Chapter 42

　　"Reactor: Online. Sensors: Online. Weapons: Online. All System Nominal." A mechanical and toneless voice spoke to Kal as he entered the Mech.

　　Opposite of Piloting an Exosuit, he had climbed into an opening at the front of the Golem,` wedging himself into the tiny cockpit pod using a retractable ladder hanging from the opening.

　　The hatch closed, leaving him in darkness while the cushioning gel closed around him. The skin-tight piloting bodysuit enhanced the protection provided and maintained his body temperature while a helmet circulated fresh air.

　　The interior of the Mech could fluctuate wildly depending on the environment and the heat generated by combat, so the bodysuit was an essential piece of gear for a Pilot. It could even keep him alive in the vacuum of space for several hours if required.

　　The Golem` had been transferred from the sale yard to his personal warehouse, which was quite a bit bigger than his previous one. The empty room was large enough for repairs to be carried out or parts to be swapped without the aid of a technician, something not possible in reality.

　　Kal had used all his available in-game currency to purchase the suit and Mech, leaving him nothing for repairs. The Autocannon and wrist gun worked adequately, and the basic systems were functional, but the Golem itself appeared as if it had crawled out of the junkyard, which, to be honest, it had.

　　"Here we go," Kal whispered as his vision lightened. The connection to the Mech through the Neural Link was quick, like flicking a switch, and the results were immediate. A pressure built up behind his eyes, the first sign that he was in control.

　　The suit felt like an extension of his body, the VR game world recreating the experience nearly perfectly. The Golem was clamped into a stand, keeping him upright and balanced while he got a feel for it. Once he was sure that the pain in his head wouldn`t become unbearable, Kal assessed the HUD.

　　Unlike his normal vision in the Gameworld, with a compass, health bar and objectives, the Golem`s sensors were severely restricted, giving a realistic comparison to its real-world counterpart.

　　The autocannon in his left eye line and the wrist-mounted machine gun were glowing a faint green, and when he focused on them, an ammo counter was displayed. Tentatively, Kal tried to turn the Mech`s head, expecting the Lag` to be burdensome.

　　To his delight, the Mech reacted instantly. Kal tried to look left and right, up and down, and in each case, the Golem responded without delay.

　　"Amazing," Kal whispered.

　　He didn`t know if it was his growing comfort with using the Neural Link or the stripped-down abilities of the Golem making it easy to use. Kal found it was similar to an Exosuit, just three times the size and had an integrated weapon system.

　　As he relaxed, Kal released the clamps holding him in place. Unlike his disastrous first experience with an Exosuit, he remained upright. Soon, he trekked through the warehouse, the Golem`s heavy steps echoing off the bare walls as it stomped across the concrete floor.

　　From the description, Kal had expected a slow, lumbering behemoth that would be clumsily attempting to walk upright, but he found that it reacted similarly to his real-life body. It had a comparable speed to his walking pace and was as agile as an average person wearing bulky clothing or armour.

　　Compared to a modern Light Class, it was a lumbering behemoth, but it suited his current needs.

　　"I can work with this," Kal said to himself, impressed at the swiftness he was becoming accustomed to it.

　　He only had a little over five months before his self-imposed deadline to lead an assault on the Pirates. He couldn`t waste weeks practicing on a newer model when the Golem seemed a perfect, although ugly, stepping stone.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

　　"I can always get it painted if I had the credits," Kal muttered, stopping in the center of the warehouse and pulling up the in-game menu. Like the real-life Imperial Net, this version hosted missions from various sources, not just the local vendors here in Atland.

　　He had already looked at the planetary Light Class Mech quests, and nothing stood out. He needed to move to a more populated or chaotic system to progress.

　　Two options stood out to him: A world conflict in the Beluth System and the Ranked Ladder combat competitions.

　　System-Wide Event: World Conflict

　　Description: The Beluth System has declared its independence from Clan Toth. Both sides are looking for Freelance Pilots to join the conflict.

　　Rewards: Credits/Salvage

　　Death Penalty: Severe (Loss of Mech/Equipment and Ban from System until the conflict is resolved)

　　Kal was interested in this one for both the rewards and the experience. He needed to participate in large-scale battles if he hoped to lead a force against the Pirates plaguing his space sector.

　　His concern with this mission was his inexperience in Piloting a Mech and his lack of funds. If he died during the event and lost his Golem, he would be delayed for weeks while he worked to replace it.

　　With that thought in mind, his gaze drifted to the Ranked Ladder quest. He noticed a few players had a symbol next to their displayed name, along with a letter. Reading the description for Ranked Ladder, he knew why.

　　It was a quick and easy way of entering into combat from anywhere in the galaxy without the burden of Starship travel. Players would start at rank Z` for their Mech class, Exosuit or standard bodies and work to higher levels.

　　Five consecutive wins or enough accumulated points from winning in their tier brought them to the next rank to repeat the process. Their Mechs would be repaired after each bout, meaning the penalties for losing were minor.

　　The downsides of Ranked Ladder were that the rewards were significantly less than regular mission payouts, and the difficulty increased as you progressed.

　　But there was prestige to having a high rank, something Kal had been aware of when looking at mission requests from other players. He had been denied access to a group several times because his Ladder rank was too low. Players used it to judge competency without needing to assess their abilities personally.

　　It was a perfect way for him to gain experience without a loss since death during the Ranked Ladder had no consequence except for hindering his progress to the next rank.

　　"Ranked Ladder it is," Kal whispered, his voice muffled by his helmet. Selecting the Ranked Ladder option on his display screen, his vision blackened momentarily before he was transported along with his Mech to a new location.

　　When his vision returned, Kal and his Mech were still in their storage room, but the doors now had new signage above them reading Ranked Ladder Match - Rank Z` Ready.`

　　Taking an excited breath, Kal Piloted the Golem through the large doors.

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　　Kal`s first opponent stood at the end of a large, sandy field that stretched as far as the eye could see. Standing a few hundred feet from him, a Light Class Scout` Mech slowly emerged from a door similar to his own, a strange sight in the natural terrain.

　　Unlike the developer`s strict adherence to realism in regular quests, Ranked Ladder had more Gameplay Concessions` than they preferred. Quick matches, terrain changes, and oddities like a storage room suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere were all normalized here.

　　Once both players were through their doors, their storage spaces disappeared, leaving them alone in the wilderness.

　　"Start!" A voice thundered. Kal moved instantly, his Golem`s heavy feet digging into the sandy ground, propelling him forward. His opponent, in contrast, appeared to be much more sluggish and unfamiliar with his machine. By the time it had walked ahead and raised its heavy Lasgun, Kal had crossed half the distance between them.

　　Crack!` The thunderous peal of the Lasgun`s discharge sounded out as it sent a streak of Bluish-White fire toward Kal`s Mech. The Pilot`s aim was off, and the shot missed him by a wide margin.

　　Crack! Crack! His opponent managed two more shots before Kal reached him. The second missed, while the third struck the Golem`s shoulder, burning a hole into its rust-covered metal but doing minor damage to its massive frame.

　　By the time the third shot struck, Kal had lowered his right shoulder as he charged. Slamming into the smaller Scout` with tremendous force, he lifted the Mech off its feet and smashed it into the sandy ground.

　　Raising his fist, Kal struck the Mech with the Golem`s first, splitting the metal off its head. Digging his hand into the internals, he pried them open, revealing Mech`s core internals. Like a possessed monster, he dug into them, pulling out wires and sensors.

　　"Victory, Merit of Caledon!" The mechanical voice sounded out. Looking down, Kal saw the ground strewn with pieces and parts of the Scout` Mech, his Golem`s hands covered in fluids from its internals.

　　Panting at the exertion, he Piloted the Mech back through the reappearing doorway before waiting for his next match.