The impromptu duel between Instructor Max and Luca rightfully shocked the academy.
Not only because it happened but because it ended so fast.
And worse—because it looked like Luca was just toying with the instructor.
For the next few days, the student forums buzzed with debate.
So were in awe.
[How could a freshman dismantle an instructor so cleanly?]
[I’m a senior and haven’t even seen soone do such a thing!]
[ 1 to the Upstairs comnter! too! And it is a good thing soone recorded the whole thing!]
So were skeptical. And it really couldn’t be helped with just how unbelievable that match was.
[There was no way an instructor lost like that unless it was staged. Right?]
[I think so, too! Maybe it was so sort of demonstration? Especially since I also heard that Instructor Max was a strict one!]
But of course, so flat-out refused to believe it. Maybe Luca was just rich enough to pay for a good act.
[I’m telling you, while that kid’s good, he can’t possibly be that good, right?! So, it’s likely that they want to increase his fa by, you know...]
[ 1 I’m assuming the sa thing, especially considering the status.]
But as the rumors spread, so did curiosity.
More instructors started taking notice of the unassuming freshman who was consistently making waves.
And one such instructor?
Instructor Moore, a specialist in cha Manufacturing and Engineering.
But Instructor Moore wasn’t one for drama, especially after personally witnessing so of Luca’s earlier escapades. So, he thought of using this situation as learning material.
Not everyone can be geniuses, but at least his students won’t be idiots who cannot tell left from right.
And unlike so of his colleagues (cough Max cough), he focused on technical analysis.
And after watching the duel footage, he saw sothing that most people missed.
So the next day, he pulled up the battle for his cha manufacturing students.
"Today, we’re going to analyze why Instructor Starhawk lost so badly."
The class snickered at the phrasing. But how else would Moore put it when that thing wasn’t just a loss but a complete beat down?
"Now, to those who only watched this duel at face value, it might seem like Cadet Kyros was just ’lucky’ or that Instructor Starhawk ’let’ himself lose."
Instructor Moore paused, allowing the students’ murmurs to die down before continuing.
"That is incorrect."
"!"
The students leaned in.
And they would be in for a surprise.
He brought up fra-by-fra slow-motion footage of Luca’s cha in action.
"Look carefully at these movents. Cadet Kyros isn’t just attacking at random. He’s targeting joint locks, structural vulnerabilities, and stabilizers—and he’s doing it in real-ti."
"As cha manufacturing students and aspiring chanics, you should be able to confirm the truth about that."
Another pause. Because by now so students have started gasping and zooming in on their own projections like they were suddenly having an epiphany.
"This is not luck. This is precision."
He pulled up a heatmap of Luca’s engagent patterns.
"Notice how Cadet Kyros never wastes an attack. Every movent is efficient, and every disengagent is calculated. He isn’t overpowering his opponent—he’s removing their ability to fight back one component at a ti."
The class was silent, processing just how ridiculous this level of control was.
Then Instructor Moore dropped the final bomb.
"And most importantly—Instructor Starhawk never even realized it was happening."
Collective gasps.
The realization hit hard.
Instructor Starhawk didn’t lose because he was weak.
He lost because he had no idea what he was fighting against.
And then, as all good scandals do—
The explanation hit the school forums.
__
Technically, Luca wasn’t planning anything of that sort.
And really, he wasn’t even thinking of doing it to that extent; it was just that he couldn’t avoid hitting the right places just because it would look bad.
Wouldn’t it be counterproductive for Instructor Max if he didn’t find out about his cha’s vulnerabilities this early? Thought Luca, as he would personally appreciate it if soone told him about his weaknesses so he could fix them.
He figured it was better to respect his opponent and fight properly than undermine soone since, from experience, this was how many people die.
And he didn’t want the sa fate—thank you very much.
So, even he was surprised to hear about the rumors spreading around, not to ntion how everybody had started looking oddly at him again.
But what could he do when that information from Instructor Moore’s class spread like wildfire?
So students panicked.
[Wait. Wait. Does this an he wasn’t even fighting seriously?!]
[Or are pilots supposed to be that good to rank nowadays?!]
So were enlightened.
[Bro was speedrunning disassembly mid-fight.]
So felt secondhand embarrassnt.
[Starhawk was out here fighting while that freshman Luca was just doing maintenance work.]
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And then—
The recordings of Instructor Max’s class lectures leaked to a particular group of people.
D-29 very helpfully sent them straight to Ollie, Kyle, Jax, and Xavier.
The group watched in growing horror as Instructor Max’s transparent bias unfolded before their eyes.
Ollie was fuming. "Are you kidding ? He practically tried to rig it against my brother?!"
Jax was grinning but in a way that suggested he would like to revisit Instructor Max in a dark alley.
Kyle scoffed. "What an idiot. No wonder he lost. He didn’t even bother researching Luca."
And Xavier?
Xavier was silent.
Which was far more terrifying.
It seems like they needed to do a little purging in the military. What a good day to start today.
He mused.
But D-29 wasn’t done, either.
[Would you like to submit an official complaint?]
"YES," Kyle and Ollie imdiately said in unison.
"NO," Luca’s voice cut in from the background.
The group turned, finding Luca calmly filling out his combination cha piloting exam application.
He smiled, completely unbothered.
"It’s fine. I got what I needed." Also, how could he report the Instructor when he had the left-out cha parts with him? What if they started looking for them?
Ollie narrowed his eyes. "And that is?"
The little chipmunk continued scribbling in concentration before finishing filling out the form and presenting it to everyone like a treasure.
"The test permit! Ta-da!"
"..."
And everyone just looked at each other as Luca gave them a beaming smile.
But maybe they should be worrying about the faculty instead.
It was finally the day for registration, and Luca could finally approach the exam registration terminal, which he had only seen from afar before.
And this was noticed by the attending instructor, who looked up—
And imdiately paled.
"Oh."
Luca flashed a wide yet polite smile. "Hello! I’d like to register for the Combination cha Piloting Exam."
The instructor frantically checked the system.
Typically, students had to duel an instructor as part of the testing process.
But who wouldn’t know this kid by now?!
And obviously, next to Luca’s na was:
[Qualified for the Examination]
The instructor’s face twitched.
Because after the Starhawk Incident, no instructor wanted to duel Luca.
Not after watching him turn a professional pilot into a pile of cha parts. And even those curious to fight against soone strong decided not to when the playing field was different.
Just how many cha pilots could pass off as chanics?! Maybe before, people would have the ti to study both, but with everyone fighting tough battles, who would have enough energy and brain cells to do both?
Well, Luca did.
Apparently.
"...I see," the instructor said very carefully. "Everything looks good. You’re officially registered."
Luca smiled.
"Thank you so much! I’ll do my best!"
The instructor watched him go and imdiately sent a ssage to the examiner team.
[URGENT]
[We have a problem.]
[Cadet Kyros signed up for the exam.]
[Who’s going to fight him?]
Radio silence.
"..."
And then—
[ssage from Exam Board:] [AUTO-APPROVE HIM.]
[DO NOT LET HIM FIGHT ANYONE.]
[We can’t afford more instructors going on leave.]
The division’s problem (golden) child officially beca an institution-wide headache or entertainnt.
Take your pick.
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