Chapter 16 - It's Alive! Part 1

During the next month, Vorst did not challenge a single opponent. All he did was observe them and absorb the basic techniques of photon usage. During that time, one girl was continuously and secretly stealing glances at him.

[--Lily--: I think in this world, they call that 'stalking.']

[--Marc--: ... Maybe...]

[--Calla--: Is m'lord cheating on us? Again?]

[--Lily--: Beast! Demon! After making our bodies unable to live without him, he doesn't care anymore and moves to his next target. We are so unfortunate. Sob sob. Fake tears]

[--Marc--: ...]

Two months passed.

[Claire: How is he?]

[Mistglan: Shakes his head No idea. He doesn't participate much—completely passive. The girls aren't bullying him, but they aren't accepting him either.]

[Claire: He is a 'powerless,' after all.]

[Mistglan: Other teachers are confirming my observations as well. In both Alchemy and Engineering practical classes, he just silently listens and does the work.]

[Claire: Yes, I heard their reports, but they also said that Vorst is extremely talented when it comes to Alchemy and Engineering. Who would have thought...]

[Mistglan: And there is one more thing...]

Seeing the liger make a difficult expression, Claire's eyes shone with interest. The only things powerful and incredible Mistglan was bad with were sour food and relationships!

[Claire: Did you lay your hand on a student? Well, as long as you didn't force yourself on her, we can hide it somehow until she graduates. I hope she wasn't underage.]

[Mistglan: AS IF! And what's with that treatment?!]

[Claire: Huhu, all the girls in this school are proper ladies. You should go ahead and pick a favorite. After you settle down, you should be able to get better at dealing with the female population.]

[Mistglan: ... Depressed...]

[Claire: Enough. What did you want to say?]

A serious atmosphere returned as if the scene from a few seconds ago had never happened.

[Mistglan: It's about the boy. Three days ago, he started meeting with another girl...]

[Claire: Oh?]

[Mistglan: Celina Za. Engineer. 16 years old. 2nd HST.]

[Claire: Celina? Oh, that's interesting.]

[Mistglan: From what I've gathered, he's helping her with Controlled Bots...]

[Claire: Celina is a genius. A Psychic with the ability of Mind, she applied it to her Controlled Bots. With it, she is even capable of rivaling Circle Engineers. Mind Psychics, though incredibly rare even among Psychics, are also known to be the weakest among them. With no offense or defense, they were forgotten once communication systems rendered their only useful ability, Telepathy, obsolete. Celina invented Direct Control over the bots. With her immediate mind instructions, they are faster and more accurate. Anyway, what happened?]

[Mistglan: Nothing. It's just... Is it alright to leave them?]

[Claire: For the young ones, when a love rival appears, that’s when they show true growth.]

The headmistress answered with the utmost certainty in her voice. She also had a playful spark in her eyes, which the liger didn’t miss. It seemed like his worries would only increase...

[Mistglan: Next month... Are you sure about putting him in the LIBT (Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament)?]

[Claire: Certainly. Why not? He can work as an Engineer. His grades are excellent, and teachers are praising how thoroughly he does his job. Repairing damaged M-Armors is a very valuable skill. And maybe if he dies there once, Mersa will treat things more seriously?]

[Mistglan: ...]

Every school could only deploy 1,000 of their students, typically 700 Soldiers, 200 Engineers, and 100 Medics. Athena’s number of students easily exceeded 100,000. To be appointed for the tournament was a great honor, but if Vorst were included only because of the Wolf Princess, he would obviously be hated by many others...

One day, after a practice session, Vorst was just about to leave when a shadow approached him. It was Celina. Seeing her, he stopped and faced her.

[Celina: ... Um... um...]

[Vorst: Hello.]

[Celina: Uh! Oh. Hello...]

Silence...

[Vorst: Do you need something?]

[Celina: W-why? Why aren’t you fighting?]

The truth was, after what he showed her the other day, she was curious about his fighting ability but didn’t dare to show it openly. She thought it was a sensitive topic for him, but today she couldn’t hold back anymore.

[Vorst: Hm. Because it’s just a waste of time.]

Hearing him say that only reinforced her train of thought. Well, in her eyes, he was 'powerless,' after all.

[Celina: T-Then... I-I heard that you picked up Engineering... Um... U... Do you want to s-study it together?]

[--Lily--: See? He is doing it.]

[--Calla--: Nod...]

[--Lily--: Actually, I was surprised it lasted this long.]

[--Calla--: Nod...]

Just as Vorst was about to reject her...

[--Calla--: Take her.]

[--Marc--: ...]

[--Lily--: ...]

[--Calla--: I have ‘that’ feeling about her.]

Marc looked at Lily.

[--Lily--: Since Ragna-nee said that, I'll adhere.]

He shook his head in resignation.

[Vorst: U-um... Okay.]

[Celina: T-then join me after classes in the 5th hangar, okay?]

[Vorst: Got it.]

The tiger girl smiled sweetly, waved, and left.

[--Marc--: ...]

Another month passed.

During those two months, Vorst diligently studied both Engineering and Alchemy. It should be noted that though Marc is lazy by nature, when he takes something seriously, the results show incredibly fast. When he’s focused, he absorbs the knowledge, puts it to use, refines it, puts it to use again, and even invents new ways. Infinitely.

After two months, his skill in both disciplines advanced tremendously. His abilities were no longer comparable to his peers; he was already somewhere close to Celina’s level! What’s more, every day, he was hunting hundreds of Crystal Monsters by himself. If someone checked the logs in his armor, they would be totally surprised.

Two months of merciless slaughter of the monsters, gathering materials, and intense studying. Today, all his work would take shape.

In his workshop, hundreds of small bots lay inactive, most partially dismantled. No one knew how many he created during all this time. Testing metals, testing scripts, assembling, disassembling—continuous work.

Finally, he took a deep breath as his concentration relaxed.

He had just finished the final touches on a bot core he was working on. It had 7 Energy Crystals as the core, on which innovative scripts were applied. They were all bound by incredibly mysterious runes carved on their surface.

The boy took three steps back and closed his eyes. Using his full concentration, he released all his photons. Immediately, thousands of parts rose from the nearby shelves. It was a Psychic power of Telekinesis! Every single crystal and A.Metal (alchemical metal) part was inscribed with profound runes. As they slowly came together, they formed a black sphere. Every single part fit together perfectly. Click, Click, Click. Clang. Finished.

[--Marc--: Try it, Calla.]

There was a new addition to the throne room. On the floor was a large soul inscription on the side. The raven-haired goddess came over, sat on top of it, and closed her eyes.

[--Calla--: Yes, m'lord...]

The Black Sphere lit up as golden lines appeared on its surface.

It’s...

It’s...

It’s ALIVE!

[???: It works, m'lord.]

A mechanical sound could be heard from the Sphere as it made a few circles in the air.

[--Lily--: How about its functions?]

[Calla(bot): All sensors are working properly. I can use sight, sound, and touch as planned.]

[--Lily--: Hehehe, Marc is amazing. As always.]

[Vorst: Mhm. Now I need to make another one.]

[--Lily--: How do you want to name this one?]

[Vorst: Hm... The Battle Drone Ragnarok.]

Clap, clap, clap. Lily was very excited.