As it turned out, the match was far more even than I thought it would be.

Honestly, after I experienced so many defeats under Emma, I thought she must be an up and away prodigy. But apparently, James was just as good!

Crash!!

James' black practice mecha slammed his blunted spear onto Emma's arm which was positioned perfectly to block his attack from reaching her head.

BAMMM!!

Her own quarterstaff jabbed forward and smashed onto James' mini arm shield!

After the failed exchange, both mechas leapt back and began to circle each other once more.

It was already the fifth minute of their duel and both mechas had received heavy beatings from the other.

Emma's left arm was seriously damaged and was rendered completely unusable. Her left leg and right arm had lost fifty percent power due to damaged circuits. Overall, her mecha effectiveness had dropped by at least sixty percent.historical

James was in no better condition. His left leg had lost power completely, and both his arms had sustained medium damage. Although he was still able to burst out with full power, he could only do so for a maximum of one more minute before both his arms would lose power.

The next exchange would determine the winner and the loser, as well as the recipient of one thousand academy credits!

However, although the fight had entered a critical stage and they were both biding their time for the perfect opportunity to strike, the verbal exchange never stopped.

"Hoho. You actually disengaged your arm shield and used it to block my attack. You're good.. For a non-gifted student!" Emma's smirk sounded loud and clear through her mecha's speakers.

"Hmph. You're such a sorry excuse for a gifted student. I will beat you so badly that even grandpa with all his stinginess will have no choice but to recycle your mecha! Take this!"

Russel Whitefrost was taken slightly aback at the sudden mention of his name. He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he reflected on James' words. However, I didn't miss the playful and determined glint that flashed in his eyes for a moment.

"Poor James. Win or lose against Emma, he had already lost to grandpa because of that simple statement of his." I chuckled to myself.

This is my new technique that I just dreamt about a few nights ago. BACON JUMPS OVER BUDDHA!!" James shouted loudly as he swung his blunted spear in a wide arc low to the ground.

Emma easily dodged it by leaping up.

"HA! YOU FELL FOR IT!!" James shouted triumphantly! "YOU'RE THE BACON THAT JUMPS OVER ME! THE BU-"

BAMMM!! CRASHHH!!!

Emma landed a vicious kick at James!

Like the little aggressive tigress that she was, Emma didn't merely leap to dodge James' attack. She actually leapt FORWARD to launch a leap attack!

"DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory." A disembodied voice announced.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! How? How could you see through the weakness of my ultimate trump card so easily! I haven't even unleashed the second part of Bacon Jumps Over Buddha!!" James howled in anguish.

He leapt out of his practice mecha dejectedly and glared at Emma who had exited her own mecha as well.

"Thanks for the credits, cuz. I appreciate it." Emma flicked her hair at James and then grinned at the old man. "How's my performance, gramps? Good?"

"Very good. Very, very good. You've exhibited an excellent sense of judgment. Your decisions in the heat of battle is spot on. James, you aren't too bad either. I am actually quite surprised by your progress." The old man praised both of them generously.

James face lit up at the old man's rare praise.

"Then in that case, are you going to reward us? Ten thousand dollars each, perhaps? Or a rare mecha component for my Justice Reborn?" James asked the old man eagerly.

"However! You should know better than to develop mecha killing moves based on dreams! Especially little boy's dreams which are probably filled with highly inappropriate things." The old man continued with a frown.

"Hey! You need to see the whole technique first before you say that. It's really, really powerful! Bacon jumps over Buddha will revolutionize the way the spear is used in mecha warfare!" James insisted.

"And as such, I will be docking your allowance for the repair cost of your black mecha! The damage you sustained at the end was completely avoidable if you didn't use that ridiculous technique of yours!" The old man announced with a flourish!

"WHAT? NOOOO!!! GRAMPSSSS!!!" James shouted in panic.

"Why? What's wrong? Isn't that what stingy grandpas usually do?" The old man blinked at his beloved grandson innocently.

"NOOO! Gramps I didn't mean it. It was just trash talking! How could you take it to heart!" James cried out.

"Trash talking or not, you were being extremely rude." The old man said sternly. "I will be very generous to you. You either do so well this year that you enter the gifted program, or I will dock your allowance by 50% starting next year!"

"Gifted program? HOW ON-"

"Wow. Grandpa, you actually have such a high opinion of James? You gave him such a high target because you saw his potential in the fight just now right?" I said loudly.

"I MEAN, HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED TO DO THIS YEAR?" James changed his exclamation midway after hearing my words. "Yes. I will definitely get into the gifted program this year!"

"Good. You better do that. Now, go get a new practice mecha, and let me see you have a go at Justin!" The old man said with a smile. "You ready?"

"Against James? Ha! I was born ready!" I said very confidently.

"Hmph! You're courting death! I didn't want you to start your first day of school with a trouncing, but you leave me no choice. Let's go!" James shouted.

He looked very eager to win.

Hmmm? Did I win? What do you think?