Chapter 120 : Uncertainty
"What? No, I can't."
Sal tried to stop Upgrade, unable to hide the fear seeping into his voice.
But she ignored him, placing a tray of materials in front of him.
Far from teasing Sal like usual, she seed encased in a cold, indifferent shell, completely impervious to his words.
"Professor? Professor..."
Sal hoped this was all an elaborate prank.
When Upgrade finally opened her mouth, she pointed at the materials on the table, then at the visor Sal was wearing on his head.
"First, make the one for the Captain. After that, we're going to one of the beginner dungeons."
"We're going today!?"
Sal shook his head.
"Th-that's true, I did say I'm afraid of monsters. And I know you want to face that fear. But the Captain said the curriculum would help prepare for future battles. The resilience class starts in a few months, too. I think it would be best to learn from the professors at the sa pace as my peers. Then maybe later, we can enter the dungeon together. How about that?"
Upgrade shook her head and tapped the tray.
"No, you're going with today to kill your first monster. If that's not satisfying, you'll kill another one. We'll keep killing until you overco that fear rooted inside you. So stop wasting ti and analyze the materials."
It was a tone Sal had never heard before.
He didn't know how to respond.
His brain was screaming that he had to get out of this situation by any ans necessary.
"Upgrade, please. I'm not ready yet. ntally or physically. We've only slept for a few hours. You need to be in your right mind when facing monsters. Entering a dungeon now is reckless. I know you want to help , Professor. I really appreciate that... But is this the best way? We're both Support classes. Sothing like this needs a much more balanced team."
Sal rambled on, then raised a finger.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
"What if we encounter an anomaly in the dungeon? You saw it clearly with your own eyes, Professor. How those Commander-level variants suddenly popped out. What are you going to do if we run into things like that?"
Upgrade tilted her head to one side and looked straight at Sal.
Sal felt uncomfortable with her unfamiliar attitude, suffocating under the tension.
Upgrade finally spoke.
It was a low, restrained tone.
"I won't threaten you with consequences. Because that's not right. If you really want as your ntor and want to continue together, you have to go with today. That's all."
There was no smile, no reassuring words.
Only an indifference cold enough to chill him to the bone.
Sal's excuses didn't work at all, and Upgrade was adamant.
In a last-ditch effort to stall for ti, Sal looked at the gun.
"Ah, I haven't made the ammo case yet. I can't use the revolver properly without it, so I should make that first."
'I need to stall until Chatfield gets back.'
Sal was surprised at himself for hoping Chatfield would persuade Upgrade on his behalf.
It felt like being in a bizarre reality where a friend had turned into a villain overnight.
"Show the ammo case blueprint. Let's make it together now."
Upgrade went to the other side of the table and rummaged through the pile of blueprints.
Finding what she wanted, she pulled it aside and roughly operated her chanical arm.
Sal was anxious, but the sight of her moving the gauntleted suit as if consud by anger was enough to intimidate him.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand why she was acting this way.
Upgrade's gaze aid straight at him, and she asked with her arm raised in a combat stance.
"Is the first tray inspection done?"
Sal bit his lip and looked down at the tray of materials.
His visor analyzed each one with dazzling speed.
He regretted ever bragging about how fast the analysis speed was.
'I'm running out of excuses to hold Upgrade back.'
Finally, when the analysis of the thirty materials in the first tray was finished, Sal reluctantly pushed it forward to Upgrade.
"Are you angry?"
Upgrade looked back and forth between the tray and Sal before speaking.
"Did you pick out the ones most suitable for converting into bullets? Mark them with this pen. I'll work with those."
She pushed the tray back toward him with a marker stuck between the rows.
Sal noticed she had completely dodged his question.
As Sal scanned the list of materials and imagined bullets with his Mythos Crafter ability, the visor imdiately reacted, showing the optimal candidates among the materials.
He marked them one by one as if moving automatically.
Then, when he reached the second to last material on the first tray, Upgrade finally spoke.
"Yes, I am angry. Not at you, but angry at the situation where we ended up proving the Captain right. The fact that you, ranked 3rd among all freshn, are this terrified of monsters ans there is definitely a flaw in our curriculum. You are soone who will beco a Savior. Soone who will stand at the pinnacle of Heroes. Yet, to have made you suffer from such inferiority complex... That's why I'm angry at myself. We need to raise you all into real heroes. And if taking you to a dungeon and breaking your ntal barrier is what it takes, I'll do anything. I'll show you personally how strong you are. You'll see clearly how powerful the equipnt you made is, and how valuable the work you're doing right now is."
Upgrade hesitated for a mont, then looked straight at Sal.
"By tomorrow, you'll either thank or never speak to again, one of the two. But either way, you will conquer your fear."
Sal nodded with a stiff expression.
There seed to be no way out of this situation without ruining his relationship with Upgrade.
Her will was firm, and it was clear he would be fighting a monster before the day was over.
Pushing the marked material tray toward Upgrade, Sal feared that the fragnts might pop out of the foam mold because his hands were shaking.
Turning to the second tray, he spotted the monocle on the table.
If he just wore that, he felt his mind would calm down and today would pass without any problems.
Just before his hand touched it, Upgrade's voice cut through the room.
"Don't even think about it."
Sal's hand froze in mid-air.
Her voice carried a firmness that allowed no rebuttal.
He wanted to protest desperately, but the current Upgrade wouldn't yield an inch.
Shaking her head and pointing to the tray, Upgrade said.
"Just the act of killing a monster isn't enough, Sal. You have to face your emotions head-on and control them. But right now, you're just being dragged around by your emotions. You can't live like that. This war won't end easily, and you can't hide your true feelings behind a mask forever. To truly overco fear, you have to face it yourself."
Sal withdrew his hand from the monocle and began examining the materials in the tray again.
He skimd over the figures and descriptions, leaving all judgnt to his ability.
After repeating the process of marking the materials suggested by the Mythos Crafter ability, he handed it to Upgrade.
Sal wanted to take this situation positively.
He wanted to think of it as Upgrade's warm consideration to help him.
But every ti he did, his mind ruthlessly trampled on such thoughts, reminding him only of the fact that he was going to die soon.
Dungeon.
She was taking Sal to a dungeon to fight monsters born from the most terrible nightmares.
Vampires dropping from the ceiling to claw at his eyes.
Prowlers swarming from the darkness to pounce on him.
Voiders suddenly appearing behind him to slice him in two.
And as a bonus, a few Hulkers might co out to tear Sal to shreds.
Whatever variant the monster was, suffering was certain.
The rhythmic sound echoing from Upgrade's chanical arm used to comfort Sal, but now it sounded like the roar announcing his death sentence.
Sal looked down at the completed tray in front of him and froze.
Caught up in distracting thoughts, he had unconsciously finished the work.
When Upgrade gestured for him to push it over, the fact that reality was right in front of him shook his chest and rose up.
Realizing this was really happening made his stomach churn.
When Sal looked at Upgrade, there was clear worry in her eyes, but her lips were tightly sealed.
She wasn't enjoying this situation, but her resolve was unwavering.
In any other situation, Sal might have admired that determination.
"Why is the atmosphere so grim?"
Chatfield strolled into the room and casually tossed his coat towards the sofa.
It missed, but he didn't seem to care at all.
When Upgrade turned her head to answer, Sal lunged as if it were his last chance to change his fate.
He pinned all his hopes on the Hunter Bureau star persuading Upgrade.
"Upgrade is trying to take to a dungeon to fight monsters."
Sal wanted to say more, but he froze at the cool glance Upgrade sent him.
Chatfield raised an eyebrow, frowned at Upgrade, and asked.
"Which dungeon did you have in mind? It's Sunday today, so most places will be fully booked."
Sal's heart sank.
Because his attitude was as casual as choosing a breakfast nu.
There was no surprise, no anger, not even a hint of opposition.
Chatfield just stood there blankly, wondering what kind of dungeon Upgrade had in mind to make such a crazy suggestion.
Upgrade finished one more bullet, shrugged, and looked at Chatfield.
"I was thinking of a Scavenger Run or a mine dungeon. Actually, it doesn't matter where. As long as there are monsters. Sal is gripped by fear right now, and it will only get worse as ti goes on. Before he nurtures it into a monster in his head until the end of the sester, ending it now is the only kindness I can give."
Chatfield frowned and turned his head toward Sal.
"Extre fear of monsters?"
Surprisingly, there was no hint of judgnt or bla in his voice.
It was calm, as if Sal had simply confessed to having a fever, rely describing an unfortunate situation.
When Sal managed to nod, Chatfield clicked his tongue twice and turned back to Upgrade.
"Alright, I'll go too. I was bored to death being stuck in eting rooms and workshops. It's okay if I co along, right? I can probably get a few passes for the North Evergreen subway. It'll be perfect for testing the revolver, too. Long tunnels and plenty of lighting."
Upgrade sent a look towards Sal as if asking for his decision.
Sal wanted to throw both hands up in his mind and scream, 'What the hell is going on?', but he barely suppressed it and nodded to Chatfield, aning he could co along.
After all, if he was with them, his chances of survival would increase.
That would be the most logical conclusion.
But Sal's mind kept drifting towards the thought that there was no hope of him coming out of the dungeon alive.
The thought haunting him now was that he would surely be the one to leave the first stain on Chatfield's flawless record.
As the first student to die right before his eyes.
The clattering sound of bullets hitting each other pulled Sal back to reality.
Upgrade was stacking them one by one on a small plate made of Hellfire Titanium.
Sal sighed, approached, and prepared to overlay the final touches with his ability.
The mont he released the Mythos Crafter ability, it would be ti to leave imdiately.
Chatfield's beaming face was unsettling, but it was nothing compared to the calm expression Upgrade wore.
Sal groaned inwardly and looked down at the bullets disapprovingly.
It was the first ti in his life he had wished so hard for a crafting failure.
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