- Oliver -

  | [Select a boon to evolve]

  Oliver raised his eyebrows upon seeing the reward he had obtained. Until then, the achievements he had received were minor improvements, like increasing his resistao certain types of damage. However, this time, he had gotten much better.

  The boy climbed down from the wall auro the front of his pilr. There were still some zones where petitors were fighting against the robots of the sed round, but he took a moment to check his experience.

  | Status Page| User: Oliver [Nameless]| Level: 4 [Knight]| Experience: [500/800]| Credits: 11,210

  "How lucky!" Oliver celebrated with a satisfied smile. He already knew he was close to being able to evolve one of his boons, but now he had double what he needed.

  ‘Alright,’ Oliver thought. ‘First, I o decide which boon to evolve. It's not wetting [Observation] and [Insight] at the same time. I won't be able to use both together at this moment. The energy ption would be too high to use them simultaneously.’

  While he reflected, the siren announg the end of the sed round echoed through the arena.

  "Of the sixty petitors, only ten remain in their zones. So far, my bets stand, but it's iing to see other petitors starting to appear on the empire stage," the entator expined. "Even if they don't bee Rangers, their names will bee famous. Ohey bee officers, they be hired by Houses and maybe even obtain a Z-Crystal through their House."

  Oliver tried to focus on his options while the entator tinued discussing the match.

  ‘Alright. If I want to win this, I o take a risk. [Observation] would be the safest option. Still, I need somethier, something that will help me fight against a mecha while being just a regur human,’ he thought, scratg his head, w if he would even be capable.

  | Boons| Insight [Pawn][Growth]| [Click to Free Upgrade]

  Oliver took a deep breath, feeling a mix of ay aermination. ‘This won't be like an evolutiht?’

  ‘More or less,’ Athena replied in his mind, the soft voice of the artificial intelligehat apanied him.

  ‘Damn,’ he thought before pressing the button.

  As soon as his fiouched the floating i, a sudden headache hit him. A sharp pang ran through his skull, and his eyes filled with involuntary tears. The sensation, although extremely inteed only a few seds.

  "Damn it," the boy excimed, bringing his hand to his temple.

  New notifications appeared on his HUD, the letters glowing with a golden hue:

  | Boons| Insight [Knight][Growth]| Insight has been upgraded; you absorb more information than before.| This information help you discover more about the world around you, aiding you in finding Achievements or new Skills.| [Use 800 Experience Points to Upgrade]

  ‘How frig expensive!’ Oliver thought, surprised to see the new amount of experieneeded for the upgrade.

  | Glitches| [Too Muformation]| There's no longer a risk of death; however, a rge load of information make you faint.

  ‘At least the risk decreased. If my idea fails and I 't find something useful in the mecha when I use Insight, I'll most likely be eliminated from the arena and might still pass based on my score,’ Oliver thought.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the entator’s voice. "The gate is opening again; in this round, we will finally see the entry of mini-mechas. Perhaps you've already seen them on other els, but in this arena, it will be the first time we've reached this level," the entator expined.

  Oliver felt adrenaline c through his body. ‘Alright,’ he thought quickly. ‘Now, I'll increase my energy with the rest of the experience. I o be able to use [Prometheus] for longer and maybe increase its power.’ The boy looked at the HUD again, wanting to decide before his oppos ehe arena.

  | Stats| Strength: 7 [Pawn] [Buy for 400 Exp]| Agility: 19 [Knight] [Buy for 200 Exp]| stitution: 6 [Pawn] [Buy for 400 Exp]| Energy: 14 [Knight] [Buy for 400 Exp]

  Without hesitation, he selected the option to acquire more energy. A rge six-sided die appeared, spinning on his virtual s and dispying new notifications.

  | Analyzing your position

  | Evaluating tribution

  | …

  | Increase pleted

  The die finally stopped spinning, revealing the result.

  | +2 Energy

  ‘Could I have gotten +6?’ Oliver thought with a mix of disappoi and resignation. ‘Well, at least it's the same as I received when leveling up,’ he tried to vince himself that he was satisfied with the result.

  | Stats| Strength: 7 [Pawn] [Buy for 400 Exp]| Agility: 19 [Knight] [Buy for 200 Exp]| stitution: 6 [Pawn] [Buy for 400 Exp]| Energy: 16 [Knight] [Buy for 1600 Exp]

  ‘Hey! This is a robbery!’ Upon seeing the new amount of experieneeded to evolve his energy again, Oliver excimed mentally.

  While analyzing his interface, the boy felt the ground tremble beh his feet. He looked up and saw the imposing silhouettes of the mini-mechas emerging from the darkness beyond the gate, whiow closed with a final g.

  Oliver knew he wouldn't need [Insight] for this oppo. At least, not yet.

  The mini-mechas were reduced versions, at most three meters tall. Designed for quibats or manual bor, they resembled exoskeletons more than traditional mechas. Still, they were crucial tools for the NEA and the Houses.

  The gate made a noise as the enormous doors locked. In front of him, three mini-mechas positiohemselves. Oliver reized them immediately from the dots he had studied.

  They were three EX-07s, better known as Grenadiers—mini-mechas initially used fineering and stru but verted during the Waves for urban bat. Although firepower wasn't their strong suit, they had exceptional raw power.

  The three had a worn olive-green hull, with vibrant e patches refleg years of operation in war zones. Weld patches and impact marks bore wito improvised field repairs.

  With a robust and curved design, their thick legs and reinforced arms gave them an almost simian appearance. Initially designed for stru, the strength aance proved extremely useful on battlefields against the Orcs.

  Each carried a pact projectile uncher known as a G-Launcher on their left shoulder, their signature on. It was capable of firing explosive or smoke grenades, making them quite versatile foes.

  For many pilots, having a Grenadier was a symbol—a sign they had survived hell with a pletely improvised on. Some called these pilots ‘Mono Champions’, specialists in a single war mae.

  ‘But they have an obvious weakness,’ Oliver recalled. ‘Being made for stru, they don't have an advanced optical system. High-speed movements cause a slight dey.’

  Oliver quickly advao attae of the three mini-mechas without wasting time. He tried to position himself between them, stig close to the one and preventing the other two from using the G-Launcher without risking hitting their ally.

  Each punch delivered by the mini-mechas made Oliver seem like a rag doll, his guard beiroyed and parts of his Ranger Armor damaged. But the boy repared. He avoided staying still for too long and terattacked whenever an opening appeared with precise kicks and punches.

  ‘I o find the right moment,’ he thought, feeling the adrenaline surge. ‘Now!’

  [Prometheus]

  He ihe teique again, feeling the energy flow through every fiber of his body, drastically increasing his speed. His movements became a blur to the spectators' eyes and the limited systems of the Grenadiers. He began to circle the first mini-mecha at high speed, fusing its sensors and positioning himself at the back of the gigantic armor.

  "Where is it?" Oliver asked himself, searg for the supply unit that should be at the rear. The boy remembered the teical schematics: the adapted models maintaihe standard maintery at the back—a vulnerability that could be exploited.

  With agility, he climbed the mecha's back, dodging the pilot's attempts to shake him off. Oliver's hands frantically searched for the access panel. Finally, his fingers found an opening.

  "Damn! Here it is!" Oliver excimed, pulling forcefully.

  Exposing the internal circuits, he used his Energy Pistol to shoot directly into the tral systems. Sparks flew, and the mini-mecha began to shake untrolbly. With a leap, Oliver moved away, nding safely as the Grenadier fell heavily to its knees, deactivated.

  The two remaining mechas almost seemed to dispy the pilots' . Oliver could see that the unchers were finally loaded and poi him. With no time to lose, the boy ran in a zigzag, dodging the explosive grenades now being fired at him. The explosions behind him raised clouds of smoke and debris, but he kept his pace.

  Using the debris from the first mecha as cover, Oliver pnned his move. "They won't let me get close again," the boy reflected. He needed a rategy.

  "Maybe I use their rea time and dey?" the boy thought.

  With [Prometheus] still deactivated, he charged toward one of the remaining mini-mechas, getting so close that he could see the mae loading the shot. However, before he could touch the mini-mecha, he activated [Prometheus] again—but not to advance against this oppo.

  He used his energy to reach the other remaining mecha. fused, the pilots took time to react. Oliver took advantage of the hesitation and unched himself into the air, using a piece of debris as a springboard. With a powerful kick, he struck the grenade uncher of the third mecha, damaging it. The on exploded in fmes, and the mecha staggered, reeling.

  "Two!" he said to himself, panting.

  The remaining mecha didn't waste time. It loaded its G-Launcher and fired a grenade directly at Oliver. With no options, he tried to jump to the side, but he had just deactivated [Prometheus]. Uo get out of the explosion's area, the boy artially hit, throwing him to the ground.

  Oliver felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. His Ranger Armor was seriously cracked, so much it couldn't regee and close the hole.

  "I 't stop now," the boy murmured, struggling to stand.

  With his senses sharpened by adrenaline, he could see that the mini-mecha was trying to reach his pilr and thus disqualify him. It was his ce. Ign the pain, he ran in a straight line directly toward the back of the oppo. The pilot was caught by surprise, thinking that Oliver was still down. As a st resort, the pilot tried to adjust his aim, but it was too te.

  Oliver slid uhe mecha's legs, quickly getting up behind it. With the st bit of energy, he activated [Prometheus], fog his energy on his hand. The boy delivered a direct punch to the rear pahe impact was enough to destabilize the systems. The Grenadier shook, emitting sparks, before pletely shutting down.

  The signal for the third round sounded, with the gates promptly lifting to present the Mecha.

  GCLopes