Chapter 186 - Course (Patreon)

“Mari? What the hell are you doing here? I thought Boss Kyle was grilling you day in and day out!” Gideon exclaimed as Mari plodded down right next to him in a lecture hall, the tables and chairs obviously carved out from a Culdao Peaks tree on short notice.

“Beats me. But I’m going to take every fucking break I can get.” Mari sighed in relief as she leaned back against the bench behind her; the hall was already filled with a rowdy atmosphere, students congregating and forming what seemed like their various cliques.

“Shit, do you want to sit with the girls then?” Gideon was about to stand up to ask the group three rows in front when Mari grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him down harder than ever.

Mari groaned internally at Gideon’s confused face. “Idiot, I sit wherever I want! Sit down!” She pouted, leaning back even further with her arms outstretched until she accidentally knocked a notebook off the table behind her. “Oh shit!”

She quickly leaned down, her hands reaching for the fallen notebook. She grabbed it by the binder, noticing the notebook's surface had three ‘Study Hard!’ well-wishes inked on it.

Mari’s eyes widened at the notebook, but she hastily focused on returning it to the person, her hands outstretched towards what seemed to be a young boy whose face bore the scars of combat, their eyes locked briefly. The young boy stared at her, his gaze seemingly locked in place right at her, making Mari feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Sorry for that!” Mari apologised, placing the notebook back in front of the young boy before turning around to face the show again, her face completely confused.

“Shit, did you see his left arm? It’s missing!” Gideon remarked, taking another glance at the young boy behind. “And his face looks like he went through a lot of shit! What the hell happened to him?”

“Wait, really?” Mari was surprised but didn’t turn around again to take another look; her vision focused on the front. “I’m more interested in the pieces of paper he had. What was that all about? I’ve only ever seen our mine’s boss use them.”

Gideon was flabbergasted, his eyes carefully looking around anything Mari brought to the arctech designer intern course. “You didn’t bring anything? At all?!” He pointed to his own notebook.

“What?” Mari retorted defiantly. “Kyle just said to come, so I did!”

“Damn, you on a first-name basis now with the boss? That’s awesome!” Gideon nodded in approval.

“He might be my boss for now, but I don’t have to call him boss in other conversations!”

“And for the course’s duration, you will refer to me as sir.” A hand lightly smacked Mari on the back of her head, the lecture hall immediately shutting up as the students loitering around quickly returned to their seats, no one wanting to mess with the tall man who now towered next to Mari’s table.

What?! He’s the teacher? Mari’s dreams of slacking off had utterly evaporated, her face awash with disappointment, though externally, she sat upright, afraid of antagonising Kyle. “Yes, sir!” Mari replied. While her eyes were downcast, a slight smirk appeared on Kyle’s face as he walked to the front of the lecture hall through the tables.

“While I will only be teaching one hour a day, I will be in charge of handling the syllabus as well as your final grading exam. As interns, you will eventually be involved in projects in the various companies we are affiliated with, who have gladly agreed to take all of you on.”

You mean the ones you own! Mari bristled with anger internally, having learnt the full extent of Kyle’s control and power over the last week. If anything, she could only liken Kyle to being the dictator of a small nation, though she did not resent her new ‘highborn’ status as a princess in the Goblin palace, so long as she continued to have fluffy sheets and clean bath robes.

“However, while all of you here have passed the test, it does not mean that you are guaranteed a job. I can only do so much to ensure your proficiency, but an effort must also come from within you to improve on your skills. Society is about valuable skills – make yourself valuable, and you will receive your due in time.”

While Mari continued her disillusioned rant in her head, Gideon and the others were obviously enthralled by the prospect, excitedly whispering to each other about what they could work on next time while Kyle used a light thrower mounted in the middle of the ceiling to project onto a wide screen behind him, a continuous display of arctech weapons and equipment.

“Arctech design is a necessary skill to survive in today’s age. Many people simply buy and use it, without truly understanding the underlying laws and rules behind the manipulation of arcia energy. It is this understanding that will allow you to build better, fight better and live better. Arctech equipment allows the human body to go further than what we can do with our bare hands.” Kyle continued speaking, pacing around the lecture hall.

“Many of you may have suffered at the hands of arctech equipment with no way of fighting back.” Kyle lectured as he walked through the rows, his eyes temporarily stopping at Ollie with a tinge of recognition flashing through his eyes. “Some of you have seen combat, the terrible things that arctech equipment can do to the environment.”

“I am not here to teach you how to create weapons of war.” Kyle returned back to the front, turning to face the students. “Another instructor will cover that. But my main purpose is to explain to you the possibilities – even if not yet implemented – of arctech design. Now let’s go through the structure of the course. Make sure you take this down.”

The sound of notebooks being flipped and pens dipped in ink filled the hall, leaving Mari even more flustered as she glanced around while Kyle continued listing the modules. “Gideon, do you have an extra?”

“No, I don’t, but I can let you copy it later!”

“I got a feeling if I don’t write it down now, I’m going to be treated far worse during my combat training later.” Mari could already feel Kyle’s furious gaze landing on her even as he continued.

“You can use mine.” A voice answered from behind Mari. Mari turned to see the young boy offering a notebook.

“No, no!” Mari recalled the well-wishes on the cover of the book, most likely from the young boy’s family. “You should treasure that notebook more!”

“Huh? This is an extra one I have.”

Mari took a closer look at the notebook offered to her, realizing he was right. “Sorry. Thanks! I promise I’ll pay you back.” She quickly placed the notebook on the table, opening it to the first page and was about write down what Kyle was saying before she realized she didn’t even have a pen as well.

A tapping sound echoed from her chair, prompting her to turn again to see the young boy smiling, offering a pen yet again. Mari smiled sheepishly as she accepted the pen, quickly scribbling down notes.

“… and the final graded exam will be a complete replica of a random part on a mobile crane wagon. The course is expected to take a month, with those failing any modules required to repeat the module’s exam again. If you can’t pass the exam after two months, you’ll be kicked out until we have enough resources to train and teach you again. Any questions so far?”

A hand shot up in the air, Kyle’s brow wrinkling slightly when he saw who it was. “Yes, Mari?”

“I don’t understand the purpose of the module called ‘Arctech Design for Personal Combat’. It overlaps with ‘Arctech in War’ and ‘Arctech Gunsmithing’.”

“I will be teaching that module personally. Arctech design can be mass produced, but as arctech designers yourselves, it is imperative that you optimize your fighting style as much as possible. As such, the module is about finding your limits and how to shore up your weakness. Of course, the module will be taught through combat.” Kyle smirked, Mari’s face once again awash with disappointment.

The excitement of the students was now at an all-time high, having heard all the modules being taught.

“Wow, the boss of the Seven Snakes is going to teach us personally? That’s awesome!”

“Man, I think he could beat all of us with one hand tied behind his back. Can I even learn anything?”

Kyle gazed at the students clamouring and talking to each other. He had never held a teaching role before, always holding such a position to be beneath him. Yet he could feel his own ego soothed by the evident respect and admiration that the students gave, save for the disgruntled Mari who was clearly pouting in the middle. My second life is full of surprises.

Kyle clapped his hands, drawing the students’ attention back once again. “Focus. The introductory lecture is not over yet. For each of the modules, the companies you are temporarily shadowing will also grade your performance in being able to perform tasks. Even if you pass the exams with flying colours, a bad grade from the companies will result in you not being hired. Being able to work with others is a skill necessary for engineering as well.”

“The companies you shadow may take you to various places, some of which may be still considered hostile. Raktor and Kregol are far from being ‘stable’, so your life is considerably at risk. Follow orders and do not stray from your designated roles, and you will be protected to the best of your abilities. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. That’s the end of the introductory lecture. The primary administrator for the course is him, whom you may refer to as Admin.” Kyle motioned to one of Orisa’s clones, this time a male goblin who was tiny in stature. “Any issues with scheduling and courses, please inform him immediately. The next instructor will arrive in five minutes, so please remain seated. Mari, a word outside.”

All eyes turned to Mari, who groaned internally as she grabbed her stuff, walking out of the lecture hall behind Kyle. “Why did you even have me join this course?” Mari asked, a bit peeved though she still kept her voice respectful. While she was cognizant of her importance to Kyle, she did not overstep her boundaries, playing it safe.

“Physical training alone is not enough to improve your strength. It is also important to have a proper education, especially in understanding arcia energy.” Kyle answered. “This is also part of your training as a mage, as it will help you further develop your powers. You have a natural advantage over your peers, so I expect you to perform better than everyone.”

Mari’s heart plummeted, realising there was one more facet to train. She was perfectly fine with simply drilling her body’s muscle memory into wielding arcia energy, but now she also had to use her brain. It was far too much for her, her head already swirling at the thought of her next few days being packed as hell.

“You mean you want me to ace every module.” Mari completed the hidden meaning behind Kyle’s words, earning a smile from him.

“Indeed. I expect you to top every module. Losing to anyone else would be a shame, given your abilities.”

“Just because I can see and hold arcia energy doesn’t mean I know how to etch!” Mari retorted.

“Then you better work harder than ever because there will be consequences otherwise. Understood?”

“Yes… sir.”

Kyle let Mari return to the lecture hall, where the next instructor had just arrived to teach the first module. Mari groaned audibly as she slumped back into her seat, with Gideon quickly tapping her table. “What did he say to you? Anything good?”

“Nothing good comes out of that guy’s mouth,” Mari grumbled as she watched the instructor hand out a few metal plates with engravings on them. She could hardly understand nor recognise any of the engravings shown in front of her, never having used them before in the first place.

“Today, we will begin covering the basics of arcia engravings, along with a few simple examples to get all of you started. The coverage will be brief as all of you have passed an aptitude test, meaning you already know how to replicate an engraving properly.”

“Wait, what?” Mari blurted out loud, drawing attention to herself before she shut herself up, slinking back into her seat. “You did an aptitude test?” She whispered to Gideon.

“You didn’t?” Gideon looked back in shock.

Great. Just great.