The Mech Touch

Of all of the opponents Ves could match up against, pitting his Pontifical Lance against the Dominant was the worst-case scenario.

He possessed plenty of awareness that he was probably not the absolute best mech designer in this tournament. He was too young and his work was too unrefined and low-tech to compete against the better mechs.

However, he still held hope that his design philosophy along with his unique methods could make a difference.

He recognized that the key to winning against stronger opponents was to substantially increase the relationship between his own mech and its mech pilot.

As long as Gregory Haloscar developed a deeper bond with the Pontifical Lance and drew out more of its power, then it was not impossible for the two to defeat another combination that was stronger on paper!

"All of this requires time, though!"

If Ves matched up against one of the six dreaded centrist mech designers in the third round of mech duels, then he would have possessed a lot more confidence.

Gregory would have piloted the Pontifical Lance in battle two times by then. Each deployment was an extremely valuable experience that would quickly allow him to understand and deepen his trust in his living mech.

To start his first match against the equivalent of the main boss of this tournament was extremely unfortunate for both Ves and Gregory!

"Damnit! Why is my luck so awful again?" Ves cursed under his breath.

It was hard not to feel frustrated at the outcome of the random draw. He briefly suspected that it was rigged.

After all, there was a 1.075 percent chance that his mech would be pitted against the Dominance. There was a 6.452 percent chance that his work would be matched against the work of another powerful mech designer from the galactic center of the Milky Way.

Sadly, not everyone was able to avoid calamity. The centrists had to prove their work in some way, and a few unfortunate contestants needed to play the foil. Ves happened to 'win' the lottery this time.

"Oh well, at least I can afford a single ugly loss."

Ves grew a little less frustrated, but not entirely. He was banking on this scoring rule to build up a buffer for himself. He stood a much better chance of winning this tournament if he had three victories under his belt. In that case, his highest two scores would count, thereby ignoring any lower score due to an unconvincing win.

Now, his margin of error was pretty much wiped out. With one certain loss under his belt, he could only hope that Gregory Haloscar would be able to deliver a much better performance against his subsequent two opponents.

As eight new competition mechs entered their respective arenas, Ves took a close look at his own mech.

The Pontifical Lance already attracted a lot of appreciation from the audience. It might not be the strongest mech, but it was definitely the most aesthetically-pleasing mech.

Its pure white coating gave it a sense of purity and holiness that seemed more appropriate for a ceremonial mech or a display model than a fighting machine. The interesting addition of green flourishes that vaguely harkened back to ancient religious symbolism reinforced the impression that this lancer mech was a holy relic rather than an ordinary competition mech.

The excellent craftsmanship of this hastily-produced mech further enhanced its visual impact. Although laymen weren't able to explain the difference, the mech insiders could clearly tell that it was made by someone who was highly adept with mech fabrication.

[What a beautiful mech!] One of the analysts praised the white-and-green lancer mech. [I already appreciated its refined construction before, but Ves Larkinson's work truly stands out when compared to the Dominant. Although the latter's design is considerably more advanced, Mr. Larkinson can at least take pride in his ability to fabricate a higher-quality mech than Mr. Seinlin.]

The praise was enough to prompt Ereben Seinlin to turn around and exchange glances with Ves.

Although they only met eyes for a couple of seconds, Ves already experienced a lot of pressure.

"Strong!"

The way Mr. Seinlin carried himself and the potent spiritual strength he contained in his mind made it clear to Ves that this fellow was truly something else among the rest of the gathered Journeymen! It was not a coincidence that his Dominant managed to attract the strongest mech pilot.

"He's close to advancing to Senior."

When Ves compared Seinlin's spiritual development to that of various Seniors, the gap between them was surprisingly small. Perhaps Seinlin only needed to find a way to push through one final bottleneck before his design philosophy evolved to a new height. Becoming a Senior around the fifties was not record-breaking, but still impressive and indicative of great potential.

The Dominant certainly reflected the work of a highly-accomplished mech designer. The offensive knight mech was not only well-armored, but possessed a powerful and sophisticated flight system that gave it the speed to match faster mechs.

What was even more impressive was that the Dominant also carried a pair of shoulder-mounted positron cannons.

Unlike regular energy cannons, these ones were miniaturized. Their short lengths and relatively low profile meant that the Dominant did not become too clunky while carrying them. They also consumed less energy although that also came at the cost of limiting their firepower.

"It doesn't matter that much."

Ves pretty much understood the design concept of the Dominant. Ereben Seinlin envisioned a knight mech that could overwhelm any mech up close through superior defense and mobility.

Against opponents that were fast enough to stay out of its reach and attacked at range, the Dominant could grind them down by firing steady salvos of positron beams while relying on its formidable defenses to win battles of attrition.

This was an excellent winning formula, but one that was difficult to pull off. Only someone as formidable as Seinlin could stuff all of the requirements in a single mech in such a short amount of time.

"As for my own mech…"

Ordinarily, lancer mechs countered heavily-armored targets. As long as they built up enough speed, they could punch through any shield or armor plating!

Yet the Dominant was not a regular knight mech. It was not only maneuverable enough to evade attacks, but also performed well enough in other parameters. Paired with Hestinia Claes, the overall best mech pilot in the tournament, the mech would certainly make good use of its capabilities!

[The matches will commence in thirty seconds. Get ready!]

As the timer counted down, Ves turned his attention back to his own machine. Its lively glow and Ylvaine's influence continued to affect Gregory Haloscar as time went by. It was a pity that the mech pilot simply didn't have enough time to fully embrace the less obvious features of his living mech.

"Trust in your mech. The only hope of achieving a favorable outcome is if you fully submit yourself to its influence!"

Though Ves gave Gregory numerous reminders, it was always a bit difficult to believe in something without seeing or experiencing it beforehand.

Ves just hoped that Gregory was open-minded enough to accept Ylvaine's guidance.

"Everything will be clear within a dozen seconds."

Perhaps the Pontifical Lance might be able to perform another charge after its first one failed to do the job, but the Dominant was too powerful to get away with that. This was why Ves did not think he should bother to maintain any expectations after the first charge.

[3…2…1… Fight!]

Eight different mechs moved into action! While the three other mech duels were doubtlessly compelling in their own right, Ves only looked at his own work.

As a dedicated lancer mech specialist, Gregory Haloscar might be confused about the unique properties of a living mech, but he was not ignorant when it came to piloting lancer mechs.

The professional mech pilot quickly set aside all of his doubts and focused on piloting the Pontifical Lance like any other lancer mech!

"Accelerate forward!"

The powerful and oversized thrusters of the Virtus Forza AX34-X flight system blasted into life, causing Pontifical Lance to release two enormous jet plumes behind its back!

A huge force instantly propelled the lancer mech forward! If not for the fact that Gregory already performed these maneuvers thousands of times in his career, he might have lost control over his mech, causing it to veer off course or collapse into the floor.

Though Gregory did not expect his mech to blast off with so much force, he instantly adjusted his mentality and sought to steer his mech in the right direction.

His machine already held and braced its lance in anticipation of driving its extremely tough length right through the armored layers of the Dominant.

Though Gregory recognized that his opponent was extremely tough, he still invested his confidence in his own skills. His training took over as he rid himself of irrelevant thoughts and focused on the few variables that mattered.

"My only goal is to drive my lance through your armor!"

A lancer mech pilot must never have any doubts during a charge!

A lancer mech pilot must never let the tip of its lance waver!

A lancer mech pilot must never slow down!

The distance between the two mechs narrowed rapidly!

While the Pontifical Lance sought to build up as much momentum as possible, the Dominant made a different response.

Hestinia Claes possessed two decades worth of piloting experience and did not panic in the face of a potentially-devastating charge.

It was extremely intimidating for any mech pilot to become the target of a charging lancer mech. Depending on the mech she piloted, Hestinia knew there were only a few correct ways to respond to this acute threat.

As a knight mech, the Dominant's most obvious response was to rely on its formidable defenses and mitigate the incoming attack as much as possible. This was not really a good solution, and mech pilots only resorted to it when they had no other choice.

The Dominant was not an average knight mech, though. It was partially a hybrid mech and also possessed a lot more mobility than other comparable machines.

Hestinia grinned inside the cockpit. "I'm sorry, Gregory, but you've messed with the wrong mech!"

She only had a short interval of time to make her move due to the Pontifical Lance's extremely fast approach. Upon hearing the starting signal, she raised the Dominant in the air, its own powerful flight system allowing it to blast off from the floor in an instant.

Meeting a charge in the air was always better than doing so on the ground. There was an extra direction for her mech to evade the incoming attack.

Of course, the Dominant also lost its footing as a response, which made it more difficult for it to push itself in another direction.

Hestinia thought it was fine. As an aerial mech, the Dominant's flight capabilities were considerably powerful.

As the distance between the two mechs rapidly shrunk to nothing, both mech pilots made their final moves in a split second!

The Dominant abruptly evaded the incoming spear by flying up and to its left!

Though it could have moved away faster if it dropped altitude and let gravity help it out, Hestinia bet that her chosen direction would help shake off her opponent's prediction!

The only complication she experienced was when the enemy mech somehow caused her to feel a disturbance as it came close. Though the mental interruption briefly threw her off, she was too well-trained to allow this kind of distraction to halt her current moves.

Just as Hestinia thought that her mech would be able to evade the incoming charge attack entirely, the lance that was growing larger in the Dominant's sensors continued to stay on track to impale its target!

"What?!"

It turned out that the Pontifical Lance had actually adjusted its lance and flight course in the same direction before the Dominant even shifted its course!

Hestinia only had enough time to briefly adjust the angle of her knight mech's shield before the Pontifical Lance struck its thunderous blow!