Wizard and Witches: Griffith Academy

The Little Mechanic

Naomi and Lisa were watching TV when they heard knocking on their door. The two shared a glance with each other. One of them had to stand up and open the door, and neither of them wanted to be the one. So without saying a word, the two played rock-paper-scissors. Naomi chose rock, while Lisa chose paper.

Lisa grinned while Naomi groaned out in frustration before standing up.

Opening the door, she found Nova and Fox standing before her, both still wearing the same clothes as the one from before.

“Ho-” Nova was cut off as Naomi hit him in the head for the wink he did earlier. She wasn’t the type of person to let it just slip by. She let out a sigh of relief as Nova laid on the floor with a severe headache.

A digital screen suddenly popped out of nowhere in front of Naomi’s face. Written on it was:

[Certain activity has created a new technique!]

Name: Punch

Rank: ★

Level: 1

Type: Activated

Mana Usage: 3 mana

[Hitting your enemy with your fist. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. In addition, hitting different parts of the body may have other effects.]

“Uh… what’s this?” Naomi asked as she pressed the x symbol at the corner of the screen. If she recalled correctly, Nova did talk about something called Technique.

“I’m guessing you just got a notification for your new Technique. Only you can see it. Certain activities can invoke new techniques, and by using them regularly, you will upgrade their level. If you reach certain levels, then you might get unique effects for your Technique,” Nova explained as he stood back up, rubbing the part of his head that was hit by Naomi.

“Okay... And what’s mana?”

“Well, it’s what fuels your power. It’s all around us, yet it can’t be touched or seen. But it’s there. You know the drill. I am not good at explaining it, so you better ask about it in class. Now, are you ready for the tour?”

Realizing it was Nova and Fox standing outside, Lisa hastily turned off the TV before approaching them. She was surprised to find Nova lying unconscious on the ground with some bulge popping out at the back of his head.

[Technique Punch level up!]

Fox pulled out a small vial from his robe pocket. He turned Nova around, opened his mouth, and then slowly poured in the vial content. After a moment, Nova regained his consciousness. The bulge on his head disappeared without a trace.

“Ah… That feels so much better. Thanks for the potion,” Nova said as he stood up.

Fox simply nodded as he put away the empty bottle inside his cloak.

“Now, WHY THE HELL DO YOU KEEP HITTING ME?!” Nova turned his attention to Naomi.

“IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR TRYING TO SWEET TALK TO ME!” Naomi was worried for a second that Nova was hurt. But after seeing how he reacted, she regretted not hitting him harder. Maybe it would have knocked some sense into him. 

“N-now, now. Let’s get going with the tour.” Lisa stood between the two. If this continued, she was sure it wouldn’t be long before they either fell in love with each other or one of them killed the other. Hopefully not the latter.

“Ah…. Right. Let’s go!” Nova darted off and pretended as if nothing happened. Naomi was reluctant to follow at first, but after Lisa convinced her, the three caught up to Nova.

They started with the dorm itself, an 8-floor building divided into 4 categories. The first floor was the canteen, recreation room, and some room for staff. The rest of the levels were meant for students’ bedrooms. Second floor for elementary students. Third and fourth for middle school students. Fifth and sixth for high school students. And the top two levels were for university students.

“The dorm is supposed to be full by now. But because a student thought it was good to summon thousands of frogs in their room, we have to evacuate some floors. We even have to call some Protectors that were on duty outside of the academy to help us get rid of the frogs,” Nova sighed.

Fox pulled out two pieces of paper and showed them to Naomi and Lisa. One of them was Nova’s sick permission, while the other reported the frog incident. Both were almost at the same time. Lisa and Naomi laughed.

Nova thought the two were laughing about the incident. But after realizing what Fox showed the two, Nova started panicking and throwing excuses. It was evident that he was just trying not to be involved.

As they walked around part of the dorm that wasn’t infested by frogs, another screen appeared before Lisa.

[Certain activity has created a new technique!]

Name: Analyze

Rank: ★

Level: 1

Type: Activated

Mana Usage: 1 mana

[Observing something will cause this Technique to activate. It helps you get information that is usually unseen]

“Ah… I just got a new technique too. It’s called Analyze.”

“Really? That’s a rare and useful technique. But considering your diligence in class, it’s no wonder you got that one,” Nova commented.

“So, how do I use it?”

“You just do. It’s not something you have to use. It’s like a passive skill. Just act normally.”

“Didn’t you say it’s like a life skill? A life skill doesn’t allow me to see unseen information.”

“I just said it’s similar to a life skill.”

“… Okay? I guess that makes sense.”

“Soon, you will understand. The logic for Mages isn’t exactly the same as Humans. Just trust me, when the time comes, that Technique will feel as natural as moving your hand around.”

As the four continued their walk around, Lisa continued to look around. A screen popped up on almost all the things she observed. Even if it was just bare minimum pieces of information, it was still pretty impressive. Who knows, maybe it would be helpful one day.

“Alright, next we should visit the town. You would love it. Everyone does,” Nova said, leading the group outside.

But instead of arriving outside of the dorm, they immediately arrived at the small town. Fox had teleported them as soon as they passed the dorm front door without any of them realizing it. Dozens of shops were lined up across the main road, from a shop that sold regular tools to magical items, a cafe, a library, and many more unique-looking shops.

A lot of the people they came across greeted Nova with warmth. Some even gave him gifts.

Fox, though, was the total opposite. Despite the two being near each other, it seemed like the townsfolk were actively ignoring him. It’s like he wasn’t there. Of course, maybe he wasn’t that close to them, considering so far, Naomi only heard him talk probably once. But to be ignoring him that far still seemed far-fetched. They didn’t even greet him.

Meanwhile, Lisa internally felt terrible for Fox. It reminded her of her childhood before she met Naomi.

“This is called Grivint Town, not Griffith. A lot of people seem to get the two mixed, so try not to. If you ever need something, you could get it here. EVERYTHING here, and I mean it, is made by the townsfolk. Whether it is the ingredient or the item itself, all are homemade. We are completely independent of the world outside the walls,” Nova stated proudly. While both Nami and Lisa already knew about it, they still nodded as a response.

Nova guided them through the city. Introducing some of the shop and their owner to the two.

“Sadly, the Protector’s HQ is under renovation. So it must wait for another day,” Nova said, pointing to a colossal blanket covering one of the buildings.

As they kept walking, one of the shops piqued Lisa’s interest. It was called The Mechanic Workshop, with some dead robots displayed on the front window.

“I want to check that shop,” Lisa said as she walked to the shop. But thanks to the crowd around them, only Fox heard her. So he decided to follow her without telling the other two. Naomi and Nova were too busy arguing with each other about going to a weapon shop.

Walking into the shop, Lisa was immediately greeted by the sound of a melding machine. But she ignored the sound as she was more intrigued by what she saw. Even though everything was in a messy state, the store was filled with cool-looking machines. There’s even some fully intact robots, but to her disappointment, none of them made a move. 

While Lisa was busy admiring the shop’s wares, the shop’s owner was sitting at the far end of the room. She was busily melding a robot hand to its metallic body. Unfortunately, the girl was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t hear the two entering the shop.

Fox approached the girl and turned off the welding machine. The girl turned around to yell but instantly stopped when she saw who it was.

“Ah! Fox! I’m glad you came. Your order is ready,” the girl took a small black chip from the table in front of her and offered it to Fox, who attached it to his mask.

“Test, test. Ah, it works. Thanks, Clara.” Fox’s voice now had a bit more tune than before. He patted the girl, who seemed very happy to be praised by Fox.

Hearing Fox talk, Lisa immediately put down a robot claw she was inspecting and walked toward the two. She overheard the young girl’s name, Clara. From the looks alone, Lisa guessed her to be a middle school student. Clara was wearing an oversized lab coat and protective glasses. What Lisa was interested in the most was that she seemed very close to Fox, a complete opposite sight compared to the other townsfolk.

“Fox, who is this?’ Clara asked as Lisa appeared in her sight. She looked at her from up to down suspiciously.

“A new student. Nova is handling the other one. She seemed interested in your shop, so I accompanied her here.”

“I see... Fox, can you deliver this to the principal? Unfortunately, he was a bit busy when I visited. Maybe he can receive this now,” Clara pulled out a wooden box from her lab coat pocket. Fox nodded before grabbing the box and disappeared in an instant.

“Look. Don’t get too close to Fox. I’m sure you have seen for yourself how people treated him.”

“… Eh?”

“Trust my words, and your life here will be just fine.”