I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

---

A moment later, the instructor stepped onto the platform.

He began explaining the rules for the class determination battle.

Since I had familiarized myself with this information by playing the game multiple times, there was no particular need for me to pay close attention.

‘As expected, it’s the same as before.’

The rules for the class determination battle.

In truth, there are no real restraints.

The match ends when you incapacitate your opponent or force them to surrender.

However, anything that happens during the process will be tacitly approved.

You can cut off limbs, perform mental attacks, just so long as you don’t kill them.

After all, the supervisor assigned on-site will use healing to restore them.

“Then, I will begin the team selection!”

While I was lost in thought, the team selection started.

The way teams were decided was purely random.

They would be formed randomly.

No standards were set since those who would stand out would naturally reveal themselves regardless of how teams were arranged.

“Hmm… there are no cooperative types here.”

However, all my teammates were weaklings.

The children of influential lesser nobles or counts.

If this was the case, I would likely have many opportunities to shine among them, scoring good points, but the likelihood of being unable to do anything against the opposing team and ending in defeat was also high.

That is, if I lose, the key would be how hard I fought during the process.

“Then, let’s move to the assigned teams.”

In any case, I followed the instructor’s guidance and moved to my designated team.

The team assigned to me was ‘D12’.

As I arrived at the spot marked with the sign ‘D12’, I saw four teammates waiting for me.

However, there was one standout among the extras.

It was Charlotte from the Verdian family, who had sat next to me during the entrance ceremony.

“L-Lord Fix!”

“Lady Charlotte.”

She smiled brightly upon seeing me.

Adjusting her snowy round glasses and fixing her green curly hair.

With her face flushed and frecked, she reminded me of a strawberry.

“When I heard Lord Fix’s name, I was so happy!”

“I was also glad to see a familiar name. Let’s do our best.”

I shook hands with Charlotte, meaning to cheer her on.

Then another teammate beside Charlotte introduced himself and asked for a handshake.

“Ha. A handful among us will rise anyway; what’s the point of a handshake?”

But not everyone was friendly toward me.

Charlotte and Extra 1 were friendly, but the other two were wary of me.

“You said you awakened your Mana yourself? How long ago was that?”

And one of them, with reddish slicked-back hair, began probing me.

I told him the truth of the matter.

“Um. It’s been exactly about 16 days.”

“What? 16 days?”

“Yes.”

“Pfft! Hahaha! Of course, a commoner would be like that. You can’t have many spells you can actually use, right?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Then you take the hits. I’ll handle it from there.”

“Sure.”

It was clear he was openly provoking me, but he wasn’t worth my effort to deal with, so I answered nonchalantly.

Then he scowled at me and said,

“Hey, your response is lacking sincerity? Do you want to fail the exam?”

“……”

Hmm.

Starting to get annoying.

I didn’t want to exert myself here.

“U-um!”

Just then.

Charlotte stepped forward.

With a trembling voice, she said,

“Isn’t it a bit rude among teammates…?”

Despite summoning her courage, she was met with disdain from the red slicked-back guy.

He responded,

“Heh. You said you’re from the Verdian family? That totally washed-up family?”

“Ugh… th-that…”

“Coming from a family that has nothing but weeds, who do you think you are? If you had a pretty face, it wouldn’t matter. But you’re ugly.”

Hmm.

This was starting to get irritating.

It seemed I wouldn’t find much use from my teammates anyway.

“Haha. Let’s drop it here. I’ll apologize.”

So, I approached him with a service smile.

However, he still wore an angered expression.

“What do you mean drop it? Just because you call me Lord Fix, do you think a commoner like you is on the same level as me? You’ve barely awakened your Mana, you…”

“Hahaha. Yes, it was my mistake.”

Saying this, I hugged him.

He grimaced and tried to push me away.

“What the heck are you doing?”

“Haha, it’s a gesture of camaraderie among teammates. Please accept my apology.”

I said this and gathered Mana at the tip of my thumb.

Then I pressed firmly against his ribs.

With a crunch sound, he let out a gasp.

“Urk…!”

“Huh? W-what’s going on? Are you okay?”

As I said this, I pressed against the other side of his ribs.

With a cracking sound, his legs wobbled.

“You, you this punk…!”

“A-are you unwell?”

I pressed down on another rib as I supported the collapsing guy.

Crack—His eyes rolled back as he started to foam at the mouth.

“P-Pull yourself together! Why is this happening…!”

I pretended to help his breathing by gently squeezing his throat.

The guy who had been foaming at the mouth lost consciousness.

He had fainted.

“Ah…”

Sighing, I looked at the fainted guy.

In a hurry, I reported his condition to the surrounding instructor.

“Instructor! I think he needs to be sent to the emergency room! He suddenly collapsed like this…”

“……”

The instructor examined the fallen red slicked-back guy.

Eventually, he glanced at me, smirked, and replied,

“Taking care of oneself is a part of the exam. Treat him as failed, and we’ll transport him to the emergency room.”

With that, the supervisor gestured to the attendants.

Two attendants came up and carried him off on a stretcher, and I returned to my teammates to inform them.

“Ah, sadly, he won’t be joining us…”

***

Even though one teammate was out, no replacements could be made.

All personnel had already been assigned to teams.

Still, starting with four members was much better than having him on the team.

One ally dragging down your side is scarier than a hundred enemies.

“A5 team and B12 team. Enter the arena.”

As the commotion finally settled, the class determination battle began.

The summoned A5 team and B12 team placed their hands on the teleportation magic circle to move to the battlefield.

“Wow, talk about bad luck.”

“Of all teams, it had to be the one with Isabella…”

“If I were in their shoes, I would have forfeited.”

And from the start, the developments were thrilling.

Isabella appeared right from the first match.

Then a split screen appeared on the screen.

On the left side was team B12 facing Isabella.

On the right side was team A5 that included Isabella.

Each team had one ‘video transmission magic circle’ assigned to them, allowing their images to be transmitted.

[Isabella is the key. We need to push her hard before she uses her mental attacks.]

Team B12 was holding a strategy meeting behind a massive rock for cover.

Distributing roles among each other and executing them successfully was also part of the evaluation, so everyone was eagerly brainstorming strategies to tackle Isabella.

[Hmm… you’re just going to get in the way, so stay back.]

However, the situation for Isabella’s team was different.

Red miasma swirled around her, as she enslaved her teammate’s mind.

Then one of Isabella’s teammates screamed as he drew his weapon and began stabbing himself in the gut.

[Ugh…! Gah! Ugh!]

However, one of them, with strong mental fortitude, resisted her magic.

Even though his body shook like a quaking aspen and his eyes rolled back, he did not stab himself.

[You’re holding out, huh?]

But as Isabella extended her hand, exerting more pressure, he began to laugh maniacally.

Then he pierced his own abdomen before collapsing to the ground.

– C-crazy

– Witch…

– We must avoid Isabella at all costs.

The audience gasped at Isabella’s grotesque magic.

Then, blue smoke suddenly appeared where Isabella was.

The blue mist transformed into a human shape, solidifying into a complete person.

It was the examiner for that trial.

[André, Undia, Beatrine, Arthur. They will be disqualified for being unconscious.]

The examiner healed the wounds of the four who collapsed and then moved them somewhere else.

Left alone, Isabella smirked as she stretched her limbs.

[Hmm… Shall we play properly now?]

Her body began to float in the air.

The video transmission magic circle filming her also flew alongside.

As she ascended into the blue sky, she caught sight of the heads of team B12, who were hiding behind the rock and holding a strategy meeting.

Isabella grinned and extended her hand.

[Cr-wha!?]

Then, one member of team B12 started to convulse and his eyes changed.

He then began attacking his teammate.

[W-what’s wrong with you!? Have you gone mad!?]

Team B12 quickly fractured.

As the man under Isabella’s control began attacking his allies with wild abandon, they all started fighting amongst themselves.

The match ended overwhelmingly.

The only one leading the strategy, a female cadet, shot a decisive arrow at Isabella, but she effortlessly dodged it and sent it back to the female cadet.

As a result, only Isabella and that female cadet passed the examination.

Due to the overwhelming skill gap, the examiner accepted the female cadet’s resistance as meaningful, allowing her to pass.

***

In the end, everything flowed as expected.

The heirs of the Empire’s four duke families exhibited stellar performances and advanced to the next round.

There were no surprises with ‘Divine’ Lucas. ‘Blade Arts’ Enya eliminated her opponents with a single strike.

Only Claire, deemed the least talented among the dukes, struggled but managed to advance to the next round through a combination of Bernhardt’s unique buffs and skill dueling.

– As expected, everything’s progressing as it should.

– Looks like there’s no underdog rebellion.

– Only those who should rise are rising.

It was an expectedly obvious outcome.

In such a closed noble society, dark horses were highly unlikely to exist.

Talented individuals would quickly gain notoriety, and thus, most nobles already knew who would advance and who would fall.

Ultimately, everything was determined by ‘bloodline’.

Those who inherited the blood of lesser nobles could hardly surpass most counts, and those who inherited the blood of counts could not outdo most marquises.

And the four duke families were the top bloodlines within the Empire.

Except for the ‘Imperial House of Magicians’ which towered above them.

The only exception that could be considered outside of everything was the ‘Great Mage Elena’, whose insane talent still remained a mystery.

“D12 team and C4 team. Enter the arena.”

And this fateful atmosphere remained the same when the D12 team, which included Edgar, was called.

While Edgar was indeed an extraordinary individual, he was still a commoner.

He might be articulate, but he hadn’t even awoken his mana for a month.

There was absolutely no chance for him to shine.

– Lord Fix, what a shame. Of all people, he got matched with Max. That guy has been gunning for this.

– Tsk, tsk. That’s what I was saying.

– Well, what can you do? Lord Fix is far too naïve. He’s going to be in trouble if he foolishly accepts the cursed doll from the witch.

– Heh. It really seems like he’ll receive all forms of attack politely.

Thus, the audience was making comments as they anticipated Edgar’s defeat.

With the revengeful Max Zigmund harboring resentments against him, they could only hope Edgar regained his sanity.

“It’s finally my turn.”

But the party in question, Edgar, rose to his feet with a calm face.

He had thoroughly prepared for this class determination battle.

“Let’s go.”

And the crowd was completely unprepared.

They had no idea this match would become the greatest upset in the class determination battle.