As she ran on the treadmill, Xiao thought about the comment Puhi made three days earlier. She didn’t think her 4-0-0 record was that impressive but she also didn’t look at it through an outcast’s perspective. When she and her friends got into mech fights, they were watching tournament matches where the best pilots were competing. It wasn’t difficult to see strong starts from those who eventually made it through the relegation matches to reach the tournaments. Thus, the young woman found herself lacking knowledge on the matches that led to the relegation matches. To be fair, it was very hard to acquire much information back then when streaming small matches was unheard of. Outcasts were naturally forgotten since most of them never made a big enough name to be showcased in major tournaments.
I still think Puhi exaggerated what I’m capable of. I’m really ordinary at the end of the day.
Xiao checked the time and stopped the treadmill. Puhi scheduled a match for her an hour after her application was approved by the academy. Through connections and some taunts, she managed to organize a match between Xiao and the number 754 ranking pilot. Given that the academy had over ten thousand pilots training at the moment, it was incredible for her to face someone in the top ten percent. Even Puhi admitted that getting someone in the top five percent was nearly impossible as those pilots wouldn’t find a match with Xiao worthwhile. For the young woman, she was already looking at the best possible match.
“What’s your rank?” asked Xiao while Puhi was confirming the match on her tablet.
“Only 181,” replied Puhi simply.
After learning about Puhi’s rank, Xiao knew she had to defeat her opponent. The sooner she caught up to Puhi, the less she would be the burden in their squad. If there was anything Xiao hated, it was her being the deadweight in the group. That was the case at school and it hadn’t changed since. Her determination to do well was there as she walked from the gym to her room. After her shower, she headed to the simulation wing where her opponent waited for her. The two of them would be assigned an MTS where they would do battle. The MTS allowed any mech template and Xiao picked the same template as the one she defeated Puhi with. As she approached the room, Puhi showed up out of nowhere.
“Be careful in the match,” warned her squadmate. “I heard John’s father purchased a very expensive template for his son last week. You’re probably fighting a mech that can even compete in the lower rank tournament matches.”
“Lower rank tournament matches…”
Xiao tightened her fists at the thought of fighting such a strong mech. For most mechs that made it into the lower rank tournaments, they possessed high level equipment to ensure their competitiveness. Compared to her template, she expected her opponent’s mech would simply be several levels higher. She initially expected a challenging fight but she had never fought a foe with that much of an equipment level disparity. She inquired about the matter with Puhi.
“Like skills, equipment disparity isn’t something you can overcome easily, especially not in the heat of the battle with no prior knowledge. If John got the template only a week ago, he might not have adjusted to the new template yet. I’d say that you may find lots of openings as a result.”
Hearing the encouragement from Puhi, Xiao felt that she calmed down a lot. She entered the room and entered her template. As she was sitting down in her MTS, John entered the room with a big smile on his face.
Think you’ve already won, have you?
Xiao was doing her last bit of preparation when the judge stepped forward with an announcement.
“Due to the template level of John’s mech, the rating increase for Xiao’s win will be higher than previously determined when the match was organized. That is all!”
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With everything ready, Xiao put on her headset and got to work. The setting was a simple arena so she easily navigated her ant mech onto the field. On the other side, a hornet mech made its appearance. Unlike the one used by Zander and Puhi, this one had an armor unlike the standard armor she was used to. Xiao hadn’t expected John to be using a superior type of armor and, since she didn’t have an operator, she had to figure things out as she went.
“Match begins!”
Before Xiao could make her mech move, the opposing hornet mech already charged at her at incredible speeds. Only instinct allowed the young woman to navigate her mech out of the way. As her ant mech turned around, it was hit straight on by the hornet, sending it back a couple of meters.
Good thing the charge doesn’t do a lot of damage.
The hornet mech then revealed one of its weapons as it fired a particle beam which Xiao narrowly avoided. The beam was smaller than the ones she had seen in tournaments but, for light mechs, it was more than strong enough to take out components easily through direct hits. Knowing that she couldn’t get too close at the moment, she kept a safe distance so she could react to any further attacks. Then, the next particle beam came her way and, like the first time, she avoided this one. Taking a risk, she urged her ant mech forward while using her zigzag technique.
Once I get close enough and use my flamer, this match might be over. There should be a limit to how many participle beams that hornet can fire before it overheats.
When a third particle beam came at her, Xiao knew she couldn’t completely avoid it so she purposely had her mech’s right torso take the brunt. In an instant, her right torso and right arm were vaporized. However, Xiao was focused on winning the match so she got close and unleashed her flamer at point blank. Seconds later, the hornet was no longer operational, allowing her to pick it apart with her small laser. Before she could destroy any components, the judge had declared her the winner.
“That was a good performance,” said Puhi as soon as Xiao removed her headset. “As expected from my squadmate!”
Puhi then brought out her tablet and showed Xiao her new ranking of 767. As Xiao was about to say something, her squadmate stopped her.
“I know the number is higher than John’s but John spent years in the academy to get to his ranking. You’ve done it on your second day. Don’t get too greedy!”
With that, Puhi led Xiao to the mess hall to celebrate. While they ate, she gave Xiao some pointers on how the young woman could have done better in her match against John. John only knew how to spam a powerful weapon without taking into account the high heat costs that came with using it. She stated that, if a more experienced pilot took John’s place, Xiao would be guaranteed a loss. That was how much the disparity in equipment was between the two mechs. Puhi hoped that her pointers could aid Xiao in the future when she faced similar disparities.
“As our records improve, our chances of facing such mechs and pilots increase. Most mech organizations hesitate in using such expensive loadouts in casual matches but the ones with lots of funding will boast about their resources.” Puhi switched to a different window and passed her tablet over to Xiao. “Speaking of casual matches, we have one booked a week from now.”
<
Match Type: Casual
Mech Weight Class Allowed: Light Mechs only
Format: 2 versus 2
Arena: Casual Standard
Win Condition: All opposing mechs can no longer continue combat
Attendance: 7500
Salvage Reward: 4
>
“Our opponents are in a squad too and they both have a 3-0-0 record. Their mechs are both mantis mechs so be ready for fast mech that likes to get close and personal. From the videos I’ve seen of them, they have great teamwork when they team up against one foe. When facing others one on one, their flaws become more apparent.”
Later that day, Xiao looked at the videos herself and agreed with Puhi’s assessment. Her opponents liked to separate the opposition before using their speed to gang up on the weakest foe. After that, it would be a straightforward two versus one where their mantis mechs would tear apart the competition.
Compared to Huxley, they aren’t that good.
Xiao had rewatched the three versus three match and was very impressed by how Huxley performed. The pilot dodged nearly all the attacks and his mantis mech only lost a bit of armor in the end. Compared to Huxley, her two new opponents were average at best. Studying that video also helped Xiao come up with a few countermeasures against melee mechs, though she was certain her strategy would have to change once she reached higher levels.