Getting To Know Mechs

Laira stared at the three girls with widened eyes, mesmerized by their otherworldly appearance. Even in her childhood when she would often attend big parties with big names present, as required by her noble birth; the rich and famous, powerful figures such as politicians and great houses, sporting the best genetic modifications and synthetic implants, whether in beautification or enhanced functions, she had never seen humans with features so perfectly refined and yet normal.

After all, the modifications that costed billions to trillions had some unwanted side effects, a mannerism in their humanly behavior indicating a disorder, like an eye suddenly twitching for no reason. Her family, the Runeries, had indeed spent some fortune for these human upgrades they call, but not to the point where they would acquire these defects.

Laira unexpectedly grinned, and asked in her naughty voice, "Is Sy your uncle?"

"He's not our uncle." Jinae answered with her emotionless voice.

"Whatever," Laira put her hands on her waist, "you wanna see my mech?"

Although there was no response from the young girls, the four went to a couch led by the Runerie. The light-blue hair retrieved a projector from her pocket, and showed the reward Ortius gave her, explaining some of the things she understood about the mech.

Sy felt his heart go up his throat when he learned that the three girls would never admit any family ties with him, but was secretly relieved that Laira did not give a damn about anything. He had went to the trouble of throwing away the unwrapped packages, and putting the clothes the three rejected into separate baggages just to make a presentation that they had just arrived.

Even though the girls did not talk much, Laira found them a good company as they were attentive to details. The other thing was, they were also tall for their age and did not reveal any immaturity. The Runerie was under the impression that she was talking to peers of her own age, only that they showed no disinterest with her topics. Unlike the subject of common women which she found cringe, the young girls would ask things that interested her. She liked them.

After an hour, Laira could not part with them, asking Sy for permission to take them to her apartment.

Knowing the adventurous Runerie, Sy only agreed as long as they stayed within the building. When they left, taking a full basket of hard-boiled eggs, he was given some room to check his System. Unfortunately, it did not respond to his calls yet.

'It's already 27 hours.' Sy contemplated. After a moment, he decided to go out and buy some books from the plaza. There were some fascinating contents he saw. Of course, he would read them first before passing them over to the girls.

Just as he exited, a strange view entered his sight. Below, a familiar group of men were gathered together. They were the specialists in the tournament.

Sy leisurely went down the stairs, and they hurriedly approached him upon sight.

"Sy! We heard about the Fanick's mech facility being restored." Theon was the first to greet him.

"We dropped our work in the factory as soon as we learned about it." Dylan Pierre added.

"Wait.." Sy swept his gaze to the crowd of specialists, curious, ".. you guys are working in a factory here in Logria?"

Awkward smiles appeared on the faces of the group. One from Callum explained, "After the tournament, we found out that some of the factories here are being re-equipped for mech production in preparation for the coming war. We jump at first the opportunity."

'The best place for the surgeon to practice his trade is in war, after all.' Sy thought. Since he already guessed why they were here, he went straight to the point, "Well.. you guys should contact Niel if you want to work in his mech facility."

"That's.."

A brief silence ensued. They were just 1st Grade Mech Specialists and did not even have an adequate qualification for a Master Grade like Niel Fanick to employ under his service. The group looked to Theon who had been with Sy in the competition. The man stepped up immediately, "We heard that you and Niel are close. Perhaps.. you can at least help us."

Sy chuckled. He casually stated, "He already watched you perform in the tournament. All you have to do is ask him."

The specialists began to murmur, before casting their hopeful gaze back at Sy.

"WAIT!!!!"

"Wait up!"

Abruptly, a figure about a hundred meters away sprinted toward them, shouting at the top of his voice. The group watched the man with complicated looks on their faces. As soon as the newcomer was within noticeable distance, Dylan recognized him and uttered, "Andreas Rickon?"

The man had just arrived from Pyr Prime. He had invested most of his money for the license of a coveted design. As such, he had no money, but still made his journey to Logria. And when he was transported on the base of the Starport, he was not even able to hire a hover cab. So, he manually trudged his way to the outer rim after repeatedly asking the locals about the direction of Niel Fanick's mech facility.

Andreas reached the group panting. He carried a huge rucksack on his back and profusely sweated after suffering from the heat in his laborious trip across the city. Upon taking a lungful of air, he directed his fiery eyes into the group of specialists and declared, "You bunch are not going anywhere without me!"

Another silence occured on the group. After some time, Theon corrected, "But we're not going anywhere.."

"Huh?" Andreas' jaw slackened.

Dylan who knew the man for almost ten years, raised a brow. Andreas was the type of person always rushing, thinking that he would be left behind. This was probably one of the reason why the man was so competitive.

The newcomer was already known by the specialists - as he had established a reputable name in the examination, after all. But one person did not know him. Dylan turned to Sy and introduced, "This is Andreas Rickon. Top ten in this year's examination."

Andreas straightened up, and turned his attention to Sy. His brows furrowed above his competitive eyes.

"I guess you're also here for Niel's mech facility." Sy said, extending a hand.

Andreas shook the hand, but then had a confused look in his eyes, "What?"

Wincing, Dylan let out a chuckle. He had figured out why the newcomer was here. Something that he was pondering ever since the man registered in his sight. Sy was a big temptation even for him. If one wanted to be skilled, one had to mingle with those who were better.

"Niel would be coming after two days. You can speak to him by then." Sy dismissively said, turning toward the garage.

The 1st grade specialists could only lower their eyes.

Sy came out from the garage riding a hover bike. He remembered something, and stopped before them. "You guys play Steel Arena?"

"I have an account." Theon answered instantaneously, "I work for this guy Marlon. He has this decent workshop although we barely had a single customer in a day."

"I have a workshop. I already made 10 custom designs and sold 20." Andreas said, making the other young specialists glance at him with awe.

"We all did." Dylan clarified. "It's the best simulation for mechs and we used it as a practice ground when we were in the mech schools."

After hearing this, Sy made a quick calculation before saying, "Since there's nothing to do here as the mech facility is under refurnishing, and I bet you quit the factories, why don't you come with me in the Starport?"

"If it's about mechs, I'm all in." Andreas confidently uttered. However, when he realized he did not have any money to hire a hover cab, he pulled Dylan into a corner.

Sy went ahead. After reaching the Starport, he first headed to the plaza to buy the books. When he returned, the specialists were already waiting for him to where he left his hover bike. He led them to the gaming center.

Tiff was looking a bit cheerful than before while she watched the news. She was wearing a tight suit, below a white t-shirt and blue shorts.

"Where'd you go when I was last here?" Sy questioned the blonde.

"Sy!" Tiff exclaimed. Smiling, she leaned closer and whispered, "I attended Emma Losac's secret rally. It seems she has a big plan for the city."

Sy contemplated for a moment. He then gave her the books he bought, "Can you keep these for a moment. I brought some friends."

"Oh, my goodness!" The blonde stood up with a shocked expression on her face, seeing the group of specialists outside her gaming center. They were famous in Logria after the tournament, and she had personally watched them compete against each other in the tournament.

"We're gonna take a quick dive, Tiff." Sy said, and searched for an empty pod.