CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN

After Jason was distracted by the gigantic explosion, Castor had snapped its limb on purpose, leaving it with just a single functional hand. The tiny sliver of space was just enough for the spider to slip out of Jason's grip and escape. The powerful steel legs lashed out. The left was rickety, so Jason slid to intercept it, but before he could, the right unleashed a mighty kick that sent the Red Minerva sprawling to the floor.

The harsh downward angle caused the Red Minerva to fall over, cracking and breaking the Mana Gatherer Spikes at its left arm. The ooze tanks were similarly damaged. Jason scrambled back to his feet, but now it was Castor's turn to press the advantage. Though he only had a single remaining arm, it was more than enough to shatter the damaged tanks--Castor switched to his pistol mode and blasted them to pieces.

After two more vicious kicks, the battered arm exploded, spraying blood and ooze all over the place. By then, Jason had fully recovered and he managed to scramble back to his feet. The spider's silver leg was a whirling blur, yet Jason had finally adapted to his opponent's speed. He twisted to the side, allowing the metal pillar to swerve past him.

The two Mechs exchanged blow after blow. Both of them were damaged, so the fight had greatly slowed down, meaning that positioning was

As the fight went on, smoke gradually pored from the spider martial artist's skin. The olfactory sensors on his screen went haywire. Though Jason thankfully could not smell it, Castor's spider smelled like absolute garbage right now. He'd baked the creature with his flame breath and spread poison all throughout his opponent.

However, Jason had his own wounds to deal with. The heat from the Top's beam-powered blades had cauterized his leg wound, but the same couldn't be said for his arm. The Red Minerva was bleeding all over the place, and at this rate, he would most likely die before the poison finished doing its work.

His opponent fully understood their win condition--the normally aggressive Castor focused on fighting defensively. He parried Jason's attacks instead of going all-out, yet he stayed close so that Jason couldn't use his Pestilent Snipe.

Meanwhile, due to Jason's missing leg, he couldn't move properly, so he was forced to stay on the defensive.

Even worse, he'd lost his two greatest weapons. With a missing hand, he couldn't use either the Blazing Avariace or the Mana Gatherer Spikes. However, Jason still had his base abilities. During his time as a One Star Boss, digging and flame resistance had always been his most reliable tools, and they'd win the match here too.

Jason fell low, frantically digging into the ground with his remaining hand. Due to its digging ability and power, the Red Minerva's strength was enough to tear through the planks of the room.

Jason created a hole in the ground, almost like a small crater.

The move was so bizarre that Castor paused for a moment before attacking. However, Jason's goal wasn't to dig beneath his opponent. He just wanted to change the terrain and add some unpredictability. Castor's solid steel legs were meant to battle on flat territory. Meanwhile, the modified legs on the Red Minerva could maintain their balance even in a shifting situation.

Castor swung again, and this time, Jason caught his arm. He slid to the side, avoiding the golden blade, then grabbed his opponent by the elbow. He twisted, putting his whole Mech's weight behind the blow and then driving them to the floor.

With the two Mechs locked, Jason lifted the Red Minerva's remaining leg, forcing Castor's Mech to bear the combined weight of the machines. It couldn't, and the silvery leg crumpled. As the two Mechs fell towards the crater he'd created, Jason detonated the Blazing Avarice's generator in his right hand. The generator caught fire, putting up a blazing storm in Jason's tiny created crater.

The flames seared both machines, yet the Red Minerva was immune to fire.

The spider burned, yet Jason's partner survived.

Jason pumped his fist.

He'd done it. He'd beaten Castor.

But unfortunately, he did not win the tournament.

He tried getting back to his feet, but the Red Minerva was simply too damaged. After fighting Larsen, Spike, the Top Mech, and Castor, Jason's partner was completely spent. She was too damaged to fight on, and simply remained immobile on the ground.

At the end, Jason didn't even see who defeated him. A stray shot smashed into his machine, pushing it over the breaking point, and a notification appeared on his screen.

YOU HAVE BEEN DEFEATED

At the end, Jason had stopped Castor from qualifying for the finals, but he hadn't qualified either.

He logged off, and set his headset to the side.

His phone buzzed and buzzed. He peered at it, and saw that it was filled with congratulations from the Good Game Shoppe regulars and the BAG Guild. Everyone thought he'd played splendidly, and Lynn was glad to see someone finally bring down Castor in a fight.

Jason frowned to himself, unsure of how to feel.

The sheer triumph of defeating a pilot at Castor's level was his number one emotion. Even though he'd lost, he felt so incredibly excited because he'd played to his highest possible level.

On the other hand...

It was pretty bittersweet. He'd spent three months working towards his goal of winning the Tournament of Assassins, but he'd ultimately fallen short. He knew that going after Castor was the only way for him to win the tournament overall, yet the risky strategy had also led to his overall defeat.

Jason shrugged.

That was fine.

Winning the tournament--or at least making the finals--would have been nice, but he could just keep working hard. Now that he'd beaten Castor, he knew he was good enough to make his goals. He'd just have to keep working for the next tournament.

But still, after that tournament, it'd be nice to take a break...

He was just about to leave his computer and go for a walk when he suddenly received another few messages.

Two guilds, including the Illusionists, wanted to know if he'd be interested in fighting with them for the Guild War.

Demented, the parts broker, messaged him asking if he'd like to establish a deal with Overmaniacs. Though he hadn't won, they were interested in anyone strong enough to beat a member of The Hive.

Four different competitive Overdrive sites wanted to do an interview with him, and one even asked his rate for guest writing articles on Hemoborn crafting. Jason grinned. Those articles would be the perfect time to shout out the Good Game Shoppe.

Jason read through the messages and the smile on his face slowly grew wider and wider. He thought winning was all that mattered and that he lacked the charisma to become a pro...but that clearly wasn't the case.

At the end, even though he didn't win, he was able to put on a good show and play his ideal style of Overdrive. Even better, people had appreciated it, and they wanted to help him further his dream of becoming a professional player.

Jason answered the messages, accepting almost every offer from a reputable source. The only ones he delayed were the guild invites--if things went well, he hoped he and the BAG Guild could outright fight in the next Guild War, not just as mercenaries, but as a proud organization in their own right.

Then, Jason left to walk through his hometown and relax his mind, but not before he received another message.

Stephanie: Awesome game, those moves were crazy! I was wondering if you wanted to watch the tournament finals tomorrow--its a bummer you won't be playing in them, but I thought we could hang out!

Jason quickly agreed.

Stephanie: Great! See you at my place tomorrow at 5, let me send you the address.

Just before he left the house, he got another note.

Danny: Yo! What a match! It's a shame we didn't win, but hopefully your gameplay got people's attention. I'm getting tons of offers right now for tying with Spike, hopefully you got even more for outright beating Castor! By the way...we never got our one-on-one. What do you think about training for a week and then battling? We could just do it as an event with the BAG Guild.

Jason grinned.

Jason: Yeah, that's perfect. Let's get our battle in--a week sounds perfect!

After leaving his job as a One Star Boss, he'd battled many amazing players and seen so many inspiring Mechs. However, he knew there were countless thrilling matches just around the corner. That was the best thing about Overdrive.

There was always more to discover and play!