-

She had a bit of hope for this morning. Today was the first anniversary since she found herself in this room.

Looking at the familiar ceiling, Tsune decided to lightly sigh. She knew that ritualistic thinking was likely to disappoint. But the expectation she held for a year deserved at least this much.

Her wandering attention went to the wardrobe, big enough to split the room in two and completely hide her if she wanted to dress. One of its drawers was open and a formal academy skirtsuit peeked out from behind the door.

She refused to wear it yesterday. Even after mother showed her the shop's fitting system where she looked like a serious lady. Exactly the look that one of the better students would have for the end of the first year's exam. Although the *better* deserved quotes, as outside of her room she intentionally behaved like a recluse.

Keeping an eye on the half opened door, the girl carefully slid out of her bed. She tip toed to the door but froze half way with a murmur.

'Ah, wait. Father is still here, isn't he.'

With her uniform in hand, she sneaked to the bathroom. With eyes cast down on entrance, she covered the mirror with a towel.

-

After drying her shoulder length hair, she quietly opened the bathroom door and headed straight for the front door. She hoped that her parents were in the kitchen, but it wasn't meant to be. Both of them lounged in the hall.

'Tsune, aren't you going to wear the new clothes? I thought you loved looking grown up?'

Mother turned to father to make him a part of the conversation.

'You thought she looked amazing in that photo, didn't you, dear? She would look so precious in our family album.'

Before he could switch from reading and form an opinion to satisfy both sides, Tsune rushed out of the door.

"Sorry. You are nice people, but please don't make my life even harder."

Sometimes she still feared that she would slip up and her new parents would suspect that something was wrong. But time went on Perhaps the subconscious memory of this body had her back, or maybe they simply accepted the changes in their daughter.

Those thoughts usually moved to philosophy. But be it thoughts about a higher meaning in being here, ways to go back, or feelings of estrangment, she tore every attempt out by the root. She was Lyle from her world but right now she was living as Tsune. That was all there was to it, as long as she didn't look into a mirror.

-

With the academy dome now visible, Tsune focused on mental practice for the rest of the way, ignoring the warm weather of the last day of the spring.

Once inside, she barely spared a glance at other students and received none in return. Some even stepped aside to avoid brushing shoulders with her, as she passed to the training cabins. She didn't know who her opponent was, nor did she care. She had skills from this and the previous world to safeguard her student card. Especially since she kept the starter pragmatic firearms. And all of the other parts too.

The remaining time passed in a flash and a robotic voice came out of the speakers in the hall.

-Exam start!-

Viewscreens flashed to life and became windows into VR world. She reached for the joystick in the middle of a semicircle console in front of her and pushed it forward. The cabin shook as the simulated Gunner mech moved its massive legs to make the first step, shaking off the leaves of nearby trees.

She kept her hands on arm levels relaxed. But she couldn't help but constantly circle the side action triggers with her fingers. Such a straightforward map was a gift. A forest sparse enough to just break through and giant boulders she could hide behind.

As the mech walked, she switched to fine control for head. The large sensor strip in the upper half, reflected no light despite the bright sun, as it scanned the terrain.

Finally, it picked up a far away glint. On instinct, Tsune moved the joystick to the side, and pushed the right leg control pedal forward, to force the robot into a wild pivot to the right.

*Fzzzzzzzz*

A thin metal bolt surrounded by lightning flew by the mech's left shoulder. Its electricity discharged into metal surfaces, scorching the paint. The enemy predicted her movement. But the bad news didn't end there.

'Just a normal weapon attack?'

No attack shout or flashy movement, that accompanied more powerful weapons. So, before the enemy got away from its position...

Tsune smoothly moved the left lever up and the robot raised its arm while running. The pressed fire trigger aligned the machinegun with the pilot screen sights. Smoking shells smashed through the tree branches on their way to the ground as short burst streaked forward.

The mech slowed down as the girl turned her attention to the screen with the results.

-Tsune Red-

-One hit in favor.-

'Yes!'

With a mental fist pump she turned the mech in the direction of her prey. The right arm was raised to shield the cockpit, but that charged projectile had a lot of piercing power and accuracy.

"Should I constantly change direction? No, that'll give him more time."

"Should I keep firing? I did get a hit in."

Tsune's mech shook the forest with its long running steps. it stayed so close to the rocks that it almost scraped them.

One of thicker trees was too close to evade and she barely held onto her thoughts as her chair emulated the impact. But her robot broke through and the spike of adrenaline helped her notice the second shot that hit the falling tree.

"Still far away? A sniper it is. Shouldn't give it pointers though."

-

Outside of the cabins, two middle aged men were looking down on the viewscreen table between them. Their uniforms and caps showed that one of them the theory classes teacher and the other was the coach for practical lessons. Both of them were responsible for the success of students that were currently taking the exam.

The coach moved his hand to the portrait of Gunner's blonde pilot and increased its size with a flick.

'Teacher, you had the most contact with the girl. What is her mental state right now? I heard that professor Red's daughter was outgoing, but I never got a word out of her.'

'She never spoke to me, but judging from her previous behaviour, I doubt she's in a panic.'

-

Tsune's eyes opened wide as she saw a sparkle from another shot. This time it was from the side and too close to dodge. But the lesson she learned as Lyle, the player of *Metal* arenas, saved her this time as well. Momentum was a resource you shouldn't underestimate.

She smashed her feet into both of the pedals and simultaneously inclined the joystick. The mech legs dug trenches as it tried to stop. The slightly bent upper half carried the center of mass forward and, with legs as a lever, the robot flew headfirst into the ground.

The shot pierced alongside the entire width of the back armor plates, their metal all but vaporized in a superheated explosion. With the shockwave adding momentum, the robot dug a trench with its head. Flat on its stomach, with arms strewn to the sides, it was surrounded by forest and tall rocks.

'Ahhh, tchaa... that hurt.'

The cabin chair did its best to emulate the crash, restrained by the thick padding and the helmet .Rubbing the bottom part of her neck, Tsune looked at the screen that analyzed the enemy trajectory. The starting point was too low to fire from shoulder or from arms in a standing position.

"Hm. Ground level, needs an open area, time to move away is long enough to get hit."

All of these identified the enemy. A dark haired boy from her class that often talked about becoming a hero of justice. And boasted about his long range weapon.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Tch, I wish I actually spoke to the guy at least once throughout the year. But he wasn't a careful type."

"He would probably try to get point blank for a surefire shot, so if I surprise him i might win."

With her plan finalized, the girl let go of the controls. Half a minute later, the automatic algorithm started to return the mech to the default standing position.

Her hunch proved right, as she felt the slight tremors from behind Gunner when it became fully vertical. They grew closer and closer, and Tsune focused her attention. She tried to match the steps with the terrain recorded by the mech.

'I can't act after they stop, it'll be too late. And acting before they are in melee range is useless. But how can I find the correct time?'

'Shouldn't his last step be heavier than others, because of the gun's position shifting forward to fire? It should be that, right? It's a sniper, so the gun should be really long and heavy.'

Less than a minute later, one of the tremors felt stronger than others and she sprung into action.

The robot hit the ground with its left leg, spinning on its right to turn around. Its right arm swung up and to the side, with the side of its machine gun assumed to strike the barrel of the enemy's ...

..."Catapult gun?"

A spindly mech that looked like her Gunner if it lost all of its boxy armor was her enemy. It both arms held what could only be called a catapult with a ball lightning in its oversized cup. it was a bizarre sight. And she completely missed her right swing.

The catapult's arm sparkled, unwinding and Tsune bit her lip. The Gunner's left weapon fired early, spraying shells in a wide arc across terrain and enemy.

-Exam over!-

-Tsune Red. 2 points. Enemy destroyed-

-Rod Rhodes. 1 point. Enemy destroyed-

Taking the helmet off, the blonde brushed her hair away from her eyes in annoyance.

'A catapult!'

She threw the helmet onto the chair and opened the door.

"That's what I get for not being a part of the class life."

The boy waited outside, rocking on his toes. He thrust his hand forward.

'Thank you for the experience!`

The beaming smile melted her ire and she shook his hand.

"I should compliment him later, or something."

-

The theory teacher entered their classroom with a stack of freshly printed booklets and dropped them on the table.

'Elder student, please hand out the results.'

After the leading student stood up to fulfill his request, the teacher turned to the touchscreen wall board.

'What have I learned today. This is going to be your task for this lesson.'

'Read your booklets, then stand before the class to share your thoughts. We are still busy grading your performance, so you are on your own for the rest of the day.'

Tsune opened the booklet. Every page held illustrations of the mechs used in the exam. One page per one student, with the front side of the page showing the robot with its weapon, while the back of the page showed the state of the mech after the exam's end and the final score.

She took the Gunner believing that a balanced mech armed with two rapid firing ranged weapons was the most efficient path to success. But now she could only flip through the book in disbelief.

A dwarf robot with a hedgehog backpack, that fired needles into the air to blanket the immediate area with a steel rain, achieved 4 points but lost to a robot with oversized grappler limbs that attacked by throwing trees and boulders.

A robot that drew flaming plasma arrows from pillars of lights created by the sunlight, a mech so light it could completely hide behind a tree with its telescope like extending sword and even a hovering torso with its limbs freely flying around. The first five pages alone were enough to understand what was her lesson today. Compared to this super robot craziness, her mech was not safe, it was predictable.

'It was very interesting!'

'What?'

The girl looked up and saw Rod near her desk. His black hair grew lighter towards the roots and with the ceiling lights behind him, made it look dual colored.

The boy smiled and extended his hand.

'We met before, but I never introduced myself properly. I'm Rod Rhodes!

You looked sad looking at your page and my father always told me to cheer up girls that look sad. Your robot was very interesting!'

'Ah, you are the catapult boy. You are a good pilot.'

She expected their chat to be over. But the gentle touch of her hand and praise motivated him too much.

'I can show you all about my robot if you want to. I have all of the ideas I made in my phone, so meet me after the lesson!'

With that, he quickly walked back to his seat.

When the elder student called Tsune's name, she stuffed her hands into the shirt pockets. As she walked to the board, the eyes of others were following her. Some with a snicker, some with appreciation, but most of them indifferent.

But even that audience was a bit much for her after that encounter with self proclaimed hero of justice. The girl had to push through the embrassment to speak.

'I'm Tsune Red. I'm happy that I can learn with you for another year. I learned today that instead of limiting myself to what seems to be the most efficient, I should use my imagination more. My robot is very boring compared to other students, so I look forward to learning from all of you.'

-

Several days later, at the student hotspot. Cafe with a brisk name, *Z*.

'We should not talk to each other again'

Rod delivered these news without a sullen or disappointed look, the ones she imagined to be appropriate. Nor did he try the rest of the friendship break-up dance that Lyle received in the previous world. No call to a proper place, no fidgeting while looking to the side, no consolation prize gift with a promise to remember.

The line was delivered directly, with a face full of positive emotions. Straight in the middle of the street, right outside of the academy. The only time she saw less grace in human interaction was the morning when she received the resignation papers.

'...?!'

Her expression portrayed everything without any words.

'Please do not misunderstand! I do not hate you. I like you!'

"Start making sense already... You are giving me a headache."

'I heard our classmates in cafe yesterday. They talked a lot about us.'

Was this guy trying to confess? Wasn't fifteen years old too young for that sort of thing? And that's even putting aside the problem of her still holding onto her identity as Lyle.

'The girls said a lot of mean things. Calling you boring, out of your mind, even hungry for romance. And the guys were really jealous of me and were talking a lot about your body.'

Rhodes breathed in and continued, his hands now held together as a show of emotion.

'So I decided it would be best for us to stop talking for a while. I will try and figure out a way to make them forget about you. That way you can live your life without the problems I caused for you in the class. It was really thoughtless of me!'

Tsune really was speechless. Her first thoughts were to reprimand him. To say to stop making decisions without asking her and that there wasn't any *Us* to talk about.

Then came the idea to tell him that he wasn't going to grow up into a dramatic super pilot. The one that would take the final boss's attack head on to shield his comrades from harm. And he should drop the act.

But then she realized.

In this world, full of piltoted robots and monsters, he really could have such a future.

A milquetoast look replaced the bewilderment in her eyes and she nodded. Perhaps he really meant it.

'If you say so, Rhodes.'

The boy gave her a wide smile and left. Watching his back, the girl realized how that last exchange must've looked like from the outside. The whole scene was so sweet, she couldn't help but cringe.