I Became the Genius of the Gigant Academy - Chapter 16:

Thirty Titos were lined up in a row. The reason they prepared a lot more machines than the number of people here was because there were a lot of different types. The ones used in the previous test were standard types, but the ones here were divided by purpose.

“Choose a Gigant that suits you well. The simulation will help you decide how to upgrade your Gigant in the future.”

Gigants are generally divided into balanced, mobile, and heavy armored types according to the thickness of the armor. They are divided into long-range and short-range, depending on the attack method. In reality, it’s more complicated depending on the user, but that’s the general idea.

When Jacqueline told them to look around and decide for themselves, everyone moved closer to check the Tito.

“Hmmm.”

Other cadets couldn’t easily choose the one that suited them and struggled, but some chose without much thought.  Abel was one of the latter.

‘First of all, the machine is balanced’

A machine specialized on one side may have advantages, but Abel had already established his style to a certain extent, so he didn’t have to think twice about choosing a weapon. He decided on a close-range sword combination of a buckler and an arming sword. The others followed suit and chose theirs in turn.

“I’ll go with this.”

“I’ll go with that.”

When the last person had chosen, Jacqueline spoke up again.

“The rules of capturing the flag are simple: you have exactly 15 minutes after you start, and you have to hold the flag for one minute. Oh, and there will only be one flag.”

The reason why there is a condition that it does not end as soon as 15 minutes are over, but one minute after the end, was to prevent winning by luck. It is said that you have to endure at least 1 minute with your skills.

Hearing Jacqueline’s words, Hannah asked a question.

“Does any method matter?”

“As long as it doesn’t intentionally cause serious harm to the rider. It means that you can go wild as long as you keep the minimum line.”

After explaining a few more things and having no further questions to answer, Jacqueline said with a smile,

“Then, everyone get on board.”

“Okay-!”

At that, everyone got on the Tito of their choice.  Abel also squeezed himself into a Tito’s narrow cockpit and placed his hands on the core.  Then, Jacqueline shouted.

“Initiate synchronization!”

Woo-woo!

The Tito’s eyes lit up.

»————- ★ ————-«

The mock battlefield was quite large. Before the battle of the flags began, Jacqueline, along with the other facilitators, arranged the cadets around the battlefield.

‘l’m in the left corner.’

Abel thought, retracing his steps to figure out where he was. The start signal hadn’t been given yet, so he simply moved the Tito around to get in sync. This was his second time on the Tito, and while it was only one class above the Midget, it felt quite different.

It was much heavier in motion, but conversely, it was easier to maneuver. Unlike the Midget, which had a bit of a delay, the Tito was more responsive. However, the amount of horsepower consumed was definitely higher. The Midget was a Gigant that could be used even if it had almost no magic power.

Just as Abel was thinking about this and that.

Peeeeee~!

A sharp noise echoed in the distance. It was a signal to announce the start of the exercise. Abel pushed his thoughts aside and scanned his surroundings again.

‘Let’s see.’

The first thing he noticed was that the surrounding terrain was a forest. It didn’t feel as lush as a natural forest, but it was close enough to resemble one. Abel concentrated and continued to think.

‘In the game, there’s usually a flag at three, nine, or in the center.’ 

There’s no telling if the game and flag locations will be the same, but it’s better than wandering aimlessly.

Since I’m at the 7 o’clock position, I’ll check the 9 o’clock position.

Abel slowly began to move in the direction he’d set.

‘It’s quiet.’

The Tito was much smaller than Miles, but it makes a pretty loud noise when it moved. That meant there weren’t any other people around right now. But he couldn’t let his guard down.

‘They could be hiding.’

It was a common tactic in the game. So Abel advanced cautiously with his sword and shield. There is no need to rush. It’s the last minute that counts anyway, and as long as he knows where the flag is, he’ll be fine.

After about five minutes and confirming that there was no flag at the 9 o’clock position, Abel was heading towards the center when he heard a familiar sound.

Thump, thump, thump!

It was the Gigant’s maneuvering sound. Abel stopped dead in his tracks, crouched low, and looked toward the sound. It wasn’t long before he spotted a bulky figure wielding a vicious war hammer.

‘It’s Lian,’

He thought, recognizing the gray hair, green eyes, and timid face. You wouldn’t guess it from his appearance, but Lian’s nickname in-game was a perfect fit for the Gigant he was currently riding.

‘Lian the Berserker.’

He was soft-spoken and timid, but when he fought, he used his thick gloves to push forward. Like a berserker who knows no pain.

‘He’s running fast.’

Lian seemed to be rushing somewhere. He didn’t seem to be running away. Abel glanced at the direction in which Lian was running and soon found a high hill.

‘You must have seen something.’

That height is the best position to observe below. Fortunately, Abel was in a forested area, so Lian couldn’t see him. Abel made a quick decision and waited for some time before he started chasing after Lian.

Caang! bang!

Not long after Abel started to follow him, he heard the faint sound of metal colliding metal in the distance. The source was in the direction Lian was running. Abel quickly followed, closing the distance. Eventually, they reached a wide open plain. Abel didn’t go straight to it but hid behind a nearby tree.

Boom!

As soon as he got there, something flew past him and landed on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was a Gigant holding a spear and shield.

‘It’s Daniel.’ 

Daniel is the only one using the spear and shield combination. Seeing the deep sword scar on his chest,  he seemed to have difficulty moving again.

Abel turned to see who had blown Daniel away like a paper doll, and there stood a figure holding a long, two-handed sword. As he stood there calmly after blowing away the challenger, he recognized the face of the woman who always wore a calm, cool expression.

‘As expected, it’s loline,’

Infamous Scans

The girl who took the next seat right after Abel. She thought Abel was the most threatening opponent, but also the one she wanted to fight but Abel did not disregard her frivolity. He kept his head down while scanning his surroundings.

Thump, thump, thump-!

Meanwhile, Lian stepped forward to face Ioline, and instead of immediately fighting, the two kept their distance and looked at each other. But they weren’t the only ones in the area.

‘There were three in total.’

On the other side, there were trees just like the one Abel was currently in, and there was a Tito hiding there as well. It was too far away and half-hidden to tell who it was, but I could make a guess.

It might be June or Hannah. If it were Charlotte, she would have jumped out already. Charlotte is impatient. So it was most likely either June or Hannah. With that thought in mind, Abel slowly picked himself up.

The best way to take the flag without causing any damage would be to go for the fishbowl. When they’re done fighting, he’ll just grab the flag and run away.

‘It was a common tactic in the game.’

But it’s not just about winning.

‘The probability of following the leader’s words will be zero.’

The thought of letting him go is just a joke he throws at himself.

He didn’t intend to, and he shouldn’t. Abel needed to hold down the noses of the proud guys, not just for this exercise, but for the future, and he wasn’t going to make a complicated plan from the start.

‘Whoa,’

Abel let out a long breath, and then, maximizing his coordination, he kicked the ground with all his might.

Woosh~

As Abel began to run, Ioline and Lian’s eyes turned to him, but once they realized he was heading in a different direction, they turned their attention back to each other. Meanwhile, the one hiding and waiting for an opening was panicking. She hadn’t expected the other man to lunge at her, let alone know that she was hiding.

Thud!

Abel closed the gap instantly and swung his sword at the gigant, trying to get up.

Kaaaaang!

However, the sword was blocked by something like a long stick in the middle. Abel recognized his opponent’s identity the moment he saw the stick.

‘Hannah.’

Hannah is the only one who uses a long ranged weapon called a magic cannon.

‘Good,’ Abel thought.

Hannah’s combat skills are poor. She might be useful later, but for now, she was no match for him. Abel forcefully swung his sword again,

Kataang!

Hannah deflected the strike again, but this time her arms flailed upward as if she hadn’t fully recovered from the previous impact. Abel saw it, and without hesitation, he thrust his sword at the open chest.

Quack! 

With a snap, the sturdy gloves ripped through like paper. Hannah tried to keep herself sturdy but stumbled and fell to the ground.  Vital parts around the cockpit were smashed so it’ll never get up again.

‘That’s it.’ 

A Gigant is powerful. But it is not invincible. There is a vital point in Gigant, and Abel knew it very well. This is because he has spent his entire career as a Gigant mechanic working under Vulcanus.

‘Let’s keep going,’ Abel thought, moving again without pause.

There was still plenty of prey left. His next targets were Ioline and Lian, who had just begun to fight. They were fighting excitedly, but when they saw Abel running towards them, they slowly closed the gap between them.

Abel quickly closed the gap between them and approached Lian first. If he charged head-on, the ignorant Warhammer would fly at him, aiming for his Tito.

Kagagagak.

But as if anticipating the attack, Abel kept his body low and slid straight down. Abel’s Tito continued to glide across the ground, and when he reached Lian’s side, he swung his sword.

Kaaang!

The blow shattered one of Lian’s feet. Lian tried to keep his balance and attack, but Abel was one step ahead. He leaps and stretches out his leg, tripping Lian’s remaining foot.

Boom! 

Lian’s Tito fell to the ground. No matter how good your balance is, you can’t get back up after losing a foot and falling to the ground. And Abel didn’t even give Lian a chance.

Without a moment of hesitation, Abel struck the sword at the—

Quajik! 

the head part and it split in half. With this, Lian also got disqualified in the exercise.

Bang! 

However,  Ioline was still here. While Abel was dealing with Lian, Ioline, who was looking for an opportunity, began to act. She quickly closed the distance between them and stabbed Abel even before he could pull out the sword embedded in Lian’s body.

Whew! 

Abel looked like he would be beaten up in the eyes of others. But Abel saw something the others did not. Ioline’s balance as she swung her sword was drastically off.

‘Her lower body is off balance.’

Her Tito was damaged. Given the circumstances, it was likely that she had sustained the damage while fighting Daniel. Even in the middle of this Loline fought well, but battles are won and lost in the blink of an eye, and failing to recognize your own imbalance is particularly deadly. Her upper body was slightly lifted, and her arms are at the wrong angle.

Whoosh-!  

The power at the tip of Iolin’s sword was weaker than usual, and Abel let go of the sword without hesitation and crouched down.

Kaga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!  

‘If the technique was perfect, would the attack have hit?’ 

That’s a meaningless assumption at this point. The sword narrowly grazed the back of Abel’s Tito, and taking advantage of that gap, Abel grabbed both legs of Ioline’s Tito and threw it.

Ioline’s Tito lost its center of gravity and crashed head-first into the ground. It wasn’t completely destroyed, but at a glance, it was apparent that it wasn’t in good shape. The fact that she couldn’t get up immediately was proof of that. The craft was probably unresponsive.

On the other hand, Abel quickly came to his senses and immediately raised his fist. Ioline is clearly a genius, one of the few in the history of the Empire. Only right now, Abel was better than her.

Bang~!

A hard fist slammed into her face.

[To be continued.]