Scroll Skills & Quid Pro Quos

(I have retconned the Sage's skill scroll into Lucas's initial list of skills and abilities in Chapter 3.)
Flora Lambert was a statuesque woman who looked amazing in her tight skirt and matching jacket. She liked to wear large, gaudy, pieces of gold jewelry which drew attention to her plunging neckline. "Welcome, to the Tenjoe Academy family." The headmistress said. Standing behind to the woman and to her right was her ever present assistant with the pageboy haircut. Taylor was the quintessential non-binary. At first glance I genuinely could not tell whether Mrs. Lambert's ever present attendant was a man or a woman. "I like to think of this school as my home. So it is that I expect all of you to treat this place and its mission with the utmost respect. The future of our country is in your hands. For it is your job to mold and guide the future leaders at this critical junction in their life journey.
"Some of you are old hands, but for most of you, this will be your first job out of college. Your first real responsibility..."

The woman spoke at length for some time. I peeled off a sliver of my attention to listen, but trust my when I tell you that the headmistress said a lot of nothing. I opened The System access and started scrolling through the various options in the main menu. When I realized that I could connect to everyone's cellphone as easily as I had connected to my own. I tried my best not to smirk at this new revelation and quickly closed out that part of the menu and scrolled to see what other possibilities this power contained.

I clicked on the <House> option and found I could see and edit the house on Earth like it were a sims game. I unpacked my boxes as easily as a click and drop motion with a third, invisible hand that interfaced with the screens that floated somewhere between my eyes and my brain. I goofed around with rearranging the rooms a bit, worked on a mockup for a floor plan that would have a section for guest suites, resident apartments, and my private wing with exclusive access to the special elevator.

I found clicked on the <skill scroll> option and found what seemed like an endless list of subjects from <archery> to <zero-point engineering> If there had not been a search bar, I would have never been able to find anything. I clicked on <swordsmanship> and found myself in what I can only describe as a very vivid daydream or a grainy old educational video.
I could feel my hands and feet, even if I were not in control of them. I "saw" in my mind's eye the practice grounds of the hunting lodge as I "heard" a nasally voice giving me narration to what was going on. <"The art of the sword is the art of control. Control yourself, learn to make the sword and extension of yourself, and your sword skills shall be unrivaled."> what I can only describe as archival memories from The Old Man's many adventures. It was like a montage with the occasional voice over. <"Keep your guard up." "Flashy moves make you ****, but flair the enemy's temper." "An angry opponent is an opponent who makes mistakes."> The narrator would say as I felt the strain of phantom muscles and the ghost of a sting from the memories of a thousand stabs and cuts. My real body felt a slight tingle as memories integrated themselves into my muscles. I had to apply a not inconsiderable amount of my attention to keeping a neutral face while I drank in the skills and experience of countless lifetimes of practice and study in things as different from one another as <ballroom dancing> and <brain surgery>.

We were just finishing up the tour of the main buildings and the location of important places like the teacher's lounge, the copy machine, and the department offices. I was just finishing the first level of <electrical engineering> when a warning flashed in my HUD <ALERT: Stealth approach detected> moments before I felt a cold, bony hand reached for my shoulder. I reached up and grabbed the hand before turning to see The headmistress's assistant, cold, emotionless eyes studying me. "Dr. Kenji." said Taylor. "Headmistress Lambert would like to speak to you in her office."

When we arrived, Flora Lambert was sitting on one of the couches around and ornate coffee table in the middle of her elaborate office. "Have a seat." The headmistress commanded. "How do you take your coffee?" asked my boss.
"Heavy cream, no sugar." I said.
"Taylor. Coffee." said Flora.
"At once, Headmistress." said Taylor before leaving the two of us alone.

"How are you finding things? Acclimating well?" my boss asked.
"Fine, Ma'am. Everything is good. I think that the climate here agrees with me." I answered.
"I am happy to hear it. I want all of my faculty performing at their best." Flora leaned in and caressed my arm, I could feel the woman groping my muscles. "Such fine material, and with requisite tailoring. Is it custom?"
"Consignment." I said. Which might have been stretching the truth a bit, but was not exactly a lie. "What did you want to see me about?"
"I like a man who can be direct." said Flora. The woman played with her wedding rings as she leaned back and smiled at me. "You won the raffle for the Van Rijn estate, Correct?"
"Yes. It was a huge lucky break. The house is amazing and very convenient for commuting by bike."
"Such a large place for one person. Did you intend to live there alone?" asked my boss. "Or is there perhaps a chance that you would be looking for tenants?"

"I was considering the possibilities." I said, thinking about how I had been using The System to experiment with the house's space folding features to see how to make whole hallways that existed entirely in their own pocket dimensions. "As you say. It is a lot of space for one person."

"Perhaps you recall a tragic **** last year, the home invasion gone wrong that caused the **** of Raymond Verner?"
I did not know anything about it, but using The System, it was no trouble finding the gory details on the city's police servers. and I do mean gory.
The papers only reported that the man had been killed in a home invasion. What they did not report, probably because Headmistress Lambert made a call to her husband, police commissioner Lambert to make sure that the details of how he was beaten with bats until every bone in his body was broken before they started taking off his body parts. "Tragic." I said.

"Verner left behind a family. His wife, Alana is a teacher in our English department. Their daughter Chloe and son Tripp are starting their first year here. I have known them for a long time and they are finding it difficult to stay in their house. Alana is looking for a place to rent while she sells her home.
"As you are well aware, the real estate prices around here are prohibitively expensive for the faculty and on campus housing has a long wait list. I would consider it a great personal favor if you would show her the rooms for rent, and if she is agreeable, to rent to her at a cost considerate of her situation."
"I see." I said. "I am happy to be a team player. As you say, a school is like a family, we have to look out for one another. Tell Mrs. Verner to give me a call and that I will see her tomorrow afternoon."
"That is wonderful to hear." The headmistress smiled at me and placed her bejeweled hand on my thigh. "I will surely have this in mind when I am reviewing the final class schedule for the semester." The door opened. Taylor handed me my coffee, it was in a paper cup with a lid. "That will be all, You are dismissed." said Flora.