CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jason continued swinging the powerful weapon. His strategy was extremely simplistic, but it was all he needed.

As his partner put more and more force in each attack, the momentum grew greater and greater, which led to dramatically increased damage.

If the Red Lamia came into range, Jason would be able to crush it to pieces with the Titan's Macuahuitl. The Red Minerva's own Melee stat wasn't high enough to damage his opponent, but the Aztec club pushed Jason's damage well into the S-tier.

Overdrive's damage calculation formula was rather simple.

Physical damage calculations evaluated both the machine's strength and the item's innate properties.

Projection weapons, such as beam sabers, required inputting the frame's attacking statistic twice - once for the force of the blow and a second time for the power of the generated beam.

As a result, Jason was best sticking to the physical items inside the Vault for the remainder of the battle. Jason planned on upgrading the Red Minerva's onboard generator systems down the road. However, the middle of the battlefield was no time for the long and complicated surgical process.

His opponents continued grouping around him even as he mowed them down.

The Grunts created by Queen's Command were utterly mindless automatons.

Reinforcements would continue spawning so long as the boss machine kept the ability active. Jason's foes would continue doggedly trying to corner him despite any number of casualties.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

His enormous club swung through the air again and again.

The Thralls were completely and utterly hopeless.

Normally, Jason defeated his opponents by targeting their weak points. It was his only option because of the Red Minerva's low statistics. If he didn't strike his foes at their weakest, he couldn't strike them at all.

However, picking up the powerful Titan's Macuahuitl had given him a powerful new option.

It was important to remember that the Thralls were still Grunts.

Although they were defensive specialists, there was a cap on their defense. When a specialized Grunt battled against a specialized Ace, the result was always very one-sided.

There was no way a Grunt Mech could possibly stand against the incredibly heavy Machuatl. Pale milky blood gushed through the air as Jason simply crushed his opponents with raw force.

The Serpents fared much better.

The swift creatures ducked back and forth, scampering away from the blows.

Now that they'd adjusted to his attack, only one in four of the beasts died.

However, Jason was mostly unconcerned with his opponent's escape. He wasn't the kind of undisciplined fighter who got overly excited at the sight of a fleeing foe.

His main goal was simply driving his opponents backwards.

It was impossible to eliminate every Grunt summoned by Queen's Command.

Instead, Jason just wanted to clear the ground of attackers and give himself space to dodge the Red Lamia's long-ranged assault.

Unfortunately, no good thing could last forever.

Jason glanced down at the thrusters of his control board and scowled.

He'd never used a weapon as powerful as the Titan's Macuahuitl before. His lack of experience meant that he'd underestimated the enormous club's downside.

The Red Minerva was starting to spin out of control. Jason de-activated the thruster grafts on his machine's arms, but his partner was still twisting around like a floppy top as it mowed through the approaching foes.

Although it was made out of lightweight materials, the Aztec club was still a gigantic and very heavy weapon.

It was just common sense that a regular-sized Mech couldn't reliably control a weapon that was almost twice its weight. As the momentum built, Jason's strikes grew more powerful. However, they were also becoming wilder and wilder.

Jason knew he needed to discard the weapon sooner than later.

Now that he'd cleared the initial waves of enemy machines, he needed to rely on more conventional weapons. The Macuahuitl had already done its job. Although there were still plenty of opponents, the Grunts could no longer pin him in a specific spot.

Initially, he'd hoped to swat down the Lamia like it was a fly.

However, the heavy weapon's reliance on momentum meant it was unreliable for anything other than mowing down scores of weak opponents. The blade was great for clearing away Grunts, but the cumbersome size meant that Jason couldn't control the weapon in a close-quarters duel.

He would have to find a different item if he wanted to damage the Lamia.

On top of that, his uncontrolled spinning was a weakness.

The Red Lamia clearly placed an enormous priority on cornering Jason in place. However, if his spinning grew so uncontrollable that he couldn't dodge an incoming strike, he would have accomplished his opponent's goal for her.

Jason carefully calibrated his strike as he continued spinning. Jason was unfamiliar with the Aztec club, but he understood the Red Minerva's strength and throwing power.

He turned once, then twice. The Mech wobbled uncontrollably back and forth.

It was only at the third spin that Jason saw his opportunity.

There!

He abruptly planted his machine's feet in the ground before activating his arm thrusters.

He let go of the enormous Macuahuitl, and the club went spinning wildly through the air.

After releasing the club, Jason and the Red Minerva were forcibly jerked forward by the weight of the item. Normally, this would have created a moment of vulnerability. The Red Lamia's S-tier shooting would have made short work of a stumbling foe.

However, the Lamia had no time to attack.

The enemy machine hissed angrily as it hastily coiled through the air to dodge Jason's impromptu attack.

The serpentine cyborg twisted left, then right. It swam elegantly through the air as it dodged the massive Mech-sized club.

Damn!

Jason had hoped his surprise damage would at least inflict some chip damage.

His opponent was good.

The Red Lamia wasn't controlled by an AI. While Jason hadn't practiced the many AI bugging tricks used by elite mappers, he still understood the fundamentals.

In general, the Overdrive AI - even boss-level AI - was easily tricked by surprise attacks. Suddenly hurling the enormous club was the very definition of a surprise attack, yet his foe had quickly responded.

Hiring a single boss to handle this Red Lamia seemed cost-inefficient. If Jason had to guess, his opponent was likely in charge of several secret Vault bosses. They were probably a very talented generalist as opposed to a low-ranking specialist like Jason had been.

Despite the danger, Jason's excitement grew even further.

His foe was the kind of behind-the-scenes boss he'd hoped to become, a boss who was allowed to battle opponents earnestly with a strong machine.

Jason wasn't the sort of person who kept grudges.

While he knew he didn't want to work for the Overdrive Corporation again, he also had no interest in proving to the company that they'd made a mistake. Jason understood why other people might feel angry in his position. However, he'd already decided to channel his disappointment from his old job into determination to succeed on his own.

He just didn't feel the need to prove himself to people he didn't care about.

Rather, Jason wanted to win the fight to satisfy himself. During his time at the Overdrive Corporation, Jason had always believed that he was skilled enough to become a top-ranking Five Star Boss. That being said, he'd never actually battled a Five-Star Boss before.

This was his chance to prove to himself that he really had the skills he thought he had.

Now that he'd thrown aside the Titan's Macuahuitl, Jason needed a new weapon.

The most obvious selection was the Dragonbane Sword.

After all, the deadly item was designed to kill dragons.

Although Jason's foe was a Lamia, the Dragonbane Sword's layers of built-in toxins attacked its target on a biological level. It was essentially a scientifically created version of a cursed dragon-slaying blade from fairy tales.

Based on the humanoid head, the Red Lamia contained genetic samples from a human-like species such as the Giant class.

However, Jason would recognize the machine's lengthy serpent-like tail - and the large club at the end - anywhere. Despite the changes, the Red Lamia was a cave dragon at heart, just like Jason's partner.

Unfortunately...

The Dragonbane Sword was too far away.

It was located at the very end of the cave, directly behind the Red Lamia.

If Jason wanted to grab it, he would have to charge straight through the swarm of Grunts as well as the Red Lamia's own gunfire.

He immediately dismissed his plan.

He wouldn't be able to access the Dragonbane Sword, the greatest treasure in the Vault, until he won this battle.

But even though he couldn't use the best item available, Jason knew that he could cobble together a proper offensive by using a set of specialized items.

On top of that, none of the other items in the Vault were Titan-class items. Since they weren't as heavy as the Titan's Macahuatl, he could carry multiple of them at once.

Once again, Jason reviewed his Rolodex of available items in the Vault. The process was far more enjoyable than simply looking at what he had in his wristbands. The items were of significantly better quality.

Once he won them for himself, Jason knew that he wanted to use a diverse build rather than focusing on a few powerful items. His greatest strength was his breadth of knowledge and the variety of moves at his disposal.

The first item he wanted was very close.

He simply rolled over and grabbed them.

Item Acquired: Hydrochloric Gauntlets

The Hydrochloric Gauntlets were a powerful item that had an acidic touch effect.

They were a premier weapon of choice for assassins. The items could only be used by Spell Titans or Hemoborn that were already specialized in dealing poison damage.

The deadly devices, which came with built-in poison sacs, normally stored themselves in a compact form on their user's wrists. However, the thin but highly venomous layer would automatically manifest if Jason ever touched an enemy machine.

They granted enormous bonuses for hand-to-hand combat. Jason's strikes and punches would inflict significantly more damage.

However, the greatest use case was also the most obvious. If Jason managed to hang on without letting go, the continued poisonous damage could bring down even the Lamia.

The next item Jason wanted was the Valorous Ji.

Normally, the Valorous Ji looked like a simple metal pole. However, once it was activated, a spear and dagger-axe made of flames would manifest at the tip.

The deadly Chinese polearm could be used for cutting, jabbing, and striking.

The traditional Chinese weapon was one of the most versatile weapons inside the entire Vault. While the Dragonbane Sword was the highest-rated item, it was most effective against a single class of machine. On the other hand, the Valorous Ji could be used in almost any circumstances.

The item was located behind a small group of Serpent Dragons.

Although the Serpent Dragons had fared better against the Titan's Macuahuitl than the Thralls, this group, in particular, had taken a devastating amount of damage.

They'd been among the first to attack Jason once he grabbed the Aztec club, and he'd mowed through them before the AI realized what was happening.

Breaking past them would not be a problem.

Jason fell into a sprint as he charged towards the serpents, but just before he reached them, the Serpent Dragons dramatically changed their behavior.

Instead of attacking individually, they suddenly joined together and surged forward.

Behind him, Jason heard a horrifying cacophony of hisses as a second and then a third group of serpents did the exact same thing.

The scene was utterly nightmarish.

The slender creatures had all tied themselves against each other, creating a mishmash structure that almost looked like a gigantic hand. The snarling heads twisted and curled, leering at Jason with yellow unblinking eyes.

An abrupt change of tactics...

The swarm of snakes covered Jason's entire screen, but between the writhing mass, he caught a glimpse of the shadowy portals disappearing.

Queen's Command had reached its second stage.

The boss-only technique was a two-part ability.

The first part of Queen's Command allowed the boss pilot to summon Grunt Mechs onto the stage. So long as the portals were active, the drones would continue emerging.

Once the portals disappeared, they could not be re-activated. It was impossible to move back from the second stage to the first stage.

However, the Boss Mechs and the Grunts would both receive a stat-up. In addition, it was possible to program advanced orders for the Grunts.

In effect, this powerful second mode was designed to simulate the next stage of a boss fight.

Instead of just trying to corner Jason, the Serpent Dragons would act as living ropes. They were sacrificing themselves to tie him down and end the fight.

Lamia let out a deadly cry and surged forward.

Wind rushed throughout the cave.

Based on what Jason could tell, the Lamia flew by manipulating the air currents around it. The creature had no visible wings. It probably used an internal mechanical system, almost like a built-in AC.

Jason had seen similar weapons a few times before.

Air current manipulation was much quieter than the beating of wings. The slight change in the wind was a minor tell, but Jason couldn't tell where his opponent was.

He only knew that the Red Lamia was descending.

The snakes continued writhing in front of him.

Before long, they'd covered up the Red Minerva's cockpit.

The creatures began biting and chewing. Their A-rated fangs and poisonous abilities were rapidly tearing him apart.

It wasn't just the Lamia he had to worry about.

If he stayed wrapped up for another eight to ten seconds, he would die on the spot.

Considering the Serpent's pathetic defenses, Jason could easily punch his way through with the Hydrochrolic Gauntlets. However, hastily leaping out would put him in range of the Red Lamia's attacks.

Jason's only option was a combined attack. He needed to simultaneously escape and crush the Red Lamia.

But where was his opponent?!

Jason took his hands off the control board.

If he couldn't rely on sight, he'd concentrate everything on sound. Judging his opponent's position solely based on air currents was exceedingly difficult, but it was Jason's only option.

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

Jason listened as hard as he could, but all he could tell was that his opponent was descending.

Dropping to the floor was a smart option. The Red Lamia's pilot knew that Jason needed to break out of this snake hand. Landing on the ground gave him the best firing angle. It would let them strike as soon as Jason leaped out.

Wait.

His opponent was descending.

There was a hint there.

Scrrrr...

It was just the faintest scraping, but to Jason's hyper-concentrated mind, the faint noise sounded like an enormous thunk.

There!

The skilled pilot activated the Hydrochloric Gauntlets. His Mech's gloves glowed a sickly green as he punched straight through the paper-thin defenses of the Serpent Dragons.

His machine's pose - two hands curled into fists above his head - made the Red Minerva look like superman.

The thrusters on his arms and legs roared as he surged towards the Red Lamia.

Jason had caught his opponent completely off-guard. They'd just landed, and they were still charging up their attack.

The creature's throat was swelling and expanding rapidly, just like a frog preparing to croak.

Jason's first move was a powerful uppercut.

The Lamia screamed and shot its charged attack straight into the roof. The glowing green bullet of spittle instantly blasted clean through the Vault's, sending an avalanche of stone and rubble cascading towards them.

Jason grinned and kicked the Red Lamia back just in time for a jagged rock to slam onto them. Although Jason couldn't damage the Red Lamia with his bare hands, pushing her into terrain was a perfectly viable option.

A twisted cut ran from the machine's right shoulder to its left waist. Blood and oil gushed from the enormous wound.

The cyborg wailed in pain before hastily retreating.

Even better, the avalanche had killed the remaining snakes. The makeshift hand was all knotted together, and they had no chance of escaping on time.

From now on, this would be a one-on-one battle.

Jason grinned as he took advantage of the opportunity to stock up on items. Although the avalanche had buried plenty of them, many items - including the Valorous Ji - had been just outside the blast radius.

"It's hard to sneak around with that heavy tail, isn't it?"