"What would you say your experience with Mech Building is?" Instructor Oileren asked, pausing before one of the booths where three students were working on their Mech Design.

Everlearn paused behind him before replying.

"I'm familiar with the basics."

"Sounds humble enough. Look before you," the Instructor said, pointing his staff toward the booth.

He turned to it, observing the student's actions.

"What would you say is most likely being built?"

His eyes furrowed at the question.

Not much had been built by the students.

Whatever they were doing seemed about 20% complete, with most of the ground filled with wiring and similar components.

But after looking around the materials…

"A High Grade Ballistic Turret, perhaps?" Everlearn replied.

Even the students in the booth paused slightly and stared at him in quiet disbelief, before continuing.

"That's interesting," Instructor Oileren said, turning to him.

"But wouldn't you say ballistic weapons are kind of fading off these days?"]

"Yes, they are," Everlearn replied.

"Energy weapons don't use bullets, so they never drop or drift."

"They hit exactly where you aim, and they also fire almost instantly, too, with close to zero recoil, unlike Ballistic weapons."

"Indeed. The world's battles have advanced beyond simple ballistic weapons."

"Why would you be sure that they're trying to create one, though?" he asked further.

"There's no element of energy in this booth," Everlearn replied.

"The wirings are similar to basic auto-firing mechanisms, and even the material objects are bulky, perfect for a turret."

"Not to mention the obvious shells on the ground, which old turrets fire. That's what makes things pretty obvious."

A glint crossed through Instructor Oileren's eyes.

"You truly are familiar with the basics," he said, resuming his steps.

As they walked, he continued his questioning.

"Do you think you can build that instrument from the ground up, all by yourself?" he asked.

The answer was simple.

It was an absolute yes, and Everlearn didn't even need to do much.

With all materials gathered, all he needed to do was activate mechno-creatio and the object would be right before him in less than an hour.

"No. I can't," he replied.

"While I'm indeed conversant and can recognize what is being built due to the materials, putting them together all on my own will be difficult, considering I've never put one together nor even seen one being put together."

"I will need a manual, and even then, there would be a lot of trial and error to build anything worth firing at all."

"I might just end up blowing myself up in the testing stage."

"Hahahaha!" Instructor Oileren laughed out loud at this, though he nodded continuously.

"I enjoy it. Knowledge paired with an understanding of one's capabilities. You definitely have what it takes to build one," he said, and in the next moment, they paused before a booth.

This time, Everlearn was surprised because there were usually three or sometimes four people in a booth, but in this one, there was only a single person: the lady he had met today.

"There are notes you must acquire and study very well."

"With the basic principles you have acquired, I'm sure you will find it easy to comprehend on your own with enough reading."

"But do feel free to approach when you're confused about a topic," Instructor Oileren said.

"Chloe here will give you the notes," he added.

In that moment, she turned her back from the welding she was doing, finding Instructor Oileren and then Everlearn.

She paused, showing not much change in her expression, then quietly resumed her task.

"The students have already taken tests on the notes after three weeks of studying, and the score you get will determine what grade of Mech build you will be assigned to."

"Just so you know, Chloe here was the best in the test, scoring far above the rest, and that's why she is also being made to work alone on the highest grade of Mech build in the room."

"If you take the test and score high like she did, then you will be her booth partner and get to work on the project."

"Two brilliant minds working on such a high-grade object. That's something I would love to see."

"When will I be tested?" Everlearn asked.

"The other students took three weeks of theory classes before taking the test. The same will apply to you, though I can give you a week more due to you having to do personal study by yourself."

"So, let's say a month from now," the Instructor said.

"Understood, Instructor Oileren."

"Very well. Chloe hates to be disturbed during her focused moments, so I will ask you to wait until class ends before walking over for the notes."

"That's fine by me," Everlearn said.

The Instructor tapped his shoulder twice before resuming his walk through the booths, but Everlearn didn't follow this time.

He returned to the seats and waited.

Hours passed rapidly, and soon a ringing echoed out, signifying that the class had ended.

Most of the students instantly exited their booths, and soon enough, there was only a single person still in the room.

Thirty minutes after 12:00, when class had ended, she stepped out, and Everlearn raised his head from the table, finding her before him with her phone outstretched.

On the screen was a bar code to be scanned.

It was she, the lady, whose name he now knew to be Chloe.

"The notes," she said curtly.

Everlearn brought out his device, taking a scan.

Three beeps rang out from his device, confirming he had received them.

She turned her back, waving as she did.

"See you around," she said curtly before disappearing out of the lab, leaving Everlearn behind.

"Quite the peculiarity. She arrives earlier than everyone else and leaves later than everyone else. Perhaps it's why she's also the best in class."

Everlearn mused before he turned his attention to his device.

Several files had appeared, all the notes he must study before taking the test.

"I'll try going through them tonight," he murmured to himself, keeping his device in his pocket before he rose and left the class.

The time was 12:30, and another class would begin at 1:30.

"Source Optimization class, huh? I wonder what that even means."

_______

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