by R. H. Tang
He equipped the Crafter's Pride, but instead of entering a battle, he made his way to the Forever Fortress. Then he dropped the item. Just in case The Mechanical King was watching, Julian cursed his luck at getting such a useless drop.
It wasn't the most believable thing possible, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
He finally had the perfect item he needed, but not for the Selection.
Julian knew the edge she'd sacrificed giving him this information. Phillips's words echoed in his ears.
"We can compete honestly once we get rid of the cheaters."
That's what almost everyone wanted when they logged into Overdrive. It was just that real life got in the way. For regular players, it was boosting. The pilots Julian had battled before coming to Los Angeles definitely felt like they'd been cheated.
For players like Julian, it was alliances at the Selection.
Julian didn't like cheating, but he got why it happened. In this case, Liefield was just being a jerk for no reason, relentlessly kicking people who couldn't fight back.
To improve his alibi, he kept his account logged on, setting the headset down on his chair before leaving the room. The body scan only activated when you entered the server. As far as he knew, the Overdrive system couldn't tell if you were away from your keyboard.
He was ready.
He called Tigger.
"Hey. I figured out what to do. Let's finish this."
Julian could tell that the veteran pilot was surprised, but Tigger knew that Julian didn't take this lightly. Besides, they both knew they had to defeat Liefield as soon as possible.
"Great. Meet me in the parking lot, and I'll drive you to Charles's apartment."
30
"What changed things?"
Tigger kept his eye on the road as they slowly inched through traffic. Based on their research, Liefield's prime operation hours were 6-12 on Pacific Standard Time. They'd make it well in time despite the slow crawl.
"I found a rare item—one of the new ones The Mechanical King added. It'll let us win the mission."
Tigger raised an eyebrow.
"Great! I can pass it over along with the Boxer. Then you'll have both items ready for the Selection."
"Actually, I don't think the weapon would be any good in the Selection."
"Oh, that's a bummer."
It was sort of a lie. The Crafter's Pride was invaluable for the Selection. With only one gem, he wouldn't always have the perfect counter like Phillips did, but even one use of the locked treasure would make an enormous difference.
Unfortunately, using it to defeat Liefield would render the Crafter's Pride useless for competitive play.
On the bright side, the Boxer was just as valuable of a weapon. Sacrificing the Crafter's Pride to recover the Boxer wasn't just the right thing to do. It was probably the best strategic option.
Julian pulled out his phone and carefully examined the shop, immediately scrolling to the Abilities section. He thought back to how Phillips always had the perfect item and how she'd recharged and repaired the One-Shot Laser.
It'd seemed bizarre, but Tigger had been right. There was an in-game solution to Phillips's seemingly psychic abilities. The Crafter's Pride let its user create a single item with any Overdrive Ability, even the ones that weren't meant for in-game use.
Now that she'd let Julian behind the curtain, it was pretty obvious what Phillips was doing. She'd turned her Crafter's Prides into metal equipped with the "Spawn" Ability. Like everyone else, Julian had seen the humorous videos. However, Phillips had gone one step further. By imbuing the Ability to a lump of metal, she could spawn items during the game. That must have been why Phillips needed to stay still at the start of every match. She was picking what items to use.
The Power of Nine had been built entirely around this synergy. The empty weapon depots let her hide the item transformation process. The presumably hollow cat drones did the same thing.
Of course, it wasn't just the eccentric abilities that were worth using. You couldn't equip any of the Overdrive bonuses, but Overdrive effects on Aces were balanced around the class's properties. The Paragons had the best Overdrive boost, and Kingbreakers had the best base stats. If you added the offensive strength of Spell Titans or the unyielding regeneration of Kingbreakers on top of that, your Mech would be clearly overpowered.
You could also mix and match unique attributes from various powerful machines. At first, Julian's theories had involved combining strengths from different Mech classes. He wanted to create a weapon that he could still use for the Selection.
One obvious solution was a rifle that combined gravity properties with Emma's lightning speed Spell Titan shots. You'd be able to apply gravitational area of effect damage to your opponents from a very safe distance.
Normally, that would never work because of different classes. Even flexible spellswords could only use weapons and Abilities created for the Spell Titan class. Electricity-based weapons were available on Kingbreakers, but it required physical contact with the opponent or an active energy source like on Leontime's machine. Combining a fragile Mech like that with a gravity core was a recipe for disaster. The whole thing would explode as soon as it entered the match.
Just like how Kingbreakers couldn't cast spells like Thunderbolt, Spell Titans couldn't use gravity-based attacks, which required a gravity core. The real-science fiction type weapon didn't work with the Spell Titans' Mana Gatherer Spikes. The Overdrive Administration decided that because gravity worked according to the law of physics, Spell Titans were forbidden from using it. Instead of gravity-based assaults, they had Earth manipulation and other terrain-oriented attacks.
As a melee expert, Julian was already dreaming about a weapon that used both water-magic properties and a steel-reinforced edge. The reinforced steel edge was a basic addition you could use on almost any machine, even Spell Titans. It was just a buff that sharply amplified your cutting ability. Of course, that could only work on a physical blade, not something like a sword made out of water. Only the Crafter's Pride could create a monstrous weapon like that.
Phillips had done a similar thing to grant her One-Shot Laser recharging abilities. It was likely something to do with Hemoborn regeneration.
Unfortunately, none of the awesome weapons would work on Liefield's modified March of Grunts mission. The map was designed to be unbeatable. To succeed, you needed to create an unconventional item custom-built to defeat it.
"When do you think you'll be able to pass me the Boxer?"
Julian feared it'd seem too obvious if the Boxer just appeared in his inventory right after a clear account sharing event—especially after he discarded the Crafter's Pride. After today's events, Julian knew he had to be careful. The Mechanical King wouldn't hesitate to ban an unknown player like Julian.
Tigger had the same concerns.
"Probably two days. I can have Charles pass it around between accounts for a bit and then eventually have it go over to one of my kids. Then they can challenge you and pass it over. Something like that."
Two days meant that Julian would receive the Mech in time for the last day of the Selection. If he lasted that long, it'd be an amazing power boost.
"Do you maybe need it earlier?"
"No. That should be perfect."
Despite what Phillips claimed, Julian knew that the Starlight R was strong. The Boxer was only the additional final push he needed. He took another look at his phone and smiled. Like Phillips and DISTINCTIONMAN, Julian was also relying on non-combat game mechanics.
The key to defeating March of Grunts was snowballing. Snowballing mechanics—which made your character stronger and stronger after every kill—existed in plenty of other games. They existed in Overdrive too, but they were strictly capped on the competitive standard. Typically, your snowballing was maxed out after you defeated three enemies.
There was an obvious reason why.
Despite the rapidly growing competitive scene, Overdrive was balanced
around the average player. You fought way more than just three enemies on the typical PvE map, and most of the Grunts you battled were weak. If snowballing wasn't capped, it would be way too easy to succeed on even missions like Watcher's Minesweeper First Fortress.
Theoretically, if destroying enemy Mechs could replenish your machine to full health, even a weak player could play March of Grunts for a long time. The only fear would be getting killed in a single instant by a combined attack.
Much like how Phillips built her own psychic powers, Julian was going to build his own snowballing mechanic. Julian knew exactly what he had to do. After all, he'd encountered his planned bug before. He'd seen DISTINCTIONMAN use it on his stream.
Using Donate on a Mech led to ridiculous bugs, just like Spawn. It was how DISTINCTIONMAN removed Grunts from his inventory, which allowed him to disavow and then attack his own team. But if Julian used it on something like a sword, there wouldn't be any effect at all. The blade would be coded as a member of the enemy team, but Mechs used scavenged weapons all the time. It would simply be like picking up an enemy sword as soon as the mission started. Normally, taking an opponent's sword would switch its ownership to you.
However, the Crafter's Pride ensured that the Donate passive would remain no matter what happened. Even if it were in his possession, it would always be regarded as a member of the enemy team. The persistent passive was the key to Julian's planned synergy.
It would allow Julian to snowball in conjunction with another little-used effect—Souls of the Fallen. If his sword was considered a part of the enemy team, using Souls of the Fallen would gather enemy parts to it. In short, every single Grunt Julian destroyed would come back to strengthen him.
Liefield wouldn't suspect a thing. Plenty of inexperienced players used Souls of the Fallen on their machine.
And since his sword had the "Donate" passive, Liefield wouldn't be able to see the information in the allied lobby, as it wouldn't be considered part of their team. He would look like any other beginner who used Souls of the Fallen.
They arrived at Charles's house, where he had two pods prepared for them. Before logging in, Tigger asked Julian what would best complement his strategy.
Julian explained the synergy he'd planned.
Tigger nodded.
"Wow. That's impressive."
"Yeah, I got the suggestion from what Phillips did."
Julian smiled.
"Like you said, there was an in-game explanation."
Julian wanted to tell Tigger about the alliance, but for now, the big man was all business.
"Sounds like I should just maximize damage with an area of effect unit. If I break down the walls and mountain, you'll be able to handle everything else."
"Yeah, exactly."
They got dressed, putting the motion rigs over their clothes. The material wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as Julian thought it'd be. It was just wired mesh, almost like some sort of enhanced sporting equipment. He'd probably seen Tyler wearing something similar during his workouts.
Charles gave them a thumbs up.
"Good luck. You guys are using accounts I got two friends to create. I spent some time playing to rack up Credits for you guys. You should be able to purchase anything you need. You guys are using a push to talk feature. If you press the button, your voice will be transcribed, and they will read out the lines. If you speak normally, the message will only be passed between your pods."
It was sort of a relief. At least they weren't also controlling the other person's vocal cords!
"Thank you very much."
Julian logged in and blinked in surprise.
Right.
He was playing on someone else's account. Instead of his own body and the familiar orange pilot suit, he saw a short woman with a blue outfit and rather tiny hands.
He curled his hand into a fist, and the small fingers responded.
It was weird.
He immediately went to the Forever Fortress and retrieved the gem from its hiding place. Then he entered into a custom battle.
The Mechanical King burst onto his screen, flexing his fake muscles.
After seeing The Mechanical King in real life, the difference only looked more ludicrous.
"It is I! Drake "The Mechanical King" Dunn! Also known as THE DUNN!"
Julian almost cried out in surprise. He hadn't known that would happen. Would The Mechanical King realize he was account sharing?
"Hello, sir."
Nothing happened.
Tigger's voice rang in his ears.
"Julian, you need to use push to talk."
"Right."
"Hello, sir."
Charles's friend had a shockingly deep voice. The image ignored her. Fortunately, it was only a recording, not The Mechanical King himself.
"Now, we all know that a crafter's pride is very important. After all, the items you create were supposedly made by your hands! But. Even more important than the crafter's pride is a crafter's humility! At the end of the day, while your weapons were your own designs, they were made by components created from the Overdrive Corporation. As the King of this game, all weapons are made by my permission!"
Julian stifled a laugh. It was such classic self-aggrandizing.
"You entered into a battle carrying nothing but the materials that I invented! How humble! This is the award that goes to those who trust The Mechanical King!"
The gem flashed, and then Julian reappeared inside the crafter's workshop, just as Phillips said he would.
The material had dissolved into a shapeless mass. When he poked at it, the glistening material eagerly shifted between a massive sword, a spear, an elongated rifle, and a set of knives. The shape morphed every time he tapped it.
The weapon's attributes changed each time as well. At one moment, it seared with an eternal flame—a Spell Titan's weapon if Julian ever saw it. The next, it became a magazine-fed grenade launcher, an unending explosive weapon frequently used on offensive Kingbreakers. Then there was even an ever-regenerating wall of bones, a horrifying Hemoborn's shield.
Only the simple status screen hovering above the transforming blob remained consistent.
Item:
Properties:
He could input whatever he wanted.
Julian snickered to himself as he worked to make it look as dumb as possible. In the end, all he had was a plain dulled bronze blade. The weapon looked even worse than a beginner's usual sword. It looked just like something a proud first-time player had scraped from their first mission and immediately equipped to their machine. Julian had done the same when he first started. Even if the weapon wasn't as potent, it was one they'd earned.
Item: Bronze Broadsword
Properties: Donate
There was no name for the new item—it was still referred to as the Crafter's Pride. Mentally, however, Julian thought of it as the Traitor's Blade—a secret sword that would return to bite the opponent by a thousandfold.
He exited and then returned to his overall inventory. Just as Charles promised, the account had plenty of Credits. Julian equipped the standard Paragon starting Ace unit with the Souls of the Fallen, resisting the urge to paint it orange. Then he equipped the transformed Crafter's Pride, which had a Credit cost of 3,000. Julian wondered if that was the standard no matter what item it turned into.
That'd be valuable information if he ever battled Phillips. Unfortunately, he didn't have the opportunity to investigate.
Thinking of Phillips's success with the Crafter's Pride emphasized the risk he was taking to dedicating the gem to this mission. The Traitor's Blade was almost useless for the Selection. It could be useful if The Mechanical King mandated some army battle, but Julian hadn't heard of something like that before.
He was risking it all to win this mission.
The account Tigger was using—Sn0wSt0rm—was already on Julian's friends list.
"Ready?"
"Give me a second. Let me remove my other Mechs."
J
ulian entered the free zone and used the Donate bug to remove his machine. The Heaven's Boxer let you dictate the Mechs the opponent used. By eliminating all the other options, they prevented Liefield from stopping their strategy. Of course, it was dubious if Liefield would even do that. From what Tigger and Julian could tell, he was farming beginner Ace machines.
Then they scrolled down to Liefield's mission and entered the lobby.
31
The mission started as soon as they logged in. It seemed like Liefield didn't want to risk any time before he lost a victim. Julian saw the team chat in the bottom corner, which featured his own account—strawberries1015—as well as Tigger's borrowed name, Liefield, and Diamantic. There was a sudden golden blur as Liefield used the Reality Step to disappear.
Everything was proceeding just as they thought it would.
Liefield's accomplice seemed like a decent pilot, but nothing particularly special. He was the sort of player Julian had been a few months ago—an edge candidate for the Selection. From what Julian had seen, Diamantic had finished ranked around the early 600s. He had probably partnered with Liefield off of some promise to receive stronger parts. Maybe Liefield had even lied and said he'd let Diamantic use the Boxer for next year's Selection.
For this mission, Diamantic had hidden his main Mech in favor of an outdated Grunt unit.
- General Data -
Pilot: Diamantic
Machine: Guardian VIII—Diamantic Custom
Class: Kingbreaker
Sub-class: Attacker
Designation: Grunt Unit
- Statistics -
Melee: A-tier
Shooting: A-tier
Speed: C-tier
Maneuverability: C-tier
Defense: B-tier
Cohesion: S-tier
- Parts -
120mm Machinegun
Reinforced Steel Sword [x2]
Reinforced Steel Crusher Sword (Full Custom) [x1]
Reinforced Steel Claws (Full Custom) [x10]
Reinforced Steel Shield
