Chapter 30: Gathering Materials for a God
`0115 - Workshop 2-B`
`5 Days Until Semifinals`
`[PROJECT: [Scrap - Mark IV: GODBREAKER]]`
`[Construction Progress: 0%]`
`[Material Requirements: 400% OVER ACADEMY INVENTORY]`
The blue torchlight was the only thing alive in the room.
Kael stood in front of the board.
`GODBREAKER` written in big letters. Underlined twice.
Behind him: Scrap Mark III. Silent.
To his left: Lira. Spear planted in the floor.
To his right: Ren. Both swords out, spinning them.
No one spoke.
0.01%.
S-Rank.
The Headmaster’s Heirs.
Ren broke the silence first.
"So. What do we need?"
Kael tapped the board.
`[Material List: GODBREAKER]`
`1. [Core: Aetherium Reactor] - S-Rank`
`2. [Armor: Voidsteel Alloy] - S-Rank`
`3. [Weapon: Mana Disruptor Cannon] - S-Rank`
`4. [AI: Tactical Combat Core] - Forbidden Grade`
`5. [Power Conduit: Dragonbone Fiber] - Mythic`
Silence again.
"Yeah," Ren said. "We’re screwed."
Lira didn’t blink. "Aetherium doesn’t exist in the Academy. Voidsteel is military-only. Dragonbone is illegal."
Kael nodded. "I know."
He turned to Scrap. Put his hand on its chest.
`[Direct Link: STANDBY]`
The blue eyes flickered.
"Then we steal it."
_Hour 1-8: Day 1 - The Plan_
You don’t fight S-Rank with C-Rank gear.
You fight S-Rank with S-Rank gear.
And S-Rank gear doesn’t sit in shops.
It sits in vaults.
Kael spread out 3 maps on the table.
`[ACADEMY RESTRICTED ZONE]`
`[MILITARY DEPOT - EAST GATE]`
`[BLACK MARKET - UNDERGROUND]`
"We have 5 days," Kael said. "Day 1 and 2: Materials. Day 3 and 4: Build. Day 5: Test."
Lira pointed at the Restricted Zone. "The Academy Vault. Aetherium and Voidsteel are there."
Ren pointed at the Military Depot. "Mana Disruptor prototypes. I saw them last month."
Kael tapped the Black Market. "Dragonbone Fiber. And the Tactical AI."
Ren whistled. "So we rob the Academy, the Army, and the Mafia. In 2 days."
"Basically," Kael said. He looked tired but his eyes were clear. "Any objections?"
Lira picked up her spear. "No."
Ren grinned. "Hell no."
`[TEAM 47: MISSION START]`
_Hour 9-16: The Academy Vault_
`0300`
`Restricted Zone - Underground Level 7`
The Vault door was 3 meters of `Orichalcum`.
Guarded by 2 B-Rank Knights and 1 A-Rank Mage.
Lira stepped out of the shadows first.
She didn’t fight.
She breathed.
`[Skill: [Frostbite Domain]]`
The temperature dropped 40 degrees in 1 second.
The guards froze. Literally.
Ice covered their armor, their weapons, their mouths.
`CRACK.`
Lira walked past them.
"Door?"
Kael was already at the panel.
`[TRASH SYSTEM: OVERRIDE]`
`[Auto-Scrap Arm Lv.2: HACKING MODE]`
`BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.`
`[Access: GRANTED]`
The door opened.
Inside: treasure.
Weapons. Armor. Artifacts.
And in the center, in a glass case:
`[Aetherium Reactor Shard]`
`[Voidsteel Ingot x3]`
Kael took them. No hesitation.
`[Materials Acquired: 2/5]`
An alarm started blaring.
`[INTRUDER ALERT]`
`[S-RANK RESPONSE: 60 SECONDS]`
They ran.
_Hour 17-24: The Military Depot_
`1100`
`East Gate Military Depot`
This was harder.
Soldiers. Turrets. `Anti-Golem Fields`.
Ren went in first.
"Distraction," he said, and walked through the front gate.
"I’m here to report a theft!"
While the officers were busy with him,
Kael and Lira went through the roof.
`WHIRRR.`
`[Auto-Scrap Arm: Cutting Mode]`
They dropped into the R&D lab.
And there it was.
On a table. Covered in a cloth.
`[Prototype: Mana Disruptor Cannon]`
`[Status: Unstable. 1 Shot Only]`
"Perfect," Kael whispered.
He was reaching for it when the lights turned red.
`[SECURITY BREACH]`
`[ANTI-GOLEM FIELD: ACTIVE]`
The air got heavy.
Kael felt his port burn.
`[WARNING: NEURAL LINK: UNSTABLE]`
From the hallway: footsteps. Heavy.
S-Rank.
"Go," Lira said. She threw Kael the cannon.
"I’ll hold them."
"But—"
"GO!"
Kael ran. With the cannon.
Behind him, he heard ice shattering and steel screaming.
10 seconds later, Lira appeared next to him on the roof.
Bleeding from a cut on her cheek.
But smiling.
`[Materials Acquired: 3/5]`
_Hour 25-36: Day 2 - The Black Market_
`2000`
`The Underground - Sector 9`
The Black Market didn’t care who you were.
As long as you had money. Or something better.
The dealer was a 2-meter man. Scarred.
He looked at the 3 of them.
"Team 47. The Trash King."
He spat. "What do you want?"
Kael placed the Aetherium Shard on the table.
"Dragonbone Fiber. And the Tactical AI Core."
The dealer laughed. "That shard is worth half of what I need."
He leaned forward. "What else you got?"
Lira stepped forward.
She didn’t say anything.
She just put her spear on the table.
The room went quiet.
The dealer swallowed. "S-Rank weapon... as collateral?"
Lira nodded once.
The dealer stared at her for 10 seconds.
Then he snapped his fingers.
Two crates appeared.
`[Crate 1: Dragonbone Fiber - 10 Meters]`
`[Crate 2: Tactical Combat AI Core - Sealed]`
`[Materials Acquired: 5/5]`
`[ALL MATERIALS: COMPLETE]`
As they left, the dealer called out.
"Hey, Trash King."
Kael turned.
"Win the semis. I got money on you."
He winked. "Odds are 0.01%. Pays good."
_Hour 37-60: Day 3-4 - The Build_
They didn’t sleep.
For 48 hours.
The workshop looked like a warzone.
Metal shavings everywhere. Sparks. Smoke.
`[FORGING: VOIDSTEEL ARMOR]`
`[WEAVING: DRAGONBONE CONDUITS]`
`[INSTALLING: AETHERIUM REACTOR]`
`[INTEGRATING: TACTICAL AI CORE]`
`[Mental Load: 98%]`
`[Status: CRITICAL]`
Kael was running on stimulants and rage.
Lira was testing every weld. Every circuit.
Ren was running security and bringing food.
Scrap Mark III was disassembled.
Every piece melted down.
And rebuilt.
Bigger. 2.5 meters.
Armor black as night. `Voidsteel`.
Veins of blue `Aetherium` running through it.
`Dragonbone` cables connecting everything.
And in the chest: a new cannon.
`[Weapon: Mana Disruptor Cannon]`
On Day 4, Hour 59:
`[INSTALLING: TACTICAL AI CORE]`
Kael held the Core. It was humming.
Forbidden tech. It could think. Predict. Kill.
He looked at Scrap.
"Last piece," he whispered.
`CLICK.`
The Core slid in.
For 3 seconds, nothing.
Then:
`[SYSTEM: BOOTING]`
`[AI: ONLINE]`
`[GREETINGS, MASTER KAEL]`
`[DESIGNATION: SCRAP - MARK IV: GODBREAKER]`
`[OBJECTIVE: ENSURE MASTER’S SURVIVAL. TERMINATE THREATS.]`
Scrap’s eyes opened.
Not blue anymore.
White. Like stars.
It stood up.
2.5 meters.
No sound.
The air around it warped from the Aetherium energy.
`[Scrap Mark IV: ONLINE]`
`[Power Output: 1200%]`
`[Sync Cap: 99%]`
Kael fell to his knees.
Exhausted.
But smiling.
"We did it," he whispered.
_Hour 61-68: Day 5 - Final Test_
`0500`
`Training Yard 0 - Off Limits`
The test wasn’t against bots.
It wasn’t against Ren or Lira.
It was against the Academy itself.
Instructor Garrick stood in the center.
Behind him: 10 A-Rank instructors.
"This is treason, Kael," Garrick said. "Stolen materials. Forbidden tech."
Kael stood in front of Scrap.
"Then stop us."
Garrick sighed. "Very well."
`[SIMULATION: FULL FORCE]`
10 A-Ranks charged.
Scrap didn’t move.
The AI did.
`[TACTICAL ANALYSIS: COMPLETE]`
`[THREAT PRIORITY: ASSIGNED]`
`[EXECUTING: PROTOCOL GODBREAKER]`
`WHOOSH.`
Scrap vanished.
`BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.`
In 10 seconds, 10 A-Ranks were on the ground.
Not dead. Disabled.
Scrap stood back next to Kael.
Unscratched.
Garrick stared. Then he started clapping. Slowly.
"I see," he said. "The Headmaster was right to be afraid."
He walked away.
_Hour 69: 0600 - Eve of Semifinals_
`Bulletin Board.`
The entire Academy was there.
`TEAM 47 vs TEAM 01`
`[Odds Updated: 0.01% -> 1%]`
`[Betting: SUSPENDED]`
`[Note: Academy Security Increased 300%]`
1%. Up from 0.01%.
The whispers were fear now.
"Did you see the new golem?"
"It’s made of voidsteel."
"I heard it killed 10 instructors in 10 seconds."
"Team 01 called in reinforcements."
Kael stood in front of the board.
He looked dead. 5 days no sleep.
But his eyes were alive.
Scrap stood behind him. 2.5 meters.
A god of scrap and void.
Ren was eating. As always. "1%? We went up 100x."
Lira cleaned her spear. "Team 01 is waiting."
Kael nodded.
He closed his eyes.
And felt it.
Scrap. The AI. The reactor. The dragonbone.
All of it. One being.
`[Direct Link: 99%]`
`[ANNOUNCER VOICE]`
`[LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE SEMIFINALS!]`
`[TEAM 47: THE TRASH KING AND HIS GODBREAKER!]`
`[VS]`
`[TEAM 01: THE ACADEMY’S HEIRS!]`
`[ENTER THE ARENA!]`
The doors opened.
This time, the crowd didn’t chant.
They watched. In silence.
50,000 people.
And all eyes on 3 people and a god.
Across the arena: Team 01.
3 people. Gold and white.
Perfect. Arrogant.
Artifact weapons. S-Rank auras.
The leader, the Sword Saint, stepped forward.
He looked at Kael. At Scrap.
And he laughed.
"A golem? Made of trash?"
He raised his sword. It hummed with divine power.
"Let’s see how long it lasts."
Kael didn’t answer.
He just put his hand on his back. On the port.
`[BEGIN IN 3... 2... 1...]`
Kael opened his eyes.
White stars.
"Scrap," he whispered.
`[BEGIN!]`
`BOOM.`
The air exploded.
Scrap was gone.
And appeared in front of the Sword Saint.
The Saint swung his divine sword.
Scrap caught the blade.
With one hand.
`CRACK.`
The divine sword shattered.
And Scrap’s other fist came down.
`[Protocol: GODBREAKER: INITIATED]`
To Be Continued...
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