I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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[Blame! Blame! Blame! Blame!]

Max’s new model charged forward rapidly.

Ed fired several plasma beams at Max with a blank expression, just like before.

[Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang!]

But there was no way to stop Max’s charge.

With minimal movement, he dodged two of the plasma beams and blocked one using the power of obsidian.

Thanks to being at the second stage of Frenzy, his physical abilities were greatly enhanced.

[Hahahahahaha!!]

Max, with a face like a demon, burst with laughter.

This was a typical symptom seen in those under the influence of Frenzy potions.

Overwhelmed by the overflowing power, emotions became unmanageable.

“Ma, Max is… more aggressive than usual?”

“Creepy…”

“Isn’t it exciting, though? It’s starting to feel like a real match…”

And the cadets watching reacted differently.

Those who became fans early in the semester felt their hearts race as they watched Max’s demonic figure, while those who enjoyed the fight itself focused on the screen, unable to contain their excitement.

“Right, he can’t just be defeated by a commoner.”

“I want to see that bastard flustered at least once. What a nuisance.”

And those jealous or feeling inferior to Ed smirked, wishing for Ed’s defeat.

Thus, such a diverse range of desires erupted throughout the classroom due to Ed’s duel.

[Dieee!!]

With everyone’s attention focused.

In an instant, Max, who had closed the distance, swung his obsidian at Ed.

[Whoosh!]

Ed had already shot a web-shooter onto the ceiling, retracting the genetically engineered web to pull his body upwards.

Thanks to the propulsion device on his back, Ed’s body soared into the air in an instant.

[You think I’ll miss this?]

However, Max had no intention of giving him an opening.

He immediately gathered mana at his toes and lunged at Ed with explosive jump strength.

[Thwump!]

But this was Ed’s trap.

As Max jumped, Ed fired his web-shooter, and the black goo stuck to Max’s face.

[Ugh!?]

Once again blinded, Max wildly swung his obsidian in panic.

The dark mana spread out like a spear, but Ed was already gone from that spot.

[Thud!]

[Ughhk!]

Blinded, Max simply headbutted the ceiling and fell to the ground.

The cadets watching erupted in laughter, bombarding Max with comments about his ridiculous state.

“See, I told you Max can’t do it.”

“That’s what he gets for messing with Lord Fix.”

“Fighting without any thought, is he?”

[You bastard!!!]

But just when everyone thought it was over.

Max tore the black goo off his face with sheer strength alone.

Just moments ago, he couldn’t even get a small bit off his foot, yet he peeled the black substance off like tape.

[You coward!]

And then, with explosive force, he closed the distance with Ed again.

Yet, each time, Ed went airborne, waiting for Max, who repeatedly got hit by the black goo as he chased.

[You sneaky bastard!]

After being caught in the same pattern three times, Max decided to change tactics.

When Ed dodged towards the ceiling, this time he did not chase but used the black mana from his obsidian to attack Ed.

[Learning after three tries, huh?]

But it was easy to dodge again.

With Max not jumping after him, Ed shot a web-shooter at the nearby ceiling to gain some distance.

Frustration flooded Max’s face as he chased after Ed with a blood pressure that seemed about to burst.

But each time, Ed maneuvered in the air to maintain the gap, forcing Max to undergo ‘puppy training’ for over two minutes.

[I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you!]

Thus, Max’s rage began to soar exponentially.

Adrenaline coursed through his body, and his heart started beating faster.

This pumped blood quickly carried the Frenzy potion mixed with his blood, saturating the mana reservoirs throughout his body, enhancing his muscle fibers, and activating his nerve tissues.

[Ignite!]

And just as he reached the final stages of the second level of Frenzy, Max jumped.

The speed was on a different level from before.

‘…’

Gracia sensed something was off.

How in the world could Max undergo such enhancement?

But it was too early to judge.

There might be hidden techniques or special skills each family possessed.

For now, all he could do was keep a close watch on Max with his keen eyes.

[Die! Die! Diiiiie!!]

Max began to swing his obsidian wildly with bloodshot eyes.

Ed barely managed to dodge with his maneuvering each time, but it felt like he would soon get caught by Max’s ever-accelerating speed.

The atmosphere in the classroom, which had been mockingly viewing Max, grew heavy.

[Hahaha! Am I scary? Am I terrifying? If you get caught by me, it’s the end for you!!!]

The Frenzy potion made him stronger the more he was wounded.

Max was experiencing an exhilarating high like he had become the strongest.

It felt as though Ed Fix would soon be cut down, clutching at his pants and shedding tears of regret.

[Time for this test to end.]

But Ed muttered some incomprehensible words as he maneuvered towards a corner of the arena.

Then, he quietly mused, ‘It would be nice to increase the instantaneous acceleration of my propulsion a bit more.’

Despite having become this powerful, he seemed completely indifferent.

[You little bastard!]

Bang!

Max’s new model shot at Ed.

Now cornered, he thought he could tear Ed apart using the black mana from his obsidian if he couldn’t dodge that damned maneuver anymore.

[This time you can’t escape!]

So Max focused on the air.

He planned to fire a web-shooter at the ceiling and then cut through it with black mana.

[Thwump! Thwump!]

Yet, Ed had no intention of escaping at all.

He shot two streams of goo at Max to create a trap, then twisted his body to dodge the attack.

Now, it was Max who was cornered.

“Try to break out.”

Ed said while activating the Plasma Mana Shield.

The ultra-high-temperature mana shield expanded with a radius of 2 meters, pressing Max further into a corner.

[Aaaah!!!!]

Max’s skin began to melt, and a gruesome substance started to ooze out.

Even though mana enveloped his entire body, he couldn’t withstand the ultra-high temperature and melted.

But Ed simply stuffed his hands into his pockets and quietly glared at Max.

Upon feeling Ed’s contempt-filled gaze, Max unleashed intense anger, swelling his muscles.

With that power, he began to swing his obsidian frantically.

[You bastard! You damn commoner! How dare you!]

Max looked utterly insane, completely losing his rationality.

The brutal attacks against Ed’s Plasma Shield began to rain down.

Yet, even while receiving such violent attacks, Ed kept his glare fixed on Max.

He stood firm like a mountain, not backing down an inch.

His gaze alone seemed like it would swallow Max whole.

‘He’s already playing around like this. I need to thoroughly crush him.’

The reason Ed glared at Max was that he knew Max had consumed the ‘Frenzy Potion.’

Each NPC had their unique events.

Max’s unique event was the ‘Frenzy Potion’, which typically only appeared at the end of the semester.

Desperate to acquire Enya, Max secretly consumed the Frenzy Potion in a 1:1 duel.

If the player didn’t step in, Enya would fall into the corruption route.

She would suffer a devastating defeat at Max’s hands, leading her to question her sword skills deeply and pursue the path of sheer brute strength just like Max.

As a result, Enya would succumb to the demon’s temptation, promising powerful abilities.

The stellar future of becoming the Grand Swordmaster would be lost as she became a minion of the demon.

[Aaaah! Y-you little— Aaaah!]

Thus, Ed had no intention of forgiving Max.

His obsession with Enya turned to him now.

He needed to crush that bastard thoroughly and punish him so he could never behave like this again.

[What are you doing? You came down here for a fair fight, and you can’t even break this?]

Ed raised the output of the Plasma Shield.

Max screamed in agony as his irises began to glow red.

Thump!

And then, something changed in Max’s heart, and his skin began to transform.

The Frenzy Potion activated completely, turning his skin red while a crimson aura erupted from his body.

He had entered the third level of Frenzy.

[Roaaaaar!!]

-BOOM!

Max let out a monstrous roar as he swung his obsidian with force.

The shockwave pushed Ed back as Max escaped the corner.

[You foolish fool!]

However, Gracia, who had served as a Legion Commander, could not fail to recognize what the third level of Frenzy meant.

He approached Max at lightning speed, smashing his fist into Max’s chest, then kicking his knee to twist one leg backward.

Max’s body crumbled to the ground in an instant.

[To think you actually took the Frenzy Potion… Why did you do that!?]

Gracia yelled at Max, who lay sprawled on the floor.

Yet Max, now at the third level of Frenzy, cursed even at Gracia, the professor, launching hatred in all directions.

“Frenzy Potion…? Isn’t that a taboo?”

“No way, did he really use that in a duel?”

“Crazy…”

The entire classroom stirred in shock.

As students showered comments about Max with incredulous expressions, high-ranking officials dispatched from the central command were preparing to report to the royal family.

Since he had used a forbidden potion, Zigmund had to investigate the entire incident.

“Impressive, that Ed Fix guy. This is a fighting style I’ve never seen before.”

Meanwhile, Gracia, Aleirina, and some officials of other legions were keeping a watchful eye on Ed.

Since students graduating from the academy are immediately appointed to high-ranking positions in the Empire, they were marking talented candidates to attract them to their own organizations.

[Roar!!! Ohhh! Roar!! Roar!!!]

On the contrary, starting from this very day, Max’s reputation plummeted into the abyss.

After using a forbidden potion and failing to manage his emotions, he couldn’t even utilize the power he’d gained properly.

[Max Zigmund. You’re expelled starting today. I will report to the head professor and the chairman to propose your expulsion.]

Professor Gracia declared Max’s expulsion, then approached him.

He needed to knock him out and calm him down first.

[Thump!]

But at that moment,

Max plunged his obsidian into his abdomen.

He inflicted a serious injury on himself to gain even greater strength.

[What the hell!]

Boom!

A red mist spread out in all directions.

As Max pulled out the obsidian lodged in his abdomen, the gaping wound healed in an instant, replaced by grotesque skin tissue.

With his crimson gaze and drooling mouth, Max twisted his lips into a gruesome grin.

[…Edgar Fix, step back. I will subdue him.]

Gracia, panting heavily, picked up a 17cm long guide stick.

Since Max had transformed into the fourth level of Frenzy, he needed to subdue him even if it meant inflicting a deadly injury.

“…Hah. This guy is insane? He’s voluntarily becoming a madman?”

Aleirina found herself similarly aghast at Max’s madness.

She had expected him to be subdued by Gracia at the third level, yet here he was, inducing the fourth level of Frenzy willingly.

If he became a madman, even if he survived, he’d have to live with the aftermath for the rest of his life. How could he have possibly thought this through?

“Commander, what should we do? Isn’t this dangerous?”

The subordinate spoke seriously.

Once he reaches the fourth level of Frenzy, he would gain explosive power unimaginable compared to the third level.

“…Please. It’s Gracia-chan. Even with such a ridiculous weapon, Gracia will be fine.”

Aleirina leaned back in her chair with a nonchalant expression.

After all, Gracia was one of only four swordmasters in the Empire. There was no way he couldn’t subdue some love-struck fool consumed by hatred.

[Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!]

But in the next moment,

Max’s obsidian began to roar and absorbed the crimson aura emanating from his body.

As the red aura was absorbed, the power of the obsidian surged exponentially, the pitch-black mana growing ever larger.

“…Wait a moment.”

Aleirina realized that something was going horribly wrong.

The one she needed to be wary of was not the love-struck fool consumed by hatred, but the weapon—that sword of the Zigmund family he wielded.

“I can’t let this happen. I’m going to help too.”

With that, Aleirina stood up and began to walk towards the teleportation magic circle.

But at that moment, the dark mana, floating in the air like a black cloud, shot out spikes in all directions, destroying the teleportation magic circle connected to the arena.

In other words, there was no way to intervene in that arena anymore.

“Crap, we’re in trouble?”

The entire classroom stirred.

The subplot stood up quickly to ask where the real position of the arena was.

The problem was that no student had any idea about that.

[I’ll kill both of you!]

In the midst of it all, Max, drooling and wearing a twisted expression, flung his black mana at them.

Gracia swung the 17cm stick to launch a strike and negated the attack.

But the issue was that the black mana from the obsidian was growing larger by the second.

[Professor.]

At that moment, Ed, who had been retreating, stood next to Gracia.

And he uttered a word that was nearly impossible to believe.

[I’ll help too. If you draw his attention, I’ll destroy the obsidian.]