I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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‘El Pandor Runtera’

This damn difficulty level game is essentially a defense game.

The goal is to train players and heroines as much as possible to prepare for the impending apocalypse and to protect the Empire from the invasion of demons.

“Teach me. How can I become stronger?”

In that sense, Charlotte’s statement was akin to an ‘event.’

Usually, this game allows a heroine whose growth path is blocked to level up as she gets involved with the player.

“First, let’s go to the lab.”

Thus, I took on the role of the player.

After bringing Charlotte to the lab, I offered her something refreshing as she seemed a bit excited.

Once she quenched her thirst, Charlotte calmed her anger and began observing me with her original tension.

“I-I’m sorry for suddenly asking for this…”

As soon as her anger subsided, she apologized to me.

Looking at her expression, it was clear that she had contemplated accepting my assistance for a long time.

She probably wanted to resolve this on her own if at all possible.

‘But to the extent of needing to ask me…’

It must be something she finds difficult to overcome by herself.

So, I asked Charlotte what had happened and the details of the situation.

In due course, Charlotte shared everything that had transpired, and I was able to understand her circumstances completely.

Cardmos Kratz.

That little punk had been blackmailing Charlotte.

“You must have been under a lot of mental strain.”

“……….”

“But it’s okay. It’s nothing serious.”

However, from my perspective, it wasn’t something worth making a fuss over.

To Charlotte, Cardmos might seem like a gigantic mountain, but to me, he was merely a sandcastle that would crumble if stepped on.

“First, I’ll repay that money Cardmos lent to your family.”

The 30 million Ordan that the Kratz family lent to the Verdian family is just a pitiful amount.

It’s a ridiculous price.

With the monthly air conditioning subscription and mosquito net costs alone reaching hundreds of millions, it’s laughable that he’s strutting around with just 30.

“B-but…! I can’t accept that much help…”

Still, it seems that Charlotte felt burdened by my offer.

Therefore, I said—

“Pay me back later.”

“…Huh?”

“You can pay me back later. I’ll charge you interest.”

I provided her with a reasonable pretext so that Charlotte wouldn’t feel pressured.

Eventually, Charlotte nodded with a softening expression.

“…Okay.”

Feeling apologetic toward me, Charlotte nervously held onto the hem of her dress and lowered her head.

I figured Charlotte would quickly clear the burden she felt toward me.

She’s quite savvy when it comes to money, having devised a product called ‘Glow Transformation’ herself.

“Now that the money is settled, all we need to do is take revenge, right?”

“…Huh? R-right? But about that… ah, since I’m a C-rank…”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be easy to win.”

“It seems pretty hard to win… Huh?”

Charlotte looked at me in surprise at my continuing words.

She said,

“What did you just say…?”

“I said it’s easy to win. You should have no problem taking down Cardmos.”

“…?”

Charlotte’s expression was one of disbelief, as if she’d just heard that 1+1=3.

So, I began to explain further so she would understand.

“Charlotte, you’re not really cut out to be a C-rank. You should at least be aiming for an A-rank.”

“…?”

Charlotte’s biggest weakness.

This wasn’t about her physical condition, her lack of mana control, or her family’s characteristic spells.

It was her mental state.

The inherited mental shackles that had bound her Verdian family for years were the issue.

“Charlotte, you’re limiting your own potential too much. No, your family has a tendency to suppress its violent inclinations. You can’t fight properly that way.”

Charlotte’s family, the Verdian family.

The Verdian family has historically avoided conflict and valued harmony and coexistence above all.

Because of that, they didn’t fit into the Empire’s competitive way of seizing power, and now they’ve dwindled to a family that cannot even afford academy tuition.

‘It’s because they were heavily influenced by their founding ancestor.’

This is because the founder of the Verdian family was an Elf.

An Elf who liked humans and settled in the human world.

However, over the centuries, as they interbred with humans, the Verdian family ultimately became very human-like in appearance.

While still inheriting their ancestor’s mindset that was incredibly incompatible with the human world.

“Charlotte, your nature-based creation spells have infinite potential. Especially if you aim for ‘kill,’ they can showcase immense power.”

Thus, my role is to enlighten her.

To help her break free from her long-held shackles and be able to harness will and malice.

“M-my spells… for-k-k-k-killing…?”

Upon hearing the word ‘kill,’ Charlotte stared at me with a pale expression.

Indeed, Charlotte needed a mental reboot.

With such a gentle disposition, she was just wasting her amazing characteristic spells making shabu-shabu.

“Yes. There are countless natural plants in this world that have evolved to be ruthlessly hostile.”

“R-ruthless? Plants…?”

“Yep. Do you want to take a look? Let’s go to the ‘Forest of Death’ for a quick drink.”

***

Time flew by, and four days later.

Finally, the selection match that every cadet had been waiting for took place.

A large-scale arena was hosting 1:1 no-holds-barred battles.

-Ascend!!! Win!!!

-Pintel, you bastard! I won’t let you off if you lose!!

The arena buzzed with cadets and their affiliates.

As this event was to select members for “Sea Wall,” one of the world’s top three magical anomalies, many newspapers and high-ranking nobles were also showing interest.

-Wowwwww!!

The matches that began were filled with fervor.

Every cadet fought desperately, creating several nail-biting matches.

The audience cheered loudly, and reporters clicked their shutters incessantly.

“When is Edgar Fix facing Lucas Elmar?”

“I heard it’s the last match.”

“Oh no. I can’t wait that long.”

However, even with such remarkable matches happening, the audience was still not satisfied.

The anticipation for the highlight of this selection match, Edgar Fix vs. Lucas Elmar, was through the roof.

Who would win in a battle between the genius spellcaster Lucas, who ranked 2nd in the class evaluation, and Edgar, known as the reincarnation of the God of Blacksmithing?

The audience dared not predict the outcome.

While the excitement around Edgar’s constantly upgrading equipment was high, the hope surrounding Lucas, who would be the maximum output of the Elmar family, was also tremendous.

“The next match is Cardmos from the Kratz family against Charlotte from the Verdian family.”

Amidst this exploding interest, the next competitors were announced.

A match between Cardmos of Group A and Charlotte of Group B.

The audience’s reaction was icy.

Cardmos was a powerful A-rank 6th place contender, while Charlotte barely ranked at the bottom of the C-rank.

After all, the only reason she had a C-rank at all was that she’d ridden on Edgar Fix’s coattails in the preliminary round.

-Oh, this match looks like it will be a dud.

-Well, at least it’ll end quickly. Maybe a 3-second finish?

-But she has definitely gotten prettier, right? Even if she lacks skill, she might have a shot at elevating her status through marriage? Graduating from the academy would still be a decent accomplishment.

Thus, the audience wasn’t concerned at all about the outcome of the match.

They merely chatted about how quickly the fight might end or commented on Charlotte’s recently improved beauty.

Almost all of the cadets were betting on a decisive victory for Cardmos.

‘Is that really the case?’

But.

There was one person who was betting on Charlotte’s victory.

Edgar Fix.

After training Charlotte intensively for the last four days, he judged that she had every chance to win.

‘Though it’s a bit of a roundabout way…’

However, the method Edgar used was anything but conventional.

For a C-rank bottom-tier to defeat an A-rank top-tier is almost miraculous.

To accomplish such a miraculous feat, her skill enhancement or whatever, one would need to fundamentally change the person herself.

“So, have you thought about it some more?”

While Edgar was lost in thought.

In the center of the arena, Charlotte and Cardmos faced each other.

Cardmos, wearing a mocking expression, threw questions at Charlotte, who was bowing her head beneath the shadows.

She remained silent, refusing to respond to his taunts.

“Heh heh heh…”

To which Cardmos interpreted Charlotte’s silence as ‘fear.’

Wanting to retain his pride, but reduced to too much fear to even raise his head.

“I-I-I-is this how low you’ve fallen? Hehe…”

Cardmos mocked Charlotte to his heart’s content.

Imitating Charlotte’s timidity, he displayed his signature pathetic expression.

-Swish.

At that moment.

Charlotte lifted her head.

Unlike before when she trembled like a aspen, she glared at Cardmos with an emotionless expression.

Then, she declared.

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t forgive you.”

“…Huh?”

The atmosphere surrounding Charlotte shifted in an instant.

But Cardmos couldn’t believe his ears.

Who on earth dares to forgive whom?

He let out a scoff and replied.

“What are you talking about? Has this bitch finally lost her mind?”

“You should have only touched me… You tried to take everything from my family.”

Charlotte articulated her words clearly.

Cardmos, still staring in disbelief at Charlotte’s sudden confidence.

“Match ready—!”

In that midst, the referee signaled.

He was about to count down before the match began.

“You lowlife trash!”

Cardmos cracked his knuckles and prepared to dash forward.

He needed to teach that stupid girl a lesson in what true education was.

-Swish.

However, Charlotte pulled out an unusual item from within her clothes.

It was the mask Edgar had gifted her.

After donning the smooth, jet-black metal mask, Charlotte pressed a button.

Then—.

-Pssssssssssssss…

A black smoke burst forth from the mask and began infiltrating Charlotte’s lungs.

Once it penetrated, the black smoke stimulated her brain nerves, activating her mana receptors and began to control her emotional regulation.

It blocked the ‘altruism’ and ‘compassion’ that occupied most of Charlotte’s personality.

-Whoosh…

Then it began promoting unfamiliar emotions that were completely at odds with Charlotte.

Feelings of superiority and sadism.

And violence.

The hormones Edgar had carefully selected to combat demons filled Charlotte to the brim.

-Wooooo…

As Charlotte’s inner self completely transformed, her exterior began to shift as well.

Her usually moist eyes turned inky black, and the area around her eyes darkened as if she’d applied smoky makeup.

“Begin!”

Just as the transformed Charlotte startled Cardmos, the referee announced the start of the match after counting down.

Realizing the match had begun, Cardmos charged the ground and prepared to dash at Charlotte, who, at the same time, activated her spells.

-BAM!

However, the spell’s identity was rock.

She summoned rocks to block Cardmos’ charge.

Cardmos burst into laughter and yelled.

“Hahaha! Of course! Is that all you’re capable of, you trash!”

Cardmos, showcasing his strength, smashed the rocks to pieces.

Rocks like these, he could shatter a hundred or a thousand whenever he wanted.

-Rumble…

Yet, what Charlotte invoked wasn’t just about summoning rocks.

As the rocks shattered, a view far removed from the arena entered Cardmos’ eyes.

“…W-What…?”

Charlotte’s new spell, a hybrid of illusion and nature-based magic.

An area-based attack that shrouds a specific location in a forest of death.

【Kuhuhuhuh…】

In the ominous crimson-saturated Forest of Death, the laugh of an evil woman echoed eerily.

Cardmos found himself caught in the midst of the forest born from Charlotte’s malice, panting heavily and darting his eyes around.

Everywhere were traces of death, and bizarre trees and plants exhaled harmful gases instead of carbon dioxide.

-Huff!

While his mind grew rigid amidst that grotesque scenery, a black silhouette zipped past rapidly.

Simultaneously, a chilling woman’s laughter pierced Cardmos’ ears, and he could instinctively tell that this laughter belonged to Charlotte.

“Hah… Hah… Hah…”

Cardmos’ breathing began to quicken.