Chapter 20: One Battle Shocks the World

"Really? I don't see what's so special about me to catch her eye," Finn said, jogging alongside Mark, his breath steady despite the pace.

"That's why you're blessed, man!" Mark panted, grinning through the sweat. "I can't figure out what's great about you either, but once a chick gets curious about a guy, it's game on. Taylor Lynn—princess of GAD, who's got everything—asking you for a gift? That's not about the gift, dude. It's an excuse to get close. You've got something she's hooked on. Play it right, and you might just snag the beauty. Don't forget to toss your bro a bone when you're living large!"

Mark's tone slid into sleazy territory, and Finn picked up the pace, hoping to derail his wild fantasies.

"Maybe," Finn shrugged. "But I've got bigger fish to fry now."

"Tch, yeah, yeah—Arlan Military Academy, mobile suit pilot dreams," Mark teased, dodging a low branch. "GAD makes those mechs, you know. Marry Taylor, and you could sleep in a mech hangar—haha, kidding! Chill, I know you're no pretty boy leech. Your face is uglier than mine—no chance!"

Deep down, Mark wasn't sold on Finn chasing Taylor. GAD wouldn't let their princess slum it with a nobody. Love conquers all? Bull. It'd be a dangerous, miserable grind. If it went down, assassins wouldn't be a stretch—Finn couldn't take on a mega-corp alone. Seeing Finn stay cool about her sudden interest eased Mark's mind. Maybe Finn got it too. No point in pushing—he didn't want trouble.

Training turned serious after that. Mark stuck to his word—principles mattered with his bro. Plus, he was starting to see it: young as he was, his body was a wreck. Finn, though? The guy breezed through like it was a warm-up, barely breaking a sweat.

Finn hit the net later, planning to dig up Arlan's exam details. But the Cosmic War game icon snagged his eye, and boom—he was in. Half a month offline, armed with new tricks from GoldieTron's brutal sims—he was itching to test it out.

The moment Blade Warrior logged in, the game forums exploded. Players spammed alerts, and Finn's inbox lit up like a fireworks show. His two flashy wins had left them starving for more, then he'd vanished. Some called him a coward—win and run, total scrub move. Others rallied a fanbase, swearing Blade Warrior was the real deal, grinding through thousands of losses to hit this level. He's off training, not scared—losing's old news to him!

If Finn had kept fighting, the hype might've plateaued. But disappearing? That sparked a flame war, jacking his fame through the roof. Now he was back, and the buzz hit fever pitch.

Finn didn't care about the chatter—he was here to fight. He sifted through the flood of challenges, sorting by win rates, picking an online opponent. This time, he went for a Captain. Majors and up? Too stuck-up or too proud to bother with him.

He zeroed in on Kurapika—a guy rocking a Kanuo III with a 70% win rate. Custom rig—screamed confidence. A real brawler, not some desk jockey.

Blade Warrior's challenge dropped, and the game went nuts. Perfect timing—any longer, and the hype might've fizzled.

Seventy thousand players tuned in live. Fewer than last time—word hadn't fully spread after his hiatus—but still a monster crowd.

Kurapika jumped in fast. He'd studied the replays and wasn't underestimating this punk.

Under the players' watchful eyes, the showdown kicked off: Private Blade Warrior vs. Captain Kurapika.

Stage: Asteroid Chaos Zone.

Kurapika had street cred among the hardcore crowd. His score wasn't sky-high, but he'd clawed up with basic rigs, no shortcuts. He could pull off a Thomas Spiral Slash—nothing like Finn's freakshow with the BS001, but solid.

The Kanuo III, USE's main warhorse, was fast, nimble, and packed heat. Compared to the clunky BS001, it outclassed everything but raw weight.

Kurapika didn't mess with long-range lasers—BS001's were trash anyway. He trusted his skills to close the gap.

He moved first, Kanuo III's speed giving him the edge. Blade Warrior's BS001 stood still—classic Finn, waiting to counter.

Players buzzed: Thomas Spiral Slash again? But Kurapika didn't circle for a cheap shot. He leapt high, slamming down from above. A calculated move—titanium knives couldn't match alpha alloy blades. Drop with max force, and there's a 60% shot to snap Finn's weapon. No blade, no chance, no matter how slick he was.

Kurapika soared, showing off killer physique and control. Jumping hard like that crushed a pilot's legs with insane strain—the faster, the higher, the worse.

Most BS001 pilots would dodge, even if slow as hell. But Finn wasn't most pilots. He thrived on defying the playbook.

Red light flared in the BS001's eyes. A guttural mechanical roar ripped out, and it launched—like a cannonball straight up.

The crowd went dumbstruck. What the—? That lumbering beast couldn't jump like that! Was a human even driving it?

Kurapika flinched. A head-on smash would flatten his Kanuo III under BS001's bulk, but mid-air, he was locked—no dodging now. Gritting his teeth, he braced, banking on breaking that titanium knife.

CLANG.

The Kanuo III split in half right in front of everyone.

Players lost it as BS001 landed smooth as silk. A king's born!

By match end, a million viewers had piled in. The replay went viral, yanking in more. That tank-like BS001 pulling a Beast TN-grade leap? Madness!

Tech nerds wept over slow-mo footage. The jump was nuts, but the real jaw-dropper? The kill shot. Finn knew titanium couldn't take a full-on clash at that speed—it'd shatter. So he didn't hack. He grazed Kurapika's blade, sparks flying, flicking it aside. Most pilots would've stalled out—mid-air power moves were impossible. Not Finn. He spun up a triple slash so fast it looked like one cut, slicing the Kanuo clean through.

Dreamlike skill. Beast-level strength.

Cliffhanger

Finn logged off, adrenaline still pumping. One fight, and Cosmic War was his stage now. But as the forums crowned him king, a shadow loomed—Zoe Weaver, watching the feed, her lips curling into a razor-sharp smile. Finn's legend was growing… and so was the target on his back.