The Mech Touch

When Ketis returned to the Larkinson fleet, her days became busy but fulfilling.

Her current life took on a completely different turn from the time when she was just an Apprentice Mech Designer.

The Larkinsons did not lack for Apprentices. The design department concentrated on just over fifty of them and there were hundreds more spread throughout the fleet.

Back in those days, there was an obvious gulf between her status and that of Ves and Gloriana, whom she looked up to. She envied their capabilities so much, but there was no way for her to rush her advancement to Journeyman. It could come in the next month or in the next decade. There was no proven method for Apprentices to undergo the advancement process as far as she knew!

Fortunately, her adventure in the Heavensword Association neatly solved this problem. Though the highlight of her changes was definitely her ascension to the exalted rank of swordmaster, Ketis had always known that her promotion to Journeyman Mech Designer mattered more once she returned to the Larkinson fleet!

Her guess turned out to be correct. Most of the Larkinsons outside her own sword followers did not really take her status as swordmaster that seriously. Aside from feeling the effects of her condensed will, it was hard for them to fully appreciate that she could cut through ship hulls and slaughter hundreds of people at once.

The Larkinson Clan had always been an organization that centered around mechs, and just like the MTA, it looked down on infantry-scale combat solutions.

No matter how cool it was to slice the roof of a massive arena, a squad of mechs could easily blast her body apart from afar!

"I can feel you're a bit depressed. What are you thinking, Ketis?"

"Oh, it's nothing." She replied as she stretched her arms.

"That didn't feel like nothing." Joshua said as he opened his eyes and gazed at the woman laying on the other side of the luxurious bed. "I'm quite sensitive towards feelings. I can tell you are definitely affected by something."

Ketis gathered her will and snorted. "I'm a big girl, you know. I can take care of myself. Don't presume to know me just because you can peek into my mind like Ves. It's always annoying when he thinks he figured me out, and I don't want you to do the same."

"Uhm, I'm sorry."

The pair cuddled together for a moment before moving out to get freshened up and enjoy a hearty breakfast.

As a Journeyman in the Larkinson Clan, Ketis no longer lived in the same cabin as before. Ves had personally assigned her to one of the exclusive grand staterooms of the Spirit of Bentheim. Though she wasn't able to enjoy its luxury all the time due to her frequent visits to the Swordmaidens, it was still a great honor to be able to live in the best living spaces in the entire fleet.

In fact, as a relatively sober Swordmaiden, she felt that all of the luxury was too extravagant. She knew that the space dedicated to her grand stateroom could have easily accommodated hundreds of crewmen in relative comfort. To carve out so much valuable space aboard a starship only to devote it to a single person or family unit was excessive!

No one complained about the unfairness, though. Journeymen served as the root of the financial power of the Larkinson Clan. All of its starships, mechs and personnel all required enormous sums of money to operate. If not for the fact that Ves was so abnormally successful in the commercial mech market, the Larkinsons would have never been able to absorb tens of thousands of mech pilots at once!

After enjoying a high-energy breakfast prepared by Gloriana's exclusive chefs, the young pair moved down to a large training compartment.

Hundreds of Larkinsons dressed in training clothes were already busy exercising their bodies or practising their personal skills. An energetic air suffused the entire training hall as the soldiers of the Larkinson Clan all trained diligently in order to increase their strength and rise up the ranks.

"Venerable Joshua."

"Miss Ketis."

Many Larkinsons already sensed the force of wills of the two new entrants. They quickly interrupted their training and bowed or salued in respect.

To be honest, neither of the two exceptional Larkinsons wanted to cause such disturbances everywhere they went, but their status within the clan ranked at the top. There was no way that ordinary clansmen would be able to ignore their presence!

Ketis missed the times when she was just one of the Swordmaidens.

"Good morning, everyone." She nodded before moving past the Larkinsons who watched her with admiring eyes.

Joshua did the same, though he put a bit more effort into his greetings.

"Hey, Jimmy. It looks like your arm has healed already."

"Keep this up and your application to join the Avatars of Myth will surely go through this time, Nelrin!"

"Don't bother Ketis for this, Finn. Just send your application straight to the Annihilator Sword School. They'll either take you in or won't. It is your responsibility if you can't meet the entry requirements."

They soon passed through the large public area and entered a smaller training compartment that was more exclusive. Only high-ranking officers and special personnel such as expert pilots received access to this space.

Only a couple of Larkinsons were present this time, and none of them acknowledged the pair other than giving them a quick greeing.

Once Ketis and Joshua donned special protective training clothes, they briefly warmed up before moving to a sparring ring.

Ketis practically hopped onto the ring while Joshua dragged his body over as if he was a zombie. The gap in enthusiasm was very obvious from their demeanor.

"Must we do this again?" He whined.

Ketis stretched out her hand, causing Bloodsinger to automatically fly out of its sheath and press its hilt into her familiar hands.

"Slacking off will get you killed. You must always train at the highest intensity you can bear. In fact, with your schedule, this workout is too short. If you were a Swordmaiden, you would have gladly endured at least for times as long."

"I'm an expert pilot, Ketis. I have many different responsibilities. I can only spare so much time on polishing my swordsmanship."

"Excuses, excuses. The sooner you approach my strength, the less worries I have about sending you off into battle. The opponents you'll face in the future won't be limited to regular mechs piloted by regular mech pilots. What if you encounter an expert mech some day? I don't want you to fall because you got outmatched by a more diligent expert pilot!"

Before Joshua could get a sword in, Ketis dashed forward and chopped her incredibly deadly greatsword down on his shoulder!

It took all of his strength and experience for the young expert pilot to dodge!

Ketis did not let up. She smoothly transitioned her attack into an upward swing that threatened to chop his legs. This time, Joshua couldn't dodge again, so he had to lower his ordinary-looking sword to parry the attack.

Unfortunately, the hasty response along with the force behind Ketis' blow caused Joshua to almost lose control of his weapon.

"Too weak!"

Instead of swinging her sword for another attack, Ketis abruptly stepped forward and crashed her shoulder into Joshua's chest!

A brief protective energy shield came to life that bled off most of the force. Joshua only got pushed back a couple of steps while Ketis automatically bounced back.

"Again!"

Venerable Joshua used this brief moment of time to regain his bearings. He couldn't afford to stay on the defensive! He knew Ketis well enough to know that she could crack any defense long before she got exhausted. The only way to win this bout was to go on the offensive straight away!

He pressed forward heedless of the fact that he was fighting against a master of the sword. He moved faster than ever and unleashed a flurry of slashes that Ketis managed to block with ease with her massive greatsword.

"Hah!"

At some point, he slashed, only to reveal that it was a faint. He quickly stabbed into her chest, knowing full well that the protective measures of the sparring ring would easily be able to block his attack before it got serious.

Ketis smirked as soon as he transitioned to a lunge, and that was when he knew he was screwed.

Her leg flew up in an impressive snap kick that neatly knocked into the flat of his blade. This caused his sword to fly out of control!

Though Joshua knew better than to maintain his hold over the weapon, he had too little time to retreat before his girlfriend's next attack arrived.

"DEAD!"

Bloodsinger's tip thrust straight to his face, only stopping when it was blocked by a strong energy shield just a centimeter away from his protective helmet!

Venerable Joshua truly felt that he was dead before the energy shield bailed him out. Even so, Bloodsinger was surrounded by a strange energy that seemed to cut straight through his force of will, causing his unflinching confidence to show some flaws. He was so frightened that he momentarily lost control of his body.

In the first few times, he collapsed on the ground as if Ketis had cut off all of the strings of his body.

This time, his response was a bit better. He soon regained his awareness and forcibly pushed his body back in a rather undignified roll that nonetheless allowed him to distance himself from the she-devil.

He scrambled to pick up his discarded sword and raised himself back up to his feet before entering a battle-ready stance. His force of will had already reasserted itself as well, allowing him to put on a brave face.

Ketis tutted and lowered her greatsword. This action marked the end of their first bout.

"Your progress is too slow. You should have lasted longer against me by now."

Venerable Joshua looked a little helpless. "I'm already doing the best I can. I specialize in piloting mechs, not fighting with swords."

"That's not a valid excuse. The battlefield won't care if you failed to keep up your practice. No matter what mech you pilot or what weapons it carries, you can always fit a sword somewhere. Mastering this weapon will give you great benefits, so you better keep up with my training!"

They spent an entire hour on the sparring ring. Since Ketis had to condense Joshua's training as much as possible, she did not slack off but attacked in increasingly more brutal fashions!

Her Bloodsinger aimed at Joshua's limbs, stabbed into his heart and heart and chopped on top of his head! If not for the fact that the sparring ring was equipped with an excellent shield generator, her attacks could have cut him to pieces!

The advantages he enjoyed as an expert pilot did not avail him much. Even if his reaction speed and body reflexes had surpassed human limitations, he was only able to unleash his true strength in combination with an expert mech.

At the end of the intensive training session, Joshua collapsed to the ground yet again. He breathed deeply as he emptied an entire bottle of high-energy nutrient water.

"Can you stop aiming at my vitals all the time? The shield generator has been activated so many times that I'm afraid it will glitch at some point."

Ketis snorted as she let go of Bloodsinger, allowing it to float freely. "That won't happen. I personally installed it. I also make sure to inspect it at least twice a week. Besides, my control over my own attacks is so great that I can definitely pull back if the shield malfunctions. You don't need to worry about this. You just focus on getting accustomed to dueling against higher-skilled opponents who won't hesitate to go for the throat. As long as you can tough it out, your dueling ability will reach another level!"

There was no way that Venerable Joshua would be able to meet her standards in a short amount of time. It seems he would have to continue subject himself to his girlfriend's tender mercies for a couple of months!