I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

---

Boom!

A massive shockwave spread out.

The enormous magic surged from Lilith’s body and expanded like a wave.

With her eyes dyed red in anger, she shouted at everyone.

【You have crossed the final line! My entire army will trample your humanity!】

Kugugugung…

The ground trembled.

Grains of sand and dust particles that lay on the floor rose up in unison.

They were drawn up by the force Lilith unleashed.

【Behold! The price of the sins you have committed!】

Once again, a massive amount of magic was released from Lilith’s body.

It was an incomparably overwhelming amount compared to before.

However, her magic was not that threatening.

It was merely released to show a certain image.

This time, her magic formed a flat screen displaying the sight of the great northern army advancing.

【You can never stop this disaster! The strongest weapon of humanity, the Sword Master, is nothing more than a Death Knight!】

Death Knight.

The Imperial Archives detailed just how formidable its existence was.

In the year 215 of the Empire, when the then-head of the Graham family hesitated to sacrifice himself to Lilith, the first batch of Death Knights and their legion invaded the north.

As a result, the Graham family and the Empire remembered that incident all too well.

Five noble houses were annihilated.

They suffered devastating damage unlike any kingdom had ever encountered.

【This time it won’t end with just a warning! I will devour every living being, from the north to the southernmost part!】

Yet, in the video Lilith showed, around 12 Death Knights were moving.

In effect, it was as if the 12 Sword Masters at the peak were each leading a legion descending south.

“Wow, it’s so loud.”

However, Edgar did not yield to Lilith’s threats.

No, more than yielding, he was picking his ears and looking at her with annoyance.

Lilith’s expression turned to one of fluster.

“Do you know that you keep repeating the same pattern? Talking about the strength of your army and how we can’t stop it. It’s just pointless threats. Want to guess why you keep saying that?”

【…】

“Because you want us to stop. You’re no different from a great pig leader of a certain peninsula. You’re trying to bully us with your strongest card to manipulate the Graham family as you wish. But now that you’re about to use your last card, you’re scared, right? Once your army is wiped out, you’ll have nothing left.”

【…How arrogant. I am trying to show mercy.】

“Spare me your mercy. We don’t need that anymore. We came to completely end you.”

With those words, Edgar pressed a bracelet on his wrist.

Suddenly, the air ripped apart, and dozens of suit parts attached to Edgar, completing his suit.

Lilith’s expression froze.

【…If you kill me, no one will be able to control my army. Humanity will perish.】

“That’s your problem. You don’t need to worry about us.”

As Edgar said this, he shot a glance at Elena.

At the same time Elena began casting, a portal was summoned near Adrian.

Adrian, who was bound in Lilith’s embrace, was immediately pulled into the portal, disappearing.

【…Ah!】

“Finally, we can cut this long-standing grudge. Let’s wrap it up neatly without dragging it out.”

A beam from the Crucible burst forth from Edgar’s hand.

***

【…Guhk!】

The Crucible pierced Lilith’s heart.

Despite being one of the Lords of Hell with absolute power, she couldn’t resist effectively as she was sealed by the Grand Duke Graham, pouring all of her strength into the demonic transformation of monsters.

“That’s one hunt down.”

Furthermore, the people Edgar brought were among the strongest in the Empire.

Great Mage Elena, Sword Masters Ilreya and Gracia.

And several legion commanders were brought to take on Lilith.

In that moment, Lilith spewed blood, speaking to Edgar.

【In the end, it will conclude with my victory. After my army annihilates all of humanity, you will once again try to turn back time and return to the past… Just know that I will return to the past and savor Graham’s flesh and despair once again…】

“Well, I think it will just end as a large-scale farming time. We have prepared thoroughly.”

With that, Edgar drew the Crucible.

Lilith’s body crumbled and fell to the ground.

The carapace-like demon skin that covered her body vanished, and her form slowly began to turn to dust, dispersing into the air.

Edgar looked at the Crucible and muttered.

“I gathered quite a bit of hell energy, yet it was all consumed with just one stab… Other Dukes won’t be so easy.”

Edgar’s Crucible contributed to dealing a fatal blow to Lilith.

However, this might not be enough for the other Dukes of Hell.

To kill a Duke far stronger than her, much more hell energy would be needed.

“Death Knight.”

But here lay a massive bundle of hell energy.

The Death Knights, most empowered by Lilith’s essence, were moving south into the Empire’s land.

Moreover, there were as many as 12 of them, and if he hunted them all, a significant amount of hell energy could be replenished.

Edgar turned to everyone and said.

“Let’s go farming.”

***

“Are you insane…?”

The northern defense line.

The crowd began to sigh in despair.

Through the large screen in front of them, the sight of a massive monster legion descending was captured.

“Are we really supposed to stop that?”

“Can we hold out?”

“It’s impossible…”

The crowd’s reactions were skeptical.

They had come here with hopes of making big money, but if things went wrong, they might lose their lives instead of earning any.

Especially since it was obvious there were incredibly powerful monsters mixed into that legion.

There was no way they would throw their lives away for a few coins.

[-Whizz!]

But at that moment.

The screen switched to another scene.

The Gryphon Rider unit of the Isilian Kingdom.

Fully armed with machine guns and bazookas, they descended into the midst of the massive monster legion.

[Let’s make some money!]

And even facing the colossal monster army, they burst into boisterous laughter.

Thanks to Edgar’s help, they had evolved into ‘Mechanic Gryphon Riders’, and they feared nothing anymore.

[Fire away!]
[Yes!]

At that moment, the leader of the Gryphon Riders, Prince ‘Kesilop’, issued the fire order.

All the Gryphon Riders, wearing sunglasses, gripped their machine guns with both hands and began firing down at the ground.

A tremendous display of fireworks erupted from above.

-!

-KwaEEEKKKK!

The ‘Elementally Enhanced Mana Machine Guns’ produced in collaboration between Edgar Fix and the Dwarven Workshop.

Currently, the ‘Elementally Enhanced Mana Machine Guns’ being fired by the Mechanic Gryphon Riders had ‘Reinforcement’ and ‘Elemental Transformation’ spells inscribed on each bullet.

In short, bullets carrying devastating elemental attributes were reinforced through the ‘Reinforcement’ spell, and dozens of rounds were fired each second.

-KuaAAAAAA!

-Krrrrrr!

So ordinary monsters could not withstand their bullets.

An outright massacre was commencing.

[Preparing to drop white phosphorus shells!]

However, there were monsters that couldn’t be pierced by their bullets.

Those were the mid-tier monsters that had fully transformed into demons.

These monsters inherently possessed robust armor, and without a skilled swordsman’s blade, their tough skins could not be pierced.

Thus, they used white phosphorus, known as ‘Demon’s Rain’, to melt through their skin.

[Drop!]

Whoosh!

Thus began a massive flame drop from the skies.

Although it looked beautiful on the surface, the white phosphorus, an ‘incredible weapon of mass destruction’, penetrated right into the sea of monsters.

-SCHUUUUUU!

-KwueEEEEEE!

As a result, the large screen began broadcasting the horrific transformation of the ground into hell.

The white phosphorus melted through skin, burrowing into bones, and the chemical reactions emitted a smoky haze, with the toxic fumes causing decay and damaging internal organs, leading slowly to death.

-Krrrrr! Krrr!

-KuEEEEK! KuEEEK!

Yet the life force of the demonically transformed monsters was resilient.

They could regenerate their bodies quickly, using pain as fuel to become angrier and rampage wildly.

But even so, it was unavoidable that as they inhaled the thick smoke emitted by the white phosphorus, their skin would rot or their eyes would melt away, bringing them quickly to a halt.

The crowd gathered in the plaza stared blankly at this horrifying scene, which couldn’t be dealt with even by the monsters’ vitality, realizing Edgar’s fearsome power.

“I can’t believe they developed such a crazy weapon…”
“…At least it’s Edgar Fix. If a power-hungry warmonger developed that weapon, countless humans would have to suffer through that hell.”
“Indeed, Lord Edgar Fix has made a covenant not to use any weapons deployed here against humanity… What a relief.”

Just the sight of the white phosphorus’s power was enough to instill fear.

However, Edgar had shackled himself by declaring that he would not use any of the weapons in the current defense line against humans.

He declared that he would only use it against ‘demons’ and ‘humans following demons’.

“Hahaha! Truly, when it’s in the hands of Edgar Fix, it surely transforms. See how strong our Gryphon Riders have become.”

Meanwhile, the King of the Isilian Kingdom, observing all this, was smiling broadly.

The previous Gryphon Riders could only shoot arrows or cast long-range spells while airborne, but after being reborn as ‘Mechanic Gryphon Riders’ through Edgar’s touch, their combat capabilities skyrocketed beyond compare.

[Bang! KABOOM! Bang!]

Thus, the King of the Isilian Kingdom gazed proudly at the screen.

White phosphorus, machine guns, bazookas, grenades, and other weapons of mass destruction imbued with magic technology poured down onto the ground.

Of course, monsters capable of anti-air attacks attempted to retaliate, but thanks to the ‘Automatic Mana Shield’ devices Edgar had gifted, the Mechanic Gryphon Rider unit had formidable defensive power.

[Looks like I’m in for a windfall!]

Thus, behind the Mechanic Gryphon Rider unit, the ‘Settlement Crystal’ displayed an astonishing amount.

They had only participated in 10 minutes of combat, yet their settlement amount read ‘600 million Orden’.

“I, I need to join in!”

Consequently, a few mercenaries, motivated by the money, hurriedly began to put on their protective gear.

After donning the ‘Basic Lightweight Armor’ provided by Edgar, they rushed into battle.

“…Should I wait a bit longer?”

However, the cautious mercenaries chose to observe the situation further.

They thought it was not too late to act after watching how the mercenaries who jumped into the battle fared.

[Hahaha! It’s so easy to make money!]

Before long, their caution transformed into impatience.

As the leading mercenaries displayed commendable prowess and began raking in the money, anxiety began to creep in.

“Even basic gear has a different quality. Is this really the equipment from Lord Fix?”
And the success of the mercenaries ahead was greatly influenced by the ‘gear factor’.

The ‘Basic Equipment’ that Edgar mass-produced was qualitatively far superior to the armor and weapons they had previously used.

[Ugh! Damn it! I was too greedy!]

However, in their greed for money, some mercenaries began to get surrounded by monsters.

Blinded by the amount being settled, they made the fundamental mistake of not securing an escape route.

[Aaaaaaaah!]

Thus, a mercenary surrounded by monsters met a terrible end.

At least until the next situation unfolded, that is the appearance they portrayed.

-Whoosh!

“…Huh?”

A mercenary who had just been in the midst of the monster horde suddenly returned to the main camp in the blink of an eye.

He looked around with a bewildered expression.

He clearly felt he’d been pinned in the gut by the enormous horn of a Codivist, yet how could he be here?

“It’s because the automatic return was set.”

The reason was explained by a woman who had slipped through the crowd.

Eve.

Armed in combat attire, she stood next to the ‘automatically returned’ mercenary and began to explain the principle.

“Every ‘Basic Defense’ provided by Lord Fix has a built-in ‘Automatic Return’ function. If it sustains critical damage, a spell is inscribed that enables return to this place.”

“…”

“So, you’re unlikely to die in battle. Although you have to return 10% of your settlement amount each time, isn’t that better than losing your life?”

“…”

Everyone was left speechless.

To think they’d be given a one coin for even if they faced lethal danger.

There had never been a system or equipment that took care of soldiers like this before.

The morale of the crowd began to surge.

“Ah! Even if I die, I’d take it a hundred times more!”
“Wait, this isn’t hardcore mode!?”
“Let’s go earn some money!!!!!”

With loud cheer, numerous mercenaries and soldiers began to gather Edgar’s basic equipment.

Gaining confidence that they could earn money without much risk, they overcame their fears and dove into the battlefield.

‘Everything is going according to brother’s plan.’

And Eve smiled as she witnessed the scene Edgar had intended unfold perfectly.

Previously, in hundreds of iterations, Edgar had never once managed to move humanity, but now, understanding the nature and desires of people, he could manipulate them freely, and she felt his growth.

‘But we must not be careless.’

However, at this point, it was too early to celebrate.

There were still many powerful monsters left in Lilith’s massive army.

In reality, the 12 Death Knights, who could be said to be the commanders of this monster wave, had yet to even move.

‘But there’s no need to be scared.’

Yet that didn’t mean they’d be intimidated.

Both Edgar and she had prepared thoroughly for this ‘Northern Annihilation Operation’.

Eve recalled every step she and Edgar had prepared and activated a hologram.

And she attempted to communicate with the ‘World Tree’.

“Get ready.”