Reincarnated In A World Of Mana As A Mechanic-Chapter 41: An Institute ruled by Points

The students checked their positions with bated breaths, though their expressions soon betrayed various expressions like disappointment, contentment or indifference.

Ezekiel wasn’t surprised to find his name taking the third position. Due to their encounter with the Bloodthirsty Bear, not to mention that they had wasted time spectating Edward’s poor performance, they hadn’t been the first to cross the forest. He didn’t care much about the position though, the points he would receive stayed the same. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Vahn’s position was right behind him, taking up the fourth position while Yuri had lost the fifth by a few trial points, instead taking up the sixth position.

The mechanic was sure that if he had been chosen to not hand over any points to Anna when they had separated, he would be the second at least, with Vahn and Yuri coming up directly behind him. He had made his choice though, and he wouldn’t regret it.

A smirk appeared on his face as he noted Edward’s position. Fifty-first.

Glancing about, he easily spotted the noble’s dark expression as he stared up at the trial board with unwillingness and anger. Yet as young and pampered as he was, even he wasn’t stupid enough to make any comments on his position, not if he wanted to remain within the Institution.

Valdris cared little about the emotions of the youngsters before him, instead focusing on guiding his mana once more while he left some parting comments to the students. "You all will be transported to the Administrative section of the academy where you will be told what to do next. I wish you all good luck and hope you treasure this opportunity you have won. Become stronger, so you can serve the kingdom well."

Before the students could fully register his words, a spark of mana flickered then expanded into a silver light that swallowed the students up, teleporting them to a smaller sized hall with receptions all around them.

Ezekiel shook away the accompanying nausea before it could affect him then stared at the building that they had been transported to.

"Fresh batches of meat eh."

He had hardly begun examining his surroundings when a voice rang out, forcing him to stare at the figure above him. ’Fucking hell. Do all the teachers here have a thing for forcing us to look up?’

The figure floating above him was a woman dressed in a black, skin tight training garb that accentuated her lithe and perfectly curvy figure. And her beauty was one that matched that of the previous red haired instructor, with silky black hair that ended at her shoulder and deep blue colored eyes. "Come on, which one of you is brave enough to spar with me for a while."

The students could feel the temperature around them lowering just staring at her, an indication of her elemental affinity. A shiver running down their spines as her words registered in their ear. Not to mention if such a spar would come for free, they were all scared of whether or not they’d be able to survive a single slap from the wildly smiling individual before them.

Her demeanor didn’t seem to match her element’s property at all. Instead of the assumed indifferent expression, she sported a wide smile that brimmed with fighting intent, as though the only thing stopping her from giving the students a thorough ass whooping was the fact that they were too weak.

’Really too weird. A cold faced instructor with the fire element and a hot blooded instructor with the ice element. Did they switch personalities?’ The mechanic had to hold back a twitch in his lips as this thought streaked past his mind before he chose to bury it, lest he invite trouble for himself.

"A bunch of cowards, I see. Well, you all would be unable to last a round anyway. You’re all still freshers after all." The black haired woman clicked her tongue after noticing that nobody volunteered before gesturing to the desks around her. "Anyways, you’re all here to register your accommodations and settle for the courses that interest you. You will be given a list regarding which location you wish to take up as your dorm and another regarding the courses you wish to take." She then flashed an anticipating smile at them. "The combat lessons are compulsory by the way."

Another shiver made the freshers shudder before they forced their eyes from the beautiful yet hot blooded lady and moved towards the multiple receptionist desks all around them.

Turned out what Valdris Dane had said was true. Institute points were truly vital to the lives of the students. In fact, maybe a bit too vital.

The mechanic’s lips twitched as he scanned the paper before him, a helpless expression appearing on his face. "We have to pay to rent the dorms?"

Aggrieved groans echoed in the halls as the students collectively realized that their lives in the institute weren’t going to be easy. Especially for those who were ranked below 50.

After all, even the most basic rooms needed about 70 IP per month. This was more than half of their received points!

Not to mention that they would need those points for other things such as renting out training rooms or workshops or buying resources to help the growth of their mana cores.

Worse yet was that IP couldn’t be shared, which meant that it was impossible to pool the points together and rent an entire apartment or building that could be shared among the students.

Ezekiel had no issues with this as he was in the top three and had already been given his 1000 IP, but it meant that Vahn and his sister would have to spend a reasonable amount of IP before they could regain it.

"You guys shouldn’t bother renting out any rooms." Having browsed the entire list with the help of Laura and chosen the best which fit his requirement, he glanced at the siblings as he spoke.

Vahn hesitated. "You don’t have to do that, we both know how much points you need to upgrade all your equipment and start your research. Plus, I and Yuri can manage a two room dorm."

Yuri nodded, agreeing to her brother. Deep down, they felt a bit ashamed to have to rely on Ezekiel. They had barely been of help lately after all, and such an act would burden their friend no matter how they looked at it.

The mechanic smiled warmly as he heard this before letting out a chuckle and playfully punching Vahn. "What are you two thinking about? Those are my points anyways, plus the monthly distributions are definitely not the only way to gain points in the institute, you guys can just buy some stuff for me later." He glanced at the pouting Yuri before pinching her cheeks lightly and shrugging. "I’ve paid anyway, so you guys have no choice in the matter."

The young girl snorted and slapped away his hands before fidgeting a bit and looking down. "I’ll make sure to return everything... Thanks, Ez."

"No need for thanks among friends. Don’t worry about it and just register your courses." He then turned to the receptionist before him and curiously asked. "Is there a rule book regarding the point distribution system?"

The man behind the desk rose his brow, surprised that Ezekiel was so quick-witted. He then smiled and handed out a thick booklet. "10 Institute points."

The mechanic’s face darkened. "Dammit, we gotta pay for a freaking rule book?" He grumbled, spitting out a few curse words but still paid the points needed before taking a quick look at it.

It did seem quick but in truth, Laura had already used the chance to scan the entire booklet’s content, sorting through it with lightning speed. (Coming here was the right choice, Ez. There are a lot of materials needed for the workshop that are available for sale. We just need the points to buy it. And I mean a lot of points.)

Ezekiel grunted, realizing that he would have to drain his points the same way his research had similarly devoured every bit of starls he managed to get his hands on in the past. ’What a money consuming Class. Scratch that for now, there’s no need to make any advanced equipment that my body can’t handle. I should first reach the D rank equivalent level of physique, otherwise my body will break down under the stress of my inventions.’

He shivered lightly, thinking of how terribly his internal injuries were even while utilizing inventions that the system classified as simply E+. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how draining an actual D rank level of equipment would be.

’I might genuinely develop PTSD for my own machinery at this point. Anyways, list out the best classes I should attend. I’ll at least be able to save up some points this way.’ He then held up the list which detailed the classes available for him, only to display a dumbfounded expression as he read the content.

"No fucking way." He stared at the receptionist, an aggrieved and dismayed expression making its way to his face. "We have to pay for the classes too?!"

The man merely smiled warmly and nodded. "Welcome to the Star and Cross Institution."