The workshop smelled of burning ozone and molten rock.
In the center of the room, the chassis of the Pendelton Cruiser sat naked. It was a skeleton of steel beams, clutching the massive V4 Hybrid Engine and the pulsing blue Thunder Core.
Arthur stood at the control console of the Fabricator. His eyes were bloodshot. He hadn't slept in thirty hours.
"Phase 4," Arthur announced, his voice raspy. "Armor Integration."
Above the car, the massive iron spider-arm of the Fabricator descended. It held a slab of grey stone—a piece of the chest plate from the dead Sentinel Golem.
"Julian," Arthur called out. "I need heat. The Fabricator's plasma torch is running low. Channel into the primary intake."
Julian, sitting on a crate nearby, groaned. He looked exhausted, his usually pristine uniform stained with soot. "I am not a furnace, Pendelton. I am a noble."
"You are the Power Plant," Arthur corrected. "Push."
Julian sighed and gripped the copper intake handles. He closed his eyes. Orange mana flowed from his hands, feeding the ancient machine.
HUMMM-HISSS.
The Fabricator's torch ignited with a blinding white light.
"Executing: Thermal Molding," Arthur typed the command into his iScroll.
The machine went to work. It didn't just cut the stone; it liquefied the edges. It took the enchanted granite of the Golem—material that could shrug off a cannonball—and fused it with sheets of high-carbon steel Arthur had scavenged from the gym.
"What are you doing?" Vivian asked, watching the sparks fly. She was sharpening her rapier, sitting on the hood of the car (or where the hood would be). "Why mix the stone with steel? The stone is harder."
"Hardness is brittle," Arthur lectured, not looking up from the monitors. "If we use pure stone, a shockwave will crack it. If we use pure steel, a dragon's bite will puncture it."
He pointed to the glowing seam where the materials were merging.
"Composite Armor," Arthur explained. "We layer the enchanted granite between two sheets of steel. The steel absorbs the impact vibration; the granite stops the penetration. It's a sandwich of invincibility."
The Fabricator moved with mechanical precision. It wrapped the composite plates around the car's frame. Slowly, the skeleton disappeared. In its place, a beast emerged.
The car wasn't sleek. It wasn't aerodynamic. It was angular, brutal, and dark grey. It looked like a bank vault on wheels.
"The windows," Zack noted, pointing to the empty slits. "We can't have open windows in the Wilds. Poison gas. Spores."
"Bulletproof Glass," Arthur said. "Or, the closest we can get."
He loaded a hopper with sand and crushed quartz. The Fabricator melted it, poured it into molds, and flash-cooled it using a Frost Rune.
Arthur fitted the thick, clear slabs into the window frames.
"Sealed cabin," Arthur nodded. "Positive pressure system. If we drive through a toxic swamp, the bad air stays out."
He stepped back. He wiped his hands on a rag.
The Pendelton Cruiser MK II was finished.
It sat on its massive solid-rubber tires, looking less like a vehicle and more like a weapon of war. It radiated a low, menacing hum from the Thunder Core.
"It's ugly," Julian noted, standing up and stretching his stiff back.
"It's aerodynamic enough for a brick," Arthur defended. "And it will keep us alive."
...
"Okay," Arthur opened the heavy steel driver's door. "Before we leave, you need to know how to operate it. If I get incapacitated, one of you has to drive."
"Drive?" Julian scoffed. "It's a carriage without horses. How hard can it be? You turn the wheel."
"Get in," Arthur gestured to the driver's seat.
Julian climbed in. He looked at the dashboard.
It wasn't simple.
There were three pedals. A gear stick with a complex H-pattern. Ten different toggle switches labeled in Atherian Runes (which Arthur had translated to "Winch," "Lights," "Steam Purge," "Turbine Overdrive," and "Wiper Fluid").
"What do I do?" Julian asked, suddenly nervous.
"Left pedal is the Clutch," Arthur instructed from the passenger seat. "Middle is Brake. Right is Throttle. The lever is the transmission. To move, you must disconnect the engine from the wheels, select a gear, and then reconnect them smoothly."
"Why?" Julian asked. "Why not just a 'Go' button?"
"Because torque requires management," Arthur said. "Start the engine."
Julian turned the key.
ROAR.
The Thunder Core pulsed, and the V4 Steam Block caught. The car vibrated. It felt like sitting on a sleeping dragon.
"Okay," Arthur said. "Press the clutch. Put it in first gear. Slowly release the clutch while pressing the throttle."
Julian pressed the pedal. He jammed the stick forward. He let go of the pedal.
CLUNK-JERK-DIE.
The car lurched forward a foot and died.
"You stalled it," Arthur sighed. "You dumped the clutch. Treat it like a lady, not a mule."
"It's too complicated!" Julian hit the steering wheel. "Why do I need to manage gears? Magic is instantaneous!"
"Physics takes time." Arthur reset the ignition. "Try again."
For the next two hours, the workshop echoed with the sounds of grinding gears, stalling engines, and Arthur yelling about RPMs.
By the end of it:
Julian Could drive in a straight line but panicked in corners.
Vivian Drove aggressively well but refused to use the brakes ("I'll just hit the obstacle," she claimed).
Zack Refused to touch the wheel, electing to be the "Navigator."
"Acceptable," Arthur concluded, rubbing his temples. "I will do 90% of the driving. Vivian is the backup driver. Julian... you stick to the gun."
....
Days turned into weeks. The seasons changed outside the stone walls. Winter melted into Spring.
The countdown on the iScroll ticked relentlessly.
[Time Remaining: 30 Days.]
The Academy was in a frenzy. It was Graduation Week for the Sixth Years. The courtyard was being decorated with banners. Tents were being set up.
But underneath the festive atmosphere, the dread was palpable.
Mages were fainting in class due to "Mana Sickness." The sky above the Academy had turned a bruised, purple color. The "Glitches" were getting worse—students reported seeing ghosts of the past flickering in the hallways.
Headmaster Alaric canceled all practical magic exams, citing "instability in the local Ley Lines."
Arthur, Julian, and Zack sat in their dorm room (Room 304, now fully renovated with Arthur's tech).
Arthur was packing his bag. Not with clothes, but with essentials: The iScrolls, repair kits, spare mana crystals, and a first-aid kit.
"This is it," Julian said, looking out the window at the busy courtyard. "We leave tomorrow during the ceremony."
"It's the only time the main gates are open," Arthur said, checking his list. "The disruption will be maximum, but the guard presence will be distracted by the speeches."
"My father arrived today," Julian said quietly. "I saw his carriage. The Arch-Mage."
Arthur stopped packing. He looked at Julian.
"Are you going to talk to him?"
Julian shook his head. He touched the Sun-Lance Rifle that leaned against his desk.
"No. If I talk to him, he will sense the resonance of the Ancient Tech on me. He will lock me up. I... I left a letter."
"A letter?"
"I put it in his coat pocket," Julian said, his voice thick with emotion. "I told him I was going on a 'Grand Tour' to find myself. I didn't mention the end of the world. I just told him... I hoped he would be proud of me one day."
Arthur nodded solemnly. "He will be. When you save his life."
The Night Before
At midnight, the team gathered in the Workshop for the last time.
The Pendelton Cruiser sat waiting. It was fully loaded. The water tanks were full. The pantry (a metal box in the trunk) was stocked with dried rations and water skins.
Arthur walked around the vehicle, running his hand along the cold composite armor.
"We built this," Arthur said softly. "Four kids in a basement."
"We built a tank," Vivian corrected, leaning against the fender. She was wearing her travel gear—leather armor, her rapier at her hip, and Arthur's heavy engineer coat tied around her waist.
"Are you scared?" Zack asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Terrified," Arthur admitted. "The math says we have a 12% chance of reaching the Capital before the meltdown. And a 4% chance of surviving the repair."
"Never tell me the odds," Vivian grinned. "Just tell me where to stab."
Arthur climbed onto the hood of the car. He looked at his team.
"Tomorrow, we become criminals," Arthur said. "We destroy school property. We flee the authorities. We defy the King."
He raised his iScroll.
"But the System is broken. And the Admins are asleep. So it's up to the Users to fix it."
"To the Fix," Julian raised his rifle.
"To the Fix," they echoed.
Arthur jumped down.
"Get some sleep," Arthur commanded. "Graduation starts at noon. And we are going to crash the party."
End of Chapter 36