by R. H. Tang
Sadly, that trick wouldn't work this time. He was in for a long search.
Julian equipped the trio of drones to his backpack, plugging them into the ports at the SPG Caster's back. The SPG Caster's backpack units were incredibly versatile—you could use them for thrusters, utility items, or as a heavy weapons rack. No matter what you equipped there, you wouldn't get dinged on your Cohesion.
However, using the versatile ports on drones restricted his weapon options. He wouldn't be able to bring heavy firearms like bazookas or machineguns without significantly lowering his Cohesion. Julian opened his inventory and scrolled down to his marine weapons. The specialized equipment would grant him a significant advantage.
He sighed.
If only he'd had a little more time to prepare for the Selection. His improvement in the last two months had been incredible. Deliberately practicing was so much different than just playing mindlessly. He'd wasted so much time.
Julian's inventory included an incredible marine weapon he couldn't use. He'd won the harpoon gun during a mission with Felix and Edwin back in high school. The weapon was a Golden Caliber—a firearm of the absolute highest quality. The status maximized its damage while maintaining a low equip cost relative to its power—only 6,450 Credits. If Julian were more comfortable, he'd happily drop a drone or two to wield it. The underwater item could snare opponents and give him the perfect chance to strike with his blade.
But there was too much at stake right now. He'd never used a harpoon gun before. He'd only kept the item because it looked awesome. Julian equipped a variety of torpedo launchers instead. Torpedo targeting was almost identical to firing out missiles. They were a simple and easy choice for an inexperienced underwater combatant.
To round out his selections, Julian equipped a Full Custom Single Laminated Broadsword for 1,500 and then used the rest of his cap on torpedoes. The laminated broadsword had the flashy Full Custom designation, but its properties were almost identical to the swords available in the shop. Like his Triple Laminated Blade, it was a Full Custom for pricing reasons. Grunts were allowed to equip two Full Customs, and most high-level players used it to circumvent the strict 10,000 Credit requirement instead of creating a single overpowered weapon. The specialized machines needed to stay reliable and fulfill their task.
- General Data -
Pilot: Julian
Machine: SPG-01 Caster—Felix Custom
Class: Spell Titan
Sub-class: Support
Designation: Grunt Unit
- Statistics -
Melee: A-tier
Shooting: B-tier
Speed: C-tier
Maneuverability: C-tier
Defense: C-tier
Cohesion: A-tier
- Parts -
Scouter Drones [x3]
Single Laminated Steel Broadsword (Full Custom) [x1]
4-Tube Torpedo Launcher [x4]
- Abilities -
Thunderbolt
Static Freeze
Storm Surge
Julian was reasonably happy with the final result. The mediocre speed seemed like a possible weakness, but there would never be a situation where you ended up in a desperate dash for the prize.
They loaded onto the map, all of them separated from each other. Because of the possibility of a last-second Mech switch, Julian had no idea what machines anyone else was using. Almost instinctively, Julian directed his launch cannon for a smooth dive into the water. Launching late on Beach was an exceptional mistake—the splash would immediately alert everyone to your presence.
To his surprise, there were several splashes.
They were too far away, so he couldn't make out the machines, but it was clear that three players had launched late.
Ah.
A second later, Julian understood.
That was clever. Since this was a free-for-all, the pods weren't linked. Seedster and his men couldn't actively communicate with each other. By pretending to botch their launch, they'd revealed their positions. Even worse, the botched launch didn't expose them. If you tried hunting one down, the other two would polish you off.
Julian released his three drones, sending them all off into different corners. The scouting cameras gave him an incredible advantage and—with the possible exception of Phillips—he was the only player with them.
His first goal was discovering Seedster's team's strategy.
If they grouped, they'd be a nearly unbeatable fighting force, but it would severely restrict their search abilities. In that case, Julian's best bet would be to find the treasure as soon as possible.
If they split up, Julian could pick them off one by one. Killing Seedster would push him back down to 0 points.
There was a sudden torrent of water as three Mechs burst to the surface as fast as possible.
Huh?
What was happening?
The mission clearly illustrated that the treasure was underwater.
There was a flash of golden light.
Julian's Mech exploded.
The screen flickered to indicate his updated score.
Active:
Seedster: 15 points
Six3r: -3 points
Phillips: -7 points
Eliminated:
Julian: -8 points
Leontime: -18 points
Birthday: -30 points
He, Leontime, and Birthday had all tied for last place, resulting in a 15 point drop to their score.
Julian's eyes widened as he realized how damaging that was. He'd lost so many points that he was currently locked into the fourth place position. Even if Phillips, who had the next lowest number of points, lost next, she'd still be ahead of him. The worst Phillips could finish was third place, meaning that she'd gain points.
Julian was immediately transported to a unique Loser's Lobby, where he stared at the battle that was happening mostly on the surface. Because it was an individual match, he was in a private viewing with no other players.
Philips's Mech desperately zagged through the water to avoid the constant gunfire. Her Mech was armed similar to Julian's. She'd somehow known beforehand that the battle would be an underwater treasure hunt. However, there wasn't much she could do against her two opponents. Whatever Phillips's abilities were, the Power of Nine was still subject to the strict Grunt Credit cap. Adding marine equipment to it reduced its combat abilities.
Seedster and Six3r had gone for an entirely offensive strategy. Their bulky Guardian X units were armed to the teeth with solid-based weapons. There wasn't a single beam item among them.
Julian frowned.
Seedster's rocket had triggered his suspicion, and this only compounded it. Did they know what the stage was? There was no reason otherwise for them to eschew beam weaponry. Six3r and Skinner's guns rattled and rattled. Eventually, they dove under the water to pursue Phillips.
Julian stopped watching. It didn't matter who won.
Instead, he closed his eyes and rewound to the moment before his defeat.
What had happened?
How had he, Birthday, and Leontime all gotten eliminated?
First, there'd been the three leaps above the surface.
Next had been the golden light.
Last was his instant destruction, which caught Leontime and Birthday as well.
Julian groaned.
This was going to be way more complicated than he ever expected. It wasn't as easy as eliminating Seedster. The alliance would never let that happen.
In hindsight, what happened was obvious. Leontime had sacrificed himself to push Julian and Birthday out of the competition immediately. Presumably, Phillips's abilities had alerted her moments before it was about to happen, which was why her Mech had rocketed to the surface alongside Seedster and Six3r.
Julian wondered what equipment Leontime had used to create such a massive explosion. It'd looked like a deliberate underwater surge—something like activating an enormous beam weapon while also detonating your machine.
Julian frowned.
Perhaps it was just his over suspicious mind, but it seemed like further proof of dirty play. Six3r, Seedster, and Leontime had picked perfect Mechs for collaboration before both matches, even though they shouldn't have had any information about the maps.
The match eventually wrapped up without the treasure ever being found. Phillips landed several powerful blows against Seedster and Six3r's Mechs, but there wasn't much a non-combat machine could do against two built for battle.
She finished in third place, and Seedster eventually destroyed Six3r in a battle that looked painfully staged. It was nothing like Skinner and sm0ke's elegant dance. Six3r just turned around and let his boss stab him in the back.
Seedster: 30 points
Six3r: 4 points
Phillips: -4 points
Julian: -8 points
Leontime: -18 points
Birthday: -30 points
A golden light flashed across their cockpits.
SOMEONE HAS CALLED FOR THE MECHANICAL KING TO INTERVENE!
The virtual reality lobby disappeared.
Julian blinked as he found himself back in the bright lights of the Overdrive World headquarters. The canopy of the pods curled up, revealing the six competitors.
Birthday looked completely sullen, and Julian couldn't blame him. Through little fault of his own, the veteran pilot had finished dead last two rounds in a row. He was clearly on his way to getting eliminated.
The Seedster trio just smirked. Anger burned in Julian's stomach. For a bunch of cheaters, they looked awfully pleased with themselves.
The Mechanical King made his way to their pod.
"What's the issue here?"
Phillips threw her hands up in frustration.
"Watch our replays! It's clear that they've created some sort of alliance!"
Julian felt a spark of hope. Was that illegal? It probably should be. If Phillips was an Overdrive Corporation employee, she could possibly enforce some sort of immediate ruling. The Seedster trio's cooperation made it impossible to play.
But the Overdrive CEO just looked completely confused.
"What do you mean? What's an alliance?"
"They're working together to make Seedster win. Six3r and Leontime aren't even trying to compete! The first round, they just grabbed me. The second Leontime self-destructed!"
The Mechanical King looked at Phillips like she was a total idiot.
"What's wrong with that? I want my Fortress Master to be a leader of men!"
Julian tried his best to keep the shock from his face. It was a clear cut case of cheating. The Seedster trio wasn't even playing the mini-games.
The Overdrive CEO shook his head and stomped off.
"Alright. I'm going to take 50 points from you just for wasting my time. Get back to your pod and continue competing."
Either The Mechanical King was the greatest actor ever, or Phillips wasn't an Overdrive employee. She looked utterly stunned.
Seedster chuckled.
"Hey, Birthday! You look like you're in a pretty bad spot. Only the bottom two get eliminated, so what do you say you pair up with us? We can clear out the other two no problem. Then you'll live to fight another day."
Julian's eyes widened and ice flooded his stomach.
He stammered.
Should he offer to join Seedster instead?
He flinched at the very thought of working with those cheaters, but he might be eliminated without a chance. Before Julian could even take another breath, Birthday leaped at the offer.
"Yes!"
Julian's heart sank.
Was this it?
Would he just get eliminated without a chance?
Phillips turned to him.
"Okay. Fine. It's going to be us two then."
"Yeah, I guess."
The words barely made it out of his suddenly parched throat.
The mini-game competition had been perverted into something completely unrecognizable. But Phillips was right. The two of them had to stick together, or they'd lose. It felt bizarre partnering up with a player who he'd spent the whole Selection suspecting, but that was what it'd come to.
Julian loaded into the pod. The Mechanical King's boon claimed the round was a maze, but Julian knew better.
The next match immediately devolved into a two on four fight.
26
Seedster, Six3r, Leontime, and Birthday had all selected their Ace machines.
As soon as the match started, they leaped straight at Julian and Phillips.
Julian took in all their key attributes at a glance.
Usually, he'd love a good look at their status screens, but there was no time for that in the middle of a battle. By switching their Mechs at the last seconds, they'd cut Julian's preparation time down to nothing. On the bright side, because he'd changed to his Starlight R at the last second, his opponents were equally unprepared.
Seedster's Mech was the same as before, the high-speed rocket with a launcher at the base. Although most players associated Wild-types with animals, the classification was used for all non-humanoid machines. Mechs based on real-life robots, like Seedster's rocket or Lilac's tanks, were also classified as Wild-types.
Julian knew the statistics had to be the same as those he'd seen earlier, so he ignored it to observe the others.
Birthday's Mech was a Spell Titan focused on melee attacks. A storm of flame and lightning surged around his blade as he charged straight at Phillips's Force of Nine. His Mech was covered in thick laminated armor that even wrapped around its joints. The movements were slow and ponderous.
Julian grimaced. He hated fighting against spellblades.
They packed the highest offensive punch in the game, which made up for the sharp trade-off they faced between speed and defense. Speedy spellblades played like assassins—they dealt obscene amounts of single-target damage but lacked any durability whatsoever.
Birthday's well-armored Mech was an Ace-level counterpart of the one Julian had used for the Minesweeper mission. It was a durable bodyguard that focused on endlessly trading blows. Your only chance was to stay out of range. Nothing could defeat a bulky Spell Titan Ace in a close combat brawl.
Six3r had brought a highly mobile Paragon armed with a pair of pistols and strange dome-like attachments on both feet. The highly ranked pilot immediately activated his Overdrive boost, searing forward at blinding speed with the power of Liquid State Eternium. The plates kept his machine stable despite the abrupt change in pace. Julian didn't recognize the item off the top of his head, but it seemed similar to the hover plates Brandon sometimes used to stabilize his Mech. Normally, the hover plate forced your machine to sacrifice its legs, causing severe balance issues. Six3r's light armaments suggested that this enhanced version cost a significant number of Credits.
It only took a single glance for Julian to understand how Leontime's Mech had killed everyone beneath the water. His sturdy Mech was electricity-focused, but unlike the SPG Caster, it was a Kingbreaker rather than a Spell Titan. Instead of Mana Gatherer Spikes, its power source was an enormous tank at the back. The Mech was well-armored with high base stats and weapons based on traditional science fiction. One hand held a writhing mass of crackling electric whips. The other wielded a hefty stun cannon connected to the power tank at the back.
But despite the murderer's row of opponents, Julian felt strangely calm. The new Starlight R was far more powerful than his previous Mech. Julian and Emma had rebuilt his longstanding partner from the ground up.
The orange and gold Mech had once been narrow and slender, with a thin and graceful form ideal for dancing around his opponents. Now, the Starlight R was strong and fast, built for raw power to maximize the strength of Julian's brutal broadsword strikes.
Julian and Emma had thickened out the arms and shoulders, allowing for devastating blows with either hand.
To compensate for the significant weight increase, the six wings at the back had been significantly expanded with a desi
gn reminiscent of vermillionangel's custom-built Vermillion Flier. Each of the wings carried seven thrusters, providing an immense amount of speed and maneuverability.
His new long-ranged weapons allowed the Starlight R to excel at any range.
But of course, the most significant factor was the new blades.
- General Data -
Pilot: Julian
Machine: Starlight R
Class: Kingbreaker
Sub-class: Attacker
Designation: Ace Unit
- Statistics -
Melee: S-tier
Shooting: A-tier
Speed: S-tier
Maneuverability: B-tier
Defense: A-tier
Cohesion: S-tier
- Weapons -
Broadsword of All [Full Custom]
Last Resort Cleaver [Full Custom]
Arm-Mounted Arsenal [Full Custom] (x2)
Impact Bazooka (x1)
- Abilities -
N/A [Kingbreaker]
Birthday's Mech leaped on top of Seedster's high-speed aircraft. The combination of a bulky brawler with a speedy support unit was a classic competitive combination. The Mechs streaked towards Julian, who drew the Starlight R's new sword.
Seeing the beautiful blade appear on his screen further bolstered Julian's confidence. With the Broadsword of All, he could stand against anything.
The specially crafted item was a laminated steel blade with beam generators at either end. The mighty sword was incredibly flexible and combined the best aspects of both a beam sword and a solid blade.
His hand tightened on the trigger. With such a weapon by his side, Julian was ready for everything.
The two Mechs flew right past him. Seedster only bothered to fire a single blast from the launcher, which Julian easily deflected.
What?
All four of the Mechs attacked Phillips's Force of Nine, the only Grunt on the map. They didn't consider Julian a threat at all.