The Mech Touch

The First Sword Arena had become a wellspring of excitement and exhilaration!

As Ketis of the Swordmaidens and Ivan of the Cloudstriders began to clash against each other with increasing intensity, the millions of spectators who had managed to secure an expensive seat in the vertically-stacked stands became engrossed by the spectacle taking place.

Both of them were evenly matched!

When two strong sword initiates clashed against each other without either side taking the upper hand, the match turned into a thrilling drawn-out engagement that was rare to see in the arena.

The crowd loved it! They paid a lot of money to witness the glory of higher-level swordsmanship.

Since swordmasters rarely showcased their powers in public, the only way for the general public to get in touch with battles like these was to attend fights like the one unfolding before their eyes.

Many swordsmen and swordswomen eagerly tried to capture anything that might help them advance their own sword fighting ability. Almost no one succeeded as the battles at this level were too high for them to comprehend.

For example, the Swordmaidens that had gathered at the backstage to cheer Ketis on all recognized the moves she made, but in her hands they seemed to reach an unfathomable level.

"I never knew you could do that!"

"Ketis is so brilliant!"

"She can cut everything!"

People like these were only able to observe the surface of a sword duel. There was only so much they could gain from perceiving the obvious.

Only the true swordmasters who had already found their direction were able to appreciate the struggle that happened beneath the surface.

To Venerable Dise, the entire First Sword Arena turned into a furnace of wills. The heated emotions from the crowd mingled together in a giant cloud of human energy.

Normally, this odd energy was very strange and undetectable, but expert pilots like Venerable Dise barely managed to sense it when it had concentrated and accumulated to this level.

This energy did not sit still!

Instead, as the two sword initiates clashed against each other in the center of the arena ground, their competing wills seemed to suck in the emotions of the collective. This indescribable reaction seemed to drive the two sword initiates forward.

Even swordsmen weren't immune to the power of human desire!

Venerable Dise looked thoughtful as she looked around the arena. The vertical architecture and the huge capacity of the venue did not seem so random anymore.

"Interesting."

"What's interesting?" Commander Sendra asked as she stood at Dise's side.

"Nothing important."

"Who do you think will win, Dise?"

"I can't say." The expert pilot honestly replied. "That brat Ivan hasn't entirely gotten used to his altered body yet, but he is still able to execute his sophisticated sword techniques to an extremely high degree. Ketis is the opposite. She is very comfortable in her own skin, but the execution of her techniques leaves much to be desired sometimes."

Sendra stared at Ketis in the distance with a playful expression. "She's innovating. The reason why Little Ketis looks sloppy at some points is because she's trying out new ideas!"

A proud expression appeared on Venerable Dise's face. "She has already grown up. While I don't particularly like Mr. Reid, I am grateful that he is managing to bring out the best of our sister. Ketis needed to experience a duel like this. She has butchered a lot of weaker opponents, but that will never get her ahead. We're lucky that the Heavensword Association is able to offer her a true challenge."

Both of the senior Swordmaidens exchanged knowing glances. They clearly recognized the value of holding tournaments. This was just one of many local customs they intended to bring back to the Larkinson Clan once they returned to the expeditionary fleet.

CLANG!

In the center of the arena, Ivan did not resist when a glowing greatsword collided against his luminant fencing sword. The wind seemed to assist him in pulling back and bleeding away the force acting on his body.

He did not relax, though. His instincts warned him of an acute threat.

"Hah!"

He spontaneously pushed his body to the side, borrowing the power of the surrounding wind in order to give him an extra boost.

SCHWING!

A sharp energy blade narrowly missed his body as it cut through the remaining wind before tearing into the solid floor.

Made of a special blend of exotics and materials that allowed those below a clear view of the battle above their heads, the floor was very resilient against attacks. Not even mechs were easily able to crush the material!

Yet the narrow sword energy blade that extended from Ketis' greatsword managed to leave a clear groove behind! If Ketis hadn't cut off the energy blade after she realized that she had missed, the cut in the floor would have been much deeper!

She gritted her teeth. Even though she managed to adapt the original form of the Sword of Lydia into a slender and less consuming version, she could not waste her energy willy-nilly.

Both of them had long realized that it was difficult for them to finish each other off with powerful finishing moves!

Ketis possessed the remarkable ability to cut insubstantial energy. This meant that she was always able to interrupt Ivan whenever he attempted to stoke up the surrounding winds!

On the other hand, Ivan still possessed an undeniable advantage in mobility. If Ketis invested in any big moves, then her adversary would simply become incredibly elusive, thereby preventing her from landing her potent attacks!

Due to these realities, the duel turned into a stalemate where both sides entered into a battle of attrition.

While Ketis and Ivan attempted to preserve their resources and minimize their expenditures, the struggle between the two rivals did not abate too much.

Ketis, who had become more in tune with her own swordsmanship, disdained passive defense.

She did not wish to repeat her performance in her first duel against Ivan! She was not cut out for defense. She excelled at making the edge of her blade sharper. Why should she use the flat of her greatsword to block Ivan's swift attacks?

Therefore, she decided to go on the attack and always move closer to Ivan regardless of the fact he was always able to outmaneuver her. In any case, she was considerably more difficult to pin down if she was in constant motion.

Even though she looked like a fool for constantly trying to catch up to someone who was able to outpace her, she didn't care. Her unyielding will kept propelling her forward even as she built up her momentum.

With each exchange of blows, her lethality increased a little!

Ketis constantly tried something new whenever she saw a possibility of landing a hit against Ivan.

The thin and narrow beam of sword energy that extended from the tip of her greatsword frequently altered in shape. She was steadily optimizing its properties so that it granted her the most optimal balance between sharpness, reach and power consumption.

Perhaps an average sword initiate would never be able to alter a sword technique to this degree, but Ketis was different!

Sharpie's assistance along with her considerable body of knowledge related to mech design granted her both the power and the knowledge to experiment freely with her power expression.

Whereas other sword initiates from the Heavensword Association rigidly tried to imitate the wonders of their swordmasters, Ketis had boldly moved beyond the initial teachings of Venerable Dise and Venerable Trey Walinski!

As a scientist and engineer, she was trained to absorb knowledge and apply them in creative ways. Mech design was all about combining and configuring a limited quantity of building blocks in order to yield an outcome that was greater than the sum of its parts.

This mentality allowed her to experiment boldly and without fear!

It didn't matter too much if anything went wrong. While her own control over her sword energy was actually quite rough due to lack of practice, Sharpie constantly babysit her. Anytime her experiments threatened to go out of control, her living sword intent actively intervened to suppress any dangerous outbursts.

"I'm getting closer to understanding how I should wield my power!"

Just a normal scientist, Ketis approached her current activity as an experimental study. With her enhanced intelligence, she was easily able to track everything that went right or wrong. She analyzed the results and drew conclusions from them which she tested in her subsequent experiments.

Slowly but surely, Ketis grew more adept at wielding her prodigious powers!

Woosh!

The wind blew onto her body even as Ivan's fencing sword lunged in her direction. Ketis had just launched an attack that failed to hit the mark, so she was not able to bring her greatsword up in time to fend off the poisonous strike.

"Hah!" Ketis roared as a small barrier of sword energy appeared in the path of the fencing sword.

Ivan already expected this response. He quickly diverted his fencing sword before its tip collided against the barrier.

If he persisted in his attack, he risked damaging his blade further!

Even though his fencing sword was forged out of high-quality exotics, Ketis had already succeeded in scratching it despite its toughness!

Without this trick, Ivan would have been able to take out or at least score points against Ketis right now. Still, he did not lose patience or grew annoyed that he had to abort his attack yet again.

"How long can you keep that up, Miss Ketis?"

"That's none of your business!" She snarled.

While she was able to apply some of the principles of shield generators to form a barrier made out of her own sword energy, it took a lot to maintain it, especially when it got struck.

Defense was not her forte!

She did not want to fend off an attack like that again. She sped up her pace and began to slash repeatedly in Ivan's direction.

The Blade Extension technique she used to extend the reach of her greatsword underwent some changes under her deliberate manipulation. Even as her attacks missed against the elusive Cloudstrider disciple, her will flared just before the extended blade of sword energy broke off and and curved in Ivan's direction like a homing missile!

"Hah!"

Ivan hastily deflected the sharp sword energy with his empowered fencing sword, frowning as he did so. In order to prevent his blade from getting cut, he had to leverage a lot more will and energy than he liked.

He decided to go on the offensive again. He swung his blade quickly in front of him. Even though he did not come close to hitting Ketis, his attacks whipped up the wind around him. Once the air around him had become sufficiently agitated, he rushed forward with light and airy steps.

Instead of attacking immediately, he kept circling around Ketis at a rather sedate pace. The pressure he exerted onto the Swordmaiden was considerable despite his lack of action.

"Why do you fight?"

"This question again! Why do you keep asking it? Are you so stupid that you failed to remember what I said a few minutes ago?"

Ivan's eyes became more intense as he gazed at his opponent. "Your will is abundant and exuberant. Of all of the sword initiates I have fought, you are the most inexhaustible that I have met."

"What does that have to do with your damned question?"

"Not everything about you is great, though. The more I fight against you, the more I become puzzled. Your will is massive, but you lack direction."

"Are you telling me that I'm confused?!"

"Answer my question and you will know! Why do you fight?"

Why did she fight?

"Didn't I tell you that already? I fight for my sisters! I fight to increase my understanding of sharpness. I fight so that I can design better swordsman mechs in the future!"

Ivan slowed down his steps a bit as his lips curled in a smirk. "While I am sure that those are your goals, I don't feel you have truly answered my question. You don't know the actual reason why you fight! This is your greatest weakness as a swordswoman!"

"What?!"

Although Ketis did not want to fall for Ivan's ploy, for some reason she could not dismiss his remark.

Ivan saw that Ketis had become slightly distracted. This was his chance! He turned inwards and surged towards her at great speed!