I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“I’ll introduce you to my new garden. The entrance fee is your lives.”

As soon as Charlotte’s words ended, a massive tree trunk erupted from behind her.

However, it looked strange and twisted for a tree trunk.

The pillar of a great tree was bending here and there like a fern.

– Thump… Thump…

Moreover, the tree summoned by Charlotte was pulsing like a living creature.

Its color was not a typical brown, but a mix of red reminiscent of blood and a flesh-like hue.

I had never seen such a tree in any contaminated forest.

“Grow strong.”

Yet, Charlotte treated the hideous tree as if soothing a child.

In fact, the tree seemed to respond to Charlotte’s commands as if it possessed a will of its own.

It rooted itself in the ground, absorbing the ‘blood’ seeping into the earth.

– Squee… Squee… Squeee…

Thus, the tree began to grow larger and larger.

Monsters, instinctively feeling unease, started charging towards Charlotte’s tree to stop it.

They had sensed that the growth of Charlotte’s tree signaled danger.

– Whoosh! Whoosh! Boom! Thud!

However, at that moment, the grotesque plants scattered throughout the garden began to block the monsters.

Giant mushrooms emitted harmful spores, and huge plants coiled like ferns swallowed the monsters whole.

As the number of dying monsters increased, the blood of the earth thickened, and the tree’s growth accelerated.

“It’s complete.”

And finally.

Charlotte’s new ultimate ability was complete.

The ‘World Tree of Death’ she had been researching for months had absorbed the blood of demons and transformed into a complete adult.

– Whooosh!

Immediately, the World Tree of Death extended its branches.

The opaque branches of the World Tree flowed with blood instead of water, as if peering into the interior of a deep-sea creature.

Utilizing the demon’s blood as nourishment for slaughter.

– Gwaaaah!

– Grooool!

– Grrrrr!

Thus, the hundreds of branches that spread out from the World Tree began to slaughter the nearby monsters.

The sharp, sturdy tentacle-like branches pierced the monsters’ vital points.

“Your sins have created these children. You should not have violated this world.”

And Charlotte murmured cryptic words.

Inquiring about the demons’ sins.

If one delved deeply, it would date back thousands of years.

To the Genesis of this world, where ‘Heavenly Beings’ and the ‘Lord of Hell’ waged a great war.

At that time, the world was filled with beautiful, dense forests.

But those beautiful forests had been contaminated by the Lord of Hell, and now they resembled dungeons.

Among them was the ancient World Tree.

【I hate… I suffer… Everyone must die…】

In the midst of such historical context.

One day, Charlotte stepped into the Forest of Death to develop an even stronger toxic substance.

And suddenly, drawn by a voice ringing in her head, she began moving toward the heart of the forest.

Into the center of the forest, where even swordsmen dared not tread due to danger.

【Feel it too…! My pain!】

Upon reaching the center of the forest, countless grotesque plants began attacking Charlotte.

The will of the contaminated World Tree permeated the forest and assaulted Charlotte.

The contaminated World Tree was filled with hatred for the ‘someone’ who had made it this way.

“…Who are you? Your pain is transmitted…”

However, Charlotte was a descendant of the Verdian family.

A descendant of a high elven family that had settled in the human world long ago.

Though she had taken on a human-like appearance over generations, the ‘spiritual empathy with the forest’ had been passed down through the ages.

And Charlotte was a genius among geniuses who maximized that empathetic ability.

【Can you… feel me? How…】

“Your sorrow comes through… You’ve truly struggled for so long.”

Thus, Charlotte did not display the usual reactions.

Normally, when attacked by grotesque plants, one would unleash intense anger and wield destructive spells, but Charlotte merely stood still, tears streaming down her face.

She felt the heart of the World Tree and empathized with its pain.

This was a reaction only she, with her ‘purity’ and ‘selflessness,’ could exhibit.

【Aren’t you afraid of me…? Don’t I disgust you…?】

“…I’m afraid. But I don’t find you disgusting. There was a time when I too would be pointed at. I may not understand all your pain, but I can comprehend it.”

【…I’m so, so angry… Someone turned me into this… I don’t even know who it is… One day I transformed hideously, and everyone who comes to my forest hates me and my children… I hate everyone.】

“…”

The life-giving forest had fallen into mere dungeon due to the Lord of Hell.

However, the ancient World Tree was unaware of who had caused its transformation.

Thus, it poured its fury onto humans and various creatures that entered its forest.

“I know. I know who did this to you.”

【…!!】

“Come with me. That person is trying to corrupt the forests of this world once again. Let’s take revenge on that bastard together.”

【I want to… go with you… Being connected to you makes me feel at ease… I feel like I can vent all this uncontrollable hatred…】

Thus, Charlotte gained the contaminated World Tree as an ally.

And after much research, she discovered a way to summon a part of the contaminated World Tree into her domain.

No longer could she summon a ‘hallucination’ of the Forest of Death; she could summon the ‘real’ Forest of Death.

– Gwaaaah!!!

– Keruuul! Grrr!

And its power was beyond imagination.

The grotesque plants filled with hatred for demons, alongside the World Tree, began massacring demons.

Charlotte aided their actions with various chemical vials and natural spells.

“…Impressive.”

Meanwhile, Enya, who was watching this unfold, stuck out her tongue while observing her ‘rival’s’ prowess.

Now Charlotte was no longer viewed as a weak student of the Academy but a power ranking within the top 10 of S-Class.

She had to see her as a rival.

With such growth, it wouldn’t be strange if her position were threatened at any moment.

“I can’t lose either.”

Thus, Enya jumped down from the high walls of the defense.

And immediately activated her clairvoyance to read the mana flowing within the demon kind.

To carve ‘markings’ on their bodies and inflict fatal wounds.

– Pababababababababat!

Thus, markings were inscribed on every demon kind that entered her sight.

As soon as they were marked, she executed a ‘draw’ to swing her sword with terrifying speed.

The special spell inscribed on the blade reacted with the mana in the air and began to resonate.

It contained the information of the spell.

– Kiiiiiing─!

Thus, the mana filled with the information of the special spell was unleashed at light speed in all directions.

And countless mana particles responded to the monsters with the ‘markings,’ directly transferring the kinetic energy from Enya’s swing.

This was a ‘draw technique’ deemed impossible for any swordsman, achieved through a special spell.

– Thud! Pababababat! Pabat!

Thus, as Enya’s sword sliced through, a red line was drawn across the necks of the demon kind.

Soon after, bordering on the red line, the faces and bodies of the demon kind disintegrated, and their heads fell to the ground.

With a single swing, she had sliced through every monster in view.

“What, what was that… Is that even possible?”

And the entire process was the perfect embodiment of the draw technique.

She had merely taken her sword from the sheath and swung it.

Hundreds of demon kind collapsed, bleeding everywhere.

What had once been thought possible only in cartoons had manifested into reality with the ‘draw technique.’

“Truly, the first cohort of the Academy… There are only crazy monsters.”

Thus the first cohort of the Academy, led by the four great duke families, was showcasing outstanding performances throughout the battlefield.

Lucas’s ‘Teleportation Spell’ saved countless individuals while delivering massive blows to the monsters, and Claire’s buffs allowed even a single Sword Runner to possess destruction capabilities comparable to a Sword Expert.

Each of them utilized their strengths to lead victories across the battlefield.

“They’ll handle it all by themselves.”

“They said it would be the worst monster wave ever, but it seems like nothing special.”

As the first cohort’s performance favorably shifted the tide of battle, everyone began to feel optimistic about the future and relaxed.

If they dealt with every monster that approached the defenses like this, stopping the wave wouldn’t take half a day.

– Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

But at that moment.

From afar, the sound of drums began to echo.

The ‘sound of war’ that heightened tension simply by listening to it rang from beyond the horizon.

“That, that’s…!”

And finally, the players of the drum were revealed to be none other than the ‘Orcs.’

The ‘Frost Orcs,’ who had fallen into demon kind and become several times stronger than before.

They were equipped with both intelligence and cunning, unlike the creatures that mindlessly charged toward the defensive wall.

Soon, one who appeared to be the leader of the Frost Orcs pointed his great sword forward and commanded his brethren.

“Destroy the wicked wall erected by humans. Savor the flesh of the humans who scurried behind the wall like rats.”

***

“How much damage do you expect the Frost Orcs to deal?” Ed asked, and Eve replied they would break through 100%.

The Frost Orcs, now several times stronger than before, would surely accomplish that.

Ed nodded his head and said, “We need to hurry. Get ready quickly.”

Thus, Ed urged Eve to speed up.

The longer it took for him to don the ‘Doom Suit,’ the greater the damage to their side would be.

“…There’s no helping it. It’s a task that will inevitably take some time.”

However, fully donning the Doom Suit required a bit of time.

Because the Doom Suit needed to charge powers akin to a ‘Crucible,’ and it was currently in the process of charging.

“Just take it easy. The energy of this suit is equivalent to all the emotional energy you’ve experienced, brother.”

And the doom energy of the suit was none other than ‘Ed’s emotions.’

In other words, it was intended to convert every emotional energy Ed had felt over hundreds of reincarnations into power.

Like how machines in the movie ‘The Matrix’ utilized human emotional energy as fuel.

However, the lives Ed had lived were far from ordinary.

The intensity and range of emotions he had felt each time far outweighed that of an average person, resulting in enormous quality and quantity of fuel being charged.

Such high energy had been multiplied over hundreds of lives.

“You can’t waver. We must stick to the revised plan. We must discard what needs to be discarded, and keep what needs to be kept.”

Thus, Eve acted to calm Ed for the suit’s complete assembly.

While her desire to assist their friends was understandable, waiting had now become a virtue.

Ed understood Eve’s intent and nodded.

“…Right. If I rush out now, it would be like wasting the time spent in donning the suit. I must endure for now…”

Thus, Ed took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions boiling inside him.

He thought that someday he would be able to unleash this overflowing energy as he calmly gazed at the battlefield.

The defensive line was being pushed back.