Even Traditional Geniuses Need to Pilot Mechs

Fu Lingxi thinks she's a mecha genius.

She has plenty of evidence.

She never forgets a mecha model once she's seen it.

She gets high scores on every exam related to mechas.

Even the most obscure and difficult concepts are within her reach if she studies hard enough.

There's just one problem.

She's not in the mecha department.

No matter how amazed she is by her own talent, she can't show it off in front of the mecha department's instructors.

Fu Lingxi often regrets this.

"Isn't the problem that your mental strength is only E-rank?"

"Doesn't that make it even more obvious?" Fu Lingxi argues. "The protagonist usually starts at E-rank and makes a comeback."

She also firmly believes: "The reason the interstellar world has never had an E-rank mecha genius is that nobody's ever tried letting me enroll."

Eventually, Fu Lingxi becomes the youngest mecha genius, a star of the military that countless people look up to.

She still laments: "My talent is so obvious. Why hasn't the opportunity for me to evolve to SSS-rank arrived yet?"

The others look at the two bars and one star on her shoulder. "...Does that even matter?"

Before she came along, they didn't even know an E-rank could pilot a mecha.

Let alone pilot one so well that she could defeat every elite prodigy and become the undisputed number one of her generation.

Before Fu Lingxi appeared, the word "genius" described the best of the best, those with powerful mental strength at the SS and SSS levels.

After Fu Lingxi appeared, "genius" meant Fu Lingxi.

One day, the others finally set aside their prejudice against low mental strength and had a proper match with the star of the military. Afterward, they said: You should've told us your mental strength was the only thing you weren't exceptional at!

You're ridiculously good at everything else besides mental strength, okay?!

Fu Lingxi looks puzzled. I told you ages ago I was a genius.

You were the ones who never believed me.

[This is a traditional talent-driven story. In other words, being able to maintain a lasting passion for something is also a talent. The protagonist is never naturally stronger than others because of her talent. She achieves her strength by fighting for it and learning for herself, so her talents are:

explosive passion + relentless ambition + continual learning. Her talent doesn't directly apply to mechas. This is my own worldbuilding, with plenty of personal inventions.]

For other people, piloting a mecha with low mental strength is very difficult.

But the protagonist's attitude is:

It's difficult? Then I'll learn.

Theme: Stay positive.