Season 2: Chapter 240: Mecha Leg (1)
"Ah. Archery!"
SolidRock nodded his enormous head.
"Of course, that would suit you very well, Mr. Almond!"
Indeed, when one thought of Almond, archery came to mind.
"However!"
SolidRock raised his considerably smaller hand compared to his head and began explaining.
"There are no archery-related jets in JetPumped! And there are almost no long range jets either!"
"Ah…"
"Essentially, it’s to not lose the genre characteristics of a fighting game!"
"Does almost no long range jets mean… there are some?"
"Ah, yes! There are! They work very well up to the intermediate levels! But…"
SolidRock scratched his huge head.
"Their efficiency drops significantly! The higher the rank you go, the more it drops! And from what I’ve experienced! Kim Yi-Seo is one of the top ranked players and the designer of this game! Naturally, the efficiency will drop against him!"
— Wow
— Figures
— So, it’s like going to fight a god? lol
— Yeah, long range in JetPump really isn't great
— But what if Almond uses it?
Even though the efficiency was said to be low, would it be different if Almond used it? This question popped up, but the next explanation resolved it.
"Most importantly! Neutralizing long range attacks is too easy even if it wasn’t Kim Yi-Seo!"
"?"
"Simply with a long range immunity pump! This pump adds a long range immunity feature!"
— Wow lol
— ???
— Not just defense but actual immunity?
— This is why it’s a broken game, this thing~
"Kim Yi-Seo will probably see which jet Almond picks and switch to one with this feature included!"
Long range immunity meant long range attacks wouldn’t work at all. It wouldn’t even be a matter of skills.
"That’s why I recommend something different! The most trending pump right now is mecha pumping!"
‘Mecha pumping?’
Almond tilted his head while the chat went wild. It seemed well-known.
— Wow
— This is originally what broke the balance lol
— Finally, can we beat Kim Yi-Seo with this?
— Tears are blinding me
This mecha pumping was apparently the original reason why they set up this challenge.
'It seems like a lot of viewers know JetPumped now.'
Many of Almond’s original viewers didn’t know much about JetPumped, but the atmosphere in the chat suggested that at least half of them did now.
'Huh?'
Almond checked his viewer count in surprise.
[Current Viewers: 48,000]
He was nearing a personal record of 50,000 viewers. This number was achievable given the previous Battle Large ninja mode challenge and him facing the Demon King Kim Yi-Seo, who every JetPumped player hated.
"Yes. Are you seeing the reactions in the chat? This mecha pumping is the main culprit behind the balance destruction!"
Perhaps because SolidRock himself was an enthusiastic fan of JetPumped, he exclaimed in an impassioned voice.
"Using this, we can… no, we can definitely beat Kim Yi-Seo. Then, we could really say this challenge ended beautifully!"
SolidRock trembled as he raised his fist.
— So cute lol
— He looks so annoying
— Info: Solid Rock, who used to draft you into the army, has no helmet that fits because of the size of his head and is a public service worker.
— Solid Rock lol
Almond unknowingly nodded.
"Ah…"
"A picture is worth a thousand words! Let me show you the mecha series!"
Clank!
He quickly equipped a type of jet.
"Starting with the familiar taekwondo jet! Followed by mecha pumping. Then iron, engine, and high-density pumping. This is the mach mecha leg engine jet!"
— Why is the name so long? lol
— Mach mecha leg engine lol
— This is a 'fighting game'~ ^^
Ziiiiing... Ching!
A sound like something out of a sci-fi movie burst forth. Legs that Iron Man from the underworld would use were attached.
"These legs have engines all around. How you use them allows for high-speed control, which should be perfect for you, Mr. Almond!"
SolidRock demonstrated the jet as an example.
"Scarecrow!"
Ting!
At SolidRock's shout, a scarecrow appeared in the distance.
"Let’s start with a dash attack!"
Koooooong!
Red flames shot out like a rocket launcher.
Shortly afterward—
"Eh?"
His form instantly disappeared.
Kwaang!
A sonic boom, the kind when surpassing the speed of sound, erupted.
"!?"
At an astonishing speed, the distant scarecrow was shattered to pieces.
Kwaang!
"See! This is the flying kick!"
— ???
— Flying kick? Isn't that more like firing a K-9 howitzer?
— One more kick and he might demolish a building
— What kind of game is this? Damn lol
— Is, is this taekwondo???
— Taekwondo (100 years later) lol
It was a scene that instantly revealed why users had complaints.
"Not all attacks are this powerful! The mecha gains power through engine thrust! When the propulsion reaches 100%, attacking produces this kind of power! We call this propulsion control!"
— He hits with acceleration
— Looks a bit difficult then
— Aha...
"Engine propulsion depends on how long the engines have been firing!"
This meant one wouldn’t deal such damage with rapid hits. The combat technique for mecha legs involved maximizing propulsion before striking.
"Of course, hitting with less than 100% engine propulsion is still much more powerful than normal attacks! Ideally, you want to maximize propulsion before striking! However!"
"?"
"As the propulsion increases, the speed becomes indescribably faster!"
That was a good thing, right?
"Complete control will be impossible! How well you can control it to strike the opponent is the key!"
"Ah…"
"These mecha legs are the most difficult in the mecha series. The engines spray from the legs, and it’s not easy to keep your balance. I'll show you the other mecha series as well."
SolidRock showed Almond various jets based on judo and kendo like the mecha glove and the mecha sword.
"Which one do you like?"
"Um…"
"For beginners, there’s nothing like the mecha glove! It gathers propulsion quickly and attacking with your fists is intuitive, right?"
Almond nodded.
'That certainly makes sense.'
Agreeing with SolidRock’s words, he decided to choose…
"The mecha legs."
"Ah…"
SolidRock looked troubled.
"Really…? May I ask why?"
"It looks the best to me."
"Ah…"
Yes, it indeed had the highest potential. After all, engines on the legs covered speed, power, and even aerial capabilities.
However, Almond had no idea what it felt like to have engines just on the legs. Moving naturally, let alone not getting motion sickness, was initially difficult with mecha legs.
"I understand."
SolidRock didn’t need to explain all these drawbacks unnecessarily.
'Once he’s equipped it, he might change his mind.'
Experiencing it firsthand was worlds apart from just seeing it.
"Let's build it."
Without further ado, SolidRock began crafting the mecha legs.
***
These days, that was how games were. Even if the game design was secondary, the business design was meticulously crafted.
JetPumped wasn’t strictly a pay-to-win game. However, the game paid a lot of attention to its business model.
What did that mean? It was easy to spend money.
"Oh. That was quick."
"Yes! The world has really improved!"
Pumping a jet wasn’t easy in the early days of the game. Now, it could be done quickly with the right money and blueprints.
[Mecha Legs]
Almond quickly acquired a basic model of the mecha legs. After some additional pumping…
[Mach Mecha Leg Engine]
Kwagwang!
As hundreds of thousands of won evaporated instantly, the jet he had seen earlier materialized.
— Money-wasting game lol
— The money melts lol
— Black taxi meter-level wallet dealing wow
— JetPumped~ JetPumped~
How would the mach mecha leg engine perform after melting money?
Almond decided to wear it and test it briefly.
The style involved fighting while firing high-density engines in eight directions. As it pressed down opponents with acceleration, it boasted tremendous speed and damage. The downside was, as expected, that it was quite difficult to control.
"Okay. The control might be a little difficult at first…"
SolidRock was about to offer some advice as Almond began to equip it and practice.
Kwagwang!!!
Almond had already launched away.
"!?"
SolidRock’s eyes bulged as he struggled to prevent himself from rolling on the ground.
— Solid Rock lol that expression lol
— Is that the mach mecha eyes engine? lol
— Wow~
— He’s good??
— Damn, is he naturally talented?
Moments later, the game resumed.
"Here we are! Thank you for waiting!"
The announcers shouted excitedly and the audience responded with vigorous cheers.
“Wow!”
"Finally, Mr. Almond has created a new jet and is ready!"
"That's right! He's brought the mecha legs, right? This is his first time using them today. Is it possible?"
"I don't know about Mr. Almond, but it would be impossible for me."
— Ah lol lol, I don't know about Almond, but I definitely can't lol lol
— lol, doesn't he know how to JetPump quite well?
— Is that all?
"That's right. Actually, I own that jet too. It's what you call a closet license. I couldn’t adapt to it, so it just wastes money and collects dust!"
"Yes, it is a difficult jet to handle. The fact that Mr. Almond chose it… well, it’s not incredibly surprising."
— lol, good to know
— Right… if anyone could choose it, it would be Almond... lol
— Probably just chose it because it looked impressive
"The fact that it definitely presents a challenge is a fact! The transmission has started!"
[Transmitting…]
The two contestants were being transmitted onto the stage.
"What will the stage be? If it's a cramped stage like a subway, the mecha legs would be at a disadvantage!?"
The performance of jets became increasingly crucial as their abilities improved and which stage appeared was very important.
In Almond's case, he needed to fly around and use the space to its fullest to harass his opponent. If a confined map like the subway appeared, it would be a significant disadvantage.
[Rooftop]
"Wow!" the announcers exclaimed.
The rooftop map featured open space above, allowing for fighting while flying across four buildings. It was highly favorable for the mecha legs.
"At least they didn't rig the stage?!"
"Indeed! That's surprising!"
— lol lol
— Surprised they didn’t rig it lol
— Their credibility is really low lol lol
— They’re surprised it wasn't rigged? lol
"But they must have countered it, right? They probably watched everything in Almond's private stream. So cowardly!"
"Yes, of course! It looks like they watched it."
Unlike during the match against Tae Ji-Ho, Almond and Kim Yi-Seo appeared on the same rooftop.
[Kim Yi-Seo]
Almond spotted Kim Yi-Seo at the edge and wondered, 'What kind of jet is it?'
Although knowing the name wouldn’t tell him what kind of jet it was, he at least wanted to figure out his opponent's fighting style. Could he guess just by the appearance?
'A sword?'
From a distance, it appeared that Kim Yi-Seo was holding a sword. The sword emitted a white mist and seemed to exude an intense cold.
"Kim Yi-Seo has brought an incredibly niche jet!"
"Yes! It’s a jet once nicknamed Winter Sword!"
"The actual model name is Ultra High Compression Cryo Magitek Sword!"
"That's right. As with most jets, they're nearly unusable after about a year."
"Has it been a year already?"
"No, about eight months! But it’s considered outdated now!"
Six months was usually the lifespan for a jet in competitive play. After a year, they typically degenerated to just being used for casual play.
"This might give Almond an advantage, right?"
On the other hand, the mecha legs was a recent jet. At least five more months of optimal performance were expected. Simply comparing them, Almond's jet had more of an advantage than Kim Yi-Seo's.
"Do you think so? It’s unlikely Kim Yi-Seo chose it without any thought."
Kim Yi-Seo was the designer of this game. He certainly knew about the jet’s shelf life and probably prepared something else.
"Ah! Almond is charging in without feeling him out first!"
Regardless, the battle between Almond and Kim Yi-Seo started.
"He's not running. He's flying! Wow, his control is incredible! Mecha legs is definitely not an easy jet to handle!"