Chapter 2 – Mythcrafter Essence

“I should apologize for him and tell you that he’s not normally such an asshole…but as time goes on, I’m starting to think that he probably is,” Upgrade said as the blueprint room door closed behind them.

Chatfield had practically snatched the third-year blueprints from her hands and retreated to his workstation, pulling at the tubes and muttering to himself.

Sal was happy to be free of the awkward tension and shuddered involuntarily once they had made it a few paces away from the room. With a glance at Upgrade, he shook his head in confusion.

“I know that some of the faculty are a bit eccentric, but isn’t he a bit much? What does he teach?”

Upgrade looked around the workshop before she gestured at Room 17, where they had worked on the Legendary sniper rifle.

“Let’s talk in there, and you can set yourself up to do some design work. I just need to get my things.”

Sal wasn’t sure whether she was ignoring his question or wanted some privacy to tell him more about the mysterious lecturer. He didn’t question her further and made his way to the room, pausing momentarily to turn on the lights.

When they finally illuminated the room, Sal was relieved to see that it was exactly as they had left it the previous week. He wasn’t sure they’d be able to retain a monopoly on it when the second-years started to fill out the workshop, but for now it felt like it was his.

Sal placed the blank sheets of paper down on the table and arranged the etching equipment alongside it.

“Don’t even think about taking the couch…I’m calling dibs.” Upgrade smiled as she walked through the door, dumped her stuff on the table, and then dove onto the couch all in one motion. With a sigh, she gestured toward the door with a pained expression. “Close that, will you? Can’t let the others see me slacking off.”

Sal smiled as he activated the sliding door, closing it to the outside workshop and giving them some privacy.

Upgrade stretched her legs out on the couch before she turned her head to look at Sal. “Chatfield is the best Controller I’ve ever seen on a battlefield. He’s gotten pretty much every accolade you could imagine when it comes to combat and holds the most records for tower clearances out of any faculty member.”

Upgrade’s voice was devoid of emotions as she spoke. “When he was an active Hero, he was in the top one hundred and had his pick of teams. If you had Chatfield as your Controller, you’d win. It was a certainty that everyone accepted. He would use whatever means necessary to win the day and bring everyone back alive. So, you’d think that having him here would be a massive boon for the academy, but it’s anything but.”

Sal laughed. There was no way the haggard man in the other room was that impressive. Sure, he had seen unlikely people with extraordinary powers, but Chatfield looked burned out and exhausted.

His ability looked interesting, but from a combat perspective, Sal couldn’t understand how useful it would be for a wider team.

Upgrade shook her head. “I sense a non-believer! Can’t blame you. He’s like a husk of his former self right now, but I guarantee you that he’s just as capable. He’s only gotten back from assignment yesterday, and he’s already preparing for a portal dive with a strike team. Usually, he’d come into the workshop to see if we’ve got new designs that he can use his Concept ability on. Gives him a wider arsenal to play with. Judging by his stress levels at the minute, I’d say he’s in for a tough dive.”

Sal placed the tracker on the desk in front of him and activated his Mythcrafter ability. He wanted to give it a proper appraisal before finding ways to upgrade or reconstruct it. Without glancing over to Upgrade, he asked his initial question again, hoping for an answer. “So, what does he teach? Is it a Controller Masterclass or something?”

Upgrade laughed and shook her head as she half-heartedly pulled the blanket over her body to make herself more comfortable. “Teach is a strong word. He effectively subjects people to situations where learning is a bonus. That excursion he came back from was an intensive tower clearance. He didn’t just assign teams to clear out floors—he ran them through the entire tower, and it grows in difficulty with each ascending level.

“Students who had fought demons in controlled environments were essentially thrown into the deep end with that excursion. Quest fought against it, but he was overruled by the United Guilds Association. They want Heroes, and Chatfield’s methods, while horrible, have the best results.”

Sal’s concentration shattered. “A tower clearance? They’re just second-years! Were there any casualties?” He couldn’t wrap his head around what he was hearing. It sounded positively insane to send rookies into a tower, even if to clear a floor or two.

But to take on an entire tower? With boss fights scattered throughout it? There was no way that they’d be fit for something like that.

Upgrade gave an exasperated sigh as she looked back at Sal. “Didn’t you listen to me? Chatfield brings everyone back alive. He’s the golden boy of the United Guilds Association, and he’s the best in the business.

“That deathly appearance of his should be all the evidence you need of how painful clearing that tower with the students was. My guess is that he equipped them with gear using his Concept ability. It would explain why he’s cursing so much and trying to find good protective equipment in those blueprints.”

“Can his Concept ability create items from blueprints?” Sal asked in disbelief, but Upgrade shook her head again.

“No, that would be insanely overpowered. He commissions anything he likes the look of, and then he recreates it with his ability. That’s why the unrealistic build qualities are such a frustration for him. He needs blueprints that can actually be made into equipment with the resources we have available. He’d probably shit himself if he saw that sniper rifle you made. That’d be a fun sight.”

Her chuckle was devious, and Sal couldn’t help but join her. In the momentary silence between them, Sal focused on the tracker and pulled up its details with his Appraisal ability.

He wanted to know what he was working with. The visor was a smokey-black color and seemed to be inserted directly into the silver casing that clipped over the right ear of the user.

Sal’s eyes picked apart all the details in a few minutes, and he was strangely disappointed by the lack of information. When he compared it to the details he got using the Analysis ability, there were so many more secrets that his eyes weren’t telling him.

The shattered crown he appraised for Divinity had insights about the materials, and the potential evolutions of the piece. Sal’s frustration at the lack of information only fueled his desire to craft something spectacular.

Name	Quest Tracker
Origin	Crafted
Age	5 years old
Grade	Unique
Dimensions	Visor: 2 inches tall, 2 inches wide | Ear Enclosure: 4 inches tall, 2 inches wide.
Materials	Refined System Essence | Obsidian Glass | Infused Silver
Attributes	Appraisal: Allows user to inspect items up to Unique Grade. System: Allows user to interpret abstract information from essence signatures. Network: Allows user access to a network of information databases that improve System.
Abilities	Appraisal | System | Network
Power Source	Enhanced Core
Evolution	No
Quality	Good
Condition	79%
Value	Est. $140,000.00 – $160,000.00

“Judging from your lack of response, I’m guessing you’ve already started on that tracker project?” Upgrade asked from her blanket cocoon on the other side of the room.

Sal raised his hand with a thumbs-up gesture, as he activated the blueprint part of his Mythcrafter ability. He had to fight with it to show him the current blueprint rather than the upgraded versions.

He needed to give the tracker back to Quest in the same condition that he got it, so he wasn’t going to risk damaging it or screwing it up. For that reason, he was going to build one from scratch and see whether he could replicate the System essence from Quest with the current tracker or ask the headmaster to gift him some of the ability.

Sal paused. Why did he need to ask the headmaster when he could replicate the ability himself? It was strange that he hadn’t thought about it until now.

It seemed so simple, and Sal immediately imagined there had to be a catch. He glanced up at Upgrade. “You know the way I can replicate abilities?”

Upgrade made a noise for him to continue.

“Well, what if I replicate an ability and use that essence in my crafting? I need to have refined System essence to create another Quest tracker. Would that work?”

Upgrade sat up with a stricken look on her face. “Wouldn’t it just be refined Skill Master essence? I mean, that’s your actual ability… But then again, you create abilities by using their weave. So, would that not make it a new ability altogether? I don’t know enough about the ins and outs of it, but I think Lombardi should have a smarter answer for you. You know what I’d suggest already—you should try it and see what happens.”

Upgrade threw the blanket to one side and got to her feet before joining Sal at the table. She looked at the tracker with a thoughtful expression. “If you’re able to replicate essence signatures and imbue them into your works…then the versatility of what you can create will be incredible. My first vote would be for you to take Alex’s essence so we can make a coffee machine and make him redundant.”

Even though she was joking, Sal suddenly realized what she meant. He had been thinking in terms of equipment, where she had gone down a commodity route. Sal didn’t want to dwell on how much Q-Cred he had poured into his coffee habit, but the thought of how much he’d save or even earn by creating a coffee machine was incredible.

“Didn’t you use that girl’s ability for the arm guards? The Barrier ones you used in the competition?” Upgrade asked. “How did you know the result would have those effects? Most of the time, it’s like roulette when getting traits for equipment, but you got it the first time for each of them.”

Sal shook his head. “The Mythcrafter ability did all the hard work. I just thought about what I wanted, and it told me what materials to use. When I didn’t have the right materials, my essence filled in the blanks. That’s what happened with Hannah’s Barrier gauntlets, which were made with crap materials.”

Upgrade gave Sal a confused look and shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way, Sal. You can recall blueprints, right? Bring up one of an item you made without the right materials, or the person’s essence. Tell me what you see.”

Sal went through the different designs in his head until he settled on the shield guards.

Name	Shield Guard
Origin	Crafted
Age	New
Grade	Uncommon (Upper)
Dimensions	Length 8 inches | Circumference 9 inches (Adjustable)
Materials	Refined Mythcrafter Essence | Infused Iron
Attributes	Barrier: Creates a protective shield in front of the wearer. Impact: Negates incoming attacks with chance to reflect damage.
Abilities	Barrier | Impact
Power Source	Basic Core | External Essence
Evolution	No
Quality	Excellent
Condition	100%
Value	Est. $3,000.00 – $4,500.00

Sal read through it line by line until Upgrade stopped him with a raised hand.

“You said Refined Mythcrafter essence, yet the trait has nothing to do with Crafting, Appraisal, Restoration, or Upgrade. I think it might be using your own essence as a substitute for whatever essence type you need for the finished product. That’s the only way it could result in you getting the Barrier trait, which is something you designed it for. You already said that you didn’t take it from that Hannah girl for this project, so maybe it’s storing the traits you’ve already interacted with?”

Upgrade paced around the table as she continued to talk. “Infused iron doesn’t have enough properties to give you anything more than the Impact trait, so it has to be down to the essence. Obviously, there are a few factors at play since a lot of the components were made by other crafters here in the workshop, but it doesn’t explain how your equipment is getting the exact traits you’re hoping for.”

Sal nodded, but he couldn’t help but feel a little out of his depth. He had thought it was normal for crafters to fill in the gaps with their essence.

Upgrade paused as she rounded the table for the second time. “Here’s a test. Why don’t you design something with a trait you’ve never encountered before? Did you study Chatfield’s weave? Try to make something with his Concept ability.” Glancing around the room, her eyes landed on the tracker.

“Perfect. The blueprint you’re making for the tracker. Instead of making it with Analysis and System, which you’ve already seen, try to make it with Concept, which you know nothing about.”

Sal activated his Mythcrafter ability and saw multiple variants of the existing design, but that didn’t matter. He willed the design to focus on the Concept ability that he had seen, but there was no basis for it to work on. No matter how many times he tried to force the construct to create the Concept ability, it failed to produce anything.

Upgrade smiled at the frown that appeared on Sal’s face. She had finally found their answer and a limitation to his ability.

“Now think of something you haven’t crafted before but have a knowledge of. Try to create the tracker with Divinity’s ability.”

Sal’s eyes widened as he followed Upgrade’s instructions, to find that the Mythcrafter ability responded instantly and showed him an Oracle tracker that would be able to look into the future.

“I can see how to make it!” Sal breathed out excitedly, but Upgrade snapped her fingers at him, destroying his concentration and bringing him back to reality. When he blinked and looked at her for context, she gestured at the tracker.

“Even though there are endless possibilities for your ability, I’m not letting you cut any corners. We’re going to break this down with the basics and you’re going to learn how to craft the right way. Understood?”

Sal smiled as he gave her a nod and got to work.