The misunderstanding Gideon had been holding onto was finally cleared after the captain's present explained how Jake was entitled to the mech, yet he still looked like he had just eaten a fly.
All this time, he had believed that the Ares mech displayed at the front was meant for Aiden. However, after his outburst earlier, he realized it was actually an inheritance left to Jake by his deceased parents.
Now, as he watched Jake prepare to scan it, he couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy, he had always seen Jake as the weakest among them, and while that might still be true in terms of talent, a mech like Ares could change things.
At their current level as one-star pilots, Gideon knew that if Jake used it properly, defeating him might not be so easy, but then he remembered something—Jake didn't have a weapon affinity.
That thought instantly made him feel better, convincing himself that despite having two mechs through inheritance, Jake was still nothing more than a weakling with a useless talent and terrible luck.
It was as if he had completely ignored the fact that Jake had lost his parents which was why he even got it in the first place, as he let his jealousy cloud his judgment of what Jake might feel due to remembering how he even got the mech in the first place.
As for Jake, he paid Gideon no mind, his focus was entirely on the Ares mech before him.
[ Status ]
Mech Name: Ares
Class: Tank
Rank: Rare
Special Ability: Wide Shield
Star: ⭐
[ Description at Current Level ]
A top-tier mech among beginner pilots, it possesses the highest durability among Tier 3 mechs and is said to rival some mechs above its tier. True to its name, as this mech knows only one thing—war.
_ _
After reading the system's description, Jake couldn't help but agree with it.
Still, he couldn't stand there forever, without hesitation, he proceeded to fuse the mech into his Mech Hangar, making way for Region F's prodigy to make his own choice.
By the time Aiden passed by him, he tapped him lightly on the shoulder as if he felt sorry about the story the captains recounted about Jake losing both his parents, while he made his own way to make his selection, Jake on the other hand was already focused on reviewing his updated status.
[ Status Tab ]
Name: Jake Fernandez
Race: Human
Talent Rank: Common
Weapon Affinity: Assault (Common), Sniper (Common)
Level: 1 (0%)
[ Currencies ]
System Coins: 5,000
B-Coins: 1,000
Pilot Coins: 500
Implant Parts: 1,000
Common Mod Parts: 1,000
Elite Mod Parts: 50
Fortune Keys: 10
[ Mech Hangar ]
Mechs: (2/3)
Linked Special Ability: Wide Shield (Rare), Jump Jets (Common)
Though he was still only a level-one pilot, however; Jake couldn't help but feel good now that the empty spaces in his hangar were finally filled, he watched his two new mechs being displayed on his system interface.
The Lancer carried the same yellow-and-blue paint scheme as the Paragon mech that Gideon had picked, which made Jake feel like that might just be a trademark of Region F army.
But the Ares mech was entirely different, it was painted in dark blue and black, and its sheer height made the Lancer look like a dwarf standing beside it.
With all of its armor plating and bulky defensive structure, it even made the Paragon seem inferior in comparison, and as a Tank-class mech, it was only natural that it would far surpass most others in endurance.
Finally, Aiden made his choice.
That was when Gideon realized that Aiden, too, had been allowed to fuse two different mechs into his Hanger System, and one Lancer and one Paragon.
In truth, Aiden had originally been promised three mechs from the start, as the Region F Army had been trying their best to show him that they valued his talent and would not hesitate to help him reach the peak of his potential.
And because of Jake's situation, they had been forced to raise their offer even higher, they promised Aiden that after the battle, they would make sure he received a Tier 3 mech.
Yes, they were planning to get him the Guardian mech which was in the same rank as Jake's new star mech, while Ares was known as the king of defense among the mechs from Tier 3 and lower, the Guardian mech was known as the attacking maestro of the Tier 3 mechs and lower.
They did not want to give Aiden the same mech as Jake, so to make up for the fact that they had never planned for a talent like his, they decided to offer him the other recognized king-tier mech of the Tier 3 ranking.
From the side, Gideon couldn't help but feel like he had turned into a third wheel on the team.
Before this moment, he had no idea what the future held for him or what he would need to do to acquire a second mech. After all, he clearly didn't have the money to buy one himself, that meant he had been planning to rely on the Region F Army too for his next mech.
This had always been his plan, save up his salaries and whatever he earned from missions, then eventually purchase a powerful second mech to fill his hangar.
But now, seeing the other two students who had awakened alongside him already possessing two mechs each, his mind grew restless, and a sense of urgency took hold.
He immediately discarded the idea of waiting, while he could accept Aiden being ahead of him, he couldn't tolerate that same gap when it came to Jake.
_ _
With the desired mechs finally chosen, it was time for them to pick the weapons they would equip, the F army was willing to provide each of them with two weapons for every mech they owned.
Whether they chose to equip two weapons or focus on a single stronger one was entirely up to them, this time though, Aiden was given first pick.
They were given a book that showed just what was available to them and it was mostly weapons from Tier 1 to Tier 3, and under normal circumstances, their selections were limited to Common-ranked weapons.
However, Aiden was an exception.
He was granted a Pulse Cannon 8, a Tier 3 Rare ranked weapon, a highly advanced assault type firearm known for its high ammo capacity and sustained firepower, for his second weapon, he chose an RPG-6, a Common ranked missile-type weapon.
Since he possessed dual affinities, he had no trouble wielding weapons from different categories, in his hands, both would feel completely natural, due to his affinity for them.