I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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– Kughugugugugugh…

The air carrier of Edgar, carrying about 7.8 million refugees, arrived at the territory.

This massive floating fortress was so enormous that it could easily be called a ‘region’ by itself.

It began to descend slowly towards the landing area, touching the coastline.

However, even though it was just landing, incredible strong winds swept away stones, dirt, and water.

– Chwiing!

Thus, the air carrier was fitted into the landing area like Lego pieces.

With a *clunk* sound, the cracked ground began to merge with the air carrier.

The pieces of ground that had split apart to fit the air carrier naturally fused around it.

As the once-split earth wrapped around the air carrier, it was perfectly camouflaged as ordinary ground.

Meanwhile, the passengers of the air carrier were stepping into the underground base, one by one, beneath what looked like the earth.

“Hmm… I haven’t had a proper outing in a while.”

The Emperor, dressed comfortably to hide his identity, was watching the people disembarking from his ‘inventory.’

The purpose of the Orserk family was solely the ‘preservation and unification of humanity,’ which is why they could accommodate so many people in a massive inventory like this.

“Is the mana consumption alright?”

At that moment, Edgar approached the Emperor and handed him a can of beer.

With a sly grin, the Emperor received the beer and took a sip, exclaiming, “One sip of this is more than enough.”

“…But you’re using such a massive inventory?”

“Well, you kind of suspected it, didn’t you? I’m adding a bit of divine power.”

…Divine power.

A special ability that only the first heavenly being reincarnated in this world could use.

Edgar nodded while opening the beer.

He took a sip and then turned to the Emperor, saying, “Your divine power will be put to meaningful use. We will definitely win this round.”

The Emperor smiled slyly and turned back to Edgar.

The power of divine power, which was limited, meant that he had to be cautious when using it.

It seemed that Edgar felt a sense of responsibility about using divine power.

Because the amount of divine power was absolute across all timelines, the divine power used this time wouldn’t reset in the next round.

“Right, you must win this time. I’m also planning to burn all my divine power in this round.”

“………”

“By the way, I thought about why you’ve had so many defeats.”

“………”

“It seems that you went through all that to become who you are now. The chance to reach this stage by using the minimum amount of divine power. To reach this extreme probability, you created a ‘regression’ system and threw yourself into countless hells. To become the being known as ‘Edgar Fix.'”

“………”

“So, I’ve decided to go all in too. I will burn all my divine power in this round.”

“If that’s the case, then you…”

“Yes. Finally, I will receive the blessing of oblivion. Sephilia will be my daughter, not just a stranger. I can live as her father for a while and then leave. Isn’t that a happy ending?”

Edgar nodded.

After all, the Emperor had endured thousands of years, remembering everything.

His only wish was to be free from this heavy burden.

He wanted to break free from the cursed life of replicating himself through his offspring.

“By the way, when will you use your divine power? You’ve hardly used it besides in the regression system.”

At that moment, the Emperor looked into Edgar’s divine power with his mana activated.

Inside Edgar, the power of divine energy still lay dormant like a vast ocean.

Edgar turned to the Emperor and said, “Well, perhaps I’ll use it in the most meaningful place.”

“………”

“For example, to become something like Jesus.”

Edgar said something ominous while giving a mischievous grin.

***

In the corridors of the underground base.

Karter, now a refugee from the Altusen Kingdom, was filled with worry.

He could not bear the anxiety of giving all the wealth of his country to a foreign one and relying on it.

How could they foist everything the kingdom had preserved for centuries onto the Empire!

…Of course, he knew well that this was the only option.

The kingdom was on the brink of destruction.

To survive, they had to accept the conditions of Count Fix.

But Karter wanted to prove that he had not been wrong to do so.

That Edgar Fix was merely a hypocrite and just an agent of the Empire.

‘Soon, everyone will know.’

However, even without him proving it.

Since everything had been taken from them by Edgar Fix, everyone here would inevitably come to a bitter realization.

That Edgar Fix’s hypocrisy was merely a mask for his self-interest and in the end, he would exploit and take everything.

He had good reason to be wary, given how he kept watching the skies with drones under the pretense of ‘protecting the world.’

He had forced trade agreements through threats with Dreadnought ships.

Although he spread new culture and technology to the world, he sucked all the capital into his own country.

He had pretended to be the first to offer goodwill to the world, yet he was a man who would never incur a loss.

…With such analyses, he had advised the king to be cautious of Edgar Fix.

[Ah, welcome to the territory of Count Fix. I will now provide guidance, so please listen closely.]

At that moment, announcements flowed from all over the corridor.

To summarize, it stated that they should take the portal assigned by their code and move.

‘Hmph. Is he trying to dismantle any potential rebellion? Truly, how typical of Edgar Fix.’

Instead of Karter, who smirked at his identification code, his code was ALM-000007, indicating he was a minister from the Lucen region of the Altusen Kingdom.

When Karter verified the portal labeled ‘AL (Lucen Region of the Altusen Kingdom),’ he moved towards it.

And going through the process of being separated by numbers again, he thought:

Is it true that Edgar Fix knows how to manage slaves systematically?

That he was a cold-hearted person who would squeeze everything out of them by pushing them into such a systematic system?

‘What a tragic situation. If only such talent was with our kingdom, we could have surpassed the Empire.’

He was a truly tempting figure, though he was an enemy.

A millennium’s worth of talent filling all the metrics of diplomacy, politics, military, charm, and business.

Such a talent was unfortunately born in the Empire, ending up trapped here selling out his kingdom.

What if Edgar Fix had been born in the Altusen Kingdom?

Perhaps the kingdom, not the Empire, would be ruling the world.

With such pointless fantasies, Karter moved to the next location with a bitter smile.

“Thank you for your hard work. We appreciate your following the protocols late into the night. Now, please move to your assigned accommodations according to your numbers and settle in.”

After going through the categorization process, about 5,000 people had gathered here.

As Karter moved to his accommodation, he marveled.

To categorize such a large number of people so swiftly and accurately!

If only the kingdom had such a systematic system, collecting taxes and pushing forth national enterprises might have been much easier.

“Dear… I’ve never seen such a marvelous building in my life.”

At that moment, his wife, standing beside him, looked around the apartment with wide eyes.

Karter rubbed his chin and replied.

“Indeed, it’s well-structured for accommodating a large number of people. However, the facilities inside might not be that great. Especially for us, who were nobles, it will take some time to adapt, so prepare yourself.”

His wife gulped nervously at Karter’s words.

Thus, Karter arrived at the door of his assigned accommodation using the new invention called an ‘elevator.’

After swallowing his nervous saliva, he opened the door.

“Ah, no…?”

And there, contrary to expectations, was a cozy space.

While it was much smaller compared to his mansion, everything necessary was inside.

It was entirely different from the dusty storage space he had imagined, which he thought wouldn’t even have heating.

“W-what is this…?”

It was astonishing.

Could it be that all the people accommodated here were enjoying such a comfortable environment?

Providing such crazy welfare to foreign refugees?

– Waaaaaaaaah!!

– Daddy! This place is really the best!

– Honey, look! Is that warm water coming out?

Hearing the joyful exclamations erupting from the apartment, Karter realized that he wasn’t receiving special treatment after all.

Certainly, everyone accommodated here was enjoying this tremendous welfare.

‘…I must not let my guard down. I don’t know what kind of harsh labor I might be subjected to.’

After all, what is given must be received in return.

There was no way they could enjoy such welfare for free.

By providing such top-class accommodations, they could thoroughly drain them dry.

Because if he were Edgar Fix.

He would undoubtedly have thoroughly exploited foreigners for the unlimited glory of the Empire.

[Ah, I would like to announce. Immigrants who have moved to building 101, please gather in the open space under the guidance of the official waiting in the apartment corridor. Once more, I repeat. To building 101…]

At that moment, the announcement played.

Karter’s expression hardened as he realized the imminent situation.

They would assemble the people here to make them perform collective labor.

“Total in building 101: 1,037 people. All accounted for.”

As all the participants gathered in a massive open space.

The officials who guided them counted the numbers, and a responsible official reported.

Then a high-ranking official, overseeing the entirety of building 101, issued a command.

“Move to the distribution center.”

““Yes!””

…Distribution center?

Karter couldn’t believe his ears.

A distribution center means a place for handing out food.

Could it truly be that they were going to give them food?

‘No, they must be assigning us to something related to food instead.’

Karter chuckled smugly and shook his head.

To provide such cozy accommodations, they even intended to feed them on their first day?

Such a crazy idea—

“Alright, please line up in order to receive your allocated food.”

was happening right before his eyes.

Before Karter knew it, he was holding bizarre rations of ‘ramen’ and ‘canned tuna.’

“If the quantity is insufficient, you may cook rice from the rice in the bags. As I mentioned earlier, the method for cooking rice is using an electric rice cooker…”

After being educated on how to boil ramen and cook rice, Karter returned to his accommodation.

Following the instructions, he switched on the induction cooktop to prepare his ramen.

And as he slurped it up—

“Hmm!?”

His eyes widened in surprise.

The scent was astonishing, and it turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

“Slurp! Slurrrp! Slurp!”

He and his wife devoured the ramen fervently.

They also mixed in the tuna and finished it all off.

Even for someone like him, a noble, this meal felt quite excellent.

‘Edgar Fix would never bear such a loss…?’

Yet on the other hand, he felt uneasy.

This was a man known for his sharp calculations and wits—there was no way he would bear such losses willingly.

Karter decided to observe the situation a bit longer and began living here.

Thus, after a week of living here, Karter’s thoughts began to change slightly.

‘They’re not overworking us… They’re just steadily providing education for us to adapt to life here. First, they want to acclimate us here before making us work, huh?’

However, even after two weeks, they hadn’t put them to hard labor.

During the second week, they merely sorted people by profession and assigned suitable tasks to sustain life here.

So, they taught blacksmiths various machine repairs, farmers how to use tractors, and butchers how to manage refrigeration units.

They were providing education to cultivate vocational skills suited to new technologies.

“This is what a computer looks like. It’s a new invention that helps you input, output, and manage data.”

And he had become the head of the apartment management office.

Having been a minister in the kingdom, he was put in charge of overseeing the general operations of the apartment and mediating conflicts among residents.

‘Perhaps… I might have misunderstood…’

By the time three weeks had passed, Karter’s caution towards Edgar Fix began to dissipate.

The innovative policies and systematic management systems he had imagined were all being realized here.

As expected, the rational management system and excellent infrastructure had significantly improved the quality of life for the residents.

He confronted a utopia that he thought the man who dedicated his life solely to the kingdom’s glory would never see.

‘Perhaps… Perhaps Edgar Fix really is trying to save humanity…’

Now a month had passed since he started living here.

The things that he had thought were the ‘ambitions of Edgar Fix’ began to fit together like a puzzle.

The reconnaissance drones that monitor the skies 24 hours a day weren’t there to invade foreign lands, but to gather information for settling the people in this divine fortress.

The commotion he caused with the Dreadnought to open ports was merely buildup to activate global trade.

And the accumulation of various resources that flooded into the Empire through spreading new technology was the funding needed to construct this insane infrastructure and fortress.

The production factories he believed were part of Edgar Fix’s sinister plan to control world food supply were actually for stockpiling food in case of disasters.

In other words, everything he had done was for the sake of saving humanity.

“Ah… Father Fix…”

He felt foolish.

Blinded by his own country’s interests, he hadn’t seen Father Fix’s great plan.

Despite being criticized by narrow-minded nationalists like himself, Father Fix persistently carried on with the reconnaissance drones to save humanity.

When one thinks about it, what most people in power do first is silence dissent. But Father Fix, regardless of what others said, quietly did what needed to be done.

Even the suggestion to sell the state was merely a performance of a false villain to settle humanity in this fortress.

“Ah… Father Fix…”

Awash in realization, Karter discarded his foolish thoughts.

And as an ‘Ambassador of the Empire and the Altusen Kingdom,’ he was granted permission to go outside.

To participate in an event where diplomats from various countries gathered.

“Edgar Fix’s tentacles are swallowing the world. I’ve heard five kingdoms have already submitted to the Empire.”

“Did you hear that rumor? They say the one controlling the demons is Edgar Fix. The Empire used trickery to easily swallow up foreign lands—a rumor known to all who are aware.”

“A truly vile character.”

However, the main sentiment at this gathering was to overthrow Edgar Fix.

He, too, had been a prominent member of this group, vilifying Edgar until now.

But now that he learned Father Fix’s true intentions…

Karter found it unbearable to hear the vitriol pouring from the gathering.

Finally, as one of the sponsors of the meeting, Karter burst into the conference room, yelling.

“Stop! I will not forgive anyone who insults Father Fix!!!”

It was the moment when the person who had once hated Edgar Fix more than anyone else suddenly turned pro-Edgar Fix.