CHAPTER NINETY SIX

The ooze completely drained away and evaporated, vanishing like it'd never been there in the first place. A thick cloud of brownish-green smoke briefly wafted through the cavern before vanishing.

Jason laughed. It was pretty lucky the ooze had vanished. If the game had forced him to pick through all the muck before getting his items, he would have been pretty pissed off. He would have begrudgingly done it, but he would have lost any chance of visiting the Good Game Shoppe later that day.

The vanishing ooze also revealed the base Biomancer frame. The original vampire machine was skinny with low speed and mediocre defenses. However, this machine's armor had been stripped down even further compared to the original version. The upgraded design had forfeited some of the base frame's Credit cost in order to shift more strength into its powerful ooze-controlling abilities.

The machine had a long and angular lizard-like head, which was typical of all Spell Titans. Jason had hit the Spell Titan's head so hard that it'd spun in a 180-degree angle.

To Jason's surprise, the rest of the machine was unusual even for the already-bizarre Spell Titan class. Its body was a lengthy and narrow cone that tapered to a rounded tip, and its limbs were so narrow they looked like strings. Despite the painfully thin arms and legs, its hands and feet were disproportionately large. The feet were wide and broad, almost like a duck's. The hands were human-like, but they had six fingers each.

The machine's most prominent features were its Mana Gatherer Spikes. The Spikes normally looked like jagged cones, but these Spikes looked like lab beakers instead. They pulsated a bright sickly green, and Jason saw that there were several drops of brown ooze and scarlet blood inside the flickering power sources.

Finally, the machine had a fifth limb attached to its back by a spherical swivel. This limb was extremely crude, and it consisted of only two thin pieces of metal attached by a hinge. Instead of a hand, the tail-like appendage ended in a snub-nosed blaster.

Jason wanted to pull up additional details, but before he could, the mission instance ended and he was transported back to the main lobby. A storm of notifications appeared on his screen, detailing the various parts he'd received from the Vault.

First and foremost was the Biomancer frame, which he'd received as an independent set of parts. After defeating the Red Lamia, the creature had fused with the base Red Minerva due to the Genetic Splicers. However, it seemed like this bonus only applied for Hemoborn Mechs. Hemoborn were the only machine that upgraded themselves by absorbing genetic material. The other frames were simply improved by exchanging parts.

Jason started by pulling up the frame and digging into the details.

The snub-nosed blaster was called the Lifeforce Cannon, and it could be used on both Hemoborn and Spell Titans. Its ability followed the same theme as the rest of the Minor Vampire - it allowed the user to pay life in order to increase its damage. However, the conversion rate was much friendlier for the user, with a 1.5:1 ratio between damage increase and health payment. On top of that, it had a much greater range than the minor Vampire's usual abilities.

The weapon was clearly and obviously powerful, but Jason was even more intrigued by the Mech's Mana Gatherer Spikes. According to the description, the ooze-controlling spikes could be used on Hemoborn Mechs. Equipping them to the Red Minerva would allow Jason to break one of the typical rules of the game - machines normally couldn't use abilities that were specifically designated for other classes.

According to the notification, the Red Minerva would be restricted solely to manipulating blood and biological material - she would not be able to use even generic Hemoborn spells or switch her mana alignment - but that was still a unique strength no other Hemoborn machine could normally use.

In particular, the Bio-Beast ability greatly appealed to Jason's playstyle. The Hemoborn drones might have been freaky, but they were extremely powerful. Attacking an opponent from multiple directions at once was the best way to completely overwhelm them. On top of that, Bio-Beast summoning would become increasingly powerful the more Jason practiced with it. The Five-Star Boss controlling the Biomancer had only been able to adequately control a single beast at a time, but Jason thought he could push the limits much further with practice.

There was only one downside.

The Biomancer's Mana Gatherer Spikes were closely integrated with the frame. Jason had some experience integrating new parts to his machine, but this was on a totally different level. Danny had an easy time fusing the Searing Anger with the Lucky Duck, but both machines had been the same Mech class with similar body types.

To add Bio-Beast Summoning to the Red Minerva, Jason would have to hit a new level as a crafter. He'd copied various YouTube videos and streams to integrate the Antigone Armor with his Mech, but he wouldn't have a guide for this next customization. Both the Biomancer and the awakened Red Minerva were one-of-a-kind frames that only Jason owned. He would have to figure it all out on his own.

Of course, the Vault's treasures weren't only restricted to the Biomancer.

Jason moved the profile aside for now and started searching through his other prizes. As excited as he was to integrate the Biomancer with the Red Minerva, he knew he wasn't skilled enough yet to fuse the two machines. He wanted to see if there were any basic changes he could make first.

The first listed prize was the Malignant Blood Pact ability, the rarest loot drop from the stage. Normally, the item only had a 0.01% drop rate, but conquering the Vault had earned Jason a copy of every item the stage offered.

The Malignant Blood Pact was represented in Jason's inventory by a simple red pill - consuming the pill would permanently change a machine's composition. For Spell Titans, it would greatly increase damage at the cost of lowering defense. For Hemoborn, it would cause their Overdrive bonus to instantly heal their machine to full health without any need for the usual lengthy waiting period. However, it would also dramatically cut their defenses.

Before, Jason considered the item a no-brainer with the Red Minerva. His main machine's defenses had been extremely weak, especially in comparison to top-tier enemies. However, his machine had since evolved. Absorbing the Red Lamia had greatly improved his defenses, and the new armor system had diversified his machine further.

The Malignant Blood Pact pill would permanently change his machine, committing it to a glass cannon route. Considering his partner's changes, it no longer made sense to use it. It was a little bittersweet, but Jason just chalked it off to the newfound diversity of his playstyle.

Next, Jason started by checking through the various offensive weapons, but most of them wouldn't be a good fit for his Mech. He already had seven good items for the Blazing Avarice, and there wasn't a good shield there either. The Minor Vampire had been a Spell Titan Mech, so most of the weapons were specifically for that class. The various ranged items and spellcasting focuses didn't fit well with Jason's close-combat style.

Fortunately, there were many other high-quality abilities he could add to his Mech. Even though the physical items weren't particularly helpful, the Minor Vampire Vault had been stocked to the brim with specific Spell Titan spells. Each Spell Titan frame came with its own base abilities, such as the Vampire Brawler's Blood Transfer or the Biomancer's Biological Beasts.

However, Spell Titans could also equip new abilities if they fit with the mana alignment of their Spikes. Jason immediately found two that worked well with the Vampire Brawler. Even though the heavyset Mech wasn't his main machine, he still wanted to upgrade it to its full potential. Both of the newfound abilities were generic spells that could be used by any Spell Titan.

The first was a close combat ability called Noble Impact. It allowed its user to land a high-powered punch with a long wind-up time. Visually, it was the equivalent of a boxer swinging a haymaker. The move was simple, but its real benefit was its invulnerability effect.

When a Spell Titan activated Noble Impact, it would be shielded from all damage and special effects until the ability landed. The effect was a homage to super armor in fighting games, and the powerful ability had a lengthy cooldown. Jason would only be able to use Noble Impact once every two minutes, but he knew he could make it count.

The damage from the punch was probably the least important part of the effect - with clever planning, Jason would be able to use the super armor to get into range for the Vampire Brawler's wrestling moves and other brute force attacks.

The second ability was also a generic attack. Meteor Jump allowed Spell Titans to manipulate their weight while moving through the air. They could decrease their weight to fly faster or increase their weight to land with a more powerful impact. The ability was simple, but powerful. If it weren't for the restrictions on the Biomancer's spikes, Jason would have wanted to equip it to the Red Minerva.

Fortunately, there were a few blood and biological material-focused scrolls Jason could use on his usual partner. Jason set every option aside, adding them directly to his workshop. As soon as he finished combining the two machines, Jason could start filtering through them and figuring out what attacks to add.

Afterwards, Jason set everything aside for future sales. He was going to save most of it for the future. Considering the difficulty of the Tournament of Assassins, there was a chance he'd lose. He wanted to keep a good nest egg in store in case his main plan didn't work.

However, it'd be equally foolish to hamper himself to the point where he couldn't display his maximum power. The parts from the Vault didn't suit him, but that didn't mean he couldn't find parts that did. The Good Game Shoppe was full of skilled players who wanted trades.

With a month left to go in the tournament, Jason had a pretty solid plan set out for the next week. By the end, he wanted an upgraded spellcasting Red Minerva and a new set of mobility armor.