Chapter 113: Building His First Mech (II)

There wasn’t a single visible wire within the Mech.

At the center of its chest was a small gap that fit almost perfectly with the chip Declan held in his hand, and he gently brought it to the opening, using slight force to push it deeper inside.

The moment the blue chip made contact with the circuitry, the lines began glowing.

The space closed over itself, and Declan unconsciously took a step back.

WHIIIIIIR

A soft whirring echoed through the room as neon lights traced the Mech’s smooth surface.

FLICCKKERRR

An even brighter flicker of light appeared as the helmet-shaped face of the Mech glowed, revealing a triangular light across its face that demarcated its eyes.

It blinked twice, darkening and flickering before finally focusing directly on Declan.

Silence descended as a chilling stillness filled the room, but through it came,

BAAADUUUMP!

BAAADUUUMP!

BAADUUUUMP!

The sound of a heart pounding loudly echoed throughout the room, and it came from none other than Declan.

The silence stretched for about ten seconds before words finally echoed out.

"Hello, Declan Ezra."

It was a crystal-clear, gentle voice that seemed to travel directly into Declan’s ears, leaving him momentarily numb.

The pounding of his heart intensified, but he reined in his excitement as he ordered,

"Introduce yourself."

"Yes, Declan. I am Ever..." As it spoke, its smooth hands rose beneath its chest as it delivered a princely bow.

"The Ultimate AI meant to be implanted into the first-ever Mech made by Declan Ezra, the Everlight Mech!"

’It even knows the implanted name within the chip’s central memory,’ Declan observed.

"My sole function is to allow you, Declan Ezra, to pilot the Everlight Mech at full capacity, instantly activating all systems on command and performing external reconnaissance while sending feedback on every module’s status to you!"

"I now await your next order."

It said, and Declan remained lost for words, standing completely still until the system panel flashed:

[Congratulations on Creating Your First True Mech!]

Declan’s legs suddenly lost their strength from the notification, and he collapsed onto both knees, his head drooping low.

"It worked. It finally worked."

[Secret Mission Completed: Create a Mech!]

[Rewards:

1.) Mech Spec Tab

2.) +150,000 Purchase Points

3.) +3 Lucky Draw Mech Cards!]

The system notification panel appeared as Declan rose from his knees and sat with his back against the glass.

"Hey, system," he called out.

[Yes.]

"Activate Mech Spec Tab."

[MECH SPEC TAB]

[Available Mech: Everlight Mech]

[Everlight Mech Specs:

Max Speed: Mach 2.0

Acceleration: 0 → Top Speed in 2 seconds!

Armor: Ripple Nano Alloy (30× human durability)

Weapon: EverGuard Sword

Description: High-Beam Concentrated Sword with incredible slashing speed and power.]

___________

The system listed out the specifications, and Declan grinned.

It fell short of the system’s Mechs in overall might, but it exceeded some of them in acceleration, maximum speed, and weapon capabilities.

He rose to his feet and ordered,

"Hey, Ever?"

He called out, tapping his feet against the ground and allowing the glass surrounding them to disperse.

"Yes, Declan."

"Step out."

The moment he gave the command, the Mech moved.

With its slim body, its movement seemed to cut through the air like a blade, absolutely seamless and incredibly fast, even with a single step.

The idea for this body type had originated from a lesson Declan learned in his Weapon class during his newcomer year.

He had learned that swinging the edge of a spear downward was far faster than swinging his arm down, and the reason was the reduced and more streamlined contact the spear’s edge made with the surface of the air.

That was why he had designed the Mech’s body with aerodynamics in mind, and now that decision had proven to be the right one.

Watching the Mech glide around him, he ordered,

"Hover."

Hmmm.

A soft hum pulsed from the Mech’s legs as light flickered outward. It took two steps forward, but on the third, its foot never touched the ground.

It hovered exactly ten centimeters above the floor, once again gliding through the air, but this time without its feet touching the ground.

"It’s working perfectly."

The Everlight Mech wasn’t capable of true flight.

That would require full-fledged burst nozzles beneath its feet, something Declan couldn’t have because the legs were meant to remain smooth.

There was no space for a nozzle, and even if he added one, it would interfere with the aerodynamics.

So, he had opted for slits along the sides of the Mech’s legs that could release controlled bursts of energy, just enough to lift it gently off the ground.

But that didn’t mean it could fly.

If it ran and jumped, however, its slim body would allow it to hover and glide through the air.

"Activate Weapon!"

He said, and in the next instant,

SHRIIIIIIIIIIING!

It sounded like a katana being drawn from its sheath as something tore out from the smooth end of the Mech’s hand.

It was the edge of a sword, 1.5 meters in length, gleaming with condensed crimson energy.

Even a flicker of it created white slash marks in the air, yet the striking part was that there wasn’t just a single sword.

SHRIIIIIIIIIIING!

A second sound followed as another sword edge emerged from the Mech’s other hand. It was the same length, except this one was wrapped in crimson energy.

These were the most lethal parts of the Everlight Mech: The blades.

The right blade contained concentrated blue energy created from a rare, destructive ore purchased from the system’s shop.

The red energy came from a burn-destructive ore, also obtained from the system’s shop.

The burn-destructive ore was what Mordran mainly used in its weapons.

As for the blue one, Declan had never seen it anywhere else except in this Mech of his.

Still, all of this was only the basics of the Mech.

The real deal was...

"Undergo Joint Protocol."

He said, and in the next moment, the Mech stepped closer, standing upright before Declan.

From the center of its chest, part of its arms, and the rest of its torso, a hole appeared, forming a humanoid-shaped opening exactly large enough to accommodate his two-meter body.

A phantom force lifted Declan off his feet and turned him around as his body was drawn into the Mech.

The second his back connected with the interior, he felt the force anchor him to the Mech.

The nano armor rippled instantly, restoring the arms, while the helmet moved into place and covered his face.

In just seven seconds, there was no longer any sign of Declan, only the same Everlight Mech standing motionless.

Then, in the next moment, the lines that demarcated its eyes opened, and this time, they didn’t flash blue.

They glowed red.

Inside the armor, Declan tried to get a feel for everything.

"Hey, Ever, create Thought Resonance."

"Thought Resonance Protocol Established!"

Declan moved his arm, and the Mech’s arm followed effortlessly, carrying out his thought faster than his own hands ever could.

He jumped slightly, and the glide feature activated, allowing him to quietly glide around the room without his feet touching the ground.

"It’s so cool," he exclaimed gleefully as he performed stunts in the air.

He had expected piloting the Mech to be difficult, and it was, sincerely challenging.

That was why he had created Ever, the AI simulation, to make the process easier.

Now, with Thought Resonance, it was perfect.

The Mech was designed for running rather than gliding. Declan wanted to experience what it felt like to run at twice the speed of sound, but he couldn’t do that here.

Not in the lab.

A thought crossed his mind, and an interface appeared before his face.

It was blue, displaying the Mech’s image alongside its basic running statistics.

This was the panel that could quickly show him the damage sustained by the Mech, as well as its running statistics, including overheating, core percentage, and other important factors.

It works perfectly, he mused.

In the next moment, the nano surface rippled, revealing Declan.

He stepped onto the ground as the armor smoothly returned to its original state.

"Hey, Ever, turn into your basic transport form."

Declan spoke, and the Mech’s surface began breaking apart into tiny nano-shreds before his eyes.

Quickly, the Everlight Mech was no more, replaced by countless ripple panels that quickly coalesced together once more.

But they didn’t form the Mech.

What they formed instead was...

A cane!

A walking cane, to be exact, though it was an eye-catching blue color, and Declan’s hands reached out and grabbed it.

It was slightly heavy, but that made sense.

After all, it was the entire Mech contained within.

One meter tall, it could easily pass as an ordinary cane, with the blue color most likely being seen as decoration or some kind of fancy design.

But...Declan slammed the tip of the cane against the ground.

It quickly transformed back into nano-shards that rippled through the air, and within five seconds, the Everlight Mech was once again standing before him.

"Basic form," he called out.

It broke apart again, transforming into a walking cane.

Declan grabbed the handle and walked around the lab.

"It works perfectly."

With the Everlight Mech capable of shifting into a cane, it wasn’t just that transporting it had become easy.

The main advantage was that he could sneak it anywhere while disguised as a walking cane, and he also planned to get used to carrying it around this way.

"The Only Use Feature has been activated, right?" he asked the cane.

A blue light flickered from the handle, followed by Ever’s voice.

"Yes. The Everlight Mech will only transform into True Form if the tip is slammed into the ground by you, Declan Ezra."

"Any accidental slamming caused by being dropped from a high position or by another person will not activate the Mech."

"Nice."