Calm, Eve told him. Simply follow my guidance and we have an above 70% chance of winning this fight.

Taking a deep breath, Alan closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself standing in an open green field, all signs of the dome and spectators gone. Sidestep stood about 100 yards away. He let the adrenaline course through him, and activated his hypercognition ability, allowing him to experience every second as if it were hundreds. The seconds counting down slowly shifted from 2 to 1 as Alan felt Eve calmly analyzing the environment around them, simulating almost every possible scenario.

Now that Alan was a Machine Lord, he no longer had to simply mimic a blue holographic projection that Eve gave him. Instead, he could incorporate Eve’s projections and calculations within his own mind, allowing him to act as if he were the projection, not simply following it. As each moment passed, Alan watched as the calculations and predictions shifted, as Sidestep begin to favor one leg over the other, demonstrating a high chance he was going to try to approach from Alan’s left, thus Alan should begin by stepping right.

Alan aimed his laser pistols forward, aiming not at where Sidestep stood, but at where he was predicted to be. Eve made two simultaneous calculations, one for if Sidestep moved at the speed using his special blink ability Alan had seen earlier, one for if Sidestep simply ran forwards like a normal being, if his blink ability had been dependent on his armor and thus he wasn’t able to use it. A third projection began, though it was hypothesized to have a lower chance of happening and thus wasn’t prioritized. It predicted that Sidestep would still be able to use the blink ability, but to a more limited degree and shorter teleport distance. Predictions that Sidestep might retreat or step in a direction away from Alan were considered but shortly discarded.

Further projections into the future began, trying to calculate where Alan should fire his subsequent shots, before the first two even began to approach where Sidestep might be. These projections branched from the original two decisions, then expanded, then expanded again exponentially. Alan saw the optimal shots to take, one with each pistol, and the likely next places to fire, even as Eve began to incorporate data as new information came through, making miniscule adjustments as Sidestep shifted his stance. Alan began to feel a slight headache.

Just concentrate on making the shots most likely to hit him, and the movements most likely to defend yourself. You don’t need to consider all of the simulations, just the best one.

Got it.

Then the countdown hit zero, and the duel began.

***

Sidestep arrogantly glared at Alan. There was no way this human, this earthling, had actually earned 5000 guild points. They had been handed to him, like everything else. Sidestep would show this fool the folly of his ways, perhaps even taking him under his own wing after thoroughly trouncing him. That is, if the human still made it into the Black Rose guild after losing all the points he possessed. Sidestep had purposely shown off his signature sidestep ability in the great hall, to get people to assume that it was his main ability, and that it depended upon his armor. While he had less psionic energy without the armor, Sidestep could just as easily use the ability and his others. With two short steps, he’d be within striking distance, able to end this farce.