CHAPTER FIFTY NINE

A notification appeared on Jason's screen.

PRIZE ACQUIRED!

URUMI OF ENVY (x1)

15,000 CREDITS

EXTENSION HAND (x1)

Jason smiled.

Nice!

In addition to the guaranteed prizes, their team had also each received one of the Green Envy's extendable limbs. The arm was spindly, but it was powerful enough to anchor the other machine to the floor.

He instinctively began musing about the possibilities for the build, but he was soon interrupted by the excited chatter from the BAG Guild.

"Nice!"

"Yo, I got an arm, did you get one too!"

"Yeah, I did!"

"Yo, I also got an arm! I'm so lucky!"

Gavin started laughing.

"Man, it would be so funny if someone didn't get an arm. They'd be a total sucker!"

Steven shook his head and laughed.

"Guys. The prizes for a party are the same. We all got the bonus arm."

Gavin grinned.

"Okay, nice! That's even better."

Anthony pumped his fist.

"Hell yeah! This is the best item I've gotten yet! I'm gonna call the others and see what they are up to!"

His Mech briefly stopped moving as he pulled out his cell phone to call the defeated members.

Grayson started cheering.

"Man. This is the best item I've found too."

He turned to Steven and Jason.

"Yo. Thanks for the carry. I would never have beaten the map without you guys."

The rest of the BAG Guild joined him in the chorus, but Gavin jokingly threw his hands in the air.

"Why are you thanking them?! We won that because of me! Me and my idea!"

Once again, the BAG Guild's antics brought a smile to Jason's face.

For Jason, these kinds of missions were becoming pretty ordinary by now. However, this was just the BAG Guild's first taste of success.

It was critical to remember that joyful and appreciative sense of finding awesome new items and upgrading your Mech.

On top of that, Gavin was right.

He'd carried the match, not Jason.

The other player was a total goofball, but he'd saved the day in the end. It was another reminder for Jason to stay humble and continue honing his skills. He could learn from anyone on the server, no matter who they were.

The BAG Guild headed down together.

Steven called out to the team.

"Alright, guys. Let's wait for Danny to get back, but I want to call it a night."

The big man yawned.

"That was a pretty tough fight, and we'll be better equipped tomorrow. We can use our new gear that way too."

He stretched.

"Plus, I'm guessing some people are gonna want to join us by then."

Anthony chimed in.

"Yep! I was just talking to Stephanie, and she's hyped. Wendy and Owen are going to start playing again tonight, and they said they'll bring everyone back."

Jason smiled.

They weren't done with their work in the Palace of Emotions just yet. They also had to acquire the Partner's Lance before arriving at Castle Notoria.

For a brief moment, Jason considered challenging the mission by himself.

He thought he had a fair shot at succeeding, especially if he swapped back to the Red Minerva. He was learning more about his Vampire Brawler Mech every battle, but nothing would replace the longstanding familiarity he had with his partner.

Then he shrugged and kept going down the stairs.

There was no need to rush.

He would have more fun challenging the map tomorrow with the BAG Guild. He still had plenty of leftover energy, but that'd be better spent at the Good Game Shoppe tonight.

"They'll never see us coming tomorrow! Urumi attack!"

Gavin's Mech briefly flew into the air and mimed swinging the steel blades.

Unfortunately, his Mech was too badly damaged by his earlier cannonball. His machine fell over, then rolled down a flight of stairs and exploded.

The rest of his teammates could only stare in silence.

Steven shook his head.

"That guy definitely has a screw loose."

The BAG Guild all started laughing.

Anthony chuckled.

"I just got a text from Gavin...he says to stop laughing at him and that he'll see us soon. He's gonna go overtime tonight to reach us."

As they returned to the central lobby, they saw Danny stepping out of the Searing Anger's chambers. The Lucky Duck walked out wielding the same absurdly bending sword he'd used at the Tournament of Assassins.

The blade retracted as he stepped forward.

At the very end of the weapon was a skewered bright red head that'd clearly belonged to the Searing Anger. The Searing Anger's design was based on a fierce Roman soldier. Its head was more or less identical to a galea, a standard Roman helmet.

Eventually, the blade shrank and vanished.

The helmet hit the ground with a loud plink before fading away.

The Lucky Duck's items would only last for a single stage. After using it, Danny then had to re-roll. He couldn't get the most powerful item then clear the entire Palace of Emotions.

The victorious guild captain grinned.

"It took a while, but we got there on the rolls. I wanted to make sure I had my best possible item - with an ability like that, my best chance was to one-shot it."

Jason nodded his head in appreciation.

It was a good call.

The best way to deal with a foe famous for retaliation was to make sure that it couldn't retaliate.

Danny and his gambling seemed haphazard, but there was always a strategy behind it.

Anthony laughed.

"Finally!"

Grayson shook his head.

"I bet Donald could have finished that faster."

Danny smirked.

"Get out of here! That nerd would never use a Mech like that."

Jason had no idea who they were talking about.

He remembered the BAG Guild mentioning Donald earlier, but he'd been so focused on reaching the attic that he hadn't bothered asking.

He decided to ask Steven.

After battling with him for most of the mission, Jason felt like he knew the big man best - even better than Danny, who he'd known for a few days longer.

"Who is Donald?"

Steven laughed.

"He's Danny's big rival, and the guy I learned how to play support from."

Jason started.

Truth be told, Jason didn't have much experience with support play.

He'd only battled a few large parties, and very few of them contained supportive Mechs.

In general, pure support was one of the least popular roles in the game.

Most supportive players were hybrid types like Wendy, who could shift between attacking and helping the team.

Other supportive players were technically pure damage dealers. Owen and his Belcher supported other players from the backline, but his main focus was still getting kills.

There weren't many players like Steven who focused entirely on putting his teammates in the best possible position, and Jason understood why. In a game with so many awesome Mechs, most players wanted to be in the thick of the action themselves.

But despite his lack of knowledge, Jason could tell that Steven was very good. He'd anticipated their team's needs perfectly throughout the battle.

Whoever taught him how to play had to be an extremely accomplished pilot.

"Dang! How'd you meet him?"

Steven laughed.

"It sounds crazy, but I just direct messaged him. I couldn't believe it when he spent a couple of hours helping me - he even sent me a bunch of videos to watch. I watched him play in the College Cup Preliminary, and I wanted to learn from him. I felt like I needed to switch up to help my team win."

The other pilot shook his head and shrugged.

"We ended up losing anyways to a pro, but we gave him a run for their money. It's a shame, but my friends and I still have fun playing with the BAG Guild. I think they'll be joining us for the descent. They have a bunch of tests, but I talked them into it."

Steven's voice had shifted a little when he mentioned his loss.

Although he'd gotten over it, the defeat was clearly one that'd stick with him.

However, the other man just laughed and shook his head.

"You'll like them. Our new goal is to help Danny turn the BAG Guild into a real guild. Winning the Tournament of Assassins will definitely go a long way. I wish I'd gotten out of the College Cup in time to help compete."

Jason paused.

Just like before, Steven was getting a little off track with his storytelling.

Jason still didn't know who Donald actually was.

He repeated his question, and the big man shook his head.

"Ah, shit. My bad. I'm always doing that. He's the Mechanical Son. You know, the founder's kid."

Jason was speechless.

The Donald they were talking about was Donald Dunn, the Mechanical Son.

He'd heard a few rumors about the Mechanical King's talented son.

The Mechanical King always boasted about his amazing skills at Overdrive, but he was famously mediocre. Jason had heard rumors that even a One Star Boss could beat him.

On the other hand, the Mechanical King's son was a favorite to win the College Cup. He was apparently one of the server's greatest support players and strategists.

It was even more surprising that a player of that caliber would talk to a random aspiring support like Steven. It sounded like Donald was nothing like his pretentious father.

He was much more akin to Vile.

Steven picked up on Jason's surprise.

The big man laughed again.

"Yeah. It's crazy. I reached out to him just because I thought I needed to do everything to help my team win. I never expected him to message me back! Super nice guy! I'm looking forward to watching him in the College Cup Finals. I saw on his stream that he qualified - my friends and I were going to do a watch party to cheer him on."

Danny interrupted Steven's praise.

"Man. If I were in school, I'd beat the crap out of him. He's hiding from me! He wants to hide in a tournament you can only play in if you're a nerd!"

Despite his harsh words, Danny was smiling.

He didn't feel any true anger. It was more of a friendly rivalry.

He quickly confirmed Jason's suspicions.

"It's not that I actually hate him. It's more that I want to get my revenge on him!"

Before long, Danny was explaining how he and Donald met.

"Back in high school, I used to play on a competitive 4v4 Overdrive team for the school. Those guys helped me form the BAG Guild - Wendy and Owen were on my team too, but you haven't met our fourth member yet. We were pretty good, and we won the district tournament our sophomore year. But then he transferred to our district my junior year and blew us away both years!"

Danny clenched his fist.

The other pilot was getting increasingly pumped up just talking about his rival.

"Plus, you know. We were both the captains of our team, so I felt even more responsible. The school he transferred to wasn't any good until he joined them. We'd kicked their ass the last two years, so it was definitely a huge shock when they became so much more coordinated. I actually started the BAG Guild because I hoped to fight him again at a Guild War, but then he went off to the College Cup."

The charismatic pilot grinned.

"I'm sure we'll meet again in the future."

Then he turned to the overall BAG Guild.

"Nice job today, guys. Took us a long time, but we finished. We'll split into pairs to battle the Knight tomorrow - the battle has to be two-on-two. I'll see everyone then!"

The BAG Guild returned to the satellite station together and saved their progress.

Then they logged off.

Jason pulled off his headset and stretched.

After he got his coffee, he'd get his usual four mile walk in on the way to the Good Game Shoppe.

After his experience with the Vampire Brawler, he had plenty of new ideas for his build.