“Holy crap, holy crap — this is a Magitech Knight?!”
“So powerful… so damn cool!”
“This is the meaning I’ve been striving for my whole life!”
The Magic Academy placed heavy emphasis on practical combat and overall improvement, actively encouraging competition among students.
While there were safety nets in every area to ensure virtually every student could graduate smoothly, outstanding achievements during one’s time here still earned unimaginable rewards from the academy.
To motivate freshmen and inspire them to pursue knighthood — or even greater heights — the first afternoon of every new school year followed a longstanding tradition: the “Practical Experience Class.”
After the morning spent under the teacher’s guidance familiarizing themselves with the campus and key rules, the academy organized a large-scale practical exercise for the entire afternoon.
For most freshmen, this marked their very first time piloting a Magitech Knight — an experience that often solidified their goals and convictions.
And sure enough…
The moment they stepped off the train and entered the hangar, some students gazed at the towering, majestic frames with eyes full of reverence and longing.
Without a doubt, they had arrived at Hangar 3 — the very one housing the machines belonging to Ye Xu and the others.
“Sigh… Junior Ye Xu, Your Highness — what brings you all here~?”
As the acting chief of Hangar 3, Irina naturally spotted the strikingly handsome Ye Xu standing out like a crane among chickens the instant the large group poured in through the entrance.
Ye Xu gave her a small nod in greeting.
As Irina looked closer, she also noticed the petite figure behind the trio.
“Irina dear, over here, over here!”
Teacher Hera — completely blocked by the three tall students in front of her — jumped a few times to catch Irina’s eye.
“Eh? Teacher Hera??” Irina blinked in confusion at the teacher’s presence at this hour, but then remembered it was the first day of school — the day of the academy’s “old tradition.” She slapped her forehead. “Oh, right! It’s time for the freshmen’s first practical combat lesson!”
She’d been so exhilarated piloting Isxila’s machine last night — racing around until 2 a.m. before reluctantly returning to the hangar — that she’d been foggy-headed from morning until now. Only this moment brought it all back.
She quickly prepared to arrange things, requesting piloting permissions for training machines based on the number of students in Hera’s class.
But before that, Irina suddenly recalled something. She turned to Hera, who stood with hands on hips, chest puffed out (though there wasn’t much to puff), looking immensely proud.
“Wait — Teacher, why are these three with you?”
After a brief mental whirlwind, realization hit. Irina’s eyes widened in disbelief. She staggered back two steps, pointing at the trio as she asked Hera:
“N-no way… Teacher, these three aren’t all in your class, are they???”
“Hmph! Hmph! â•(╯^â•°)â•®”
Hera merely smirked without a word.
Watching the exchange, Irina felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her forehead.
Yesterday had been a day of utterly different significance for the academy’s twenty hangars.
For the first time in two full years, three Radiant Sun Type-14 units had arrived in a single day — all deeply customized personal machines.
And every single one had ended up in Irina’s Hangar 3!
Irina could guess why: Ye Xu had been shamelessly dragged in by her, Isxila had followed Ye Xu, and Lol had followed Isxila.
In terms of connections, Isxila was Ye Xu’s friend, and Lol came from a family that had served the royal line for generations.
That in itself wasn’t an issue.
But if all three were in the same class… that was a huge problem!
Gulp
Just thinking about what might happen this afternoon — even imagining the poor unlucky class that could end up matched against Class 3 for sparring — Irina felt a suffocating pressure descend upon her.
Never mind the Machine Soul Core’s assisted piloting and high-endurance features. The Radiant Sun Type-14’s overall performance already outclassed the academy’s most common military-grade knights by at least 20%.
Compared to them, the academy’s ancient training machines — some with four-digit ages — were like little girls. One punch could probably send them flying.
All she could say was…
Good luck to whoever draws that short straw.
“Alright, alright, no dawdling — get to work!”
Clearly, Hera had no intention of sympathizing with the soon-to-be-unfortunate opponent. She gave a tsundere sniff, pushed past Ye Xu and Lol who were blocking her, and urged Irina on.
“Okay~ okay~”
Seeing the teacher’s eager impatience, Irina helplessly waved her hand.
She headed to the console near the entrance, used her credentials to request Magitech Knight piloting permissions from the academy, and — once approved — directed the other students working in the hangar to release the restraints on the training machines and open their cockpits.
Satisfied, Hera nodded, then called loudly for the class to gather: “In a moment, you’ll enter the Magitech Knights under the guidance of your seniors. None of you have any real piloting experience, right?”
“No!” Most students shook their heads at the teacher’s question.
Even the few nobles who had touched Magitech Knights before had only dabbled — never undergone proper training — so after a moment’s thought, they nodded as well.
Anyway, victory this afternoon was already assured. The rest of the class would simply participate for the experience, to get a taste of piloting.
Hera nodded as expected, then added: “Good. Once the machines power up, don’t rush to move.”
“Follow your seniors’ instructions and gradually adapt to the sensation of connecting with the Magitech Knight.”
“Remember — no hurry, no panic.”
“Above all, do not cast any spells!”
For the first time since morning introductions, Teacher Hera’s expression turned gravely serious as she carefully explained every precaution for after boarding.
After all, the amplification a Magitech Knight provided its pilot was downright terrifying.
Even a simple Fireball spell — normally only good for lighting a campfire or grilling meat — could easily punch through a wall under a knight’s boost.
And that was with the training machines’ power already restricted and their dangerous armaments locked.
In past years, someone had underestimated that power, leaping dozens of meters into the air only to land headfirst — scrapping the machine and nearly failing to survive themselves.
Others, ignoring advice and overconfident, had unleashed their strongest third-circle spell the moment they boarded, wanting to “test” the knight’s might. The resulting tenfold-or-more amplification had nearly demolished half a hangar.
Even with safety measures like remote overrides and forced shutdowns, human reaction time wasn’t always fast enough — and the remote spell arrays needed time to activate.
All those lessons written in blood and tears demanded caution, even from a veteran teacher like Hera.