I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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After finishing my research to some extent, I returned to the Academy.

It was to check the results of this class evaluation.

However, upon checking the results, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Isabella, whom I thought would surely take first place, ended up in second.

‘Isabella got second…?’

I couldn’t believe it.

Even after rubbing my eyes and looking again, it was clear she was in second place.

What kind of unexpected event occurred during the class evaluation?

I could roughly infer who took first place by confirming it.

Enya Cruel.

She had secured the first place in this evaluation.

“…”

So I ran a simulation in my mind.

The duel between Isabella and Enya.

‘…She opened her Clear Eye.’

As a result, I realized that Enya had also opened her Clear Eye.

That made sense since to block Isabella’s mental attacks, she had to see the mana embedded in Isabella’s brain waves.

I immediately went to the video recording room to check the match.

As expected, Enya was facing Isabella with her Clear Eye activated.

“…”

And Enya was unusually desperate.

She seemed to be struggling to win against Isabella no matter what.

After learning about my relationship with Isabella, I wondered if that weighed on her mind.

I had heard from Ilreya that she hadn’t eaten properly for days and stayed in her room, so I could guess how troubled she had been.

[…Are you being really creepy today?]

As I was momentarily lost in thought.

Isabella in the video said that while releasing negativity.

It was more than she usually released.

All that negativity spread toward Enya.

[-Paabaa! Paat!]

Yet, Enya dodged all that negativity with skilled movements and unleashed a blade of wind.

As she neutralized the negativity, she marked Isabella with a sign and unleashed a blade of energy.

The blade was blocked by Isabella’s mana shield.

It didn’t even leave a scratch on Isabella’s mana shield.

If this battle continued, it would likely end in Isabella’s victory.

That’s because Enya moved vigorously to block Isabella’s negativity and launched a blade of wind, while Isabella merely floated in place.

In short, that meant she was losing in terms of stamina.

‘…But.’

Isabella was reluctant to release more negativity.

Because the power of negativity she used consumed her emotions, as it was a resource she had worked hard to gather.

Since she needed to continuously accumulate negativity to eventually become the head of the Graham family, she was hesitant to use more.

[Stop clinging already!]

Thus, Isabella, who had been expressionless all along, started showing her emotions.

It seemed she was angry for wasting the negativity she had collected with difficulty.

[-Hwaaarrr!]

Hence, Isabella began to face Enya using elemental magic without releasing negativity anymore.

Even without using negativity, Isabella was already at a considerable level as a spellcaster, and she likely concluded that basic spells would be enough.

[Urggh!]

However, Enya completed her swordsmanship and entered the realm of Swordmasters.

She was already nearing completion of a technique that would usually take until the end of the third year, making it tough for anyone relying solely on basic spells to face her.

[…I’ll forfeit.]

Isabella declared a shocking forfeit.

She felt she could no longer waste negativity and chose to halt the battle.

[…In the end, you haven’t accomplished anything but that negativity.]

As Isabella declared her forfeit, Enya left those words and turned away.

However, Isabella had a faint smile on her face as she watched Enya’s back.

Perhaps negativity was accumulating within her.

She must have been hurt by Enya’s words.

‘…This is quite the homework.’

However, I felt heavy-hearted seeing the growing distance between the two.

It felt like I was the catalyst for their distancing.

But even so, there was nothing I could do.

I had repeated countless regressions, but in the end, I had to choose one and let go of the other.

The reason I currently couldn’t choose anyone was for that very reason.

‘…But, I can’t let go either.’

If someone were to see me now, they might say this.

Then make your choice clear and quickly set one person free.

What you’re doing now is rather injuring and deceiving both of them.

But that’s a comment only knowing one side and not the other.

After all, I was in a position where I had to help them grow.

That’s because, throughout countless regressions, they never reached the ‘highest’ level on their own.

To put it simply, Enya couldn’t become a Grand Swordmaster without my help, and Isabella also couldn’t become the head of the Graham family without my assistance.

They could only be completed with my presence guiding them.

‘…There’s no other way.’

Therefore, I had no choice but to maintain this precarious relationship.

I knew very well how immense their growth potential was.

I had to fulfill the duty given to me.

Even if it might end up deceiving and hurting them.

***

-Paat!

Putting aside my complicated thoughts, I leaped.

No, it felt more like flying than just jumping.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying soaring through the sky and navigating dangerous areas.

It was also to test the performance of my suits and secure some new materials.

I had focused so much on modern engineering that I had overlooked using materials from this world.

-Kiiiiiing!

Thus, I loaded my Repulsor Beam and landed right in the middle of a monster’s habitat.

I aimed at a gargoyle that displayed strong aggression towards me and fired the Repulsor Beam.

However, just the Repulsor Beam alone wasn’t enough to completely subdue them.

The gargoyle’s shoulders boasted tremendous durability in specific situations.

-Chrrrrrrrrk··· click… click…

So, I transformed the Repulsor Gauntlet into a Plasma Beam Gauntlet.

Drawing a lightsaber infused with thousands of degrees of heat, I swung it at the ‘stiff’ gargoyle.

-Kagggg! Krkkk!

As my saber collided with its skin, flames began to erupt.

Even with the Plasma Saber, I couldn’t pierce through its skin.

“Kerrrk… Kellrk…”

However, it could do nothing while in a ‘stiff’ state, as all its energy had been redirected to defense.

“I like this.”

I smiled as I observed the skin of the sturdy creature.

If I collected and properly refined the skin evolved solely for defense, I could create materials with this stiff property.

“Let’s see if this can withstand a little more.”

However, to do that, my priority was to kill these creatures to obtain the skin, so I took out a special device and attached it to the gargoyle’s body.

It was a device that would send lethal mana properties through its body, destroying it from the inside out.

Soon, the machine attached to the gargoyle activated, causing it to shudder and twitch.

It was damaging the internal organs from the inside.

-Drip… drip…

Thus, the stiff gargoyle bled profusely and collapsed.

The gargoyle that usually wouldn’t be touched while in a stiff state had perished.

“Kyahhhhhh!”

Then, the surrounding gargoyles became agitated, starting to lose their stiffness one by one.

They charged at me, spewing acidic saliva and swinging their gigantic claws in retaliation.

-Wiiiiiiiiing…

Yet, this moment was what I had been waiting for.

I crossed my arms in an X shape and activated the Laser Cutter.

A red light lit up on the back of my hand as a fierce, high-frequency vibration echoed.

Soon, I unleashed the laser that shot forward—

-Whooooosh! Whoosh!

And swung in a 360-degree rotation, cutting through everyone around me.

I even took a knee to slice through those who had lowered their stance to dodge the laser.

-Dundundun…

As I lifted my stance and looked around, all the gargoyles that had charged at me were down.

Using my newly acquired skill ‘Decompose/Synthesize’, I extracted skins from the potential materials and stored them in my inventory.

The skins of these creatures, boasting tremendous stiffness, would greatly contribute to materials engineering in this world.

“Hmm…”

Having gathered all the necessary materials, I surveyed the forest.

I wanted to check if it was a suitable place for classes.

It needed to be threatening enough to put the students in danger.

“Should I explore a bit more?”

So, I decided to further explore the ‘Ancient Forest’, categorized as a top-tier danger zone.

The gargoyles were merely difficult to kill due to their tremendous defense, but their attack power wasn’t a major threat to the students.

I needed to find a more menacing monster group.

-Craack!

After how long I had ventured deeper into the forest.

I finally found a suitable monster species.

That creature, hiding amongst the thick bushes, was watching me.

It was a Brush Wolf belonging to the ‘Lower-Mid Danger Group’ in the Ancient Forest.

Its entire body was a yellowish-brown that blended with the underbrush, allowing it to remain hidden until prey entered its range, at which point it would strike with swift speed and bite its prey’s neck.

However, even if it tried to ambush, its stats were so good that one couldn’t let their guard down while fighting in the field.

I can assert that any student below A-class could easily face mortal danger if careless.

‘This level of danger is to be expected.’

However, I believed that great growth followed great danger.

Training in a fixed field, like a potted plant, would never lead to dramatic growth.

One must expose themselves to risky situations, even at the cost of some risk.

‘Moreover…’

I had made a promise at OTI.

I would make the students feel a sense of deficiency.

Because realizing how weak they are would fuel their desire for strength.

***

After exploring potential class locations, I took a shower and lay down on my bed.

However, even though it was time to sleep, I struggled to fall asleep.

I felt something was missing in the plan I was developing for the class.

‘What is it… What am I missing?’

I tossed and turned, uncomfortable.

It felt as if I had forgotten something important I shouldn’t forget.

I was pretty sure I had intended to do something, but the thought eluded me, leaving me irritated.

“Ah.”

After pondering intensively, I finally realized.

What I was missing.

‘It won’t actually benefit the top students like Enya or Isabella, right?’

The answer was that my class would be useful for students in the lower 90%, but it wouldn’t strike a chord with top-tier students like Enya or Isabella.

Since with their level of skill, they could easily deal with something like a Brush Wolf.

‘I need a crisis…’

So, I thought I needed an ‘event’ threatening enough to make even Isabella or Enya feel danger.

However, if the event was dangerous enough for them, it would require taking them to a truly deadly place… I couldn’t do that.

No matter how much growth comes with risk, there’s a difference between controllable risks and uncontrollable risks.

“…Wait a moment.”

While I was lost in thought, a light bulb went off in my head.

What if I instigated a threat?

To clarify, I would play the role of a monster.

This way, I could control my strength and create a scenario that made the Grand Duke’s children feel threatened without really killing them.

‘…Wait a minute.’

Once that idea struck, better ideas began flooding in.

Instead of just playing a monster’s role, why not take on the role of a demon?

Administer a precautionary measure.

Just to show how cruel the demons could be.

“Not a bad idea.”

Once I roughly crafted a scenario, I snapped my fingers and stood up.

Sleep was completely gone, replaced by excitement I couldn’t contain.

If I repeated such events, I could prepare for demons while simultaneously nurturing their hatred toward them.

“This is not the time.”

Thus, I burst out of the lord’s room and headed to the Academy.

I entered Elena’s office, the chief professor, and shared my idea.

She, dressed comfortably in pajamas, nodded along with my proposal.

“Oh… That sounds good. I could help with that.”

“Thank you, Master.”

So, I got Elena’s cooperation.

With her abilities, she could control hundreds of ‘mobs’.

“Hmm? What brings you here at this hour?”

And then, I went to find the Emperor.

Dressed in trunk pants and sipping a can of beer, he had a nonchalant expression as he asked about my visit.

I shared my plan with him.

“Wow… That sounds a bit interesting. Maybe I’ll go out for a bit.”

And the Emperor responded positively.

No wonder, the idea I proposed aimed to create a ‘dungeon’ using the Emperor’s inventory control skills.

A hilariously fun prank dungeon to provide a significant lesson to the children of the four great dukes.