Chapter 9 – Permanent

Before Sal could even get a word in, Vanessa whisked him off to one of the private rooms. He fell into step behind her and looked around at the others on the Credit floor. Many of the floor staff smiled at him, and he even spotted an elated-looking Greg, waving from behind the main counter.

It was a welcome change that had only cost him a few Q-Cred in tips, but it was absolutely worth it. His father had told him that making people feel special was the key to earning their loyalty. Sal wouldn’t go so far as to say that Greg was loyal to him, but it was a marked improvement in demeanor from the first few times he had entered the Credit floor.

Ahead of him, Vanessa turned sharply to the right and opened a door to one of the private areas. She didn’t so much as knock, and Sal wondered how she knew it was empty. When she turned to hold the door open for him, Sal didn’t see any warmth in her expression, which was a little concerning. Before he could ask what was going on, she closed the door behind him and let out a long sigh of exasperation.

Sal sat on the edge of one of the plush leather chairs and looked at Vanessa apprehensively. “Are you okay?”

When she finally returned his gaze, she looked conflicted for the briefest of seconds before the expression was gone. Replaced by her confident mask that she wore so well.

“Sal, I’m sorry for rushing you over here at such short notice. But we’ve run into an issue with the Reavers Guild.”

Vanessa apologized earnestly, but Sal didn’t think it warranted the expression of concern from earlier. If they were going to be working together, Sal didn’t want any secrets between them.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Vanessa smiled as she took a seat on the side of the armchair across from Sal. “There was interest from a few other guilds that I didn’t tell you about. Their offers weren’t as competitive as the Reavers, and one of them is…a guild I’d prefer you didn’t work with. I was leveraging their offers against each other to increase your value, but I didn’t anticipate one of them trying to cut me out and go straight to the source.”

Vanessa’s voice was tight with annoyance. She glanced back up at Sal’s eyes and gave him a wry smile. “Be careful around that Sakura girl. She’ll be watching you and reporting back to Shade in the Delvers Guild. It would be incredibly problematic if she was to find out that you’re Myth, so make sure she doesn’t find out! Don’t fall for any of her moves, either. That girl is a trained assassin and will know how to push your buttons.”

Sal winced slightly, and Vanessa’s right eyebrow shot up.

“Sakura knows that I’m not just an Appraiser. I was at a series of Doom Society meetings with her where I used Divinity’s power, and she was with the strike team that took down the recent dungeon. I watched her kill a commander variant.”

Vanessa stared at Sal numbly for a moment before she switched tactics. “Okay, new plan. You’re going to befriend that Sakura girl! Get her to keep your secret and not report it back to the Delvers Guild. Shade is a piece of work and would stop at nothing to monopolize your capabilities. You don’t want to be on his radar.”

Sal stared at Vanessa in disbelief. “You just told me that she was a terrifying and skilled assassin. Now, you’re telling me that I need to be her friend? There’s no way she’s going to buy that!”

Vanessa shook her head as she raised a single finger. “Not necessarily. She’s hesitating for some reason. If what you said is true…why hasn’t she told Shade? She could be protecting you, or she could be holding onto that piece of information as leverage. Either way, she’s holding all the cards at the moment, and we’re not even at the table. Make something for her, win her over. Be your charming self!”

Vanessa rotated her hand rapidly in the air as she went through the options available to him.

Sal couldn’t tell whether she had a huge amount of faith in him, or whether she genuinely expected him to be a natural at winning people over. He nodded at Vanessa slowly and laughed.

“Okay, I understand. I need to befriend the beautiful Savior from the third-years, who is a trained assassin and can erase my essence with a single touch. Sounds easy.”

Vanessa sighed as she slid off the armrest and into the chair. Using her arms as a prop, she rested her chin on the palm of her hands and looked at Sal carefully.

“I know it’s asking a lot of you, but it’s for the greater good. I’ve been trying to be neutral about all this, but Shade is a piece of shit. He’d find a way to lock you into a horrible contract and would work you to the bone. Delvers have burned through literally every reputable auction house over the last few years. Your father would likely have stuff to say about him too, and I doubt it would be good.”

She was right. Sal had heard his father cursing Shade’s name every so often when a last-minute appraisal came through. Petro always had to chase payment from them, and their terms were ridiculous.

Hell, on Sal’s first day at Quest Academy, Petro had brought a piece of work from Shade with him. That glove that he had appraised was for the Delvers Guild, and apparently Shade avoided paying the full appraisal fee.

Sal looked at Vanessa and saw the uncertainty on her face, and it confused him. “Do you have a personal issue with the Delvers? If we’re going to be working together, I need you to be honest with me. I won’t work with the Delvers if you don’t want me to. All I’d ask is that you trust me enough to give me the reason.”

A coldness took over Vanessa’s face as she looked off slightly to one side. Her voice was devoid of its usual warmth as she gave a quick rundown of events.

“I graduated from the academy in the Controller class, was scouted by the Delvers Guild. Joined up with them and was offered a fast track to officer. It was a great contract that covered all my bases, and I was happy. Until a high-ranking officer started making…advances, that I didn’t reciprocate.”

Vanessa looked at Sal with a tired smile, as though she were repeating a story she had already told a thousand times.

“I ignored the advances, made gentle but firm boundaries, and told them I wasn’t interested. I was pushed into the Support group and dropped from the training rosters. Days of maintaining inventory turned into weeks and then months. I was being punished for not taking that officer up on his offer.”

Vanessa laughed as she shook her head in disbelief.

“I know what you’re thinking. Maybe I did something else wrong, or maybe there was more to it. Nope. He outright told me that my training would go back to normal and my future would be guaranteed…if I came around to his way of thinking. Anyway, that was the Delvers Guild. I know that not everyone in there is a bad person, and it was just the actions of a single officer. But, when I reported his behavior, only one of us was believed and backed by the guild. I broke contract with them, and the Delvers came after me for a stupid amount of money that they claimed to have ‘invested’ in me. They sold the debt to the Credit floor, and for the last few years, everyone believes that I couldn’t cut it with the guilds.”

Vanessa was speaking matter-of-factly by the end, and she laughed at the shock on Sal’s face. “Don’t be concerned. This is in the past and it’s my own situation to resolve. You asked me to be honest with you, and I was. I’ll ask in return that you keep this information to yourself, okay?”

Sal didn’t trust himself to answer and nodded. He couldn’t believe Vanessa had endured something as horrible as that. To think that she was a Controller class and had already graduated from the academy?

Upgrade had mentioned before that she was wasting her potential on the Credit floor, but it suddenly made sense. He needed to know how he could help her, but the moment he opened his mouth, Vanessa raised a hand to stop him.

“I know you’re going to have questions, so let me answer all of them now and we can move on. First, I won’t tell you the name of the officer. Second, I won’t tell you how much money I owe on the broken contract. Third, my ability is Body Manipulation.”

Sal laughed as she literally picked the three questions he had and answered them with ease. As she returned the smile, Sal’s faded. She had been ousted from her career as a Hero because some creep wouldn’t leave her alone. Sal blinked as a sharp realization came to him.

“Wait, you’re interested in joining my guild… Does that mean you’ve already paid back your breakage cost?”

Vanessa smiled as she nodded. “Almost a year ago. I’ve been stockpiling resources and developing relationships with the other guilds. Now, is that all your questions? Because we’ve got more pressing matters to discuss.”

Sal thought about it before one last one came to him. “Body Manipulation is super rare! There’s a girl in my class who’s able to change my body to be more attuned with essence refinement. Is that something you could help me with?”

Vanessa paused as she looked at Sal suspiciously. “You’re telling me that a girl in your class used her power on you?”

Sal nodded as he gestured at his chest. “She made it so that I can sense my essence better, in Skill class.”

Vanessa shook her head and looked at Sal in surprise. “Well, aren’t you a little heartbreaker? Body Manipulation is a very sensitive power, Sal. There’s a lot of trust and commitment in giving your body over to someone who can change it. Is this the Hannah girl who was messaging you and sending pictures?”

Sal paused for a second. He hadn’t expected Vanessa to remember Hannah’s name. With a slight shake of his head, he tried to explain.

“No, her name is Lucia Hernandez. She goes by Nova and finished really high in the tournament. You should have seen her as a giant—it was incredible!”

Vanessa laughed as she tilted her head to one side. “Oh? Incredible, was it? Would you say the same if I was a giant?”

Sal heard the challenge in her tone, but the way she was looking straight at him, he had no idea whether she was actually serious. Heat rose to his cheeks as he started to imagine Vanessa towering over him in that tight uniform. As soon as the image popped into his head, Sal recognized that he was in dangerous territory and changed the subject.

“So! Villa is looking for an answer…do you have the details?” Sal’s voice was fast and panicked as he looked anywhere else in the room.

Vanessa’s laugh was musical and full of life.

Sal was grateful to hear it after she had been so agitated and down earlier. When he turned to see her, their eyes met, and the breath left his body. Her irises were silver, just like his own.

“Well Sal, since you know my secret power…I think it’s only fair that I tease you from time to time. Sound good?” She held out her hand for Sal to shake, and he took it instinctively.

With a broad grin, Vanessa added, “Oh, and it’s pretty cute that your friend is helping you with your essence refinement. Let me show you the difference between a first-year and an academy graduate.”

Her smile widened as Sal realized what was going on. He looked down at his hand in shock, but it was too late. Vanessa’s essence shot through his arm and body at lightning speed, and Sal could barely breathe.

Vanessa’s voice was soothing as she guided her personal essence through him. “So many little inefficiencies. You really have to start working out, Sal.”

He could hear the amusement in her voice as she inspected his essence. “Oh, so she just widened your senses temporarily? That’s a smart method if she came up with it by herself…but I’ve always found this to be a much easier solution.”

Sal finally found his breath as he looked at Vanessa in surprise. “What…kind of solution?”

Vanessa’s grin was predatory as she leaned in close, her whisper sounding more like a threat than anything else.

“Brute force.”