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Gilbert realized that the world he had awakened to was the same as the Tactical Combat universe and that he had become the custom character he had created for concept play. At that moment, he decided to seal his characteristic skill forever.

It made sense. While the characteristic skill had good performance, the penalty he had set as a trade-off was too unsuitable to bear in reality.

In a world where colossal mechs were the center of everything, a characteristic skill that only activated when piloting someone else’s colossal mech was bound to be frowned upon. In the current era, piloting another’s colossal mech was considered a taboo.

Generally, a colossal mech pilot could only formally contract with one artificial spirit. To contract with another, the previous contract had to be terminated.

Thus, the characteristic skill “Your Mech is Awesome,” which required piloting a formally contracted colossal mech, had a fatal flaw: it tied down one allied colossal mech pilot.

No matter how skilled Gilbert was at piloting colossal mechs, sacrificing one pilot to activate his characteristic skill was a loss overall.

In a continent where the tide of war could be turned by a single person, minimizing losses was key to victory. Giving up a colossal mech pilot just to activate Gilbert’s skill was not a sound decision.

For this reason, Gilbert decided to seal his characteristic skill. In the process, he cursed it as a useless skill.

However, during a general assessment, Gilbert changed his mind after hijacking Ian’s formally contracted colossal mech. The first activation of his characteristic skill showed performance far beyond his imagination.

Though he couldn’t quantify it precisely, he felt it surpassed even Ian’s overpowered skill, Synchronization, the protagonist’s signature ability in Tactical Combat.

After the assessment incident, Gilbert pondered deeply. Why did his flawed “Your Mech is Awesome” feel better than the supposedly supreme Synchronization?

After much thought, Gilbert recalled a hidden setting in Tactical Combat: the stronger the penalty, the greater the characteristic skill’s performance.

This wasn’t part of the world’s lore but a hidden feature by the game company, designed for players who completed all achievements and engaged in custom play.

In reality, a high penalty didn’t inherently boost a skill’s output. The penalty merely highlighted the skill’s flaws. Thus, Synchronization, with no penalties, was considered the best skill in the game.

But Gilbert was under system backup, meaning the penalty actually enhanced his skill’s output. As a result, his flawed skill had the potential to surpass Synchronization if conditions were met.

Upon realizing this, Gilbert abandoned his vow to never use the skill. Instead, he pondered how to utilize this flawed ability.

The conclusion he reached was simple: if hijacking an ally’s mech was a loss, hijack an enemy’s.

Of course, hijacking an enemy’s mech was even riskier. In life-or-death situations, stealing an enemy’s mech was no easy feat, and self-destruct magic was often embedded to prevent such theft.

The risks were too high for frequent use, but in desperate situations, it was the best option.

When Gilbert activated “Your Mech is Awesome,” he felt his body being sucked into the mech. The sensation was incomparable to his previous awakening.

Perhaps the skill hadn’t fully integrated, preventing its true performance.

Gilbert pulled the mech’s controls. The actions to lift the fallen mech felt as natural as moving his own body.

Previously, it felt like moving with heavy sandbags tied to his limbs, but now, with the skill active, he felt one with the mech.

[What? How is he moving the mech?]

[Did Felt not formally contract with it?]

[Idiot! That’s impossible! This makes no sense!]

The invaders—no, the New Resistance members—were stunned. Piloting another’s formally contracted mech defied common sense.

The New Resistance consisted of former military personnel and war mercenaries, many of whom were Academy graduates, so they knew the rules of mech piloting.

They knew it was impossible to pilot a formally contracted mech without the proper methods, especially mid-battle.

But the man who had just hijacked the Academy’s generic mech moved it effortlessly.

[How is he doing that?!]

Saturos, the team leader of Squad 1, shouted. The man who had switched mechs had become even more monstrous. Attacks aimed at his blind spots failed.

Attempts to take hostages also failed, as the mech he had abandoned had already evacuated the remaining personnel.

Meanwhile, Gilbert, with his characteristic skill active, moved through the battlefield like a fish in water. He set CT-777 to autonomous mode to evacuate people and then went wild.

The “Your Mech is Awesome” skill, combined with his piloting, allowed movements impossible for a human body. Twisting knees and bending the waist felt natural.

But that wasn’t all. His control skill stat of 100 and the synergy with his characteristic skill created an indescribable sensation.

It was as if a switch had been flipped, or he had entered a new realm. He could sense enemy positions and actions without seeing them, like a power from a manga or anime.

Though it was his first time experiencing this, Gilbert smiled. For someone who needed to find Briana quickly, this enhancement was more than welcome.

[Stop him! Everyone attack at once!]

Saturos shouted into the comms, realizing that if they didn’t stop Gilbert, the Academy raid would fail.

But stopping Gilbert now was impossible.

A mech with specs surpassing the Academy’s generic models.

A characteristic skill outperforming Synchronization.

A special sense even Gilbert, a Tactical Combat veteran, hadn’t known about.

With all three active, Gilbert was invincible.

***

After cutting down the last mech, Gilbert snapped out of his hyper-focused state. Around him lay twelve mechs, some completely destroyed, others downed by emergency escape magic.

[Beep beep beep]

[Operational limit reached.]

The warning alarms that had been blaring stopped. The mana battery couldn’t handle the output of his refined piloting skills after activating “Your Mech is Awesome.” Moving so flashily in a short time had taken its toll.

Gilbert opened the hatch and exited the cockpit, then boarded the mech equipped with CT-777. Though it had stopped functioning, entering it wasn’t a problem.

[Knight, there’s an anomaly in the recent combat data.]

“You mean me piloting a formally contracted mech?”

[Analysis suggests it’s due to your characteristic skill.]

“Correct. It’s my skill.”

[Detailed explanation required. For combat assistance, we need information on the skill.]

“Later. The mission comes first.”

[Confirmed. Marking the location of Professor Briana Tepeo Malchirab.]

Despite not being installed, the high-performance CT-777 accessed the mech’s artificial spirit and shared the information on the display.

Realizing just how advanced this AI was, Gilbert deployed the mana booster.

En route, he encountered more invaders, but no one could stop the man who had single-handedly destroyed a dozen mechs. Cutting down every enemy in his path, Gilbert finally reached his destination.

In the distance, he saw Briana piloting a generic mech.

[Multiple enemy mech signals detected ahead. Total of 23 identified.]

“Current combat status?”

[Professor Briana Tepeo Malchirab’s mech has 58 seconds until operational limit. Behind her, I detect life signs from Academy cadets who haven’t evacuated yet.]

The reason for the operational limit was clear. She had likely overused the mana barrier to protect the cadets.

Gilbert gritted his teeth. In the game’s scenario, Professor Briana sacrificed herself for the cadets. As the Empire’s Best Sword and a Swordmaster, she could have survived the sudden attack. She was a war specialist who had survived worse.

But instead of saving herself, she prioritized the cadets’ safety. Her cold, rational personality hid a warm heart that cared for her students, leading to her death.

Before the game company officially confirmed there was no way to save Briana, countless players, including Gilbert, had searched for hidden routes to save her. They believed in a hidden scenario, spending dozens or hundreds of hours trying.

In the end, her death was confirmed.

But this wasn’t the game.

This wasn’t the predetermined outcome of Tactical Combat.

If so, saving Briana was possible.

Gilbert maxed out the mana booster. In an instant, he charged into the battlefield, weaving through the enemy mechs to block the barrage aimed at Briana’s immobilized mech.

At the same time, the 23 mechs began a coordinated barrage, designed to leave no gaps.

Gilbert entered a hyper-focused state, stepping into the “realm” he had felt earlier. A system message appeared, but he ignored it, drawing his iron sword and taking a stance.

Though he hadn’t mastered the Winter Sword’s ultimate technique, he felt he could use it now that he had entered the “realm.”

Gilbert gripped the sword’s hilt and closed his eyes. Closing one’s eyes in battle was reckless, but in the “realm,” everything moved in slow motion.

To resolve the sudden cognitive dissonance, he had no choice.

In the brief moment—less than a second—Gilbert visualized it.

The cold, blue winter sky being split.

<Winter Sword - Iaido>

<Winter Sky Cleave>

With the draw of his sword, Gilbert cleaved the winter sky.

 

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