MECH.div: OFFLINE

"Hey Steven, sorry to interrupt, but this is kind of important." 

Steven opened his eyes. It felt weird to have a slight vibration in his eyes.

Dieze typed out a message: "You know how I was compiling the profiles for our teachers."

'Yeah,' Steven tentatively scribbled on his hand. 

"Well…" Dieze pulled up a window.

Before Steven could read it, a voice rang out: "Look, we found our pet dog!"

"Oh look," Steven whispered to his friends. "They found their pet dog."

The girl in front of them snorted. Her features were notably-feature-like, with a 'rich girl' vibe that came from visiting a plastic surgery clinic. (Not for any cosmetic procedures, mind you, but to donate money to those who needed it.) She was one of those girls that had an eye color and hair color and was dressed down to the brim in clothes. 

"How could you forget me, my pupperino?" She whined, as she leaned down.

"You got something in your teeth," Steven pointed out.

Mayo nodded.

The girl in front of them quickly straightened her back and pulled out a mirror from somewhere. (It was really unclear where.) She looked at it for a bit, and said, "Well, I don't see anything, my smile is perfect as always."

"Anyway, pup," she said, "So who are those… two? Are they mutts like you? Hmm, that girl barely has a presence… I don't recognize them from any of the parties we used to go to?"

She sounded sad, like she had just heard of turtles she couldn't save. The poor turtles! It was clear to everyone that she had a soul. (Somewhere.)

"No, Zero's a…" Steven looked at Zero. 

"I'm a cripple."

"And Mayo is…" Steven continued.

"I'm from a working class family!" Mayo beamed proudly. "I also work part-time!"

"Oh my," The girl frowned, wiping her eyes, "Oh my, my, my. You poor little whittle things."

"Isn't it upsetting to be friends with him? He'll eat off the floors if he's allowed to!" Regina dabbed her hand to her heart. 

Zero nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself." She smiled. "My name is Regina, but my friends call me Gigi. It's such a pleasure to meet you all." 

"Regina," A boy called out. "What are you doing there?"

He walked over, taking a long look at Steven, before flashing a charismatic smile, "Hey bro, nice to see you, how've you been? Mom treating you alright?"

"The usual." Steven replied, sprawling his legs out. 

"Bro?" A shocked expression appeared on Regina's face. "B-but,"

"Hey, treat my brother nicely alright." The boy looked over at her. "Look, if Regina said anything, I'm sorry. She's got a kind heart, and she likes to speak her mind, even though the things she says might sound a bit brash." 

Right. "Right." 

"My name's Vetsyak." He introduced himself to Zero and Mayo. 

"Look, those are my friends." Vetsyak shouted out, "Hey guys, come over."

A huge group of students swarmed over.

"I'd like you guys to meet my brother, Seven." He announced, glancing over.

"We already know who he is." One of the guys in the crowd smirked. "He's famous."

"Thank… you?" Steven said.

"It's been so long since you've talked to us. Ever since you left, you haven't contacted us at all." Vetsyak said, his eyebrows furrowing, "The whole family has been worried sick."

"Wait, isn't he that son of the…" one of the guys called out. He whistled and shoulder-punched another dude. The rest of the guys snickered.

"Ugh guys, gross," one of the girls said. 

"Yeah, but gotta say," One of the dudes hollered at Steven, "Don't gotta worry about food, when you already got an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet at your house, amirite?" 

Vetsyak smiled. "They know you're a great cook."

"Um… thanks." Steven shrugged.

The group laughed again.

"Hey, Vetsyak, your brother's kinda cute." One of the girls said, twirling her hair. 

"Stopp," One of the other girls said, "you're so bad!"

Another laugh rang out. 

"So, how'd you get into this school?" One of the guys asked.

"Uh, there's a lottery scholarship for two lucky students," Steven said. "On the school website."

"Nice, nice." Vetsyak nodded. "It's good that you managed to get into this school."

"Fantastic, I love charity." One of the girls put her hands to her temple and sighed. The group laughed again.

Vetsyak continued, "Sev, I gotta go, but see you around."

"Bye." Steven said.

The group passed them by, whispers and tidbits fell into Steven's ear. Awww, you're so nice to your brother, one of the girls remarked. The rest of the group giggled.

Mayo made a face. It looked ART-istically inspired, which reminded them of their next class.

L0AD1NG… 

[CHARACTER PROFILE: REGINA "GIGI" VANWORTH]

WARNING: MULTIFACETED ENGAGEMENTS. (Interaction with this character may lead to unpredictable and branching outcomes.)

Age: 15

Affiliation: Vanworth Family (New Money Lineage)

Rank: Heir

Likeability meter: 3/100

Bio: Regina, also known as Gigi, comes from the prestigious VanWorth family, known for their philanthropic endeavors and social influence. A combination of Dutch and Middle Eastern heritage influences their family's cultivation techniques. She is a young socialite with an apparent kind heart, often donating to charitable causes. However, her true motives and feelings may be more complex… 

Stat Info: [LOCKED Until Likeability reaches 50] 

Likes: High-society parties, Philanthropy, Designer clothing, Her pet dog Pupperino… >

Dislikes: Commoners, Being overlooked, Misunderstandings, Terrorists... >

SECRETS: xx_xx_xxxx.mp4 

[Click to expand Additional Info….] 

- - -

L0AD1NG… 

Art CLASS:

"Art class takes place in a painting?" Steven asked, to which Zero nodded.

After walking away from the gym, the group stood next to a gigantic square painting hanging on the wall. Inside the wooden frame, the three noticed that it was also a painting of the wall, so without a close glance, it kinda looked like a wooden border separating a wall from more walls… Steven watched as several students stepped into the painting, and wherever they passed through, ripples spread like water across the artwork. 

When the trio took a dive into the wall-painting, they discovered the area inside was not anywhere near a wall. What met their eyes was a bit shocking… 

[THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS LOCKED BEHIND PAYWALL]

[PAY 10$ to unlock]

- - -

L0AD1NG… 

Living Environment CLASS:

Statues.

The room was dimly lit. The faces, half covered with skin as the other exposed the organs inside… but they were statues. He looked away, and for a second, he could have sworn the eyes followed him… but it was just his paranoia. At least, that's what he told himself. They were statues. They weren't alive. Their neck was hung onto metal poles. They couldn't move… 

And then… he saw it:

[THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS LOCKED BEHIND PAYWALL]

[PAY 10$ to unlock]

- - -

L0AD1NG… SYNCING WITH NEW SCENARIO... PROCESSING CHARACTER INTERACTIONS: Initialized... Complete.

Wasn't it nice to skip class for free? (He wouldn't know.) After class, Steven was read to hit the bed and sleep, but-

"Hm…"

"I just got emails regarding an update regarding the Martial Division." Mayo said, looking at her friends with curiosity. "Apparently, they got too many applicants this year, so there's gonna be some sorta audition… for the division."

"Division?" Steven echoed, a puzzled expression on his face. "You mean like in math?"

"Yeah," Mayo nodded, before catching herself, "No, not math… Not math. Divisions! The academy offers training through different divisions! The martial division, for example, is all about martial arts and traditional fighting. You got the magic division for spellcasting or like the spirit division, for soul techniques, and the weapons divisions—that one is pretty self explanatory."

A helpful pop-up from Dieze: ["Steven, you have three recent emails with the keyword: 'Division'." X]

Steven's eyes widened as he scrolled through his notifications. "Huh, I got invited to the mech division. It's housed in a special building, though. You guys wanna tag along?" 

"Yeah, sure." Mayo answered, with Zero begrudgingly nodding his head. They walked off to… 

- - -

L0AD1NG… 

INITIALIZING: Mechanical Schematics... RENDERING: Advanced Robotics... GENERATING: Engineering Blueprints... TIP: Use 'Y' near machinery to kick Mechs... INTEGRATING: Mech Pilot Profiles…

"Hi guys, I'm MECH TEACHER 1!" the male mech division staff member introduced. "Welcome to our state of the art facility."

He introduced the building to the students, walking around an incredible laboratory. The section they were currently in: it was an expansive marvel, lined wall-to-wall with glistening steel and humming machinery. There were robotic arms whirring overhead, and mechanized units on display in various stages of assembly. Shining monitors displayed complex blueprints and live feeds of simulations, like the place was saying: 'what's world-domination-day?' Just another tuesday.

A gigantic central platform was home to an enormous mech, towering over everything else. It looked lonely, like it wanted a handshake. 

"It's nice," Steven noted, standing among a couple students. "So why are there so few people?"

MECH TEACHER 1: "O-oh… no reason. By the way-" 

<Dieze, what's the reason?> Steven asked.

['Searching…']

[Dieze: "I found this unlisted article that was taken down after several requests from the school." X]

THE DAILY CULTIVATOR

Front Page - Special Report

Tragedy Strikes as Mech Division Faces Devastating Hack!

| Capital City: In a shocking turn of events, the Mech Division of the prestigious cultivation academy is facing intense scrutiny after a catastrophic failure resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers. A critical flaw in the standard model of mech armor allowed an unknown entity to hack into the systems, taking control and causing chaos on the battlefield.

One of the victims was Ain V******h, a beloved figure and rising star within the military ranks. The loss has sent shockwaves through the community, leading to a nationwide outpouring of grief.

In an exclusive interview with a former student of the Mech Division, she expressed her deep concern, stating, "I always knew the Mech Division was bad news. This tragedy shows their overreliance on technology! Also, everyone knows the head staff of the division was money laundering… [and we] spoke out about it and they kicked [us] out."

The incident has also brought to the forefront the ongoing debate over the utility and safety of mechs in cultivation. Critics argue that the division's focus on research and design projects, often at the expense of proper safety protocols, has contributed to the tragedy. Others highlight the division's declining popularity, citing a lack of innovation and its controversial stance among traditional cultivating families.

The academy has yet to release an official statement, but sources say an internal investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the failure and to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.

In the wake of this disaster, questions are being raised about the future of the Mech Division and its place within the cultivation world. Calls for stricter regulations and oversight are growing, with some even demanding the complete shutdown of the division.

[...]

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