The Mech Touch

The final matches took place in a different venue.

In order to accommodate the huge amount of Heavensworders and tourists who wanted to witness the exciting battles with their own eyes, the solo tournament moved to the grand and spacious First Sword Arena.

Despite its simple-sounding name, the First Sword Arena was the very first competitive venue of its kind on Omanderie III. It used to be a modest-sized structure that only accommodated a couple of thousand spectators at first.

Over the years and centuries, successive administrations renovated it in order to keep up with the growth of the planet.

At this point, the First Sword Arena was one of the biggest of its kind in the Heavensword Association! With a capacity of 5 million visitors, it was able to concentrate an immense amount of humans in a limited arena!

In order to fit so many people in a single venue and still allow them to obtain a decent view of the dueling swordsmen, its design incorporated a lot of verticality.

From the outside, the main building was shaped like a thick and massive sword that had been thrust halfway into the ground.

Inside this hollow sword, there were over a hundred floors where personal combat duels could be held.

This time, the First Sword Arena retracted all of those floors. Instead, only a single semi-transparent arena floor existed in the middle.

Those sitting in the stands at the bottom end of the public area would be able to look through the transparent floor and view the action from an unconventional perspective.

It went without saying that these seats were not very desirable. Their price was cheaper and the amount of space and comfort they provided was lower.

Nevertheless, lots of average citizens flocked to them! Too many Heavensworders never had the opportunity to see the best sword initiates in action. Opening up the lower seats was a good way to allow millions of people a chance of admiring the splendor of elite swordsmen!

Still, the best way to experience the thrilling sword duels was to occupy a seat on the upper half of the arena stands. Ticket prices for these seats cost so many sword coins they were firmly out of reach to the average household!

This was where the tournaments made a killing. The prices were high, but the demand was even greater. Aside from wealthy fans, many professional swordsmen and swordsman mech pilots were willing to pay years worth of salary to attend a single good match.

Viewing a match in person was much different from viewing it from a projection. The clash of wills, the outbursts of energy and the emotions of the crowd all contributed to an unforgettable experience that enriched any swordsman who understood the nuances of sword duels!

Every Heavensworder dreamed of getting inspired by what they managed to observe and feel from the matches. The direct and indirect benefits of witnessing great swordsmen in action had already been proven in numerous academic studies.

There were good reasons why the Heavensword Association organized so many tournaments!

Ketis readied herself up. She donned a familiar protective suit that projected the emblem of the Annihilator Sword School.

When she had to choose her weapon loadout, she briefly hesitated before deciding to bring both of her weapons to the arena for the first time since her match against Ivan Reid.

She had become slightly fond with the convenience of wielding Shiva. While she still favored her CFA greatsword, she did not oppose using other weapons, unlike some purists. She was quite practical in that regard.

"Does your sword have a name?" Fred asked.

"Huh?"

"Your greatsword. You're quite fond of it. I can tell."

She frowned. "Uhm, I never really named it. We don't have a tradition of doing so in the Swordmaidens."

"You should consider adopting it, then. When you invest so much care and attention to a weapon, it becomes more than a tool. It becomes your partner. The least you can do is to give it a name in order to make it yours."

Though Fred Walinski did not see life in objects like Ves, the Heavensworders developed their own romantic notions with swords. There were many locals who believed that swords would grow stronger or help them reach a higher level in swordsmanship if they earnestly took care of their weapons!

In any case, it was always good practice to maintain your weapon. Even if all of this attention didn't yield any extra benefits, the Heavensworders did not have a reason to stop this custom.

Ketis seriously looked at her greatsword. With the help of Sharpie, she sensed the life buried deep within. Although it was faint, she knew that she was responsible for fostering this living entity.

This caused her to feel a little mixed. She always adopted the perspective of a bystander whenever Ves expounded on his theories on how objects could obtain life.

Yet now that she had personally brought her most cherished weapon to life, it had become personal.

"This is my baby." She whispered.

She felt like a mother who became bewildered at the appearance of a new child. Even though she frequently handled her CFA greatsword for several years, she never thought about this outcome.

Now that she did, there was no justification to leave her close companion without a name. It deserved better.

She ran her hand across the smooth Unending alloy that covered the large and heavy blade. The dark metal seemed to welcome her touch. She felt as if she was petting a much more docile version of Lucky.

Still, try as she might, she failed to come up with a name that fit her greatsword.

"Naming a sword is a sacred custom. You don't have to rush it if you don't feel like it." Fred reassured her after he noticed her changing mood. "Wielding it in battle is a good way for you to discover a name that suits the character of your weapon."

"I'll try that, then."

Up until now, she hadn't fully unveiled the remarkable properties of her Unending greatsword. Her match against Ivan Reid mostly put her on the defensive. At the end, she relied on the manifested Sword of Lydia rather than the physical properties of her weapon to cut her opponent's limb.

She hoped that would change this match. Against average opponents, empowered techniques were virtually irresistible, but sword initiates definitely had plenty of means to resist such attacks!

Since channeling so much willpower and evoking so much energy was exhausting, sword initiates did not repeat their most powerful moves all the time. They had to ration their resources carefully. Therefore, plain swordsmanship still played a huge role in battles between top swordsmen.

After a lot of preparation, Ketis finally stepped into the sole battle floor of the First Sword Arena.

[On the left side, we have Interim Director Ketis Larkinson of the Annihilator Sword School! The Sword Devil needs no introduction. After dispatching the famed head disciple of the Cloudstrider Sword School, this foreign-born sword initiate has cemented her status as the greatest dark horse of this festival!]

The audience in the upper half of the stands roared so much that Ketis couldn't even discern any words! The sheer enthusiasm of millions of fans washed over her like a tide.

She had never drawn so much public admiration in her life! While she had already been accustomed to attracting cheers in her previous matches, the scale was different this time.

The millions of people that were stacked on top of each other showing their appreciation for her cemented her transformation into a public figure!

She was no longer Ketis the obscure Swordmaiden mech designer. Now, she had not only become the head of a sword school, but also a renowned sword initiate.

In the Larkinson Clan, these labels were enough to propel her into the middle-upper ranks of the hierarchy! No longer would people treat her like 'just' another Apprentice Mech Designer. No longer would her student-mentor relationship with Ves be the most eye-catching part about her identity.

It was only when she acknowledged the adoration of so many sword enthusiasts that she fully accepted her new status.

A faint induction allowed her to sense that there were even more people cheering her on from below.

The ground looked solid to her when she looked down, but she knew that it acted as a one-way window. Even though they needed the help of massive projections to gain a good view of the upcoming match, the people over there were even more rowdy due to their more modest backgrounds!

As she held her place, her opponent soon entered from the other side.

[Please welcome Head Disciple Scipia Pepperin of the Brevis Sword School! Known as the Unrelenting Raider, Miss Pepperin is one of the most skilled dual-wielding sword initiates in the tournament. Her twin blades have posed a nightmare to many challengers who wish to overcome her defenses.]

Many notable swordsmen and swordswomen acquired nicknames or titles over the course of their career. As long as they performed well enough or generated enough of fame, the press would automatically figure something out to embellish their image.

Of course, the recipients of these names usually didn't have a choice in how the public called them. This was one of the established rules regarding unofficial titles.

The reason why Scipia Pepperin became known as the Unrelenting Raider was because of her active fighting style.

"Hello, Sword Devil." She greeted Ketis after reaching her assigned spot.

"Hello, Unrelenting Raider."

"You don't have to call me that. It's an ungainly name. Just call me Scipia."

"Then you can call me Ketis."

Unlike her previous opponents, Scipia was the first person who stood on the same level as Ketis. Neither of them looked down on each other.

Since they respected each other's abilities, there was no harm in making friendly contact. If Ketis was a genuine Heavensworder, then she would probably get in touch with Scipia lots of times.

It was very hard for sword initiates to find worthy sparring partners. A typical sword school either had one or no sword initiates at all, so people like Scipia frequently had to look elsewhere to spar against a partner that was neither overwhelmingly strong or painfully weak.

Unfortunately, Ketis had no intentions of sticking around. She unsheathed Shiva and entered a battle-ready stance.

"I'd love to chat and all, but there are better ways of getting to know each other. Let's fight!"

"Aye. I suppose you're right!" Scipia grinned while she pulled out her identical shortswords.

As one of the stronger seeded competitors, her twin weapons were quite remarkable. While the public didn't know the full details about them, Scipia's swords were notable in their lightness and resilience.

The Unrelenting Raider's choice of weapons fully complemented her active fighting style!

Facing Scipia with a single weapon would be tough. While Ketis possessed enough strength to wield her CFA greatsword in one hand while holding Shiva with her other hand, she would be a fool to do so. She would lose far too much control and probably even risk losing her grip on one of her weapons!

As the countdown approached zero, Ketis held her saber in both hands.

[Commence the match!]

She pushed herself forward and boldly attempted to meet Scipia in battle right away!

"Hahaha! I knew you were similar to me. This will be a fun duel!" The other woman laughed as she stormed forward as well!

Clang!

Neither of the women empowered their techniques. Instead, they collided against each other before exchanging a flurry of attacks.

Though Ketis attempted to utilize force to break Scipia's guard, the inheritor of the Brevis Sword School crossed her swords and skillfully blocked and deflected every incoming strike.

It was as if Shiva kept getting entangled into a net!

When Ketis slowed down, Scipia seamlessly transitioned to an offensive posture!

This time, the Swordmaiden was struggling to fend off multiple attacks coming from different directions. She continually had to step back in order to evade the attacks that she wasn't able to block.

Even though there wasn't as much force behind her attacks, Scipia's attacks were very hard for Ketis to defend against!