Can I Survive?

"Betty, please arm me with the CPU battle pattern A."

"Understood."

Recently, this has been the go-to setup for CPU battles. A .38 gun in the right hand, a Buster Sword in the left, and the Xcalibur of Tiger's Cub on the back rack.

Additionally, on the leg racks are the Sword Breaker and Short Circuit, both short swords capable of being attached as bayonets to the .38 gun. Their attack power is low, but their weapon-breaking property occasionally comes in handy.

The .38 gun and Buster Sword may be discarded depending on the situation. While the .38 gun isn't a store-bought item, it's often auctioned off at throwaway prices. I've acquired around five of them in the warehouse from buying cheap ones whenever available.

"Now then, a 20-minute survival battle royale in hell! Countdown start!!"

After Colonel Alisa's posed teasingly, the countdown is displayed on the screen. Here we go. As I take a deep breath to psych myself up, the game begins.

Game start. A Crabmech appeared right in front of me, so I instinctively took it out in an instant.

Familiar large Shida trees are thickly overgrown in the surroundings. This pattern again, huh? These plants appear softer than they look, so colliding with them doesn't cause much damage, but attacks easily penetrate, rendering them useless as shields. The troublesome part is their ability to block scanner probes, severely diminishing the performance of active scanners in this forest stage, making it a constant game of hide-and-seek.

Well, in stages with good visibility, an all-out shootout would likely break out right from the opening unless the area is excessively large. But if it's too wide, it becomes difficult to search for and move toward opponents, not to mention hardware constraints. Speaking of hardware constraints, it's surprising that a game of this quality can handle over 50 simultaneous players without lagging, isn't it?

The forest seems to be hiding a considerable number of small fry enemies, with faint reactions from the passive scanner flickering here and there. Considering the decent skills of my rivals, it may be wiser to score points by targeting CPU enemies rather than engaging in time-consuming player-vs-player battles.

"Confirmed multi-legged battleship at 4 o'clock, range 3."

Oh, a big one. I'll head there while snacking on the small fry enemies along the way.

"Sagittarius approaching, player unit."

Looks like we'll be competing for the multi-legged battleship. Interesting, isn't it?

I dive into the battleship's barrage without hesitation, but Sagittarius opens fire on me instead of the battleship. Well, it's a smart move. I'd do the same in their position.

The overwhelming crossfire is intense, sending adrenaline rushing through me.

I've memorized the multi-legged battleship's firing patterns. As long as I calmly evade Sagittarius' attacks, I can dodge them relatively easily. Narrowly avoiding the onslaught of attacks is thrilling. Bring it on, hit me with everything you've got.

As I get closer, Sagittarius' beams start interfering with the battleship's barrage, causing most of them to dissipate due to the cancellation effect of the short-range armaments. This is easier than usual, which is a letdown after getting all pumped up.

Using wire anchors, I slide into the safe zone beneath the multi-legged battleship's belly.

Without using the Buster Sword, I quickly fix the .38 gun on the hip rack with my free right arm while simultaneously drawing the Xcalibur with my left. Swiftly exchanging armaments with fluid motions is more difficult than attacking enemies.

Generating a beam blade on the Xcalibur, I pierce the battleship's reactor through the bottom armor. A routine task I've repeated day after day, the reactor's location ingrained in my memory.

Feeling the impact, I rapidly retreat, retrieving the Buster Sword with the wire anchor and swapping it for the Xcalibur while moving.

Ignoring Sagittarius for now, I'll hunt them down later when they run out of ammo. That is, if they survive until then.

I dash lightly to shake off Sagittarius. The dense bushes obstruct the view, and they seem to have lost me. 

Thanks to the Radiator blueprint from the fifth battle reward and the Auxiliary Generator blueprint from the sixth, almost every unit has significantly increased output. Some players may not have used the blueprints, but not enhancing would put them at a considerable disadvantage.

In my case, I never really cared about energy reserves, but now I don't have to worry about it at all. I've become more proactive with dash movements than before, and I can handle quite aggressive maneuvers with the increased power. I have ample stamina for the crucial moments and can go all out.

Players using energy-based weapons like beam guns have benefited the most from the power-up, but many have switched from solid projectile weapons to energy weapons, causing the auction market to go haywire.

In battles like this one, solid projectile weapons with limited ammo are at a disadvantage. It will undoubtedly turn into a beam weapon barrage fest.

While beam weapons can be deflected by solid blades, the increased firing rate has made the timing harder to read. Well, an increase in game difficulty is enjoyable in its own way.

"Confirmed multi-legged battleship at 3 o'clock, range 5. But something seems off."

"Yeah, it's odd. There are unusually few small fry enemy reactions. A player seems to be hiding nearby." 

Betty kindly enlarges the survey map based on my line of sight. She's been getting more and more perceptive lately. We make a great team.

"If it were me, I'd lie in ambush around here."

"There are faint reactions. Let's observe from multiple locations to reinforce the response."

Apparently, passive scanning from multiple angles can achieve active-scan levels of accuracy when targeting an object.

This little trick can be quite useful in one-on-one situations, but how effective will it be this time? If we could form parties, a decoy could constantly use active scans.

But there was likely no pre-arrangement, and with no knowledge of everyone's map placement, forming parties would be difficult. We only have 20 minutes, so negotiating would be a waste of time unless we happened to run into acquaintances. Parties seem impossible. I want to believe they're impossible.

"It seems two Scutums are lying in ambush."

An unexpected development – the Scutums appear to be working together. To be frank, unless there's a significant skill gap, taking on two at once is tough. Should I ignore them and look for other prey?

"But it's odd, why would the low-stealth Scutums bother lying in ambush?"

The time limit isn't that long. Wouldn't it be better to keep scoring points instead of wasting time lying in wait?

"Reaction at 7 o'clock, it's Sagittarius from earlier." 

A red dot is added to the radar map. That guy's still chasing me? It seems Sagittarius has spotted the Scutums instead of me and is moving to find a sniping position. With the two-on-one odds, Sagittarius would want to take them out with a preemptive sniping strike. Perfect, let's take advantage of the situation.

I sneak up on Sagittarius as he aims for the Scutums. This is getting interesting.

"Faint energy reaction, something's very close."

Something else was lurking nearby. The silhouette creeping up on Sagittarius from the bushes is Leo, the dual sword wielder. Distracted by Sagittarius, he hasn't noticed me yet. 

He's the most dangerous, so taking him out first is a priority.

Sagittarius takes an ideal sniping position to target the Scutums. The moment he transforms into sniping mode by deploying his leg shock absorbers, Leo dashes in to attack.

That timing is a bit premature. Let Sagittarius snipe one of the Scutums first. If he takes one out for me, it'll be easier.

Or perhaps Leo is working with the Scutums too?

No time to ponder. The instant Leo attacks Sagittarius, I dash towards Leo with a thrusting strike.

Extending the Xcalibur's beam blade to its limit, I run the entire length through him.

The Xcalibur is undoubtedly one of the top ten most powerful weapons in this game in terms of attack power. The great sword piercing Leo's back continues slicing through his unit with ease, depleting his shield gauge in an instant.

While Leo is among the sturdier player units, that armor value means nothing against the Xcalibur's overwhelming might. Then again, Leo wouldn't normally be hit by such a straightforward attack so easily.

Had he kept active scanning on, he should have noticed my ambush in the forest, even if stealthed. Deactivating scanners to sneak up on Sagittarius was his fatal mistake. 

Now then, I should finish off the crippled Sagittarius too while I'm at it.

As I point my sword at Sagittarius, he drops his weapon and raises his hands.

"An incoming communication, shall I permit it?"

Betty seems a bit puzzled by the confirmation – no wonder, using the communication feature is a first for us.

"Ah, yeah."

"Thanks for saving my ass. Hey, wanna team up?"

A husky old man's voice comes through. Sounds like a gruff fishmonger type.

"Sure, we're short on time. Let's quickly take care of those two incoming Scutums."

It's a welcome offer. Taking on two at once solo would be tough.

"Roger, I'll provide support."

This is my first time teaming up with someone in this game, but there doesn't seem to be any party functionality. We've simply allowed two-way communication and can still freely lock onto and attack each other as usual.

Well, I was planning to fight solo anyway. If they betray me, I'll just dodge all their attacks. That kind of twist might even earn audience appeal.

Both Scutums are equipped with specialized shields and .44 beam guns. They seem to be approaching in vanguard and rearguard roles based on their role assignments.

That formation may not be a bad strategy, but for me it's a rather welcome development.

I re-secure the Xcalibur on my back rack, equipping the Buster Sword in my right hand and the .38 gun in my left. As exhilarating as charging in with just the Xcalibur would be, I need to be more strategic. If I come across as a close-quarter brute, they won't let me get close so easily.

While casually evading their intimidation fire, I close the distance while randomly shooting back with my beam gun. I'm not even locking on, so my shots shouldn't hit, but the enemy still takes evasive maneuvers. 

Though crippled and unable to properly evade, Sagittarius' firepower remains undiminished as he acts as a fixed battery, providing intense suppressing fire.

With twin .44 beam guns on each arm, two different large beam cannons on the shoulders, and a rocket launcher plus missile pods in the hip weapon bays, Sagittarius' firepower rivals six Scutums. The plan is to focus the enemy's attacks on me in the vanguard while the rearguard Sagittarius concentrates on shooting.

It's almost the same strategy as the enemy, but there's a vast difference in firepower between a general-purpose unit and a dedicated shooter. The area around the enemy vanguard is showered with impact effects like fireworks.

The vanguard is impressively blocking most shots with its shield, but how long will that shield last? The rearguard Scutum rapid-fires its .44 beam gun, trying to take me down before its ally falls, but I deflect the shots instead of dodging - it's too much effort to evade. I charge straight into the vanguard Scutum's space.

To avoid friendly fire, Sagittarius halts his barrage for an instant. Seizing that brief opportunity, the enemy discards its shield and gun to attack with a beam sword. 

As the vanguard, it must have confidence in close quarters, but its swordsmanship is merely decent - still too slow to challenge a Lynx. Before it can attack, I thrust the Buster Sword into the Scutum's neck and leave it lodged there. Swiftly reaching behind with my free right hand, I draw the Xcalibur for a slashing counter-attack.

The Xcalibur is too heavy to freely wield single-handedly, but with proper use of inertia, moves like this are possible. I reinforce my grip on the Xcalibur, which has bisected the Scutum's torso, by adding my left hand after discarding the .38 gun. No time to waste swapping weapons - I'll leave the Buster Sword and .38 gun for now.

Maintaining the momentum, I charge toward the rearguard Scutum next. As it tries to flee after seeing its comrade fall, Sagittarius' rocket barrage erupts around it, nice footwork. 

Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion from the rocket fire, I swiftly close the distance - supporting fire makes this shockingly easy. 

Flustered by my rapid approach, the enemy triple-fires its beam gun. Instead of dodging or deflecting, I simply angle the Xcalibur's blade to shield myself and bounce the beams away.

The Scutum is clearly rattled, but is that so surprising? Don't they routinely use shields themselves?

Resigning itself, the enemy discards its shield and gun. A brave move - coming at me with a beam sword? I readjust my stance with the Xcalibur, deliberately shortening the beam blade not to conserve energy, but to misjudge the range. Since most beam swords have fixed lengths, this often tricks first-timers.

As the enemy lunges, I brace for a counter-strike, but it suddenly backflips away to flee instead.

What? Weren't barehanded Scutums supposed to be faster than an Xcalibur-wielding Lynx? 

But Sagittarius wouldn't miss such an easy target fleeing in a straight line without evasive maneuvers. A relentless beam barrage connects, and without its shield, the flimsy Scutum goes down for the Xcalibur's coup de grace.

"Nice work."

Sagittarius isn't that formidable an enemy, but makes for a rather reliable ally.

"Good support there."

"180 seconds remaining."

Betty informs me businesslike. 

"Plenty of time to take down the battleship."

"Aye, I'll get targeted if I'm too close, so I'll provide random support from behind."

While the multi-legged battleship is easy prey even solo, there's no need to disband our temporary party now that we've teamed up. I'm curious to see how we'll fare against it together.

Since we're short on time, I'll charge in without overthinking it. Against a multi-legged battleship, an Xcalibur-equipped unit like me is basically shooting fish in a barrel.

Doing the bare minimum of evasive maneuvers, I deflect only the shots that are too troublesome to dodge with the Xcalibur. My only concern is its durability draining, but it self-repairs at around 4% per hour, so it should still be over 90% fine. 

Sagittarius' support fire begins - they must think it's the last chance, unleashing all remaining missiles and rockets for tremendous firepower support.

At this rate, I might sink the battleship too fast. I quickly slip under its belly and pierce the thin armor to destroy the reactor. 

Yeah, with support like this, it's almost too easy.

"60 seconds remaining."

"Let me try active scanning. If anyone's nearby, might as well lure them in."

Seems unlikely anyone would pass up such easy prey as a multi-legged battleship if they were close enough.

"30 seconds left."

"No one around. Hey, why don't you take me out? With this score, I won't even make the top 16 anyway."

Caught off guard by the unexpected offer. Sagittarius is quite the character. But I can't just agree to it. Though brief, we were comrades-in-arms today. Tomorrow we may find ourselves on opposing battlefields again, but for now, I'd like us to part on good terms. 

"Nah, that would be lame."

"This is no time to act cool. With your current score, you're probably borderline for the cutoff. Might as well get some insurance points in."

"I had fun fighting alongside you. I don't want it to end on a sour note."

Without Sagittarius, I may not have taken down those two Scutums. Basking in the pleasant post-battle high, the result doesn't seem to matter anymore. If I miss the cutoff, so be it - I'll just enjoy a delicious buttered potato afterwards.

"I see. It was fun going all out shooting together. You're incredible, look forward to working with you again sometime."

"Incoming high-speed unit from 4 o'clock upper airspace, it's Musca." 

Looks like we can't let our guard down until the very end. Sagittarius unleashes intense anti-air fire from his four beam guns, ignoring cooldown in a relentless rapid-fire barrage with time running out.

Sagittarius excels at anti-air among all units. Musca was just unlucky. Then again, it probably wouldn't have dove in had it known.

I jump-slash the wing-clipped descending Musca in two. Against the paper armor of a Musca, the full-powered Xcalibur is borderline overkill. 

I simply wanted to extend the sword's reach. At full power, the Xcalibur generates a blade over three times its physical length, the purple afterimage bisecting the enemy unit. More like vaporizing than cutting, but whatever, I'll review the footage later. 

Time's up just as I pull off that flashy move - it should still count as it landed before the buzzer, right? Oh right, forgot to retrieve the discarded .38 gun.