CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

After absorbing the watchdog genes, Jason needed to incorporate them into his machine. However, the process was far more complicated than it seemed on the surface.

Jason couldn't just input the machine's genes blindly. He needed to carefully consider every option before moving forwards.

Genetically modifying his Hemoborn was a dangerous and risky process.

There was a significant degree of RNG (random number generation) involved.

Even if Jason inputted the same ingredients each time, the results would still be dramatically different.

Truth be told, part of Jason - his more risk-averse and conservative side - liked the idea of using a safer mechanical graft.

Beating the first map had given him a trap detection system, and the Bandit Grunts carried their own internal sensors. Both scouting devices were safer options.

Danny had also offered to send over a copy of the Lucky Duck's sensors.

Ah!

Jason had been so focused on upgrading his Mech that he'd forgotten all about the schematics he'd promised Danny during their last meeting.

He pulled out his phone and turned on his Overdrive app. After that, he immediately turned to his Inventory and sent Danny a copy of the Smoulderhulk's schematics.

Devourer22: Sorry about that. Got distracted with a mission.

Jason briefly considered telling his teammate about the Genetic Caverns, but then he shook his head.

He had to keep his cards close to his chest.

The pre-game Status screen didn't display a Hemoborn's genetic profile.

If he and Danny made it to the last round, the watchdog genes could be a valuable ace card in their final fight.

Although Jason liked Danny, it was necessary to remember that he'd be a future competitor.

Danny: No problem. Thanks for sending the data.

Jason briefly clicked over to the other player's profile.

Rooster7

Currently Playing: March of Grunts

March of Grunts was one of Overdrive's premier farming maps.

The mission was extremely simple.

Players battled against wave after wave of Grunts until the sheer number of the simplistic machines finally overran them.

After they lost, they were allowed to keep all the parts and Credits they earned.

Danny was hard at work getting the raw material he needed to build a Mech for the next mission.

Of course, his machine wouldn't actually be the Smoulderhulk.

The Mech's enormous Credit cost and outdated weapons, such as the tractor beams, meant that it was no longer competitively viable.

Danny didn't even have the money needed to purchase the frame's high-quality armor. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't build a perfect replica.

However, the skilled pilot was planning on building a close analog.

A flashy and gaudy assault-type Mech was the perfect distraction for their direct attack on Castle Notoria. Even stripped down to accommodate the new 50,000 Credit cap, the machine's ridiculous size was sure to draw a lot of attention.

Their plan required two machines working together.

An assault mode Mech would distract the garrison and draw enemy fire as a second machine infiltrated enemy headquarters. If Danny showed up to the tournament with a subpar build, Jason would get eliminated.

Jason frowned.

He respected the other pilot, but he didn't like the idea of relying on somebody else.

Eventually, he had no choice but to shrug and dismiss his doubts.

His teammate had already displayed a great deal of competence, and Jason trusted that Danny's high level of past performance would lead to solid future results.

On top of that, nobody had ever attacked Castle Notoria on their own. Every single tournament victor had worked with an ally.

Jason was confident in his skills, but he was also very rational and statistics-driven.

In Jason's estimation, the chance of succeeding alone was very narrow. In comparison, the odds of Danny failing to build a good Mech seemed relatively small.

After sending the Smoulderhulk's info to Danny, Jason left his house and started heading downtown.

After acquiring the watchdog genes, Jason wanted to test them in battle.

Because the genes increased the Red Minerva's sensory abilities instead of her raw strength, Jason's best opportunity was to play against human opponents.

Bashing Grunts on practice tools like the Forever Fortress helped him calculate the physical changes to his machine.

Still, it wouldn't enable him to practice wiggling out of tight situations or deceiving opponents.

Too much self-testing was a common mistake new players made, and it reminded Jason of something he'd read from various TCG (trading card game) websites.

Usually, new players enjoyed goldfishing, which meant playing games by themselves.

When goldfishing, certain deck types always looked much better than others.

Decks with direct and straightforward strategies, like aggro decks or combo decks, were much easier to understand while goldfishing. You just needed to look at how much damage your deck could output.

Even lock archetypes, like prison strategies in MTG, goldfished well since players could immediately see the pieces in front of them.

However, control-type decks, which focused on interacting with opponents by countering or undoing their plays, were usually much harder to goldfish.

It was very difficult to play out your hand and judge its efficacy without an opponent to measure yourself against.

Similar, it wasn't possible to test utility items without a human opponent.

However, testing on the server also came with some notable downsides.

The Illusionists had a reputation for scouting, and the second and third rounds were much harder than the first.

It wasn't uncommon for certain map mini-bosses to carry special equipment designed to counter the contestant's weapons.

With the number of contestants whittled down so drastically, the Illusionists could afford to personalize each player's challenge.

On top of that, Jason needed to worry about the other competitors.

Everyone knew that scouting an enemy's weapons and frame data provided an enormous advantage.

After getting caught out by the crossbow machines, Jason knew he'd never underestimate his opponents ever again.

The humiliation of getting outwitted - especially after thinking they'd all been caught - would stick with him for a while.

If possible, Jason wanted to keep his watchdog genes a secret, and that meant that he couldn't freely test on the server.

Fortunately, Jason had a solution - local tournaments.

Local tournaments were played on separate computers disconnected from the Overdrive mainframe.

As far as Jason knew, there weren't any members of the Illusionists who frequented his local game store.

The Illusionists were a large and stealthy guild, but the world was a big place.

A guild with several thousand members probably wouldn't have any players in a random suburb.

And if they did...

Well, there was nothing Jason could do about that.

Playing online guaranteed that he'd be found out.

Playing at his locals was just a way to skew the odds in his favor.

Jason wasn't the sort of man who held himself back with excessive worries.

Jason's well-trained legs automatically carried him to the business park that hid the Good Game Shoppe. According to Google Maps, the warm and friendly game store was still located in the same innocuous location.

His feet already knew the way. He'd walked from his house to the Good Game Shoppe at least three or four times a week during high school.

The veteran pilot soon lost himself in his thoughts as he deliberated the various benefits and drawbacks of injecting different amounts of watchdog genes.

The process was actually rather stressful.

After beating the Red Lamia, Jason hadn't needed to make any decisions.

The creature had been the same species as the Red Minerva, so Jason had simply gained all of its powers.

It'd been all upside.

On the other hand, absorbing the watchdog genes involved gaining certain guaranteed powers in exchange for randomizing his stats.

Hemoborn hybridization was all about hitting specific breakpoints that guaranteed certain abilities.

In general, each gene sample's breakpoint was different.

For example, it would take a massive infusion of genes - sixty-eight percent - to gain the Red Lamia's Pestilent Snipe ability.

The machine's profile had to include a supermajority of Lamia genes to gain the signature ability.

However, other genetic samples had different breaking points.

In the watchdog's case, the first breakpoint was seven percent.

A seven percent injection would give Jason the improved sense of smell he needed.

The improved sense of smell would allow the Red Minerva to detect nearby opponents and track their location. Once the Red Minerva caught onto the scent of the enemy machine, she'd automatically mark any residual odors on Jason's map.

Jason considered the seven percent injection the base minimum.

There was no reason to inject any lower amount.

Otherwise, he was just randomizing his Mech's stats with no particular reward.

The next breakpoint was twenty-two percent.

After hitting the second breakpoint, the Red Minerva would also gain the watchdog's boosted hearing. However, Jason wasn't interested in improving both his auditory and olfactory abilities.

While it was good to gain backup sensory bonuses, it wasn't worth an additional fifteen percent commitment.

After all, the watchdog's genes were innately weaker than the awakened Red Minerva's.

Any addition would naturally lower his machine's defensive stats. In effect, he was making a trade-off, forfeiting defense and durability in exchange for potent special abilities.

However, the second breakpoint always came with a bonus effect.

In this case, the watchdog's bonus effect was highly appealing. It allowed the Red Minerva to shift to a four-legged mode that greatly boosted speed and traction.

Jason was already comfortable sprinting around on four legs. He often used a four-legged stance to catch opponents off guard with low strikes.

The bonus buff for hitting the twenty-two percent breakpoint was an excellent fit for Jason's build philosophy. He placed an enormous priority on pilot-Mech synergy.

Basically, Jason wanted to be rewarded for using techniques he liked.

His decision on the twenty-two percent breakpoint basically came down to choosing between offense or defense.

Of course, there was still another critical breakpoint - the thirty-two percent breakpoint.

That breakpoint was the highest Jason was willing to reach. Other breakpoints would help the Red Minerva gain even more canine traits, but Jason had no interest in them.

After all, he wanted to keep his machine a supermajority cave dragon model.

He didn't want to erase or transform the Red Minerva's fundamental identity.

The thirty-two percent breakpoint allowed him to use the high-quality watchdog genes to increase his machine's size and strength.

This bonus was only granted to players who'd defeated a hyper-concentrated version of the genetic sample, also known as a Maximum completion sample.

The simplistic but effective bonus would give his machine a rough facsimile of the enlarged watchdog's strength and speed.

The enormous beast's raw strength had been patently absurd. Size and speed were always a deadly combination.

Combining the creature's strength with the Lamia's acidic spit was another exciting possibility.

Simply increasing the Red Minerva's size allowed her to fire larger bullets, further increasing the absurd power of the Pestilent Snipe.

A sniper rifle that fired gigantic bullets provided the best of both worlds!

However, the size increase wouldn't include the powerful sample's near-impenetrable hide.

That was a unique buff awarded to genetic samples. It was much like the special bonuses only boss machines could use. The genes that could be equipped to player-controlled Mechs were much weaker.

Only certain gene samples, like turtles, could give regular machines an absurd defensive power bonus.

Jason would gain the watchdog's attacking stats, but a thirty-two percent sample meant taking on its defensive weakness as well. He would be as defenseless as the Grunts he'd battled during the map.

His Mech would be absurd on the offensive end, but it would also become a total glass cannon.

Even worse, it would increase in size, making it a bigger target.

It was a risky decision, but Jason was still tempted.

After all, he was an offensive player at heart...

HONK!!

HONK!!

Jason jerked up.

SCREEEEEEEEEK

He'd been so focused on Overdrive that he hadn't noticed the car right in front of him.

Jason groaned and waved hastily - part in apology and part to thank the driver for not running him over - as he sprinted across the street.

Jason shook his head and laughed in vaguely irritated frustration.

Jason thought that cars were awesome in theory.

He had a few posters of them in his old apartment, and he loved looking through car magazines whenever he was waiting at the doctor's office.

However, he did not like them very much in practice.

There were just too damn many of them in the Bay Area.

Whenever Jason drove, it felt like he was stuck in traffic.

Whenever he walked, it felt like he was about to run over.

Of course, it'd pretty obviously had been his fault for daydreaming in the middle of the street, but getting unilaterally executed for letting his attention slip did not seem like a particularly fair trade-off.

Jason chuckled.

He was a million times more aware of his surroundings when logged onto Overdrive.

In the virtual world, he was an expert pilot.

In real life, he was a fish right out of the water!

He shook his head, quickly refocused his attention on the world around him, and prioritized safely making his way to the Good Game Shoppe.

Once he reached the store, there would be plenty of time to select the perfect genetic mix.