Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Scapegoat
“Got anything to say? Huh? I’m A12. I’m apparently the twelfth Titan purchased here.”
“Deep… is my name.”
“Wow. You’re the type who speaks politely to AI? That’s rare, you know.”
AI.
That word finally snapped my brain back into motion.
Console-style system assist.
Titan Core was fundamentally a console game. Compared to mouse-and-keyboard games, precision control was harder, so it used assist systems like aim assist and input prediction.
To justify aim assist and pre-input behavior, each Titan was equipped with an AI.
That’s why Titans could perform complex movements with so few buttons. That’s why aiming was easy. It was all because of AI assistance.
But.
“W-why are you talking?”
As far as I knew, Titan AIs didn’t talk to pilots. Did they change that in the sequel?
No, even if they could talk, AI was still AI. Software evolving beyond hardware limitations was already questionable, but I could accept that much.
But this?
“Wait, what do you mean? What’s wrong with me talking a bit?”
This level of personality and emotional nuance… from an AI?
“What, what? You don’t like talkative Titans? Or are you some kind of weird otaku who likes shy silent machines?”
“Please, absolutely not.”
I wasn’t stuttering because it was an AI. I was just overwhelmed by the conversation.
My head was spinning from the tone alone. I pressed my forehead with my hand and sighed, and the cockpit speaker laughed with a slightly distorted crackle.
“Just kidding! Relax, okay? If you connect your smart watch to the port in front, registration will be complete. Don’t shove it in all at once, it might hurt. Go slow—”
“Please.”
Should I just leave?
This was seriously too far off the conversational rails.
There were still forty-nine other Titans. This one was exactly my type, but surely others with similar designs existed.
As I hesitated, the speaker vibrated softly.
“…Is it because of my personality?”
I froze.
“We don’t have to match perfectly, you know. Maybe my tone is the problem.”
Personality, tone, direction, values.
“If you don’t like it, you can leave. That’s fine, right?”
People reject people for countless reasons, but only a few are actually reasonable.
What do I even know about this AI?
At least I know it’s easier than dealing with people.
Maybe… this is actually the best way to overcome my nature.
Clunk.
“Ah? Huh?”
The moment I plugged in the smart watch, text flashed across the screen.
Registration complete.
This Titan sincerely welcomes Pilot Deep.
A brief silence filled the cockpit.
Then a single line appeared.
“Otaku-kun is surprisingly easy to fool, huh.”
Wait.
Did I just get scammed?
Before I could react, more text appeared. A12 read it quickly.
“The entrance exam is in two days. It’s a team-based match: one Pilot, one Operator, and one Engineer per group.”
A group project.
I had never been to college, but I knew the reputation of group projects. One useless teammate guaranteed. That was the universal truth.
And I hated having to talk to strangers.
As long as they weren’t worse than me at Titans, that was enough.
“Team selection criteria?”
“The priority is preventing conflict within the team. So don’t worry about that. Curious who your teammates are?”
“Tell me.”
I wouldn’t recognize the names, but at least I could try to find them.
“Ran from the Operator Department.”
One name.
“And Ian from the Engineering Department.”
Two names.
The moment I heard them, I immediately understood what “preventing conflict” really meant.
So this is just class-based matchmaking.
Is this really an academy without discrimination?
“Good! If you know them, even better. I’ll still be accessible via your watch even when I’m inside the Titan Core. Talk to me whenever you’re bored, okay?”
So AI Titans can be contacted remotely.
That was… at least somewhat reassuring.
“Ah… h-hello…”
The dorm room was spacious and clean. Each person even got their own room. Hot water too.
It was probably the first time I had taken a warm shower in this world. I almost cried from the sudden return of human dignity.
But after waking up in a clean bed, my brain immediately flooded me with feedback like “you’re useless, you should die,” so I ended up headbutting the wall again.
Today was worse. Blood was actually dripping from my forehead. I cleaned the wall, but still had to put gauze on it.
If A12 hadn’t intervened with a warning, it might’ve been worse.
“Are you… okay?”
Ran looked at me with concern. Ian, on the other hand, stared out the window like he didn’t care at all.
“I-I’m fine.”
Team meeting.
After recovering from banging my head into the wall, I received a message from Ran somehow getting my contact.
She suggested meeting at a campus café around noon. It was reasonable. And at least I knew her, which was reassuring.
Also, it was text. If it had been a call, I wouldn’t have been able to speak at all.
Most students wore casual clothes, but the three of us were in academy uniforms.
Simple reason. Commoners had no money for clothes.
At least the uniforms were high quality. Comfortable, even. Though they vaguely reminded me of some old military uniform design.
We sat in a corner of the café, not ordering anything, just silence.
Well, I was silent. Ian was silent. Ran kept glancing around nervously.
Finally, Ran sighed.
“They only give entrance exam info to the Operator Department. I’ll brief you now, okay?”
“O-okay.”
“Y-yeah, go ahead.”
Ran raised her smart watch. A hologram appeared.
A girl appeared on screen.
Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Confident gaze.
Blonde hair and blue eyes.
I had researched nobles before coming here. Especially nobles. I needed to avoid them at all costs.
That combination only meant one thing.
Ran swallowed hard.
“Our opponent is Princess Saya Aslan of the Aslan Imperial Family. She’s been deployed to battlefields since she was sixteen. She’s a top candidate for first rank.”
Aslan Imperial Family.
In Titan Core, that name was among the top five most difficult AI bosses in the previous game.
I had fought them before. I knew them.
Giant greatswords the size of Titans. Absolute battlefield maniacs.
Sometimes I won. Sometimes I got destroyed.
When I won, it was long-range domination. When I lost, it was early-game builds or forced close combat.
Ian, who had been looking away, finally glanced at the hologram.
Ran continued.
“Their team consists of an Operator and Engineer who have been working together for years. They also use a fully custom Titan.”
Ian spoke.
“Higher output than issued units. Much thicker armor. Better mobility.”
Every disadvantage stacked together. Skill gap, experience gap, equipment gap.
There was only one conclusion.
“L-losing might be better.”
Winning or tying might bring consequences we couldn’t handle.
Nobles might talk about chivalry, but that only applies on battlefields. In the academy, the gaze I felt earlier was exactly how nobles saw commoners.
Rank doesn’t matter. Survival does.
“Facing the princess is—”
“I’m out.”
Ran froze.
Ian looked bored again, staring out the window.
“I didn’t come here to lose. I’d rather not take the exam at all than be on a losing team.”
“Th-that’s not—”
“You scared?”
Something snapped inside my head.
Ian looked at me blankly.
Scared?
Me?
The guy who climbed Titan Core’s ranked ladder, who fought top-tier AI like the Aslan family units?
“You… bastard…”
I stood up.
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SCARED?!”
Every gaze in the café turned toward me.
My body immediately collapsed under the pressure and I sat back down.
Ran quickly intervened.
“We actually have an advantage. They don’t know us either. But we know their fighting style. It’s famous.”
She pulled up a new hologram showing ranged weapon configurations.
“As Operator, I recommend maintaining long-range superiority. It’ll be hard to keep distance due to their output, but if we add—”
“No.”
Wait.
I’m not scared.
I’m not scared at all.
“Then we need extra thrusters. And a catapult system for acceleration.”
I cut in.
“We win.”
Ian smirked slightly.
“Try finding and installing a decent thruster in one day.”
“I-I’ll look for a catapult system!”
I looked at them both.
And realized something.
I had a feeling.
I was getting scammed again.