Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1737: Preparing Mech-Suit for Aether: Part-1

Entering the workshop, Young Aether found the interior filled from floor to ceiling with mechanical components.

Individual mech-suit limbs hung from magnetic suspension racks, polished metallic skeletons rested on assembly frames, hydraulic pistons moved rhythmically on automated testing rigs, and dozens of helmet visors floated inside transparent calibration chambers while streams of blue holographic data continuously flowed across their surfaces.

Robotic arms welded armour plates together with precise bursts of white plasma, filling the air with the sharp scent of molten metal and heated copper.

Jonathan walked directly toward the man sitting behind the desk.

The grumpy mechanic barely looked up from the holographic blueprint floating before him. The moment he recognised Jonathan, however, his expression stiffened, and he slowly stood out of respect.

The two exchanged a few quiet words before Jonathan casually pointed toward Young Aether.

The mechanic’s eyes shifted onto him.

For a brief second, surprise flashed across his weathered face.

His gaze lingered on Young Aether’s appearance as though he had never encountered someone quite like him before.

After several moments of silence, the mechanic let out a slow sigh.

“Fine… I’ll pretend I never saw this. You’ve helped this workshop more times than I can count, and I did say I owed you a favour.” He rubbed his forehead before pointing a thick finger toward Jonathan.

“But don’t misunderstand me, Commander. If the Governor personally asks about this boy, I won’t lie for you. Until then, my mouth stays shut. Not a single word leaves this workshop.”

His sharp eyes briefly scanned the Golden ID and Origin Card.

Jonathan simply smiled.

“That’s enough for me.”

Without another word, the old mechanic left the desk and disappeared deeper into the workshop.

Young Aether followed Jonathan while glancing around at the countless machines surrounding them.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

Jonathan shrugged.

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

Young Aether narrowed his eyes but chose not to ask any further questions.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what was happening.

Mech-suits weren’t ordinary equipment.

Every suit required official authorisation from the Tower after extensive background investigations, psychological evaluations, combat assessments, and compatibility verification.

Unauthorised production was considered a serious offence!

Yet Jonathan had clearly called in a personal favour to bypass those procedures.

A few minutes later, the grumpy mechanic called them from the back of the facility.

“This way.”

They entered a sealed fabrication chamber separated from the main workshop by thick reinforced walls. Unlike the noisy manufacturing floor, this room was spotless.

White illumination panels covered the ceiling while rows of advanced scanners, fabrication pods, and robotic assembly platforms lined both sides of the room.

The mechanic opened a storage cabinet before tossing Young Aether a folded black bodysuit.

“Wear this.”

Young Aether unfolded it.

The material looked more like liquid metal than fabric. Thin blue conductive lines spread throughout the suit in intricate geometric patterns, resembling countless microscopic circuits woven beneath its surface.

“What exactly is this?”

“Bio-neural synchronisation layer,” the mechanic answered flatly. “It maps every muscle contraction, heartbeat, nerve impulse, joint rotation, and electrical signal inside your body. Without accurate data, your mech-suit would respond more slowly than your own movements.”

Young Aether nodded before changing into the suit.

The moment he finished pulling it on, the flexible material contracted tightly around his body.

“It… it’s too damn tight.”

He winced as the suit compressed against every muscle.

“Damn… this actually hurts.”

He instinctively reached down to adjust the tight fabric around his crotch, trying to relieve the uncomfortable pressure where the obvious bulge refused to fit naturally inside the compression suit.

Slightly bigger than any normal human in a normal state.

“…”

Jonathan slowly turned his head.

The mechanic also stared blankly at him.

Young Aether remained completely oblivious as he continued struggling with the suit.

“It’s seriously too small…”

Jonathan covered his face with one hand.

Even his ears had turned red.

The mechanic clicked his tongue.

“Damn brat…” he muttered with visible annoyance. “How many women have you made cry carrying that thing around?”

Young Aether blinked.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

The old man pointed toward a circular platform inside the centre of the chamber.

“Stand there.”

Young Aether obediently stepped onto the platform.

The instant both of his feet touched its surface, dozens of mechanical pillars silently rose from beneath the floor.

Tiny emitters extended from every direction.

A soft mechanical voice echoed throughout the chamber.

[Initialising biometric acquisition.]

Thin crimson laser grids swept upward from his feet to the top of his head.

sssnnnnggg~

Millions of scanning points rapidly mapped every millimetre of his body while blue holographic projections assembled beside him in real time.

Finally, an incredibly detailed three-dimensional model of Young Aether rotated slowly above the platform while hundreds of measurements updated every second.

Height…

Bone density…

Muscle fibre composition…

Joint flexibility…

Neural conductivity…

Every statistic streamed across the floating display.

The mechanic watched the data with growing interest.

“Hmph…”

Once the full-body scan finished, a nearby fabrication terminal immediately printed a metallic data sheet containing Young Aether’s complete biomechanical profile along with the precise quantity of alloys, polymers, superconductive fibres, crystals, and energy conductors required to manufacture his personalised mech-suit.

“Now, physical capability and adaptation,” the old mechanic said while grabbing the report.

Young Aether was fitted with weighted exo-packs across his shoulders, waist, wrists, and ankles according to the scanner’s recommendations.

“Move.”

He sprinted across a pressure-sensitive runway while hundreds of embedded sensors analysed every footstep.

The floor beneath him shifted unexpectedly, changing friction, incline, and terrain simulation every few seconds.

Immediately afterwards, he was placed onto a high-speed adaptive treadmill.

Then artificial wind generators activated, blasting against him to simulate battlefield resistance.

Every heartbeat, breath, and muscle contraction appeared live across the surrounding holographic monitors.

The mechanic continued recording everything.

Next came weighted deadlifts.

Then vertical leap tests inside a low-gravity chamber.

Pull-ups under adjustable gravitational pressure and so on….

By the time the final assessment ended, nearly half the day had passed.

Outside the workshop, the orange glow of evening stretched across the distant skyline.

“Huff… Huff…”

Young Aether lay sprawled across the mat, his chest rising and falling violently as exhaustion consumed every muscle in his body.

Sweat soaked the black compression suit while the blue conductive lines running across its surface continued transmitting his vital signs to the workshop’s system.

After enduring countless physical examinations from morning until evening without even a proper break, he no longer had the strength to move a single finger comfortably.

The grumpy mechanic stared at the results displayed on his holographic tablet before his weathered face slowly froze in disbelief.

His eyes repeatedly moved between the recorded data and Young Aether lying on the floor as though the system had somehow produced an impossible error.

“1450… in just five minutes?” he muttered under his breath before letting out an incredulous laugh.

“What the heck… The highest record ever recorded by this workshop was barely 500, and that pilot was already considered a monster throughout the Empire.”

Jonathan was surprised as well, but only for a brief moment before his expression relaxed once more.

After everything he had witnessed since meeting Young Aether, results like these no longer seemed impossible.

An otherworlder naturally possessed a body fundamentally different from the people of this world… Young Aether’s physique was far more resilient and physically powerful than ordinary humans, even without the support of a mech-suit.

The grumpy mechanic lowered the tablet before turning toward Jonathan with a knowing expression.

“I suppose I finally understand why you refused to inform the Iron Marshal about this boy.”

Still lying on the mat, Young Aether forced himself to raise his head while struggling to catch his breath.

“Wha… ha… what do… you mean?”

The old mechanic looked down at him with an unusually serious expression before folding his arms across his chest.

“Because you’re dangerous.”

Young Aether frowned slightly.

“Dangerous?”

The mechanic nodded without hesitation.

“You possess the potential to reach Governor Level one day. It may not happen tomorrow or even within the next few years, but your physical foundation already surpasses almost every pilot I’ve examined during my entire career.” He paused briefly before continuing in an even colder voice.

“Now ask yourself this… if you were the current Governor, would you willingly allow someone with the potential to surpass you to continue growing unchecked?”

Young Aether fell silent.

He slowly turned toward Jonathan, whose face remained calm as ever. There was no hesitation or regret in his expression, only a warm smile that silently conveyed he had already accepted whatever consequences might come from helping his friend.

Young Aether couldn’t help smiling despite his exhaustion.

“You damn bastard…” he muttered while clenching his fist with a grin. “Don’t make me hug you again.”

Jonathan chuckled before extending his hand toward him.

“You can save that until after you show the truth.”

Young Aether grabbed Jonathan’s hand firmly, allowing himself to be pulled back onto his feet. His legs trembled slightly from fatigue as he wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead.

Before he could say anything else, a loud growl echoed from his stomach.

Grrrlll~

Jonathan glanced at him before bursting into laughter.

The grumpy mechanic merely shook his head in amusement.

Young Aether scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“…I think my stomach is protesting more than my muscles. Haha”

Jonathan laughed again.

“I can’t blame it after everything you’ve gone through today.”

Young Aether stretched his sore shoulders before looking toward the mechanic.

“So… is that finally everything?”

The old mechanic slowly shook his head.

“Not quite.”

Young Aether’s hopeful expression immediately disappeared.

“…You’re kidding.”

“One final assessment remains.”

Young Aether sighed deeply.

“What kind of assessment?”

The mechanic pointed toward a sealed chamber located at the far end of the facility.

“Tutorial Piloting.”

“Huh?”

Every wall, the ceiling, and even the floor were covered by seamless white alloy panels that reflected soft blue light across the entire room.

Standing at the centre of the room was a circular platform surrounded by dozens of folded mechanical arms resting beneath the floor.

Without removing the weighted packs still attached to Young Aether’s body, the mechanic activated one of the nearby consoles.

Several robotic arms immediately extended toward him, each carrying small metallic modules no larger than a human palm. One after another, they secured themselves around his wrists, ankles, shoulders, hips, chest, and the back of his neck before thin conductive cables connected directly to the blue circuits woven throughout his compression suit.

Young Aether looked down at the equipment attached across his body.

“What exactly are these?”

“They’re neural synchronisation modules,” the mechanic replied while calibrating the system through his holographic display.

“A real mech-suit doesn’t simply respond to muscle movement. It continuously exchanges signals with your nervous system, predicting your actions before your body completely finishes moving. These modules replicate that sensation without placing you inside an actual combat frame.”

Another robotic arm descended from above, carrying a sleek black visor whose surface shimmered like polished glass. Thousands of microscopic blue lights flickered beneath its transparent shell before the mechanic gently positioned it over Young Aether’s eyes.

“This visor will temporarily replace your visual input with an artificial environment. Don’t panic if everything suddenly goes dark. Your eyes are functioning normally. Your brain is simply receiving different information.”

As soon as the visor locked into place, darkness swallowed Young Aether’s vision completely.

Outside the chamber, Jonathan and the mechanic stepped through the door before it sealed shut with a heavy metallic thud.

They entered the observation room where dozens of holographic monitors illuminated the dim surroundings.

One display showed Young Aether standing motionless inside the simulation chamber, while another continuously monitored his heart rate, neural activity, reaction speed, stress levels, and synchronisation percentage. The largest monitor at the centre remained completely black, waiting for the simulation to begin.

The mechanic rested his hand upon the control console before activating the system.

“Can you hear me clearly, Mr. Lackey?”

Young Aether instinctively flinched when the mechanic’s voice echoed directly beside his ear, sounding so realistic that it felt as though someone were standing next to him inside the darkness.

“Yeah… I can hear you.”

“Good. I’m about to initialise the simulation. Your brain may experience temporary dizziness while your senses synchronise with the virtual environment, so remain calm and don’t fight the sensation. The discomfort usually disappears within a few seconds.”

Young Aether inhaled deeply before steadying himself.

“…I’m ready.”

A faint mechanical hum filled the darkness surrounding him before glowing white letters slowly materialised directly before his eyes.

[Tutorial Mode: Activating Simulation Test-01]

[Neural Synchronisation Established.]

[Sensory Calibration Complete.]

The endless darkness slowly rippled like smoke drifting across an invisible sky before gradually dissolving into countless fragments of light.

As his vision adjusted, an enormous ruined landscape unfolded before him.

For a second, Young Aether staggered as intense dizziness washed over him. His mind struggled to distinguish reality from simulation, but the sensation gradually faded as his vision stabilised, allowing the ruined world before him to become astonishingly vivid, almost indistinguishable from reality itself.

“Are you alright, Mr. Lackey?”

Young Aether took a slow breath before rolling his shoulders to ease the lingering dizziness.

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

“Good.”

The grumpy mechanic nodded while observing the monitoring systems inside the control room.

One holographic display showed Young Aether standing motionless inside the simulation chamber, while another displayed the virtual environment from his exact point of view.

“Now, look at the upper-right corner of your vision,” the mechanic instructed calmly. “You should see several interface icons floating there.”

Young Aether shifted his eyes without moving his head.

“…I see them.”

“Good. Find the icon shaped like a hexagonal nut.”

Young Aether quickly located it.

“Found it.”

“That is your System Configuration Menu. It allows you to access every operational function of your mech-suit, including sensor calibration, power distribution, movement assistance, communication systems, weapon configuration, environmental filters, and emergency overrides. During actual combat…”

As the mechanic continued explaining each icon, Young Aether listened attentively while carefully memorising every function.

Despite maintaining a calm expression, excitement quietly bubbled inside him.

This wasn’t simply advanced technology.

It felt as though he had stepped directly into one of the futuristic games he had dreamed about playing back on Earth.

Growing up, he had watched countless videos of people piloting giant machines and exploring immersive virtual worlds, but expensive gaming equipment had always remained beyond his reach. Now, instead of sitting behind a monitor with a controller in his hands, he was standing inside a simulation so realistic that his brain couldn’t distinguish it from reality.

The experience alone was enough to make his heart race.

After nearly twenty minutes of explaining every interface and confirming that Young Aether understood the basic controls, the mechanic leaned back against the console.

“Ready?”

Young Aether smiled.

“More than ready.”

“Good.”

____

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