Ch.35035. Your Mech Was Sick

Around noon on the fourth day since arriving on the deserted island, Gilbert gave up on waiting for Angelina and Hans to join him. He briefly considered waiting until nightfall, but it was already too late, and he couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

Fine, I’m giving up.

Though regret was seeping through him, he had a policy of not dwelling on the past.

Gilbert left the shore and climbed the largest tree nearby. Scanning the surroundings, he located the biggest tree on the island. It appeared to be about 10 kilometers away.

After descending, he set his course toward that massive tree and began moving at a rapid pace.

Gilbert’s haste had a reason.

For the first three days of the Tactical Combat’s first comprehensive evaluation, everything proceeded without issue. During that time, students could experience a survival game atmosphere, fighting other students they encountered or building bonds with potential party members.

But on the fourth day, the game’s atmosphere changed completely. Until then, students who suffered excessive damage or were deemed unable to continue the evaluation were automatically forced to return to the Academy. However, at some point after the fourth day, the forced return magic stopped functioning properly.

This meant the students’ bracelets no longer worked as intended, and with the function that protected them from fatal injuries also failing, students began losing their lives, making the situation dire. The Academy belatedly realized this and tried to dispatch personnel, but by then, anti-teleportation magic had already blanketed the entire island.

With the island isolated, the culprits behind the incident appeared riding Divine Machines as if they had been waiting for this moment. This unidentified group was a resistance harboring grievances against the Empire and the Academy. Their goal was to demonstrate their revolutionary ideology to the Empire by killing Academy students, who represented the core of the Empire.

At this point, the main storyline of the evaluation involved players either finding hidden Divine Machines or joining forces with other students to use magical weapons to repel the enemy.

Gilbert, already familiar with this storyline, had planned to meet up with Angelina and Hans to tackle the situation, but circumstances didn’t cooperate. Now he had to handle everything alone.

As a veteran player, Gilbert knew all the locations of the hidden Divine Machines on the island. The reason he sought out the largest tree was because there was an entrance to an underground hangar near it.

Since he already knew where the Divine Machine was hidden, all he needed to do was secure it before it was too late.

As Gilbert headed toward the underground hangar entrance, he recalled the enemies from the scenario. If his memory served correctly, there were five enemy Divine Machines in total at the highest difficulty level, though this could vary based on game difficulty.

Considering potential deviations from the game’s scenario, he estimated there would be no more than seven machines at most. Any more would make it impossible to infiltrate the island undetected.

So he calculated he would have to face up to seven Divine Machines, but Gilbert was confident.

He had faced worse situations both in games and during actual wars.

In the end, he could only trust himself, and finding an escape route was the basic attitude any skilled pilot should maintain.

In that sense, Gilbert was a veteran on both fronts.

With his highly trained body, covering 10 kilometers wouldn’t take long, but traversing a forest was a different matter. No matter how good one’s sense of direction, it was nearly impossible for a human to move straight toward a fixed point in a forest.

Even the trained Gilbert faced this challenge. While moving toward the large tree with the hangar entrance, he had to repeatedly climb trees to correct his course. Inevitably, this extended his arrival time. Still, this was the fastest and most accurate route.

‘Looks like time might be a bit tight…!’

The unidentified rebels would begin their activities at a random time after noon. Considering the average timeframe was within three to four hours, it wouldn’t be strange if they appeared right now.

Fortunately, he reached the large tree before any signs of trouble. Just as in his game memories, Gilbert searched the ground and found traces of recently disturbed soil.

I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this.

Gilbert frowned. Of course, this wasn’t a hidden location only he knew about; other students could find it too. Still, he had hoped that no one had discovered the Divine Machine hidden here during these quiet days, but perhaps that wasn’t the case?

He hurriedly cleared away the soil and opened the entrance to the underground hangar.

BOOM!

Just as he was about to jump down into the underground entrance, an enormous shockwave accompanied by a storm of dust hit him. It seemed as if a massive object had fallen to the ground, causing a sudden gust that swept everything away.

Gilbert was caught in this gust. Before he knew it, he was airborne, and in the next moment, he slammed into a tree. Fortunately, he had protected himself with mana and wasn’t injured.

Looking around, he found the cause of the commotion. The massive leg of a Divine Machine, roughly the size of a giant tree, was visible.

Damn, I almost got stepped on and killed.

Gilbert spat out the curse.

Seeing the Divine Machine right next to the underground hangar entrance, it was truly a close call. He couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

Before it was too late, Gilbert slid down and leaped into the underground hangar. It was a bold move, knowing the height wasn’t too great. Landing gracefully on the floor, he immediately dashed toward the end of the hangar where the Divine Machines were kept.

The longer he delayed, the more students would die at the hands of the Divine Machines. In the game, he hadn’t given it much thought, but now this was the real world. Though he didn’t know most of the students personally, he wasn’t the type to stand by and watch people die before his eyes.

After sprinting at full speed, Gilbert finally reached the hangar containing the Divine Machines. Now all he needed to do was quickly board one and eliminate the terrorists rampaging outside, and the situation would be resolved.

Whirr.

The launch tube for the Divine Machine opened. It seemed someone had already boarded a Divine Machine and was preparing to launch.

The Divine Machine elegantly exited through the launch tube to the surface. Gilbert, unable to do anything but watch, bit his lip.

What now?

Gilbert’s mind raced. He didn’t know who had just taken the Divine Machine, but at the current level of new students, no one could handle the resistance. This was true whether they were companion characters or protagonist characters.

Gamers who had repeatedly challenged this part could build up their skills because they had multiple chances. Additionally, not having their lives at stake made them more daring.

But now that this had become reality, could those who had never risked their lives fully demonstrate their exceptional skills?

Gilbert didn’t think so. Even he, a veteran, had to face the fear of death at first. Only after surviving numerous near-death experiences did he become composed.

Expecting this from inexperienced new students was unreasonable. If he had to name someone who might be accustomed to such situations from the start, it would probably only be Princess Seraphina.

After much deliberation, Gilbert decided to exit the hangar first. He needed to assess the situation outside before determining his next move.

He quickly retraced his steps, running down the corridor toward the hangar entrance. Reaching the entrance he had initially used, he climbed the ladder, opened the hatch, and emerged outside.

CRASH!

The sound of Divine Machines clashing was ear-splitting. Two machines—the one that had just launched and what appeared to be a resistance Divine Machine—were engaged in fierce combat.

The student piloting the launched Divine Machine seemed quite skilled, holding their own against the resistance machine. Despite the limitations of a standard Divine Machine, they were moving a beat faster than their opponent.

“A beat faster?”

Analyzing the battle, Gilbert murmured involuntarily as he recognized the familiar movements of the Divine Machine. He had seen this pattern before, specifically during the entrance mock battle.

Responding more quickly and flexibly than the opponent.

Moving a beat faster than the adversary.

Such movements were impossible without a special skill, even with assistance. Even Gilbert couldn’t replicate such movements. His superior piloting abilities could only narrow the gap, not actually perform such maneuvers.

The best he could do was predict and move similarly.

Gilbert finally realized who had launched from the hidden underground hangar.

Ian, the protagonist of Tactical Combat. It had to be him.

***

After finding the Divine Machine in the underground hangar, Ian had secured water and food and waited for his moment to shine.

A protagonist’s entrance was always spectacular. And it was always the protagonist who delivered the finale.

As he leisurely gauged the time in the underground hangar, a sudden explosion outside made him realize it was finally his time to act.

Tossing aside the meat he was eating, he boarded the Divine Machine. After quickly forming a provisional contract, he opened the hangar’s launch tube and made a grand entrance. He noticed someone had found the underground hangar, but excited by the prospect of action, he didn’t pay close attention to who it was.

Alright, time to launch.

As he emerged through the launch tube, he grinned at the sense of unity with the Divine Machine activated by his special skill.

Upon surveying the situation outside, he saw a Divine Machine right in front of him. Thinking it might be another student who had found a Divine Machine, Ian was about to draw his iron sword and charge when he noticed something strange.

The opposing Divine Machine looked distinctly different from the standard models used by the Academy. Its armaments weren’t limited to the basic iron sword either.

[Any student currently piloting a Divine Machine, please respond!]

Just as he found this suspicious, a communication spell rang through the Academy’s public magic channel. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Ian opened the communication channel.

[Student Ian Tigris Rainbarrel. Responding.]

[Student Ian! There’s no time for detailed explanations. This is now a real situation. We’re lifting the restrictions on formal contracts with artificial spirits, so proceed with a formal contract immediately and repel all unidentified Divine Machines!]

[Order confirmed!]

Despite the sudden command, the astute Ian grasped the urgency of the situation. As soon as the restrictions on formal contracts with artificial spirits were lifted, the communication spell went dead. The unidentified Divine Machine in front of him seemed to be the cause.

While facing the approaching unidentified Divine Machine, he executed a formal contract with the artificial spirit.

Normally, a formal contract with an artificial spirit required a considerable amount of time. However, the standard Divine Machines at Demeia Academy had the mana patterns of all students recorded, so it didn’t take too long.

With the formal contract allowing him to access previously sealed magical weapons, Ian began to rampage like a fish in water. The opposing Divine Machine couldn’t keep up with Ian’s diverse magical arsenal.

It was a moment when his effort and talent in Divine Machine piloting shone brightly.

Eventually, the unidentified Divine Machine succumbed to Ian’s brilliant piloting skills. It was a perfect victory befitting a protagonist.

Ian Tigris Rainbarrel, who had subdued an unidentified Divine Machine during the comprehensive evaluation.

The picture painted was good. Ian reveled in the joy of victory, thinking there would be no room for Gilbert’s name in this story.

But as someone once said:

In war, one should never let their guard down.

BOOM!

A powerful attack struck Ian from behind as he let his guard down, thinking there was only one enemy Divine Machine. Caught completely off guard, Ian couldn’t respond properly and was knocked down.

Inside the shaking cockpit, he tried to regain his composure, but with continued attacks, Ian couldn’t even react. The number of Divine Machines began to increase, one by one.

Ian was shocked to realize their number had reached seven. He had no idea where so many Divine Machines had suddenly appeared from.

This was the moment when Ian’s lack of battlefield experience became evident.

With limited experience, his field of vision narrowed, resulting in a critical mistake. Tossed around by successive attacks and unable to counterattack effectively, he was struck by an iron sword near the cockpit and crashed into the tree where the underground hangar was located.

The tree broke under the weight of the massive Divine Machine, and Ian, having hit his head hard inside the cockpit, lost consciousness.

***

When the Divine Machine collapsed nearby, Gilbert used every ounce of his mana to sprint toward it. Judging by the lack of movement, it seemed Ian had lost consciousness from the consecutive hits. Fortunately, the resistance members appeared to be taking their time, likely planning to make an example of the Divine Machine Ian was piloting.

Gilbert had no intention of wasting this golden opportunity. Luckily, he had been hiding nearby and quickly reached the fallen Divine Machine’s cockpit.

He forcibly opened the cockpit. As expected, Ian was inside, unconscious and bleeding from the head. Realizing there was no time to waste, Gilbert grabbed him and threw him out.

“Hans!”

By a stroke of luck, he entrusted Ian to Hans, who had just joined him. Hans, who had been hiding nearby with Gilbert, responded to his call and safely caught Ian, quickly retreating.

After confirming Hans’s withdrawal, Gilbert closed the cockpit and activated the Divine Machine.

[You have met the conditions to unlock the special skill.]

[Acquiring the special skill “Your Machine is Awesome.”]

[The special skill “Your Machine is Awesome” is now active.]

As the Divine Machine activated, a notification window appeared before his eyes.

Gilbert gladly welcomed this stroke of good fortune in an otherwise unfortunate situation.