Chapter 219: Combined Class (3)

The day after Louis returned from the library, the full-scale combined class began.

The day’s objective was ‘calibration’ - the process where a dedicated Techno Mage adjusts the Transcendent to match a pilot’s physical, mental, and mana characteristics. This calibration was crucial, as it could multiply a pilot’s operational efficiency with the Transcendent.

Though newly promoted to the lower-tier class, these students couldn’t achieve perfect calibration. However, having been selected for the Transcendence Academy, they possessed the fundamental knowledge required.

As a result, the class progressed smoothly.

Pilot students entered the cockpits of their Transcendents, while tech team students hovered beside them, peppering them with questions. The lecture hall buzzed with similar scenes unfolding across its expanse.

“So? How does it feel?”

“Uh… I’m not sure?”

The problem was that unlike the tech team’s lower class, which consisted of students with some experience and knowledge, most members of the pilot lower class had no understanding of Transcendent piloting techniques.

This discrepancy arose because students were selected based on their basic combat skills rather than their knowledge of Transcendent piloting methods.

As a result, instructors from both the tech and pilot teams paired up to walk around and offer guidance on coordination to the students.

The classroom buzzed with the commotion of the lesson.

Yet there were two particularly quiet figures among the crowd.

”…”

Sierra stood leaning against the Transcendent with her arms crossed.

Flip.

Louis sat reading a book at a considerable distance from her.

These were the main characters of Team 33.

Ever since the incident on the first day of joint classes, the two had been deliberately avoiding each other.

It was perhaps inevitable that neither would make the first move to approach the other.

Especially Louis, who had completely forgotten about Sierra’s presence while engrossed in the book he’d borrowed that morning.

Rustle… rustle…

Louis turned the pages at a steady pace, his expression intense as he focused on the text.

The book’s title was Ain Race Lifestyle Habits—the very same volume William had most recently checked out.

Several other books lay stacked beside Louis, all borrowed from William’s rental list.

Rustle… rustle…

The pages suddenly stilled.

Swish.

Louis’s slender finger traced the faint crease of a previously folded page.

“Exactly as I suspected…” he murmured, glancing at the pile of books beside him.

All the books William borrowed were about the Ain Race and other species.

While there were occasional exceptions in the borrowing records, over 80% of the books fell into the category of xenospecies studies. After examining several of the books William had borrowed, Louis reached a single conclusion.

William was investigating Victor.

Everywhere he looked, there were telltale creases in the pages, all pointing to the same section: “Werewolf.”

It’s common knowledge that the Grand Master isn’t human, but…

Why would William focus solely on werewolves? This piqued Louis’s curiosity. William wasn’t gathering information about other Grand Masters—he was specifically targeting werewolf-related materials.

…He’s looking for something connected to Victor.

Tap.

“Hmm…”

Louis closed the book and stroked his chin.

I still don’t know what that bastard is looking for, but…

The corners of his mouth curled up in a smirk.

I’ve got my bearings now.

William had entered Transcendence Academy. He was searching for traces of Victor. In other words…

All I need to do is find something related to Victor within this academy.

That was enough for him.

As he was smiling like that…

“Um, Louis… sir…”

Shiba approached cautiously, glancing around nervously.

Louis had already sensed his approach and answered in a grumpy tone:

“What?”

“Um… have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

Shiba leaned closer and whispered in Louis’s ear:

“They say a ghost appeared in the library last night.”

Louis stared at Shiba with an incredulous look.

Shiba bristled under the dismissive gaze. “I’m serious! Didn’t you hear about the guard who fainted after seeing the ghost?”

“Tsk. There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world.”

“W-What if there is?”

Seeing Shiba’s pallor, Louis’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

“What? Are you scared?”

“S-Scared? N-no, not at all!”

Though Shiba’s face remained stern, his shoulders trembled violently as he waved his hands.

Louis snorted at this pathetic display. “So why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with your team?”

“Ah? Team coordination? That’s already done.”

”…Already?” Louis stared at Shiba with slight astonishment.

There were still plenty of others struggling to complete proper team coordination. A veteran Techno Mage could finish it in 30 minutes, but for newbies in the low-tier class, it would typically take 2-3 days…

He finished it in just two hours since class started?

Louis’s gaze sharpened with suspicion. “Did you do a half-assed job?”

“Roughly? The adjustment is directly linked to the pilot’s life! How could I do it roughly?! I’ve already inspected it!”

“Oh? Not bad.”

“Haha, I’ve been learning from the bottom up in the maintenance workshop for over ten years! Adjusting an unarmed Grade 4 Transcendent is child’s play! If it were our foreman, he’d have finished it in exactly 20 minutes.”

“Ho?”

It seemed Shiba’s guru was quite skilled.

The disciple who digested such teachings must be talented too.

Louis nodded.

“So you’re a Cyclops?”

”…Why are you bringing up Cyclops?”

“It’s a compliment.”

“Never heard that small eyes could be a compliment in this world.”

“It exists, such a compliment.”

After all, the original Cyclops character possessed tremendous latent potential.

Of course, Louis didn’t tell Shiba any of this. He didn’t want to see Shiba getting all puffed up.

Just then, Shiba, who had been muttering quietly, suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “But Lord Louis, don’t you calibrate your equipment?”

Louis replied in a loud, dismissive tone, “I’d love to, but my partner’s being too uncooperative.”

Sierra’s eyebrow twitched at Louis’s taunt, but that was the extent of her reaction. She simply turned away without a word.

Seeing their behavior, Shiba chuckled awkwardly and said, “Ahaha, well… even so, you should calibrate. We inherited these from the senior pilots who graduated from the Transcendent era, and without proper calibration, it’s hard to control them. Even slight differences like gender, habits, or the amount of attribute power can make a huge difference in the pilot’s workload…”

Shiba’s words were directed at Sierra, not Louis.

His advice was clear: “If you don’t synchronize, it’ll only exhaust the pilot. So stop resisting and get synchronized…”

But that wasn’t all. He leaned closer to Sierra and whispered:

“I know how he is since we share a room… Once he gets set in his ways, he’s not the type to extend an olive branch first. You need to approach him. At least he’s not the kind to cruelly reject an outstretched hand.”

Of course, Louis couldn’t possibly miss this whisper.

“What’s this nonsense?”

“Eek?!”

When Louis glared at him, Shiba jumped and hastily retreated from the scene.

With Shiba’s chatter silenced, the two were once again enveloped in an awkward quiet.

Watching Louis resume his book reading, Sierra let out a sigh.

“Haah…”

Her face was very complicated.

Right, I can’t keep living like this forever.

She was his partner for the next three years.

And she was the one who had buttoned up their relationship wrong from the start.

Since she had created this awkward atmosphere, it was only right for her to approach first.

Sierra moved closer to Louis and opened her mouth.

“About what happened last time… I want to apologize again.”

Whether it was her natural disposition or part of her concept, her apology carried the stiff tone of a soldier’s, yet it was sincere nonetheless.

At this, Louis’s hand paused mid-air as he was turning a page. He turned his head, casting a stormy gaze at Sierra.

After staring her down for a moment, Louis closed his book, stood up, and fixed her with an intense look.

“If you’re going to apologize, shouldn’t you explain why you acted that way?”

”…”

Sierra fell silent again, as if unable to voice what she truly felt.

Under Louis’s persistent glare, she finally spoke in a small voice, “Personal reasons… Please understand.”

”…”

This time Louis remained silent, simply staring at her. Under his piercing gaze that seemed to see through her very soul, Sierra slightly averted her eyes.

In response, Louis withdrew his intense stare.

Well, I’ll figure out the reason eventually.

Since she had been the first to lower her pride and approach him, he decided to accept this much. Pressing further now would only worsen their relationship.

Having made up his mind, Louis approached Sierra and asked, “You’ve piloted a Transcendent before, right?”

”…?!”

Sierra seemed slightly taken aback by Louis’s sudden question.

“How… did you know that?”

“What do you mean ‘how’? It’s obvious when you look.”

With those words, Louis stepped closer and scanned Sierra’s body from head to toe. He even moved behind her to examine her backside.

Just as Sierra was about to flare up at his bold stare, Louis beat her to the punch.

“Follow me.”

”…?”

Before Sierra could protest, Louis had already taken the lead. He headed toward the makeshift stairs positioned beside the Transcendent.

Sierra stared blankly at his retreating figure before scrambling after him.

Tap-tap.

Their footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs.

Swish.

Louis, who had climbed up first, opened the rear boarding compartment of the Transcendent.

He gestured toward the exposed cockpit interior.

“Get in.”

Whether due to the sudden situation or Louis’s forcefulness, Sierra found herself unable to protest. She sat in the pilot’s seat as instructed.

The cockpit glowed with silver light. The spacious chair featured four holes for her arms and legs, along with a circlet resting nearby. As Sierra settled into the seat and naturally placed the circlet on her head, Louis’s voice resonated in her ears.

“Sync up.”

Sierra nodded at Louis’s command.

Synchronization - the process of linking the Transcendent with its pilot. The method was simple: grasp the rods within the armrests and forcefully channel attribute power. Sierra followed the procedure exactly as she’d been taught.

Then…

Zzzt…

The chair beneath Sierra emitted faint electrical arcs.

Hwoom…

A crimson border materialized around her jade-green irises.

This was proof that the synchronization had been successful.

Sierra felt as if she had become a giant.

Her arms, legs, and vision—senses shared with the Transcendent.

She was now a 10-meter-tall giant.

Her heart raced with the sensations only a Transcendent pilot could experience.

But soon, discomfort crept across Sierra’s face.

This feels so awkward…

Her eyes couldn’t focus properly. Her arms and legs felt misplaced. Even her sense of balance was off.

Though she wore the armor, it felt like she was wearing clothes two sizes too big.

The previous owner must have been much larger than me.

If the previous pilot had been smaller, the armor would have felt constricting rather than loose.

All these issues stemmed from a lack of proper calibration.

Yet they also served as a stark reminder of why proper calibration was crucial.

“This is too…”

Sierra was about to voice her feelings when Louis’s voice cut through.

“Stop coming out.”

”…What?”

“I’ve got a rough idea now, so stop coming out.”

The Transcendent sense was something only the pilot could perceive.

As a result, Techno Mages had to gradually adjust their perception to match the pilot’s through repeated communication.

Even experienced Techno Mages needed to exchange opinions multiple times with the pilot…

“Stop coming out?”

“Yeah. Stop coming out.”

”…”

“What are you doing? I told you to stop coming out!”

At Louis’s insistence, Sierra broke the synchronization with a look of disbelief.

As soon as she withdrew, Louis swiftly took the seat.

He immediately grabbed the Circle.

Then…

Tsk tsk tsk.

The circuits between the Circle and the chair flashed once.

Sierra stared at Louis, who had released the circle without hesitation, as if he’d lost his mind. “What did you just do?”

“What do you mean? I adjusted it.”

“Have you… ever adjusted anything before?”

No, even if he’d practiced beforehand, this was ridiculous. He hadn’t listened to her at all, just barged in and out like it was nothing.

But Louis’s response was even more absurd. “No, this is my first time. This is the first time I’ve even been in a cockpit.”

It was true - this was his first time seeing the cockpit of a Transcendent he hadn’t built himself.

“Are you… messing with me right now?”

“Messing with you? What do you mean?” Louis replied stubbornly.

Sierra’s face turned frosty. “You…”

Just as she was about to unleash a torrent of icy criticism…

Thump-thump…

Two figures appeared as footsteps echoed through the hall.

“How’s it going?”

“They weren’t doing anything earlier, but it seems they’ve finally started.”

The instructors had been making rounds in the lecture hall. At their approach, Louis smiled and replied:

“We’re mostly done.”

“Huh?”

The instructors’ expressions hardened at Louis’s response. Team 33 had been the only group not working in their assigned area. The instructors had come to the cockpit after checking on other teams, only to find them already claiming completion—though “mostly” was the operative word.

The instructors immediately launched into a barrage of criticism:

“There’s no such thing as ‘mostly’ when it comes to calibration. Don’t use that word again. A single mistake could cost someone’s life.”

“If you’re done, then verify it properly.”

“Who’s the pilot for Team 33?”

”…Understood.”

As Sierra stepped forward, the instructor gestured toward the cockpit with his chin.

“I’ll keep an eye on you. Sync up inside. Attach this to your control bracelet. It’s a synchronization verification device.”

He extended a cord connected to a black metallic plate as he spoke.

”…Yes.”

Sierra shot Louis an annoyed glance before entering the cockpit without protest. She connected the cord to her control bracelet as instructed. When she placed the device on her head, her face brimmed with displeasure.

I don’t like this.

Louis’s cocky attitude and peculiar aura. The strange way she’d been drawn into it. Then the instructors’ sudden appearance, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say.

I should make this clear once and for all.

No matter who was at fault initially, this kind of attitude wasn’t healthy. If there were complaints, they should be voiced directly; if something wasn’t wanted, it should be refused outright. That would be less exhausting for both parties.

But those thoughts vanished completely as synchronization occurred.

”…?!”

The anger on Sierra’s face melted into bewilderment.

“Huh?”

The shock caused a nonsensical sound to escape her lips.

How… is this possible?

Her vision, which had been wavering, now steadied. The sensation of wearing loose-fitting armor vanished. All her disoriented senses snapped back into alignment.

No, even she—a seasoned Transcendent who had ridden the Transcendent multiple times—had never experienced this sensation before.

It’s like wearing a perfectly tailored… custom suit.

The feeling of donning clothes that were simultaneously comfortable, luxurious, and exceptionally functional.

While she remained entranced by this sensation, the instructor’s panel displayed Sierra’s synchronization value.

Beep!

The synchronization tester’s numbers flashed green.

99/100

The instructors’ astonished voices erupted spontaneously.

”…?!”

“Synchronization value… ninety-nine?!”

Contrasting their reactions, Louis muttered indifferently upon seeing the number.

“Ah, I guess I was a bit sloppy. Missed by one.”