Chapter 129: The Mechanic’s Way

Leslie didn’t take her eyes off Nicole’s combat by watching her through a projection.

Her partner was facing a master-at-arms and although the shooter was unloading the entire magazine, Nicole dodged, running in zigzag, trying to shorten the distance without losing speed.

A quick change of direction and her agile body were this fighter’s best assets.

Nicole would jump and roll on the ground and then keep running, dodging the shots and approaching the master-at-arms quickly.

Sometimes she would stomp the ground hard and kick up dirt and rocks, other times she would pick up some rocks and throw them at her opponent to put pressure on him, all while not losing speed.

The weapon master was slowly getting nervous as he could not affect the fighter, who was dodging and trying to back away.

The slender fighter seized the opportunity and, with an earnest one, lashed forward, showing terrifying strength in her charge.

Nicole with her arms covered her face and withstood the shots, then as she closed the distance, she hit the master-at-arms with a terrifying one.

Unlike Leslie herself, who lasted in a back and forth against the fighter she faced, that weapons master took a beating.

Two punches to the stomach, one to the jaw, and before he could go down, a kick to the cheek that sent him flying to the floor.

That was the ‘combo’, as Aurora liked to call it.

Leslie realized that the battle was already decided, smiled as they declared Nicole the victor.

That young woman who, when she first arrived at the academy, was nervous during her sparring, but at this moment gave the impression of being a professional.

The confidence and responsibility along with the different battles during practice helped her to develop and, although it was unbelievable, Leslie highlighted Nicole’s effort.

It was undeniable that Nicole had worked hard to face her nervousness and fears, and that she did so was pleasing.

Leslie, with an animated smile, ended the transmission before Marc’s group sparring began.

“Was it a win?” the driver asked as he saw her smile.

“Yes, my partner won,” Leslie replied, and looking out the window as the buildings went by, she added. “It makes me feel like I’m falling behind.”

There was no anger or envy in her voice; she was just stating a fact.

Becoming a ‘mechanic’ meant relying on technological advancement for development.

This profession was so rare that the number of high-ranking individuals was fewer than those in other professions.

How could she overcome her limits and become stronger?

It was a question that was difficult to answer.

She had asked Liam, an S-Rank computer talented mechanic, and he replied he used his skills non-stop until he succeeded.

Maybe it was luck, circumstance, or mentality that he could become an S-Rank... It was hard to pinpoint and left Leslie at a loss.

While Liam had a unique talent, he left adrift Leslie without a signal.

“I guess it won’t be for long. You will persist,” said the driver, giving a smile to cheer her up.

Leslie couldn’t help but smile.

Her father owned a major weapons company and had helped her contact some weapons masters, and the problem was that most of them were former soldiers or individuals who went through different missions.

They were involved in multiple direct battles and got authentic experience.

Very different from Leslie, who didn’t have as many opportunities to get genuine experience and had to train.

“Here we are,” announced the driver, waking her from her thoughts.

Leslie thanked him and got out of the car, heading to the entrance of the building that belonged to the Taranis Company.

Unlike what anyone else might assume, she was not depressed and she couldn’t be when her companions were moving forward with such determination.

Seeing such a driving force made her not want to give up.

And that desire to not want to give up brought her to this place.

Her father had got her new toys, which might help her keep progressing.

“Miss Leslie, the engineer, is waiting for you in the training area,” informed the secretary when she saw her enter.

Leslie showed her anticipation.

It was impossible for her not to be excited when her father enthused her by mentioning the technological advances and among what he informed her; he told of his cooperation with Cosmos Enterprise for weapons development.

Leslie quickly went down the elevator.

“Excited?” The engineer asked as he saw her arrive quickly.

She had met the engineer before, so Leslie had no shame in nodding.

“So, come on over. I’ll show you,” said the engineer, giving her a signal to come closer.

Leslie’s gaze was directed to the large box that sat on a table designed by the area’s training system.

The engineer walked over and opened the box, revealing a sniper rifle with a long barrel.

It was a slightly futuristic design with a white color, and light blue lines running down the weapon.

In the box, it was unassembled and all of its parts were spread across that box neatly.

“It’s all yours,” the engineer pointed out without hiding the smile on his face.

Leslie touched the base of the rifle and immediately assembled it, as if she knew every part of the design and how everything worked.

That was the ‘weapons mastery’ capability.

“Ten shots. It can increase its power using magic energy. It supports different bullets from normal and magic. Not only that, but it is light and easy to use,” detailed Leslie as she understood her weapon and, pausing for a moment, she hesitated. “Can it become an assault rifle?”

Even though she gave the question, she actually activated the mechanism, and her rifle changed.

The barrel of the rifle shortened, the scope decreased in size while the magazine enlarged, to fit a larger quantity of ammunition cartridge.

“It’s a beauty,” Leslie murmured in fascination.

So many ways to use it appeared in her mind that it made her brain feel heavy and such a response increased the excitement she was feeling.

However, she herself realized a fatal mishap.

“I will not use it to its full potential,” Leslie muttered, without hiding some sorrow in her voice.

She knew the gun as a part of her body and, for such a reason; she knew what its limits were.

While firing a few times would be fine, once she employed the rifle’s full potential, the recoil would be high enough that she couldn’t take it.

It would be equal to the A-Range shooting she could do now... No, perhaps the recoil effect would be heavier because of the power of this rifle.

Inevitably, the consequences would be high.

“We know. And that was exactly why your father brought another gift for you,” said the engineer and using his holographic clock, from the wall where the equipment was located, a new set was revealed.

Leslie blinked in surprise and...

“Because of the abyssal portals, the Cosmos Enterprise released the technology needed to design our new armor. It is no longer just for protection, but gives mechanics and normal people a boost in strength,” revealed the engineer and looking at the armor proudly, he detailed. “Class ‘Tyrant’. A combat armor with an exoskeleton capable of matching the strength of a B-rank. The Cosmos Enterprise designed yours, combining magical effects with technology, making it can show Rank-A strength for a short period.”

Walking over to the armor with glowing eyes, Leslie didn’t know how to react.

She knew her father researched exoskeletons trying to improve current combat armor, wanting them to be able to provide or equal in strength to individuals whose bodies were strong.

So she understood what this armor meant.

It was a technological breakthrough that took a step forward for normal humans to approach skill users in terms of strength.

“The sale will be very restricted, as the Cosmos Company doesn’t want their technology to fall into the wrong hands, but your father could get the developers to send this armor for you,” informed the engineer and looking at the armor design, he commented. “Since you wanted to take on the sniper role, they chose a lighter style instead of the heavy one.”

The armor was full body and the metal they were using was of such a shape that it looked as if it was cloth, though only visually.

Its thickness was less than all the other combat armor she had used and while it was surprising, in reality, most of her armor was thicker than a finger, and this one was less.

Even at that thickness from the outside, it looked like a tight uniform, giving the impression of lightness and strength.

“This armor has a more advanced design than the ones that will be for sale. According to them, it was a ‘prototype’ and since they didn’t want to leave it in storage, they gave it to your father,” informed the engineer and, turning to look at Leslie, he added. “The developers stated that while this armor will increase your overall strength, it will not make you a Rank-A. You need to adapt to the armor and make it a part of you.”

Hearing those words and seeing the engineer give a smile, Leslie unconcealed the solemnity on her face.

She could understand the developer’s advice.

Picking up her sniper rifle, she felt as if she could see new ways and methods to improve her technique when using her weapon while realizing a limit.

Personal strength restrictions prevented her from showing her ability at maximum power.

Her talent of ‘weapon mastery’ was an impressive talent and compared to other skill users, such as mages or fighters, she was considered weak.

The reason was that, unlike those skill users, a mechanic like her relied on external equipment to increase her strength.

And at the sight of the armor, Leslie smiled.

Now that external equipment would not only be about her weapon but her armor, which at this point was another kind of ‘weapon’.

That was the mechanic’s way, Leslie could feel it.

******

Watching as Alexey’s group faced another team in a waiting room, Clémentine frowned.

“Alexey’s group is good,” Clémentine muttered and, with a sigh, added. “Too bad the enemy team has an A-Rank.”

The number of students who were enrolled in the group fights was fewer than those who were enrolled in the individual A-Rank fights.

The major cause of this was because it was ‘poorly’ arranged.

Some students, upon learning that they could face a Rank-A, did not wish to join, and the number dropped to twenty groups.

In this round, there were only ten left and Alexey was leading one of those groups, together with Mihaela and Joslyn, a swordsman and a fighter.

Unfortunately, the opposing team had a Rank-A psionic, which they could not overcome.

“Most don’t want to put effort into group fights and prioritize individual fights. I think that’s the reason why they didn’t give them importance to group combats.” Nicole surmised as she watched the psionic create barriers for her group to move forward.

That group was taking things easy since they had an advantage, so the psionic instead of attacking focused on defending.

Having group fights and then having individual fights was exhausting and, in a sense, not ‘useful’ because they won little when facing a team over which they had an advantage.

The nice thing was that most of the A-Ranks felt the same way, and very few of them formed teams.

“By the way, Nicole, are you feeling well enough to fight?” Clémentine asked her partner.

Nicole had fought before and, even though she had won, she had to take part in the next match.

The week went by quickly and as the organizers spread the fights over the five days of the week, Nicole had to fight before her group fight.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t as tiring as I expected,” Nicole replied in a simple tone.

She had to move too much to dodge the master-at-arms’ bullets, but once she got close, she finished it fast and now, after a rest, she was ready.

“You guys make me feel like a rookie,” Dalia murmured, who rarely spoke.

Leslie and Clémentine gave certain smiles when they heard that murmur.

Dalia had been through her combat and had ended up exhausted fighting an archer and while she won, she had to work hard to get the victory.

They could only laugh and it was not a mockery, but strange laughter that denoted a certain complexity.

The reason was simple when they remembered the daily missions they performed.

They had to adapt to the daily missions they did every day and then endure the journey of the Ark mission, tempering their physical and mental endurance for tense situations and continuous combat.

And for such a reason, it was not too stressful to leave one battle to go to another.

“We’ll help you train and better yourself!” Nicole announced in an animated voice.

If she was struggling, the only thing left was to train! Clémentine agreed with that idea.

“No, no. I have enough group training as it is,” Dalia replied, scratching her cheek, slightly embarrassed.

They trained whenever there was a chance.

They had fought everyone against everyone, individual duels, a group fight against Venali, and another against Alice.

In the end, they had trained with everything and against everything they could, increasing group coordination and personal skill.

The biggest improvement was in the fights against Venali and Cithrel, who were S-ranks and showed all their skills to put pressure on them.

Smiling as she realized that Dalia did not wish to add more training, Alexey’s combat ended with his group’s defeat.

“They tried their best. It’s a shame,” Alice said, who had been silently eating as usual.

If there was one thing the first-year students stood out, it was that they showed unique effort, trying their hardest to win.

Clémentine was proud to have classmates with such enthusiasm.

As they watched the two teams shake hands and approach each other to talk, they noticed Leslie enter the waiting room.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Leslie said in the entrance, and looking at the bouts, she sighed in relief. “I got here early.”

Individual bouts were interspersed with group bouts and the next round was Oliver’s turn, who was facing another A-rank.

After that match was over, their group would just have to fight.

“How did it go? Did you get anything nice?” Nicole asked curiously.

Clémentine turned her attention to her companion immediately.

Leslie had mentioned to her what she was doing, and it was impossible for them not to be excited about their partner and her new toys.

“Yes,” Leslie replied, and smiling mysteriously, she announced. “I’m confident enough to make a place for myself among the B-ranks.”

Those present gave animated smiles and cheerful comments.

They had been together for a while and could understand the other person, so they had seen Leslie feel disappointed at her low progress.

And now, to see her regain her confidence, it was nice.

“You need to keep it as a secret weapon to steal a spot in the international tournament,” Alice recommended as she watched Oliver struggle with pure strength.

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do. Besides, I still have yet to adjust to my new ‘toys’. That’s why I wanted to use it this weekend,” Leslie replied in a very animated tone.

It was normal for her to save her best card for when it was needed and while the group tournament was important, there was nothing more important than the international tournament and getting a spot among the best.

Dalia gave a curious look when she heard about the weekend.

“An acquaintance asked us to help her with a job in Asia and so we canceled the weekly training,” Clémentine mentioned, giving a soft smile.

Akira had invited them too!

Maybe ‘invite’ is not the right word, as they had a payment from the Japanese government when taking the mission. However, Akira had asked her earlier if they wished to join.

Dalia nodded simply, perhaps believing it was a common job, and no one wanted to clarify too much.

Akira was not only an S-rank, but she was also leading a medium-sized guild that was recognized and her missions could be anything but simple.

“I hear the only one missing to respond is Andrés,” Nicole interjected and then looked at Alice out of the corner of her eye.

She wanted to know if they knew anything about Andrés’ lack of response

“From what I understand, Andrés has to finish his work before deciding whether to go,” Alice replied, without specifying.

The group nodded and watched as Oliver finished his match by grandly defeating his opponent.

“We’re up against two A-Rank opponents, so it should be entertaining,” Alice said, getting up from her seat.

It was obvious that she was going to enter this bout and such an idea relieved Dalia, who was nervous.

“Let’s get ready,” Clémentine said and, without hiding her smile, she muttered. “I’m already looking forward to the weekend.”

It was impossible for her not to be excited and even less so when the job was in Japan.