Reincarnated In A World Of Mana As A Mechanic-Chapter 42: Course selection

"Three hundred and fifty Institute Points per month." Ezekiel muttered as he surveyed the apartment walls around him, his voice taking on the tone of someone announcing a death sentence. Having chosen the dorm he wanted, he had expected it to be expensive, but not to such a level. "For a three-bedroom apartment. Basic! What do they consider luxury, solid gold walls?"

The apartment, despite the financial devastation it had caused to the mechanic’s wallet, was actually rather impressive. Located on the fifth floor of a large crystalline tower that hummed with barely contained magical energy, it offered quite a beautiful view of the Institute’s campus, allowing them to observe the multiple individuals that moved about, either on their way to various classes or heading out of the institute.

Yuri peered over his shoulder at the glossy brochure in his hands—one which contained the details regarding the apartment they had rented—, her eyes widening as she took in the numbers. "Look at the details though. A private training room, mana-controlled bath, an all-purpose magical construct that can clean, cook and do any menial task we need, and..." She paused, squinting at the paper. "Wait, does that say ’anti-scrying protection’?"

Vahn raised a brow. "Are there anti-Seer measures? Wait, why would anyone want to scry us while we’re at our dorm?"

Ezekiel gave an amused smirk. "We both know the answer to that."

"Look, we even have to pay for overusing the bathroom." Yuri brought their attention back with her next words though. "If we want hot water past the basic fifteen-minute daily allowance—"

"Stop!" Ezekiel held up a hand, his eye twitching exasperatedly. "Just... don’t finish that sentence. My wallet’s soul is already crying."

Despite his complaints, the mechanic had already made his decision. He couldn’t exactly ask for a refund on his paid Institution points. More importantly, the apartment came with a workshop-compatible training room that could handle his mechanical experiments without setting the building on fire.

Probably.

Glancing around and noting the designs of the apartment, Ezekiel shrugged. "At least I’m getting my money’s worth."

The entrance opened into a spacious living area with furniture that seemed to be carved from single pieces of some kind of magical wood. The walls exuded a soft, ambient glow that adjusted automatically to their preferences—they only needed to infuse a specific amount of mana to make it work. The floor was made from polished stone that felt warm beneath their feet despite its appearance, no doubt, another ingenious application of mana.

"Ez, look at this!" Yuri called from the kitchen area, which was separated from the living room by a wooden breakfast bar. "The stove runs on a special application of fire magic, and the cooling box uses ice enchantments!"

"Please tell me those don’t cost extra to operate." Ezekiel pleaded, though he was already resigned to the inevitable additional expenses. He could only assume how much more terribly students with low amounts of Institution points suffered.

"Actually..." Vahn said, wincing slightly as he read a small placard near the door. "Basic utilities are included in the rent. It’s only if you exceed the ’reasonable usage time’ that additional charges apply."

"And what exactly does ’reasonable usage’ mean?"

Vahn continued reading, his expression growing increasingly concerned. "Um... Our mana consumption in the room is quantified to units apparently. We can’t use more than a thousand units per day, and said units are also used to fix any structural damages to the building. Which means we can’t go wild with our mana –or in your case, mechanical—related experiments."

Ezekiel stared at him. "My entire existence revolves around experimental research. It’s not my fault some of my equipment destabilized mid-invention."

The bedrooms were surprisingly spacious, each featuring a large window, built-in storage that seemed to expand based on need, and the beds were almost capable of lulling Ezekiel to sleep the moment he sat on it.

Each room also possessed a bathroom with a shower that could apparently adjust water temperature once inputted into the device hanging by the bathroom wall.

What caught the mechanic’s attention was the training room that came with the apartment. The room was easily as large as the living area, with reinforced walls that seemed capable of resisting any explosive might that smashed against it and a floor made from some kind of metal that could apparently channel and disperse magical energy. Along one wall stood various training equipment that looked both sophisticated and were neatly arranged.

And in the middle of the room was a magical construct that served to act as a training dummy.

"Advanced Training Golem." Ezekiel read from the brochure in his hands, his voice taking on an excited tone as he spoke. "Capable of displaying up to C-rank battle prowess, with adaptive learning algorithms and—" He paused, his euphoria crashing as he spotted another section of text. "Requires activation fee of twenty points per session. Fuck, they just had to add that."

"There it is." Yuri quipped, her expression betraying no surprise at Ezekiel’s words. "I was wondering when they’d find a way to charge us for training."

The mechanic sighed, understanding that the institute was indeed the perfect place for his research and training. He only had to attain a large amount of money to entertain and support his research. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

After settling in, the next course of action to take was the selection of classes he would take. He, Vahn and Yuri gathered on the couch, the list before them while they chose which courses to place down on their application form.

"Magical Construct Theories is a must have for me." Ezekiel decided on his first choice the moment he saw this. The course would drain 60 points out of his already loose wallet, but such a course was vital to his mechanical knowledge.

(You’ll also need to take up the Wilderness Survival class. You don’t need to focus on it since I can catalogue everything. You’ll need the Smithing classes as well, a lot of forging techniques coincide with the mechanic creation process.)

He nodded as he listened to Laura’s voice in his head, immediately choosing the three. The Combat Technique class was a compulsory course, so he also placed that in, tallying his expended Institute points to 190.

Had he been a regular awakened, he would have had to spend much more as there were a lot more courses on the various applications of mana to all four classes. But Ezekiel, as the manaless Awakened that he was, had no need for that.

Yuri and Vahn had both chosen the same courses to apply for. One related to the application of innate skills, three different courses that branched on the many applications of mana, the same wilderness course Ezekiel had taken and finally, the compulsory Combat Technique class. Everything tallied up to an expended 270 points.

One could only imagine how the students with only 100 points would manage to fare. Ezekiel reckoned that the lot of them would only have enough points for one course after managing to sort out a dorm in which they could live.

And since the Combat technique class was compulsory, that would be their only course until they managed to get their hands on more Institute points.

"Social Dynamics of Magical Society." Having already chosen his courses, the mechanic chose to skim through the rest of the courses and was dumbfounded when he came across such a specific course. "I don’t need to pay 75 points to learn how to talk to people."

"Are you sure?" Yuri asked with mock concern. "Because your conversation with that noble didn’t exactly showcase your diplomatic skills."

"My diplomatic skills work fine." He protested. "Well, we have everything we need. I can only gain the rest that I need through research. Thankfully, the institute possesses a lot of materials that I need."

"Research and materials that will probably cost extra points." Vahn pointed out.

"Don’t remind me." Ezekiel groaned. "This place is like a beautiful, educational trap designed to extract every point I’ll ever earn." ’Not to mention that my cruel system will make sure to suck up all the Exp I’ve managed to gather just to convert any blueprints I get my hands on. Blueprints that I can buy using Institute points or gain through extensive research that still need Institute points. Just freaking kill me.’

"Look at it this way." Sensing his bad mood, Yuri moved closer to her friend and patted his shoulder consolingly. "At least you’ll be too broke to develop any expensive bad habits."

Ezekiel’s lips twitched. "I should have known nothing good leaves those lips of yours."

Despite his complaints about the costs, Ezekiel had to admit there was something exciting about the challenge ahead. The Institute might be expensive, but it was also offering opportunities he couldn’t get anywhere else.

Plus, he reasoned, if he was going to go broke pursuing his dreams, he might as well do it in style. Even if that meant he might possibly accrue a whole mountain of debt

"I practically have no choice in the matter." The mechanic sighed, confirming his filled out course selection forms with the resignation of a man signing a peace treaty after losing a war. "I’m going to buy all I need for my research while eating nothing but cheap rations for the next few years, and hoping that my incredible mechanical genius will somehow pay off before I starve to death."

He would smash past all the obstacles placed before him by the institute. Even if it left him bankrupt in the process.