Chapter 129….
The heart of steel begins to throb.
Wings unfurling are always pointed toward freedom.
Mecha Academy, Liberty.
Bold letters slam onto the screen.
Psssshhh!
Steam bursts out, and the harsh scraping of metal fills the air.
That extremely niche game.
Mecha Academy: Liberty had begun under Ji-han’s hands.
[Ahh, ahh… he actually started it]
[You won an award and now you’re picking the weirdest game possible!]
[No, calm down.]
[Don’t believe the one telling you to calm down]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Honestly I’m only like this because I love mecha stuff]
[Actually, I like it too]
[Mechas are a man’s romance, right?]
Ji-han lightly customized his character as he spoke.
“Actually, I do think robots are pretty cool.”
[Oh? Ji-han’s into robots?]
[Since when? That doesn’t suit him at all]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I thought Ji-han only did sports]
“Well, that part is true. I only ever did sports—but when I was really young, I begged my parents for transforming robot toys.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ cute]
[So you’re playing this to fulfill that childhood dream?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But then why are you complaining about it being too niche?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s fine, Ji-han. Do whatever you want. As your loyal squad, we shall protect your honor]
[I’m in that squad too]
“Hahaha, thank you. Anyway, for customization, this much should be fine.”
In truth, Ji-han didn’t change his face much.
He simply adjusted the skin tone and added a few colors that would look better under in-game lighting—minor details.
[But why is Mecha Academy unpopular?]
[Robot battles are cool, but I heard the controls are an issue?]
[The controls are that hard?]
[You can set it to full auto and it gets easy, but you lose the ‘manual feel.’ Veterans use full manual controls in PvP.]
[Whoa, this game has multiplayer?]
[And veterans??]
[Oh yeah, the fanbase is extremely hardcore. Some people ONLY play this.]
Ji-han smiled faintly as he read the chat.
“It has a proper story mode too. And honestly, I’m not planning to jump right into multiplayer.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ You can think about that later]
[So which dorm are you joining?]
[This game has dorms?]
[Yep, three in total. Each teaches different specialties.]
[What’s Ji-han’s starting setting?]
[Basically you start as a bottom-tier, underperforming cadet.]
“Yeah, I saw that from gameplay videos too.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He came fully prepared to enjoy this game, didn’t he?]
[He already had this planned]
[Ji-han… you lied to us…]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I didn’t lie! You all discussed it with me!]
[Major games are cool, but Ji-han discovering obscure ones hits different]
[He’ll do well no matter what he plays]
Ji-han turned away from chat and examined the dorms.
Just as viewers said, there were three.
First Dorm: Vellum.
The Liberty Academy emblem—steel wings crossed by a diagonal sword.
[Vellum literally means war, right? It’s where pilots are trained]
[So like a professional pilot track?]
[Yep, it’s the pride of Liberty]
[ㅋㅋㅋ If you don’t go there, you can’t pilot a mecha?]
[Nah, you can, but since you start as an underachiever, things get messy]
“Got it. Then next…”
Machina Dorm.
Liberty’s steel wings, and a cogwheel layered in front of them.
Just from looking—
“Engineering, right?”
[Correct!]
[Correct!]
[Machina trains engineers and mechanics]
[Lots of players go here to mod their mechs]
[It’s for mid-to-high-level players, basically]
[You get the vibe, right?]
“Haha, yes. Then lastly…”
Imperium Dorm.
Steel wings, topped with a crown.
“This one handles command and strategy, right?”
[Yep. Did he actually study beforehand?]
[ㅋㅋㅋ Ji-han really does study hard]
[Our smart boy, good job]
[They train operators. If you go here it becomes like a strategy-sim hybrid. Game freaks love it.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ yeah I get the type]
[But Ji-han definitely won’t choose that lol]
Ji-han reread the descriptions several times, thinking.
[So what’s your choice, Ji-han!?]
[Drumroll!!!!]
“I think I’ll choose… this one.”
He firmly tapped one of the dorms.
* *
“Welcome to Liberty, cadets! Our Liberty Academy exists to raise frontline fighters to battle those damned machine beasts! We raise the meat shields who will stand at the front!”
The instructor’s harsh voice boomed.
Freshmen shrank under the pressure.
“If you’re afraid of dying, leave now. A cadet who is unprepared doesn’t just die—”
His eyes burned.
“—they get their comrades killed! Their friends killed! That is the weight you carry! Understood?!”
“Yes!”
“LOUDER!”
“YEEEEES SIRRRR!”
[Wow;; look at this atmosphere;;]
[This is hardcore]
[Especially because he picked Vellum lol]
[They’re the ones who fight on real battlefields, so it fits]
[You need discipline or you die instantly]
The viewers felt tense.
But for Ji-han, this atmosphere was—
‘Familiar. Almost like going back to my training days.’
Warm even. Like returning home.
“THE ANSWER IS TOO QUIET YOU BRATS!”
“Aaaargh!!”
Ji-han let out a loud shout for the first time in a while.
The instructor slowly turned toward him.
“Cadet Lee Ji-han, correct?”
“Yes sirrrr!!!”
“For someone who barely passed, your voice isn’t bad.”
Was that sarcasm? Praise?
He wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain.
‘In the sports world, loud voice = top tier.’
It was a truth he knew well.
Be loud, perform well—done.
Ji-han learned all that himself.
Back when he suffered from hyperfocus syndrome, grinding his body down with insane training.
Teammates called him a monster, or scary, but beneath that discomfort he sensed admiration.
Why?
‘Because the coaches took good care of me.’
With monstrous stamina, skill, and ridiculous training discipline, it was hard to dislike him.
He didn’t get to compete due to circumstances, but as a reserve athlete he got to try new equipment and tools.
Not a bad time.
‘Which is why I pushed myself too far.’
He still saw that as a debt—unable to accept praise as something he deserved.
But the Ji-han of now was different. Completely different.
“I will do my best, sirrrr!!!”
“Good! Don’t let those words be empty! Work HARD!”
“Yes sirrrrr!!!”
His shout echoed.
Some cadets whispered.
“What’s with this guy?”
“Isn’t he bottom-ranked? Acting like that won’t change anything.”
“…He’s in Vellum? That?”
[ㅡㅡ]
[Ugh! I’m getting mad for him]
[Do NPCs act like this in other streamers’ playthroughs too?]
[Yeah, it’s an early-game scripted event]
[Still so frustrating]
[It’s fine. Once you get a mech and train, you’ll crush them all ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[There’s a sparring event, right?]
[Of course, it’s an academy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[After that you climb ranks nonstop]
The chat raged for him.
Ji-han stayed calm.
He’d been through this before.
‘Especially when I worked corporate. Yeah.’
He knew he wasn’t perfect—unable to socialize, hyperfocused, bad at reading cues.
Some saw those traits as flaws.
‘But my traits aren’t mistakes.’
Remembering his parents’ words, he steadied himself.
Ji-han had become firm—no longer shaken by petty insults.
‘And now I have viewers who get angry for me.’
Tens of thousands, ready to defend him.
With allies this strong, why would he bow?
“Freshmen! Over here!”
The instructor called.
Ji-han didn’t bend. He straightened his back proudly and walked forward.
From behind—
“What’s he so proud about?”
“He should straighten his grades, not his back.”
“Maybe he’s rich?”
“Nah. If he were rich he’d have gone Imperium.”
He ignored all the nonsense.
‘There’s a sparring event anyway. No need to mind them.’
He calmly stood before the instructor.
Others lined up behind him.
The instructor smiled with satisfaction at Ji-han’s sharp movements.
“At least we’ve got one cadet with his head on straight! Now then—what’s next!”
He cleared his throat loudly.
“Dorm room assignments! After you unpack, report to the auditorium for physical evaluation!”
He continued:
“And this exam won’t just check basic stats! We will assess what abilities you possess, how strong your body is! How EXCELLENT your physique truly is!”
His lips curved upward wickedly.
As if he would personally sift through the cadets and decide who deserved to stay.
“We will test you. And if you fail—”
His voice fell like a guillotine.
“—you will pack your bags and go home.”
“What?!”
“This is supposed to be the best academy!”
“They’ll send us back? After how much I paid?!”
Murmurs spread like a contagion.
But Ji-han simply looked at the instructor calmly.
Behind him—
“At least there’s someone below us.”
“Yeah, we won’t be last at least.”
Even now, some tried to raise themselves by dragging others down.
[Ugh!! Those little—]
[Ji-han, just knock them out and speedrun the expulsion ending]
[ㅋㅋㅋ expelled 10 minutes into the game]
[How are we supposed to endure this until the sparring event?]
Chat was furious.
But Ji-han was thinking something completely different.
‘A test?’
Then—
‘I can show the gap sooner than expected.’
Grateful for his viewers’ anger on his behalf, he focused only on the upcoming physical exam.
A fitness test.
‘Perfect chance to show them the difference.’
And with that thought, he was simply… excited.
