I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“I’m sorry. I was trying to save me…”

The beginning of memory started from the first meeting of Dagran and Reina.

Their bond began when Reina got injured trying to save Dagran in a crisis.

Everyone in the audience could feel the tender emotions and subtle changes in their relationship as the memories flowed.

This was because the spells of ‘illusion’ and ‘extrasensory perception’ connected them to the emotions embedded in the memories.

“I’ll make you smile, no matter what!!!”

Thus, the memories flowed, and the cohabitation of Dagran and Reina began to play out.

Dagran worked tirelessly to make Reina feel emotions, while Reina maintained a skeptical attitude.

At a glance, Dagran’s efforts seemed completely meaningless.

How could he possibly fix someone who was inherently designed not to feel emotions?

But Dagran did not give up.

He created a “device to see emotions” for Reina, who thought she had no emotions, proving to her that she too had feelings. When he dismissed it as “meaningless things that would scatter and disappear anyway,” he made the sacred sword “Guide of Emotions” to allow it to be expressed in the form of energy.

And when Reina wielded the sword imbued with her feelings, she realized that she too possessed intense emotions.

She had simply been unable to express them; it was proven that she had such strong feelings within herself.

“…Somehow, it seems that I love you.”

Thus, Reina came to understand the feeling of love.

This intense desire to protect the dwarf who saved her for the rest of her life.

When he was in pain, she felt pain, and when he was happy, she felt happiness — this peculiar feeling.

She finally recognized it as love and began a relationship with Dagran.

“Ah…”

And upon witnessing all this, the dwarves began to wipe their tears.

The love story of the dwarf they cherished most and a human knight stirred their nostalgia.

“If you are in pain… I am too.”

“Can you see my heart?”

A golden aura radiated from Reina’s body.

Everyone became immersed in Reina’s memories.

Her heart, loving Dagran, was sincere.

Because of this, the dwarves began to feel affection for Reina.

The beautiful human woman had genuinely loved the dwarf leader they cherished and respected the most.

Dagran, who received her heartfelt love, was undoubtedly happy.

“A large-scale monster assault is happening!”

However, as that day dawned, everyone’s expressions froze in shock.

The day that would completely ruin the perfect love between these two.

The memories of that day began to play again.

– Boom!

But at that moment.

The screen suddenly halted.

The memories replaying stopped.

As the dwarves, deeply engrossed, looked bewildered, Edgar ascended the stage and began to explain.

“Yes. It’s quite surprising that the memory stopped abruptly. However, this is to show the ‘truth’ in more detail.”

As Edgar spoke, he pointed to an audience section.

There sat Kroto and his group, staring blankly with unfocused eyes.

They had fallen victim to Elena’s spell.

Currently, they were completely paralyzed, with their ‘memories’ being pulled from them.

Memories containing the truths of that day.

As everyone focused on Kroto’s group, Edgar opened his mouth.

“I will edit and show Reina’s memories along with theirs in chronological order to reveal all truths. Professor.”

As Edgar called for Elena, she nodded.

Afterward, she carefully contained a particular memory extracted from Kroto’s group into a magic orb and handed it to Edgar.

When Edgar connected the magic orb to the memory playback device, Kroto’s memories began to play.

“Uwaaaah!!!”

The beginning of the memory was the large-scale monster assault.

The fierce and brutal scene played vividly.

“Pour oil! Load the fire arrows!”

Yet, the border defense unit did not retreat.

Under Dagran’s command, they valiantly held their ground against the monsters.

“Kihhhhhh!”

However, when the powerful beast Ekhayan, fused with evil spirits from the shadow forest, appeared, the situation began to turn rapidly against them.

The moment they were hit by its corrosive acid, parasites invaded their brains, turning them into zombies — panic spread as zombie symptoms rapidly intensified.

“Retreat to the third defense line!”

In the end, Dagran had no choice but to withdraw to the third defense line.

Yet, he declared to all that he would not allow Ekhayan, which would cause massive casualties, to enter the kingdom, vowing to self-destruct with it right there.

And all the dwarves began to ignite with determination, joining his cause.

“Oh…”

“Dagran!”

“As expected, you are…”

Thus, the dwarves, witnessing Dagran’s courageous form, began to weep.

That was indeed the true appearance of Dagran that they remembered.

“Shit! I’m a knight of the Empire!! Why should I protect your kingdom!?”

However, Kroto was not.

This cowardly human knight, who had previously abandoned his mission and fled, was now scheming to run away again.

“Aren’t you knights? It’s your duty to protect us. Fight to the end.”

Dagran solemnly commanded them to fight to the end.

He instructed them to fight like warriors or knights.

“Shit! I can’t die like this!”

But this became his undoing.

The ones who pretended to follow Dagran’s orders secretly conspired behind his back.

“If that short bastard’s self-destruct plan succeeds, we’re all dead! We have to stop it!”

So, Kroto and his two companions took advantage of the escalating battle to sabotage the core of the self-destruction spell.

After killing the dwarf in charge of activating the spell, they fled through the only exit.

Furthermore, they didn’t hesitate to block the exit to ensure no one could pursue them.

“Those bastards!”

“How could they! How could they do such a terrible thing!”

“I say we tear them apart!”

The dwarves began to seethe with rage.

They each picked up weapons, declaring they would rip apart Kroto’s group for ruining Dagran’s noble sacrifice.

– Boom!

At that moment, the speaker of the video switched.

It transitioned to Reina.

“Oh no… Dagran… my Dagran… I can’t do this without you— Ugh!”

Reina was on her way to save Dagran after receiving his letter, where he stated he would face his end here.

However, being four months pregnant had left her in terrible condition, and she inevitably had to vomit on the floor.

There was no way she could save him in this state.

“Ugh… ugh… huuuh…”

Ultimately realizing she had no choice but to follow her husband’s wishes, Reina began to sob uncontrollably.

The dwarves watching this felt her earnest emotions and wept.

– Boom!

But then, the screen switched again.

It showed the three companions of Kroto sprinting down a corridor.

Upon arriving at the entrance, they killed the dwarf sentry guarding it and manipulated the entrance control to open it.

Then, they smashed the controller with their swords to prevent anyone else from manipulating it.

Once inside the passage, they operated the internal controller to close the access door.

So that no one would accuse them of their crimes.

“Ha, made it! Shit! I’m alive!”

The memory vividly captured their dirty evil deeds.

The dwarves trembled with rage as they watched it.

Some dwarves sank to the ground, hyperventilating from their overwhelming fury.

After all, that underground passage was meant for regular dwarves without power.

It was the passage that they wanted to protect to shelter their families at any cost, risking their lives.

– Boom!

Just as the dwarves’ wrath was about to explode, the screen switched again.

It was from Reina’s perspective.

“You scummy bastards!”

Reina was filled with rage as she witnessed the destroyed entrance controller and the sentry’s fatal wounds.

She quickly recognized who had perpetrated these evil acts.

“Kuoohhhh!”

But there was no time for retribution.

A horde of monsters that had broken through the defense line charged at the survivors.

Among those monsters, there were also surviving dwarven border defenders.

And among them was Dagran.

“Dagran!”

Thus, the two had a dramatic reunion.

If Kroto and his companions opened the underground passage even now, they could all escape together.

“Never! Never open it! They’ll surely hold us accountable for our crimes! It’ll definitely lead to the death penalty!”

However, they did not open the door to protect their own skins.

Because of this, innocent civilian dwarves were torn apart by monsters, with most succumbing to Ekhayan’s corrosive acid, turning into zombie dwarves.

And—

“Kuhhh!”

Attempting to protect Reina, Dagran also succumbed to Ekhayan’s corrosive acid.

“My, my faults… n-not… I, I truly… loved you.”

Thus, just before turning into a zombie, Dagran stabbed his own throat with a dagger.

Reina, shedding tears, tried to heal Dagran by any means, but ultimately had to allow him to rest, as he did not want to attack his beloved after transforming into a zombie.

“I’ll tear apart that cowardly bastard…”

“Ah… ahhhhh…”

“Dagran… Dagran…”

Thus, the dwarves witnessed the truth of Dagran’s death.

He was not a coward who took his own life in despair over his maddened wife; he was a brave warrior and an honorable man who desperately wanted to protect his wife until the very end.

“Ahhhhhh!!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Aaaahhhhhh…”

Reina screamed.

The unfathomable depths of hatred and resentment poured out of her body.

She was not a madwoman who had gone insane due to monsters; she had transformed into a vengeful spirit enraged by the deaths of her husband and neighbors.

“Uwaaaaah!!!”

Thus, driven to madness after losing her child, she began to fight the monsters fueled by her endless hatred.

Slashing through thousands of monsters alone, she ultimately avenged her husband by slaying even Ekhayan, who was tough enough to face a swordmaster.

“Krrr… Krrrrr…”

But the price she paid was steep.

She had completely lost her mind and rationality.

Originally, she should have smashed the underground passage to punish Kroto’s group immediately, but she succumbed to anger and lost her reasoning.

“Khaaaa!!!”

In the end, her rage directed towards the fleeing monsters.

Also towards the zombie dwarves that scattered everywhere after Ekhayan’s death.

“Re, Reina…”

The dwarves finally began to realize.

Reina did not slaughter innocent comrades; she merely granted peace to those who had turned into monstrous aberrations.

As proof of this, she possessed the power to defeat even Ekhayan alone, yet when rescue forces tried to halt her, she did not attack anyone.

She simply continued to scream in frustration, unable to release her boundless hate until she ran out of life.

“Dagran…”

Thus, as her life force waned and her madness faded, at the moment of her death, she called her beloved husband’s name.

All the emotions and memories she felt were transmitted to everyone, allowing them to profoundly understand the deep anguish of her hatred.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t… avenge you.”

And this was her last monologue.

She felt regret for not being able to avenge him.

That seething hatred and a millennium of lingering attachments fused with the sacred sword, turning it into a cursed sword.

Thus, the video came to an end.

“………”

Silence fell.

All the dwarves were filled with emotion, their eyes glistening with tears as they clenched their fists tightly.

The tremendous rage they felt was palpable.

All that rage was directed towards Kroto and his companions.

They would tear every bit of flesh from them and let them die in the most excruciating pain.

“Please wait just a moment.”

However, just as everyone was about to charge towards Kroto’s group for retribution, Edgar ascended the stage and spoke.

He cast a fleeting glance at Isabella, who stood behind the stage, before continuing.

“The right to take their lives does not belong to you.”

With that, Edgar opened a glass container.

He pulled out the sacred sword, carefully preserved within, and knelt on one knee, holding the sword with both hands.

– Clack, clack.

At that moment, a woman stepped onto the stage from behind.

Seeing the woman, all the dwarves froze in astonishment.

With a heavy gait and flowing golden hair.

It was Reina, who retained the nobility and beauty of her former self, standing before them.

Finally, as Reina faced the sacred sword, Edgar lifted it with both hands and said.

“Reina Andriel, the time has come to reclaim your tarnished honor and reveal the truth hidden by lies. I dedicate this sacred sword to you, to enact justice upon your long-time enemies.”

Dressed as a knight, Reina stood before the sacred sword.

She grasped the hilt of the sacred sword, “Guide of Emotions,” that Edgar offered.

Raising it high, she directed it toward Kroto and his group.

– Whaaaaaah!

Then, a brilliant golden aura began to emanate from her body.

The warm color that manifested when she sought to protect her beloved husband overflowed throughout her.

“Kroto, Eguwa, Arjié. I will punish you for your sins.”

And that sight was the same one that all the dwarves had revered.

The noble female knight who had conquered the ancient nightmare of the snowy mountains, ‘Bayater.’