Collaboration Day 3 (2) — The Highs and Lows

The first set of the match: SSR P3nTa9on versus DFL V-Killer.

"Those two actually faced each other once before, back in the amateur nationals."

"How did that go?"

"They split the wins—one each."

V-Killer was clearly aiming to rip P3nTa9on's skirt clean off. Meanwhile, P3nTa9on was targeting the area beneath V-Killer's wheels. Since it was an undercutter, that was a perfectly viable strategy.

Just ten seconds after the start, P3nTa9on shattered V-Killer's left wheel.

V-Killer was now hobbling on just its right wheel. Aiming properly was nearly impossible, yet the two blades still clashed. P3nTa9on was pushed back harder. It meant V-Killer's blade was the stronger one.

Like a thatched hut collapsing in a typhoon, V-Killer's shattered right wheel gave out completely. Now its blade was hammering the floor over and over.

Unable to withstand the recoil from slamming the floor, V-Killer ground to a halt.

0:32. It was the lowest point V-Killer had ever shown. It sank endlessly, like the East Sea itself. P3nTa9on had struck V-Killer's weakness perfectly—its high ground clearance made it vulnerable to that low-slung blade.

Second set. Diafle's choice… is to go second!

Second set: SSR H3Xa9on versus DFL Elaphus.

H3Xa9on was a four-wheel-drive robot that looked like an elongated hexagon from above. The bizarre spelling was apparently a paired transformation with P3nTa9on. Both front and rear featured V-shaped sloped armor. It even had springs to help it dig into opponents, and those could be switched into wedges when needed. The sides used standard vertical armor. Up front was a short, thick, fast vertical spinner blade. In the rear was a lifter that also served to self-right if flipped.

Elaphus moved incredibly slowly. Just think of wind-up toy cars versus wind-up walking robots and you'll understand why.

Elaphus lifted H3Xa9on the way a stag beetle would hoist its rival.

Elaphus carried its opponent all the way to the out-of-bounds zone. While it held on, H3Xa9on's side armor crumpled badly.

Elaphus hurled H3Xa9on into the out-of-bounds area. It looked just like a stag beetle tossing its defeated rival under a tree.

1:22. It was a clean fight from Elaphus, focused solely on victory. For that kind of match, it was actually rather long. Having legs instead of wheels inevitably made it slower.

Third set. Samryeong's choice… is to go first!!

Third set: SSR Stylochi versus DFL Peacekeeper.

Despite its cockroach-like appearance, Stylochi was painfully slow. Peacekeeper had already closed the distance.

Peacekeeper tried throwing first, but Stylochi only lifted slightly off the ground. At 220 kilograms, it clearly wasn't easy to toss.

Throwing something twice as heavy as a normal robot clearly wasn't easy. Peacekeeper's flipper could be used without any limit.

The compressed air needed for pneumatics was basically a consumable resource, like fuel.

Stylochi lost its grip on Peacekeeper while pushing. It reminded one of someone trying to load a cart too hastily and dropping everything.

It didn't launch it very high, but it succeeded in dropping it into the out-of-bounds zone. In soccer, even a weak shot counts as a goal if it goes in.

1:19. Peacekeeper ended it before the match could become a blood-pressure-raising slog. Since it was a defender-versus-defender fight, a longer match was only natural.

Fourth set. Samryeong's choice… is to go second!

Fourth set: DFL Scary versus SSR Specter Saber.

Specter Saber was an extremely flat horizontal spinner robot. When stood upright, it looked like a windmill that had been crushed in a press. Its wheels were small and fully enclosed from above. The blade supports were trapezoidal. The blade itself was quite thick, making it powerful despite the low-output motor. A rainbow LED strip ran around it. The rear featured a lifter that also doubled as a self-righter.

Scary led with its rear vertical blade. Given how flat Specter Saber was, it was a smart choice.

As expected, Specter Saber bounced off the sloped armor. Its acceleration time was rather long, so it needed to keep some distance for a while.

Scary landed an uppercut-like strike that flipped Specter Saber over.

Specter Saber kept its distance for a moment to accelerate its blade.

Scary's triple attack was devastating. It was like landing three KO-punch uppercuts in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠row.

1:05. A clean victory for Scary. It showed exactly how to handle an extremely low-profile robot.

Compared to the previous match, the overall performance wasn't great. Even taking the defenders into account, too many of the bouts felt disappointingly one-sided.

When asked to summarize her winner's interview, Scary's pilot, Lee Cheong-bi, said:

H3Xa9on's pilot, Heo Ji-su, summarized her loser's interview like this:

Kang Cheong-hyeon grew worried after watching the less-than-stellar performance. She gathered the team and gave them a stern warning.

"Kids, wasn't today's performance pretty bad?"

"We won anyway, so we can just do better next time."

"I just hope this isn't the start of a downward spiral…"

"Huh?"

"It reminded me of how RVGL Resistance looked."

"RVGL is our opponent tomorrow, isn't it? Why are you suddenly… Ah!!"