EBE Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
Chapter 141 : Optimization
Three days had passed since Sal started receiving instruction from Barry on handling illusions.
Fortunately, he hadn't had nightmares for the past two days, but he suffered severe leg cramps the night before.
Still, he was getting used to his daily exercise routine bit by bit, so he didn't feel as much muscle soreness or pain as before.
Considering the results of his training with Barry, Sal was learning much more than he expected.
His control over illusions had increased significantly, but he was still far from being able to activate them instinctively.
Another problem was that the structure of the thread was excessively complex, so he had to relearn it every time he met Barry.
So Sal grew curious if it would be better to make something and embed the ability into it.
But Divinity had made him swear not to enter the workshop until he solved his nightmare problem.
With that thought in mind, Sal drew a blueprint of a new form for the first time.
He transferred the skill thread he saw from Barry onto a diagram and connected it to all the Essence Gates he had opened.
Drawing the thread itself came naturally to his hand, but physiologically mapping how it settled within the human body was much harder.
Sal was resting in the cafeteria, eating food.
His gaze was following the lines he had drawn earlier.
Sal wasn't sure if he needed to study biology to understand the human body more deeply, or if it wasn't necessary right now.
Unlike Mythos Crafter, Skill Master didn't offer any suggestions or corrections when drawing threads.
It was a bit disappointing, but he didn't mind too much.
Just remembering the structure of the thread would be enough.
Having finished his meal, Sal pushed his plate aside and looked around the cafeteria.
Since it was the first day of recruitment for the expedition training, people were gathered in small groups at every table, buzzing with noise as they formed teams to be together for the next few weeks.
Thinking about the fact that the teams formed now would be competing shoulder to shoulder inside the Tower in a month was chilling.
As expected, Divinity received recruitment offers from almost every team in the top tier.
But she insisted on forming her own team rather than joining another.
Barry had the same thought, and Sal respected that.
Since both were Controller class, it seemed natural for them to take on leadership roles.
Sal was also popular thanks to his performance shown as Silver Cohort in the Mounted Battle.
Many lower-ranked teams were reaching out, asking him to fill the last spot in their team.
He was evaluated as a stable member who could definitely contribute to the team's power since he was a Support class.
There were also a few who openly avoided him.
As Chatfield explained, since the team's ranking determined expectations, many teams were reluctant to take a high-spec Support class that might just raise expectations while providing little practical reward.
Divinity suggested sitting down with Sal that evening to sort out the most suitable options.
But she spared further explanation, saying a few interesting teams would reveal their intentions directly by afternoon.
Sal decided to see for himself eventually.
Next to the diagram Sal had drawn lay a small metal case containing his visor and revolver.
Students were given permission to carry weapons to get used to the equipment, but using them on each other was strictly prohibited.
Numerous agents in white uniforms were deployed just to prevent any fights from breaking out.
Sal stared at the diagram for a while, then put the pen down on the table.
It seemed there would be no more progress with his strength alone.
Knowing he would receive strange looks from around, he judged it was worth taking the risk.
He reached out and picked up the small metal case containing the revolver and visor together.
Thanks to Upgrade's modification, he could now store all cartridges together.
When Sal placed his thumb on the locking mechanism, the case opened with a satisfying click.
He didn't bother looking around to see what reactions would come.
He was already used to receiving strange looks for wearing a uniform completely different from other students.
Anyone could tell the difference between Epic rank equipment and the school-issued gray uniform without being an appraiser.
'Will adding a conspicuously glowing red visor and a revolver change anything?'
Sal tilted his head slightly to put the visor on his face and hook the fixing earpiece over his ear.
Since the dungeon that day, due to overlapping events, he hadn't worn it once, but he couldn't waste any more time.
He wanted to secure as much information as possible in preparation for upcoming events.
When the visor activated and glowed red, Sal smiled.
He looked into the diagram to check what result the analysis ability would yield, and surprisingly, the processing started immediately.
As Sal recalled Barry's ability thread with intention and stimulated the visor, it seemed to take effect.
A human-shaped projection appeared in front of his vision, showing where the thread wasn't aligning properly.
Sal discarded the diagram, picked up the pen, and redrew the various internal Essence Gates one by one.
Unlike other skills he had checked so far, Barry's weave didn't have specific connection points for activation.
Sal, Divinity, and Quest's abilities were all connected to the eyes, and others were often connected to hands or legs.
But in Barry's case, it was concentrated almost entirely in the brain.
This was a similar location to Erica's ability Sal had checked recently.
Putting those thoughts aside for now, Sal immersed himself in work again, marking various Essence Gates.
Tracing the lines between gates, he suddenly realized he wasn't replicating Barry's body.
Only half of the gates were activated, and the internal structure revealed was ultimately his own.
Sal originally wanted to study how Barry's ability worked in his body, but guessed it would be impossible until he analyzed Barry directly with the visor.
An hour had passed in a flash.
Sal's sketch had become much more elaborate than before, and now had become a virtual template on which an ability thread could be overlaid.
When it came time to actually draw in the thread, Sal hesitated for a moment.
He pondered whether it would be better to save the blueprint on the workbench and keep reusing it.
But after thinking briefly, he soon shook his head and started drawing the thread.
Since he could just make it again anyway.
As the visor overlaid the thread on the body, Sal smiled and could easily trace it.
Tracing the lines in detail took almost another hour, and finally, the thread was completely implanted on the template.
The diagram existed in a form where only Essence Gates were connected to the outline of Sal's body without any physiological information marked.
Although a bit rough, Sal was satisfied with the result.
Before the pen even touched the table, Sal's visor flashed and started processing the final image.
As the screen popped up, Sal wondered if the analysis ability had just activated.
[Design Type: Ability Transplant Blueprint]
[Skill Name: Illusion | Rank: X]
[Skill Classification: Mental Type, Energy Manipulation]
[Skill Proficiency: 0%]
[Skill Efficiency: 100%]
[Mental Compatibility: 61%]
[Physiological Compatibility: 81%]
[Evolution Potential: Yes]
[Potential Limit: XV]
[Natural Synergy: Manifestation | Creation | Sleep | Indexing | Reasoning]
"No way."
Sal stared piercingly at the displayed figures and adjusted his posture.
He had drawn it just to get used to the thread, using the technique Upgrade taught him when working on blueprints.
But somehow, an ability transplant template was created.
This was the most coveted among the benefits Quest Academy offered, and the reason all students were desperate to get into the Savior Class.
Sal scanned the displayed figures, trying to understand their meaning.
It seemed the visor had called up the Skill Master ability to track details more precisely.
Without the visor, he might not have been able to approach it at all.
Sal's gaze kept returning to the category item.
Until now, he had never seen anyone's skill have two classifications simultaneously, but Barry's illusion was intertwined with Mental Type skill and Energy Manipulation skill at the same time.
The fact that it was Perfect rank was amazing enough, but being able to grow five more stages above that was shocking.
The 100% Skill Efficiency was likely because Sal had completely replicated the ability.
'But these figures alone can't explain the Compatibility item.'
[Compatibility is a figure calculated by synthesizing physical and mental suitability. This is calculated by evaluating the current abilities of the transplant target.]
[Low physiological compatibility means the target may be exposed to risk of physical damage when activating or using the ability.]
[Low mental compatibility means inability to handle the processing demands to use the ability.]
[These figures can be improved through mental and physical training, but there are limits to that range.]
[If any item is below 75%, proceeding with ability transplant is not recommended.]
Sal was happy the visor answered his question, but the smile disappeared from his face as he read all the text.
The vast information Cooper put inside the visor seemed definitely useful.
Although the fact that this device was practically reading his thoughts was still unsettling, the result was perfect.
"Does this mean I'm too stupid to use the ability right now?"
Sal muttered looking at the sketch again with an annoyed face.
It was surprising that it showed in detail what damage could occur due to the ability he replicated.
"Context is lacking. Did Barry get used to it over years because his ability level is so high? If I lower the rank of the ability a bit and apply it, I think it would become manageable."
Adding a few knots to the thread would lower the quality of the ability.
"Haa..."
Sighing, Sal activated the Skill Master ability and examined the thread to see what he could do with just the template.
Then the visor started blinking rapidly.
Sal reflexively closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the blinking had stopped, and a single line of text appeared in his vision.
[Optimizing blueprint with Skill Master ability.]
As the visor rearranged the diagram adding several extra layers and detailed corrections, Sal froze on the spot.
He picked up the pen with trembling fingers and followed the given instructions.
Sal remapped the entire thread with a new design to utilize the Essence Gates he had opened as much as possible.
Not caring about his fingers stiffening, Sal continued to draw following the design suggested by the visor.
He desperately wanted to know how the result would turn out.
Rushing caused a few mistakes, but the visor didn't proceed to the next step until he corrected them.
Like a strict teacher watching over his shoulder.
'It's annoying, but definitely effective.'
Not even 20 minutes later, Sal held his breath waiting for the visor to process the completed result.
Usually, loading wouldn't take time, but this case seemed to have some issue.
Sal picked up the pen then put it down again, tapping his finger on the table.
Excitement and anxiety grew simultaneously.
[Blueprint Optimization Complete]
As the screen appeared before his eyes, Sal breathed out roughly.
But the result was completely unexpected.
[Design Type: Ability Transplant Blueprint]
[Skill Name: Illusion | Rank: VI]
[Skill Classification: Mental Type, Energy Manipulation]
[Skill Proficiency: 0%]
[Skill Efficiency: 100%]
[Mental Compatibility: 100%]
[Physiological Compatibility: 100%]
[Evolution Potential: Yes]
[Potential Limit: XV]
[Natural Synergy: Manifestation | Interface Creation | Concept | Reasoning]
Sal noted the most important details.
His compatibility scores had all reached perfect marks, making it completely risk-free to use this ability in his current state.
Although the ability was downgraded by four stages to balance it, it was still a very high rank.
Another part Sal found particularly interesting was that the Natural Synergy had changed.
'Is it perhaps because my original abilities are Replication and Creation types?'
Since Mythos Crafter and Skill Master were different categories, maybe the abilities that matched better changed accordingly.
Interface Creation was relatively easy to understand.
Combined with illusion, he could float his status window in front of his eyes.
Reasoning was something he had already used with the monocle, and it seemed like it could tremendously boost illusion processing speed.
Seeing Concept, Chatfield came to mind.
That ability to create exactly the weapon or equipment he was looking at.
It felt like stepping one step away from Illusion but simultaneously closer to Mythos Crafter.
Sal guessed Manifestation would be related to making illusions actually exist like real objects for a certain time.
"Haha..."
He laughed proudly scanning these various items again.
Now if he just kept the blueprint safe, he could try replicating it as a lower-tier ability later.
[Illusion (Rank: 6) Blueprint has been saved.]
Looking at that text with unbelieving eyes, Sal finally realized properly how powerful his visor was.
Deep in thought, he didn't notice someone sitting down at his table.
Only when she spoke did Sal barely gather his dazed mind.
"We need to talk."
The Mean Healer looked at Sal with a complicated expression.