The blazing heat of the furnace brushed against Ezekiel's tanned skin. His muscles flexed as he raised the hammer in his hand before bringing it down and striking the red hot metal laying on the table before him. Of course there was the more laid back way of just assigning the task to the robot arms he had made.
But he preferred the traditional method, it served as a sort of training and it also allowed him calm his very chaotic mind.
The mechanic stopped hammering, checking up on the metal before smiling and placing it into a cooling chamber. He then walked back and slumped onto his chair. His surroundings were filled with metals of many forms, a testament to the time he had spent tinkering in his hidden workshop. A lot of the creations were incomplete, the most iconic being the hollow and half completed body armor that was hung in the middle of the workshop. The rest were broken pieces of gauntlets and boots, the predecessors of his current gear. Back then, he had to experiment a lot before finally creating the machines he wore now.
The entire shop represented the pride he felt in his pride and the hard work he had put into reaching even the meager strength he had now. He usually felt the view to be calming, but his indecisiveness disallowed him from feeling the usual pride he felt when looking at his multiple creations.
"Tch, you humans waste too much of your brain cells thinking of insignificant things."
A voice rang above his head, prompting him to glance upwards. There, a few feet above him, a girl stood on the air as if it were a platform. Her beautiful face, looking about 7 years of age, featured amethyst hair that ran all the way to her waist and eyes of the same color. She wore a blue shirt and jeans while she folded her hands and spoke with slight disdain laced into her tone.
She was Laura. And no, that wasn't her body. It was a holographic projection made by Ezekiel since the boy really felt off hearing her voice in his head 24/7.
"Ugh." The mechanic groaned. It was annoying how she could easily read his surface level thought. Still, he believed he could use her input on the matter. "What would you have me do then?" He really had no idea, it was either to fight with caution and throw away the adventurous spirit he wished to display in this new life or possibly die a rather pathetic and premature death.
"Do them all!" She appeared before him and pointed at him while she spoke. "You're a mechanic, you dumbass! If the situation is bad, you adapt! That's the perk of the Mechanic class. Its versatility! You can be close range fighter with your gauntlets, a ranger with guns or utilize your created traps to dominate a battle! It's the way of the Mechanic class!"
Ezekiel stayed silent, mulling on the matter before he realized that she was indeed right. He could just create gear suited for different kinds of situations and use them as he saw fit! This was the versatile nature of his class after all!
The boy jumped to his feet, laughing with happiness. "Fuck I'm so dumb! Laura, if I could, I'd kiss you right now!"
"Blegh." She disappeared from his view and reappeared above the furnace while flicking him a finger. "Stay away from me, you weirdo."
Ezekiel snickered but thought nothing of it. Excitement filled his mind as he glanced at his hammer. 'It's going to take a lot of work to make the gear. And even more brain power to create techniques fit for every possible scenario. I'll have to create different models for battle with respective techniques that perfectly synergize with them. It'll take a lot of time and energy. But that's what my trusty AI is here for.'
***
"Ez says he can't make it." Matthew smiled bitterly as he read the message on the rectangular device in his hand. It looked really thin and produced lights. Any Earthling that looked at the device would immediately realize that the man was holding a smart phone, something that shouldn't even exist in Taia.
But making something as simple as this was easy as pie for Ezekiel, even better was the fact that nobody could ever spy on the family since there was no technology related to the device they used.
The couple didn't, for once, doubt their son. His creations did shock them, but it was something to be expected. Many people were baffled when Forgers and Seekers came to be too. They were simply worried about the path he chose to walk.
Evelyn moved to her husband's side and hugged him. "It'll be fine. The boy knows what he's doing, no matter what he's doing, he knows he has our full support."
"Oi, oi. When did we switch positions? Isn't it the wife that worries while the husband calms her down?" Matthew snickered, even if he did lay his head on her lap.
Evelyn chuckled and smacked his forehead. "You stupid man, accept what you get. Besides…" Her tone softened while a hint of worry appeared on her face. "… Isn't it better for him to grow as strong as he can now? When we…"
Matthew sat up, pulling his wife into his embrace. "Nothing is happening to us. I made sure to pull off all stops to preventing anything like that. Else, why would I be just an Earl?"
"Hmm." She nodded, easing herself into her husband's chest before her breathing smoothened, indicating that she had fell asleep.
Matthew smiled, laying her comfortably on the bed and stroking her beautiful face. "Don't worry, love. This happiness that we have, it'll last. I'll make sure…" His aura flared, releasing a dark aura that seeped into the shadows behind him, scaring all those in the mansion except for his resting wife. "… To protect my precious family! Even from the gods themselves!"