The two agreed to fight in the afternoon as Lacus had given Wallace some time to get used to the Iron Knight.

"I don't want to bully my juniors. You can have some time to get used to it. Anyway, with your high sync rate, it shouldn't be a problem for you learning how to battle with that in an hour or two..." is what she says.

Though Wallace didn't really mind if they started immediately, he still followed her instructions as he swears that he heard some contempt in those words.

'Was her pride hurt after learning that I have a higher sync rate even without enhancements?'

Wallace thought after realizing that he doesn't have that good impression to his senior.

'But I did have! Your machines weren't just advanced to identify it yet.'

It will just cause more trouble if Wallace said that so he just complied with the lady.

After all, he will still ask her later about some help with a Mage Doctor. With her influence and his identity as a fellow apprentice, it shouldn't be a problem finding a trustworthy doctor who can help him with his "body".

"I just hope that whatever the result will be... She will still help me." Wallace muttered while he was practicing the Iron Knights.

He was actually surprised by the impressive control it has when he tried it the first time. It was not losing to his Lotus Mech which was commendable.

But this discovery just made him more interested in the northern continent, the place where they found the blueprint for this weapon.

'I wonder what Master was doing right now... I guess I can ask senior Lacus later.'

Baam!

Wallace was practicing the spear weapon of the Iron Knight as the two will not fight using firearms to avoid fatal injuries or unnecessary destruction of the Iron Knight and the practice area. So they decided to use this cold weapon instead.

The spear was hitting the target and slicing them smoothly. His control was superb just like with his Lotus. Wallace had also released the compression mode of the Iron Knight. From its previous four-meter tall state when it was still inside the secret room where he first saw it, it now became about six-meter tall making a huge difference.

Wallace likes the compression mode so he can use it in narrow space. Even his Lotus Mech doesn't have such a feature.

'Using the Void Phase should be prohibited. Can I beat her just by pure skills? She doesn't look like a pushover either...'

Sigh~

"Avalon, are you done?"

[ Gaining control over Celestial Army: Iron Knights Brigade System: 91% Completion Rate... ]

Wallace waited for a couple more minutes before the great news came in.

[ Take over had reached 100% Completion Rate. ]

[ Found 2 Sealed Features of the Iron Knight ]

[ Limiter Release and Burst Beam ]

"Hmm... Tell me more about it." Wallace said seriously. If he was not mistaken, even his senior apprentice or his master was also unaware of this feature.

Avalon complied as it gave all the information they found after gaining full control of the Iron Knight's System.

***

"It's time... Are you confident now? Or do you need more time?"

"I'm good, senior Lacus."

"Very well. This place is small for our battle. Let's go somewhere else."

Lacus invited him to go outside as their Mech Frames were brought by an attendant using an aircraft to stealthily carry the Iron Knights.

It was probably the same transport that Wallace needed to transfer it to his property.

The capital was huge. It has seven Battle Arenas they could use to execute their battle. One of the Battle Arenas was apparently under the supervision of their master and they could use it anytime they want as long as there was no scheduled event at the Arena.

Today was a free day for the Arena so they were able to use it to their heart's content. It was big and he felt that even 20 vs 20 Iron Knights can be accommodated on the battlefield.

Soon, Wallace saw the painted version of his senior's Iron Knight.

Wallace's Iron Knight was still the black and silver metal model while his opponent was painted pink and white.

It kinda suits her image as a public figure of the Cloud Hawk's Manor.

As a junior, Wallace felt that he should initiate the attack and take the challenger position.

He used the machine's boost to quickly shorten the distance and calmly thrust his spear at the Iron Knight's head.

It wasn't to defeat her but to see how she would react.

Wallace was still on guard for any counterattack so he wasn't rushing it.

As expected, Senior Lacus has outstanding control over her Knight. She easily dodged the attack by tilting its body and avoided the blade by a hair's breadth.

Wallace wasn't confident in doing that yet unless he used his Fervor Timepiece. Of course, he wouldn't use it now to show off.

Aside from that, he wanted to gauge his current strength without using his almost cheat skills.

Lacus was only dodging all his attacks as if she was watching a kid struggling to reach her. It felt like she was giving him the chance to show off his skills and after that, she'll quickly eliminate him. But this was only in Wallace's mind since Lacus was also unable to find an opening to strike him due to his endless assault.

'His movement and stance could not even be called an amateur... Perhaps... He never received any proper training in spear handling?'

Although she admits that his stance was terrible, deep within her heart, she praises Wallace's tactic and control of the Iron Knight. He compensated for his lack of skills in spear combat by using his superb control and footwork. He probably felt that by giving her a chance to attack, the table will quickly turn.

Unfortunately, this kind of tactic will surely reveal an opening after some time. If that happens, Lacus wouldn't shy away to finish this bout.

This lasted for a couple of minutes until she found what she was waiting for!

Wallace overextended his reach and he got a bit too close to Lacus. She didn't waste the opportunity as she used the Iron Knight's pauldron to slam Wallace and make him unbalanced, then she took the stance of hitting the Iron Knight's head to achieve the victory.

It was the end.

This is what she thought until Wallace used his Knight's boosters on its legs to avoid getting hit and back away from her.

Then on the next three minutes of the battle. Lacus swears that the opponent she was fighting had changed!

It felt like a different person as it never made a mistake during the battle. The first part of their duel was an inexperienced opponent in spear combat. But after downing him once, Lacus can tell that she was already fighting a grandmaster of the spear arts.

'Is he playing with me?! You won't get serious until I showed you my skills, huh!'

Lacus felt a bit annoyed after realizing that her opponent was actually at the grandmaster level and was going easy on her. She was the strongest apprentice under Slaine Allusia, she couldn't just take it lightly.

But after doing her best, she was unable to gain any advantage at him as they were almost at the same level. No, she was sure that he was only fighting her at her own level. He was definitely hiding his true skills.

'Hmph! It's not like spear combat with this Iron Knight can truly tell who was stronger. I still haven't shown all of my skills.' She thought as she decided.

Since Wallace wasn't planning to defeat her and was only fighting at the same level as her, she could only end this act as nothing will be achieved here.

"Alright! I've seen your skills. You can take away your Iron Knight now. If it was damaged, it can be repaired at the Cloud Hawk Manor but you have to pay. Don't try to fix it by yourself. Your school didn't train you for that. Understood?"

"Yes, Senior!"

Wallace might have rejected Avalon's request to take over during the combat if he learned what was on her mind. Anyway, now that the battle was over, he can now ask for a favor.

***

"You needed a trustworthy Mage Doctor you can hire?"

"Yes. I was hoping that the manor has someone we could trust."

The two were already in a private room that was still within the arena as they rested and chatted for a bit.

"Hmm... You will be requesting a confidential treatment? Well, not that I care. I could find you one but promise me that whatever work you wanted to assign him would not be something illegal?"

"Of course, senior." Wallace quickly answered after seeing her stare like that.

Although it wasn't bad being stared by a beauty, he was feeling that her stare has a low-level soul art included. Though he can't check it yet since he was trying to suppress his Divine Sense.