A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 132: An Unexpected Mentor
Chapter 132: An Unexpected Mentor

The Department of Combat’s mentor selection event took place in a huge simulation hall. When Arix got there, the place was already packed with students.

The moment Arix’s virtual Psychic Incarnation showed up, silence fell over the room. Then, a wave of cheers erupted, nearly lifting the roof off.

”Whoa, look, it’s Arix, the one who invented the psychic power healing potion!”

”Arix, I’m a huge fan! Can I get your autograph?”

”Me too! I want one too!”

As soon as they recognized Arix, the students swarmed her, eagerly pulling out all sorts of things for her to sign.

Feeling flattered, Arix didn’t turn them down, so almost everyone walked away with a signature.

Luckily, the Department of Combat wasn’t too big, so Arix wrapped up the signing session pretty fast.

Grinning from ear to ear, the students gradually left the hall with their prized autographs.

In the end, only Maya, Rei, and Dae-jung were left. They were also from the Department of Combat.

Seeing her old friends, Arix beamed, arms wide open. ”Maya, Rei, Dae-jung, I’m back.”

Rei and Maya, laughing in tears, rushed to hug her tightly.

”Arix, where have you been? We were so worried!” Rei’s voice cracked as tears ran down her cheeks.

”I heard you were still in the hospital. Were you badly hurt?” Maya asked, her voice thick with concern.

Dae-jung stayed silent, but his worried eyes spoke volumes.

”I’m fine now, really. I’ll be back to school soon,” Arix assured them, carefully picking her words to ease their worry.

”Are you lying again? If you’re okay, why haven’t you come back yet?” Rei shot her a teary-eyed glare.

”I’m not lying. I’ll be back soon, Rei, so don’t cry,” Arix said gently, wiping away Rei’s tears.

”You better not be lying, or you’ll regret it!” Rei huffed.

”Don’t worry, it’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask Drexel.” Arix quickly diverted the attention as Drexel arrived.

Drexel had just walked in and was clueless about what was going on.

Rei glanced at Drexel. Seeing no odd reaction from him, she finally believed Arix.

With Rei convinced, Arix breathed a sigh of relief and swiftly changed the subject, ”By the way, who’s our mecha pilot mentor? Why haven’t we seen them yet?”

Even Rei was caught off guard by this. She knew the answer but was surprised Arix didn’t.

”Your mentor is, of course, your dashing, charming, and utterly irresistible Uncle Marlone,” Marlone announced, popping up behind Arix with a cheeky grin.

”Uncle Marlone,” Arix groaned, facepalming. A bad feeling washed over her as she thought about what lay ahead.

As soon as Marlone, the mentor for the Department of Combat, stepped in, the students quickly lined up.

”Alright, today’s task is simple. Each of you needs to kill 100 insectoids. Drexel, for you, make that 1000. No problem, right?” Marlone asked, giving Drexel a mock affectionate look.

”That’s not fair! I objection!” Drexel protested.

”Overruled. You got a problem with 1000? Then let’s make it 2000. That’s the spirit of our top student in the Department of Combat. Everyone, follow his example,” Marlone said, giving Drexel a fake thumbs up.

”Way to go, Drexel! You’re the best!”

”Drexel, you can do it! We believe in you!”

”Nice!”

The students, used to this routine, joined in the fun, cheering for Drexel.

Drexel muttered under his breath but didn’t dare argue, fearing his target would increase again.

With a scowl, he opened the nearest simulation room. He picked a level-five mecha from the virtual opticomputer’s warehouse, jumped into the cockpit, and started attacking the swarm of insectoids with the mecha’s silver spear, venting his frustration.

The other students followed suit, albeit more clumsily. Many were still learning to pilot a mecha and were quickly overwhelmed by the insectoids, getting ejected from the simulation room by the system.

Fortunately, their kills still counted, so they just re-entered and continued the fight.

Watching the action unfold, Arix felt her adrenaline spike. She clenched her fists, ready to join the fray, but a large hand stopped her by gently grabbing her head.

Turning, she saw it was Marlone. ”What’s up, Uncle Marlone?” she asked, confused.

”At the military academy, you should call me ’sir,’ okay?” Marlone said with an unusual serious expression. He never wanted to treat anyone differently.

Drexel, hearing this, thought to himself, ”Yeah, right, that ’not liking to treat them differently’ crap again!”

Arix nodded obediently. ”Sir, do you need something?”

”Arix, it’s your first time piloting a mecha today. Don’t push yourself too hard. Just do your best,” Marlone said, gently patting her head.

Arix nodded again, taking his advice to heart. Then she glanced at Drexel with worry. ”Will Drexel be okay? He has to kill 20 times more than us.”

”Him?” Marlone’s face shifted from gentle to disdainful, as if he was hating Drexel for not being good enough. It was clear he wanted to kick Drexel but held back, only because Arix was watching.

Marlone frowned and pursed his lips in frustration, but he managed to keep his cool for Arix’s sake.

”Arix, don’t worry. Your brother is just a lazy donkey who won’t move without a whip. With his talent, if he put in some effort, even Supergiant+ physical power would be within his reach,” Marlone said, thinking that the 2000 insectoid task was too lenient and mentally added another 1000 for next time.

Arix shivered at the thought and decided it was best not to ask Marlone any more questions. She figured that if she kept asking, Drexel’s life would get even more, well, ”exciting.”

Arix felt a wave of sympathy for Drexel and softly whispered, ”Amen.”

After that, she bid farewell to Marlone and stepped into an empty simulation room. From the outside, it looked small, but once inside, it was as big as a training field.

With just three minutes on the countdown timer flashing on the virtual screen, Arix didn’t have time to waste. She quickly accessed the virtual opticomputer and navigated to the mecha storage place.

She picked the cheapest mecha available. Why? Because she was broke! That’s why!

Holding back tears, she forked over 100,000 astrocredits and got a level-one mecha that came with nothing but a sword.

Pulling the mecha from the system’s storage, Arix swiftly climbed into the cockpit. Following the manual step-by-step, she established the connection with the mecha.

Just as the connection was complete, the countdown hit zero.

Big, blood-red letters popped up on the screen: ”Insectoids approaching! Soldiers, get ready!”

Arix swallowed hard, controlling the mecha to grip the sword tightly, ready for action. Although it wasn’t a real battlefield, the interstellar era’s tech made the experience feel totally real.

It was like being inside a game, experiencing everything firsthand. The only difference was you wouldn’t actually die.

”Hiss----!” The first insectoid appeared in the simulation room. It looked like a giant, black mantis, with terrifying mouthparts and sharp forelimbs, covered in a layer of armor-like skin.

Just seeing it was enough to make anyone’s heart pound with fear.

Facing the insectoid, which was three times the height of her mecha, Arix instinctively put some distance between them. But the insectoid, seeing Arix as a tasty meal, charged forward excitedly.

As the insectoid attacked, Arix raised her sword, barely managing to block the strike.

”Hiss---!” The insectoid, frustrated by its failed attack, let out an angry screech. It quickly raised its forelimbs again, thrusting them toward Arix.

Not wanting to take the hit head-on, Arix made her mecha leap back just in time. Unfortunately, her landing was far from smooth, and she nearly face-planted.

Terrified, Arix hurriedly pressed several buttons on the virtual keyboard in the mecha cockpit, barely managing to regain control and avoid a complete wipeout.

Arix took a deep breath as she regained her balance, and then she glared at the insectoid with a mix of relief and irritation.

Maybe it was the anger that fueled her, but her subsequent maneuvers were smooth and precise.

Before long, she had sliced the insectoid in half with a single stroke.

However, she didn’t have a moment to relax. As soon as the first insectoid fell, two more appeared in the simulation room.

”Come on! Give me a break!” Arix muttered.

Then came two more, then four, then eight... The place was soon swarming with insectoids. All around, students were fighting furiously to take them down.