I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy – Chapter 88

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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What constitutes greatness?

If someone were to pose this question to Lucas, he would invariably cite his mother.

To him, Adela Elmar epitomized the ideal of a great mother.

‘I… must be perfect.’

However, if one were to ask what he represented to his mother, the answer would be “a weakness”—a blemish that couldn’t be concealed, a publicly exposed flaw, his most vulnerable point.

This was because his veins carried the blood of an anonymous mercenary.

‘I must defeat Edgar Fix.’

A bastard.

Lucas Elmar was born without the right to bear the Elmar name.

He wasn’t formally recognized as an Elmar until he turned six, known only by his given name until then because Adela’s parents vehemently denied his existence.

– That child must be eliminated!

– A mercenary’s child? Unacceptable!

Adela, a blossoming young woman of eighteen, returned home pregnant and faced fierce opposition from her parents.

They were consumed by the potential scandal and relentlessly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy.

– No. I will not kill my child.

But Adela’s resolve was unwavering.

She insisted on carrying the child to term, ultimately giving birth to Lucas, a child with common blood.

Lucas’s grandparents, however, still refused to acknowledge him.

– I will provide you with my utmost support! You will be allowed to see the child once a month… but you must keep him hidden…

They proposed disguising Lucas as the son of a wet nurse.

Presenting the child of an unknown mercenary as the heir to the Grand Duchy was unthinkable, especially while other Grand Duke families were forging alliances through strategic marriages.

They couldn’t allow Adela, at the peak of her youth and potential, to be devalued.

– Father, I understand your intentions. As a member of House Elmar, I bear the responsibility that comes with it. However, I am not ashamed of my choices. I loved him, the man who died for me, and I chose to have this child. So I ask you not to insult us. I will bear the consequences.

Adela remained steadfast.

Months of coaxing, reasoning, and even threats yielded the same response.

Finally, she publicly declared Lucas as her son, embracing her status as an unwed mother.

– The Flower of the East with a lowly mercenary?

– Is this the end of House Elmar’s legacy?

As feared, scandal ensued.

Adela’s reputation plummeted, and prospective suitors withdrew their proposals.

Rumors painted her as a woman of loose morals, and whispers about Lucas’s supposed disabilities circulated.

– My talent doesn’t disappear just because I had a child.

But Adela remained unfazed.

She possessed exceptional talent and wielded the “Spatial Control Formula,” one of House Elmar’s most potent specialized formulas.

She dedicated herself to honing her abilities and contributed significantly to the Empire’s war efforts and gainied renown on numerous battlefields.

The image of the “promiscuous noblewoman” gradually faded, replaced by the title “Empress of the East.”

She was finally recognized as the legitimate successor to the Duchy.

– I grant you this title. Stand beside His Majesty and demonstrate your valor. Elevate the honor of House Elmar.

Adela earned her father’s approval and assumed leadership of House Elmar.

Her valor during the Seven Years’ War was legendary.

Her ailing father, witnessing his daughter’s triumph, died peacefully, knowing she had restored the family’s honor.

– Lucas, your grandfather has something to tell you.

Before his passing, he imparted a final message to Lucas, urging him to follow Adela’s guidance and become a worthy heir.

He revealed the extent of Adela’s sacrifices, the hardships she had endured to protect Lucas, stories she had never shared.

Lucas, though young, was perceptive and understood the depth of his mother’s love and the sacrifices she had made for him.

‘I… cannot be a hindrance to her.’

Lucas dedicated himself to becoming the perfect son.

He excelled in social graces, academics, and combat training, striving to compensate for his lack of a paternal lineage.

He needed to prove himself twice as worthy, to erase the stain of his birth.

– It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lucas, the sole heir of House Elmar.

He mastered etiquette, diplomacy, and all the subtle arts of aristocratic life.

He trained tirelessly, pushing himself to the limit, determined to be a source of strength for his mother, who had faced the world alone.

– Lucas, you make me proud.

– Lucas, please don’t push yourself so hard. I worry about your health.

His mother’s unwavering support and affection fueled his determination.

Through childhood taunts, the painful absence of a father, and the cold scrutiny of his grandparents, her love had been his constant solace.

Adela was his world: mother, father, mentor, everything.

– It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Edgar Fix.

Then, Edgar Fix appeared, a commoner who effortlessly commanded attention upon entering the academy.

Lucas, who had anticipated being the star student, found himself overshadowed.

Ed’s initial demonstration of his gauntlet sparked a competitive fire in Lucas.

He spent hours mentally sparring with Ed, strategizing and simulating battles.

‘I would win, decisively.’

Every simulation ended in his victory.

Even the Max incident hadn’t shaken his confidence.

He believed in his hard-earned skills.

– Mother, what are your thoughts on Edgar Fix, now that you’ve met him?

But Ed’s diplomatic triumph in the Dwarven Allied Kingdom, earning him a Countship, and his subsequent, decisive victory against a powerful demon, forced Lucas to confront a harsh reality: he was falling behind.

– He is a remarkable man. To possess such insight at his young age…

His mother’s words stung.

She had referred to Ed as a remarkable man.

‘She acknowledges him as a man?’

Adela rarely used that term, reserving it for those who met her stringent criteria.

Everyone else was dismissed as a “boy” or a “brat.”

‘Not a remarkable boy… but a remarkable man…’

A sharp, unfamiliar pang of jealousy pierced him.

He couldn’t shake the image of his mother smiling wistfully, lost in thought.

At thirty-six, she was still a striking woman, but she had never shown interest in another man.

Countless suitors, eager to win the favor of the Empress of the East, had been summarily dismissed.

– Cultivate a friendship with him. You have much to learn from him.

And now, she was smiling, her gaze distant, clearly thinking of Edgar Fix.

Lucas felt a surge of resentment, a burning need to prove himself superior.

“Begin!”

The moment had arrived, the opportunity to surpass Edgar Fix, to reclaim his rightful place.

He charged.

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Ed, lost in his culinary fantasies of sizzling Macbeth pork, was startled by Lucas’s sudden charge.

The match had begun.

But he hadn’t been completely idle.

He immediately backpedaled, creating distance, and summoned his gauntlet.

A spatial rift shimmered, the bracelet materializing—

—and then vanishing.

Lucas, using House Elmar’s specialized Spatial Control Formula, had intercepted it mid-summon.

‘He’s definitely a step up from the others.’

Ed wasn’t surprised.

He’d been expecting something like this.

With his suit, victory was a foregone conclusion.

This match was about honing his adaptability, his ability to react to unexpected situations, like being ambushed before he could even equip his gear.

True strength meant being prepared for any contingency.

Demons wouldn’t pause their assault just because he was contemplating dinner or caught without his suit.

“Can you defeat me without your gauntlet?”

Lucas closed the distance, with a swift punch aimed at Ed’s head.

Ed raised his guard, but the fist vanished mid-swing, reappearing behind him, a deceptive maneuver made possible by the Spatial Control Formula.

“Oof!”

The impact resonated through him.

If not for the mana reinforcing his body, that blow would have been a knockout.

His unusually high mana capacity allowed him to absorb the impact.

“You’re nothing without your suit.”

That was just the opening salvo.

A relentless barrage of attacks followed, each one unpredictable, coming from unexpected angles.

Ed found himself on the defensive and struggled to keep up.

‘He’s fighting with emotion.’

There was a personal edge to Lucas’s attacks, a hint of resentment.

Ed had a pretty good idea why.

“Just as I suspected. A mama’s boy.”

The taunt landed, twisting Lucas’s features into a mask of rage.

The usually composed, almost princely facade crumbled, revealing a raw, almost feral anger.

“How dare you!”

Emotion clouded judgment.

Ed seized the opportunity, summoning his web shooters and firing a stream of genetically engineered webbing at Lucas’s face—

—only to have it warp back towards him, snatched mid-flight by the Spatial Control Formula.

Ed reacted instantly, firing another web to intercept his own.

The two streams collided mid-air, falling to the ground in a tangled mess.

“Trying to provoke me? Not bad.”

Lucas, regaining his composure, resumed his attack, now incorporating weapons, increasing the pressure on Ed.

A dagger, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, embedded itself in Ed’s foot.

The weaker mana distribution in his extremities had left him vulnerable.

He quickly switched his web shooter to healing mode, cauterizing the wound with a specialized web.

The bleeding stopped, and the pain subsided.

“Surrender now, and I’ll make it quick.”

Spatial rifts shimmered around Lucas, his true arsenal taking shape.

Dozens of daggers hung suspended in mid-air, an embryonic form of the formidable “Sword Control Technique” that would one day lay waste to legions of demons.

These daggers, controlled by Lucas’s will and his mastery of spatial manipulation, posed a serious threat.

‘Time to get serious.’

Lucas’s expression was grim, his focus absolute.

Had the “mama’s boy” taunt struck a deeper chord than Ed anticipated?

He pulled a smoke grenade from his pocket.

He activated it, plunging the arena into a dense fog.

“You think you can hide from me? I can see you, Edgar Fix.”

Lucas’s eyes glowed an eerie blue within the smoke.

He had activated his Clear Eye, piercing the veil of the smoke screen.

The smoke, however, did disrupt his aim.

The daggers, though still coming from all directions, were now easier to predict and evade.

As Ed danced through the barrage, he spotted his gauntlet, discarded near the edge of the arena.

He reached out, and like Thor’s hammer returning to its master, the gauntlet flew towards him, snapping onto his wrist.

The satisfying click of the mechanisms locking into place echoed through the arena.

A burst of mana erupted, dispelling the smoke.

Lucas, sensing the shift in momentum, had cleared the arena.

Ed, now partially equipped, fired a repulsor beam, followed by a web shot aimed at Lucas’s left foot.

The repulsor beam, however, was intercepted by Lucas’s spatial manipulation, warping back towards Ed and striking him.

“Gah!”

The impact stung, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.

“One hit.”

But Lucas hadn’t been able to react to the web in time.

His left foot was ensnared.

“…Cheap tricks!”

Lucas focused his mana on his trapped foot, the genetically engineered web beginning to strain and fray.

Ed wasn’t going to give him the chance to break free.

The concentrated mana in his foot meant his defenses were down elsewhere.

Ed summoned his boots, preparing to complete his partial suit—

—but they vanished mid-summon, snatched away by Lucas’s spatial manipulation.

His control over space was proving to be a significant obstacle.

Ed really wished he had his nanosuit.

“This won’t do.”

He couldn’t complete the suit under these conditions.

He needed a distraction, a way to buy himself some time.

He shifted his gauntlet, extending the plasma blade, and charged towards Lucas, still partially entangled.

Daggers flew towards him, but their force was diminished, Lucas’s mana still focused on freeing his foot.

Just as Lucas ripped free of the web, Ed’s plasma blade lunged towards his abdomen.

Lucas smirked, warping the blade’s trajectory with a flick of his wrist.

“Your own blade will be your undoing!”

Ed felt the now-familiar disorientation of warped space, his own attack redirected towards his back.

“Just as I planned.”

The plasma blade had been a diversion.

His true attack was this:

Pffffft!

A cloud of hallucinogenic powder, the precious sample he’d acquired during Charlotte’s training, engulfed Lucas’s face.

“Gah!”

Lucas’s face contorted in a grimace of pain and surprise.

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The hallucinogenic powder, a byproduct of Ed’s experiments while training Charlotte, had a peculiar effect: it amplified the victim’s deepest fears, twisting their senses and conjured horrific hallucinations.

And the hallucination that gripped Lucas was particularly unsettling.

Edgar Fix, looking like a street thug, sat on a makeshift throne, spitting on the ground and sneering.

Beside him sat Lucas’s mother, Adela.

She seemed strangely subdued, with a blush on her cheeks, as Fix draped a possessive arm around her shoulders.

Then, she spoke, uttering words that chilled Lucas to the bone.

“Lucas… say hello to your father.”

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