The Mech Touch

When Ves encouraged Venerable Joshua to think about what he wanted from his first expert mech, the cabin fell silent for a time.

Though expert pilots were usually decisive, a matter as important as this required very careful thought.

It didn't help that the young expert pilot possessed the unusual luxury of having too much choice. Due to his obsessive desire to pilot as many LMC mechs as possible, Joshua forced himself to become good at piloting many different mech types.

Whether it was ranged mechs or melee mechs, spaceborn mechs or landbound mechs, if Ves designed something, then Joshua was able to pilot them. Only a small number of exclusive mechs such as the Kinslayer and the Devil Tiger were missing in his collection.

Hopefully, Joshua wouldn't come up to him one day and request to pilot the Blessed Squire or the Valkyrie Redeemer!

The expert pilot finally made some decisions. "I think.. I'd like to pilot a mech that is equally capable at range and up close. I'm used to piloting medium mechs, and I hope the mech is useful in space and land battles."

His first demand was a bit problematic, but Ves didn't have much issue with the second demand.

"Second-class mechs can easily be designed to function well enough in multiple environments. In most cases, this means designing a mech that performs best in space and decently in the air. If the mech is forced to fight on solid ground, then it will probably lose a considerable advantage. This is the typical tradeoff of flexible mechs."

"Ah, will my expert mech be a third-class or second-class machine?"

"The latter." Ves quickly answered. "There's little point in pairing you up with a lesser expert mech. A regular squad of Penitent Sister mechs could probably beat you black and blue if that was the case. Our clan has already grown powerful enough that we are able to disregard most third-class threats. The enemies we truly have to worry about possess second-class backgrounds. Your expert mech will have to be strong enough to fight off their champions."

"That makes sense. Aren't they expensive and difficult to build?"

"Let me worry about those matters. Don't hold back on your demands. If you want something, just ask for it. I'll tell you whether it is viable enough to add it to the list."

"I understand. Then.. if it's possible, can you design a hero mech for me? I have long admired your Transcendent Messenger. If you can design something better, then I would gladly pilot it for many years!"

Ves blinked. Though a hero mech truly sounded like a good match for a versatile mech pilot such as Joshua, it was also a controversial mech type to say the least.

However, hero mechs weren't as impractical in Joshua's case.

First, Joshua already developed many of the necessary skills to pilot such a difficult mech type.

Second, second-class mechs possessed a lot more capacity than lesser mechs.

Third, expert pilots picked up skills very quickly, so they never experienced any problems with piloting hero mechs.

His case was similar to that of Venerable Foster. Now that Ves thought about it, the parallels were a bit disturbing. He even thought about incorporating Rorach's Bone or something similar to Joshua's expert mech!

Ves hesitated a bit. "Hero mechs are strong because they are versatile. They are all-rounders that can fight adequately in most situations, but the downside is that they might not be able to match up against more specialized mechs. This rule applies to both standard mechs and expert mechs. In practical terms, this will put you at a constant disadvantage in duels against your peers."

"I can deal with that." Joshua confidently smiled. "I believe in your work. My expert mech will be better than the machines of my opponents. Besides, with the versatility of an expert mech, I don't have to play by their rules. I can rush in and attack up close if my enemy is a pure ranged specialist. If I'm squaring off against a melee champion, I'll just do my best to maintain my distance."

Since the young expert pilot had made up his mind, Ves accepted the decision.

"Okay, I'll note down this wish of yours. I have already designed a hero mech so I am pretty confident I can design a more advanced one. Now, do you have other demands?"

The expert pilot thought for a moment. "It has to deal a lot of damage. Expert mechs are difficult to damage. I need enough punch so that I don't end up like Tusa when he fought the big bird."

"Okay, so offensive power is your greatest priority."

"Oh, don't forget about defense! While I'm confident in my evasion abilities, I can fight a lot better if I can trade hits every now and then. I wouldn't have been able to last as long in the previous battle if you didn't reinforce the Quint."

"Okay…"

"Ah, just make sure it's not slow. As I've already mentioned, I'm pretty good at performing high-speed moves. As long as my mech is fast and agile enough, I'm confident I can outmaneuver most of my enemies!"

Ves grew a little irritated. "Joshua! You're not a child anymore! You should know better that every mech has tradeoffs. No mech has ever succeeded in earning full marks in offense, defense, mobility and utility. You need to set a list of priorities and make some sacrifices. Now, choose carefully. Which one do you care about the most?"

In the next few minutes, Joshua tried but failed to make a choice. He leaned towards emphasizing offensive capability, but did not want to sacrifice too much defense and mobility. In his opinion, his expert mech should not have any major shortcomings in any area.

"Can you just make an all-round expert mech for me?" He eventually proposed. "I've heard that it's not a good choice, but that applies to other people. With my piloting style, I can do a lot as long as my mech is versatile enough to depend upon. I'm not like Jannzi and Tusa who absolutely need the greatest defense or mobility. What I need are choices so that I can pick the right approach for any given situation."

While Ves understood his rationale, it was not that easy for a mech pilot to make the most out of such a muddled mech. The success of a balanced mech imposed a heavy burden on Joshua's judgement and piloting skill.

With specialized mechs, the mech pilot only had to focus on following a prescribed approach dictated by their mechs. This simplified their choices and forced them to excel in their chosen specialties.

In general, Ves preferred this approach. While making his mech pilots specialize in narrow roles did not make them useful in battles that restricted them, the key was that they never fought alone.

For example, Venerable Jannzi was as solid as a rock but could not chase after faster opponents. Venerable Tusa was as swift as a gale but as fragile as a nutrient pack.

If they fought by themselves, then an enemy could easily exploit their weaknesses. If they joined forces, then the equation suddenly changed! Both of them were able to cover up for their weaknesses, leaving only their lackluster offensive ability as a common weakness.

To be honest, Ves hoped that Joshua dedicated himself to piloting lancer mechs. The Larkinson Clan needed a champion that could pierce through the toughest armor and present the greatest threat to stronger opponents.

Of all of the mech types, lancer mechs were one of the few varieties that were able to leapfrog past its tier. The galactic net was filled with glorious tales of lesser lancer mechs demolishing complacent superior mechs.

"Lancer mechs are powerful, to be sure." Venerable Joshua remarked. "It's just that I don't want to be limited by this choice. If you can, try to include it in my hero mech, but don't weaken its ability to fight up close."

Ugh. Ves hated picky and indecisive clients the most. Despite their excellent compatibility, he could already foretell that designing Joshua's mech was going to be quite the ordeal.

"It will take time to translate your demands into an actual expert mech." He cautiously said. "In the process, we'll likely have to make a lot of compromises. Don't set your expectations too high."

"I trust you, sir. I have faith in your ability to design the right mech for me. I don't mind waiting a bit as long as I can get the mech of my dreams."

"That's good to hear. I think I have a decent idea of what you want. I will focus on coming up with a mech concept that is centered around a balanced hero mech. It's just… it still lacks something that ties it all together. It lacks a theme that shapes its identity."

This was not something that they could proceed on at the moment. Ves barely knew what he was capable of adding to an expert mech. He felt it was best to discuss the matter with Master Willix prior to deciding anything else. Mech designers needed to take a different approach when they tackled this special category of machines.

Once their fruitful discussion ended, Ves said goodbye and left Joshua's cabin.

Before he shuttled back to the Scarlet Rose, he briefly took a look at the Quint.

The mech had become a lot more impressive than before. Its battle scars made it look aged, but what really impressed Ves was how vigorous it had grown.

The Unity of Man and Machine that Venerable Joshua accomplished during his astonishing breakthrough had permanently marked the Quint!

Not only did it develop a considerably more distinct character, its spiritual foundation had grown considerably!

It was still a fully-saturated mech, but the pool had grown at least 50 percent bigger!

What this essentially meant was that the Quint became even more dangerous to regular mech pilots.

In his previous experiments, Ves determined that mech pilots with spiritual potential were reluctantly able to interface with a mech with 100 percent saturation.

The problem was that this only applied to regular mechs that were only recently enhanced. They all pretty much possessed identical pools.

Ves hadn't really accounted for the growth and expansion these mechs might go through. While not every mech would have the opportunity to achieve complete resonance, the Quint was a notable exception.

He was really scared of what might happen if he put any standard mech pilot in its cockpit!

"My masterwork mech has become too good to be piloted by ordinary people."

In his estimation, the only mech pilots who were able to withstand the greater pressure of a 150 percent load were expert candidates and higher!

"However.. a mech as potent as Quint should provide the mech pilots who can pass its test with enormous benefits!"

Ves even theorized that if he assigned the Quint to an expert candidate such as Imon Ingvar, a breakthrough might happen faster!

"This mech is still dangerous, though. I can't allow other people to take it out for a ride."

He activated his comm and drafted an emergency order that restricted its use. While no one in the clan would ever dare to play around with a mech assigned to an expert pilot, it was better to be safe and sorry.

Once Joshua finally received his expert mech, the Quint would become free again. Ves needed to think very carefully about who should pilot the mech next.

"Well, I have 9 expert candidates, so I have plenty of choice."

Although the Quint was derived from the Bright Warrior design, all of the modifications he made to the mech had already caused it to diverge from its origins. If Ves wanted to make use of the Quint as a legacy mech, then he needed to upgrade it into a true second-class mech design.

"The effort is worth it as long as my guesses are true." Ves grinned as he looked appreciatively at his handiwork. "As long as I keep taking care of it, the Quint will surely become a part of the Larkinson Clan's legacy!"