[618] The Day of Decisive Battle (2)
* * *
Mechanical noises echoed through Richard's room, where various machine parts lay scattered about.
He had mirrors mounted on every wall and was using tools to service his body—an oddly grim sight, but something that had to be done the day before the graduation exam.
A panel from his right chest to his flank was open, revealing the core power unit implanted near his heart pulsing with a red glow.
His detached right arm lay between his legs; after finishing the soldering, he grabbed the forearm and fixed it to his shoulder.
With a ticklish mechanical whir, five fingers writhed like octopus tentacles and the ball bearings in the elbow spun, performing motions impossible for a human limb.
"Hmm."
Richard was satisfied.
'Next: system synchronization.'
He squinted one eye and adjusted his brainwaves; a pale blue light fogged the mechanical iris.
In that watery blue view, countless measurement readouts updated their values in real time.
Richard's father, Ainka Marto, was the owner of Ainka Alchemy—the world's second-largest alchemical foundation—and head of the Bio-Robotics Laboratory, the strategic-weapon development division under Valkyrie.
That a direct scion of such a house would willingly submit to an experiment with under a thirty percent success rate said plenty about their outlook.
Implanting machinery into the brain had less than a four percent success rate, yet Marto had opened his eldest son's skull without hesitation.
He thought with a dry chuckle, 'Heh. We have many brothers.'
He had risked his life and converted thirty-five percent of his body with alchemical tech; in return he'd earned the board's trust and biologically impossible strength.
'Click: calibrate.'
He extended his right arm and entered a command; a crosshair appeared at the fist's final aiming point.
'Activate combat simulation.'
The room's scenery shifted into a forest. From behind cover, countless monsters leapt out and charged Richard.
'Equip: Flame mage stone.'
The elbow joint trembled violently.
The mage stones Richard used weren't disposable market models but Ainka Alchemy's specialty—an advanced material mass-produced from the "Essence of Spirits," of which only seventeen existed worldwide.
'Fire!'
As his right arm hummed, cycling forward and back, virtual fireballs spat in rapid succession and felled the monsters.
'Swap mage stone. Cryo.'
The elbow clicked and rotated; this time it fired razor-sharp ice spikes.
An automatic position-tracking function calculated each monster's coordinates and acceleration to pick the highest-priority targets; Richard only had to pull the trigger.
After annihilating two hundred monsters, a mission-complete signal appeared and an analysis chart popped up.
Three monsters had entered a twenty-meter radius, and the click error rate was zero percent.
'Deactivate combat simulation.'
The dense forest faded and the room returned; Richard tilted the corner of his mouth up.
"Perfect."
Ainka Richard (Final graduating rank: 7).
Major: Engineering track, Alchemy.
Notes: Thirty-five percent of body modified by alchemical technology. Heir apparent of the Ainka Foundation.
* * *
Amy and Shirone sat side by side on the bed in silence for a while.
"...."
Their hearts raced just from being near each other—because today was a special day.
'Whatever the result…'
The possibility they were dreaming of would either crystallize into a harsh reality or vanish.
"Do you think we'll pass?"
Amy, who had never once let someone else judge her, wanted—this once—to hear an answer.
"Of course."
Shirone needed reassurance too, even if it was a lie.
"We did our best. Think about all the days we trained."
"But everyone else did the same. If we fail here…"
They'd have to fight for another year.
Could they really keep going?
"I don't have confidence. I want to leave it to fate because we worked hard, but I just can't."
"Amy."
Shirone grabbed Amy's shoulder and turned her to face him.
"You're not behind anyone in the graduating class. I can vouch for that."
"Really?"
"Yes. You're one of the top students. Look at yourself with clear eyes. No matter how fierce the competition, as long as you don't make mistakes you'll pass."
Listening to Shirone, Amy thought it over and realized he was right.
They'd analyzed the graduating class for a year; if they took the exam normally, they should do well.
"Shirone."
With the tension gone, Amy finally took in Shirone's face.
'What will happen to us after this?'
Reading Amy's eyes, Shirone said, "We're still us. No matter the results, my feelings won't change."
Even if both of them passed and went out into the wider world, their hearts would remain close.
"Okay."
Her small voice made the world seem to dim, and Shirone slowly leaned in.
"Ae…my."
The sound faded, and Amy lifted her chin slightly.
They were so close they could feel each other's breath—on the verge of erecting a monument in the history of their two lives.
'Wait, I just—'
Amy's eyes popped open.
"Shirone, wait. Time out."
"Huh? Oh?"
Shirone, who had been leaning completely toward Amy, hastily pulled back and flushed.
"What's wrong?"
"Well… I think now's a bad time. The truth is…"
Amy glanced toward the bathroom and Shirone realized belatedly.
"Oh, right."
From a woman's perspective, the first kiss after throwing up would be a horrifying memory.
The awkwardness made Shirone clap both knees.
"Hmph, can't be helped."
He couldn't hide his disappointment, and feeling guilty, Amy hurriedly added, "It's not because I don't want to. Really. So…"
"I know. I'm fine."
When Shirone smiled to soothe her, Amy bowed her head shyly and asked, glancing about, "Should I go brush my teeth now?"
Shirone stared at her cute face and couldn't hold back a laugh, collapsing back onto the bed.
* * *
Not a single person among the thirty expected to be eliminated tomorrow.
Regardless of how the graduating-class rankings had been set, upsets could happen, and everyone had a trump card prepared for passing.
"A strategic alliance?"
In the back garden of the graduating building, Binder, Suabi, and Luman held a clandestine meeting.
"Right. You two are utility types. My proposal shouldn't be bad."
Binder, who hosted the meeting, adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses as he spoke.
He'd barely scraped into Class Two, but after scoring a perfect hundred in advanced-track theory and acing the graduating class's comprehensive practical assessment, he was an outstanding theoretician.
"As you know, I got perfect scores in fundamentals across all tracks. But it's true I don't have any particular standout advantage."
Suabi and Luman listened closely to his cold analysis.
"But if you two help me, my balance could be the best weapon. If Suabi's buffs focus solely on me and Luman shapes the battlefield with crowd control, I can take on anyone in the graduating class."
Elkras Binder (Final graduating rank: 20).
Major: Omniscience track, Magic Analysis.
Notes: Master of the thirty-six prescribed magics designated by the Association.
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Suabi took it positively, while Luman scoffed.
"Do you honestly think that will work? You'd be the only one who benefits. Once the competition heats up, the team will fall apart."
Having gorged himself over the year and put on weight, Luman's brain was still sharp.
"Maybe. That's why I have another offer. If one of the three of us has to be eliminated, I'll be the first to forfeit the exam."
This gave everyone pause.
"Hmm, so you'll take the risk for the sake of monopolizing utility. But how can we trust you?"
"There's no proof. If you want, we can draft a sealed contract, but that won't give you a hundred percent guarantee."
"That's the point. What if you stab us in the back?"
"That won't happen, but if it did I'd be labeled a coward forever. Either way, it's not a bad deal for you. This plan only works because our weaknesses perfectly complement each other."
Among the graduating class, Binder was the only one who'd volunteer to be the first to fall while still providing utility.
"I'll do it."
Suabi raised a hand first.
"In the six events of the graduation exam, four are affected by one-on-one combat strength. From my utility standpoint, teaming with Binder costs me nothing. We're strong in the remaining two events."
"If I join, it'll be perfect."
With Binder and Suabi inclined, Luman's focused support would maximize the synergy.
"Alright. We'll form a team of three. But there's a condition. The one eliminated after Binder must be Suabi. If that doesn't happen, I withdraw from this negotiation."
Selfish as it sounded, Luman's crowd control could instantly turn the tide, so his demand was necessary.
"Fine. I'll be the second," Suabi said. "But to be clear—this strategy assumes all three of us will pass."
"Don't worry. I'm the only one in the graduating class with crowd control. Whether it's fifteen versus fifteen or one versus twenty-nine, I'll control the situation as needed."
Podran Luman (Final graduating rank: 16).
Major: Crowd Control track, Trap Magic.
Notes: Gluttonous. Excellent situational judgment.
"Good. Then let's go with that. We'll make sure the three of our names are on the pass list tomorrow."
By sunset, all thirty members of the graduating class had finished readying their ultimate strategies.
* * *
The morning of the graduation exam arrived.
Students waited in their rooms for summons, and the plaza before the colossal coliseum where the exam would be held was already thronged with scouts, advanced-track students, and parents of the candidates who had come from all over.
"Scouts, please enter first and take your designated seats!"
When the official opened the west gate, 287 scouts dispatched from 65 countries under the Red Line took their places.
Most of the parents gathered here were prominent figures in the kingdom, but their eyes—fixed on the scouts who would analyze their children's futures—were full of parental desperation.
Aware of that, the scouts kept their gazes forward or reviewed the student profiles they'd received in advance.
"Time truly flies. That troublemaker's already at the graduation exam."
A man who could have been a spitting image of Iruki stepped down from a dazzling carriage.
The appearance of Mercodain Albino, leader of Dragon Thunder, drew every parent's attention.
"It's Albino."
The fact that the kingdom's top strategist had come personally to observe was startling.
"Albino's here—does that mean…?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Iruki didn't cause that many incidents."
When Iruki's mother descended, all eyes fixed on her for a different reason.
She was Majelan Arganes, the kingdom's top actress—a woman whose beauty in her thirties was almost unbelievable. People joked that while humans resemble gods, Arganes was more beautiful than gods themselves; she represented the kingdom of Tormia in appearance and was already known worldwide.
"A goddess."
Someone, forgetting aristocratic decorum, blurted the thought aloud and everyone agreed.
"To see Arganes in person…"
For the parents, today felt historic as well.