CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

Vile rapidly finished closing the gap.

The expert pilot slashed again, and the sword lurking behind Jason once again mirrored the dagger's attack. In this case, Jason was exceptionally grateful for the Red Minerva's enhanced olfactory abilities.

Previously, he'd been relying on enhanced hearing to track his opponent's footsteps and motions. However, Vile had already adjusted to the Red Minerva's auditory capabilities.

Her attacks were slow and measured, prioritizing the stealth of each attack over the quantity.

Instead of hacking madly, she only wanted to land a few good blows. She knew that was all she needed to bring down the Red Minerva.

As Jason dodged, he prioritized sidestepping instead of moving forward or backwards.

Like Vile, Jason needed to carefully pay attention to how he dodged. If he didn't move carefully, he'd fall victim to a follow-up attack from the second butterfly knife.

The combination of the two weapons severely restricted Jason's possible attack patterns.

If he stepped too close to Vile, she'd gut him from hip to shoulder.

If he fell too far back, he wouldn't have time to dodge the lurking knife flying through the air.

Vile cut at him again. Jason fell into a low roll in response, twisting his body as he slid across the stage.

Jason cursed.

He'd never encountered a weapon like this before.

Right now, Jason's biggest issue was his lack of information on his opponent's items.

The biggest weakness of Grunts was their mass-produced nature. Just like in mecha anime, they couldn't carry many weapons.

However, that same nondescript nature provided a different sort of strength. Unlike Ace Mechs, Grunts didn't need to display their full profile at the start of the match. In addition, they were more resilient to scanner devices.

On top of that, Vile was using all-new prototype weapons Jason had never encountered before.

Jason's usual research-oriented approach was useless.

There was an enormous amount of information asymmetry. He needed to figure out how his opponent's weapons worked on the fly.

As Vile continued her assault, Jason used his canine-based sensory abilities to track the weapon behind him. The advanced senses allowed him to dodge every attack in just the nick of time.

The Red Minerva bobbed and weaved as the glowing blades slashed and slashed.

Earlier, Vile had impressed Jason with a second-level move. Instead of just dodging, she dodged in a beneficial manner that allowed her to continue attacking.

Now, Vile was displaying third-level thinking.

She knew that Jason was trying to run to the center of the Ring.

As a result, she used her machine's body and swords to cut off his paths ahead of time. She attacked in such a way that restricted Jason's possible paths.

Fortunately, Jason had an ace up his sleeve.

Whenever she got too close, he'd fall on four legs and shift to a running stance before fleeing around the stadium.

Here, he discovered a second valuable usage to the four-legged mode. While it restricted his options on the attack, it was perfect for running away.

On four legs, he could outspeed even the lightweight independent sword. The butterfly dagger jetted after him, but to no avail.

The two were locked in a stalemate.

However, Vile undoubtedly held the advantage.

It would only take a single misstep from Jason for her to build up an overwhelming lead.

On the other hand, Jason was too pressured even to attack. There was no way for him to gain an advantage. The constant battle had no upside for him.

Jason gradually recognized a pattern to the second sword's attacks as time went on.

Initially, Jason had thought that the flying butterfly dagger could attack independently of the main machine.

Due to their scarcity and difficulty of use, Jason hadn't encountered a weapon like that before.

However, he'd certainly heard of such items. There was a famous mapper who specialized in remote weaponry.

During special events, the Overdrive Corporation often simplified professional players' items, dumbing them down so that even amateurs could use them well.

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For game balance purposes, the simplified items never performed as well as their original counterparts. They were significantly weakened and came with significant restrictions.

In this case...

The floating butterfly knife only attacked whenever Vile did.

In addition, it always attacked in the same direction as the main blade.

For example, if the sword in the white machine's hand used a downward slash, the sword lurking behind Jason also had to use a downward slash.

It wasn't a truly independent attacker.

In fact, it was almost like the sword in Vile's hand controlled the weapon at Jason's back.

In that case...

BLAZING AVARICE: LEGERDEMAIN BLADE

The enchanted sword appeared in Jason's hand, and he pointed it at his opponent's item.

Vile stabbed at him, but Jason leapt back, kicking off the ropes as he used the Red Minerva's modified feet to kick high into the air.

As he expected, the move caught his opponent totally off guard.

Vile might have been an expert, but the Red Minerva was still a relatively unknown frame. Few players knew that its mechanically modified goat hoove legs gave it enough traction to kick off unusual materials like the Ring's ropes.

Most machines would slip and fall, but not Jason's partner.

As he soared through the air, Jason continued keeping the palm at the base of the Legerdemain Blade pointed at Vile's weapon.

Once the channel time ended, Jason's new flaming replica wrenched the butterfly knife cleanly out of Vile's hands. It landed inside the palm at the base of the magnetized sword.

As soon as the blade left Vile's hands, Jason heard a soft clatter behind him. His screen lit up as the watchdog's senses highlighted the fallen weapon.

The collision with the stolen butterfly knife promptly destroyed the copy of the Legerdemain Blade. Jason wouldn't be able to use the Legerdemain Blade for the remainder of the battle.

However, the weapon had already served its task. As the Legerdemain Blade replica dissipated to smoke, Jason grasped his opponent's knife.

However, he did not copy it with the Blazing Avarice.

There wasn't a point since he wouldn't get to use the item after the battle. It was much better to hold the knife in his hand.

On top of that, he wasn't sure how this blade worked. If he dissolved it, he might not get to command the second sword.

But as it happened, he couldn't control the blade either way.

Jason slashed at Vile, but the second sword did not respond. Instead, it lay limply on the floor.

A notification appeared on his screen.

LINK NOT POSSIBLE - SYSTEM UNAVAILABLE

Jason sighed.

The linked butterfly knives required a built-in signaling system that the Red Minerva lacked.

In Jason's hands, the weapon could not operate remotely. If Jason had to guess, this was a built-in safety precaution against opponents who could steal your items.

After battling against the Prince of Thieves after it'd stolen Danny's twisting sword, Jason couldn't blame Vile for incorporating the feature in her Grunt Mech.

Unfortunately, he was now on the losing side of the situation. However, Jason had still accomplished his main goal of disarming his opponent.

Now that he'd stolen the butterfly knife and disabled his opponent's weapon, it was his turn to go on the offensive.

The butterfly knife might have lost its partner, but it was still a very high-quality item. A regular blow would still inflict substantial damage.

Jason slashed twice, forcing Vile back.

As his opponent wheeled backwards, Jason summoned the Ghostfire Dagger from his supply depot again and aggressively closed the gap, pressing his advantage further.

Initially, Jason had expected the Pendulum Shield to be his ace. However, he'd made that assumption thinking that he'd stay on the defensive for most of the match.

Considering the current situation, he needed an item specialized for offense.

Jason was highly aware of the weapon slung over Vile's back.

He'd removed the butterfly knives, but the skilled Fortress Master still had more weapons to spare. Even worse, Jason wouldn't be able to bail himself out with the Legerdemain Blade again.

The jet black weapon slung over the Devoted Monk's back was a three-part staff, a traditional weapon from Chinese martial arts.

The fabled weapon consisted of three smaller segments linked by chains.

While the weapon sounded similar to nunchucks, the usage was actually quite different. The additional segment allowed users to hold the staff with two hands. The changed grip granted increased versatility, allowing its user to employ the weapon like a whip, a flail, or a pair of rods.

It was a powerful item that experts could use at all ranges, and if Jason had to guess, the item had an additional trick attached.

After all, it was an exclusive item meant for a key Five-Star equivalent event. It probably had a special feature or a unique on-hit effect.

Normally, Jason would use his scouter, but he couldn't wait around for the device to break through the Grunt Mech's cloud of secrecy.

Instead, Jason's best counter was to stop his opponent from drawing the item in the first place.

By closing the gap, he'd forced Vile to stay on the defensive. She wouldn't even have time to draw her item. Eventually, he'd land a game-ending blow.

Unfortunately for Jason, Vile's defensive gameplay was even better than her offense.

She avoided his attacks with careful and conservative movements. She never once overcommitted to a specific direction.

The two Mechs circled the ring, this time with Jason chasing after his foe.

The Red Minerva stabbed, and the Devoted Monk dodged.

Even though Jason was the one attacking, he still felt the pressure.

It was utterly absurd.

Before, Jason had felt like he'd lose if he let Vile get a hit on him.

Now, he felt like he'd lose if he ever gave her the briefest moment to draw her weapon.

Part of it Jason's stress was simply Vile's reputation. He knew he was up against a legendary foe, so he expected her to make a legendary comeback.

However, Vile's actual moves justified her reputation.

Like an older veteran player, she had perfect decision-making. But even though the community considered her an older player, her control skills were better than Jason's.

Each time she fled, she built up a slight gap between them. The tiny difference wasn't enough for her to reach behind her back and pull out her three-part staff.

But given enough tiny differences, she'd escape.

It was impossible to believe this wasn't her favored Mech.

In fact, this wasn't even her favored Mech class. The Devoted Monk was a Paragon, but Vile's favorite machines were all Hemoborn.

Jason tsked.

To win, he knew he'd have to catch her off guard again.

Jason feinted with his dagger, then swung his ankylosaurus tail around in a wide arc. The heavy club dragged across the ground. Instead of using it to strike his opponent, he kept it on a low path, using it as a living tripwire.

The heavy tail swept Vile cleanly off of her feet.

The white machine stumbled and then fell onto the floor.

Jason pumped his fist.

It worked!

The battle had gone on for quite a while.

After the last few exchanges, Jason had finally collected enough data on his opponent.

Vile was more skilled than anyone Jason had battled before.

However, she was still human.

Just like everyone else, she had certain tendencies in her gameplay.

Throughout the match, Vile had consistently neglected the Red Minerva's strengths. She was clearly unused to the common machine.

Although she was a Hemoborn expert, there were many different frames and species in that class.

In the past, Jason had struggled to use the heavy tail. More often than not, he usually considered it a burden.

But now, it'd become his ultimate weapon.

Now that his opponent had fallen to the ground, it was time to finish the battle.