Chapter 62 – Request

Prestige sighed as she placed a hand into her breast pocket.

Sal took the opportunity to glimpse at her equipment. The specter’s cloak was more like a scarf than anything else, as only a single banner trailed off her right shoulder. It was black at first glance, but contained a shimmering interior that looked almost like a starry night. Her clothes were a tailored three-piece suit made in black with white stripes; the vest was completely white, and the blouse underneath was a gleaming silver.

All of them were Legendary grade, but Sal didn’t dare focus on any one part of her in case he drew her attention. What caught his eye most was the weapon she rested her weight on. It was called Obsidian’s Decree and was fashioned as an elegant black cane with an ivory white grip.

Sal racked his brain to recall more information about her, but could only come up with the basics that everyone knew. Prestige was a Controller, and one of the best. She dominated every battlefield she entered with explosive power and tactical prowess, to the point that she could solo most dungeons and towers that she entered. Sal realized that he didn’t know much about her relationship with Gallant, or as Sal knew him now, Brophy.

“You haven’t been going to your meetings with Sergeant Head.” Prestige spoke quietly as she withdrew a small necklace from her pocket. “You’re also not wearing your ward. Come here.”

When Brophy made no immediate steps forward, Prestige sighed and tapped her cane against the ground.

Sal was suddenly blinded by a swirling vortex of gray smoke that billowed from every direction. It didn’t interfere with his breathing, but it obscured his sight and ability to hear. It lasted at most a few seconds, but felt like an eternity, similar to Barry’s purgatory. When it disappeared without a trace, Sal blinked and saw Brophy standing with a gentle smile and a necklace around his neck. Before Sal could stop himself, his eyes activated, and he pulled the information on the necklace.

Name	Restraining Locket
Origin	Crafted
Age	New
Grade	Rare (Upper)
Dimensions	20” Length | 1” x 0.6” Locket
Materials	Infused Moonsilver | Refined Unicrafter Essence
Attributes	Calm: Wearer enters a calm flow-state when equipped. Resilience: Wearer has increased mental tolerance when equipped. Subdue: Wearer’s ability will be muted at will.
Abilities	Calm | Resilience | Subdue
Power Source	Internal Essence
Evolution	No
Quality	Perfect
Condition	100%
Value	Est. $110,000.00 – $135,000.00

“As expected of an Argento. You got all that in a flash.”

Prestige’s eyes locked onto Sal, and he barely had time to deactivate his ability before she stood in front of him. Her gaze didn’t have the same terrifying aura as before, but her eyes were discerning. She pinched his jacket between her thumb and forefinger and rubbed it slightly.

“Epic grade…” There was a hint of confusion in her voice as she gave Sal a closer look.

“Ah, Mother! Sorry about that, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Salvatore. He’s one of my team members.” Brophy was over in a flash with a warm smile on his lips. “He came in first place in the entirety of the Silver cohort, with just an Appraisal ability. Isn’t it incredible?”

Prestige didn’t react negatively to Brophy’s exuberance this time, but instead looked at Sal with a raised eyebrow. “With just an Appraisal ability, you say?” She released his jacket with a slight smile. “Your eyes must be starting to rot. Your friend here doesn’t even have an Appraisal ability.”

Sal’s blood froze but he tried his best to maintain his composure. How was she able to determine that he didn’t actually own the Appraisal ability?

Brophy laughed, clearly thinking it was a joke as he nudged Sal with an elbow. “Don’t mind her—she can be like this sometimes. Don’t be scared because she’s Prestige. There’s a warm heart in there…somewhere.” He winked at his mother, who rewarded him with a smile.

“Brophy, go apologize to your friends. I want to have a word with Mr. Argento for a moment.” She gestured with the base of her cane for him to move away.

His brow furrowed in confusion, as though trying to recall something. “Apologize? Did I do something wrong? Wait, did it…”

He gave his mother a concerned look, and she returned a slight nod.

Brophy sighed as he turned to Sal. “I’m so incredibly sorry for what you saw just now. I’ve been suffering with a bit of a condition for some time, which can unfortunately manifest in an unsightly manner. I hope you’ll forgive me, and that we can start anew?”

Sal was so confused by everything. Brophy had come across as an insane bastard just a moment ago, and now he was all smiles and sunshine? It didn’t add up. Prestige had clearly been disgusted with the happy-go-lucky act, but now she was seemingly fine with it?

Brophy excused himself with an apologetic smile and a face of pure remorse.

“You don’t have the essence of an Appraiser,” Prestige said quietly. “But you activated something when you looked at that locket. What was it?” She eyed him in the same way that Villa had during the sniper rifle appraisal, with suspicion and wariness.

“I can’t tell you that. But I can confirm that I appraised the restraining locket.”

Sal spoke in an equally quiet voice, paying special attention to how she reacted. If he wasn’t allowed to tell the guilds about his identity as Myth, then he surely shouldn’t be telling one of the top ten in the Hunter Bureau.

Prestige smiled as she looked over her shoulder at Brophy, who scratched the back of his head as he apologized profusely to the team. Everyone was reassuring him except Erika, who kept a visible distance from him. Sal didn’t understand what was going on, and as much as he wanted answers, he didn’t feel like Prestige was going to tell him.

When her gaze returned, she looked past him and smiled at the students still waiting for their guardians.

“Sorry if I gave any of you a fright just now. I couldn’t help but show a little bit of my powers to the next generation of Heroes.”

Sal wanted to laugh; there was no way the other students hadn’t heard her words before. When he turned around, he expected expressions of fear or confusion, but all he saw was adoration and smiles. It looked like each and every person was completely oblivious to everything that had happened. His eyes snapped back to her clothing. It had to be an effect. Sal desperately wanted to know what it was that had an effect over such a large crowd, but it would be suicide to check.

“Controllers can dominate more than just the battlefield, Mr. Argento. So, I’ll ask again. What is the ability you used just now?”

Prestige’s voice took on an edge, and Sal guessed that she was acting to protect Brophy. If that locket was anything to go by, she had nullified his ability and somehow made him more compliant. The real question was whether this new Brophy was the true nature, or whether the terrifying one was. As those thoughts swam through his head, he faced Prestige’s gaze.

“If you want to know, you can ask Quest,” Sal said, deciding to outsource the issue.

If Prestige was trustworthy enough to know he was a Mythcrafter, then it would be down to Quest to divulge that information. He was out of his depth on this one as there were too many questions that needed answering. Why hadn’t she used the effect on him like she did with the rest of the crowd?

Prestige held his gaze for a few moments. “So, you’re the kid Doc Ameye keeps harping on about?”

Only the narrowing of her eyes gave Sal any indication that she was bluffing.

“I don’t know who that is, sorry,” Sal replied as he gripped the handle of his case tighter.

A moment of awkward tension appeared between them before Prestige started to laugh.

“Well, at least we’ve confirmed that you can keep secrets. So, can you promise me that you’ll keep that recent appraisal to yourself?” She clapped him on the shoulder gently, without waiting for his reply.

As she turned to the group, she kept her hand on Sal’s shoulder, which made him incredibly uncomfortable. His parents were not going to believe this.

“As you’ve probably deduced by now, I’m Prestige, and I will be your guardian. I look forward to getting to know you all as we conduct the next few weeks of training. I promise not to be an overbearing mother, if you promise to keep my roguish son safe.”

She laughed as she gave them a warm smile that Sal wasn’t buying. Sure, he had been wrong about Chatfield, but there was something definitely…off with the dynamic between Prestige and Gallant.

Prestige’s eyes locked onto Erika. “Ah, Miss Clifton. I was wondering if we could have a chat? You’re the Controller of this troop, I imagine? I want to know every little detail about your team, so I can best assist you in your growth as Heroes.”

Prestige’s hand grew a little tighter on Sal’s shoulder as she spoke to the Mind Master. Her intent was clear as day: if Sal didn’t tell her what she wanted to know, she’d get it out of Erika.

Sal couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. He almost wished Villa was their guardian. Almost. If Prestige wanted every little detail, he was more than happy to oblige. Opening his case carefully so he didn’t draw Prestige’s attention, Sal withdrew the visor before closing it back up. He didn’t need to equip the revolver, as that was a surefire way to be misinterpreted. He clipped the visor onto his ear and inspected Prestige as she had her back turned. She was in front of him, turned around to the group with her arm still firmly clasped on his shoulder. If she had heard the click of his case, she was clearly ignoring it.

The flash of his visor was oddly reassuring as Sal looked at her stats.

Name	E. Brophy
Alias	Prestige
Class	Controller
Profession	Current: Board Member, Hunter Bureau Previous: Guildmaster, Cirque Previous: Vice-Guildmaster, Phantom Guild Previous: Guild Officer III, Paradox Guild Previous: Guild Officer II, Ultima Previous: Hunter, Independent
Rank (Hero)	Guild Association: Cirque | Tier 1 | 28 Hunter Bureau: Current Rank | 8
Accreditations	[Confidential]
Ability	Skill Name: Catalyst | Rating: XV Skill Category: Energy Manipulation Skill Mastery: 100% Skill Efficiency: 100% Progress to Next Rating: 0% Evolutionary Capability: No Potential Cap: XV Natural Synergy: Cultivate | Deduction | Regenerate
Essence	Essence Type: All Essence Gates: 240 Essence Absorption Rate: 100% Essence Control: 100% Essence Refinement: 98% Essence Calibration: 100%
Physical	Strength Rating: VIII Mobility Rating: XII Speed Rating: XI Fitness Rating: X Current Status Effects: Injuries: None Illnesses: None
Reputation	Ameye Locomotion: Revered Bastion Colonies Families: Despised Doom Council: Revered Doom Society: Revered Guild Association: Revered Hunter Bureau: Revered Quest Academy: Revered
Threat Level	Analyzed Equipment: XII Analyzed Martial Arts: None Analyzed Movements: XI Analyzed Techniques: None Analyzed Body Composition: X
Wealth	Q-Credit: 0

Sal’s jaw practically dropped as he witnessed the overwhelming difference between a top-ranked Hunter versus the students and Heroes he’d seen up until that point. His previous questions about people having more than sixty gates had been thrown into the deep end when he saw that Prestige had four times as many as regular people. Her physical stats were no joke either. He would have guessed from her lithe physique that she was fit but nothing had prepared him for those stats. He hadn’t heard of Catalyst before, and wondered what it was.

Catalyst: Allows user to understand the very nature of essence to the point that they can transform atmospheric essence in their vicinity into any type of essence they wish.

Sal didn’t understand the full implications of it, but it made sense that she was able to see through his Appraisal ability. It also made sense why she was so eager to find out more about his ability, as it was an essence she hadn’t encountered before. Mythcrafter didn’t exist a few months ago, and now she was seeing a new essence variant that she didn’t understand.

When Prestige turned back to Sal, she was bemused to see the visor resting on his face.

“He doesn’t know Doc Ameye, and yet he found himself a trove of scarlet screen and moonsilver? Did your father purchase that for you?”

She wasn’t goading him. It sounded as if she was genuinely curious as to how he came across it.

Just as Sal was about to answer, Prestige’s eyes narrowed on the visor. A wide smile cracked her terrifying gaze as she finally pieced the puzzle together. Sal didn’t want to give her the satisfaction, so decided to preemptively explain.

“You can probably see my essence signature on the visor. I guess your Catalyst ability allows you to do that?”

Prestige held his gaze before letting out a beautiful laugh. “Oh my. There’s a little bit of fight in you. You’re definitely Sophia’s son.”

Did Prestige know his mother? How did she know her on a first-name basis? Sal knew that his family had carved out their niche in society, but he would never have thought that his family was on her radar.

Prestige finally released her grip on Sal’s shoulder and brushed it off gently. “I apologize for being overbearing just now. I’ll respect your privacy and not delve too much into your background. Doc Ameye’s materials and Quest’s backing tells me you’re one of the good ones. Add Chatfield’s recommendation to that, and your stock grows even higher.” She glanced over to Brophy, who was laughing with Rochelle. “My son is quite burdened with his ability, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t judge him too harshly for what you’ve seen today.”

Prestige looked almost lost in thought as she stared at her son. When she turned back to Sal, she tapped the visor’s casing at the side of his head. “I am curious, though. Did someone warn you about what your next few weeks were going to look like? You seem to have come prepared.”

Sal gave her a blank look, which elicited another laugh.

Prestige gave Sal an almost pitying look. “I hope you brought some tools with you.”

With that said, Prestige left him with his own thoughts as she sought out Erika. Sal watched her leave and couldn’t help but think that her hot and cold personality seemed to be genetic. A few moments afterward, when he calmed down, he remembered her last words.

“Why would I need tools?”