Chapter 81 – Commission

“Do you want to talk about it?” Brophy asked as he assembled his belongings into a small pile.

Considering their camp had essentially exploded, there was very little that was salvageable. It had been a rough evening, placing the destroyed roof against the rock pillars in the hopes of making some shelter, and the group quietly focused on doing their own thing. Ioseph sat off by himself, reading something on his tablet, while Rochelle tried to make them a meal with what was left of their rations. End of week was the tightest time for them, as they typically ate more than their assigned allocation during the week.

Sal shook his head as he folded up his sleeping bag. “Thanks, but I’m okay. The pain is gone now, and it feels more like a nightmare than something that actually happened.”

It was a lie, but he kept that part to himself. Sal felt every single moment of excruciating pain, and he was loath to ever go through that again. The nonchalant reaction from Erika had only fueled his anger, but he was doing his best to push those emotions to one side.

They needed to work together in the tower, and building resentment wasn’t going to help anyone. It was a shit situation, but the beginnings of a plan were forming in his head. All he needed to do was create something that would prevent her from taking over his mind again. It seemed like the most straightforward solution, and Sal had already started to brainstorm ideas for the item.

Brophy didn’t seem convinced. “Feeling powerless in those sorts of situations is horrifying, Sal. Don’t let the intrusive thoughts win. You’re probably thinking of a way to get revenge, but I can assure you, it’s not worth it.”

Sal laughed as he shook his head. “Quite the opposite. I was thinking of making something that would keep her out of my head. I’m not the type of person who would want to hurt her for what she did. I just wish she could appreciate how horrible it feels being trapped like that and having no way to avoid the pain.”

Brophy smiled as he waved his hand. “Ah, forgive me. I think I was projecting a little just now. I’d be absolutely hell-bent on ruining her if she did that to me, but I guess that comes down to maturity. The old me wouldn’t have questioned putting her in her place, but the current me must be careful about what fights I pick. Without an ability to call on, I’m just a regular guy.”

Sal snorted, which drew a look of confusion from Brophy. Sal couldn’t believe he had to spell it out to him. “There’s not a single regular thing about you, Brophy. I can’t think of a single person who could fight like you, or dance on the branches in such a stressful scenario. You were incredible the whole time. Training me out in the forest and helping me understand the basics of combat and strategy…”

Brophy broke into a wide smile as he clapped excitedly. “Ah, you’re too kind! But I believe that I have something that might turn that frown upside down.” He moved closer to Sal and tapped his chest meaningfully. “I believe that we had a little wager going about internal cores. A wager that you delivered perfectly.”

Sal’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember what they had spoken about. It felt like a lifetime ago, but he remembered the conversation where Brophy insisted that the internal cores could be improved somehow. A sudden thought popped into his head. “I saw with my visor that some students have over sixty cores. Professor Lombardi implied that number was the limit?”

It was a question that had been in his mind for weeks, but recent events had pushed it to one side. He wasn’t sure he’d get a clear answer from Brophy, but there was no harm in asking.

Brophy’s laugh was accompanied by another clapping of the hands. “So, you were already aware! That makes it easier. The technique that all the Hunters share to keep themselves relevant is a breathing method. Stronger abilities require more gates than the basic sixty, but everyone uses that number as a baseline. This method allows each of those internal gates to act more like a star than a gate.”

Sal frowned, but Brophy waved his hand to one side.

“Sorry, that probably makes no sense. Imagine each of your internal cores as a star, rather than as a gate. Some of them will be able to support a few moons that orbit around them. Almost like a mini constellation. They’re smaller cores that work synergistically with your main core and allow you to generate much more internal essence. The breathing method is a way to reinforce each of the stars, infusing them repeatedly with layers of essence until they produce a sister core. It’s not something that can be done with brute force and needs a lot of essence control and finessing to do properly.”

Brophy spoke passionately as he started making all sorts of hand movements across his chest, demonstrating how the circuitry worked. “It helped me skyrocket in terms of capability, and if you learn it now rather than when you hit a wall in the future, then it will be much more beneficial. There haven’t been many studies done on it yet, but a lot of the Hunters in the bureau have said that they wished they started it earlier.”

Sal smiled. “It sounds incredible, but it’s far too precious a thing to teach me. No matter what way I look at it, it’s not a fair trade. I’d be taking advantage of you.”

Sal was very curious about the method and wanted to know how to increase his internal cores, but he didn’t want to be in Brophy’s debt. There was a darkness to the man that Sal couldn’t quite explain, and he felt like latching himself to him would be a bad idea. Working with him on a team was fine, but the mood swings between threatening and docile were far too frequent for Sal to get a good read on him.

Brophy frowned before he clicked his fingers. “Okay then, what about equal trade? You said you’re thinking of making a device that can block out Erika’s powers? Could you do something similar for me, that helps me use my Soul Forge ability? Q-Cred wouldn’t be an issue, and I can literally run any dungeon you need for materials.” Brophy’s smile faltered. “Well, not any dungeon…but most of them if I have a decent weapon.”

Sal wondered how he’d even go about doing that. Nothing came to mind, and he guessed he’d need to have a chat with Upgrade about it.

Brophy misread the silence and backtracked. “Sorry, that was an incredibly selfish thing to ask. Prestige has tried to get Doc Ameye on the job for a few years now, but his waiting list is insane. I was even planning on cornering him at the next Hunter Bureau gala, but that would likely push me even lower down his list. I can only imagine how long your commission list is.” His smile was forced as he tried to switch topics, but Sal raised a hand to stall him.

“If I can make something that gets you using your powers, you’d be up for running dungeons for materials?”

Sal latched onto that singular hope that he would have his own private supplier of materials. If he could bring Gallant back from the brink, then it would give him a drastic advantage in the trials to come. The tower wouldn’t be an issue for their team, and Sal wouldn’t need to worry about Erika going rogue again with her powers.

“Absolutely. I’d even take you through them to get your rank up. All the training we’ve done here is nothing compared to what I could show you in the dungeons.”

The hope on Brophy’s face was clear as day. He looked ready to cut off his own arm if it convinced Sal to take his request. The only issue was that Sal had no idea whether it was even possible. Was there even an ability that would force Soul Forge to play nice?

Sal needed to manage his expectations, but it was impossible not to feel like he was leading Brophy on.

“I’ll try my best, but there are no promises it will work. I don’t even know where to start with something like this, nor do I know what materials would be required. It could end up costing a fortune in Q-Cred, and I don’t want to waste your time.”

Brophy shook his head and gave Sal a dazzling smile. “Honestly, the hope alone is worth it to throw every piece of currency to my name. Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen. Breathing technique, dungeon runs…hell, we’ll even do some scavenger runs. You can keep it all—I don’t care. I have some materials that I collected as mementos over the years. I can bring them in to show you to see if any of it is useful.”

The desperation in Brophy’s eyes made Sal want to put all other projects on hold. Brophy’s voice cracked as he clutched at the locket around his neck.

Sal was shocked when Brophy took it off. There was a long sigh of relief as Brophy blinked a few times and looked at the locket in his hands. When he turned to Sal, there was no false demeanor.

“I just need hope that I can get it back.” His hand shook slightly as he held it gently. “This thing keeps my senses dull, and slows me down. It’s horrible being out there in the field and feeling like I’m moving through water. Any annoyance or anger is extinguished and numbs me. It’s a horrible existence, and I need to be free of it.”

Brophy’s eyes flicked upward, and Sal met his gaze. It was such an unnerving feeling, because he felt the exact same sensation the moment he met Villa.

Brophy smiled again, but it was different than the ones Sal had become used to. It was as if he were in the presence of a trained killer, and Sal was directly in his crosshairs.

“Sal, I wanted to tell you this outside of the influence of the locket. With my full faculties. If you can find a way to get my power under control, I’ll take you all the way to the top of the rankings.”

Sal knew that Brophy was serious. No, it was a disservice to call this man Brophy. Gallant stood before him, asking for his help. Being at the top of leaderboards wasn’t something Sal had ever aspired toward, but it would guarantee a high grade at the end of the term.

Running dungeons with Gallant was an almost ridiculous concept when he thought about it, but it could end up being a huge benefit in the future. Sal had already resolved himself to try to help him, but the way Gallant was speaking made him uncertain.

Sal felt like he was holding a key to a cage that contained a monster. If he set it free, it could do some good…but there was no telling what sort of person Gallant would be after years of resentment and ridicule from his peers. Would he strike down Erika for calling him Broken Brophy?

Sal nodded slowly. “I’ll try my best, but as I said…there’s no promises it will work.”

Gallant’s face broke into a grin as he gripped Sal’s shoulder firmly. “That’s all I can ask for. Now, I better put this back on before the bloodlust gives you a panic attack.” He chuckled at his own joke before securing the locket around his neck.

The dreamy expression returned, and Sal was left with more questions in his head than answers.

Although he had been suspicious of it before, he was now certain that Brophy and Gallant were very different personalities based on the locket. What truly unnerved Sal was how easily Brophy had pretended to be fine on the train when the locket wasn’t even around his neck. From the brief conversations they had with each other, Sal was convinced that Brophy was trying to process his emotions and get over the negative thoughts in his head, but Prestige wanted to keep him docile until Doc Ameye could come up with a countermeasure. No matter which person he chose to support, it would likely infuriate the other.

Which left Sal wondering: who did he want to disappoint less—the Super Rookie, Gallant? Or the #8 Hunter, Prestige?