Reincarnated In A World Of Mana As A Mechanic-Chapter 54: Illusion

Ezekiel’s first act upon stepping onto the stage was arming himself. He was confident in his victory — that much was certain — but he wasn’t so conceited as to believe he could easily overcome every student in the institution, especially without preparation.

He was permitted to do so before the battle even started because it fell within the rules, provided he refrained from directly engaging his opponent. The only reason he had been comfortable foregoing this against Edward was because he had closely observed the latter beforehand and knew almost everything about him.

Against the unfamiliar girl before him, however, the mechanic took no such liberties —equipping his full complement of gear, restricted as planned to only the inventions he intended to bring to market. His Battlesuits remained unnecessary for a battle against a fellow E-rank Awakened.

The moment the referee’s call cut through the air, he launched forward, a trail of azure light following behind him as he closed in on the girl, gauntlets at the ready. He was a firm believer in gender equality — he had no qualms about bruising that pretty face so long as she was an opponent.

The girl showed a flash of fluster at his advance, as though caught off guard by a male shameless enough to charge at her with a blunt weapon. Yet she quickly recovered her composure, unsheathed her twin short swords, and dodged away from his punch.

Her body twirled like a ballet dancer as she slipped past the metallic fist and the air pressure accompanying it, then struck back with both weapons in the same breath.

Ezekiel reacted instantly, knowing that such a move could leave an opening in his form. His neck snapped left to dodge one sword while his thrusters fired in the same instant, ejecting azure energy to rotate his body and haul his other fist up to intercept the second blade.

He followed through by driving his fist straight into the ground — two internal components within the gauntlet slamming into one another the moment metal met the stage — generating a force powerful enough to crack the durable surface in a spiderweb formation and send a shockwave of wind that crashed into the girl, driving her back several steps, the blood draining from her face as the shockwave rattled through her.

The mechanic paused, examining his gauntlets with mild surprise. ’Huh, the calibration seems off. That was stronger than it should have been. I’ll have to fix that later.’ Refocusing on the girl, a hint of seriousness crept into his expression as he mapped out his next move. ’She seems to be a Brawler — no elemental Talent, or possibly no Talent at all. Probably focused on technique and weapons. This institution really does breed its share of prodigies. Laura, any ideas?’

His thoughts were met with silence, drawing a slight frown from Ezekiel. ’Laura? Is something wrong? Or does plotting out a plan really take that much processing power?’

He couldn’t afford to stay distracted for long, however, as the girl burst forward and forced him back into the fight.

Ezekiel had grown considerably since a few months prior, his combat instincts sharpened through consistent work into something he could genuinely rely on. But swordsmanship remained a gap in his foundation — one he had never seen much reason to close. After all, he primarily relied on his creations — developing sword technique to any meaningful level of expertise simply wasn’t efficient by his standards.

This was why, with Laura unable to provide him a stable plan against the girl and his current gear operating at a disadvantage, he was unable to gain the upper hand. The fact that her strength and speed seemed to exceed what was typical for an E-rank Awakened only complicated things further.

’What is going on? Laura, are you there?!’ Ezekiel couldn’t help the spike of panic that crept into his thoughts as silence persisted. He twisted sharply and leapt backwards, kicking away one incoming sword while sending a Mana blast toward the other.

The two separated, watching each other warily as the fight settled into a stalemate. Despite the variations in his attacks, Ezekiel couldn’t land a decisive blow due to the limitations of his current gear, while the girl — though stronger than him — couldn’t finish the battle cleanly thanks to the strong adaptability his equipment provided.

In the end, the mechanic exhaled and made his decision. ’Forget it. I have no choice. I’m going to kick your virtual backside for leaving me stranded like this, Laura.’

He chose to recalibrate his MCR’s settings. Until this point it had been channeling mana into his gear — an energy source a grade below Psionic energy — which was why the light released by his attacks had been azure rather than amethyst.

With a Psionic Blast, the stage buckled slightly, a shallow concave forming in its surface, while the girl, having dodged the attack, was left with her hair whipping violently due to the resulting wind pressure. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"This..."

Ezekiel’s eyes widened as he stared at his gauntlet — though what surprised him wasn’t the strength of his previous attack.

It was because the blast had released an azure light.

Azure.

Yet the energy powering that attack should have been his amethyst Psionic energy.

In an instant, a clear piece of a puzzle clicked into place, clearing away the fog of confusion clouding his mind. His thoughts raced — his body going completely still even as the girl’s blade descended toward him. Yet before the blade could reach him, the entire scene around him shattered like a broken mirror.

When the mechanic came to, he was standing at the exact spot where the battle had begun, his gear and MCR still running at around 90%.

(Ez! Can you hear me?!)

Hearing Laura’s flustered voice in his ear again, Ezekiel gave a small nod, his expression one of quiet understanding as the full picture of what had just happened crystallized in his mind. His brow furrowed as he turned his gaze to the rigid girl across from him — who now sported a bleeding nose and reddened eyes. "What a frightening power. I was placed under an illusion without even noticing."

Indeed — the moment he returned, the mechanic had reached an immediate conclusion: everything he had experienced from the start of the fight had been an illusion. He had been waging a battle inside a dream from the very moment the match began.