CHAPTER 539: INCONCLUSIVE

He was.

But unbeknownst to him, to everyone else... no one else was as cool as their Young Lord Luca.

It had been two weeks since the biomecha pilot selection exam, yet somehow, it was still the talk of the town.

And honestly? Understandable.

A lot happened that day.

Excluding the part where the Duke had to grovel to the Duchess for prioritizing victory over their lives (cough), there were plenty of things worth celebrating.

For one, Luca had officially announced the chosen pilots.

Seven were S-ranked, led by none other than Major Taryn.

Three more were A-ranked, all slated for promotion to Second Lieutenant.

Among them was Anya, who practically became the unofficial spokesperson for the Suppression Module.

She swore by it.

Called it life-changing in the most dramatic sense of the word. And while it was possibly traumatic, she felt that the simulation was absolutely essential.

Although she did similarly recommend writing a will for family and friends, just in case.

And her campaign worked. Not that there was really even a real need for that. The Suppression Module became the most popular simulation in the training hall.

Because really, how could it not?

Especially after the heir himself, in all his glowing, smiling, and absolutely sprinting self, said it was a great tool for biomecha pilots and aspirants.

Those words alone revived crushed dreams.

Pilots who had once believed they’d never reach that level suddenly clung to hope again.

Even the Duke and Duchess, who had quietly assumed Luca was going for elite training instead, were caught off guard.

Because Luca—without hesitation—had once again spoken about making more when possible while saying that it’d only be worthwhile if they had pilots who could use them.

Meanwhile, in the minds of those who heard his announcements, obviously, there would be pilots, and if there were none, they would make sure to mold some.

Whatever it takes.

And so people practically lived in the simulation, and Duchess Amelia enjoyed a great moment of not having to force people to train.

It was the kind of morale that no other house would likely have.

However, the popularity of the simulation wasn’t entirely due to the mecha; it was because the people of House Kyros wanted to understand what it meant to be "indeterminate," which was what their Young Lord had become when the assessment rankings were released.

Whilst everyone got familiar letters, Luca merely got that inconclusive result. And D-29 conjectured that it was because the simulation was based on the Empire’s standards.

Duke Leander was SS-ranked as expected, and discovering that Xavier was of a similar rank was such a fascinating thing to everyone. In fact, it would’ve astounded the Empire if others learned about it too. But more than that, what boggled the minds of everyone was their Young Lord’s rank.

"So he wasn’t SS? Was he possibly SSS?"

"Has there ever been an SSS-ranked person before?!"

Well, the elders would beg to differ. After all, one does not call upon lightning tribulations for a mere half-step ascendant. But then again, what can be done when the body is but limited?

Training. Training, and even more training.

And as the people discovered what kinds of ants they looked like compared to Luca after trying the simulation themselves, it was no wonder that those gazes directed towards him looked a lot more devoted.

Meanwhile, Ollie, Guard Terrence, and the others were finally able to ascertain their changed ratings and observe the difference through stress testing. Although Ollie also swore that he wouldn’t do that again unless under dire circumstances.

But maybe he should’ve just joined the rest in the simulation chamber because his good brother’s training method seemed far worse.

Learning and building a basic biomecha 101.

Well, he did say he wanted to learn it, but he didn’t think he’d have to do it using this method, which was to build a tester mecha that the other mecha pilots and mechanics could practice with.

But at this rate, would he finish before their graduation?

More than that, would he finish in this lifetime?

During the two weeks that had passed, his good brother had actually managed to cram knowledge about the basic biomecha while building and finishing the first one.

Luca had actually been teaching Ollie in the most unconventional way.

While they couldn’t be in the same room, and only Xavier was allowed inside Luca’s hangar, they had decided to work around it by using the same dome material used in the aquaponics complex to make Ollie a small nook where he could watch and learn.

The golden-eyed biomechanic even wore a camera so he could point out things he thought were important when building, and a lot of them were really unusual shortcuts that had a lot to do with tempering the parts so they’d be compatible with each other.

The most unusual was when Luca said it was like listening to squeals and adjusting until all the parts squealed the same.

"???"

Obviously, Ollie wasn’t sure what he meant until Luca said to listen to the part as if you were dipping into it.

"Actually, I couldn’t understand it at first until I noticed how there were slight differences between the parts when I scanned for their energy if they weren’t assembled right."

"But then the closer you get to the frequency of the other parts, the more they sound or feel identical."

"Really, brother?"

The part-time mechanic and full-time instructor knew he likely sounded crazy, but it was really true, and if there was anyone who would likely take him seriously, he figured it would be his good brother Ollie.

And what do you know?

Another mecha whisperer was born as Ollie seriously attempted to listen to these squeals that Luca was talking about.

Then, as if discovering the secret to the perfect dough, Ollie looked to Luca with shock.

"Brother, did you hear it?!"

He actually did.

"Whoa! Yes! I actually heard something! So you’re saying every part must end up sounding the same way so they’d fuse together?"

Luca nodded earnestly, thinking that he was right to tell Ollie about this!

If it’s like this, he’d surely be churning out biomechas in no time!

HA! If only!

At this rate, it’d be faster to churn out children who may end up becoming mechanics themselves than for him to be able to build an entire biomecha!

The gap between abilities was impossible to miss, and yet all Luca said about it was how it was only because he’d been exposed to a different environment.

That with how Ollie could also similarly learn the concepts, then it was seriously possible for him to build one.

And more importantly, to repair one.

"Huh?"

"Brother, right now, there’s only me. But what if we encounter a situation where I’m not present?"

"How would the biomechas get repaired?"

Ollie suddenly gaped at the question and realized that was indeed a problem—just like how Sid hadn’t been properly repaired because of the lack of know-how and materials before D-29 called his attention to it.

Someone’s going to have to learn how to repair these new mechas.

And for some reason, Master Quinn and Anya felt shivers down their spines.

All of a sudden? Just what was that?!