A year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was the 5th month of the Mana Era, 5012. And in two more months Ezekiel would have to leave for the Institute, together with Vahn and his sister, Yuri.
But that didn't really matter much to him. He didn't really care about the Institute and was merely going there due to the resources it could provide him and the fact that his parents wanted him to. As for the snot nosed kids thinking they were the best at everything and had delusions of being at the top of the world, that awaited his bright brilliance and the rude awakening that came with him, well. Hehe…
The mechanic could only snicker evilly as the thought ran through his mind. Still, he threw all that away as he was quite busy at the moment. His hands steadily moved as he assembled the tiny compartments parts before him before nudging them a bit, watching as they fit into their desired positions.
Smiling he tapped on the side of the index finger of the metallic hand before him, carefully accessing it as the gears moved, clicking into place and allowing the hand open up to reveal a palm shaped pod within it in which he could place his hand.
Upon seeing this, he sighed in relief and leaned back into his seat. "Laura, take the finished parts, assemble it and paint it. Been a really busy year. How's our finance?"
(I don't get paid enough to do this.) She groaned while controlling the hand shaped robots attached to the roof of the factory to move.
"You don't get paid at all. Plus, don't blame me, blame whoever created the system. I will never understand how he inputted 'being sassy' into your source code." Ezekiel rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe this AI of his sometimes. These types of instructions barely held down her computing power, he had no idea why she made it a habit to complain every time. "Well, three down, two more to go."
(Our finances… well, you probably already predicted it. We're dirt poor again. We can't even buy a kilogram of Mithril right now, we only have about 10,000 starls left.)
The mechanic muttered a cursed. 'Goddammit, the expenses of a mechanic isn't for the faint of heart.' About this time last year, he had thought the amount of starls he had gained from looting that slave market would have been enough for his manufacturing plans for the next two years. Little did he know that the costs of his inventions were crazily high!
If he counted the amount of starls he had gained from looting slave traders and shady figures of Pytra City, it could amount to about 10 million! 10 million goddamned starls!!!
Yet everything had disappeared down the drain. Sucked into his projects and experimentations. Still, that didn't mean he had gained no returns. In fact the gains really surpassed the loss he had made. Ezekiel was just being comically greedy. 'Thinking about it still hurts. Anyway bring up the status window.'
At his command, a golden holographic panel appeared before him.
_
Ultimate Mechanic System
Name: Ezekiel Flynn
Age: 16
Class: Common Mechanic
Level: 12
EXP: 412/1200
Health: 100%
Psionic Energy: 100%
Strength: 51
Constitution: 56
Intelligence: 63
Agility: 55
Perception: 59
Attribute points: 0
Talent:
Overload (Active) – Level 8:
Grants Host the ability to increase the efficiency and power of his equipped mechanical gear by 13%. Lasts 3 minutes and can only be used once a day.
Quick Equip (Passive) – Level 7
Whenever Host dons a suit or armor, the speed of equipping and powering up of the suit increases by 70%.
_
With these stats, it was safe to say that Ezekiel could battle against a low E rank Brawler with his body alone and come out victorious. Against a mid E rank, he could defend with for some time before having to resort to his inventions. And against a high or peak E rank… well, at least he wouldn't die immediately.
As for his new Class. That had happened when he had surpassed the level of strength equivalent to that of F rank Awakened. His Quick Equip talent was one he had since been determined to get ever since he had decided to walk the path of fighting with invented Battlesuits.
Closing the panel, he stood up and stretched before heading over to the shower in his portion of the accommodation area of the factory. Once done, he put on a new set of clothes and was about to go check up on the paint job of his newest work when his watch vibrated.
He opened up the message to see a holographic writing, coming from his parents with the request to have him return home for his birthday. "Well damn, totally forgot about the party mom and dad arranged. Yuri, Vahn, we'll have to leave soon." He shouted to call their attention before hurrying to the work section, picking up his newly painted invention and moving to the exit of their lab.
"You forgot about the party, didn't you?" Yuri revealed an expression of displeasure as she saw him hurriedly walk over.
Luckily, Ezekiel had rather thick skin and denied it almost immediately. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just went to check on Laura for a bit."
"Just leave the idiot. We're already late so let's just be on our way." Vahn sighed and sent a stream of instructions to the device in his ears. Immediately after, the golden lines on his Windchasers lit up before a burst of Psionic Energy sent him hovering slightly above the ground.
Ezekiel and Yuri simultaneously snorted while controlling their respective Windchasers as well. The three followed each other as they flew upwards, donning their large coats mid-air before passing through the open shaft and exiting the factory. They walked a bit further before boarding a mana powered car which served as a taxi and headed for Pytra City's Central Region.
Once dropped off, they walked into a tailoring building and walked out with newly bought royalty clothes, thoroughly bringing their finances to zero. But they didn't seem to care as they moved towards the Flynn Family castle and walked in.
"You secretive child. Can't you arrive early for once?" Matthew sighed as he welcomed the three. "Vahn, Yuri. I thought you kids said you were going to watch over this brat over here?"
"Trust me sir. If it weren't for us, this idiot would still be in his workshop tinkering with whatever's in there." Vahn also let out an exasperated sigh, glancing at Ezekiel who feigned ignorance.
The siblings had visited their friend's home more than once already. The Flynn family basically treated the two as their own children as well so there was no surprise in their interaction.
"Mother, you would not side with this evil man that wishes to turn my friends against me, would you?" He revealed a faked hurt smile as he hugged his mother while having a stare down with his father.
Evelyn laughed, never tired at the antics of the father-son duo. "Don't worry, it's your birthday. What kind of mother would I be if I ignored the happiness of her son on such a special day?"
And so the party commenced, attended by only the Flynn family and Ezekiel's two friends. The atmosphere being absolutely joyous as the entire family gathered together, celebrating Ezekiel's steps to adulthood.
But the festivities soon ended as the family, Vahn and Yuri included, sat at the dinner table with Ezekiel's attention on his father.
Matthew sighed as he saw this and helplessly smiled. "Honestly, I would rather not burden you with this Ez."
His words caused his wife to reveal a melancholic expression as she held onto her husband's hand. This firmed his face and allowed him continue his words. "It's time you knew the truth about our family. And our true place in this wo-"
Suddenly Matthew paused, his and Evelyn's expressions warping before endless anger seemed to find itself on their countenance. Their mana burst out in waves as it wrapped around the dinner table, protecting all those sitting within it as a wave of mana suddenly slammed into the castle.
Then a bright canvas of scarlet red flames painted the world before Ezekiel's eyes.