Chapter 13 – I Studied Magic For Ten Years Just To Be Beaten by Stolen Sci-Fi Tech?!

【Elara PoV】

The heavy iron wrench slipped and smashed directly into my bruised knuckles. The underground academy workshop smelled heavily of old grease and highly illegal magic. Sparks flew randomly from the exposed ceiling wires right above my head as I wiped the dark engine oil off my sweating forehead.

“This stupid piece of garbage is completely busted.”

I kicked the heavy metal toolbox forcefully across the cold concrete floor.

“You need to totally chill out right now, Elara.”

My only real friend in the entire academy stepped out from the dark shadows.

“I cannot chill out right now, Jax.”

I grabbed a dirty rag and scrubbed my bleeding hands violently.

“The big school duel is literally happening in exactly three hours.”

Jax adjusted his thick protective leather welding goggles.

“You are going to completely obliterate that weird baker boy.”

I stared down sadly at my heavily calloused and scarred hands.

“He is a literal SSS-Rank living legend.”

I slammed my fist hard onto the greasy wooden workbench.

“I have studied advanced magic for ten agonizing years.”

My personal magical mana core was completely pathetic and practically non-existent.

“Ten years of intense studying means absolutely nothing here.”

I threw the dirty rag directly into a rusted metal trash can.

“The arrogant magical nobles just laugh openly at my extremely weak aura.”

Jax walked over slowly and picked up my dropped iron wrench.

“You made it to the elite S-Rank tier anyway.”

I glared intensely at the glowing golden academy badge pinned to my dirty overalls.

“I am dead last in the entire elite class.”

The other insanely rich students constantly called me a pathetic try-hard.

“They think my entire academic life is just a sad joke.”

I gritted my teeth until my jaw physically ached with intense pain.

“I grind every single day just to barely survive the brutal classes.”

Jax handed the heavy metallic tool gently back to me.

“That Dylan guy literally just bakes normal bread all day long.”

Pure, salty resentment boiled hot deep in my tight chest.

“He is a lazy slacker who gets a total academic free pass.”

Dylan just coasted by completely on his insane, unearned raw magical power.

“He absolutely does not deserve the top spot in this school.”

I grabbed the heavy wrench with a renewed sense of angry purpose.

“I am going to rip that fake title right out of his floury hands.”

Jax wiped his greasy hands on his heavily stained denim pants.

“Your magic control is actually very precise and highly detailed.”

I shook my head rapidly back and forth in total disagreement.

“Precise control means absolutely nothing without raw destructive power.”

I picked up a small metal gear and tossed it angrily across the room.

“The other S-Rank students can literally summon massive natural disasters.”

I thought about the dark lord boy summoning a giant flaming meteor.

“I have to fight with a heavy iron claymore just to keep up with them.”

Jax walked over and picked up the tossed metal gear from the floor.

“You are an incredibly skilled sword fighter with that heavy claymore.”

I crossed my arms tightly over my stained and dirty overalls.

“A sword cannot beat a guy who punches people through solid brick walls.”

The rumors about Dylan’s terrifying entrance exam were totally famous now.

“I need something that completely levels the highly unfair playing field.”

Jax leaned against the messy table and crossed his arms defensively.

“His crazy red-haired girlfriend is totally terrifying and extremely unhinged.”

I shuddered slightly, remembering Sakura’s completely suffocating killing intent.

“She is a massive yandere with highly severe attachment issues.”

The incredibly scary girl had looked entirely ready to rip my spine out.

“I am honestly super terrified of her deeply weird stalker vibe.”

Jax nodded his head rapidly in total agreement.

“She makes the weird dark lord guy look perfectly normal and chill.”

I tightened a loose metallic bolt on a nearby pile of metal scrap.

“But I cannot let extreme fear control my entire future destiny.”

I tossed the wrench casually back into the metal toolbox.

“I have a massive and highly illegal secret advantage prepared for him.”

The underground workshop lights flickered violently as I turned toward my ultimate secret weapon. A massive heavy canvas tarp covered a hulking metal beast in the dark corner. The highly secret kingdom smuggling ring operated directly under the royal magic academy, and nobody ever officially asked where the weird metallic artifacts actually came from. I gripped the heavy canvas fabric tightly with both of my hands.

“Are you seriously going to use the highly forbidden off-world tech?”

Jax took a fast step back and looked incredibly nervous.

“This entire medieval magic kingdom is a massive and elaborate lie.”

I stared lovingly at the incredibly beautiful machine standing completely hidden before me.

“The royal family secretly imports advanced alien technology from other dimensions.”

The massive metallic machine stood exactly twenty feet tall in the dim lighting.

“It is a literal sci-fi mecha suit.”

The smooth titanium armor plates gleamed with a deadly, unnatural sheen.

“The smug magic nobles just call it a strange and weird metal golem.”

I laughed a bitter and completely humorless laugh.

“They are way too stupid to understand advanced robotic engineering.”

I walked over quickly and climbed up the heavy metal ladder resting against the robotic leg.

“I spent three entire years secretly repairing this beautiful machine in the dark.”

Jax stared directly up at the massive mechanical weapon in pure, unadulterated awe.

“You bypassed the school magical security wards entirely with this thing.”

I patted the incredibly cold steel of the giant mechanical knee.

“Magic is absolutely useless against a highly targeted laser cannon.”

I quickly reached the heavy reinforced blast door of the main pilot cockpit.

“That baker boy honestly thinks he can just punch his way to victory.”

I pressed my right thumb directly against the glowing biometric scanner panel.

“Raw physical strength means absolutely nothing against solid depleted uranium armor plating.”

The heavy metal hatch hissed incredibly loudly and popped completely open.

“The official academy rulebook never explicitly banned off-world robotic vehicles.”

Jax rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a dirty, grease-stained leather glove.

“That is a highly specific and totally insane legal loophole.”

I slid directly into the highly expensive and comfortable leather pilot seat.

“I am a total genius at completely exploiting broken school rules.”

The glowing digital dashboard lit up the dark cockpit with bright neon green light.

“Dylan and his crazy yandere princess are going to completely freak out today.”

I gripped the dual flight sticks firmly with my heavily bruised and calloused hands.

“I will totally crush his highly arrogant and extremely annoying slacker vibe.”

I flipped three heavy toggle switches to prime the main robotic fusion engine.

“Ten years of intense magical humiliation finally ends today in the arena.”

The massive fusion core hummed instantly to life with a terrifying, deep vibration.

“System diagnostics are totally green and fully ready for extreme combat.”

Jax grabbed a highly modified handheld radio from the messy wooden workbench.

“I will closely monitor your complex telemetry from the hidden underground bunker.”

I strapped the heavy five-point safety harness tightly across my racing chest.

“Keep a close eye on the core temperature during the intense fight.”

Jax gave me a totally solid and highly encouraging thumbs up from the floor.

“You are going to completely shock the entire elite student body.”

I smiled a deeply genuine and highly confident smile in the dark.

“They will finally learn to deeply respect the name Elara Voss.”

The giant mechanical eyes of the towering mecha flared suddenly with a blinding crimson light. The underground cargo elevator groaned loudly under the extreme weight of the machine. Rusty iron chains pulled the massive metal platform slowly toward the surface level, the terrible metallic grinding noise echoing heavily through the extremely dark access tunnel. I stared intensely at the highly advanced digital targeting monitors on my dashboard.

“You are going to legit destroy the entire combat arena today.”

Jax shouted loudly over the deafening engine noise through the static comms radio.

“The stone arena is already totally busted anyway from previous fights.”

I precisely calibrated the dual plasma blasters securely mounted on the massive metal arms.

“That crazy edgy dark lord guy entirely smashed the floor yesterday afternoon.”

I firmly tested the hydraulic foot pedals to ensure maximum robotic combat mobility.

“I am honestly just finishing the structural demolition job for the cheap school.”

The radio crackled with heavy static as Jax laughed a nervous laugh.

“The grumpy school janitor is going to be incredibly salty about this massive mess.”

I flipped a bright green switch to activate the heavily reinforced energy shields.

“The janitor can easily sweep up the baker boy’s remains later.”

I felt a sudden, extremely sharp pang of intense guilt hit my nervous stomach.

“I am absolutely not actually going to totally murder him today.”

I quickly dialed down the plasma weapon output from highly lethal to heavy stun.

“I just intensely need to completely humiliate him in front of the entire public.”

The dark elevator shaft grew visibly brighter as we slowly approached the main arena level.

“I desperately need everyone to finally respect my absolute and undeniable strength.”

I vividly remembered the highly cruel and completely toxic whispers from the other elite students.

“No more being the absolute pathetic joke of the entire S-Rank hierarchy.”

The heavy metal gears of the elevator locked entirely into place with a loud bang.

“I will officially take his highly prestigious SSS-Rank and forcefully claim my rightful throne.”

I watched the massive heavy steel doors of the arena entrance slowly slide completely open.

“Prepare to personally witness absolute robotic and highly advanced technological supremacy.”

I gripped the flight sticks tightly as my extremely sweaty palms shook slightly with adrenaline.

“Dylan truly thinks he is completely untouchable simply because of his stupid fake rank.”

I forcefully pushed the right throttle forward to initiate a slow, highly menacing mechanical walk.

“He has absolutely no idea what real agonizing and intense struggle actually feels like.”

The heavy metal foot of the giant mecha slammed aggressively into the dusty arena dirt.

“I am the ultimate unappreciated underdog of this completely twisted and highly unfair magical school.”

The deafening and overwhelming sound of the cheering student crowd flooded directly into the cockpit.

“Today, the completely weak and totally talentless girl finally wins the ultimate academic prize.”

Jax spoke softly through the highly static and noisy radio channel.

“Give them absolute and totally unapologetic hell out there, Elara.”

I squeezed the flight stick triggers firmly to test the heavy mechanical arm joints.

“I am going to make them deeply regret every single completely cruel laugh.”

The bright morning sun reflected blindingly off my highly polished titanium armor plating.

“The outdated age of highly privileged magical nobles is totally over.”

I quickly scanned the extremely crowded arena stands using my advanced robotic optical sensors.

“The glorious era of extreme sci-fi technology completely begins right now.”

I marched my twenty-foot sci-fi death machine directly into the medieval magical sunlight.