Reincarnated In A World Of Mana As A Mechanic-Chapter 36: Character

Ezekiel collapsed onto the floor the moment he noticed that the last group of constructs had been blown to pieces by Anna, breathing heavily while wincing due to the pain such an action brought to his sore chest.

He shifted uncomfortably on the partially burnt grass while groaning with pain and fatigue. Vahn, Anna and Yuri were in similar cases as him, all too tired to move a single finger as they rested their tired bodies and tried their best to regain the mana they had lost due to the intense fight.

Ezekiel had no issues with energy, merely setting his machinery back to stand-by mode so as to allow his MCR operate at full capacity to regain his lost Psionic energy. He, unlike them, needed no concentration for this so he could rest more, but unfortunately he was also incapable of speeding up the process unlike Awakened who gathered mana.

His MCR’s speed of conversion depended on the level of technology used in its creation after all. The mechanic would probably have to compete in the next trial with an incomplete energy battery. There was no way to go about it without gaining a more advanced blueprint so he quickly threw it out of his mind and chose to get as much rest as he could.

He squinted his amethyst colored eyes and simply stared at the bright sky above him, inwardly wondering if his current location was an actual place on Taia or if the Institute had actually employed the fabled "incomplete world" to administer the exams. A bit of interest swept past his eyes as he thought of the second possibility.

"Congratulations."

A familiar voice woke Ezekiel from his thinking, drawing his attention to the badge on his chest. He forced himself to sit up before holding the badge in his hands and focusing on whatever content left the material.

"You have successfully passed the first trial. Your crystal has only suffered minimal damage, leading to a distribution of 2980 points. Calculating by the amount of constructs destroyed, Participant Ezekiel is granted 1240 points, Participant Vahn is granted 1080 points, Participant Anna is granted 912 points and Participant Yuri is granted 739 points. Note that only the points gained due to your protection of the crystal can be distributed among team members, points gained by destroying constructs can’t be shared."

Ezekiel nodded, noticing nothing wrong with the point distribution; after all, he and Vahn had indeed been the main force of their attacks against the constructs.

"You may now proceed with the next trial." A sudden flux of energy gathered atop the crystal, scattering the wind about and catching the mechanic’s attention.

He glanced at his friends and smirked. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Exchanging no further words, the four stepped into the portal soon finding themselves in another plain grass field.

The second trial’s environment was notably different from the first. Where the previous arena had been an ancient fortress courtyard, this new location resembled a maze that had its walls replaced by tall trees that would leave an individual practically breaking their necks if they wished to view the top from the ground. In the distance, several other groups of contestants could be seen emerging from their own portals.

"Participants, welcome to the second trial." the familiar voice announced through their badges. "This trial will test your ability to adapt and compete directly against fellow candidates. The forest before you shall be the site of your next trial. Your trial is quite literally a race. You have to find your way through the forest and get to the other side as quickly as you can. Only the first hundred participants who complete this will be eligible to join our Institute."

Her words provoked a wave of surprise and bewilderment from the participants. There were about 300 or more participants at the moment, the thought that only a third of them would pass was truly unnerving.

Yet the female voice disregarded their reactions and simply went on with her instructions. "You have 10 minutes to prepare yourselves."

Ezekiel revealed a thoughtful expression as he digested the words before finally speaking to his friends. "We should have a bit of an advantage regarding such a scenario. The Windchasers are enough for our speed, and I can deal with the task of finding our way to the end. Anna, you can take one of these, I’ll have to remotely control it though."

A knee high mechanical boot, designed like the rest of his Windchasers, appeared in his hands. Yet before he could hand it over to the young mage, a disdainful voice rang out, forcing him to pause his actions.

"Oh? A mere forger made it this far?"

Ezekiel frowned, his eyes focusing on the source of those words. The voice belonged to a figure in pristine robes, he possessed bright golden colored hair and sharp blue eyes that regarded the item in the mechanic’s hands with obvious disdain.

Those eyes. The mechanic felt an instinctive anger burn in him as he witnessed the latter expressing undisguised disgust and disregard towards his precious inventions. The teenager’s robes, embroidered with intricate patterns that brimmed with contained mana, and the ornate sword by his side registered in Ezekiel’s eyes. Yet he didn’t care about it, his amethyst eyes brightened chillingly as he growled lowly. "Scram."

The young man’s expression darkened as those words registered in his ear, an angered expression soon painting his face as he snapped. "Scram? You think a failed Baron’s son like you can order me to scram? I am Edward Par-"

Ezekiel cut the boy off with an annoyed sneer. "And why the hell would I care about your name? Just because you’re the son of some Earl, Marquis or Duke hoping to throw your family’s name around?"

Edward’s face burnt red, anger and embarrassment flooding his mind as his mana surged dangerously. "How dare you—"

"How dare I what?" Ezekiel’s amethyst eyes gleamed with barely contained amusement. "Speak the truth? Point out that despite all your advantages, you still felt the need to seek us out and try to prove your superiority to a group of ’peasants’? That sounds more like insecurity than nobility to me."

Edward’s companions shifted uncomfortably, clearly sensing the escalating tension. One of them, a thin boy with nervous eyes, whispered urgently. "Edward, perhaps we should—"

"Silence!" Edward snapped, never taking his eyes off Ezekiel. "You insignificant worm, do you have any idea who you’re addressing? I could have you thrown out of this exam with a single word."

Vahn’s hand clenched into a fist as he spoke provokingly, his voice laced with venom. "Feel free to try." He said quietly. "Though I suspect the Institute cares more about ability than daddy’s title."

"Enough."

As if on cue, a stern voice rang out, belonging to the red-haired instructor from earlier, who had appeared seemingly from nowhere. Her ruby eyes swept over the assembled groups with obvious displeasure. Her mood alone manifested as a storm of mana that bore down on the atmosphere, intensifying the world around her and seemingly making the seven participants deal with a force that almost toppled them over.

"Fighting between participants is strictly forbidden until the trial officially begins." she stated coldly. "Any further aggression will result in immediate disqualification."

She disappeared immediately after, the tense atmosphere disappearing with her, leaving a dissatisfied but helpless Edward who spoke through gritted teeth as he stared at the four. "This isn’t over."

"Looking forward to it," the mechanic replied with a casual shrug that only served to further infuriate the young noble.

He panted heavily while examining the four, as if making sure to memorize their appearances. His eyes then flickered as he focused on Anna, a contemptuous expression painting his face as he spoke. "It seems you followed this bunch of scum."

Anna’s face paled slightly. "Lord Edward, I—"

"No need to explain." Edward interrupted with a wave of his hand. "I understand perfectly. Sometimes one must associate with the help to achieve one’s goals. Though I must say, your father would be... disappointed by your current company."

He said nothing more, wishing to no longer embarrass himself, and turned around to search for a suitable entrance into the dense forest.

Watching his figure move farther and farther away, a tremble struck Anna. "That... that was unwise."

Ezekiel turned to her, his brow raised in surprise as he captured her tone. "Unwise?"

Her hands trembled slightly as she gripped her staff. "Do you have any idea what you’ve just done? Edward Parker is the son of a Marquis, and one whose father is infinitesimally close to becoming a Duke. Even if this isn’t his city, he definitely has deep connections within the Institute."

"So?" Vahn interjected. "He started it. We weren’t going to just stand there and let him insult us."

"You don’t understand," Anna continued, her voice taking on an edge of panic. "People like him... they don’t fight fair. They never fight fair. They use their influence, their connections. They make sure all their problems disappear, and sometimes that includes people who are associated with such problems."

Yuri studied Anna with calculating eyes. "Are you suggesting we should have just taken his abuse?"

"I’m suggesting you should have been smarter about it!" Anna’s composure finally cracked. "There are ways to handle these situations without making powerful enemies. Now he’s going to target all of us, and I—" She stopped herself, but the damage was already done.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"And you what?" Ezekiel’s voice was dangerously calm, his expression unreadable as he stared past her.

Anna’s face went white. "I... I can’t afford to make an enemy of the Parker family. My own family’s position isn’t secure enough to weather that kind of political storm."

The mechanic hummed lightly, a complex light flashing in his eyes before he suddenly sighed. "It seems I’m not a good judge of character after all."

A shiver ran through Anna as she heard his words. Her eyes looked up to his, only to tremble as she caught sight of his apathetic stare. As though she were nothing but a stranger.