Chapter 27 – Unhinged

Despite Upgrade’s protests, Chatfield eventually won out with his reasoning. With lowered chopsticks, he gestured over at the tracker that rested on the table.

“He has the Analysis ability in this new tracker, but it can’t operate properly without a tethered power source. It’s going to be useless to him until he pairs it with the gun. The whole purpose of today has been to get Sal his tracker so that he can use Analyze on the materials I brought over. We don’t have a large enough quantity of them for him to learn their uses through Crafting, so we need that Analysis ability for this to work.”

Upgrade didn’t look too enthusiastic about pushing Sal to continue Crafting. She continued to eat her sushi with a frown. Their conversation had been a back-and-forth about the potential of the tracker in the future, and Sal had started to slowly appreciate that it was a hell of an investment in the long-term.

Chatfield glanced at Upgrade to see whether she had any thoughts, but when he was met with silence, he continued with a meaningful look at Sal.

“Just seeing that you’re able to bring quality materials to such a low grade is excellent. We could end up equipping the Savior classes with high-quality low-grade sets that would enhance their capabilities in the future. It’ll really depend on how long it takes to absorb the required essence to move to the next stage, but if it’s a set amount…”

Chatfield looked away for a moment as though executing an internal calculation.

“If it was a set amount of essence per evolution threshold, then it wouldn’t even be a case of attuning over time. I was looking at this wrong, thinking that it would evolve in line with the wearer… But what if we equipped our frontline teams with those sets? They could smash through the thresholds and force the evolutions at a rapid pace.”

A sharp clicking noise drew both Chatfield and Sal’s attention to Upgrade, who tapped the tips of the chopsticks together again. Using them almost like an extension of her own hand, she pointed at the tracker on the table. “Before you rush to conclusions, we need to see what we’re dealing with. It might be capped at a set rate of essence over time, to ensure that the evolutions are gradual and consistent. Personally, I think your idea would cause them to break. A single hit from a leecher would probably halve the condition value of that tracker, so getting established Heroes to equip them out on the field could end up destroying them.”

Chatfield tapped the table in front of him as a smile appeared on his face. He was clearly enjoying their back-and-forth.

“But what if they only needed to push to the first evolution? It might not be on a determined path. Sal said it himself, that he had no idea what order the abilities would unlock. What if the pieces adapted to their environment and gained abilities that would be suited for the battlefield? If that were the case, it would be the best course of action to have them exposed to the front lines as soon as possible rather than doing nothing during classes for three years.”

Sal raised his hand to catch Chatfield’s attention. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I already inscribed the runes that I wanted the visor to unlock. They’re embedded in layers of scarlet screen and should activate when it reaches a certain grade of evolution. I don’t think the tracker will evolve into a completely different item based on the amount of essence it gets. I think it’s on a set path, but I just don’t know what it looks like right now.”

An awkward silence fell across the room, with the only sounds coming from Upgrade’s chopsticks as she continued piling sushi onto her plate.

Sal had been so absorbed with the Crafting that he hadn’t really paid attention to his own appetite, and despite his hunger, the sushi was definitely not hitting the spot. Vanessa had told him to expand his diet to feel the full effects of the training regimen, but there were limits to how willing he was to change his tastes.

When he looked up at Chatfield, Sal wondered whether he had built up enough of a rapport with the man to get an insight into his plans.

“So, what were the unhinged plans for the first-years? I’d like to say I’m curious, but I’m somewhat invested.” Sal laughed awkwardly, trying to get a read on Chatfield’s reaction.

He wished that he still wore the monocle to know what the man was thinking, but it turned out he didn’t need it. Chatfield was more than happy to explain his thought process.

“Unhinged was Upgrade’s term, not mine.”

Chatfield’s tone wasn’t harsh and there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“To be very blunt, the progress rate of students isn’t at a high enough level. Having you fight each other in tournament-style battles has merit, but the war isn’t against humans. I want to alter the trajectory of your development and expose the first-years to demon combat as soon as possible. The excursion that I ran for the second-years was, for all intents and purposes, a complete shit-show. They have so much to learn, and they only have two years left to course correct. I want to bring the first-year cohorts on the same excursion in the next month or so. We’re going to either challenge the base floor of a tower or we’ll take turns in clearing low-level dungeons.”

Chatfield locked his gaze with Sal’s as he spoke. “It’s the only way to prepare students for the realities beyond. Coddling you within these walls for the next year doesn’t help anyone and will actually stunt your growth. The details are still being finalized, but it’s likely going to be announced during a Quest assembly in the coming weeks.”

Sal stared at him in shock, and Upgrade laughed.

She gestured at Sal with her chopsticks and looked at Chatfield. “Okay, now imagine that reaction multiplied by a thousand students. Many of whom are more vocal than Sal. The original curriculum was designed to ease the students into that environment, rather than just throwing them into the deep end. If you’re not careful, we’re going to have a horde of students dropping out before they learn their own strengths.”

Upgrade raised her hand to stop Chatfield from interrupting her. “No, I mean it. There are so many students who take time to come into their powers, and if you give them this shock right out of the gate, they’ll give up before they have a chance to flourish. Even if you tell me that they’re not cut out for it if they drop out now, I’d just like to point out that I wouldn’t have lasted as a first-year with your curriculum. When I got to second year, I started to understand my powers and how valuable they could be to society. I wouldn’t be a lecturer here if your plan was in place during my time at the academy.”

Chatfield sighed as he leaned his head against his palm. He gave Upgrade a sidelong glance before shaking his head.

“I understand completely. Not everyone learns at the same pace, and the new proposal won’t fit everyone’s capabilities. That’s why we’ll need buy-in from all the faculty to ensure the talented individuals who need fostering are given those supports. Since you were one of the students who needed more time, hopefully you can recognize the other ‘Upgrades’ within the first-year cohort.

“Our proposed changes to the curriculum are necessary, and we unfortunately need to cater to the majority to get the best results. I’ll be happy to listen to any recommendations you come up with to place a spotlight on the Support departments that might convince more students to stay.”

Chatfield sat up and gestured toward the door that led out to the workshop. “My idea for the production of armor sets with Sal here was to give the Supports a lifeline when it came to the demonic combat assessments. If a Support is able to craft the way we need them to, and they’re hitting quotas, they’ll be safe from expulsion. Even if they’re not hitting the mark in the Combat and Survival-oriented classes.”

Upgrade’s eyebrow cocked, and she scoffed at Chatfield in disbelief. “You’re saying that you planned a lifeline for the Support classes in advance of your curriculum proposal?”

Even without the monocle, Sal could hear the barbed tone. He started to wonder whether Upgrade was actually supportive of Chatfield’s plan or whether she was just telling him that so he wouldn’t worry.

Chatfield turned in his stool and aimed a wry grin at Upgrade. “Why is that so hard to believe? I don’t want us to lose talent, nor am I here to punish anyone. We’re not preparing the students enough for the war. All I’m doing is putting steps in place to help us reach our goals. All of us, including the Supports. Offense, Defense, and Controllers can thrive in the combat assessments, and Healers will be fast-tracked as an absolute necessity.

“It’s only logical that I’d try to find a solution for the Supports who would willingly camp in this workshop until they graduated. They need to know how to defend themselves. Some of them might even flourish out on the field. We could always do with more versatile people.”

Upgrade seemingly lost her appetite as she placed her chopsticks down on the plate, before pushing it away from her. Her face displayed a mixture of emotions, but judging from the tightness in her jaw, frustration was the main one.

Sal couldn’t foresee them agreeing any time soon, so he tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“I was thinking of using the Epic-grade core as the primary component of the gun. Fashioning it into a revolving cylinder, with hollowed-out chambers,” he said, voicing an idea that was playing around in his head.

It was the perfect distraction.

Upgrade turned her attention to him with a curious expression. “Wait, why would you waste an Epic-grade core on that? There are more effective ways to infuse essence into bullets, like what you did with the barrel of the sniper rifle.”

Upgrade was visibly confused, and Sal tried to explain the haphazard thought that had popped into his head. After he had seen the tiny material fragments he was going to inspect, he wondered whether they could be fashioned into bullets for the revolver. He wasn’t sure how it was going to work and he didn’t want to actually fire the materials, but rather use their individual effects.

“What if we created cartridges or housing units for each of the fragments in that chest? I could make it that the Epic-grade core would act as a catalyst for whatever properties we slotted into the chamber. Like…what if we put moonsilver in as a cartridge? Maybe it would fire an essence bullet with a calming effect. I don’t want to make the materials into actual projectiles, but like small cores that change the effects of each shot. Ideally, I’d be able to make the revolver and then the cartridges could be separate things I create as I discover new materials. It would add a lot to the versatility of the gun, and I’d be able to change the loadout for whatever situation I’m going into.”

Upgrade blinked before she gestured vaguely at the open air in front of him. “What are you waiting for? Check it out. See if that’s possible.”

She was immediately on her feet and walking over to the stacks of blueprint pages. Without any pomp or ceremony, she pulled one of them from the pile and slid it in front of Sal. “I know you don’t need to do this, but I won’t be able to understand everything that’s going on in your head. Sketch it out and talk me through it.”

Chatfield watched carefully from the other side of the table. “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but you currently have an unsynced tracker. Whatever design you go for needs to be synergistic with the tracker—otherwise, it’s just a waste of resources. Your concept sounds interesting, but it’s very ambitious. I’d rather you worked with the materials you have and the blueprint that’s available to you already from Quest. There’s no need to overcomplicate this, as it’s just the next step in understanding the materials you’ll need to assess for the armor sets.”

Chatfield’s voice was calm, but it was clear that he was concerned by the sudden change in project scope. Before Sal could apologize for the derailing, Upgrade stepped forward and gave Chatfield a level stare.

“I don’t mean to overstep, Captain. As the Crafting lecturer and Sal’s mentor, I’m fully behind him flexing his creative muscles like this. If you’d rather get some rest, we can call you when it’s done.”

Chatfield sighed resignedly and crossed his arms, but made no attempt to leave or dissuade Upgrade. Instead, he waved for Sal to proceed.

Sal gave Upgrade a small smile, and she rewarded him with an etcher.

“Don’t miss anything. I want as much context as possible, so draw everything your beautiful mind comes up with. Got it?”

Sal’s smile turned into a grin as he activated his Mythcrafter ability and got to work with the design. His intentions were wild, but the ability understood them as they fashioned the Epic-grade core into the rotating cylinder of the revolver. Just as Sal reached for the monocle, Upgrade grasped his wrist and gave him a playful smile.

“Augmenting your abilities is fine, but you don’t need that piece of glass to make this. You’ve got the skills yourself.”

Sal smiled sheepishly as he withdrew his hand and looked back into the space in front of him, where the images of the revolver were moving around slowly.

Upgrade leaned slightly closer to him and spoke in a quieter tone. “Besides, you’re a pretty shit conversationalist when you’re wearing that thing.”