Auntie toasts the VRMMORPG

60. Robo-Melee Training

Eddie ported away to buy ingredients for the BBQ.

Meanwhile, Flora printed materials for the arena and bought some simple B-rated drones in the weight class of the Robo-Melee.

The distinction between robots and drones is that robots function autonomously while drones had a remote controller. When Flora looked at the remote, she discovered a socket for an AI jack.

Aidan said it didn't matter to him whether the gizmo was directly connected or via the controller. The difference lay in Flora's skills. They only worked for robots but not for drones.

Additionally, there existed jamming devices for remote connections. In the case of drones, they disabled them. On the other hand, robots only lost the link to the handler, but could still work within their parameters.

Because the player directly controlled the drones, they profited from the user's stats. But Flora preferred to have her hands and thoughts free, so she didn't mind the disadvantage.

Flora set up the 5x5m arena on the roof garden. Because Eddie was picky with the barbeque, she left it to him to get a grill. Instead, she printed some deckchairs, two porch swings, and a jacuzzi and positioned them with a good view of the arena with the help of Lorky and some elementals. While she had been in the workshop, Aidan had summoned three earth elementals. They still followed Flora around. Hence, she put up the Stehaufmaennchen for them to train.

When Flora finished setting up the roof garden for the evening, she even had time for a test round. Therefore, Flora assigned Aidan to the Blade-Roller-Extreme and Aitoshuri to a spinner-drone. It had four wheels and a chainsaw in front, a very basic model.

"Tear it to pieces, Aidan!" Flora commanded while entering the jacuzzi.

Aidan rolled to the Spinner with multiple blades rotating aggressively. The Spinner evaded with nimble movements.

Flora gaped at the fight. Aitoshuri literally drove circles around the blade-roller. The only part of her Aidan hit was the spinning wheel, and even then, it hurt Aidan more than Aitoshuri.

After five minutes, the Blade-Roller-Extreme was scrap metal while the Spinner barely had a scratch.

Flora shook her head in disbelieve while she cast Repair on both devices.

"I'm sorry, Milady." Aidan sounded crestfallen.

"Not your fault, dear. Probably it's on my tab for designing such a shitty robot, but I still believe in the design. Let's try another opponent."

This time, Flora connected Aito to a model named "Spiky2050". The name was a euphemism; it had not a spike but a freaking pickaxe on the top of its casing.

"Slice it up, Aidan!"

Aitoshuri stood still while Aidan approached. Then she struck down. She hit the core of the Blade-Roller perfectly. One Hit Kill.

"How can this be? There are so many blades around the core that the sensors couldn't get a good look, and now the pickaxe smacked it without even getting a scratch!"

Aito beeped two times and showed Flora a tiny nick on the shaft. Sighting, Flora dove deeper into the pool.

"Auntie Flow?" Mia arrived at the roof.

"Hi, dear." Flora greeted her from the jacuzzi. "Come in! Or grab a seat, whatever makes you feel comfortable!"

After Mia got seated on a porch swing, Flora told her about the Robo-Melee and her need to train for it.

"I have often participated. The Garage pays good money to drone operators. I get hired privately, as well. My rates are 1000 VirDos for first places, 500 VirDos for the second, 100 for the third, and 50 VirDos for the rest if you are interested."