I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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Mana Manifestation.

The act of embodying Mana within the mind and body.

I am currently performing Mana Manifestation.

By receiving the Mana that spreads throughout the atmosphere and activating the Mana receptors in my body, I enable myself to move.

—Goooooo…

However, my Mana Manifestation is different from the typical ones.

Due to having significantly fewer innate Mana receptors compared to an average mage, the amount of Mana I can accept is inevitably limited.

Thus, the way I accept Mana is different from other mages.

While other mages activate the Mana receptors in their brains to absorb Mana, I operate the core Mana stone located in the center of my chest to take in Mana.

The Mana stone, resembling Iron Man’s “Arc Reactor,” glows brightly and absorbs the Mana from the air.

—Ziiiiiiiiiiing…

And the amount of Mana this enormous Mana stone absorbs exceeds that of an ordinary mage by five times.

Unless one is a monster like Elena, ordinary humans could never compete against a Mana stone specialized for absorption.

“Hoo…”

At this point, I exhaled deeply.

Having successfully completed the first phase of accepting Mana into my body, it was time to gather myself and move on to the next phase.

‘To spread Mana throughout the entire body.’

So, I drew a certain incantation in my mind.

It was a combination of the incantations of ‘Wave’, ‘Transmission’, and ‘Distribution.’

I drew the incantation that Elena taught me in my imagination and activated it.

Then, the Mana receptors that were residing in my brain began to transfer the image information to the core Mana stone.

To convey the drawn incantation to the core Mana stone for activation.

—Ziiiiiiiiiiing…

Thus, the incantation information reached the core Mana stone.

The core Mana stone interpreted the incantation information transferred from my Mana receptors and began to execute it.

Distributing Mana equally to the Mana stones spread throughout my body.

—Swoooooo…

At that moment, I could feel the Mana circulating within my entire body.

My chest, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, abdomen, waist, thighs, calves, feet, and so on.

The Mana stones embedded in all these body parts accepted Mana, and a blue haze began to rise from my entire body.

The state of ‘Mana Manifestation’ was complete, with Mana circulating throughout my body.

“……Huh.”

Seeing this, Elena let out a faint laugh.

She was witnessing her previous understanding completely shattered before her eyes, so even a Great Mage like Elena couldn’t help but lose her composure.

“Seriously, how… can one acquire Mana… after birth…?”

Normally, this would be impossible in this world.

Mana was the privilege and power of the nobility.

The methods of handling Mana, the genes to control Mana, the techniques to utilize Mana.

All of these were passed down only to their descendants.

“Well, it seems I’ve successfully completed the first phase.”

But now, it was different.

Highly advanced science was like magic; I was able to step right into their domain solely through my own skills.

“Hoo… yeah. Seeing the Mana circulating throughout my body… it seems I’ve succeeded.”

“Thanks to you, Master.”

“Well, it’s true it’s thanks to me, but you did it all. Over there, the toxins being emitted from the Mana stones are being well purified too.”

As Elena said, toxins were indeed being released from the Mana stones embedded throughout my body.

The greatest flaw of the Mana stones was occurring without fail.

However, I had designed it so that all those toxins would gather into the ‘Purification Stone,’ and the Purification Stone was successfully performing its role.

This was the process of removing toxic substances using the ‘Mutual Destruction’ incantation discovered while dissecting the Blue Dragon.

“Then, let’s move on to the next phase.”

Next phase.

Having succeeded in spreading Mana throughout my body, it was now time to utilize it.

I envisioned the incantation of ‘Enhancement’ and ‘A1’ simultaneously in my mind.

And I directed that command to the core Mana stone for activation.

Then, the Mana stone corresponding to A1.

In other words, the Mana stone embedded in my right palm activated, and my palm began to strengthen.

Crack!

I drove my enhanced fist straight into the ground.

Crash—the marble cracked and fissures appeared.

The command of ‘only enhancing my right hand’ had succeeded.

“With that kind of power, I think it’d match a high-level Sword User.”

Elena assessed that the destructive force was equivalent to a ‘high-level Sword User’ as she looked at the cracked ground.

Sword Users are a rank of the swordsman class, typically the next step after Sword Runners, and most aspiring knights entering the Empire Academy fall into this category.

“The more I learn, the more astounding it is. Starting from the Sword User level, normally one would begin as a Sword Runner and have to grind for four more years.”

Indeed, Elena was correct.

In the setting of ‘El Pandor Runtera,’ aspiring knights generally start from the Sword Runner level.

Only some exceptionally talented commoners could be recognized as Sword Users while learning swordsmanship.

“Well, prominent knight families start off as Sword Experts from the beginning.”

However, among the great swordsmen who left their names in history, there have been cases where they were recognized as ‘Sword Experts’ right from the start.

And in today’s age, ‘Enya’ of the noble knight family ‘Cruel’ was one such person.

She was also an Academy student who would participate in the entrance ceremony taking place in two weeks, one of the key NPCs shaping this era.

“Anyway, with that kind of ability, starting as a knight isn’t such a bad option. After all, there will be limits to handling incantations…”

At that moment, I nodded my head in agreement with Elena’s following words.

As she said, there are undoubtedly limits to handling incantations.

In fact, I can currently only use the incantations inscribed on my core Mana stone.

Wave, Transmission, Distribution, Enhancement, Elemental Conversion, Emission.

These six are all I can use.

“After all, I simply borrowed the mechanism of the Blue Dragon.”

The Blue Dragon.

That entity could only enhance its body or shoot its breath by utilizing Mana.

Instead of having hundreds or thousands of Mana receptors, it handled all commands with a single core Mana stone.

Thus, like it, I, who borrowed their system, could only emit the four basic elements or strengthen my body.

While my strengths are clear, my weaknesses are just as apparent.

“For now, let’s stick with being a knight.”

But as always, I had no intention of accepting that.

For now, I was just reluctantly accepting my situation, but if I upgrade the Mana stones and build a new system, I could surpass these limitations.

After all, this is just a prototype.

***

After successfully completing the Mana stone implantation surgery.

I began to carve out a route to sneak into the lecture hall.

With the entrance ceremony starting in two weeks and various classes to be held, I needed to develop a way to intervene.

‘Since I’ve decided to take the knight position, I ought to learn swordsmanship.’

Thus, the first place I began to carve out my route was Classroom 11, where Professor Gracia taught.

If it’s swordsmanship taught by Professor Gracia, one of the five Sword Masters of the Empire, it would definitely be of great help to me.

Since I decided to stick with the knight position for a while, I planned to learn diligently even if it meant sneaking in.

“Ed, the head professor is calling for you.”

While I was pondering how to modify the vent in Classroom 11, James informed me that Elena was looking for me.

Currently, James only knew that Elena was sponsoring me; he looked at me every day with eyes brimming with pride.

After all, I’m the only commoner among our peers doing this well.

“Ahem. Sorry for leaving so often. It seems like I’m making my father work alone.”

“Ha ha. Just go and come back. This is something Dad can handle easily on his own. Don’t worry about it.”

After spending the last few days hanging out with Elena.

James had been covering almost all the necessary work for the Academy’s opening.

Well, even though there was a lot to do, James could handle it quickly, but I felt bad for not helping him even once since I came as an assistant.

“Hurry~ the professor is waiting.”

“I’ll be quick and come back to help.”

So today, I intended to help James, but if Elena called for me, there was no helping it.

After all, my growth was the most important thing.

“Master, it’s Ed.”

Putting aside my feelings of guilt toward James for a moment, I headed to Elena’s office.

Eventually, after receiving permission to enter, I opened the door, and Elena was smiling as she greeted me.

Waving a letter in her hand.

“Master, you called for me.”

“Uh-huh, yes. I have good news. First, why don’t you sit over there?”

Elena looked particularly happy.

What kind of news could make her so excited?

After sitting on the couch as directed, she brought a teacup and poured me some black tea.

Pouring tea usually means a long story is about to unfold.

While I was guessing what the news could be, Elena sat on the opposite couch and poured black tea into her own cup.

Sipping the tea, Elena slid the letter in her hand toward me.

As she took another sip of her tea, she said.

“Ed. That symbol on the letter, do you know what it is?”

The symbol on the letter?

Curious, I looked closer, and it was the royal crest.

“Um… this is the royal crest, right?”

“Exactly. It’s the royal crest. That’s a fresh-off-the-press official document that just arrived from the palace. Would you like to take a look?”

…An official document from the palace.

Could Elena have done something for me?

Filled with subtle anticipation, I unfolded the letter.

Inside the letter was filled with dense text.

However, summarizing the contents, it said that I could be accepted as a student at the Academy.

“…Master. This is… ”

“Yes. You can enroll here too.”

…This is huge.

This is truly a big deal.

For a commoner to be able to operate as a student at the Academy.

It was a remarkable exception never permitted even once in history, now applied uniquely to me.

I won’t have to grunt and sneak in through the vents anymore!

“…Thank you. To be honest, I wanted to learn a lot here.”

“Hee hee. I could tell. You wanting to stay in the Academy and wanting to have me as a master. And more than that, to resolve that nightmare you keep having… it would be best to gain strength here.”

“…….”

Hmm.

It seems Elena genuinely empathizes with me.

She appears quite conscious of the nightmare topic that I casually brought up as a temporary measure.

“…It’s just a dream, but thank you for caring.”

“Nope. I understand your feelings well too. The feeling of being chased in a dream. It’s an emotion only I can grasp. Just you and I, we are the only ones who can understand.”

…An emotion only the two of us can grasp?

This nuance is a bit strange.

It’s not like you mean you can understand me better than anyone else, right?

Let’s make sure that Elena’s hidden event doesn’t kick in yet.

“Ahem. Anyway, thank you so much. Getting a commoner like me into this place… it must not have been easy at all.”

Elena’s gaze had a peculiar glint, so I hurriedly changed the subject while expressing my gratitude.

Elena then sank into the couch while taking another sip of black tea.

“Well. There were plenty of things to keep track of. There were some negotiations too. Still, what matters most was getting you enrolled here.”

Elena said that as she sipped her tea.

Then, she set her cup back on the table and continued.

“However, there are some conditions attached. You read the letter, so you know, right?”

“…Yes.”

The conditions for being a student.

Of course I knew because I read it.

The reason I could become an Academy student is because of Elena’s promise to create the first human blacksmith to receive the title of ‘Creation.’

For this reason, I had to demonstrate my skills, and the way to prove that was to produce equipment for the faculty once a month.

Afterward, based on evaluations together with three examiners dispatched from the royal family, if I passed, my status as a student would be retained; if I failed, I would be expelled immediately.

“…Right. I’m not worried about failing the test. I’ll manage fine.”

And Elena pushed forward my enrollment with all these conditions attached.

That’s because she trusts me that much.

“Of course. Who do you think I am?”

Thus, I responded to her trust with confidence.

Elena chuckled and said.

“Hee hee, I’m honored to be treated as a master without having taught anything yet. Anyway, Ed, you’ll be attending classes under the pretense of observing equipment production. So your seat will be assigned separately… but that will be up to the professor’s discretion, so there might be some discrimination.”

Discrimination, huh.

That was something I had already braced myself for.

There was no way they would just let a commoner mix in with the high-nosed nobles.

“It doesn’t matter. Just being able to attend classes is already a huge deal.”

“…Hee hee. Right. And as you know, the entrance ceremony is set to take place in two weeks. You’ll be participating there as well.”

“Yes.”

“And after the entrance ceremony, there will be a ‘Class Determination Battle.’ You’ll be participating in that too.”

The Class Determination Battle.

This was a ranking battle held every quarter.

In this Class Determination Battle, academy students would duel under unlimited rules and be assigned classes ranging from S to E according to the results.

‘And it’s best to be assigned to a class with a high rank.’

The Imperial Royal Academy.

That place had a structured hierarchy.

S-Class students could attend all lectures, but those below them could only take the courses corresponding to their own rank.

“So, my disciple. You can definitely achieve good grades, right?”

For these reasons, I must go all in during the Class Determination Battle.

‘To prepare for the ‘Destruction’ scenario, it’s essential to attend all classes.’

“Yep, of course. I’ll aim for an S grade.”