This Guy Seems to Be a Genius

On the other side.

Eno shook his slightly dazed head, slowly stood his Mobile Suit up from the ground, clenched its two fists, and fixed his gaze on the Mobile Suit Dearka was piloting not far away.

"So I'm telling you, Instructor, just leave us be—"

"Dearka, dodge!"

Bang!

However, before Dearka could finish, Nicol's voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately following that was a violent external impact.

Eno's Mobile Suit had landed a direct punch right on the chest of Dearka's unit.

But unlike Eno, who had fallen straight to the ground earlier, Dearka only slid backward for a distance before standing firmly in place.

"That's a return gift for earlier. Come on, let's continue!"

After saying this, Eno charged forward in his Mobile Suit. He couldn't say much else, but he could certainly try his hand at a fistfight.

Besides, he wouldn't feel any pain from being hit; at most, he would just be rattled by the vibrations transmitted from the exterior.

Moreover, he had heard the conversation between Instructor Kelvin and Dearka. Since Athrun and the others could train this way, there was no reason he couldn't.

"Don't go crying if you lose, top of the Command track!"

Dearka retorted, piloting his Mobile Suit to meet the charge with a punch of his own.

Soon, under the pained and regretful gaze of Instructor Kelvin.

The two Mobile Suits, under the watchful eyes of Nicol, were locked in a chaotic fistfight.

Sparks from clashing steel roared across the ground, accompanied by tremors.

Nicol and Instructor Kelvin could only watch in silence from the sidelines.

However, unlike Nicol's worry.

The expression on Instructor Kelvin's face was incredibly complex; beautiful moments were always so fleeting.

He realized that he might no longer have anything left to teach Eno.

Yes, Eno was currently being soundly beaten by Dearka, but the problem was that this was Eno's first time piloting a Mobile Suit. His first time.

Recalling his own initial experience piloting a Mobile Suit and comparing it to the scene before him, Kelvin really wanted to say: with so many monsters in this world, why couldn't I be one of them?

The battle between the two gradually drew the attention of others.

"The one fighting Dearka... that should be Nicol, right?"

Inside Unit 28, Michelle Aiman asked uncertainly over the comms.

"If you don't want your eyes, you can donate them."

Inside Unit 29, Matthew Naden ruthlessly shattered his fantasy.

"If I recall correctly, today is Eno Kamal's first time piloting a Mobile Suit, right?"

Michelle Aiman asked again.

"Yes, his first time."

"And he can fight that guy Dearka like this on his first try?"

"Is this considered a normal situation?"

"Have you all forgotten about Athrun, Yzak, and Nicol?"

"Can you call any of them normal?"

"...Naturals say we Coordinators are geniuses, but why do I feel like I'm the only ordinary person among Coordinators?"

"..."

Michelle and the others fell into silence at these words.

In truth, the gap between Coordinators can be vast.

There are approximately five hundred million Coordinators worldwide, while PLANT only has sixty million.

This number isn't because other Coordinators cannot go to PLANT, nor is it because PLANT rejects them, but because the disparity here makes even those who are Coordinators feel stifled and helpless.

The gap between geniuses is not something ordinary people can comprehend.

Because they clearly know just how vast the gap is between themselves and other Coordinators; it is a kind of pain that one is aware of but powerless to change.

Just like what was happening before their eyes.

Eno Kamal could go toe-to-toe with Dearka on his very first time piloting a Mobile Suit.

Whereas the best they could do on their first time was manage to run without losing their balance, or perhaps perform a couple of high-difficulty maneuvers if they were lucky.

But that was already the limit of what they could achieve.

Yet, in the eyes of Eno Kamal and his peers, that limit was merely the simplest of foundations.

Why does Yzak only seek out Athrun to fight? Beyond the fact that he simply dislikes Athrun, it is mostly because, in his heart, he believes only Athrun is qualified to be his opponent.

As for the others, aside from Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule didn't even consider them worthy of being called rivals.

Bang!

Finally, under the watchful eyes of Michelle Aiman and the others.

The battle between Eno Kamal and Dearka Elsman came to an end as their energy reserves were depleted.

"The gap really is still quite large."

With the help of Nicol, Eno piloted his MS to stand up from the ground, feeling somewhat helpless as he recalled the battle just now.

He had actually lost to Dearka Elsman in close-quarters combat.

"Are you really piloting an MS for the first time, man?"

Dearka Elsman stood where he was and asked with uncertainty.

"Didn't you see it all?"

Eno Kamal retorted.

"Hmm..."

Dearka Elsman fell silent; it was precisely because he had seen it that he found it so absurd.

Geniuses... why are there so many of them?

"The machines are almost falling apart because of you two; we're going to get yelled at by the maintenance crew again in a minute."

Nicol looked at the two scarred MS and couldn't help but say.

"Shouldn't they be yelling at the instructor instead?"

Dearka Elsman asked back.

"..."

Nicol was left speechless.

Instructor Kelvin, who had heard everything, was just about to scold them, but the words died on his lips and turned into a sigh.

He realized he really wasn't in the mood to yell at anyone today.

Soon.

As the machines were put into storage, a sweat-drenched Eno Kamal climbed out of the cockpit.

Feeling the exhaustion in his body and mind, Eno Kamal suddenly realized that piloting an MS was also physically demanding work.

"Eno, over here!"

Just as Eno Kamal touched the ground, he heard Nicol's voice coming from not far away.

Following the sound, he saw that Nicol, Athrun Zala, and the others had already gathered together.

After a brief moment of thought, Eno Kamal walked straight over: "Nicol, thanks for your help earlier."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it. I didn't really do much; it's mainly because your learning ability and adaptability are amazing!"

Upon hearing this, Nicol waved his hands hurriedly.

"Are you the guy named Eno Kamal?"

Yzak Joule, standing to the side, asked after looking Eno Kamal up and down.

"Yes, what about it?"

Eno Kamal asked back.

"Nothing."

After saying that, Yzak Joule took a deep look at Eno Kamal before turning to Athrun Zala: "We'll call this a draw for now, but you won't be so lucky next time!"

Athrun Zala couldn't help but smile helplessly at these words. Instead of answering Yzak Joule, he reached out toward Eno Kamal: "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Athrun Zala. We'll be in the same class from now on, so I look forward to working with you!"

"I'm Rusty Mackenzie, just call me Rusty."

"My name is Michelle Aiman."

Rusty Mackenzie, with his orange hair, and Michelle Aiman, with his long golden hair, also introduced themselves with light smiles.

"I'm Eno Kamal, just call me Eno."

Eno Kamal smiled and shook hands with Athrun Zala and the others, laughing: "Though, haven't we already met before?"

"Well, well, Athrun is always like this, you'll get used to it. Besides, knowing each other before was just based on being schoolmates; now we're classmates, the nature of it is different."

Dearka Elsman stood to the side and explained with a chuckle: "Oh right, I'm Dearka Elsman, and this white-haired guy is Yzak Joule. Even though his mouth is a bit annoying, he's actually a pretty good guy. I look forward to working with you!"

"Who are you talking about, you bastard!"

Yzak Joule bristled instantly upon hearing that.

"Is there anyone else here with white hair besides you?"

"Then say 'white-haired' properly, damn it!"

"Yes, yes, yes. This white-haired guy is named Yzak Joule. As for his personality... as you can see, it's a total mess."

"Dearka!"

"I was just joking, don't take it seriously, man!"

"Those two are always like this, you'll get used to it."

Athrun watched the pair start brawling as they spoke and couldn't help but offer an explanation.

After saying that, he gestured toward Nicol at his side: "This is Nicol, his full name is Nicol Amalfi."

"Hello Ino, nice to meet—wait, didn't we already know each other?"

Nicol started to say something out of habit, but suddenly realized he might have said it a bit too late.

Ino and the others looked at Nicol's bewildered expression and instinctively exchanged glances.

"No, didn't we?"

Nicol watched their reactions and began to doubt himself.

"Heh."

"Haha."

"...Didn't we already know each other?"

Nicol looked at the group who had suddenly burst into laughter, feeling his mind go blank.