It has been about half a month since the plan proposed by the maintenance class of the Department of Riding Trainers - to get out of the scope of repairing phantom knights and develop a new type of machine. During this time, the school has resumed classes and El Nesty, who is a secondary student, has returned to her daily routine.

As soon as the bell rang to announce the end of class, the silent classroom suddenly became lively. The teacher sighed softly at the sudden change in the students' attitude, said hello, and left the classroom. The day's classes are all over, and the next thing is the end of school. Students who have been freed from schoolwork spend their time as they please. Even in a world where one step out of the city could be threatened by Warcraft, the creature of the student doesn't seem to change much. Al and the others are no exception, but their situation is different.

"Al, Al, let's go practice! Come on, do your best today!"

"Okay, okay, don't pull so hard, I'll go too." 」

Artie eagerly took Al's hand, and Kidd followed them. During the day, I take classes in the middle school, and after school, I go to the workshop of the Riding Gymnastics Department. This has become their recent way of life.

The workshop is still the same noisy as ever. However, the situation on this day was not quite the same as usual. Al and the others, who came to the scene noisily, wondered about the solemn atmosphere around them. They saw the boss slumped in his chair, so they stepped forward to talk.

"Hello, Boss. Why do you look so tired today?"

"Well, silver boy...... it's nothing, that's it. We've made rope-type crystallized muscles. 」

"The one El brought up last time, right?"

"yes, but...... I don't think we would have to use a reel in our Riding Gymnastics Department. Those guys in the costume department said that since they wanted to do it, they had to do it seriously, and they didn't show mercy at all. 」

The boss's eyes were ethereal, and there was a vicissitudes of accomplishment in his eyes. The three of them almost burst out laughing just by imagining the appearance of muscular dwarf feet with a reeling machine, and the scene was too comical.

"What do you say, thank you, boss. 」

"Thanks, but it's worth it. Well, look at this. 」

The data that the Boss threw at El listed a number of numbers, sorting out the changes in output that would occur when using normal crystalline muscles and using the rope type.

In addition, there is a comparison of the outputs that are made at different times depending on the method. In the process of making rope-shaped crystalline muscles, they found that working on weaving was more effective than simply weaving.

"When I asked the costume students to show me how to weave their crystallized muscles, they almost called a doctor. 」

"The boss is really messing around. 」

The information gathered by their honorable sacrifice is invaluable. The most effective weaves can even achieve a maximum output of one to five times, and the tightly kneaded and braided rope type has been tested to show nearly ten times the endurance after repeated stretching tests.

"It's higher than expected. I thought that the output would increase by 20% at most, and the lifespan would be increased by up to 2 times......

"You're the one who made the proposal, but don't think we didn't do anything. Hey, I don't deny that it has a practical effect before you get carried away. I originally wanted to try it, but if the usage is a little worse, the result will be much worse. I don't think the part that used to be used casually is good, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. 」

As he spoke, the boss smiled innocently. The childish look stood with the smiling Al, and he didn't know who the child was. The two were discussing the results, but at this moment, there was a sudden commotion from the repair shop, and the voice of someone calling for the boss from the end of the workshop was also heard.

"Boss, the renewal of the arm muscles is complete!"

"Oh! I'll be there right now...... I'm going to run the rope model, boy, and you'll come with you. 」

"Of course, please let me see you!"

At the end of the workshop was a huge human body with only the outer garment of its right arm, revealing crystallized muscles. The muscle fibers of the arm become thicker, and it can be seen that it is a rope-type part.

If this part is the same color as the muscle of the creature, it must be a picture that is quite bad for mental health. Fortunately, the crystalline muscles are foggy white. Against the backdrop of the Phantom Knight's huge body, it gives a statue-like impression.

"Okay - you guys go away! Let's start the movement test...... okay, please, Hewei!!"

"Understood. Then I'm going to get started. 」

The students who had been doing their homework scattered around. Rider "Hevi O'Bury" then enters the mechage sitting on the maintenance table. The chest armor left a sound of compressed air, which gradually closed.

Although the unique magic output of the rope-type crystalline muscle has been investigated, this is the first time that it has been tested on an actual machine. The surrounding students also had their eyes lit up in anticipation and watched with bated breath. The right hand of the rope type holds a large metal block. The Phantom Knight raised his arm as instructed, and the crystallized muscles of the arm could be seen contracting and bulging through a gap in the armor.

"Oh...... that's amazing. 」

"Hey—that's a lot of strength, isn't it?"

The piece of metal that the body picked up was the weight that the average Phantom Knight could only pick up with all his might, but it could easily lift it with one hand. The output power of the rope-type crystalline muscles is truly amazing. I don't know if it's because of the lack of outfit, or because of the rope-type characteristics, but I can still hear a creaking sound similar to friction.

"The output increase and stamina increase seem to be going well. 」

"That's right, I guess I can make a mech that wouldn't be easily reimbursed even if it was operated by a teenager. 」

While Al and the Boss were discussing the results of the experiment, a certain voice grew louder and louder, mixing in a strange tone that did not resemble the crystalline muscles.

"By the way, Boss, did you hear any noises? Looks like ...... rubbing sounds. 」

"What a coincidence, did you hear that too? So I didn't hear it wrong...... what did you say?"

The moment the two of them turned to the body together, they heard a crisp thud, and the right arm of the body "cracked" as literally said. The crystalline muscles fell, the weak arm let go, and the metal lump fell to the ground. But no one there cared about that kind of thing anymore. For no other reason, the crystalline muscles that had been detached from the armor on the right arm began to bounce off and scatter in all directions. If it was smashed by the huge armor fragments covering the Phantom Knight, it was no joke, and the workshop suddenly turned into a wailing hell.

"Woo woo woo oh wow ......wow

One of them unfortunately flew towards the Boss, and Al stood in front of him at the last moment, pulling out his staff and Winchester to clear the shards. He lowered his posture and fired a large number of compressed air bullets upwards, using the force of the explosion to bounce off the fragments and change direction. The shards made a dull popping sound, drew a large arc upwards, and stabbed straight into the wall behind them.

The boss of the Horse Drill Academy, after all, is a forger, and the dwarves lack agility in the first place, so they can't expect him to react immediately. He froze in place like a statue for a long time, and then his face froze and he looked up at the shards that had pierced the wall behind him. Seeing the debris deeply embedded in the wall, even the boss couldn't make a sound for the time being. Kid and Artie also maintained their scepter positions, and fell silent in embarrassment.

The Boss quickly came to his senses and immediately began to inspect the body that had just exploded. The right arm that burst open became tattered, and the appearance was very miserable. The crystalline muscles were scattered in all directions, and even the metal bones inside could be seen. Al timidly said to the boss, who was eager to check the condition of his right arm:

"...... boss, please tell me what you think. 」

"Ah-this is that. The crystallized muscles themselves are fine, but the fixation mechanism at the root pops up. The increase in muscle output is too high, and other places can't hold it. So that's it, oops, what a defeat to it. 」

The boss who let out a laugh quickly shut up. After meeting eye contact with Al, the two sighed deeply together.

"Ordinary methods won't work, I think we should at least start with the whole body now. 」

Although the surrounding equipment was damaged, because everyone kept a distance, it was miraculous that no one was injured. The students who crawled out trembling also sighed as they looked at the damaged body in their right arm.

There is still a long way to go before the rope-type crystalline muscle is put into practical use. In summary, the first step is to re-evaluate the structure, including the fixation method. It takes time to start an evaluation from scratch like this, and the design stakeholders will be busy for a while.

"Then boss, I'll leave it to you here...... we'll go to training. 」

"You'll just get 'over there' for now. Okay......Hey, don't be stunned!!Let's start with the re-modification of the fixing mechanism!!"

Although he looked a little discouraged, the boss was not discouraged and threw himself back into the work.

Al leaves the noisy work area where he started his work, and follows Kidd and Artie to the other corner of the workshop.

There were no Phantom Knights in that place, but there were several strangely shaped "full-body armors". The height is slightly larger than the size worn by people, and it is said to be a phantom knight, but it is only about 2.5 meters. Although the head and torso are the same size as ordinary full-body armor, the hands and feet are extremely long, and the body shape is very uncoordinated.

"Hello—Butson. How is it today?"

"Oh, Al. No problem, the Phantom Crystal Armor is also in excellent condition today. I can guarantee it. 」

Batson replied, flexing the muscles in his arm. The full-body armor, officially known as the "Phantom Crystal Armor", is a replacement for the Phantom Knight, or perhaps a small Phantom Knight, based on El's proposal.

The rows of Phantom Crystal Armor were surrounded by students other than Batson to prepare them. If you look at their figures, you can see that they are not students of the higher division, but students of the middle division. Speaking of the core of the design of the Phantom Crystal Armor, it is "miniaturized and simplified for the Phantom Knight", so the difficulty of manufacturing is reduced in one go, and even a mid-level student who wants to become a riding forger can build it. Batson being in it is a good example, but he's known Al and has had a whole bunch of weird relationships before.

"So, I'm going to practice harder today—"

As soon as Al finished speaking, Kid and Artie responded energetically. Speaking of which, this Phantom Crystal Armor was originally something that was originally conceived to teach them how to drive, but now it is used to make up for the lack of a Rider Academy. Kidd and Artie are very motivated, but Al is also elated. For him, even if there is a difference in size, he still feels happy to operate a humanoid machine.

The Phantom Crystal Armor is the same as the real armor, and is worn directly by the manipulator, so it needs to be adapted to the manipulator's physique to some extent. For example, Al was dealing with the tuned bodies of particularly short people, while Kid and Artie were larger.

Al stood in front of the illusion crystal armor that landed on his knees and spread his chest armor, but instead of getting on it immediately, he hugged his torso. Seeing Al, who was smiling from ear to ear on the cold steel, Chid, who followed later, couldn't stand it and said:

"I know you like it, but even if you hurt it again, you won't get anything in return. 」

"Nothing like that. As long as you bet on love, it will be very obedient. 」

Kid looked suspiciously at his phantom crystal armor. How could it be? These outlandish arguments flashed through his mind.

"......No, it can't be!"

Finally Kidd came to his senses when he was almost convinced.

"Woo woo, Al just loves phantom crystal armor. Oh, Kidd, stop arguing, get on board! Train, start training!"

"Oh, oh...... is it my fault......

Kidd was urged by Artie, who had gone up first, and sat down on one of the armor planes side by side, a little unconvinced. As the metal snapped, there was a sound of air escaping, and the armor closed and held in place. He immediately grasped the control handle attached to the inside of the Phantom Crystal Armor's arm, directly moving the body's hands and feet, and using magic to control it. The Crystal Armor is manipulated in a manner similar to that of the Phantom Knight, as it is intended.

"I'm going to start ......"

He began to construct magic in the realm of magic calculus, an organ unique to the creatures of this world. The crystalline muscles contained in the Phantom Crystal Armor began to contract in obedience to the magic and magic that flowed in, and the armor trembled a little, and stood up after a beat. The magic infused by the pilot when it is activated is used by the Phantom Crystal Armor to control the movements, which can be said to be a kind of machine that directly converts magical abilities into physical power.

They each wore phantom crystal armor and walked out of the workshop with a sonorous voice. Take a detour to the training ground at the back and see that there are already guests who have come first.

"Hello, Senior Edgar. How does it feel to use it?"

"Ah............h

Would-be knight of the Riding Gymnastics Department "Edgar M. C. Blanche said hello in the Phantom Crystal Armor that matched his tall physique, and strode around with his heels raised. The movements look clumsy and seem to be struggling. Although they are not as good as the El who can naturally drive the phantom crystal armor, they are extremely serious.

"I see, it seems to be fun!"

Seeing his appearance, Al nodded. Edgar straightened his already serious face and looked up at the sky slightly. Al also understands that it is very difficult for him to move, but for him, "the hard work of manipulating the robot = the joy of good things". It's because he thinks so from the bottom of his heart that people don't dare to compliment. Edgar, who understood this, gave up on persuasion, and in turn, he crossed his arms and brought up another matter.

"Hey, El Nesty, I've thought so before, this is called Phantom Crystal Armor is not a bad thing, and I think it's very powerful...... but it's so hard to move!!"

The reason why he would work so hard to manipulate the Phantom Crystal Armor was because of the control method. There is no problem with connecting the actual hands and feet and using magic at the same time, the problem is the type of magic used. The magic required for manipulation is the high-level magic "Body Enhancement", and even as a first-class horseman, he can't manipulate it as he wants, let alone an ordinary student.

"The necessary controls are still too complicated. The magic of controlling the Phantom Knight is still relatively less burdensome on the rider...... which is not completely unusable, but it can't be used for manipulation training. In fact, everyone has already given up. 」

Edgar looks around the training ground. There were only a few figures but him. Almost everyone tried it a few times, and they complained.

"Uh-huh, you're right. It's me underestimating the threshold. 」

"Then make up for it with hard work! Look, senior, we can do it too. 」

Edgar took turns looking at El, Kid, and Artie, and sighed softly. Kidd and Artie ignored the bitter high-ranking horsemen and skillfully operated the Phantom Crystal Armor. Although this is the result of learning magic from Al and training together, others will only classify them as outliers along with Al .