Chapter 95: Being a Mech Design Student (II)

She tapped a button on the screen, causing the prism to open as white smoke billowed out and robotic hands revealed the humanoid Mech inside.

"This is a humanoid battle Mech."

"It looks pretty... rough," Declan mused.

While it was indeed a Mech, it also looked awkward, with some parts larger than usual and certain areas lacking proper streamlining.

"That is on purpose," Instructor Callana explained.

"Each Mech in this prism is less than thirty percent optimized, only a fraction of their true potential."

"The main lesson of the class, and the final goal, is to raise these Mechs from thirty percent optimization to at least ninety percent."

"And how is ninety percent optimization achieved?" he asked.

"There are many ways, each unique to a Mech, but it all boils down to a few non-negotiables."

"Firstly, optimizing the Mech’s energy Core, whether it is nuclear, plasma, photon, or any other energy source."

"Secondly, learning to maximize output without overheating or wasting energy."

"That can be achieved by learning how different Mech modules interact with the energy source."

"And speaking of the roughness, humanoid Mechs designed to run will also have to be streamlined to handle friction better, meaning smoother bodies."

"But it’s not just about speed. The weapons, sensors, and other components also have to be optimized for peak efficiency."

"That can mostly be done by calibrating reactors, actuators, or Mech hydraulics, and it includes tuning energy output for different combat scenarios, such as long-range combat, heavy fire, and stealth," she explained at length.

"Many of these topics have yet to be touched on, so you don’t have much to worry about," she added, tapping on a terminal as the Mech was returned to its glass prism.

"Avoid reactivating anything."

"Damage, intentional or not, costs a massive number of points in deductions, so be careful."

"I’d advise you to sit and wait until the class begins," she said before walking toward a door in the laboratory.

Declan had no idea how much Mechs cost, but if simple Mech gadgets could cost up to hundreds of thousands of points, then it was safe to assume the price of full-sized Mechs would be ridiculous.

And when he looked around at the various Mechs inside the prisms, he couldn’t help but muse quietly,

"Safe to say I’m standing beside hundreds of millions of points."

It made sense now why she had warned him before leaving.

As instructed, he sat down and waited.

Soon enough, all the students had arrived, and the Source Optimization class began.

____________

"DRIIIIIIING!"

"DRIIIIIIING!"

"Class is dismissed for the day. Please ensure you review Note 412 for a more detailed clarification on Mech-Knot functions. See you all next time."

____________

"Huuuuu."

A loud exhale of relief escaped Declan as he stepped out of the class, slight droplets of sweat running down his forehead.

His lab coat had already been taken off and hung over his arm as he continued along the pedestrian pavement beside the road.

"So exhausting..."

The day had been incredibly draining.

Three classes in a row, with less than an hour of break between them.

When he checked the time, it was already 11:30 PM, and his first class the next day was scheduled to begin at 6:30 AM, barely seven hours away.

His nightmare came true when he checked tomorrow’s schedule.

Another three classes in a row, each at least six hours long.

"There’s no way I’m getting used to this madness anytime soon," he muttered quietly.

GRUUUUM!

A loud rumble echoed from his stomach, and his hands unconsciously reached toward it.

"Oh, I didn’t get anything to eat today either," he sighed, clicking his tongue before bursting forward with speed and sprinting toward his dorm room.

There was a lot he needed to handle tonight.

The first thing he did after returning to his dorm was take off his lab coat and place it on the sofa.

With that done, he opened the wardrobe and reflexively reached for a hoodie, only to remember that he didn’t have one.

"Shit, I forgot to even take my clothes from the loads back in the Newcomer area," he groaned, slapping his forehead.

When he had placed everything he owned down earlier and the dorm officer had paid for it all, Declan hadn’t even remembered to take his personal clothes off the pile.

He had sold everything together.

Thankfully, though, he still had the round-neck shirt and trousers he had worn all day, but he needed new clothes unless he wanted to repeat the same outfit throughout the week.

It wasn’t something he needed to worry about.

He had enough points, actually, more than enough points.

And there were still a few other things he needed to make his new home comfortable.

Immediately, he grabbed his purple card from the table, slipped his device into his pocket, and headed for the academy shop.

___________

Thirty minutes later...

Declan stepped into his room carrying a bag three times his size over his shoulder and he dropped it onto the floor with a heavy thump.

Inside was everything he needed to make his room comfortable again, including clothes and various tech gadgets.

But he didn’t have time to start arranging anything.

He reached into the bag, opened the zip, and pulled out a hoodie set from its nylon wrap.

It was a simple hoodie with matching trousers.

He slipped the hoodie over his round-neck shirt and bounced out of the room once again.

His next destination was the cafeteria.

On the way, Declan realized why so many students chose to buy cars or Tron power bikes, and it wasn’t simply because they wanted to show off or indulge in the childish wishfulness he had initially assumed.

Walking from his dorm room to the cafeteria at an average pace had taken him seventeen minutes.

The cafeteria was located in the Newcomer territory and was shared by first-year and second-year students, making it one of the most distant accessible buildings for the latter.

"Maybe I should get one of those bikes, too. Or a flying car," he mused, soon arriving at the cafeteria.

He was familiar with the first floor, but now that he was a second-year student, he had to go to the upper floor.

There weren’t many Newcomers downstairs because it was so late at night, but the moment he reached the second floor of the cafeteria, he found it filled with second-year students.

"No wonder we don’t find many second years coming to the cafeteria in the morning. So they all come here at midnight, huh?"

Midnight was practically the only time they could.

There was no time to come in the morning since classes started early, while the breaks between them were less than an hour long.

Nighttime was the only period they had to breathe.

While ordinary humans would find it stressful or unhealthy to eat only once a day, especially at midnight, Nexians were different.

They had a Core of power thrumming within their chests, feeding them energy while being supported by cells that were far more vibrant and powerful than normal human cells.

They probably didn’t even need food for days, and Declan himself had once gone five days without eating.

Still, eating was a pleasure that was hard to give up, even for a Nexian.

The second-year cafeteria area was larger than the first-year section, and unlike downstairs, it wasn’t divided into two.

It was also a buffet.

Declan walked to the end, served himself a plate of food, and took a random seat in a quiet corner before quickly stuffing his cheeks.

As he ate, a figure approached and sat down at his table.

He raised his head, and his brows twitched.

The person who had joined him was a chubby student carrying an entire tray stacked with five different dishes.

His mouth watered aggressively as he placed the tray down, its heavy weight making Declan’s bowl jump slightly.

The guy immediately dove into his food without a care in the world, devouring two plates in five quick gulps before belching loudly like a pig.

Only then did he turn toward Declan.

The sight of him made Declan’s brows quiver.

"It’s you again."

Of course, it was none other than Eloris, the fat troublemaker who also happened to be his neighbor in the second-year dorms.

"Don’t tell me you’re stalking me, you hoodie creep."

"I literally sat down here first."

"And you eat five fucking bowls of food? The fuck? No wonder you’re so fat!"

Declan cursed as he looked at Eloris, who continued stuffing down plate after plate faster than Declan could even take a bite of his own food.

"You eat more, you get more energy," Eloris said before continuing, "We Core Defense guys need more energy than you nerdy-ass Mech Institute creeps, you know."

Declan’s left eye twitched.

"You in Core Defense? You?" he asked, looking at the fat thing before him.

"What can you even defend with those slabs of fat armor you’ve got on? Can you even run?"

Declan didn’t even realize when he started chuckling, but Eloris didn’t mind at all.

"One day, I’ll catch your ass in the ring. I’ll show you then what a fat dude is capable of," he said with a proud humph, causing Declan to roll his eyes.

’I’ll just flatten you to the ground in seconds.’

He chose to ignore him, but then something occurred to him.

"Wait a minute, how’d you even know I joined the Mech Institute? Have you been stalking me?"

He asked and Eloris laughed.

"Thought your little brain wouldn’t be able to pick it up, and no, it’s not because I’m stalking you."

"Your sorry ass doesn’t deserve that much of my time."