David was confident.
Although he had now become a knight who trained his body, before that, he had long worked as a fixer.
What allowed him to make a name for himself as a fixer was his skill in controlling automatons.
After synchronizing with the automaton using magical threads, he controls it naturally like his own limbs.
David, who controlled two custom-made automatons, was famous enough to earn a nickname among fixers.
That's why Osian also believed without doubt that David would handle it.
Until his automaton's head burst like a watermelon, that is.
-Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Hahaha! What is this! For someone who came out so confidently, this is too easy!"
The Steel Fist gang members laughed until their stomachs hurt.It wasn't even a case of trying hard and losing, it was almost a K.O. defeat, so they could only laugh.
Osian asked David, who was too shocked to close his mouth.
"...Weren't you confident?"
"Ah, no. That's..."
David seemed not to have expected this situation either, as he couldn't speak properly.
If he were to make excuses, David did have some valid points.
It was true that David had exceptional talent in controlling automatons. That was an undeniable fact.
However, there was something that even David himself had overlooked - the automatons in District 49 were too different in specifications from the ones he had handled.
Although they might look similar on the outside to what he used before, the internal parts, operating principles, and output factors were all different.
It was natural for control to be disrupted when someone who drives a car is made to drive a tank.
Moreover, his habit of trying to control automatons with magical threads also worked against him.
"The automatons here are not easily controlled remotely with magical threads."
"Did they take some measures?"
"Rather than that, it's because they're excessively outdated."
The method of remote control using magical threads had been used for more than 20 years.
However, the specifications of the automatons here were from much earlier than that.
'It's like making someone who was playing the latest fighting game play an old-school dot game. Now I kind of understand.'
And another excuse was that despite their outward appearance, these automatons had undergone excessive modifications, making everything from balance to everything else mismatched.
The same was true for the opponent. The K.O. defeat happened in one hit because of the characteristics of the opponent's automaton.
It had an arm on the right side that was disproportionately large to the point of being excessive.
Anyone could see it was meant for finishing opponents in a single blow.
The automaton battle David had in mind required more psychological warfare, an intense battle of exchanging invisible moves.
It wasn't supposed to end so simply and crudely with one punch but such a simple approach caught David off guard.
All these factors came together to create this disaster.
For David, it was beyond wounded pride; he was simply dumbfounded.
"What should we do about this?"
Osian pondered.
Originally, the plan was for David to prove his skills in battle here and then stay for about a day, but things went wrong from the start.
"This is too anticlimactic, isn't it? Hey! I'll give you another chance! There are two of you, right! Let the other one who hasn't tried yet give it a shot!"
Just then, one of the Steel Fist members shouted that.
It was a proposal that caught Osian's attention.
"Well, after seeing their companion lose so miserably, they're probably too scared to do anything!"
"I'll do it."
"Su-Successor?"
When Osian stepped forward, David was startled and tried to stop him.
"If it's because of me, you don't need to do this. There's no need to get caught up in their provocation."
"No. It's not simply because of pride. I can do this sufficiently well."
David tried to say something, but it was drowned out by the opponent's hearty laughter.
"Wahaha! Now that's some guts! That's probably why you dared to come to our territory with a proposal! But that's only possible if you have the skills to back it up!"
The opponent's automaton raised its right arm in an obvious gesture of provocation.
A motion that said to come at them if they dared.
Osian looked over the displayed automatons.
Overall, they all had unique appearances after undergoing extreme modifications.
With all sorts of objects attached all over their bodies, their original forms were unrecognizable.
Then one automaton caught Osian's eye.
It was one that had undergone almost no modifications compared to the others.
Small in stature, generally diminutive in appearance.
But perhaps because of that, it inversely caught Osian's interest.
He also liked that it didn't have other cumbersome attachments.
"I'll use this one."
"The output looks low, will that be alright?"
"Yes. This is much better than having unnecessary things attached."
After choosing the automaton, Osian immediately checked the controller.
'Yes. This is important.'
The reason Osian decided to participate in the battle himself was because of this controller, a wired controller for remotely controlling the automaton.
This was very similar to the game controller Osian had used in his previous life.
Of course, Osian only plays games on computers.
Naturally, the tools used for computers were keyboard and mouse.
'But originally, this game was created for consoles. There were bound to be subtle errors when using keyboard and mouse.'
This problem would often occur significantly when moving playable characters.
Commonly, pressing the spacebar key on the keyboard makes the character roll.
That roll was one of the most crucial evasion techniques in the game.
You had to avoid all boss patterns using the invincibility frames that lasted about 3 frames.
'The problem is that pressing this key triggers other actions too.'
There was an action where the character does a light backstep, but the problem was that this also required pressing the spacebar.
Short press of spacebar = backstep.
Long press and release of spacebar = roll.
Two actions assigned to one button.
This inevitably led to problems while playing the game.
'If you control the timing of pressing and releasing well, disasters won't happen, but humans can't act perfectly without error every time, and mistakes are bound to happen.'
The roll was especially problematic.
While the backstep activates immediately upon pressing the spacebar, the roll activates when you 'release' the spacebar.
It doesn't require a very long time, but in a game where frame-perfect dodging is important, it was a huge issue.
As a result, Osian would often connect and use a controller separately besides keyboard and mouse.
If anything, this was much easier to handle and more suitable for him.
'The structure and general usage method aren't that different.'
Osian connected the controller to his chosen automaton and tried some light movements.
Perhaps because it was originally made for wired control, the movement itself wasn't much of a problem.
There's a slight time lag between pressing the button and the action starting, but that would be the same for all of them.
'Rather, being small makes it quite fast in these aspects.'
Considering the time lag movement shown when defeating David's automaton, it couldn't be dismissed just because of its small size.
'Good. I've roughly adapted to the movement. What's left is the weapon.'
There was no need to worry about weapons either. In automaton battles, only firearms were prohibited; any other cold weapons were perfectly allowed.
Osian looked through the displayed weapons and picked up something similar to a sword.
It was called a sword but was closer to a club with rust all over it. He chose it because it at least maintained a form similar to a sword.
In the other hand, he held a shield. It was a shield made by overlapping about three enlarged clockwork springs, showing District 49's unique design characteristics.
"Wahaha! You really came out! And what's that! Don't tell me you chose that dwarf?"
When Osian's controlled automaton entered the arena, the audience burst into laughter.
"We just kept it in a corner because it was a shame to dispose of it, but how did you manage to find and pull that out! But you know what? That thing is nothing but trash that was about to be thrown away!"
"We'll have to see who's better when we actually fight."
"Kuk kuk. Arrogant bastard. If you lose this battle, I'll personally choose your treatment."
-Clang!
With the bell signaling the start of the battle, the opponent's automaton walked toward Osian with large strides.
Just in terms of size, it was a head taller than him, and the armor covering its body was thick.
Especially that right arm that had knocked David down in one hit was practically a weapon.
"Die!"
As if intending to end it in one hit again this time, he threw a punch right from the start.
Osian watched this and controlled the dwarf automaton.
The dwarf lowered its upper body. The menacing fist brushed past above its head.
"Lucky!"
The fist was thrown.
The dwarf stood still and then raised the shield in its left arm to block the punch.
But the difference in weight class and output between the machines was evident. Although blocked with the shield, the dwarf's body was pushed back instead.
Meanwhile, Steel Fist's attacks continued. Swinging punches, bringing them down, thrusting them forward.
The dwarf automaton repeatedly dodged or blocked by narrow margins.
"How long are you going to keep running away!"
"Do it properly! Dyke! Why are you wasting time with such a novice!"
Jeers erupted from the watching audience.
What they wanted was a fight where steel clashed against steel, sending sparks and oil flying.
This, where one side just runs away and the other chases, wasn't the battle they wanted.
However, during this, some gang members with good eyes didn't get angry and carefully observed the fight between the two.
The same was true for David.
'At first glance it seems disadvantageous, but that's not the case at all.'
While it looked like the opponent's automaton was one-sidedly pushing Osian back, that was only how it appeared on the surface.
Its threatening fists hadn't landed a single effective hit on the automaton Osian was controlling.
The movements that seemed to barely dodge by luck continued not just once but continuously, creating a sense of dissonance.
'It's intentional. The Successor is deliberately dodging the attacks by narrow margins.'
It seemed exaggerated but was not at all. David believed without doubt in what he had seen.
Despite handling the dwarf automaton for the first time, Osian was showing master-level control skills.
'How? Even though he must be controlling it for the first time today, how can he show such movements?'
The same was true for deflecting punches with the shield. While it appeared to be pushed back due to the output difference, there wasn't a single effective hit.
Rather, the creaking sound from the opposing automaton throwing punches became more distinct.
He looked like someone who only ate and controlled automatons with controllers.
Steel Fist automaton's attacks began to slow down.
No matter what commands were given through the controller, due to overworking the right arm, it couldn't move like before.
At the moment when the Steel Fist gang members felt something was off at that sight, Osian moved.
Not missing that opportunity, the dwarf charged forward holding the shield and sword.
It was a completely different movement from when it had only been retreating until now.
Steel Fist tried to raise its right arm to strike down, but the dwarf's swinging shield wedged into the gap first.
The shield accurately targeted and dug into the joint of the elbow.
With a crushing sound, the joint broke. It had already been precarious from excessive attacks, and this was the finishing blow.
As the arm broke, Steel Fist's balance greatly collapsed.
The rusty iron sword was swung at its head as it staggered backward.
-Crash!
The rusty scrap sword accurately dug into the neck joint, and cleanly cut off the Steel Fist automaton's head.
The automaton that lost both arm and head tilted and fell backward with a noise.
-Creak.
The dwarf that had defeated an automaton a head taller than itself raised its rusty sword.
There was no cheer at that sight. Only silent astonishment.
It was natural to be surprised since the smallest and weakest automaton had defeated the champion of this place.
The gang member who was Osian's opponent approached his automaton and picked up the head that had fallen to the ground.
"Ah. My precious automaton that has been with me for 10 years..."
Been together for 10 years?
David rolled his eyes. People who handle automatons are very attached to their automatons.
Especially if they've used it for over 10 years with modification after modification like that one.
It was around when he was feeling anxious about what if they couldn't accept the outcome.
"But since you were defeated honorably in battle, I'll gladly send you off. Everyone! Welcome the appearance of a new champion!"
-Woaaaaaah!
Simultaneously, thunderous cheers erupted from the gang members.
David felt relieved at that sight but that joy was brief, as he had to feel an indescribable awkwardness.
'Huh? Then what did I do?'