I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

---

The office of the head of the Zigmund family.

In the thick darkness, a man stood.

The man’s name was Cairo Zigmund.

He was the head of the Zigmund family and the wielder of the Dark Sword, Black Lava.

He turned around and spoke.

“You have tarnished the family’s name.”

“You.”

That referred to his own son, Max.

Max, who suffered an embarrassing defeat despite wielding the Black Lava, had no right to be called the son of the head of the Zigmund family.

“…Wha, what about Monday’s practice, I mean, uh!?”

However, as Max, kneeling, was about to make an excuse, he suddenly groaned under a mysterious force pressing down on him.

The source of that force was none other than the magical energy emanating from the Black Lava.

“If you are truly my son, then prove it. If you can wield the Black Lava, you should be able to control this power.”

Cairo said this as he extended his hand.

Instantly, the Black Lava, which had been next to Max, was pulled toward his hand as if by a magnet.

Cairo then aimed the tip of the Black Lava at Max and added even more magical pressure onto him.

“Grrr! Ugh—!”

Max’s veins bulged, and his eyes began to turn bloodshot.

The magical energy from the Black Lava was pressing down on his face with a force that seemed ready to explode it.

“To survive, control this sword. Otherwise, you will die here today.”

Yet, Cairo continued to pour out the magical energy from the Black Lava with an expressionless face, despite seeing his son in such pain.

If he didn’t withdraw the magic now, it was clear that Max’s face would burst open.

‘H-He really intends to kill me. For real…!’

At this, Max felt the primal fear of life.

The fear felt by prey standing before a predator.

Thus, like prey fleeing from a predator, Max began to exert every ounce of strength he had to control the Black Lava, just as he had learned through a harsh training regimen since childhood, honing the “Zigmund-style Swordsmanship” with all his might.

-Whrrr! Whrrr! Whrrr!

Then, the two powers began to clash.

The force attempting to crush Max’s face versus the force struggling to break free.

In that moment, the Black Lava in Cairo’s hand started to tremble.

But that was only for a brief moment.

“Hmm. As expected, you are not my son. Is this all you can do?”

Cairo’s eyes widened.

Like a taut string snapping, the balance of the colliding forces shattered in an instant.

Max’s control was overwhelmed by Cairo.

“GAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAH—!!”

Max’s screams began to echo.

The dark magical energy pouring out from the Black Lava mercilessly pressed down, distorting Max’s face.

His nose was smashed, his jaw dislocated, and his eyes began to glaze over.

“AAAAAAAH!!!”

But in the next moment.

Max’s fading expression twisted into a monstrous glare as he screamed.

Simultaneously, he began to push back against the magical energy that was crushing his face, bit by bit.

-Whrrr! Whrrr! Whrrr!

Thus, the two opposing forces stood in stark contrast.

Cairo, who had maintained an expressionless demeanor the whole time, felt the corners of his mouth twitch in a faint smirk.

Just as Cairo thought it was enough and withdrew the Black Lava, the two opposing forces that had been in sharp conflict vanished in an instant.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

Max, with his face twisted and bones misaligned, gasped for breath.

Cairo approached Max.

Kneeling to match Max’s eye level, he placed a hand on his head and healed him.

“Good. That’s the stance. You have to fight for your life to be somewhat useful.”

Cairo said this as he stood up.

Max’s formerly mangled face was now restored to normal.

“I will give you one last chance.”

Cairo said this as he released the hold he had on the Black Lava.

However, the Black Lava did not fall to the ground but floated in the air, coming right in front of Max’s eyes.

“The class with Lord Gracia tomorrow… that class will be a spectator class. Numerous central officials will be present.”

“…”

“Do not bring shame to the name of Zigmund. This chance is the only one you will get.”

After leaving those words behind, Cairo exited the office.

As soon as Cairo left, Max gripped the floating Black Lava tightly and rose to his feet.

Tears began to mix with his eyes, now filled with venom and determination.

The magical energy from the Black Lava spread in all directions.

***

Monday morning.

Classroom 11, where Professor Gracia was lecturing, was somewhat chaotic.

Central officials occupying many high seats had come to observe the class, filling the back seats in a rush.

“Hm. So that guy is Edgar Fix?”

“Yes. That seems to be the case.”

Most of the officials were focused on Edgar.

They wanted to approach the commoner blacksmith who created the ludicrous item known as “Graham’s North Wind.”

That way, they could order air conditioners that would sustain them through this long summer.

“Certainly doesn’t seem like a regular guy.”

However, even aside from the “Graham’s North Wind,” Edgar Fix was a person of interest.

That was not without reason; rumors about him had spread widely, even in the central royal court.

Despite being an ordinary commoner, he was supported by a Great Mage and a Princess, and he had performed impressively in class evaluation battles, placing in the rankings.

His outstanding achievements had already garnered him a following of fans.

The ‘Empire Newspaper’ even ran articles about the weapon he had used, boosting their sales figures.

-Thunk.

Just then.

The classroom door swung open, and Professor Gracia entered.

Most of the officials seated in the back stood up, bowing their heads in greeting.

“Senior, it’s been a while.”

“I hope you’ve been well, Senior.”

“It’s an honor to see you.”

“Here comes Swordmaster Gracia.”

Seven years ago, Gracia had served as a Legion Commander during the Great War.

Due to his high position, most of the officials attending this class were required to show him respect.

The only person who could disregard his achievements and authority was ‘Alerina,’ who had been his classmate and was also a Legion Commander.

“Hey, Gracia. You wear conquering pretty well, huh? You’ve turned into quite the gentleman.”

“…Alerina.”

“Are you having fun playing teacher here without me? I’m dying of boredom without you around.”

“…Must be boring since there’s no war. You’re obsessed with slaughter.”

At Gracia’s remark, Alerina shrugged.

Then she let down her loosely tied curly red hair and said,

“Oh, that’s all ancient history. I’m not the old me anymore, you know? I want to settle down now. Want to marry?”

“…….”

Gracia looked at Alerina with eyes like he was staring at a cockroach.

But that was all.

Having shifted his gaze, Gracia walked past her towards the podium.

“Ugh, got shot down again.”

Alerina muttered, poking her subordinate lightly.

With a playfully mischievous smile, she said to her subordinate,

“Want to marry?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, at least pretend to consider it for a bit, will ya?”

Alerina teased her subordinate with a grin, giving him a playful smack.

The subordinate’s expression was a blend of distress and suppressed laughter.

Amid this, Gracia’s firm voice resonated.

“Silence.”

…….

With just those words, a sudden hush fell over the room.

Even Alerina, who had been jesting with her subordinate, stopped her antics, muttering, “Oh, what a vibe.”

Now Gracia began to announce the details of today’s class.

“You all know, today is the day for practical duels. Each student must engage in both an ‘offensive match’ and a ‘defensive match’ once, in a duel arena measuring 2000 pyeong.”

Offensive matches and defensive matches.

An offensive match was a duel against an opponent of one’s choosing.

In Gracia’s prior class, every student had announced their training methods and the weapons they would use, so based on that information, they picked opponents they felt they could defeat.

Similarly, a defensive match was a duel against an opponent who had chosen them.

Just like how they would select an opponent they felt they could defeat, they might also find themselves picked by someone who underestimated them for the defensive match.

However, at this time, Gracia had taken precautionary measures to avoid duplicate pairings for the offensive matches.

He had evaluated the students’ skill levels and imposed restrictions on whom they could choose.

As a result, he had set up a bracket where everyone could have one offensive match and one defensive match without any duplicate selections.

“Then let’s begin the duels. First up is Anna Silbern’s offensive match. Her opponent is Andy Brunch.”

Thus, the practical duels began.

The two students named by Gracia stepped up to the podium and placed their hands on the teleportation magic circle.

Then, their forms were transported to opposite ends of the duel arena.

Though the arena was large, it was quite open, allowing the two students to see each other’s positions.

[Begin.]

Soon after, Gracia, who had moved to oversee the duels, commanded the start.

At this, the two students at opposite ends began to rush toward each other.

[Andy Brunch wins.]

The result was a victory for Andy, who had been chosen by Anna.

In other words, the student who had fought defensively had won.

As a result, Anna, who lost the ‘offensive match,’ would inevitably receive a significant deduction in points.

She had thought she could beat Andy and picked him, only to find herself defeated.

[Let’s begin the next duel. Max Zigmund’s offensive match. His opponent is Edgar Fix.]

And here was another student who had overestimated himself in picking a challenger.

Max Zigmund.

He had recklessly chosen Edgar, disregarding any considerations of matchups or strengths, solely to redeem himself from the defeat of the first match.

‘This time, I’m definitely going to rip him apart.’

However, he did have a plan.

The berserk potion he secretly purchased from the black market.

Having spent all his money on this potion, he was confident that this time he would win.

‘Last time I couldn’t even properly utilize the Black Lava.’

Moreover, last time he hadn’t even had the chance to swing his sword before losing outright.

He had succumbed to Edgar’s tricks, never managing to show his true strength.

So this time, it was going to be completely different.

With almost no obstacles in the arena, there would be no room for tricks, and having taken the berserk potion, he wouldn’t be able to control his own speed and strength.

Once Max finished mapping out these strategies, he pretended to drink water and quickly downed the berserk potion he had prepared.

Strength began to surge through his entire body.

“Wow~ that guy’s going to be interesting, huh? He’s using cheats?”

But he couldn’t fool Alerina’s eyes.

Since she was an extraordinary mage with a ‘special eye,’ she could catch changes in him that even Gracia couldn’t perceive.

Yet even after witnessing that spectacle, she took no action.

She merely shrugged her shoulders and laughed, as if finding the situation amusing.

“Hey, subordinate. Doesn’t this seem like it’ll be a hell of a show? There’s a madman drinking berserk potions out there.”

“…Shouldn’t we stop him? If he loses control….”

“What are you worrying about? We’ve got Gracia around. Besides, that guy’s a commoner, right? The rising star of the first-term students.”

“Yes. That’s true, but… that berserk potion is still….”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. He’s not going to die or anything, is he?”

Alerina reclined against her chair as she spoke.

The subordinate looked at Alerina with the gaze of someone observing a reckless child, then let out a deep sigh and turned his head forward.

Max and Edgar’s figures were moving into the arena.