BVAHEDLA[W Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Zerg 5 “Teacher? Then please enlighten me?…”

Chapter 71: Zerg 5 “Teacher? Then please enlighten me?…”

Unlike theoretical classes, the mecha classes at the Empire’s First Academy are held outdoors or in specialized training rooms.

However, it’s more common to have classes in the training room. The training room utilizes holographic technology. Students log into the mecha simulation system with their respective terminal accounts. After each battle, the data, analysis results, and scores are fed back to each individual’s terminal.

Moreover, compared to outdoor classes that are limited by the size of the venue and student safety considerations, the simulation system can simulate most environments in the entire Star System, even some extreme environments. While ensuring student safety, it also retains the realism of mecha operation.

Another point is that the Empire has strict control over mechas, so the number of mechas available for teaching is limited, and the models are mostly old. Even so, their power should not be underestimated. What’s more, this is the Imperial Star. The bugs who live here are crucial to the Empire’s operation. In the past, there have been cases of bugs causing disturbances while piloting mechas, but fortunately, they were quickly subdued by the arriving Royal Guards.

And now, what’s presented before Amoris is a tall, silver-white building, the mecha training room of the Empire’s First Academy.

Inside, it’s divided into several different areas according to function. Amoris followed the flow of bugs to a classroom at the end of the corridor.

The interior of the building, like the exterior, adopts an entirely silver-white design. The bright white lights reflecting off the walls made every bug who passed by feel a sense of solemnity, and even their footsteps unconsciously became lighter.

The leading student took out his terminal and scanned it on a raised area to the right of the door. Light paths lit up on the originally seamless door, and then opened to both sides. Amoris followed suit, taking out his terminal and attaching it to the door until he heard a “ding” sound, before following inside.

After entering, Amoris didn’t look for a seat right away, but instead observed the internal structure of the classroom.

The entire classroom is simply divided into two floors. The very center is a huge circular ground, which is the first floor. The second floor is a fan shape surrounding the huge circle of the first floor, raised two meters relative to the first floor, like a viewing platform. Several students were already sitting together in small groups. Opposite them was a huge electronic screen, which Amoris guessed was for the teacher to use for teaching, or to view the students’ battles.

According to Amoris’s previous understanding, the practical exercise portion of the mecha class is usually students fighting each other, or 5-10 bugs forming a team to simulate a real battle, like fighting a big boss in a game. There’s also dodging obstacles or racing through levels to test students’ control over mechas.

Basically, there are no cases of teachers fighting students. After all, for first-year mecha students, even if the teacher held back, no, held back an entire ocean, it would still be pure rookie crushing.

Soldiers who have been on the battlefield, tempered by war and blood, are not comparable to these students who wield light swords or exchange cannon fire in the simulation system.

Amoris just stared at the huge electronic screen, which was still pitch black, and blankly spaced out. No bug knew what he was thinking.

Originally, because the classroom was relatively empty, and the students were sitting relatively scattered, no bug should have noticed him.

But—

“Amoris, why are you spacing out here?”

“We agreed earlier, I’m in a group with you, come on.”

In an instant, Amoris felt all the bugs in the classroom focus their gazes on him.

Kaster reached out to Amoris, seemingly trying to pull Amoris to a nearby seat. Out of interest in mechas, since neither the original owner nor he himself had ever piloted one, Amoris didn’t refute Kaster’s words.

However, Kaster’s hand, which wanted to grab Amoris, didn’t have such good treatment.

Taking advantage of being half a head taller than Kaster, Amoris quite naturally bypassed Kaster, his gaze looking forward as a matter of course, as if he hadn’t seen Kaster’s action at all. And the advantage of being ten centimeters taller was evident here. Although it was only ten centimeters, Amoris’s aura was more than twice as strong as Kaster’s.

The two bugs were somewhat similar in appearance, but no bug would confuse them. Besides the slight differences in hair and eye color, Amoris’s posture was more upright and elegant than Kaster’s, as if he were a carefully carved statue in a museum. His muscles were well-proportioned, thinly attached to various parts of his body, combining beauty and explosive power. His overly pale skin added a fragile, sickly feeling, and the three contradictory sensations cleverly achieved a balance on him, making bugs couldn’t help but look at him.

As for Kaster, because of his privileged material conditions since childhood, with all kinds of delicacies available, and his particular fondness for desserts, coupled with a lack of exercise, the whole bug looked round and soft. Fortunately, he had a cute appearance, and having some soft flesh didn’t matter, but when he walked beside Amoris, it was simply cruel.

It was as if Kaster was Amoris’s servant.

The noble king and his subjects, the unattainable moon and the dim stars.

But even if some bugs thought so in their hearts, they wouldn’t say it out loud.

Not long after sitting down, the teacher entered the classroom from the other side.

The fact that Major General Arnold had come to the Empire’s First Academy to be an instructor had already spread. Seeing that the person who came wasn’t Arnold, a few bugs below couldn’t help but make regretful noises.

But class still had to be taken.

The teacher didn’t show any special care to Amoris just because he was a new transfer student. All bugs were treated equally in his eyes.

Soon, it was time for free practice.

In the mecha simulation system, the most ordinary mechas are imported for first-year mecha students. Their functions are very balanced, and they are also the most versatile mechas in the military, mostly equipped for new recruits or ordinary soldiers.

Of course, it’s not impossible to modify the mecha yourself. There are mainly three ways:

First, spend money. This is the fastest and most convenient. There’s nothing that money can’t solve. If there is, it’s that you haven’t spent enough. Many private customized mechas in the Star System’s families come from this, but they need to go through layers of reporting and approval, otherwise, if discovered, they will face serious consequences.

Second, increase military rank. Upon reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel, you can submit an application to the military to modify the mecha, strengthening its performance in certain areas, to provide assistance for future operations. But the funding is limited, and the amount is linked to the military rank. Like Arnold’s mecha, although it greatly increased attack power and speed, the cost was short endurance and poor defense. But if there was enough funding, these problems could be further improved.

Fortunately, Arnold’s operation is outstanding, and his control of the mecha and timing has reached perfection. The flames ejected from the rear wings of his mecha are like the wings of a bird, so some bugs call Arnold’s mecha “the peregrine falcon that brushed shoulders with death.”

And the last way, generally not used much, is to modify it yourself. Modifying a mecha requires mastering a lot of materials and practical knowledge, and the energy required is unimaginable. The lists lined up by those mecha masters in the Star System are enough for them to do for a lifetime. But in contrast, in the process of modifying a mecha, even if one part goes wrong, it may lead to immeasurable consequences in battle. Therefore, there were not many people originally proficient in this line of work. Soldiers mostly have to be busy with training, where would they have time to learn, so not many people modify mechas themselves.

Moreover, mecha modification, maintenance, etc. belong to the logistics department. Unless they become top-notch after a lifetime of hard work, maybe no one will remember their names. So, even if some soldiers can urgently repair mechas on the battlefield, it doesn’t mean they can complete a whole set of modification, repair, and maintenance work.

Kaster had already taken the lead in entering the simulated driving pod. Amoris looked towards him.

Rows of neat egg-shaped pods were all open, and the internal structure was no different from the cockpit of a real mecha. Amoris picked one nearby and walked in.

As soon as the door closed, all the noise from the outside was cut off, so quiet that Amoris could only hear his own heartbeat.

He closed his eyes.

The simulated driving pod was pitch black. As Amoris’s terminal automatically connected, fluorescent blue light strips lit up around the cockpit, flowing like a stream, like some kind of strange liquid.

After closing his eyes, Amoris felt his body become light and floaty, and his consciousness was gradually drawn away, as if he had come to another world.

Here, there was nothing, an endless expanse.

Suddenly, a translucent fluorescent blue screen appeared before him, a team invitation.

Sure enough, it was Kaster.

Amoris didn’t refuse. After pressing the “Accept” button, the surrounding space gradually began to shatter and collapse, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a woodland.

And the scene before his eyes also changed into the appearance inside the mecha. The huge glass truly reflected the outside environment to his eyes. Trees several meters high were obediently prostrate at his feet like subjects, allowing Amoris to look down upon them.

In front of him was the mecha’s central control panel. It was densely packed with numerous buttons of all sizes, lit with a faint white light, flickering as if they were breathing. Amoris guessed the functions of some of those buttons, but not all.

He tentatively reached out, curiously touching them. Just like in the real world, the solid touch under his hand carried a chilling temperature, like metal that had been sealed for a long time.

Amoris pushed the lever, and his vision quickly rose with incredible speed. Amoris tentatively pressed a few more buttons, which controlled the direction, consistent with his guess.

“Eh, Amoris, have you had contact with mechas before?”

Kaster’s voice came from inside the mecha. Looking outside, Kaster was hurriedly arriving while piloting his mecha.

Amoris was still a little puzzled at first, until he saw a translucent box on the glass screen, with Kaster’s name written on it, as well as their team status. Only then did he realize that it was probably team communication.

The mecha simulation system supports team formation, and once a team is formed, the communication status is turned on by default.

The teacher didn’t limit the number of players in the free practice team, so 1v1, 2v2… 5v5 situations could all occur. Once the team is formed, they are matched. If there aren’t enough people, they practice against simulated soldiers with a fixed difficulty.

“Amoris, look over here. It will take some time to match, let me teach you some of the most basic things first.” Kaster said with great interest, and then, as if he had thought of something interesting, his tone slowed down, with tentative caution, “Why don’t you call me teacher and let me hear it?”

Amoris was originally checking the terrain. The map was randomly matched, and he didn’t know where he would land later. He took advantage of being at a high altitude now to memorize the terrain, so he wouldn’t get dizzy in the forest later.

According to his preliminary observation, the entire map was basically woodland, except for a lake or ocean in the eastern corner, and a large dense forest in the south, with high mountain elevations.

Amoris picked and chose on the control panel, tentatively pressing a button, and the scene in front of him was magnified countless times like a magnifying glass.

Remembering what Kaster had said before, he replied absentmindedly: “Teacher? Then please enlighten me?”