[Skill Book: Aerial Combat Mecha — Tempest ×1]
The moment Luke began learning from this skill book—
A sharp, overwhelming pain exploded inside his mind.
An immeasurable flood of knowledge surged into his brain all at once.
It felt as though—
In a single instant—
He had absorbed everything from university-level education to professional engineering mastery.
Electronic engineering.
Mechanical engineering.
Ergonomics.
An ocean of knowledge.
Because of this—
Luke spent two full weeks just digesting it.
During that time, he didn't stay idle.
Building a real mecha required extensive preparation.
First—
He needed a proper workspace.
Creating Christina in his bedroom had already been pushing it.
That only worked because her complexity was mostly in AI programming—
Not physical construction.
But assembling a full mecha in his bedroom?
"Yeah… no."
What if his foster parents saw it?
Using "school project" as an excuse again?
Impossible.
What kind of elementary school teaches mecha construction?
"What, you from the Federation too? I'm Kira Yamato!"
…Yeah, that wouldn't fly.
In the end—
Luke rented an old warehouse not far from home.
The landlord lived in Ottawa and hadn't returned in years.
The place had been abandoned for ages.
Cheap rent.
Best of all—
Everything could be handled online.
With his own secret base—
Luke was genuinely excited.
Now he could finally build whatever he wanted—
Without anyone noticing.
Hell—
He could probably build a nuclear bomb here and no one would know.
Next problem:
Equipment.
Even the best chef can't cook without ingredients—
But even with ingredients—
Without tools, you're still stuck.
Even someone like Tony Stark—
With insane hands-on ability—
Was helpless in Afghanistan without proper tools.
At best, he built the Mark I—
A clunky prototype that would fall apart if dropped.
Luke wasn't that arrogant.
He knew the gap between himself and Tony Stark was…
"…about the width of a finger."
To build Tempest, professional tools were essential.
Fortunately—
His starting point was higher than Tony's in Afghanistan.
He had Christina.
Tony didn't even have JARVIS back then—
Only Yinsen, a doctor.
Luke was confident:
He could do at least as well as Tony did.
One Saturday—
Luke told Karen he was going to play basketball with Peter Parker.
Instead—
He skateboarded straight to his warehouse.
After checking no one was watching—
He unlocked the door and slipped inside.
Clatter—
He dumped a massive pile of equipment from his storage space.
Hammers, wrenches, pliers
Screwdrivers of all sizes
A brand-new oxy-acetylene torch with oxygen tanks
An electric forge (80% new)
A secondhand computer for CNC work
Several small lathes
"All this for a single project…"
"Even secondhand tools cost a fortune."
After buying everything—
His cleaned $100,000+ was nearly gone.
Still—
Online shopping made things much easier.
On the internet—
You never know who you're negotiating with.
An adult?
A kid?
A dog?
All possibilities exist until observed.
"Master, the liquid nitrogen you ordered has arrived," Christina reported.
"Got it."
"Christina, how's the system integration with the main unit?"
"Data transfer complete."
"Perfect."
"Everything's ready."
"Let's begin."
The engineering process turned out easier than expected.
After mastering the skill book—
Luke's engineering ability was now expert-level.
Just like his combat skills—
It had become instinct.
With Christina assisting—
Efficiency skyrocketed.
Luke spent 4–5 hours daily working in the warehouse.
When he wasn't there—
Christina handled repetitive tasks.
She even sent suggestions via text messages.
Luke would send commands from school—
Christina executed them flawlessly.
Human + AI.
Perfect synergy.
Ten days later—
Luke rushed into the warehouse, excitement barely contained.
"Christina, how's it going?!"
"Surface paint is 95% complete. Final stage underway."
Luke's eyes lit up.
He stepped forward—
Watching as robotic arms—controlled by Christina—
Applied the finishing touches.
The mecha was complete.
Standing before him—
Was a 1.2-meter-tall, 1.2-meter-wide compact robot.
Its design resembled a chibi-style Gundam.
Luke had fully applied his engineering knowledge:
Smooth, aggressive lines
Sharp edges
A futuristic, combat-ready aesthetic
The color scheme?
Inspired by his favorite Gundam—
Strike Freedom.
Silver-white base.
With blue and red highlights.
It gleamed with sci-fi brilliance.
The armor—
Made from layered scrap metal using advanced techniques—
Could withstand close-range small-arms fire.
The propulsion system—
Jet-based—
Similar to Iron Man's suit.
Originally—
Tempest was an unmanned combat drone in DNF.
But Luke modified it.
Now—
It had manual pilot capability.
The interior was hollowed out—
Circuits rearranged—
Only his small, seven-year-old body could fit inside.
An adult?
Wouldn't even fit a leg.
For once—
His child-sized body was an advantage.
Benefits of the small frame:
Harder to detect
Smaller target
Better stealth
Difficult to lock onto via radar
All clear tactical advantages.
One more crucial detail—
This mecha didn't use conventional energy.
It ran on:
Colorless Cubes.
Luke had stockpiled thousands from loot boxes.
Apparently—
They weren't just for skills—
They were fuel.
According to Christina's calculations:
1 cube = 5 hours of flight
Combat mode = ~2 hours
Efficient.
Reliable.
System-grade energy.
Luke stared at the finished mecha—
His creation.
Tempest.