Chapter 7
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Tito Exam
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Tito was just one step above Midget.
Because of that, some people thought there wouldn't be much difference in performance between the two, but that was an utterly foolish notion.
'The specs themselves are on another level.'
One Tito could easily handle three Midgets. And depending on the rider's skill, that gap widened even further.
'The pressure is no joke.'
The deep black Tito unit exuded an intimidating presence while possessing incredible suction power.
That was why Abel—and most of the boys and girls—had sparkling lights in their eyes.
'Not the time for this.'
Abel, who had been spacing out watching the Tito march in, hurriedly shook his head.
Now wasn't the time to leisurely admire it.
Thud, thud-!
The Tito units entered in perfect order and took positions beside the lined-up examinees.
Only after they were fully in place did the cockpits of the Titos open, and the riders emerged from within.
"Alright! Everyone, focus up!"
That was when Magnus spoke again.
His voice instantly silenced the rowdy hall, and he continued with a satisfied expression.
"The first exam!"
A booming voice.
"It's to pilot a Tito and strike a set of designated poses."
Reactions among the examinees varied once the first exam's theme was revealed.
Some showed confidence, while others grew even more anxious. Naturally, Abel was in the former group.
'Good thing it's not much different from the game.'
He had worried it might differ from the game, but so far, everything matched what he knew.
'Truth be told, Tito is pretty tough in itself.'
It was incomparable to Miles, sure, but piloting a Gigant was no easy task to begin with.
'And it's not just about starting it up.'
Quite a few who thought simply activating the Tito would suffice would probably be left with long faces by the end of the exam.
As those thoughts wrapped up.
"Alright! Begin!"
Magnus bellowed in his resounding voice.
Then, the man who had arrived on a Tito scanned Abel and the surrounding boys and girls before asking,
"So, who would like to go first?"
The man in the black uniform was a royal soldier specializing in handling Titos.
Even passing all exams wouldn't save you if you didn't rank in the top 40—you'd be off to his side.
Abel waited a moment, and when no one stepped forward, he spoke up.
"I'll go first."
"Understood."
The soldier replied and assisted Abel in climbing onto the Tito.
"Hmm."
Once inside the cockpit, Abel craned his neck and looked around.
It felt a bit cramped, but compared to Midget, it was far better.
The controls for operating a Tito were identical to those of a Midget.
'Focus.'
It started with raising the sync rate.
Sync rate was the foundation and basis for handling any Gigant.
To become a rider, one needed at least the ability to raise it on demand.
Of course, Abel had that ability in spades.
Whirr!
The slumped Tito slowly lifted its head with a startup hum. But in that process, Abel sensed something.
Zzzzt-.
A faint noise that ordinary people would never detect.
But with his monstrous sync rate, Abel not only noticed it immediately but also pinpointed the cause.
'In the game, it was just described as a weird feeling, but they'd tampered with the core.'
The core seemed processed in some special way, its effect being to disrupt concentration and lower sync rate.
Whirr-!
But naturally, it posed no issue for Abel.
Disrupt concentration and drop sync rate?
Even with the messed-up tuning, it was paradise compared to Midget.
If he had to compare, it was like switching from a junker on its last legs to a brand-new car.
Thud-!
Before long, the Tito carrying Abel perfectly assumed position and raised its head.
The rider standing beside it stared in astonishment.
Even to a veteran rider like him, the speed was impressively quick.
"Ready."
At Abel's words, the rider snapped out of it and nodded in response.
"Now, please assume the poses I designate."
With that, the rider instructed several poses.
None were particularly difficult, so Abel nailed them all in under three minutes.
Needless to say, they were executed with incredible naturalness and fluidity.
"Y-You pass. Good work."
The result was, of course, a pass.
Not just the rider ahead, but everyone around stared at Abel in shock.
Abel completed the task and casually dismounted the Tito.
The rider finally regained his composure and proceeded with the next test.
The second boy stepped up visibly tense even before mounting, but surprisingly managed to start it up successfully.
The problem arose when taking poses.
Thud-!
The Tito's legs suddenly tangled, and it face-planted into the ground. It flailed its limbs as if trying to rise, but that was it.
"That's enough. Fail."
The soldier said in a curt voice, pulling the boy from the Tito before pointing outward.
"Head outside the building, and someone will guide you on your way."
The subsequent scenes were similar.
'Well, that's about average.'
Abel had been watching the others take their exams.
Few properly activated their Titos, and even fewer managed the poses.
At best, maybe one in three.
"Looks like we're done."
After about twenty minutes, Magnus spoke.
The failures had already left, leaving only the passers.
Magnus scanned the successful examinees and smiled.
"That exam might seem simple, but it's no easy feat. It's a test even the military uses, meaning you have at least the talent to handle a Tito."
But the smile soon faded from his face, replaced by a serious expression.
"However, Del Modor Academy seeks talent far beyond merely handling some Tito. Much higher."
His words were bold, even with the Tito-handling riders still in the hall.
Yet no one took offense.
Magnus had risen from lowly soldier to noble status through his own prowess—a living legend.
"Miles, and beyond. You must grip that explosive, overwhelming power and wield it. Not be swung around or dragged along—you must dominate the Gigant."
With that, he grinned again and continued.
"But first, you need to handle a Tito flawlessly. From now on, everything counts toward your ranking. Begin!"
Everyone flinched, thinking the exam was restarting, but it wasn't.
The waiting riders approached the remaining examinees.
"Mount the Tito, please."
Abel promptly climbed aboard one.
"Please wait a moment."
"Yes."
Soon, Abel felt the surrounding mana density spike dramatically.
Flash-!
A brilliant light followed, and a blue barrier enveloped the building's interior.
It was the 'barrier' often seen in underground arenas.
Of course, its strength was on another level visually.
'Even swinging a full-power punch in a Tito wouldn't budge it.'
As he thought that, Magnus shouted again.
"This exam's theme is to endure for fifteen minutes! If you're down when time's up, you fail! Conversely, as long as you're standing at the end—even if your unit's wrecked—you pass!"
A quiet shock rippled through the hall.
No one had expected such a brutal exam.
Except for Abel, that is.
Magnus pressed on regardless.
"No worries about getting hurt! Output's restricted, so you won't die! Priests are standing by to heal any injuries!"
Had everyone not been mounted, you'd have seen plenty of pale faces.
'With priests on standby, I can go all out.'
Some, like Abel, thought along those lines.
Without pause, Magnus bellowed,
"Alright then. All units, activate!"
The dazed examinees hurriedly started their Titos.
Abel activated fastest and claimed a prime position.
Even after he finished, many hadn't started, though plenty had.
A few standout talents among the examinees...
Whirr!
And the riders who mounted in their place were in that category.
The riders' Titos looked identical but were easy to distinguish.
They overflowed with composure at a glance.
And soon, everyone learned why they'd mounted.
Boom-!
The riders began indiscriminately attacking the activated examinee Titos.
The 'culling' had begun.
-Gah!
-A-Argh!
Boom-!
Thud!
Screams and explosions echoed everywhere as Magnus shouted in unprecedented glee.
"Exam start!"
Thus, the second exam began.
The moment to shine, whether for the original goal or the quest.
'Here we go.'
No room for half-hearted resolve.
Abel intended to be the star of this stage.
* * *
The building interior turned into pandemonium in an instant.
With massive Titos rampaging, it was inevitable.
The riders' units were especially dominant.
Boom-!
Every deafening blast turned to reveal an examinee's Tito flying back.
The riders moved like wolves among sheep, plunging the hall into chaos.
In just five minutes, dozens of Titos lay motionless on the floor.
Yet Abel, watching, thought,
'They're going easy.'
It looked like the soldiers were mercilessly smashing examinees, but closer inspection revealed otherwise.
'They give plenty of time to dodge and telegraph attacks with big wind-ups? If you can't evade that, tough luck.'
Had the riders gone all out, twice as many would have fallen.
That wasn't the only telltale sign.
'They're skipping the stable ones.'
The riders targeted the weak exclusively.
It made sense.
Their goal wasn't random attacks but weeding out the posers.
Naturally, the shaky ones drew focus.
Thanks to that, Abel hadn't been attacked once.
He could probably coast to a safe pass by staying put, but he had no intention of it.
His aim wasn't mediocrity.
Thud, thud-!
As Abel started moving, nearby Titos visibly tensed.
Everyone had been subtly watching him.
But Abel paid them little mind.
'Nothing worth engaging around here.'
Just opponents offering no gain.
Yet soon, one unit approached him.
'What the?'
He could tell at a glance.
Plain-looking like the rest, but every motion screamed superior class.
Perfectly stable posture, no wobble.
'A soldier? Or...?'
It ignored surrounding units and marched straight for Abel's Tito.
Once close enough.
-You're Abel, right?
A slightly modulated voice emanated from the unit.
When Abel didn't reply, it spoke again.
-Curious if the pathetic rumors about you are true, I came out. Consider it an honor.
Hearing that, Abel realized.
'Luke.'
That obnoxious tone matched the screen version perfectly.
He was a noble boy who played a villain in the game.
Abel recognized it from voice alone because he was a fairly major character.
'Pretty skilled too.'
Early on, he even rivaled the protagonist.
Sure, he hit limits later, but that was far off.
Recalling that as he heightened his tension, Abel wondered inwardly.
'Rumors, huh?'
Before he could ask more.
Boom-!
Luke assumed stance in a flash, kicked off the ground, and closed in.
Whoosh-!
Abel read the trajectory and reflexively tilted his head.
The fist grazed past the head unit by a hair. A split-second slower, and it'd have been one-shot.
But Abel stayed calm, shifting his center of gravity to spin his whole body and swing his right arm upward.
Scraaaape!
He thought it would hit, but Luke twisted back, dodging.
At most, a fist tip brushed the chest.
Luke seemed surprised himself at evading, but Abel inwardly admired.
'Not bad.'
Kinder reflexes than expected.
Luke quickly regained balance and whipped out his left leg.
Whoosh!
Abel ducked lightly while raising both arms.
Thud!
Metal arms smashed the enemy Tito's thigh.
Luke's unit lifted off from the unexpected hit but recovered mid-air and landed steadily.
'Fun.'
Abel grinned at that.
Piloting a proper Gigant after so long fired him up. Yet he coolly assessed the situation.
Dirty personality aside, Luke's skill wasn't half bad.
No pushover, but subduing him would take time.
'Decent, but lacking.'
Abel's goal was utter domination.
Dragging a fight with another examinee didn't fit that image.
'A bit faster than thought.'
So, he tweaked his plan.
Fast enough, but it'd still leave a deep impression. No reason to hesitate.
"Hoo."
For the past month, Abel's training focused on stamina, but he'd honed something else too.
Sharpening his new weapon for real combat.
Abel drew it without hesitation.
'Overflow.'
The moment the word crossed his mind.
Thump-.
His heart pounded fiercely.
Thud-!
And the world Abel saw changed.