CHAPTER SIXTY TWO

Jason zoomed in on the blueprints and closely examined the CWT-141 Zombie Grunt.

The Mech was fifty feet tall. The machine wore a steel jumpsuit designed to protect its vital organs. The silver metal stretched from the machine's knees to its shoulders, leaving the lower legs and arms completely bare. The paleness of the exposed skin was blinding.

The bulging eyes were bright yellow, and the mouth was stretched out in a rictus grin. The basic Ace featured significant internal mechanical enhancements in addition to filed steel teeth and nails.

Although the massive Zombie looked faintly humanoid, it was actually a special hybrid mix created by Vile. The cyborg contained some mix of giant and vampire genes, but nobody knew the actual proprietary combination.

The machine was created by Vile last year as part of an exhibition. The top-tier Grunt was used for both Fortress defense and esports matches.

Their durability and offensive prowess were infamous.

Like the Devoted Monk, Vile's creation could contend with middle-tier Ace Mechs.

In particular, their regeneration abilities and high-level Bloodlust bonus meant they excelled in all-out brawls and low-health situations. Pro teams often paired them with high-powered artillery Aces. The Zombies weren't afraid to tank a bit of friendly fire.

However, the Zombies' loud grunts and constant screaming made them unpopular for mapping. The horrifying Hemoborn hooted and hollered whenever they ran, completely destroying any possibility of stealthy attacks.

The Zombies were similarly unpopular in Guild Wars. They were restricted entirely to head-on charges and couldn't even use flanking attacks.

In many ways, the Zombies were the opposite of Jason's Red Minerva. One was a tank, and the other was a stealthy assassin.

However, observing the Grunts allowed Jason to learn the inner workings of the Pack docking system. He highlighted several points along the machine's back, shoulders, and waists.

In addition...

Jason laughed as he pulled up Wendy's personal model and her equipment portfolio.

Just like on her Dehua, Wendy had equipped her Mech with a pair of machine guns.

It seemed she had an affinity for the high caliber but high recoil items. Machine guns were tricky to use reliably, especially in comparison to the near-recoilless beam rifles.

The items were docked directly onto the machine like the Zombie's shoulder cannons and built-in steel sword.

However, Wendy's two weapons weren't located on the Zombie's chest or waist. Instead, she'd mounted them on her forearms, exactly where Jason added the Vampire Brawler's harpoons.

Jason zoomed in closer, then smiled.

The weapons were not attached directly to the Zombie. Instead, they were docked onto a disk.

What a brilliant solution!

Initially, Jason had thought that emulating the docking system would be an extraordinary challenge. He'd felt that the docking points would pierce into his machine's flesh. Any change made to a Hemoborn - whether it was biological or mechanical - was permanent.

Adding the docking points would permanently scar the Red Minerva, and the change could not be taken back.

That fear was a big part of why Jason hadn't modified his machine's tail.

He'd heard too many horror stories of other players permanently weakening their machines. Even veteran players like Vile occasionally succumbed to the risk.

In Jason's mind, deep-level crafting was fundamentally different from challenging powerful machines like the Watchdog or the Red Lamia. Battling those powerful machines was a risk, but combat was Jason's specialty. He believed in his fighting skills and his partnership with the Red Minerva.

On the other hand, he didn't believe in his crafting skills. As a result, he'd feared these in-depth changes.

In reality, Vile had already developed an intelligent solution.

Rather than making a frame-level modification to her frame, she equipped a set of outer docking points.

The jumpsuit's docking points didn't pierce the machine's flesh.

Similarly, Wendy's CWT-Zombie had simply strapped on a pair of extra docking points at the wrists. The flexible bands allowed Hemoborn to add additional equipment anywhere they pleased.

As a Hemoborn virtuoso, Vile knew just how risky it was to dig into your machine's flesh. The process was unpredictable, even for a crafter of her caliber. Like the genetic modifications, making a frame-level modification to a Hemoborn was a fraught and risky process involving a great deal of randomization.

Instead of running head-first into the problem each time she wanted to customize her Mech, she'd simply sidestepped the problem.

It was an excellent way to sidestep how the Hemoborn class was balanced around how difficult it was to customize them.

Jason took a look at the Good Game Shoppe's wares.

Fortunately, the items were available. The game store had dozens of Hemoborn-specialized docking points in several different sizes. The different sizes were meant for different body parts - a Mech's torso was much wider than its leg.

Most Hemoborn Mechs, including the CWT Zombie Grunt, would simply wear an outer layer of armor before adding additional docking ports where needed.

Jason's planned modification was much more complex.

He wanted the ability to forcibly purge and eject his outer layer of armor at will.

That meant he'd need to attach his armor to docking points scattered throughout his machine. The inner docking points would allow him to eject the parts and fight with the base Red Minerva frame.

On top of that, he'd need a second layer of docking points outside his armor to hold his added weaponry. The second layer of modifications would allow him to detach and carry his previously-mounted items after dumping off his armor.

Jason estimated that he needed at least twenty-five docking points.

In terms of the in-game Credit cost, the docking points were extremely cheap. Combined, they would barely cost more than a few hundred Credits. The actual cost came from the armor and items Jason wanted to equip, not the tiny ports.

The individual parts were simple - they consisted only of a docking point, the band, and the link that allowed players to send commands remotely from their computer.

However, none of those components could be found on the server.

Even if players had the skill required to put the items together, they wouldn't be able to find the required parts.

The bands were only offered at a single mission - Vile's personal Fortress.

Acquiring the items required beating the third level of the Fortress. Due to Vile's skills, the items were extremely scarce, and the Hemoborn docking points were correspondingly expensive.

The bands were an excellent example of how an item could have a real-life US dollar cost that was utterly disproportionate to their Credit cost. The items were cheap to equip but cost an incredible amount of money to purchase.

Jason took another look at the equipment cost, then shook his head in disbelief.

Man...

Jacob was a total lifesaver.

This build wouldn't have been possible without the incredible kindness from Jacob and his father. Buying the parts would have forced Jason to sell several saved-up weaponry, including the Dragonbane Sword and the modified King of Thieves Mech.

Selling the parts would have hurt.

Jason was keenly aware that he'd made no money yet, and the fact rankled his pride. He didn't want to skate by on the generosity of others.

In fact, Jacob's kindness and support only spurred Jason even further.

He wanted to win the Tournament of Assassins for himself, but he also wanted to win and boost the Good Game Shoppe's publicity.

It was just like what happened with Stephanie back in the battle against the Green Envy.

Jason had always struggled to relate to others, but he understood basic honor.

If someone helped you, you needed to pay them back. That debt of honor was even more important than your own success.

The indebted pilot got to work.

Clank.

Clank.

Clank.

Jason anchored the temporary docking points throughout his machine.

By the time he was done, he'd used up about seventy percent of the store's reserves.

The veteran pilot winced.

It would be costly if he lost. The Good Game Shoppe was doing him a huge favor, but they weren't risking anything with these items. Jason would still have to pay them back.

Jason steeled himself.

If he didn't want to lose these parts...

He needed to put his all into building the heavy ejectable armor and then practice as hard as he could in the next few days.

Fortunately, he could re-use almost all the work he'd done training with the Vampire Brawler. Initially, he'd picked the machine for stealth purposes, but now he had an added advantage.

When it came to the armor, Jason just used the same set on the Vampire Brawler. The Antigone armor cost 10,500 Credits to equip.

There was no need to innovate. He wanted to prioritize reliability.

For now, Jason wanted to make sure that the parts closely emanated the Vampire Brawler. He loved the feel of that machine, and he knew he could hit the next level if he combined both playstyles.

However, he didn't equip the armor just yet.

First, he had to emulate the SPG-Caster's Pack ejection process. The high-powered Mech was famous in esports battles for its ability to switch equipment on the fly.

Fortunately, the SPG-Caster's ejection system was rather simplistic to install.

It simply involved adding a set of pneumatic pumps throughout the machine that could purge attached items at any given time. The pumps were commonly used items on mechanical machines. Jason had used those same pumps to purge his Vampire Brawler's arm before throwing it.

Adding a separate pump to each piece of armor was annoying, but it had a low Credit cost and a low dollar cost, as the purging ability required simplistic parts found on any machine.

The only reason why the purging ability wasn't standard on every Grunt was that there was no need for other Mechs to equip it.

This process wasn't expensive or complicated. It just took a great deal of time.

Jason smiled.

This was the perfect kind of crafting for a novice like him. He would happily do a ton of grunt work if it meant getting a stronger machine.

After he finished adding the ejection pumps, he equipped the armor onto his machine.

The iron-gray Antigone armor reappeared on his Mech. Moments later, Jason recolored the armor with his new red and brown colors.

Afterwards, Jason further modified the armor with the same adjustments he made to the Vampire Brawler.

He docked a pair of harpoons with a winch on his wrist before adding two additional ports for the shoulder cannons.

Here, Jason made a change.

Previously, he'd added a pair of machine guns, but now, he switched to a pair of beam rifles.

The lower recoil weapon would be more effective when the Red Minerva fought without the outer armor.

Finally, he followed Jacob's advice and added some handguards to the insides of his machine's armor. In an emergency situation, those plates could be used as a shield or a boxing glove after the battle.

Once he finished the process, he took another look at his combine machine.

The Red Minerva's once-familiar frame was now covered in a set of thick box-like armor.

In fact, the Mech looked almost identical to the Vampire Brawler from the outside, save for the draconic head and the lack of Mana Gatherer Spikes.

-- General Data --

Pilot: Devourer22

Machine: Red Minerva - Assault Mode

Class: Hemoborn

Sub-class: Attacker

Designation: Ace Unit

- Statistics -

Melee: S-tier

Shooting: A-tier

Speed: C-tier

Maneuverability: C-tier

Defense: A-tier

Cohesion: A-tier

- Abilities -

Olfactory Perception [Level 10]

Auditory Perception [Level 8]

Bloodlust [Level 3]

Blazing Avarice Weapons System [Signature Ability]

Pestilent Snipe [Signature Ability]

The Mech's statistics were comparable to the Vampire Brawler's, save for a few improvements. His Melee, Shooting, and Defense were all improved compared to the Vampire Brawler.

In comparison to the old Red Minerva, his Speed and Maneuverability had decreased, but that was to be expected after equipping heavy armor.

Jason pulled up the statistics.

Overall, the result was pretty impressive.

He was pretty confident this would work, but he didn't know for sure...

Fortunately, the PseudoWorkshop was just for practice.

Jason entered a quick pair of commands then started the PseudoWorkshop's automatic testing process.

Running Simulation...

START!

A set of bars fluctuated at the far corner of the screen as the Red Minerva darted forward.

Balance: 62/100

Traction: 81/100

Speed: 43/100

The three performance ratings judged his Mech's mobility on a scale of zero to one hundred.

Jason watched carefully and jotted down notes on his pad.

His Mech was hunched low with the tail trailing just over the ground.

Unlike before, Jason's heavy tail was no longer a hindrance. Instead, the ankylosaur tail provided a much-needed sense of balance.

In real life, anklosauruses had been extremely heavyset creatures. Meanwhile, cave dragons were extremely lightweight.

The only reason the Overdrive Corporation tacked it on was because it seemed cool. The only reason they hadn't patched the Red Minerva was because of its obscurity as a One Star Boss.

The design team had simply created the machine then forgotten about it.

Now that Jason had turned the Red Minerva into a tank, the tail was a perfect fit.

However, Jason felt like he could improve the machine's overall performance.

The position of the adjustable clamps changed his machine's gait and running pattern. He needed to put the clamps in the optimal position to maximize his Balance and Traction. If he misplaced the clamp, the armor would slide off-kilter and jerk his Mech off balance.

Jason continued toying with it throughout the day, but he eventually realized that this was the most he could do on his own.

If he wanted to develop the concepts further, he needed to battle.

Fortunately, he had opponents coming right around the corner.

It'd taken him several hours to figure out the optimal arrangement, and the other regulars had finally arrived.