by R. H. Tang
If he scanned past the panels, he'd know what Phillips was planning. He was building his own psychic abilities.
Julian purchased the item equipped it to his Starlight R, removing the two special blades he and Emma had devised for the Selection.
He had the perfect plan.
He'd scan Phillips's Mech and discover her weapons. He could play around her traps if he knew they were coming. After that, he'd eject the Minesweeper unit and destroy her with raw power.
Even after sacrificing 8,000 Credits, he'd still have plenty of weapons as well as the Starlight R's Overdrive boost.
Across the stage, Phillips raised an eyebrow.
It was the first hint of surprise she'd shown all day.
A smile flickered across Julian's face as he locked in his machine.
He wasn't out of the woods yet, but it always felt so incredibly satisfying when you thought of a game-winning idea.
9
Fundamentally, his strategy was similar to Polygon's. The box-like Power of Nine had mediocre stats all around, and there was only so much Phillips could do to boost them with a 10,000 Credit cap. Phillips's determination to reveal as little as possible was also her greatest weakness. The olive green robot was built entirely out of empty boxes.
A Mech built out of hollow metal boxes would have horrible defense. That was just common sense. On top of that, the Power of Nine's extensive weapons depots meant that it also had no room for advanced built-in thruster packs. The machine also didn't carry any innate weapons like the CWT Zombie's shoulder cannon, and there was little room for generator space.
Phillips was relying entirely on her strange counter abilities. If you landed a solid hit on the Power of Nine, the frail Mech would crumble to pieces.
Polygon's only mistake was bringing an imbalanced Mech and allowing Phillips to counter his counter.
Julian wasn't the same one-dimensional player he'd been for most of his career, and the new Starlight R reflected that. Even without the secret weapons he and Emma had built together, the Starlight R was still a well-balanced machine.
In addition to its former armaments—a generator-linked beam broad sword and a pair of knives—Julian had added a new coat of laminated armor and an explosive rocket launcher. Even better, he'd upgraded the arm-mounted submachine guns into a whole battery of long-ranged weapons. Even a single hit from the Arm Bombardment Batteries would cripple Phillips's boxy Mech.
The last few seconds ticked away on the timer.
For a moment, Julian thought that Phillips would switch machines and go for an Ace battle. In that case, he might need to bring out his secret swords.
But Phillips just shrugged and then loaded the same box-like Mech as before.
Chosen stage: Cityscape 2
Julian let out a sigh of relief. Cityscape was a simple stage. He had his work cut out for him.
Julian hated multiple-terrain stages. Getting into close combat range on a stage like Beach or Space Station was such a guessing game. If Julian guessed wrong and launched onto the beachhead as Phillips dove under the water, making his approach would have been miserable, especially with the Power of Nine's hidden weapons depots.
He still needed to work on improving his split stage play. That was one of his biggest weaknesses. Fortunately, split stages only had about a 15% chance of getting selected. The odds were in Julian's favor.
Julian launched directly on top of the skyscraper, his hand tight on the trigger in case Phillips had equipped her powerful laser cannon.
But nothing happened.
There was a loud whoosh, and then the boxy machine streaked towards him from across the map.
Julian frowned.
What the heck?
It was a delayed launch.
She'd leaped into battle only after Julian had revealed his position. Delaying your launch was one of the most damaging mistakes a player could make. Your Mech was briefly vulnerable when leaving the catapult, which meant that opposing players could land a free hit before the battle began.
Typically, only beginners hesitated to launch. Everyone else knew to enter the battle as soon as possible.
Delaying your launch and shooting your machine at your opponent was even worse.
Julian raised his rocket launcher and aimed. She was right in his sights. He had a free hit with his most potent long-ranged weapon.
The strange-looking Force of Nine continued flying forwards, making no attempt to dodge.
Julian frowned and stilled his hand. Was this some sort of trap?
Equipping her Mech with a bomb to force a draw would have been right up Phillips's alley. It'd be best to check before he made a rash decision.
Beep beep.
Beep beep.
Beep beep.
The Minesweeper scanned The Power of Nine.
There was no trap.
Instead, the machine was armed with row after row of narrow orange-colored needle missiles, a low-damage weapon with high homing abilities. The customized missiles were even thinner than usual, almost looked like fur, but the Minesweeper saw through every alteration.
Item Detected: Needle Missiles (x50)
Julian blinked and reread the line.
Supports usually used them to hold opponents in place or counteract enemy gunfire. It was another niche selection—most pros preferred using spray guns or Vulcan cannons, which lacked homing ability but had far more power. Experienced players knew how to tank the needle missiles' low damage while remaining on the attack.
Julian frowned and took another look, but the Minesweeper never lied. It was a fundamental game mechanic, and only the Reality Shapers could break game mechanics.
His opponent was armed with nothing but the orange needle missiles.
Had she equipped them to destroy the Minesweeper?
That'd do a fair amount of damage, but Julian could simply unequip the bulky unit. At the push of a button, the bulky pack fell off his shoulders with a loud clang. The Starlight R abruptly accelerated after purging the heavy equipment. Then Julian increased his machine's speed even further by activating his Overdrive boost.
OVERDRIVE ACTIVATED: OVERCLOCK
On Kingbreakers, the Overdrive boost sharply increased speed and maneuverability. He was going to end this battle in a single strike.
The Power of Nine fired all the missiles at once, stopping in place to release the full barrage.
All Julian had to do was fly in a straight line.
It was so bizarre that Julian briefly thought it was another trap, but the Minesweeper had correctly identified the enemy weapons. There was a flurry of tiny explosions that did almost nothing to his machine's armor.
Needle missiles were only threatening when used in conjunction with another weapon. What was she doing?
He fired the rocket launcher. The burning missile tore a hole straight through her machine's chest. He must have evaporated the cockpit.
The Power of Nine crashed to the ground.
A beat later, the Mech exploded.
She smiled and briefly bowed her head as they returned to reality.
"Good game!"
Then she left the box. The crowd murmured.
"It was like she stopped trying!"
"Well, she did play over a dozen matches…"
"She couldn't do it! She knew that the Minesweeper would destroy her strategy!"
"No way. She's psychic!"
"It seemed more like two dozen."
"Why did she quit? Doesn't she want to be a Fortress Master? She could have done it!"
"She's not psychic at all!"
"She was probably just tired."
That might have been it, but something rubbed Julian the wrong way. It seemed far too deliberate. Loading up your machine with needle missiles in a one-on-one match showed that you weren't trying to win.
Phillips had used plenty of eccentric items, but nobody would bring only support weapons to a single combat battle.
Something was up.
&
nbsp; The machine must have had some gimmick she wasn't using yet. Phillips must have thought that she'd already made a good enough impression on The Mechanical King. The battle box's displayed match history was a sea of green wins for Phillips.
She must have wanted to save her strength for the later rounds.
But why would she throw that match in such a specific manner?
Maybe it had something to do with her cheating? Sunflower made a good point. Nobody actually had psychic powers. Something had to be going on.
Before Julian could speculate further, the pilot who'd been next in line took the seat across from him so eagerly that Julian couldn't help but feel offended.
Although Julian had beaten Phillips and The Power of Nine, the crowd clearly regarded the slight woman and her strange box-like machine as the superior opponent. Everyone standing outside was speculating that she let him win on purpose.
The line outside the second box quickly swelled again.
However, Julian had different plans. He and his orange SPG Caster quickly polished off the next three opponents.
Before the fourth could step in, The Mechanical King clapped his hands.
"Well, that's quite enough action for tonight! Thank you to everyone for participating! I have gained a lot of insight. Rest up in your luxurious hotel rooms—provided by the Overdrive Corporation, which means provided by me—and we shall convene again tomorrow! For those of you who want additional practice, your Selection pass will open the dome doors at any time."
At the push of a button, the stage shifted. The battle boxes returned beneath the ground, and hundreds of individual computer rigs rose to the surface.
Several players immediately took a seat. Considering the incredible skill already shown today, Julian bet that almost everyone wanted to do some additional grinding. Even superstars like Brandon dreamed of finding an ultimate weapon that guaranteed victory.
The Mechanical King pretended to doff a hat and then swaggered out the door.
"That's all for now, folks!"
The big screen fizzled and then displayed the total number of completed battles. Julian had been so nervous that he'd completely undercounted Phillips's wins. She'd defeated fifty-seven opponents.
Julian took a quick look at the players holding court on the other maps. Darren had eventually fallen to Brandon, who'd effortlessly held his position for the rest of the time period, winning eighteen matches in a row.
To his surprise, Lilac had eventually lost. A new pilot Julian didn't recognize had taken her place. From the looks of it, there'd been a lot of turnover after Lilac's initial nine game winning streak.
Finally, Skinner and sm0ke had dragged on their battle for the entire time period, preventing anyone else from claiming a seat.
Felix turned to Julian.
"Are you going to come back later? I can wait for you in the hotel lobby."
"I can call an Uber or something."
Julian knew that if Felix wanted to stay and immediately start working.
"No, no. I want to drop my stuff off at the hotel anyways!"
There was no point arguing with him. Felix would never let Julian pay for a ride when he had a car available.
"Yeah, I might come back, but don't wait for me. I have plans with Emma tonight."
He pulled out his phone and saw that he'd already missed a few messages from her.
"Sounds great! I'll just drop you and my stuff off then!"
Just as Julian suspected, Felix wanted to get back to grinding as soon as he dropped everything off.
About three-quarters of the crowd headed for the doors. Once again, Brandon and Tigger were engaged in a deep discussion. Tyler's friend beamed when he saw Julian, but Tigger once again stayed silent, only acknowledging Julian with a polite nod.
Felix and Julian left the lobby and returned to the car.
It was only at the lot that Tigger finally called to him.
"Hey! Julian!"
Because Tigger lived in Los Angeles, he'd simply driven to the Selection. His shiny pickup truck was parked directly across the garage from Felix's battered Prius.
When Felix turned as well, Tigger acknowledged him with a smile and a friendly wave. Because Felix bounced around so many competitive teams, most players respected him as a great teammate.
"Julian, I was wondering if you'd like to grab dinner with me. My treat, and I'll drive."
Julian was quite taken aback. He turned to Felix, who gave a surprised nod.
"Excellent."
He got inside Tigger's car. The big man stayed silent until he'd left the parking lot.
"Sorry for staying silent the last few weeks—and for not greeting you at the Selection. I've got to stay careful."
He stretched.
"Alright. Here's the short of it. Liefield still has the Boxer, and he's up to his usual tricks—using it to bully beginners. We can get it back, but you've got to take a big risk."
10
As soon as they left the lot, the two promptly ran into Los Angeles traffic. It was just 4:40—The Mechanical King had let them off a bit before most people got off work—but there were already plenty of people on the roads.
"What do you want to get?"
"Whatever you like."
Julian was still surprised to be in the famous pilot's car. He'd known they'd be speaking at the Selection, but it was hard not to be starstruck.
Tigger was the 4th-place finisher at the World Championship and one of the world's most popular streamers. In his youth, Tigger had been a professional FPS player back in China. He was a two-time esports legend.
The veteran pilot scratched his beard and yawned. Tigger was big and broad, a once muscular man who'd spent a bit too much time lazing about in a chair.
"Want burgers?"
"Yeah, burgers sounds good."
"In-N-Out good?"
"Yeah!"
Julian got In-N-Out with Felix whenever he went back home to San Francisco. He'd temporarily forgotten that they had it down in Los Angeles too. That'd be nice. He hadn't gone back home since winter break.
"Cool."
Tigger cleared his throat.
"Alright, so here's the deal."
"I found out about the Heaven's Boxer, but it wasn't safe to tell you online. I didn't want to talk about it at headquarters either, that's why I gave you the cold shoulder."
Julian frowned.
Not safe?
What did Tigger mean?
Felix was terrified of angering The Mechanical King. There were rumors that some pilots had gotten permanently banned from the game for merely mildly inconveniencing him.
After meeting him in person, Julian certainly agreed with Felix's assessment, but he had no idea why The Mechanical King would be angry about the Heaven's Boxer.
"Why would The Mechanical King be upset?"
If anything, it'd be better for the game if Julian and Tigger took the Boxer back from Liefield.
If a Selection candidate like Julian used the Boxer, the golden machine would instantly become famous throughout the server. The Overdrive Corporation loved it when professional players debuted new weapons. Getting players to impulse buy new parts was the Overdrive Corporation's biggest cash cows.
$20 could get you around 40,000 Credits, enough to buy almost any weapon. $20 in and of itself was nothing, but $20 from millions of eager players was a very different story.
"It's not The Mechanical King—yet. I'll get to that part later. We think someone's been spying on professional players. Brandon and I both know pilots who've gotten blackmailed."
That explained their earlier animated conversations.
"We'll need to be very careful."
Tigger's explanation only confused things further.
How were pros getting blackmailed? What would make anyone want to spy on Julian? He was a total nobody.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, to get back the Heaven's Boxer, we're going to need to break the terms of service. The Over
drive Corporation isn't going to be happy about it."
"What do you mean? To be honest, I don't even know what the terms of service are."
The long list of dos and don'ts appeared after every in-game patch, but Julian just clicked through them without reading. He wanted to play Overdrive, not become a lawyer.
"Well, so Liefield is hunting new player lobbies and using the Challenge System to force beginners to battle him. He's basically grinding against beginners."
Julian groaned.
That sounded just like Liefield. The parts and frames you got as a beginner weren't even worth a lot of Credits, but the cowardly pilot took great pleasure in bullying beginners. When he'd challenged them with the Heaven's Boxer two months ago, Tyler didn't even have a machine. Liefield just wanted to kill him.
"Won't players just report him on the forums? People will know to avoid him once word goes around."
Most pilots took teaching beginners very seriously. It was the best way to grow the community. Nobody was able to bully beginners for long.
"The Mechanical King is deleting every post about the Reality Shapers and the pilots who use them."
"Wait. Why is The Mechanical King deleting the posts?"
Tigger sighed.
"The Overdrive Corporation wants to keep the Reality Shaper series under wraps until they make their big announcement. They're effectively using Liefield—and some of the other pilots who found the dropped Mechs—to test all the game mechanics."
Tigger smiled wryly.
"As we know, the new systems still have plenty of bugs."
Julian grimaced. If it weren't for the false logout bug, the Heaven's Boxer would have been his.
"Why does he need a special announcement?"
Normally, the Overdrive Corporation let the player base discover new machines or weapons for themselves.
"It's about stock prices. The Mechanical King and the company board want to make a big publicity push. A ton of big banks are waffling on buying Overdrive stock. Drake wants to show immediate profits and dumping in powerful machines in the best way to do it. He plans on selling them for four hundred bucks apiece."