CHAPTER 534: SECOND BATCH

What to do when the queue didn’t take forever?!

Thirty minutes.

Give or take.

That was the average breaking point of the candidates who stopped the earliest.

And while many of them dragged themselves out looking defeated, maybe someone should have told them that before today, they wouldn’t have even lasted half as long.

Not to mention how they’d probably lose their lives by the time they were done. Because just how were they going to replenish all that spiritual energy?

Still, no one could blame them. Not when a biomecha was at stake.

At least when they came out, there were snacks waiting to ease their wounded pride.

However, seeing those remaining candidates through the eyes of people who have experienced similar hell, they couldn’t help but admire them.

The chatter started almost immediately.

"Oi! You said you’d definitely get a spot!"

"That’s because you jinxed me, you bastard! And anyway... You don’t understand what it’s like in there."

"Oh yeah? Then explain it."

One of the candidates who’d exited early groaned loudly.

"Imagine you’re a giant magnet. And the floor’s another giant magnet. And you just wanna stick. Forever."

"Ha! Nah. More like carrying the weight of the world. You know? That saying? That’s not a metaphor anymore."

Heads turned as someone else shouted.

"Whoa! Look at Anya! She’s still inside!"

People crowded closer to the display.

"She’s sitting down?! Like that?!"

"Ahhhh! Shit! Why didn’t I think of that?!"

One onlooker blinked. "Wait... why is that better?"

One of the former candidates explained, rubbing his sore shoulders.

"Inside, you’ve gotta coat yourself with spiritual energy to keep from being crushed, right? At first, I tried putting up a big barrier. But the bigger it is, the faster your energy drains."

"So?"

"So by sitting and keeping herself bundled like that, she’s reducing the surface area she needs to protect. Less wasted energy. Smarter conservation."

Another guy groaned.

"That’s allowed?!"

"Yeah! The rules said you just can’t collapse or lie flat! Sitting upright still counts!"

"You idiot! Why would you say that out loud?!"

"What? Like I’m still making it in? There are only ten slots! If the next batch thinks of better ideas to last longer, at least I can learn something for next time."

"Also, you don’t see it, but when you’re there, it’s like you’re being subjected to those random pressure attacks."

"So I want to see how they’d deal with it!"

The crowd quieted.

Then... ears perked.

You could practically hear brains turning on.

And among those ears... were Ollie’s.

Ollie, who was currently staring blankly at the chamber door like a condemned man.

He still didn’t know how he ended up here.

One minute, he was standing to the side watching people crumble under invisible weight.

Then next, his good brother was smiling at him like a fox wearing sheep’s clothing.

And now here he was.

In line.

Waiting to die.

By the forty-five-minute mark, there were only five candidates left.

The ones who’d already finished?

They practically rolled on the floor when they left the simulation chamber.

Some of them eventually wanted to try jumping just to feel how light they were now.

Anya, who, unknown to her, had somehow made it to forty-seven minutes, finally decided to stop when she started seeing floating fruits.

She figured through gritted teeth that if she was seeing fruit hallucinations in a real battle, she’d probably already be dead.

So she stood. Or more accurately, crawled.

And when she emerged from the chamber...

Cheers erupted.

"Huh?!"

"Anya! You’re third! Third place!"

"What?!"

She stared at the clock.

Forty-seven minutes.

Was that... actually good enough?

Her heart thudded. Maybe... maybe she had a chance.

When the final candidate exited with a time of fifty-two minutes, Duchess Amelia finally told the physicians to stand by.

And sure enough, the last contender staggered out, barely upright.

His knees buckled, but he caught himself and glared at the medics.

"You little shits better not disqualify me. My eyelids just feel heavy!"

Laughter erupted around the hall.

Everyone relaxed just a little.

Well...

Everyone except Ollie.

Who was still standing there.

Frozen.

Because through the noise, he alone could hear D-29’s cheerful voice.

"Next group," the mecha chirped. "Please enter."

Ollie swallowed hard.

Was this how his life would end?

Not with glory, but with gravity?

Who knew? But at least Ollie wasn’t the only nervous one.

Apparently, he wasn’t even the oddest one.

At first, everyone had been overjoyed by the results of the first batch. Sure, some looked rightfully envious, but overall, the mood stayed positive.

The top contenders got nods of respect. The ones who didn’t last as long still got pats on the back after everyone realized how difficult it really was.

But then someone heard the uncanniest volunteers.

"???"

And suddenly, everyone went on high alert.

Noah, for one, actually thought this would be a good time to volunteer.

After all, he couldn’t believe that Luca had already planned to make him a biomecha for the expo.

And while he was grateful, the idea of just... receiving one, without proving himself even a little?

That didn’t sit right.

Not when he could see how hard everyone else was working just to earn a chance.

So he opened his mouth, fully intending to tell Luca he’d join.

Only to hear someone else beat him to it.

"I’ll join the next batch!"

Noah blinked.

That voice.

It was Princess Kira.

"Yes, please!" she added enthusiastically, to Ollie’s absolute horror. "This endurance test sounds like something I’d like to try!"

Ollie visibly paled at the sight of another unhinged friend. He tried to say something, but his voice caught in his throat.

Before Noah could process that, another voice chimed in.

"If it’s okay, I’ll join as well," Theo said evenly.

Noah whipped his head around, startled.

Theo adjusted his glasses, calm as ever.

"For pharmacists, the ability to release consistent spiritual energy even under duress is critical. A lot of it is really endurance. So this seems like an ideal way to test that."

That statement, perfectly logical and delivered without a shred of hesitation, somehow sparked something in the rest of the room.

Because all at once, a quiet murmur spread through the onlookers.

"You’re telling me the little pharmacist is joining?"

"And the Princess?!"

"And Lord Ollie???"

People started whispering. And then more voices joined in.

It became clear this was about to snowball.

Not just the mecha pilots anymore.

There was now talk of having B-rankers like Steward Han. And if he’s joining, Butler Gary and Gisella were definitely joining.

But most shocking of all?

The entire Kyros family decided to join.

Yes.

The Duke. The Duchess. Even the Young Lord.

By the time word got around, everyone was staring.

People couldn’t decide if they should panic or just admire the sheer chaos of it all.

For his part, Luca was surprised at first.

It hadn’t occurred to him that others would want to try too.

But as he stood there watching his family and friends file up with determined faces, his heart swelled.

Actually... this wasn’t bad. It was great in fact!

Just how much data would he be able to get from this?

He smiled like the little saint he was.