I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy – Chapter 11

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Elena’s eyes widened.

She couldn’t believe Ed’s claim that he’d figured out the Blue Dragon’s secret.

After all, he hadn’t seemingly done anything specific.

He had simply observed the Blue Dragon breathing its breath and what happened to its internal organs during the process.

Yet, he claimed to have discovered something just from that?

“Look, do you see the mana stones?” Ed asked, pointing amidst her surprise.

He indicated the mana stone located at the base of the Blue Dragon’s tail.

“When it was about to breathe its breath, the mana stone activated and gathered the surrounding mana. To supply the mana needed for the breath,” Ed explained, then pointed to another mana stone, the one closest to the one on the tail.

“The same phenomenon occurred with this mana stone. It gathered the surrounding mana and then sent the mana upwards.”

Ed continued, pointing to each of the mana stones scattered throughout the Blue Dragon’s body, explaining that the same phenomenon had occurred with all of them.

He added, “All the mana in its body gathers in the largest mana stone near its heart. There, the mana’s attribute is converted, and the tremendous energy, transformed into fire, is released through its mouth.”

Elena nodded as she listened.

She already knew this much.

She wondered how Ed, who didn’t even have mana tracking abilities, could have figured this out, but since she had reached the same conclusion, she readily accepted his explanation.

“Yes, you’re right. Perhaps each mana stone has an inscribed formula.”

“Yes. A formula that allows them to exchange mana with each other.”

“Right. And also a formula to strengthen the body. Blue Dragons are also excellent in hand-to-hand combat. It probably uses the mana stones scattered throughout its body to enhance its physical strength.”

“Yes, Master, as you said, there must be a strengthening formula. Probably when it swings its arms, it receives mana from the surrounding mana stones to increase its explosive power.”

Elena looked at Ed, who was conversing so naturally with her.

‘How could he speak so casually with a Grand Mage like herself?’ she wondered.

‘This child still hasn’t even learned magic.’

“But the most important mystery remains,” Ed said meaningfully, looking at Elena.

Meeting his gaze, which held a certain conviction, Elena felt a chill.

‘It seems he’s already figured out the Blue Dragon’s biggest secret.’

“How can the Blue Dragon be perfectly fine despite having mana stones inside its body? This was actually the biggest question.”

Mana stones.

Mystical ores capable of fully containing and releasing mana.

However, they had a fatal flaw.

The more they were used, the more deadly toxins they released into a living being.

These toxins were so potent they could even corrode steel.

So how could the Blue Dragon be so unaffected?

Ed’s lips curved into a smile. “But today, I think I’ve figured out that secret. First, look here.”

Elena followed his finger. An organ of the Blue Dragon came into view.

“See that purplish organ? Its activity increased by about 45% after the breath attack. The number of pulses is different.”

Elena narrowed her eyes, examining the organ Ed had pointed out.

She couldn’t see any significant difference.
‘How could he catch something like that?’

“This organ probably purifies the toxins. You see, it’s located in the center of the body. For efficient absorption of the toxins.”

In short, this organ was the crux of the research.

If they could unravel its secrets, they could unlock the secret to safely using mana stones.

“Hmm. we’ll have to study that organ closely. So, how are you going to study it?”

“…Well, I’ll have to remove it.”

“Then we’ll have to kill it.”

“No. Just restore it with healing. In case I fail, I’ll need to remove it again.”

Elena looked back at Ed without saying a word.

‘Just how cruel can this boy be to achieve his goals?’

Then, Ed snapped his fingers. “Ah! Shall we remove a mana stone as well? We’ll need to study the formulas inscribed on them, won’t we?”

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It went according to plan, judging by the uneasy look in Elena’s eyes.

She seemed to be questioning my humanity.

‘Well, it can’t be helped even if her affection drops a little,’ he thought.

This was a necessary choice.

If her affection reached a certain level, a hidden event called “Elena’s Courtship” would be triggered.

‘I must avoid it at this stage.’

The hidden event, “Elena’s Courtship,” had very clear advantages and disadvantages.

If triggered, he would be constantly courted by Elena and could enjoy(?) viewing her 19+ illustrations, but his relationships with other NPCs would be severed due to Elena’s immense jealousy and possessiveness.

No NPC could withstand the jealousy of the Grand Mage at this point.

‘To prepare for the Destruction Part, I need to raise the abilities of all NPCs.’

The “Destruction Part” boasted the worst difficulty.

To successfully clear it, he needed to nurture all the NPCs.

Of course, Grand Mage Elena was an excellent NPC, and her child could become a formidable monster, but this academy was overflowing with talented NPCs.

He couldn’t abandon the opportunity to nurture them just for some 19+ amusement with the academy’s chief professor.

‘Above all, if we can’t prevent the Destruction Part, everyone will be annihilated.’

And if the Destruction Part wasn’t prevented, it was game over.

Literally, the entire empire would be completely destroyed.

So he needed to maintain a proper distance from Elena, keeping their relationship at the level of “master and disciple.”

It was a little troublesome that she was showing such strong affection for him right now.

‘Well, this should have lowered her affection a bit.’

For this reason, he had chosen his words carefully, implying that he would heal the Blue Dragon to secure an infinite supply of its organs.

However, healing the Blue Dragon was actually meant to release it back into the wild.

He intended to restore its scales with healing and potions after removing the necessary materials and completing his research.

His goal was to understand the dragon’s mana stone mechanism, not to use it as a lifelong experimental subject.

“Then shall we remove the organ? We can cut this part with a scalpel,” he said with a bright smile, instructing Elena after putting the Blue Dragon back to sleep.
Elena looked at him with a slightly uneasy expression, but then followed his instructions. Judging by her expression, his affection level had indeed decreased.

-*Thump!*

With this, he had secured the dragon’s purification organ.

The secret to neutralizing the mana stone’s toxicity lay dormant within it.

It was time to uncover that secret.

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Another four days passed.

During that time, he researched the toxin-purifying organ and finally discovered its secret.

‘To think it was a mana stone that had transformed over a long period of time.’

Surprisingly, the Blue Dragon’s purification organ was originally a mana stone.

Analysis revealed a significant overlap in its composition with that of mana stones.

It had likely evolved into an organ over a long period.

‘The inside of the organ was even more surprising. I never thought it would be composed of toxic substances.’

The inside of the organ was even more astonishing.

It was solidified toxic material, the very same kind released by the use of mana stones.

This explained how the organ, which absorbed toxins, could remain intact.

Being composed of the same toxic components, it couldn’t corrode itself, just as hydrochloric acid couldn’t dissolve itself.

‘The way it purified the toxins was beyond imagination.’

So how did it purify the liquid toxins it absorbed? Elena and me had initially thought a “purification” formula was inscribed within the organ.

When he discovered the similarity between the organ’s tissue and mana stones, Elena suggested the possibility of an inscribed “purification” formula.

‘I thought so too, at first.’

He had also initially believed that.

If the dragon’s organ possessed the properties of a mana stone, a formula would be activated, and the most effective formula for removing toxins would be a purification formula.

“Perhaps an incredibly powerful purification formula is inscribed within it?”

“I’m honestly excited. No matter how much research we’ve done, we haven’t been able to purify the toxins emitted by mana stones, but I think we’ll be able to figure it out through this research.”

Both he and Elena held a quiet anticipation, believing they would discover a high-level purification formula.

“Huh?”

But when they opened the proverbial lid, what did they find?

The purification formula was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, it was filled with a bizarre, previously unseen type of destruction formula.

“Th-this is…”

Elena froze the moment she saw the formula. It was an unknown territory, even to her.

“I-I need to examine this.”

Unable to hide her excitement, Elena began to transcribe the formula.

Three days after she began researching it, she came to him and revealed its identity.

She called it “Mutual Destruction.”

“Mutual Destruction. It’s a terrifying formula. It forces all organic matter within the casting range to devour each other.”

“Mutual Destruction,” as the name suggested, was a formula that made things kill each other.

In other words, it made the contaminants devour each other, thus eliminating themselves.

This was the Blue Dragon’s purification method.

‘This is totally *that meme*,’ he thought, recalling a meme he’d seen countless times on Earth.

The one famous for the phrase, “Now, kill each other.” [T/N: No idea which one is it]

“How can such a formula exist? It’s so… so beautiful…”

However, in this world, such a concept was revolutionary.

It was an unknown territory, even for the Grand Mage Elena.

‘…As expected, the humans here still have a long way to go to catch up to the madness of Earthlings.’

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“I’ll conclude the research. Let’s restore its scale tissue now.”

Having grasped all the mechanisms of the Blue Dragon, Ed suggested to Elena that they heal it and release it back into the wild.

Elena, however, widened her eyes and looked at him with surprise.

“Wait, weren’t you going to keep using it as a test subject?”

“I’ve achieved my objective. There’s no reason to keep it.”

“…I thought you were just going to kill it.”

“That would be cruel.”

Ed looked at the Blue Dragon.

It trembled and whimpered at the mere sight of him.

It seemed that dragons possessed a certain level of intelligence, and it knew that this crazy human boy was responsible for all the insane things that had happened to it.

【The mad psycho human male’s orders… the monster human female obeys… That boy… is scary.】

The Blue Dragon stared at Ed, tears welling up in its eyes.

It would never forget the image of that crazy human boy smiling brightly as he cut out its organs.

“Still, it’s a shame to let it go like this. I’ve grown attached to it.”

“…Haha. Attached? We must be terrifying beings to that dragon.”

“That’s why, even if I’m letting it go, I want to give it a parting gift. I’ll implant a mana stone.”

“A mana stone?”

“Yes. A mana stone inscribed with a tracking formula. Wouldn’t it be easier to capture if we need it for further experiments? Since it’s been tamed like this, it won’t resist much either.”

“…”

“Of course, there’s a real gift too. The elemental transmutation formula. I wonder if it would be able to utilize it if we implant a mana stone inscribed with the elemental transmutation formula into its body… Aren’t you curious? If it’s possible, it could become the strongest Blue Dragon.”

“…That’s true. It could gain an advantage in elemental compatibility battles with its breath.”

Elena’s face flushed with excitement.

‘How could he come up with such terrifying yet intriguing ideas?’

As someone with a strong thirst for knowledge, she couldn’t help but be thrilled.

“Then, Master, I’ll leave the formula to you. I’ll refine the mana stone and give it to you.”

“Huh? Oh! L-Let’s do it right away!”

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Five days later.

Finally, ‘Blue’ was released. The initials “BLUE” were clearly engraved on its back.

【Waaaaah! Freedom!】

Blue reveled in the joy of his regained freedom.

The human male and female peered inside him, engaged in heated discussions.

The crazy human boy exclaimed, “Hahahaha! Eureka!” as he cut out his organs.

Now free from those lunatics, it was time to fly freely through the sky and experience life as it should be.

With this in mind, Blue roared in joy, unleashing the trademark of the strongest creature on land, the dragon’s “breath.”

*Kwaaaaaaaaaaa!*

【…?】

However, the nature of the breath was strange.

Fire should have erupted, but ice unexpectedly spewed forth. *Why was this happening?*

Blue breathed again.

This time, a tremendous electrical breath burst out.

【C-could it be…!?】

A shiver ran down his spine.

A realization dawned upon him.

He had evolved into the legendary dragon, one said to be born once every few millennia, capable of wielding all types of breath. And he was still growing!

“Kroooooooooooo!!!”

Blue roared in joy and flew towards his nest.

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