"Now, we will distribute virtual currency. This is a form of money that can only be used within the academy, and it is primarily used to enhance the virtual space Frame Gear data. Additionally, it can be used for transactions between individuals, but please note that the transaction history will be recorded, and if you engage in acts that violate public order, morals, or school rules, you may face severe punishment. There has been an instance where a student was expelled for attempting to rig a match, so please be careful."
So, it’s money that can only be used within the academy. I see that I have 10,000 G-Gear listed under my funds. Is G-Gear the unit?
A student sitting near the front raised their hand.
"How can we increase this... G-Gear?"
"By winning in the [Star Duel], you will receive a prize based on your rank. You can also earn it through volunteer work within the academy or short-term part-time jobs."
Hmm... So we need to accumulate G-Gear to strengthen our Frame Gears, and if we can’t strengthen them, we can’t win in [Duels]?
It seems earning G-Gear is an essential part of climbing the ranks.
"Other details will be covered in class, but starting a month from now, the [Star Duel] will be open for first-year students. Make sure not to waste this preparation period. Now, moving on..."
Hmm, so first-year students will be able to participate in the full-fledged [Star Duel] a month from now. Until then, we’ll be preparing with Frame Gear and Armed Gear training, as well as preparing our virtual machines.
After that, we were given various explanations on the rules for living at the academy, how to use the facilities, and other procedures, and finally, the orientation ended.
From now on, we’ll be treated as academy students. I need to stay focused.
Now, the orientation is over, but what should I do next?
If I go straight back to the dorm, there’s nothing much to do. Well, maybe I should do some studying in advance...
I wonder what Caro and the others will do? Turning around, I looked at Carol and Shelly, who were supposed to be behind me.
"Hey, you there! Want to spend your academy life with the baseball club!? Our club welcomes new members!"
Carol was being approached by a senior wearing a very short uniform.
"You there! Interested in cheerleading? With your looks, I’m sure you’ll catch the attention of everyone in the academy!"
Shelly was being approached by a senior, probably from the cheerleading team.
Looking around, I noticed that first-year student recruitment had started everywhere. Is this recruitment for clubs?
Babylon Machinist Girls' Academy is a school for training [Machinist Troopers], but it’s also a place to learn general education, culture, knowledge, and social skills.
I knew that part of the educational activities involved fostering students’ autonomy and helping them build new relationships through clubs, but...
"Ah, this must be the academy’s famous club recruitment. I’m a bit surprised."
Carol, who had declined the baseball club's invitation, came over to me. It seemed Shelly had also declined.
"Are you two planning to join any clubs?"
"Not really, for now. I want to focus on my studies first."
"Carol, always so serious. I think I’ll join if it sounds interesting. It wouldn’t hurt to make connections with upperclassmen."
Shelly seems like she’s open to joining a club. Well, it would be a shame to just focus on studying in this academy life.
However, as we walked, it seemed like upperclassmen were constantly trying to recruit Carol and Shelly.
Why didn’t anyone approach me? I know they stand out, but still...
"Hey, you there! Want to join us!? You’d be a great asset!"
Just as I was thinking that, I was approached too.
"What club is this?"
"The drama club! You’d be perfect for the child roles! If you’re interested..."
"Ah!?"
"It looks like it’s not going to work! Bye now!"
When I glared at them, the senior from the drama club quickly disappeared like the wind.
"Oh dear, too bad. I wanted to see you as the child role, Nero."
"I’ll scratch you!"
I made my hand into a claw like a cat’s paw, and Shelly laughed while stepping back a bit. Hmph! Watch out, in a year, I’ll surpass your height!
...Maybe not in a year, but maybe in two or three years... By the time I graduate, I’ll definitely do it. Yeah.
"How about we have lunch at the academy cafeteria?"
"Sounds good. I’m guessing the menu is different from the dorm’s, right?"
I decided to join Carol and Shelly in the suggestion.
From what I heard, the dorm’s menu is based on the home country’s traditional dishes, making it familiar to the students. At Genbu Dorm, it’s northern cuisine.
In contrast, the academy’s cafeteria has a more international menu, where you can try dishes from other dorms as well. I’m looking forward to it.
"I’ve always wanted to try Eashen cuisine."
"Yeah, I’ve heard the first Duke liked it too?"
Eashen, the divine country at the eastern edge. It is said to be the birthplace of the first Grand Duke.
Though it’s just a rumor, it’s believed because he had black hair, which is common in Eashen, and he was fond of Eashen cuisine. Also, many of the people who served him during the founding of the country were from Eashen.
That’s why many people from Brunhild have black hair. I think the current prince also has black hair because his mother, the queen, is from Eashen. The current king is blonde, unlike the other two.
I thought about these things as I looked at the academy map on my smartphone, excited for the untried Eashen cuisine, and quickened my pace toward the cafeteria with the two of them.
"Delicious...! I wasn’t sure about raw fish, but this is really tasty...!"
I was savoring the Osashimi (sashimi) in front of me.
After much consideration in the cafeteria, I decided to order the Osashimi Set Meal. It came with tuna, sea bream, yellowtail, and salmon fillets, along with freshly cooked rice, tofu miso soup, pickles, and burdock root kinpira.
They asked me if I wanted wasabi or not, and apparently, it’s a spicy condiment. When I added just a little bit to the sashimi, a sharp spiciness hit me, and then the sweetness of the fish was brought out. It’s spicy, but it goes really well with the rice.
"You’re eating so deliciously. Maybe I’ll order that next time."
Carol had ordered beef stroganoff, and Shelly had an omelet rice. She could’ve tried Eashen cuisine, though.
There were other tempting dishes like Tempura Set Meal and Ginger Pork Set Meal, but I’ll try them next time.
"Hey, look at this."
Shelly, who had finished eating first, showed us the screen on her smartphone.
It had a tag saying Arena, along with a time and a name. What’s this?
"It’s the schedule for the matches with Armed Gears. There are several matches coming up today. Do you want to go watch?"
"I’ll go."
I immediately agreed to Shelly’s invitation. I’ve seen battles with Frame Gears, but I haven’t seen any with Armed Gears yet. If I can watch, I definitely want to.
"The next match is in thirty minutes. Both of them are second-year students. I wonder if having a match during the entrance ceremony is also a demonstration."
That’s a possibility. They might have scheduled the matches early to let everyone understand what the Armed Gear battles are like.
Even though Frame Gears and Armed Gears are different machines, they essentially use similar techniques from Frame Gear technology.
Since we can’t ride the actual Frame Gears yet, the only way to get a sense of real combat is through Armed Gears.
Otherwise, it might be like playing a game and then going out into a real battle, which could be deadly.
Plus, unlike virtual space battles, Armed Gear battles have more impact.
It’s a clash of strength, metal against metal. The excitement of battles between Armed Gears in the arena is what makes it so thrilling.
Personally, I prefer Armed Gear battles over Frame Gear battles.
Well, if I could fight with a real Frame Gear, I’d definitely choose that.
After enjoying our meal, we headed straight to the arena.
According to the map, there are four circular arenas at the north, south, east, and west sides of the academy building. They’re open to all students, and if you apply, you can have a [Star Duel] there.
We’ll probably be fighting in one of them a month from now.
The arena closest to the cafeteria is the eastern arena, and there was a blue dragon relief at the entrance. It’s probably the Blue Dragon Arena.
We entered the arena and walked down the hallway, quickly reaching the spectator seats. In the center of the bowl-shaped arena were two Armed Gears facing each other.
One was a red Armed Gear, and the other was blue. They were similar in structure, but it was easy to tell which was which.
In Armed Gear battles, the match is decided when one of the machines becomes unable to move or surrenders. Oh, and there are also out-of-bounds or disqualification losses.
Beneath the body armor, around the cockpit, there is a magical barrier designed to protect the pilot from serious injury.
Even if an Armed Gear is sliced in half, the pilot won’t die, thanks to this incredible technology.
However, the pilot can still get injured from the impact, so there are always healers in the arena. I’ve heard that a few students faint each year due to concussions.
The match began. Both fighters wielded maces and shields, and as soon as the match started, they began striking each other with their vicious weapons.
I could hear the sound of maces hitting shields, missing, and hitting the body, and I couldn’t help but think, if I were getting hit with that, I’d definitely have a concussion...
That said, the fight between the seniors wasn’t progressing much. They were just slugging it out with pure strength, and neither seemed to have a decisive edge.
If it were me, I’d lure one in and counter-attack when they come in close.
"...Technically, the blue one is better, but the red one seems to have superior machine performance."
"Heh, you’re pretty sharp."
"Even though you said you’ve never seen an Armed Gear battle before, you can see that already, huh, Nero?"
Both Carol and Shelly were praising me, but I figured I could tell that much. It’s my first time seeing it live, but I’ve watched several matches through etheric vision on holograms.
"See the rabbit mark on the red machine’s shoulder? That’s the mechanic’s original signature, meaning it’s been customized. So these two are a normal machine and a custom one."
I see. So, like Senior Quun... I mean, Principal Quun, who worked on Achilles, these are machines that have been heavily modified.
"Can we do the modifications ourselves?"
"Yes, you can, but only for your own machine. The virtual Frame Gear was given to us, but the real Armed Gears are basically rentals. You have to save up G-Gear if you want to buy the parts and make modifications."
You can buy an Armed Gear!? Wait, you can even buy it with G-Gear!?
"Is this one of those academy student benefits? If you really buy it, even the cheapest one will cost you at least ten platinum coins. But you can buy it for just two platinum coins’ worth of G-Gear, which is ridiculously cheap."
An 80% discount on Armed Gears!? That’s way too cheap! Even in my hometown, I could earn that much in a year as an adventurer!
"It’s not just that. If you buy parts with G-Gear and assemble it yourself, it’s even cheaper. Actually, the best way to get a cheap personal machine is to buy one assembled by upperclassmen. They’ll customize it a bit, and you can even get repairs. Though some people prefer the unmodified, normal versions because they’re easier to handle. So, maybe you should take the elective 'Magic Engineering'."
"I’m not great with magic, though..."
I’m not unable to use magic. I have four attributes: fire, water, light, and non-elemental. Apparently, this is really rare, and my master was impressed.
But I have a lot of magic power, so I can’t control it well. I almost burned down the forest during training or froze my house.
"Magic Engineering" requires delicate control of magic. I wonder if I can handle that.
By the way, noble children get their Armed Gears sent from home.
There’s a rule at the academy that pre-modified machines aren’t allowed, and only the basic rental machines can be used, so in the end, it’s all the same.
But being able to modify your own machine seems like a huge advantage.
I wonder if Carol and Shelly will get theirs from home. I guess I’ll have to make do with a rental from the school.
The battle between the red and blue Armed Gears ended with a victory for the red one. Honestly, it was a sloppy match...
But if this is how the seniors fight, maybe if I try hard enough, I can make it to the top... I was thinking smugly, but the next match turned out to be a high-level battle, and I had to quickly retract my words.
There’s a wide range of skill levels among second-years...
Never get cocky.
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