16 Chapter 16: A bit of Science and A bit of Magic

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Race had begun the Quiz, He was asked to confirm the level of the quiz which Race set as Trainee Apprentice. There was a timer which started to countdown from 2 hrs as soon as Race was given the first question.

" Question 1: What is the cons of using a pyro-piezo alloy in the outermost layer of the external armor ?"

"Question 2: The processes in which electromagnetic coupling acts as the main restraint"

(author's note: please don't expect me to answer the questions, maybe I create an answer for the first one.)

" Question 3: The Adiabatic....."

Various questions which tested Race's knowledge at the level of Trainee Apprentice comprehensively appeared, which Race easily completed with a perfect score.

" Would you like to take the Quiz for Apprentice Mechanics?" A new prompt appeared on Race's holographic panel.

" Yes".

Another set of questions was shown to Race, But this time Race found the test to be a bit harder than the last one. Race was just a Trainee Apprentice in this life. The only reason how he was able to change the original Mechanical Armor(M.A) was because he had spent three days on learning how to incorporate on changing the artificial muscle fiber layout, without affecting much of the core functions of his own MA design ( the customized design he made for Vatte). The other reason Race was able to get away with it was because the MA design provided for the tournament was a near perfect design so he could change it without creating an adverse effect.

But this time Race couldn't get away with just that. He had a very shallow knowledge base when compared to other Apprentice Mechanics. So Race was not even able to pass this time. A mechanical voice was heard from the holographic panel Race was looking at:

" Race Smyth your knowledge is not adequate to pass this stage, so a list of study materials required for a well developed foundation will be provided. The list has been sent to your Wrist communicator. You can only use the books and research papers inside of the library unless a special permission is provided by the master of the ship".

"Guess, I am not that OP huh", Race sighed as he pressed a button on the communicator." If Senior Magnus says the list is ok, then I will begin to study." Race didn't have to wait long for Magnus to reply." Its all good, Race. The contents of the list will, without a doubt, help you fill the void of information you are currently facing. If you really give your all then you could learn it all in about a week."

After receiving the green light from his senior, Race began to study. He was focused and determined. His focus was so great that his breathing slowed down to a crawl, He didn't move unless he had to move to the next topic.

Race was a Pioneer, one who did the impossible, one who merged magic and and physical strength. That did not happen by luck. Talent was just a small factor. What led him to create something that was previously thought to be impossible is one thing alone. Working relentlessly. Race went to beyond everyone when he trained. He always pushed himself more than other. Bled more than others. He had honed his body to perfection, still he kept on going, practising with his sword till his arms couldn't move anymore, till every single muscle in his body felt like they were tearing apart. He trained his body to the level that he even began to control mana flow through his body. That's how he had become the first Magical Swordsman in a world ruled by Mages.

A lifetime of training and learning gives a person a mentality to learn. It gifts a person with an ability to focus. A relentless drive to achieve the goal before him. And now the goal before him was to the various teachings of the forerunners in the field of Mechanics. And he shall conquer it, making the knowledge his own.

Race moved through topics and chapters at a staggering rate. Each word was etched, each principle memorised, each formulae learned by heart. Race thought to himself," Guess I was wrong. I am overpowered".

Race was immersed in learning that he did not feel the flow of time. He was so focused that he was startled when he heard the beep of the communicator. It was Magnus. " Race you should not try to learn too much in a short time, It would be hard to put it to any practical use. So take a break ok. You just had a two breakthroughs in a short duration, plus your body was pushed to its limits in today's duel with Sione. So, I am ordering you take a break."

Race felt a bit disheartened. He was not a little kid, he was mentally much older than even his current master. So it was safe to say that he knew his limits. But Race still chose to stop his studies for now. " Sigh, I wanted to ask Senior Magnus's permission to take some study materials out of the Library."

Sione had already slept, while Magnus was still busy with somethings in the deck, So Race had dinner alone and went to his room and locked it from the inside. He climbed on to his large bed and sat cross-legged. Race relaxed every single muscle in his body and concentrated his mind.

" I should begin to prepare my body to accommodate Mana flow. I don't understand how magic was lost to humans but I know how to use it." Race said to himself before fully concentrating on his body. Race started to breath in a certain rhythm. He started to contract and relax various muscles of his body to that rhythm. If one where look at him through a thermal camera we could see that, a glob of a higher temperature was constantly moving through his body. As a Pioneer who made Physical body conduct he knew which areas blocked the flow of Mana.

Race used these rhythmic contractions of his muscle to create a powerful momentum inside his body. He used this as a spearhead to break the various blockades that could impede the flow of Mana. He whittled down the obstructions the obstruction till he felt that it he had opened all of them.

" Now comes the crucial part. It is time to Draw Mana from the surroundings". As Race was slowly breaking the obstructions in his body, he had began to sense Mana. Now that he has a path for the free flow of mana, his sensitivity to mana reached its peak. He then stood up and started to make weird movements, which to an untrained eye looked like a bad dance. But Race was now using the momentum that he had built up in his body to create a flow of mana. He kept doing this exercise over and over again, and slowly but surely Race began to create a simple magic circuit through his body.

" Almost there, almost there...and YESSS, finally its done, now I will be able to use magic. My body seems to be more attune with mana than my past body. Now lets do some magic."

Race began to concentrate once more as he began to manipulate the mana circuit. He held out his finger as he tried to concentrate mana on its tip to shoot out a weak mana bolt. A small glow slowly formed on his fingertip. Race grew excited, and just as Race was about to release the little bolt of mana something unexpected happened.

Race suddenly felt an immense pain throughout his body, Then race sensed that mana inside him was being disintegrated into pure energy, Race was stunned as he watched the circuit that he painstakingly established was being quickly drained of Mana. The new Energy was not destructive but it began to cause the nearest organs and muscle to burn up. Race quickly understood that if he didn't do something now, there will be dire consequences for his body.

Race suddenly began another set of exercises which caused the mana to disperse throughout his body. Since the Mana circuit that Race created was quite small, the amount of mana was quickly spread throughout his body uniformly, which in turn caused the concentration of the energy to be low enough not to cause any harm to his body.

Race breathed a sigh of relief as he was both physically and mentally exhausted that he almosted passed out then and there. Race was barely able to inject a nutrient shot before he passed out on to his bed.

{hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please add the story to your library if you find the novel interesting. I know there are some mistakes that I failed to see in the chapters I will definitely rectify them in the future.}

(And if you have some spare power stones please vote for me. Thank you and I wish you a great day or good night. Take care. ^_^.)

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