Chapter Fifty-Two: Trial Mission One – Flight

"Wait a minute, repair unit... adjustment... Are you going to take me apart? No, please don’t!" Seeing the Guardian's Trial quest notification, Xiao Yuan was finally able to process what others were saying. But she hadn’t expected that, just as she regained her senses, the words she’d hear would be those terrifying terms: repair unit, adjustment.

Thanks to the Guardian's Trial notification, Xiao Yuan was now completely calm and her mind regained clarity. Her body was definitely not her own—at least, not her original body. It belonged to a new being born into this world.

Moreover, in this brief span, Xiao Yuan had already gained some understanding of her own structure. If she had to describe it in a single phrase, it would be “bio-mechanical weapon.” Part of her body was still made of human flesh, but on that organic form, mechanical components had grown quite naturally. Perhaps this was a unique race native to this peculiar world.

Judging by Xiao Yuan’s own attire, the appearance of the girl before her, and the terms she’d just mentioned—training unit, repair unit—it seemed likely that many inhabitants of this world were mechanical maidens, or perhaps the entire population consisted of them.

Without a clearer grasp of the situation, it was best to observe quietly and not touch anything unfamiliar. Who knew if, after being adjusted and dismantled by the so-called repair unit, she would even exist anymore? The quest might fail instantly. More importantly, the thought of being taken apart was truly horrifying.

“No? Is that a refusal? But if the system is malfunctioning, it’s best to adjust it—especially the crucial communication system.” The girl tilted her head in a rather cute gesture, but even so, Xiao Yuan refused to consent to being dismantled.

“There’s absolutely no malfunction, none at all. Look, I’m communicating with you smoothly right now. There was only a delay earlier, that’s all—just because I’d only just awakened and hadn’t figured things out. I’m sure that’s the reason.” Desperate not to be taken apart, Xiao Yuan worked hard to convince her, hoping to dispel any notion of summoning the repair unit.

“A delay? As expected of a prototype. The communication system seems fine, though. Was the delay caused by a system conflict?” Apparently, the girl took Xiao Yuan’s words at face value and finally stopped fixating on her earlier lack of response.

But now, this sudden mention of a system conflict—wasn’t that even more serious? Cold sweat poured from Xiao Yuan as her mind raced. Suddenly, inspiration struck and she came up with a good excuse: “No, nothing like that. It’s definitely not a system conflict. Please don’t call the repair unit. Right, it was just the system’s initial startup—some warm-up time. That’s normal for a first activation, isn’t it? You must have experienced it, too, only you didn’t notice. Ha ha, wouldn’t you agree?”

“...Proposal withdrawn. Unit 99-0, repeating once again: I am unit 10-4. From today onward, I will be your training unit, guiding your flight for some time. Any objections?” Accepting Xiao Yuan’s explanation, unit 10-4, the mechanical maiden, stood upright and expressionlessly repeated her earlier introduction for a third time.

“No objections, instructor.” Not wanting to stir up further trouble, Xiao Yuan responded with a crisp, military-style stance, her voice clear and strong.

“Instructor... Yes, that’s good. Call me instructor from now on. Now, unit 99-0, follow me. We’ll begin your first flight test.” Satisfied with the title, the girl turned and headed towards the exit. Though her voice and demeanor betrayed no emotion, it seemed these mechanical maidens were not as cold as machines within; feelings did exist.

“Yes, instructor.” With a brisk reply, Xiao Yuan followed in the mechanical maiden’s footsteps. The trial of the Guardian was about to begin. What would flying as a mechanical maiden be like?

With anticipation for the experience, Xiao Yuan walked out with unit 10-4, simultaneously channeling her divine power to check the state of her nebula vortex.

It was gone—completely absent. She could no longer sense the nebula vortex within her, nor connect with her Guardian. She’d suspected this after noticing her body’s differences, but hadn’t expected it to be so thorough.

No divine power, no nebula vortex, no Guardian—she couldn’t even use divine descent transformation anymore. Her previous use of random cards before the Guardian's Trial now felt like a waste; if only she’d saved them for later. Ah, what a fool she was. Although the summoned girl had impressive combat prowess, conveniently filling in for the cooling period of Xiao Yan, her reckless actions were indeed foolish.

Without the divine descent transformation, the Guardian's Trial would have to be completed with her current body. She felt the strength far surpassing her original self, and a lightness that was beyond compare. Though apprehensive and nervous about the challenges ahead, she was not discouraged. Her new body was powerful; in terms of physical ability, she might even exceed Xiao Yan in some respects.

On the way out, Xiao Yuan caught a clear glimpse of herself in the sheen of a metal wall. Her appearance and figure were still essentially those of her original self, but her race had shifted—from human to mechanical maiden.

Now that she basically understood her current body, Xiao Yuan focused her attention on the Guardian's Trial. As her thoughts shifted, the parchment she’d seen earlier reappeared before her.

Judging from unit 10-4’s actions and gaze, it seemed she couldn’t see the parchment floating before Xiao Yuan’s eyes; this was something only Xiao Yuan could perceive.

A blessing, really. Otherwise, if a golden parchment hovered in front of her, she’d never be able to explain it away, no matter how many mouths she had.

[Task One: Receive training from your instructor and learn to fly independently.]

Task One—so there’s likely a Task Two, or even Three. Everyone’s trials are different. Wen Hui’s trial had only been to feel the wind and stand within it. But from Xiao Yuan’s tasks, it was clear things would not be so simple.

Task One was to learn to fly—perhaps all the tasks would relate to flight? No, not necessarily. Why was there an extra line about receiving training? If it were only a flight task, it would simply say “learn to fly.”

Instructor—meaning the mechanical maiden before her, unit 10-4. Mechanical maidens weren’t particularly popular in her previous world. Ship maidens, on the other hand, were all the rage; everyone had heard of admirals and such. Hmm? Admiral, ship maiden... Could it be that the task was to raise the instructor’s affection level? Surely not...