Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

Eli and Alaric ran towards the mechanic's shop. It was on the complete opposite side of the academy from where their room was, so they barely made it in time.

A woman inside was wearing long overalls and wiping oil and grime off her hands, "welcome to class. I see you decided to join us."

A few kids in the class giggled, and the two of them blushed, "sorry. We won't be late next time."

The teacher gave them a stern look, "good. Now if you will all observe."

She took down a large piece of cloth that was covering up an object in front of the class.

The whole room gasped and awed when the machine was revealed in splendor.

The teacher cleared her throat, and the students quieted down, "as you all may be aware, Irigia is the current technological leader when it comes to automatons. This machine is our model three automaton."

Alaric gaped at the automaton, not believing it because this automaton looked almost exactly like a human except for the glowing monster core in its c.h.e.s.t.

"This is the most advanced unit yet, and it is capable of following complex instructions as well as perform micro and macro duties. In other terms, it would be on the same level as a version four exosuit."

The whole room whispered amongst themselves, as a version four exosuit was extremely rare in the world, and having an automaton on the same level sounds almost unrealistic!

Alaric observed the realness of the automaton, and one question came to his mind, so he raised his hand.

The teacher nodded her head towards him, and Alaric asked, "would an automaton ever be able to wield abilities and powers as monsters can?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow, "you'd be surprised by how much debate goes into that question. Currently, it takes the mind of a living person to understand and use a bright coin. I'm not sure if a machine will ever be able to have the same abilities as monsters." She paused for a second, then added, "but maybe someday it will be."

She clapped her hands together, "okay class! Today I want you to go wild and make whatever you want to make. Show me your skill and creativity, and we will compare at the end of class. You can use any of the materials in here that you want, now go!"

The class moved around chaotically and grabbed whatever materials they could find.

Alaric went and grabbed some tools first, then some electrical components.

Eli grabbed a gear in his hand and looked around, wondering what to do next.

It soon became very clear on who knew what they were doing and who did not.

The bully, Finn, went a began shoving parts together, just trying to make something.

Alaric laughed at him in his mind. He was taught mechanics by his mother, Burt, and the Queen. Literally the smartest minds in the country when it came to machines.

His hands almost seemed to move on their own as they meticulously but quickly put different parts together. He was putting on wheels and attaching electrical components.

Eli stopped what he was doing and watched Alaric, his mouth hanging wide open in awe.

Sparks were flying as students were welding different pieces together and tried to make something amazing.

"Time's up!" The teacher yelled to the class.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and waited for her instructions.

"Now, one at a time, each of you will come up here and present your projects to the class. Eli, you are first."

Eli shyly came up to the front of the class; his eyes didn't meet anybody's in the class.

"I, uh...made this."

He held out a garble of randomly attached pieces. The teacher asked, "what can you do with it?"

His face turned bright red, "well, uh, you could throw it at somebody?"

A few giggles emanated from the class, "thank you, Mr. Eli. Elizabeth, you're next."

Elizabeth presented some armor she formed that can attach to her leg.

"Marvelous! Finn, now you."

Finn walked up with swagger; he raised his device ,which was a claw arm that extends the reach of his regular arm.

"Good job, Finn! You're up Alaric."

Alaric walked up to the front of the class and proudly presented his machine.

The teacher squinted at it, "so Alaric? What did you make for us today?"

"Well, ma'am, this is a minor automaton! I sharpened the edges of a piece of gear to make a saw blade, and this machine will use it to try and cut up the legs of inherently bad people."

Alaric placed it on the floor, and it began speeding off in Finn's direction. Its blade was whirring, and it nearly got to Finn's legs before Finn materialized a hammer and smashed it. Sweat was running down his forehead, and he shot an angry look at Alaric that said, 'you're dead!'

The teacher, however, was nodding.

"I guess Mr. Finn must be an inherently bad person! However, please don't do anything like that again Alaric, and very well done on the project!"

"Yes, ma'am," Alaric said with a smile on his face.

The teacher continued going through the rest of the class and went back up front after everyone presented their projects.

"This was an excellent day class. The longer you stay, the more you will be learning about mechas and automatons, and at the end of your four years here, you will have a mecha building contest! Now, it's time for you all to go on to your next classes."

The class stood up and left the room. Alaric and Eli were chuckling and bumping each other as they went, mocking Finn's reaction to Alaric's machine.

Suddenly, one of the girls went and walked up to them. Alaric was curious and wondering why she would leave her pack of girls.

"I really liked your machine Alaric. By the way, my name is Elizabeth."