The Mech Touch

The proposal that Fred Walinski put on the table offered a lot of potential benefits to the Swordmaidens.

Currently, Ketis and the rest of her sisters were merely foreign participants in the tournaments organized under the umbrella of the Greater Omanderie Festival.

This was a low identity. Regardless of their accomplishments in other battles such as the highly notable Battle of Reckoning, the Heavensworders hardly heard of it. They were much more preoccupied with domestic matters and only cared about news that was directly related to swordsmen and swordmasters.

Only a small proportion of the domestic audience knew there was more to the Swordmaidens than other foreign participants. The Heavensworders and tourists that applied to join their ranks were always those that had done their research or knew of the Larkinson Clan beforehand.

The numbers were too paltry!

Even though hundreds of women had already sent in their applications, their overall quality fell short of what Commander Sendra was looking for. Her plan called for attracting a huge crowd of aspiring recruits, employing harsh criteria to filter out the elite among the hopeful women before putting them in a hellish bootcamp that would quickly mold them into proto-Swordmaidens.

It didn't matter if few of them were accustomed to wielding greatswords. Commander Sendra felt it was okay to diversify a bit and begin to field swordsman mechs that wielded lighter and more flexible blades in order to cover different roles.

For example, the Swordmaidens were very lacking in terms of defense. It might be helpful if they could field knight mechs that also happened to be decent at leading charges.

Light mechs also paired badly with large, two-handed weapons. It would be handy if the Swordmaidens acquired some mech pilots that specialized in wielding shorter blades. It was an extremely bad idea to equip greatswords to slender mechs that tried to maximize their speed and acceleration!

While diversification was definitely on the agenda, Commander Sendra never lost sight of the core identity of the Swordmaidens. All of these extra additions should never come at the cost of losing their main purpose as an assault mech force. They were the sword of the Larkinson Clan!

All of these women had to come from somewhere, though. The most important requirements for this recruitment plan to work was to raise the quantity and quality of applicants.

The more women applied, the greater the probability of encountering compatible warriors!

The greater the average qualifications of the crowd, the easier it was to meet their quotas!

Ketis thought that the approach that Venerable Dise and Commander Sendra adopted before would have been sufficient. They could have done better, but their shaky foundations and lack of backing in the Heavensword Association caused the leaders to err on the side of caution.

Yet the ambitious new direction that Commander Sendra just presented increased the risk factor by at least ten times!

"I can't believe this." Ketis uttered with a shocked expression. "Are you mad? Not even Ves is this crazy. We are only capable of fielding a single mech company at this time. How can we possibly digest thousands of Heavensworders and other foreigners at a time? Our stomachs will burst apart from overeating!"

"Don't undersell yourselves. While I have only come into touch with you Swordmaidens for less than a day, your rustic martial tradition is quite solid. With an expert pilot presiding over your organization, no Heavensworder will dare to act too presumptuously." The old man reassured.

Ketis frowned deeper. "Why don't you put Venerable Dise in charge of your crappy sword school, then? She's a much more impressive swordswoman than I. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the last person who should be put in charge!"

"It won't work." Sendra shook her head. "Fully-realized expert pilots and swordmasters aren't allowed to compete in the tournaments. The events are held in order to put the focus on the younger generations of swordsmen who have the most to prove."

Fred Walinski nodded in agreement. "It's not that wise for swordmasters to show off too much. Also, I have briefly experienced Venerable Dise's swordsmanship. While her martial prowess is truly comparable to some of the swordmasters that I know, her style is not a good fit with the Annihilator Sword Style. I vowed to my dying brother that I would seek an inheritor that can further his legacy, and throughout my three-decade long search, you are the only swordswoman that has ever come this close to matching our style!"

"I already have a sword style! It's the same one that every Swordmaiden trained in! I will not give up the teachings I grew up with in order to adopt something completely different!"

"Ketis." Venerable Dise gently spoke up. "While I appreciate your loyalty to our sword style, you don't have to be so possessive about it. It is a standard style that is plain and distilled to a repertoire of essential moves. You can do far more with a sword than what we have taught. Every Swordmaiden expands her initial repertoire with additional techniques that suit their own physiques and preferred approach. You don't have to abandon the Swordmaiden Sword Style to adopt another one. Who said that swordsmen and swordswomen are only allowed to practice a single style?"

"My brother's wish is for his style and teachings to be passed on to the younger generations." Walinski said. "While I would prefer it if the Annihilator Sword Style is able to continue in its purest form, after waiting so long for a successor, I can live with a future where you incorporate the most useful essence of my brother's sword style in your own fighting style. As long as his legacy continues to be passed on in some form or another, his existence and hard effort is not wasted."

Ketis still did not feel comfortable with the situation. Both her leaders and the old man were putting a lot of pressure and responsibility on her shoulders. She had never participated in an undertaking as massive as this! How could she possibly bear all of this weight on her shoulders?

"I'm not a full-time swordswoman. I'm a mech designer."

"That doesn't matter to me." The old man shook his head. "According to Miss Harcourt here, you are a rare multi-talented individual. With the talent and ability that you have already shown, I am sure you can learn the essence of the Annihilator sword Style in a short amount of time."

"I can't run an entire sword school. I don't have the time or inclination to do so. I suck at management."

"Many swordsmen are bad at management." Walinski easily replied. "That is why you leave most of the work to others. No swordmaster spends the majority of his time on administrative work. There are deputy directors and elders who can take care of the actual business of running a sword school. I can effectively take care of this as long as you take over my original position."

"I don't want to stay in the Heavensword Association. The Swordmaidens and I are part of the Larkinson Clan, and we have already embarked on an expedition to the Red Ocean. We'll be traveling hundreds of thousands of light-years away from this state!"

This time, Walinski looked a bit troubled.

"Yes, I have heard that from your leaders. This is an inconvenient condition, but not an unworkable one to me. As long as you retain at least a part of the structure of our sword school in your fleet, it will be alright. I think it is quite helpful if your Swordmaidens begin to incorporate multiple separate sword styles. Not every swordsman or swordswoman is suitable to wield a greatsword."

Dise and Sendra both agreed with this statement. They already presented their vision of a larger and more diversified mech force.

The amount of objections grew less and less. As Ketis continued to voice her doubts, the supporters of the new plan continually shot her down.

There was one glaring issue left.

"Fine." Ketis sighed in resignation. "I can see that the many ways in which this can go wrong hasn't deterred you at all. I'm curious though. You and your brother are obviously men. How can we possibly integrate you and your stupid sword school in the Swordmaidens?"

Commander Sendra smirked. "That's not a big deal. We can set up the school under the Larkinson Clan instead of the Swordmaidens. That way, both men and women can become its teachers and students. We'll essentially off-load all basic and fundamental swordsmanship training to this new branch organization. Any promising women that stand out during sword training will receive an invitation to join our sisterhood. As for the men, they can pick from any of the other mech forces in the clan."

Essentially, the Annihilator Sword School would become a division under the Larkinson Clan's Education Department instead of the Swordmaidens!

All of this went way over Ketis' head. It was clear that Commander Sendra already set up an elaborate new scheme after plotting with Fred Walinski. They had already thought over every single angle!

She sighed. "Will all of this even work? I mean, I get what you are trying to achieve, but I seriously doubt taking over a sword school and performing well enough in the tournaments will actually win over ten-thousand mech pilots and swordswomen."

"You are underestimating the prestige of swordmasters to those who are steeped in our culture." Angelique Harcourt spoke up for the first time. "Any strong swordsman who understands just a tiny portion of the essence of swordsmanship is already worthy of respect. Their ability to teach others on how to embody this essence is even more desirable. Still, all of this is dependent on your ability to defeat other seeded competitors in the tournaments. If you can't beat any of the future swordmasters of more prestigious and successful sword schools, my fellow Heavensworders won't find you so attractive anymore."

"How strong are these seeded competitors, exactly?"

"They are strong. Very strong." Fred Walinski admitted. "They are equipped with top-notch swords that are not only tailored to their fighting style, but also enjoy some of the best training facilities and instruction in our state. Each of them is a sword initiate, which means that they are already close to mastering a true sword style. As long as they keep accumulating and pass the most difficult steps, they will undergo a thorough transformation that will turn them into true swordmasters. Of course, the latter aren't allowed to compete in the tournament. Anyone who breaks through in mid-battle will earn supreme glory, but must also retire from the arena."

According to the theory that Angelique had mentioned earlier, the transformation that Walinski mentioned was essentially the swordsman equivalent of apotheosis. How much these two processes matched was an interesting question.

Ketis grew a little more at ease now that she confirmed she wasn't expected to win against swordmasters.

Through her frequent practice spars against Venerable Dise, she knew she had no chance against their ilk!

While she was more than capable of kicking Venerable Joshua's butt in a practice bout, her boyfriend wasn't a dedicated swordsman to begin with. Even then, he steadily closed the gap as they kept training and sparring whenever they were together.

Against Heavensworders who lived and breathed swordsmanship since they were born, even their so-called sword initiates were formidable opponents in her eyes!

Venerable Dise smiled. "You can do it, Ketis. I have confidence in your swordsmanship. No matter where you take it, always remember that your sword style has to suit yourself instead of the other way around. From what Walinski has told me, the Annihilator Sword Style can offer several new possibilities to you that can help you close the gap against these sword initiates."

"Are the techniques of the Annihilator Sword Style that good?"

"Perhaps. Many of them are difficult to learn in a short amount of time. Also, don't just look at their power and potential. Try and figure out which parts harmonize with your own fighting style and integrate whatever you like. Find your own sword style. Neither the Swordmaiden Sword Style or the Annihilator Sword Style can take you to a higher level of swordsmanship by themselves. Only the style that fits you best is the key to attaining true mastery."

Maybe Venerable Dise was right. Maybe Ketis should be moving beyond any single existing style in order to push her swordsmanship to a higher level. While she never intended to abandon her pursuit as a mech designer, that did not mean she wanted to stagnate as a swordswoman!

"Is it possible to become both a Journeyman Mech Designer and a swordmaster at the same time?" She quietly wondered.