Chapter 21: Fight!
"Feel free to customize your mecha," the guidance system announced, pulling up the mecha crafting interface. Yuka glanced over it and started by picking out the color for her mecha.
"Black, please," Yuka commanded aloud.
But her butler had other ideas. "Pink! It’s gotta be pink!" it insisted, throwing a digital tantrum in Yuka’s mind, almost as if it would burst into tears if she didn’t agree.
Yuka sighed. Arguing with an AI was pointless.
With a reluctant swipe, Yuka switched the mecha’s color to pink and then opted for a smaller model. When it came to weaponry, she hesitated before installing firepower on the right arm.
The left arm, she left mostly unaltered. After all, with Oniyon’s psychic power control, it could morph into any weapon she desired. But to throw off any potential enemies, she picked a metallic whip from the arsenal and then hopped into the mecha’s cockpit, selecting the "Arena Match" option.
"Matchmaking in progress... Match found. Current ranking: 166430."
Suddenly, Yuka found herself on a stark white square arena, facing a rough, basic model mecha.
"15 seconds to match start. Reminder: attacking before the start will lead to automatic disqualification and a three-day ban," the guidance’s voice echoed in her ear.
Yuka tilted her head, waiting for the countdown.
As soon as the start command was issued, Yuka sprang into action. She whipped up her left hand, the crack of the whip splitting the air. Before her opponent could react, the whip had already entangled its upper body.