The Mech Touch

Once the 32 teams all picked out their mech pilots, the much-awaited design phase finally commenced!

Every mech designer along with their chosen mech pilots moved into the large hall that had been changed into 32 different workshops.

The arrangement of these semi-closed workshops was similar to how the High Tide Tournament and many other design tournaments set up these sites.

The only difference was that the Wild Brawl Bowl used a different superfab model from a different industrial equipment company.

Fortunately, both Ves and Ketis had already practiced working with this specific superfab model after spending a couple of hours in simulation training.

Ves already had a decent amount of experience with superfabs. In addition, the difference between the Korok Alpha KA-35 and the model utilized by the Wild Brawl Bowl was not that large. Certain parameters were different but the machines all worked in the same way.

Ketis had never touched a superfab in reality, so she was bound to make mistakes when she operated a powerful machine for the first time.

It was good that the Wild Fighter Association did not make use of any extravagantly powerful and complicated superfabs this time. The superfab model that everyone had to work on provided plenty of accommodations to newer and less experienced operators.

Fabricating the swordsman mech was not a concern at the moment. First, the two Larkinsons needed to design the best mech.

Though Ves and Ketis had already discussed their basic ideas beforehand, they weren't able to set too many design choices in advance due to the variable nature of design competitions and the lack of information about their mech pilot.

Due to the way the Wild Brawl Bowl assigned its mech pilots to the mech designer teams, people like Ves and Ketis had to tailor their competition mech to the individual in order to maximize their chances of winning.

This was different from the High Tide Tournament where Ves only got a mech pilot after he finished his competition mech.

Right now, it was of great importance for Ves and Ketis to know as much relevant information they needed to design a mech that fit Lyain Kepper as best as possible. Gloriana had taught them many times that a good fit could have a major influence on a mech and mech pilot's combined performance!

Ketis did not hesitate to unsheathe her Bloodsinger. The remarkable weapon might not be a masterwork, but Sharpie had constantly inhabited it. This constant exposure was slowly changing the Unending alloy greatsword into something greater than its initial form, though Ves had a hard time guessing its evolution trajectory.

From the moment she unsheathed her greatsword, much of the audience gasped, not that any of the teams heard it due to the sound isolation barriers.

[What an impressive sword! I can't exactly describe it, but this greatsword is more than what it seems on the surface.]

[This is truly a weapon that is fit for a swordmaster. You can just sense how much Swordmaster Ketis has cared for it. She even made it herself according to certain sources!]

Bloodsinger's appearance immediately induced a lot of pressure onto Mr. Kepper. Though the mech pilot was no stranger to challenging strong opponents, he had never sparred against someone who was the equivalent of expert pilot!

"Uhm, excuse me for asking this, but shouldn't we put on protective equipment?"

Ketis vigorously shook her head. "It's unnecessary and will only waste precious time. Fight me at your full strength. I can handle it. I'll make sure that no one gets hurt."

"The arena's pilot rescue systems should also be active at this time." Ves added. "Even if Ketis makes a mistake, an energy shield will appear before she can cut off your limb."

Lyain Kepper finally received assurances to show what he could do in a fight. Although he was fighting in person instead of with a mech this time, this was not a problem for Ketis.

"Come, Lyain!"

Instead of closing in on Ketis, Lyain instead stepped forward just enough for him to launch his chainsword at the swordmaster!

Clang!

Ketis easily deflected the incoming threat with a minimal amount of effort, but when the chain attached to the pommel of the sword grew taut, Lyain had already run to the side and attempted to swing his weapon back around in order to cut or entangle his opponent!

How could Ketis not know of his intentions? She allowed him to display this move but easily bounced the chainsword aside.

For the next few minutes, Lyain began to show different techniques. His sword was sufficiently light enough that he was able to swing and pull the chain attached to it with sufficient ease. His augmentations also helped with exerting this intensive fighting style further.

"Enough!" Ketis barked as her Bloodsinger batted the chainsword almost straight back to its owner! "You'll never be able to defeat a competent swordsman by swinging it like a flail. Let me experience your core swordsmanship."

Lyain held onto his grip of his blade and did not launch it forward any longer. He dashed towards Ketis and attempted to leverage his charge to deliver a powerful blow that Ketis easily deflected once again.

The two began to exchange sword strikes with remarkable speed.

Lyain might be inferior to Ketis in pretty much every way, but this was not a mech duel. His opponent sought to explore as much of his swordsmanship as possible, so he received just enough pressure to stimulate his fighting mood but not to the point where he would feel suffocated.

Ves was no swordsman, but he designed enough sword-wielding mechs to know a thing or two about sword fighting.

In his amateur eyes, Lyain was quite a steady warrior up close. He probably fought better than the typical Avatar mech pilot and even equalled the Heavensworders in many aspects.

"I've seen enough." Ketis said as she parried Lyain's next attack with such power and skill that the mech pilot immediately lost his grip on his weapon!

While Lyain and the crowd admired the way that Ketis easily dealt with the mech pilot, the two Larkinson mech designers came together in order to decide their plan.

"I think we need to design a swordsman mech that emphasizes physical might." Ketis immediately began.

Ves look surprised. "Are you sure? From what I've seen of Lyain's fighting style, he is quite dependent on moving around and controlling his spacing in order to fight effectively."

"That's true, and I don't intend to turn our competition into a fortress or anything. What I've noticed about Mr. Lyain's fighting style is that his combat responses and his ability to read movements in advance are quite good. While piloting a lighter and more agile mech might provide him with a greater safety margin, he doesn't necessarily need the buffer. He's good enough to fight more directly, similar to a Swordmaiden. He can become a lot more deadly if he is able to harness greater power in his attacks."

"Won't that make it more difficult for him to employ his chain sword when he is piloting our mech?"

From what Ves had seen, Lyain depended a lot on movement to manipulate his chain sword. He was a lot less effective at it if he had to stand in one place.

"That's true, but I think the emphasis should be placed on wielding the sword as it is meant to be." She replied. "Lyain can still make use of the chain in different situations, but it should be regarded as an additional option, not the core of his fighting strategy."

Evidently, she didn't have enough faith in Lyain Kepper's ability to defeat opponents by maintaining his distance from them. To be honest, Ves thought the same way.

Once they made this decision, they began to formulate the overall concept of their competition mech. They referenced the rules and conditions that they needed to abide by in order to make sure their work remained valid.

"Lyain, you can take part in the discussion if you want." Ketis told their mech pilot. "You will be piloting our mech in battle, so you need to be comfortable with what we are trying to make. Do you have any objections to our current vision?"

"Uhm, it's all good. You just continue your discussion."

Lyain Kepper didn't understand any of the discussion that became too technical or filled with jargon. He was only able to understand the gist of the decisions being made about his competition mech.

Even if he had an opinion, he kept it to himself. He was too much in awe of Ketis to contradict her. He completely trusted her decisions as if she was a Master Mech Designer.

This was not necessarily bad. A mech design tournament centered around the decisions made by the mech designers. It was their choice whether to accommodate a mech pilot or force him to adjust to their will.

In any case, mech pilots were accustomed to adapting to different mechs. Most of them never had an opportunity to pilot a custom mech.

It took a few hours for Ves and Ketis to start off with a basic mech concept and end up with a fairly complete and detailed draft design.

What was interesting about their cooperation was that neither of them took the lead. They worked as equal collaborators who were both able to pull their weight in this project.

The two of them had already worked together in enough prior design projects that they didn't experience any of the friction exhibited by the other mech designer teams.

[Team Larkinson is quite a sight to behold. As a fellow mech designer, I recognize the great amount of trust and familiarity they hold towards each other. Their cooperation is not that much worse between blood relatives. Although their design work isn't too refined, there is enough raw ability there that makes me hopeful about their mech design.]

[Team Larkinson may be the ones to beat in the Wild Brawl Bowl, but the competition isn't doing too shabby either. Team Voiken and Team Destiny display an even greater degree of teamwork. The latter is particularly a sight to behold. Their work truly shows that Janassa Pellier and Tifi Coslone both learned from the same Master Mech Designer.]

While most duos expended a significant amount of time to discuss and figure out how to combine their respective specialties, Team Destiny just went straight ahead without slowing down.

The two might not be as close to each other as actual relatives, but they understood each other's professional qualities to a great degree.

The result was that they truly progressed a lot faster, as many knowledgeable people already expected.

[If Team Destiny goes on like this, their mech will truly reach the quality of one that is designed in six days!]

[I wouldn't celebrate too soon if I were you. Being faster is not necessarily a winning combination. The lack of diversity in Miss Pellier and Miss Coslone's design philosophies will severely limit the power expression of their mech. I anticipate that their work will be considerably less rounded at the end of the design phase. Whether that will drag down their chances in the fighting phase of the Wild Brawl Bowl is still in question, but I would not be surprised if their mech is taken down due to a pronounced weakness that a different combination of Journeymen would have avoided.]

Janassa Pellier and Tifi Coslone entered the tournament knowing that their combination came at a disadvantage. They were still serious about winning so they invested all of their focus on their work and nothing else. They wanted to prove all of the doubters wrong and show that their similar design philosophies were strong enough to overcome all opposition!

Not even a fancy swordmaster and the patriarch of a clan could dampen their confidence!

"Let's show these Wild Fighter the power of our Master's design philosophy." Janassa Pellier grinned.

"Just because we come from the galactic rim doesn't mean that we're weak!" Tifi Coslone echoed.