable words.
"Look, I don't know what your situation is... but we also have projects with deadlines. If you're cooped up in a room with Upgrade, we can't get help from her."
He pointed to the Blueprint Office.
"When you go in there, we all get kicked out without knowing why."
He pointed with his thumb in the left direction where Sal was heading.
"Plus, you're monopolizing one of the few crafting rooms with multi-functional tools. Even though your workbench has all the necessary tools! I know you're not doing it on purpose, but can't you use your seat and blueprints during class time? You haven't been here for even two months. I don't think you need to monopolize so many resources."
Another student approached the blond, but he turned his head and raised his hand to stop the approach.
He looked back at Sal and forced a smile.
"I hate badmouthing people behind their backs, so I wanted to convey our position directly."
Sal nodded.
"Thanks for coming and telling me directly. I understand the complaints. And I'm sorry for not considering your position."
Just as the blond student was about to burst into laughter, Sal raised his hand and pointed in the direction he came from.
"But that's a decision made by Professor Upgrade. I can't change that. If you think I'm getting special treatment and want to tell her to treat the second-years better instead of me, go tell her yourself. right now, Captain Chatfield asked for a meeting about the armor set I made in the Blueprint Office, so I'm on my way. If you tell him you need to use that room, he'll probably understand. I was assigned that room for appraising commission items from the Reavers Guild, and those spoils cannot be made public. They must be handled privately. Or maybe you could persuade Vila to change her mind. Or do you want to pay the rental fee for my room on the Credit Floor instead?"
Sal tried not to make his voice sharp, but all his frustration burst out.
The opponent might have thought he was speaking diplomatically, but to Sal, it was absurd nonsense.
And Sal really wanted to correct that misunderstanding.
"I came here to learn just like you guys. If an opportunity for growth comes my way, I have no intention of missing it. That must be the same for everyone. So... I'm sorry, but I'm late for a meeting."
Sal brushed past him.
The blond seemed speechless, staring blankly at Sal.
Sal shook his head lightly, ignored the blatant gazes around him, and headed to Room 17.
As he tapped his keycard on the door panel, he looked back and saw him still standing there in a daze.
Entering the room, Sal let out a deep sigh.
‘Why am I so worried about the future of students who treat me like a thief and an outsider?’
From their perspective, naturally, everything would feel unfair.
But no one asked about Sal's circumstances or tried to understand.
Everyone just put assumptions first, rejected his help, and then poured blame on him.
Sal shook his head, trying to shake off the thoughts.
Then, suddenly, three fancy boxes on the table caught his eye.
Seeing that sight, all distracting thoughts about the students vanished in an instant.
Behind them stood Chatfield, a twisted smile hovering around his mouth.
"You're quite late."
As Sal tried to nod and apologize, Chatfield waved his hand as if it were no big deal.
"That's fine. We have things to discuss, don't we. My team procured all the materials you requested. However, they said there might have been a few errors in your judgment."
Chatfield tapped one box with his right hand.
"Since you might make mistakes with what you requested, I included extras. My team doesn't make mistakes, so I prepared this separately."
He pointed to the second box.
"These are substitute materials my team judged to be more suitable for your project. Based on the analysis of the information you gave, we judged that the materials here are more appropriate. Your thoughts might differ, but let's check that soon."
Sal looked at the third box, then shifted his gaze to Chatfield.
Chatfield smiled brightly.
"What do you think is inside the third box?"