novelraw Chapter 96 : Chapter 96
Chapter 96 : Chapter 96
Chapter 96 : Exploration
Sal pondered how to spend his remaining time as he left the Headmaster's office.
Divinity had sent a message saying she was practicing Essence Control in the Skill classroom.
-You can come, but please don't disturb me.
Sal wondered if she was working harder due to the pressure of being the top first-year student.
In any case, Sal respected her choice to personally resolve the issues she felt she was lacking in.
'I want to refine essence together with her... but without Lucia and Whisper's help, the efficiency would drop significantly.'
It wasn't that he was averse to hard work, but doing it alone without their help seemed like a waste of time.
He had once joked that he would pay Q-Credits to enhance their aptitude for Essence Control.
Now, he was seriously considering asking for help to quickly pass the gateways for class.
"Should I go to the Workshop...?"
However, Sal shook his head immediately.
He had an unpleasant memory with Chatfield in the workshop and didn't want to risk running into him again.
Besides, even if there was no risk of encountering him, there wasn't really anything to do in the workshop other than conceiving the new firearm blueprint.
Although Barry and Quest repeatedly encouraged him, Sal didn't feel the slightest desire to craft such a weapon.
His head was filled only with thoughts about crafting the tracker.
He wanted to master all the skills listed, but he had absolutely no clue where to start.
'Should I contact students who possess the necessary skills, observe them briefly, and then just turn away? Or should I pay them for testing their abilities? If not that, should I listen to an explanation of the operating principles and gauge if it would help add to the Mythos Crafter ability?'
Such thoughts quickly vanished.
Because his thoughts soon flowed to the fact that the Mythos Crafter ability was built upon the Skill Master ability.
There was so much he didn't know about it.
Although he had started to understand it a little recently, he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was close to ignorant about his own abilities.
Walking around the campus, Sal realized that he had actually never properly explored this place.
There were a total of five high-rise buildings dedicated to Quest Academy, but he had no idea what filled most of the spaces other than the workshops, classrooms, training grounds, and cafeteria.
There were over a thousand rooms for first-year students spanning several floors, but surely there must be spaces beyond simple dormitories.
Having nothing particular to do, Sal decided to explore the campus without a specific destination.
The first place he discovered was a tower he had never visited before.
The windows spanning several floors looked as if they were designed to accommodate something massive.
Sal found himself laughing involuntarily.
For someone known as one of the city's top appraisers, the expression he used most often to describe something he saw for the first time was 'it contains something big'.
Unlike other towers that only had a few landing pads on the upper floors, this tower had spaces that appeared to be enclosed gardens and ecological zones attached to its sides.
Sal moved his steps toward the tower entrance connected by an amphitheater and a bridge.
The doors were already open, but the lobby was empty.
Feeling as if he had stepped into a forbidden place and with a small sense of adventure blooming in his heart, a smile naturally spread across Sal's face.
Turning his gaze, a map of the tower with detailed floor descriptions caught his eye. The moment he saw it, his excitement deflated instantly like a popped balloon.
Upon confirming the purpose of the ecological zones, the mystery vanished in an instant.
Floors 71-80 - Wildlife Department: Animal Rehabilitation and Recreation Zone
Floors 81-85 - Wildlife Department: Animal Breeding and Management Facility
Floors 86-90 - Wildlife Department: Animal Taming and Essence Binding Space
Floors 91-105 - Wildlife Department: Training Facility
Sal checked how vast the space allocated to animals was and looked at it again in disbelief.
A whopping 35 floors were dedicated solely to animals, complete with private gardens and enclosures.
Just from the description, it seemed to have everything animals could wish for.
Sal couldn't easily understand why the academy focused so much on animals.
"Are there that many students who came with animals?"
His gaze moved to the training facility.
He wondered if it was an obstacle course where students and animals participated together.
The list for the next floors was located below, and many of them seemed to be spaces related to administrative work.
Checking the opposite side of the list, Sal was quite surprised by the fact that those were floors dedicated to luxury apartments.
He recalled the absurd fact that premium apartments in the Credit Store cost 5,000 Q-Credits a month.
Hot tubs, private workshops, and multiple bedrooms were just a few of the provided items.
Sal was genuinely curious who among the students could afford such things.
Thanks to his efforts in the tournament and the profits from handling all appraisals for the Reavers Guild, Sal possessed nearly 6,000 Q-Credits.
But to establish his own guild in the future, that money would be woefully insufficient.
Just thinking about the cost of a single Master Class made him frown automatically.
"Do you need help?"
A voice came from behind Sal.
Turning around, he saw a familiar face, but he was certain it was their first meeting.
His dark skin contrasted strangely with his white lab coat, and his friendly smile held a hint of bewilderment.
Sal pointed to the sign and said.
"Ah, I was just looking around. Come to think of it, I've never entered this building before."
Curiosity piqued, Sal added.
"By the way, have we met before? You look familiar somewhere."
The man laughed and shook his head.
"No... But, were you seriously injured perhaps?"
Sal blinked as if he didn't understand and showed puzzlement at the question.
Of course, he had lost consciousness briefly from exhaustion a few times, but it couldn't be called a serious injury.
Sal shook his head and smiled.
"No, you must have mistaken me for someone else. And please forget what I just said."
The man frowned, then snapped his fingers and said.
"Are you perhaps a member of the Doom Society?"
Only then did Sal realize why he looked familiar.
He bore a striking resemblance to Dr. Bob, who had first checked Sal before he entered the foresight experience for the Doom Society.
Although the man in front of him was much younger than Dr. Bob and gave off a much friendlier impression.
As if reading Sal's desire for an explanation, he offered a playful greeting.
"I'm Bobby. Dr. Bob is my father. We look a lot alike, but our personalities are quite different. Father cares for people, and I mainly care for animals."
He smiled and pointed to the surrounding buildings.
"So... now you know who I am, right? But, who are you?"
Sal realized he hadn't introduced himself yet and apologized.
Taking a step closer, he extended his hand with a smile.
"I'm Salvatore Argento. A first-year student at the academy."
A bright smile spread across Bobby's face.
"You're that Super Crafter! I've heard a lot about you from the professors. Rumor has it you're a hero crafting all sorts of war machines for guilds!"
At that title, Sal paused for a moment and frowned.
"War machines? No... I just helped with some upgrade projects for colleagues in the workshop. I want to develop excellent technology that will help people in the future. I'll gladly accept the title of Super Crafter... but I'll decline the grand title of hero."
When Sal answered with a smile, Bobby raised his hands and smiled even brighter as if making an excuse.
"Don't misunderstand. I had absolutely no bad intentions! It's true that weapons are important in war, but I would really love it if a talented person like you made things like medical equipment too. Please stop by once when our facility is running. I'll show you the equipment we use and introduce you to the animal friends we live with. You definitely won't regret it."
At his strangely contagious smile, Sal nodded sincerely.
Although he didn't have much interest in animals, Bobby's passionate enthusiasm was conveyed intact.
Sal pointed at the sign with the floor list again.
"Can you tell me about the cool things I'm missing? I feel like I spend all my time in the workshop except for classes, meals, and sleep."
Bobby nodded and pointed downstairs.
"The R&D department is in the basement. There are some decent people there, but most are a bit eccentric. They aren't the type to step up and guide you, but they are the ones leading us so we don't fall behind in technological advancements. I tried my best to understand what they were saying, but my brain just couldn't keep up. I managed to understand up to bio-essence programming, but after that, my brain completely stopped. Maybe you would understand better!"
Bobby stared into the distance for a moment and frowned as if in deep thought.
"It's mostly people from the Wildlife Department and R&D. And some are private residents, usually VIPs staying from other guilds, visiting instructors, government officials, and wealthy students. Ah, there's also the Sky Deck! You've seen the Skylounge in the main tower, right?"
When Sal nodded, Bobby continued excitedly.
"Honestly, this place is much better. It's an outdoor ecological zone with private gardens and a lounge. When it's open, it's a really great place to relax. You must visit sometime. Especially when we take the animals up there to let them spread their wings wide."
Just as Bobby was about to continue, a device on his belt beeped.
Bobby gave an awkward smile and pointed behind him.
"I have to go back to the lab. Otherwise, my colleagues will try to kill me. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Salvatore."
Sal nodded and said.
"My friends call me Sal."
Bobby turned around, paused, and said.
"Well, everyone calls me Bobby. When I'm in trouble, Roberto works better."
He laughed, waved his hand, and ran to a nearby elevator.
Only when Bobby picked up a tray did Sal realize that a tray of freshly brewed coffee had been sitting on the floor next to the elevator.
Bobby shrugged apologetically at Sal with a sheepish look and disappeared behind the doors.
Sal decided he would definitely come back someday to look around the Wildlife Department.
The Sky Deck looked quite nice, but he wondered what kind of equipment would be used there.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't get a sense of what technology would be befitting an animal management department.
Sal took out his tablet and checked the time.
He wasn't hungry yet, nor did he want to return to the dorm and spend time idly.
Sal sighed.
Although it was a holiday, practicing Essence Refining with Divinity in the Skill classroom seemed like the best option.
Studying on a holiday felt somewhat unfamiliar, but there was nothing else to do, and he comforted himself thinking it would be worthwhile if he could become even a little stronger.
Just as Sal was moving his steps toward the bridge, his tablet vibrated, alerting him to a message from Vanessa.
- If you have time, meet me on the Credit Floor.
A sense of relief washed over him instantly.
Sal realized that his desire to study just moments ago was actually self-deception.
Wearing a bright smile, he headed toward the Credit Floor with light steps.