The Mech Touch

Ketis had reached the top 100 of the single personal combat tournament of the Greater Omanderie Festival!

Out of a body of millions of swordsmen, Ketis had fought her way through both the strong and weak. She not only mowed her way through dozens of small fry, but also vanquished strong disciples of famed and renowned sword schools.

Her clean and convincing victory against the Scipia Pepperin of the Brevis Sword School earned her a huge amount of glory!

Naturally, the Swordmaidens organized a private celebration to mark this stellar accomplishment!

"Cheers for Ketis!"

"Cheers for defeating the Unrelenting Raider!"

"Cheers for reaching the top 100!"

The old Swordmaiden veterans all raised their frothy mugs and clinked them together, not caring if half of the drinks inside got spilled!

The women rarely let themselves go, but they were ultimately human, not emotionless bots. It felt good that one of their own had reached the finals of one of the tournaments!

Commander Sendra smiled in satisfaction as she observed the happy faces among her close comrades.

Ever since the Swordmaidens lost hundreds of mech pilots and many other sisters, a cloud of loss and lack of confidence had settled over them all. Joining the Larkinson Clan didn't help, as they were unlike the other mech forces who could instantly expand their ranks by accepting general recruits.

It was different now. The decent performance of the Swordmaidens along with the continuous wins secured by Ketis had secured the revival of their sisterhood!

If not for the fact that Sendra wanted to make sure that Ketis wouldn't be too distracted, she could have easily let in several hundred qualified recruits to the villa.

Each of them were formidable swordsman mech pilots or swordswomen who learnt about the Swordmaidens after observing Ketis in the arena!

"The Larkinsons will become quite surprised once we return to the fleet." She grinned.

Although it wouldn't be easy to integrate total strangers into the Swordmaidens, she was confident that her sisters could deal with the changes. They all wanted their sisterhood to rise again, and with the help of stars like Venerable Dise and Ketis, none of the newcomers would be stupid enough to throw their weight around!

"Ketis, do you think you can earn the trophy?"

The woman at the center of the celebration responded with a modest smile. "I have a chance, I think. I dare not say anything more."

"Hah! The championship is already yours! No sword initiate can show off so much power as you! The Sword of Lydia alone is enough to cut through every fancy trick!"

The Swordmaiden mech designer continued to smile, but inwardly she shook her head. Her swordsmanship wasn't comprehensive like that of the top seeds. She possessed obvious strengths and glaring weaknesses. She dare not say she could defeat every possible opponent.

She calmly drank a glass of nutrient drink. While she wanted to partake in alcohol like the rest of her sisters, it was irresponsible for her to do so when she had to make another appearance soon.

In fact, her enhanced physique could easily break down alcohol before it severely affected her judgement, but she did not wish to leave anything to chance. A warrior who vied to be the best must always be disciplined. This was both a mental and physical requirement.

As she thought of the challenges she overcame and how much she had grown, Ketis could hardly recognize herself now. Sharpie's presence had grown a lot more vigorous than before and her will equaled that of an expert candidate for some reason.

It was a pity that she wouldn't be staying around forever. The Heavensword Association would always remain as just one destination among many in her life. As a prominent member of the Larkinson Clan, her future lay in the greater sea of stars. A single second-rate state in the galactic rim could never possibly allow her to design the best swordsman mechs.

"There should be more states like the Heavensword Association in this galaxy and the next. I will have numerous opportunities to learn from different societies as long as I am taking part in the grand expedition."

She had already learned that the Heavensword Association was not the only state or group that managed to preserve a portion of humanity's swordsmanship tradition. Perhaps the other organizations weren't as large and well-organized as a state that was free to do what it wanted on the edge of human space, but there were others who also managed to keep their inheritances alive.

Ketis yearned to explore them! Even if she wouldn't be able to learn these inheritances, she at least wanted to get in touch with them so she could find some inspiration.

At this point in her swordsmanship progression, she had already begun to step outside the confines of her two sword styles and forge her own unique style!

As Ketis mused about her current repertoire of moves, Angelique Harcourt approached her side and bumped her arm. "I never imagined that a mech designer like you would go this far. Top 100… do you know how much my friends envy you for achieving this dream? It would have been even better if you were a part of the local industry!"

The fact that Ketis was also a mech designer did not attract much attention from the public. Only other mech designers were aware of how difficult it was for them to reach this height!

Of course, many mech designers also speculated that Ketis would eventually forsake her mech design career in order to become a swordmaster. Her attainments in both the Swordmaiden Sword Style and the Annihilator Sword Style were far more impressive than the shabby swordsman mechs she had designed up until this point.

Billions of Heavensworders admired and respected her swordsmanship, but hardly anyone thought she was a good mech designer!

This mainly had to do with lack of fame. Ketis hadn't published any solid mech designs or achieved commercial success in a mech market yet. She was far removed from Ves in this aspect.

Still, she did not intend to remain obscure forever. The gains she made during this visit had increased her confidence and swelled her ambition.

She was not resigned to staying in the background any longer!

"You know, I originally agreed to host you Swordmaidens because I wanted an opportunity to collaborate with the famed Mr. Larkinson, but now I am wondering if I should cooperate with a more suitable devil."

Ketis jerked at that. "I'm still an Apprentice."

Angelique's eyes shimmered. The Journeyman beheld the Swordmaiden mech designer as if she was appraising a treasure.

"You're a much more interesting person to me. Mr. Larkinson isn't famed for designing swordsman mech. You on the other hand possess a much greater insight into swordsmanship than pretty much any other mech designers. Even the Masters in our state have never come close to becoming a sword initiate. You are truly unique and well worth befriending."

She did not bother to hide her motivations. She may be a mech designer, but she was also a swordswoman, if not a particularly excellent one. When facing someone who made a lot more attainments in swordsmanship, Angelique truly did not feel she could rely on her mech designer rank to get her way.

This was how the Heavensword Association worked. Swordsmen and swordmasters always held more sway in the state. Mech designers solely existed to serve the warrior class.

As someone who straddled this line, Ketis didn't know how she should feel about this. If she possessed the genetic aptitude to pilot a mech, then her situation would become even more astounding!

"Will you not consider joining the Larkinson Clan?" She offered again. "We always have room for Journeymen like you. Our Design Department is so swamped with design projects that we need more lead designers to share the burden."

Angelique softly laughed. "My answer stays the same. While the prospect of going on an adventure sounds alluring, I can't abandon my home and foundation."

As the two women continued to chat, Commander Sendra's comm beeped. Her face changed as she read through the priority message.

"Ketis!" she called!

The boisterous atmosphere quickly muted as Commander Sendra marched to the central table. "I've just received word of your next opponent. He's a familiar face."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Ivan Reid of the Cloudstrider Sword School."

"What?!"

"Didn't he lose a limb?!"

"Wait, I remember that he chose to graft a temporary arm to his shoulder. I never thought he would be able to get into the top 100 with hardly any physical therapy and adjustment!"

Commander Sendra projected Ivan Reid's most recent match. The man looked a lot more serious and intense than before. As soon as the battle commenced, he went into action straight away and overwhelmed his opponent with a flurry of unending attacks!

Although the Swordmaidens were keen enough to notice that Ivan Reid's fighting style had changed in several ways, the amount of strength he was able to show was quite impressive for a crippled swordsman!

"This guy…"

"His physical strength hasn't changed, but he's a lot more focused now."

While Ivan Reid wasn't able to return to his peak condition after losing his sword arm, he compensated for this drop by adopting a much more serious mindset!

Ketis could already feel a portion of his intensity through observing the recordings of his fights. The Cloudstrider head disciple had become a new man. He no longer talked and he no longer played to the crowd. Instead, it seemed he had been taking lessons from Ketis and fought to end a match as quickly as possible!

"He's really my next opponent?" She dubiously asked.

Sendra nodded. "Yes. In fact, from what the media says about him, the entire reason why he chose to delay the regrowth of his arm and opt to graft a battle-ready bionic arm to his body was because he wanted to continue to climb in the solo tournament. His goal is to have a rematch!"

Ivan was targeting Ketis!

She felt even weirder than before. What was going on? Why did Ivan obsess over her so much? Did he want to wash away his shame of getting beaten by his own arrogance?

Whatever the case, Ketis felt that her next fight might be the most arduous in the tournament!

Unlike any other sword initiate she might meet in the arena, Ivan Reid was clearly gunning for her. The intense expression on his face during his matches already made that clear.

His will and determination caused him to squeeze his entire potential in order to get into the top 100! Perhaps the championship didn't matter to him anymore. At this moment, all he wanted to accomplish was to fight a proper duel against Ketis!

Every Swordmaiden looked concerned. They were well aware of how strong feelings could transform someone's battle performance. Ivan Reid looked like a man possessed! He would never rest until he defeated Ketis and proved that his swordsmanship was stronger!

Ketis snarled. "Well, I'm not a girl he can repeatedly bully around. If he wants another fight, then let him! I've grown a lot since then. There is no way I will fold against someone who fights with a bionic arm!"

Although she did not seek another confrontation against Ivan Reid, she did not stay meek when someone issued a challenge against her. She was a Swordmaiden! Backing down was not an option!

The media already began to hype the rematch. Both Ketis and Ivan were strong sword initiates who had undergone a lot of changes over the course of the festival.

They should definitely be able to push each other to their limits! Many pundits already predicted that they would show their full strength in order to overcome their greatest rival!

Ketis grimaced as she estimated her chances against the current incarnation of Ivan Reid. Even with the help of Sharpie, she still foresaw a very difficult battle!