I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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The first week after the semester began was mostly conducted in an orientation format.

They briefly introduced the course outlines and then concluded it in a casual manner.

However, the reason the majority of the classes ended this way was not because the professor wanted to have fun.

Following the first week of the semester, there was the class selection competition.

Understanding how important the “class selection competition” is to the cadets, they made sure to prepare thoroughly.

I also took that into consideration and finished my class in just 40 minutes.

“Wow, this cohort is impressive.”

Thus, the class evaluation competition commenced.

I took a seat in the special designated area for professors and watched the duels at this year’s entrance ceremony.

As expected, the skills were outstanding, just like the Empire’s best talents.

“But still·····”

However, the most entertaining performances came from the members of our cohort.

Later on, they would be known as the “Golden Generation,” growing into key figures leading the Empire, the first batch of students from the Academy.

It was no surprise that everyone had significantly improved.

They had rigorously honed their skills over the winter break.

And among them, the most remarkable cadet was Enya.

She had completed a “swordsmanship technique” that was once despised as “a fictional sword style that could only be used in cartoons,” in her unique style.

-Swash!

“Ugh!”

-Wha-what?!

-How did that sword energy·····?

The audience of cadets began to buzz as they watched Enya’s sword style.

The reason many cadets were flustered was that Enya’s swordsmanship was entirely different from what they had known.

Previously, Enya’s swordsmanship involved quickly cutting once she got close to the opponent, but now she attacked using the sword energy generated by her movements.

“I found you, Enya.”

However, her techniques were not suitable for “killing blows” that released sword energy to slay enemies.

Most of her mana capacity was focused in her brain, resulting in significantly lower destructive power compared to a swordsman whose mana was concentrated in one arm.

Thus, her devised method was a harmony of “sorcery and swordsmanship.”

Having talent in both swordsmanship and sorcery, she created an independent sorcery technique called “marking” to ensure her sword energy would only extend to marked opponents.

“Wait, the sword energy····! How?!”

As a result, the sword energy she emitted was “auto-tracking.”

During the drawing process, a sorcery inscribed on the inside of the sheathe infused into the sword energy, tracking only the marked opponents.

It suited Enya’s detailed and graceful swordsmanship perfectly.

“D-damn······.”

As such, Enya’s opponent was unable to counter at all and lost.

The marking also amplified the destructive power of her sword energy, allowing it to pierce through mana shields and inflict fatal wounds.

“Enya wins!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

Thus, Enya soared in triumph.

Having entered the Academy ranked third, she had plummeted to seventeenth that winter, but now she was reclaiming her rightful place.

Perhaps this time she might even contend for the top spots.

“Lucas wins!”

Of course, Lucas was the same.

Perhaps frustrated by his previous crushing defeat against me, he appeared to have significantly improved.

He jokingly mentioned that if he hadn’t become a professor, he would want to fight me again to regain his honor, to which I told him not to be cocky.

Of course, I was joking.

This was to say that Lucas and I had become close enough to exchange such banter.

Getting close made it fun to tease him a bit for his somewhat clumsy side.

He also pretended to follow me.

Anyway, I was getting along well with Lucas.

Perhaps it was because I had Adelra, Lucas’s mother, as a sponsor in my territory.

Now, our relationship was more of sipping tea and chatting together than just a sponsor.

“Come to think of it, oddly enough, I’ve had many occasions to hang out with Adelra.”

Adelra, the head of the Elmar Family.

In fact, during previous volumes, there weren’t many opportunities to be involved with her.

After all, my main stage of activities was the Academy, and she was the Empress of the East, rarely involved with the Academy.

However, once I acquired territory and she became my sponsor, our connection began.

As a result, whenever she visited me, we would chat over tea about international affairs or theories of governance.

And surprisingly, we matched quite well in terms of conversational codes and humor.

It felt comfortable, in a way.

It truly was a strange connection.

“Anyway···· I should start power-up training soon.”

Anyway, regardless, seeing the kids’ growth makes my own blood boil.

If I’m currently at a level slightly above a seasoned sword master, then Enya is at the cusp of becoming a sword master.

Moreover, Lucas, who is also making strides as a sorcerer, seems to have reached the “Ignis” rank.

He attained the low-level Ignis rank, the highest tier within the ranks designated by the Magic Society: Terra – Aquinas – Ventus – Ignis.

Excluding the “Eternal” rank granted only to Great Mages, he could be considered at the top tier as a sorcerer.

“As for Isabella···· it’s hardly worth mentioning.”

Isabella.

She was mentioned alongside me as one of the Academy’s strongest cadets.

However, now the trend is that she’s being regarded a notch lower than me.

It’s simply because the performance I showed was remarkably shocking, and Isabella never exerted 100% of her power.

But if she ever did unleash her full strength, what would happen?

Of course, she wouldn’t waste the accumulated negativity she has gathered while aiming for the title of head of the Graham family, but if we presume she poured 100% of her effort into it…

“·····I would lose.”

The result would be a loss.

If she poured all the accumulated power that turned her life into a tragedy at once, it would obviously be unbearable.

“It’s not the time to be leisurely watching.”

Currently, I am one of the undisputed strongmen of the continent.

But being satisfied with this is unthinkable; the power of the demons is too formidable.

Beyond being a strongman of the continent, I must become the strongest, someone no one can approach.

If I don’t strengthen myself to that extent, the Lord of Hell will be unstoppable.

“That’s enough for today.”

With that, I rose from the arena and turned my back.

I exited the Empire Academy and made my way to the central exchange.

I stepped into the portal heading to my territory and entered the lord’s office.

Eve was typing away at the typewriter.

“Oh, you’re here early.”

As soon as she saw me, she paused and smiled.

Next to her was a bag of snacks.

It seemed she was working while munching on snacks; lately, she had been behaving more like a real person, eating meals and snacking.

“Is everything going well?”

Anyway, I approached Eve and looked at the work she was doing.

A program was running on the CRT monitor.

It was a program converting sorcery into binary data.

“As you can see, it’s cruising smoothly.”

Eve leaned back confidently in her chair.

I pulled a chair from nearby and sat down in front of the monitor, doing a quick scan of her work.

As expected, she was writing the code without a single bug, just like an AI beauty secretary.

“Good job. Just like you, Eve.”

I praised her as I always did, patting her head.

However, she subtly pushed my hand away and said with a slightly pouty expression.

“You’re not just going to pass off the fact that I’m developing this complex programming with just a head pat, right?”

“Uh…?”

“Give me a hug. I’m programmed to activate my reward circuit when I feel your warmth and scent, so I need at least that to feel really good.”

Eve stated that for her reward circuit to kick in, a hug was necessary.

I scratched the back of my head and told her to stand up.

In accordance with her wishes, I hugged her tightly, leaving barely any space between us.

She too held me and breathed softly.

Eve’s body warmth, her breathing, the faint fragrance.

All of this made her feel almost real.

Strangely, it felt like she was becoming more detailed and human-like as time went on.

“Done···· fully charged♥”

At that moment, Eve broke free from my embrace, claiming she was now fully charged.

Then with a smile, she remarked that with this level of charge, she could work through three nights.

She went on to jokingly say that if I were to provide an even more thrilling reward, her work efficiency might double.

“Hehe… What more could there be than this reward?”

“Well… I’m not sure? Why not let your imagination flow? Think of what actions are more akin to charging.”

Strangely, Eve was becoming increasingly mischievous.

But since there was much work to do, I changed the subject.

I asked about the progress of the “AC generator” that was being developed alongside “sorcery ↔ binary data conversion.”

“Well… I’d say it’s progressing well… but it’s a little vague. The frequency range isn’t consistent.”

She spoke about the development of the AC generator with a slightly dissatisfied look.

I told her not to worry and urged Eve to finish her programming.

After all, I could take over whatever task she didn’t complete.

“Then please take care of it.”

“Okay. You too, take care.”

Thus, we both began to focus on our tasks.

Eve was working on the “sorcery ↔ binary data conversion” programming.

I was stabilizing the AC generator.

“Hmm····.”

I immersed myself in stabilizing the AC generator for a while.

Finally, I succeeded in reducing the error rate.

Previously, with an approximate error rate of 13%, a steady frequency could not be formed; I had now reduced it to 5%.

“Alright···· just a few more days, and it should be fine.”

Having achieved quite satisfactory results, I smiled.

In fact, the task I was currently working on was to refine “light.”

“Well, to be more precise····.”

However, since “light” has a limited range, it would be more precise to call it “electromagnetic waves.”

Typically, when people say “light,” they mean “visible light” that the human eye can see.

“But I····.”

I intend to handle light that is invisible to the eye.

In other words, the electromagnetic waves commonly referred to as “radio waves,” meaning I want to process all ranges of electromagnetic waves used for communication to enable communication.

Because for precise missile strikes and stable flights, electromagnetic waves are necessary.

“Moreover····.”

Furthermore, to launch satellites and utilize GPS, one must first conquer all electromagnetic waves beforehand.

After all, the principle behind how artificial satellites operate is just that ground stations send specific frequencies to the satellites, which amplify them and then transmit them back to the ground.

GPS operates on a similar principle, determining location by triangulating x, y, and z values from three satellites.

“Additionally·····.”

Also, my reason for conquering electromagnetic waves is to promote “enhancement of combat specs.”

Because every mental attack in this world involves delivering mana on brainwaves to the target; thus, if I develop a device to detect and block those specific brainwaves, I would be immune to all mental attacks.

In other words, the moment this device is developed, I would surpass even the Lord of Hell.

Because among the Lords of Hell, the one known as the “Embodiment of Nightmares” specializes in mental curse sorcery.

“Sigh··· should I start again?”

Anyway, for these various reasons, I am refining electromagnetic waves.

And someday when my technical ability in handling electromagnetic waves reaches a certain trajectory, I will become immune to all occult sorceries.

Whether they be nightmares, illusions, fears, or any kind of electromagnetic wave carrying negative energy, it will be futile.

Simply put, I could just turn off the TV.