I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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15 minutes ago, in the auditorium of the 7th building of the Basic Tactics Department.

The cadets gathered there were watching the screen with somewhat skeptical expressions.

It was no surprise; the outcome between the two teams was too easily predicted.

Undoubtedly, Max’s team would win.

Max, inheriting the bloodline of the Zigmund family, was not someone to be underestimated.

Everyone anticipated Max’s team to emerge victorious, believing that Ed’s team would suffer a disastrous defeat.

“······.”

However, that atmosphere was quickly overturned.

Max’s team fell into Ed’s team’s trap, and the tide of battle had completely reversed.

The once lively auditorium quieted down, as if cold water had been poured over it.

Only the screams of Max’s team echoed through the sound amplification system.

“Not bad.”

Isabella’s eyes gleamed with interest.

It was rather strange to see someone like Ed struggling against someone as foolish as Max, but it seemed he was hiding a trump card.

[Stop them.]

Especially, his ruthless demeanor toward the enemy appealed to her.

With a blank expression, he kept repeating, “Stop them.”

Isabella was drawn in by the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes when he said those words.

She sensed that he was not simply a righteous and straightforward person.

‘I knew it. You must have thought we were in the same boat.’

Though he pretended to be kind to everyone, he was more brutal than anyone else toward his enemies.

Isabella saw herself reflected in that contrasting image.

When it was time to achieve her desired goals, she would finally reveal her true self.

As Isabella looked at Ed, that was exactly what she saw in him.

Unrestrained, merciless, and indifferent to kindness or emotion.

It was nothing but a mechanical assault on Max’s team for the sake of ‘victory.’

‘I felt that way ever since the entrance ceremony speech. You are kindred to me.’

The entrance ceremony speech.

Isabella felt a strong attraction toward Ed while listening to that speech.

She noticed that he utilized people’s desires.

The vanity of nobility.

Ed complimented each noble family, feeding their vanity.

He humbled himself while elevating the nobles to great heights.

He carefully selected words that would delight the nobles.

As a result, he was able to achieve what he desired.

Gaining favor and recognition from the nobles, he became an incoming student at the Academy despite being a commoner.

In short, Ed was clever.

He understood human desires and knew how to exploit them.

He was capable of being that ruthless to achieve his goals.

It was proof that he had a clear objective.

Thus, Isabella wanted to keep Ed by her side all the more.

Because no matter how much she exploited him, he was someone who wouldn’t easily break.

Unlike the three fools who still considered her a friend, he too would be someone who could handle her.

“To turn the tables from that disadvantage····.”

However, Enya was focused on a different side of Ed.

She was impressed by how he overcame the disadvantage.

And indeed, Ed’s teammates were all scions of wretched families.

The firewood Tyler, the gardener Charlotte, and the alley-dog Pio.

They were nothing but a mishmash of misfits.

But Ed made clever use of their strengths and devised an ingenious plan to turn the situation around.

He reversed the battle that everyone thought he would lose.

It was like watching a comic relief comedy.

‘A spirit that doesn’t yield······.’

Even when everyone scoffed at him, that was how he quietly walked his own path.

And by the end of that comic, he conquered the world of warriors with nothing but a single move.

The figure of Baldy, who resonated strongly in her heart, overlapped with Ed.

Not blaming the environment, not blaming his teammates, and giving his best with what he had—his demeanor resembled that of Baldy in the early parts of the comic.

“Edgar Fix, this is something remarkable?”

And the judges watching Ed’s strategy were just as impressed.

This was the first time a match had so perfectly utilized the abilities of team members and the terrain.

“The disparity in ranks was immense, yet he turned it over. Look at this.”

One judge said this while handing an analysis report to a colleague.

After reviewing the report, the colleague smirked in disbelief.

Max’s team’s expected combat power was ‘C+’, while Ed’s team was ‘E-’.

It was an unbelievable disparity in strength.

“As you can see, it was so significant that it made me wonder if there was manipulation involved. Yet, he turned it around solely with strategy.”

“·····This is astonishing.”

“He skillfully utilized the opponent’s psychological weaknesses. He made them let their guard down multiple times. The failure of the vine trap, the comical retreat, and the defeat in the battle before the cave were all intentional maneuvers to draw Max’s team into the cave.”

“Truly a classic. The classic bait and switch using psychological weaknesses.”

Classic.

The judges determined that Ed’s operation was a classic example of bait and switch.

When teaching someone about bait and switch, it would be held up as a great example to say, ‘Look at the confrontation between Ed’s team and Max’s team.’

[Ka-pow!]

But the match was not over yet.

Max, who emerged from the shattered cave side.

Though he had inhaled a significant amount of smoke and was in bad shape, now that he was outside, there was room for counterattacks.

After all, he carried the bloodline of the Zigmund family.

[I will finish this.]

But at that moment, Ed boldly stepped forward.

He advanced toward Max, who was wielding the sword of the Zigmund family, ‘Blackblade’, unarmed.

However, some cadets watching from the auditorium deemed Ed reckless.

No matter how Max ended up like that, he was still holding the legendary sword of the Zigmund family, ‘Blackblade’.

-This is dangerous.

-Does Lord Fix not know about the Blackblade? It was made by a Dwarven blacksmith who has received the title of ‘Master’.

-If he knew, he wouldn’t approach so carelessly.

Blackblade.

One of the four legendary swords that elevated the Zigmund family to its current status.

This sword earned its infamous reputation particularly during the Great War seven years ago.

The small Count family of Zigmund had grown to stand shoulder to shoulder with Marquises, all thanks to the Blackblade.

Thus, everyone watched Ed with cold sweat on their brows.

Approaching him so carelessly, it was clear what would happen.

He would quickly be drawn into the magic of that sword and shredded mercilessly.

[-Swoosh!]

At that moment, everyone held their breath.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the air.

And through that crack, a bracelet began to emerge.

Ed, strolling leisurely while sticking his hand in, snagged the bracelet with his left hand and put it onto his right wrist.

Then—

[Zziiiing····]

The mana stone embedded in the center of the bracelet began to glow and shift form.

Metal extended from the bracelet, wrapping around Ed’s wrist and hand.

[Chitter-chitter… Clang. Clang. Clang.]

A pleasing sound was created as each alloy interlocked intricately.

Before anyone could fully process what happened, the gauntlet formed and completely settled into Ed’s hand.

Everyone in the auditorium watched in awe, their eyes wide open, staring at the scene.

What in the world was that?

[Ki─iiiing-!]

At that moment, Ed reached out with his gauntleted hand.

His palm pointed at the reeling Max.

A round, white flash of light shone on his spread palm.

The white light began to grow larger, emitting a high-pitched frequency of ‘Ki─iiiiing’.

Ki─iiiiing─────!

As time passed, the bandwidth of that high-pitched sound gradually increased.

Everyone’s tension escalated.

And then, at that moment.

[Boom!]

It was truly a split second.

The white flash shot forth from the gauntlet.

It precisely targeted Max’s abdomen, and his body flew away, bent as ‘⊂’, into some distant place.

Leaving only the Blackblade behind, he evaporated in an instant.

And that was all there was to it.

Ed immediately turned his back.

Without needing to check the result, he began to return to where his companions were.

[Clang··· Clang··· Chitter-chitter···]

And simultaneously, the gauntlet began to retract.

As if the process of putting it on was being played backward, the metal that had embraced Ed’s hand was absorbed back into the bracelet.

[Ping!]

Once all the metals were retrieved, the bracelet seemed to possess its own will as it unfastened from Ed’s wrist.

For a brief moment, the bracelet lingered in the air.

[Crack!]

Yet just before it fell to the ground, the splitting crack in the air swallowed the bracelet again.

The unidentified weapon that had flung Max away vanished in an instant.

Everyone in the auditorium stared vacantly with their mouths agape at the scene.

“······.”

And no one could be the first to speak.

It felt as though they had fallen under a collective hypnosis.

What in the world did they just witness?

Whether it was the Blackblade or whatever else, that was a weapon from an entirely different dimension.

“······Ha.”

And the shock carried over to the Great Mage Elena as well.

She had been staring blankly at the screen but finally regained her senses.

Though she had known from the beginning that her disciple had extraordinary talent, she had never expected it to be enough for such a revolutionary change.

[Uh, Director?]

But the person himself remained unfazed.

With an innocent expression, he asked the director if the match would end soon.

Wasn’t it time to treat the injured?

[Yes, it should be.]

To this, the director, now more aware, nodded in agreement.

Swoosh- the new thing dispersed and disappeared.

Soon, the members of Max’s team, who had fainted inside the cave, and Max, who had suffered a deep wound in his abdomen, lay sprawled on the floor.

After restoring all the fainted members with healing magic, the director announced the results of the match with a sour expression.

[Max Zigmund, Krugah Venden, Peter Collins, Kain Morgan, Bengdang Truga. Disqualified.]

“······.”

[Edgar Fix, Charlotte Verdian, Tyler Martin, Pio Bailey. All passed.]

With that proclamation, the director concluded the match.

Then, the teleportation magic circles in the arena began to glow, moving Ed’s team and Max’s team away.

Thus, they returned to the auditorium.

“······.”

However, the atmosphere in the returned auditorium felt oddly strange.

An oddly silent auditorium.

Everyone was staring blankly at Ed.

Feeling the many gazes directed at him, Ed scratched the back of his head, turning his head awkwardly and said,

“Why is the mood like this?”