Reincarnated In A World Of Mana As A Mechanic-Chapter 34: Magical Constructs
Ezekiel ignored the loud creaking sounds that emanated from the bed beneath him as he almost let out a satisfied moan while feeling the soft sheets. The feeling of finally laying atop a proper bed was almost ecstasy to him, sleeping on grass throughout their journey hadn’t worked out well for his aching body.
Not to mention the stress of having to find a proper inn to book in within Valor City. As mentioned by the guard captain, Ezekiel and his group had quite literally fought for their room, pushing past the multiple lines regardless of whoever’s ire they attracted.
The mechanic could have sworn that acquiring the rooms they stayed was much more grueling than escaping from the mana storm. Of course if his companions heard his inner thoughts, he could risk being fed to wolves.
His body practically dissolved into the bed, unable to resist the temptation called sleep as his eyes drooped. At the moment, no anxiety or excitement clouded his mind, he wished for nothing more than to sleep and dissipate the week’s entire stress with the bed beneath him.
***
By morning Ezekiel and his companions, after a good amount of rest, finally moved out to register for the exams. There wasn’t much requirement except one for age—contestants couldn’t be older than 18. And since none of the four were, they were able to gain their participant slips without a hitch.
After that, they had to send Vera and her knight squad off, their duty fulfilled now that their Young miss and her friends had been confirmed participants of the exam.
"You’ve proven yourself capable during our journey," Vera began, her voice carrying the weight of someone who had seen too many promising youths fail when it mattered most—most probably she was one of those promising youths. "But the Institute’s trials are different. They’re designed to break those who aren’t truly ready. Make sure to take care of those three"
The mechanic nodded with a smile. "If I don’t, then who will? They’re hopeless without me."
Vahn’s lips twitched. "Who’s hopeless? Wanna see who’s really hopeless in a fight?"
Ezekiel retorted. "Sure, you gotta remember though, my Hercules isn’t damaged right now. That’s the only Battlesuit I can use, don’t blame me if I break a few bones."
"Tch." The Mage clicked his tongue and dropped the topic, after all, even he couldn’t take on his friend once he donned the Hercules suit.
Vera watched their exchange and smiled softly before waving the four goodbye. "I hope to hear of your good news soon."
Ezekiel revealed a confident smirk and patted his chest. "You can count on it."
"Arrogant. Yuri, you’re in charge of keeping this kid in check."
The young girl snickered while nodding. "Of course ma’am."
The mechanic shouted in outrage. "Keeping me in check? What happened to asking me to take care of them?"
Vera ignored his words though, kicking on her horse’s side before riding off in the distance and leaving a farewell behind. "See you later, little brats. I better get that good news."
***
Three days later, Ezekiel and his companions stood in the Institute’s large examination hall alongside nearly three hundred other candidates. His expression revealed a bit of confusion as, while the hall was large, it wasn’t nearly as large enough to be considered a space where about 300 contestants would battle for the chance to be admitted into the famous institution.
The atmosphere of the hall seemed a bit tense, the contestants too anxious to bother hiding their hidden emotions. Most revealed nervous expressions, some excitement, some a calm that they hoped would hide their inner turmoil. Only a few, like Yuri, could truly remain calm in such an environment.
As for Ezekiel? He was once more ogling at the walls furnished with a white material that emanated so much mana, one would get chills if they focused on it too much. The crystalline formations embedded into the walls hummed with constantly ebbing mana, awakening an intense urge within him to study the mana patterns.
A stern-faced instructor stepped forward, her voice magically amplified to reach every corner of the hall and drawing the contestants’ attention to herself. She possessed quite the beauty, sporting a flaming red hair that flowed down to her waist which matched her ruby colored eyes. All that seemed to be ruined by her cold and apathetic expression though.
"Welcome to the Star and Cross Institute entrance examination. You will face two trials today. The first will test your combat capabilities and tactical thinking. The second will be revealed to you if you manage to get past the first Now...."
She gestured to a series of portals that had materialized along the far wall. "For the first trial, you will enter simulated combat scenarios. You can choose to enter alone or as part of a group. If you wish to choose the latter, you will have to gather a minimum of three members and maximum of five. Do note that the difficulty will increase accordingly."
Vahn and Yuri immediately fixed their gaze on Ezekiel once she was done talking, their lips opening in sync. "We’ll be in your hands then."
The mechanic’s lips twitched. "Just because she said I should take care of you doesn’t mean I’m your babysitter." He said this, but he made no effort to deny their cooperation, instead sporting a smile as he glanced at the portal. He then paused before gesturing at Anna. "Coming with?"
The young girl paused, as though surprised by his words. "I-I can?"
Ezekiel shrugged. "Of course, the increase in the exam’s difficulty wouldn’t be that exaggerated anyways."
Her lips curled into a gratified smile before she walked forward and followed the three inside the portal. Before stepping in, they were each given a crystalline badge that glittered softly in their palms. "These will monitor your performance and ensure your safety. If any of you receive a critical injury, you will be immediately extracted. However, extraction results in automatic failure."
The next moment their vision swam, their sights falling onto a cascading canvas of multiple colors before it suddenly vanished to welcome an eerie darkness. Before they could even react though, the world around them exploded into a bright light that caused them to cover their eyes.
When their eyes had finally adjusted, they opened them, displaying slight surprise as they found themselves in what appeared to be an abandoned fortress courtyard. Ancient stone walls surrounded them but had broken off after the first story, allowing them to see a clear view of the sky.
Behind them stood a grand crystal floating above a silver structure, gently humming with a strange flow of mana. Once they noticed it, a soft but audible voice seemed to resound in their ears informing them of their trial. "You all are to defend the crystal behind you from two waves of attacks. The conditions of the crystal at the end of the trial and the amount of executions you have will determine your final score."
By the time the voice faded with the wind, Vahn and Yuri had already made their moves. The latter activated the thrusters on her boots to take to the skies, landing atop one of the barely surviving platforms on the abandoned platform before bringing out her Death guns and assuming a battle ready stance.
Vahn, on the other hand, equipped his gauntlets and Windchaser boots, his eyes trained on the endless grassland before them.
Ezekiel nodded upon seeing their actions, satisfied that he hadn’t needed to give out any advice before they assumed their positions. As for why they hadn’t donned their full Battlesuits? This was because the mechanic had decided to fully disguise himself as no more than a unique forger. Not to mention that the Battlesuit blueprints weren’t fully complete anyways and were practically just for design.
He then stared at Anna and spoke. "Anna, you’ll be in charge of raining hell on our opponents. Don’t use your Spell Storage for anything other than defensive and movement spells, we’ll buy you the time needed to cast your spells. There’s no need to waste any more mana than necessary."
She nodded, casting away her hesitation and fear before she began casting ahead of time.
"Incoming!" Yuri’s loud shout drew the mechanic’s attention, his eyes shifting to focus on a large group of figures that dashed across the grass plains.
A whirring sound left a device near his ear before his golden visor unclasped and rearranged itself so as to cover his eyes before clasping back and setting itself on his face.
The HUD and Augmented reality superimposed itself over his line of sight but he ignored those to focus on the feed his drones sent to him, zooming in to better inspect his enemies.
(I got it.) Laura chirped, creating a 3d model of the enemies in his line of sight to allow him observe them better. (This cancels out a lot of your advantages.)
"Shit." A curse left his lips as he realized the nature of his enemies.
They were fighting against magical constructs.
