FB: Chapter 119 – Future Proofing

I brought up my mega blade and deflected the attack to the side, as I continued to spar with a sword focused Champion in one of the private training rooms of the Mercenary Guild. That was something that had been arranged, training sessions where people could hire others for their help. I offered build consultation at the highest price. No one had taken advantage of it yet, but I was taking advantage of hiring others.

My ability to move in Exponential was already quite good. My experience as a gymnast had allowed me to do well in fights. But I would rate myself as a low A at the very best in terms of close combat skills. I needed to improve if I wanted to stay on top.

That meant dedicated practice when I could make the time. I spun the massive mega blade around deflecting another stab towards the side while constantly adjusting my feet. The Champion I was sparring with was one of the best in terms of sword play. I would easily rate them as S level in that area.

With skills, consumables, and other aspects of my build I would win in a fight, and I had won against this Champion in the past. But in terms of close combat, I was completely outclassed.

He began rapidly stabbing and I had to keep backing up to create distance and not let him in closer. I made sure to circle as well. While my swings were quick and heavy from the weight of the weapon, my sparring partner deflected everything with casual ease.

That was when he did a feint and I swung, putting myself out of position. I carried through on the swing as he stabbed with a dagger. It brushed my side instead of getting me in the chest as it had previously. I was learning. My opponent tried to duck as I spun around, bringing up the dagger in his off hand. My mega blade hit it, and he braced himself properly, balancing the force of the blow. He went sliding across the training room floor.

I quickly stepped back and shifted the angle of my mega blade downwards. My opponent dropped to the ground and rolled away, before backflipping to his feet. I stepped forward and did a small swing, while transitioning into a lunge and stab.

Our sparring continued for the full hour of the training session. When it was over, I had taken 13 small wounds compared to my opponent’s zero. I let out a sigh as the training room visually displayed the results at the end.

“You are getting better,” my sparring partner said. I shook my head. To stay on top, I had to be the best. While I might be improving, the fact I had taken any wounds at all was frustrating. The mega blade should have granted me an advantage. “Well, feel free to schedule me any time.”

“Thanks,” I replied. My sparring partner left. There was no advice he could give me. The only way to get better was to constantly practice and learn from previous situations. Fighting was a lot like chess in this regard.

The effective builds were like openings. Everyone was quickly figuring out what worked the best and what didn’t work. There wasn’t too much surprise in this part of the fight since people were figuring the most common and practical builds out. The end game was based on stamina based fighting. That was what I was practicing quite a bit at the moment. There were limited options, but it was very technical and required a high degree of skill to execute properly.

The mid-game of chess was much more complex and that was where I had an advantage in fighting for the longest time. Using consumables, unknown strategies, and skills with good synergy to carry me from the opening game. But it wouldn’t be enough.

The problem was that I had been too good at the mid-game of the fights. I had never really been put into a position where I got dragged into the endgame, of pure stamina based fighting. It was unlikely to happen, but I needed to get better at my sword fighting.

Still, that wasn’t my biggest weakness. Enough people had been working out what skills I had and my hit rate percentages from available footage. From that they were working out that I had a pure Luck focused build and that my other stats were severely compromised.

The difference hadn’t been that great in the early levels, but as player levels caught up to mine, that difference would become much more pronounced. A small difference at the start would lead to a massive difference.

My stat boosting titles helped out a little bit, but nowhere near enough to offset the growing difference in stats. At level 120 a person would have 2,084 stat points with 960 of them being automatically allocated evenly across all stats. That left 1,124 stat points that could be allocated. I had put all of those into Luck.

A solid investment for my build, but most other players had a more balanced build. But now that there was a lot more knowledge out there and larger forces were getting into Exponential, dedicated builds were becoming the new focus. As players gained new levels and got additional stats, this difference would become more and more apparent.

That was why I was trying to shore up my weak points. I might have been a gymnast and know how to exploit various combat situations in Exponential, but against S class combatants, I would struggle without using far too many consumables.

While S class combatants weren’t common, they were out there, and the nascent super guilds were looking to recruit them. India had a tremendous amount of people. While the standard of living was quite low, with capsule prices decreasing, they were the real threat for the future, not China, Russia, or the US entering Exponential.

In the end quantity would create quality and the Indians would soon be everywhere in the next couple of years. People thought things were competitive and crowded right now, they hadn’t been introduced to the Indian wave yet. While the game translated for everyone inside of Exponential, people preferred cultures and groups they were familiar with.

So, while the US, China, and Russia all made moves to gain first mover advantage, the lurking behemoth that was India was waiting to emerge. Capsule production was only increasing, not decreasing. While it might seem like it was only a concern for lower leveled players and super guilds, it was also a problem for me. The sheer quantity would allow for more S level combatants to emerge.

The competition would only increase not decrease and the methods were becoming more refined. It was similar to the trend in various sports back in the twentieth century. You had people who were skilled at the sport, but they were skilled as individuals. Then you got coaches, trainers, mathematicians, and so on, building out the support network, eking out every bit of performance possible from the top athletes, narrowing the gap between players.

The same thing was happening with Exponential. I was like a pro player from the future, not a good one, but I knew all the tricks and strategies to maximize my advantage. But people were learning, and the competition was becoming fiercer to become the top player in Exponential.

There was a certain allure and grandeur associated with that title. If I wanted to remain competitive, then I needed to hone my practical combat skills as much as my build had been honed. Sword fighting was crucial if I was going to keep using the mega blade as my main means of close combat.

While I hadn’t been a monkey with a stick before, I was only passable at sword fighting. I depended on tricks and gimmicks to supplement my fighting style. I had never truly improved for back-and-forth sword battles.

The increased levels and stats meant that staying power would be a lot stronger for players going forward.

“Have a good training session?” Hammer Crusher asked me as I returned to my office.

“Good enough. Come in, take a seat,” I said since he wouldn’t have shown up unless he wanted to talk with me. After settling into my office, he pulled out several offers the Mercenary Guild had received.

I looked through them and set aside three. “The rest of these are a bit too complex. Unless you want us to align with one faction over another,” I explained. “Now what are you really here for?”

Hammer Crusher let out a sigh. “We are losing members, since they are being offered very lucrative contracts,” he replied, and I nodded.

“That is their choice. But not something to be concerned with. Our business model is solid. Growth in terms of players isn’t necessary. The important thing is stability and quality. When we are hired, our impact should be felt. There is a reason we have accountants on staff,” I explained.

“It just feels like I am doing a bad job,” he said, and I smiled while chuckling lightly. “What, why are you laughing?”

“I used to feel the same way. Fake it until you make it. As long we aren’t entangled in long term contracts, everything will be fine,” I replied.

“You make it look so easy, running everything,” Hammer Crusher said.

“I had good people around me. And you do as well. Just remember, you have the authority to make decisions here. If you want to take the Mercenary Guild new heights and grab onto long term contracts, I might object, but I won’t stop you. That is another part of being a leader. You make decisions and accept the consequences. But the key thing is making a decision no matter what and setting a direction,” I replied.

“Same as a fight,” he said, and I nodded at this. “Thanks. Didn’t think I would need a pep talk,” he said. I didn’t say anything and after awkward nod he left my office. I just shook my head.

I would let him run things and make mistakes. In time the more politically oriented Champions would rise up. At least that was my hope. I just needed to keep the martial focus of the Mercenery Guild on track. An elite group of fighters was incredibly useful for quests that I might need to complete in the future.

If I didn’t have my own group, it would get tricky to arrange anything without having to pay out huge sums. While I would have to occasionally put in work, I was needed to wave the banner of this group more than anything. As the elite and top player Foxy Blight, my presence commanded special rates on the Guild’s sliding scale of fees.

Having me on the roster but not deployed into every conflict would give the other players a chance to make their names known. We also acted as a recruiting broker for the larger guilds, ensuring that the Champions who signed up were able to safely land back with us in whatever contract they signed. Breaking those transfer restrictions was key, and even Champions who were part of other guilds looked favorably on the Mercenary Guild.

Even with joining another guild, they could still get an affiliate label, if they had been part of our guild at one time. It was about building a network that would be impossible to easily remove. As long as I was an elder of the Guild, I would ensure that it was run properly to ensure long term stability and growth in the network we were developing.

I wasn’t looking to get information or infiltrate super guilds, which was impossible with Champions. The idea was to be able to call up a large and powerful fighting force if necessary. Most guilds wouldn’t restrict a player from doing stuff as long as it didn’t interfere with their personal interests.

Being able to leverage that for myself was the most useful part of leading a Guild. By taking a position as an elder, I had a lot of soft power while avoiding the day-to-day headaches that Hammer Crusher had to deal with now. Being in charge came with more benefits, but it also came with more headaches.