The Mech Touch

In order to keep the competition fair, the mech designers weren't allowed to go backstage and attend to their damaged mechs right away.

They all had to stay in the same spectating platform until all 94 mechs had their turn.

Soon enough, 47 different mech duels came to a conclusion.

Many mechs earned their moment of glory in the field. Many mech pilots began to blame themselves for failing to overcome their opponents. Many mech designers tempered their emotions after they reminded themselves their work still had to go through two more matches.

Once the announcer finally declared a break, the mech designers quickly moved to the rear in order to supervise the repair work and confer with their designated mech pilots.

When Ves finally arrived in front of his Pontifical Lance, he noticed that it was almost restored to its previous condition. Hysphalin Industries sold more than superfabs. The company also developed a diverse array of repair devices and restoration systems that could quickly bring any damaged frame back to a fully functional state.

Of course, not everything could be returned back to peak condition. Certain phenomena such as fatigue and other forms of wear and tear were notoriously difficult to fix. It was completely unnecessary for Hysphalin Industries to bring out the big guns and expend an enormous amount of money just to repair a bunch of short-lived competition mechs.

Besides, how well these machines were able to pick themselves back up after suffering heavy damage was one of the ways mech designers distinguished themselves from each other.

The design of the mech, the choice in materials and how well it was put together all influenced the repairability of a machine.

The Pontifical Lance performed well in this regard. Although Ves observed numerous faults caused by inflexible programming, he could still iron out most of the wrinkles before the next round commenced.

While he began to take over manual control over these sophisticated repair systems, the mech pilot of the Pontifical Lance approached with a somber expression.

"You don't have to feel sorry about your loss." Ves calmly replied before the man could explain his defeat. "Both of us have gone through our fair share of duels and competitions. Losing is part of the game. I have little fault in how you fought against the Dominant. That mech is just so strong that it still retained most of its battle effectiveness after losing its entire shoulder."

His preemptive words put Gregory Haloscar at ease. The mech pilot had encountered mech designers who responded to losses in a much more ugly fashion. When a lot of pride and winnings were at stake, it was quite possible for people to lose their cool.

Fortunately, despite his relatively young age, Ves was able to accept the reality of this outcome without a fuss. That spoke well for their future chances.

Since they didn't have to go through the complicated dance of moving past their earlier loss, Gregory quickly reoriented his thoughts towards his next bout. "You've seen me pilot your mech earlier. What did I do right and what do I need to change?"

"I'm quite satisfied with the way you handled yourself." Ves responded with a smile even as he continued to fix his work. "You're a skilled and seasoned lancer mech pilot and that is what I need the most. At its base, the Pontifical Lance doesn't attempt to reinvent the concept of a lancer mech. Just piloting it like the other machines you are familiar with is already good. The only issue that I want you to work upon is to actively cooperate with your living mech."

"Uhm, explain, please."

"You've already piloted the Pontifical Lance so you should know it is more than a cold, logic-driven machine. From what I've been able to see, you accepted a suggestion from your mech. Has that decision paid off for you, Gregory?"

The man nodded. "I kept your words in mind and took the hint seriously, even if I can't figure out whether it is actually right. Although I can't say I'm completely convinced, I'm willing to put my trust in my mech again in the next match."

Ves briefly paused his repair work in order to turn around and face the mech pilot in the eyes.

"You need to do more than passively accept the input of your lancer mech. You need to work as an actual team. Think about all of the times you fought alongside fellow battle comrades. It's rarely the case that one of you takes the lead while the rest simply does nothing except when receiving explicit instructions. The Pontifical Lance still has untapped potential. What is limiting it from displaying its full capabilities is your lack of initiative. Embrace your mech. Open yourself up to it. Trust in its guidance, and it shall lead you to victory. Do you understand?"

"I… think so. I'll do better. I will not taste defeat again!"

"That's the spirit. Now hop back in your cockpit. Your mech is almost ready for the second round."

Once the break was over, the mech designers all moved back to the spectating platform again. The second round commenced with four fresh duels.

Though Ves appreciated the sight of all of these unique competition mechs showing off their distinctive features, he was mostly waiting for his work to enter the arena again.

He didn't have to wait too long. After the arenas were all cleaned up after hosting a couple of thrilling bouts, the announcer finally mentioned a familiar name.

[In the fourth arena, will Ves Larkinson's Pontifical Lance succeed in demolishing its foe in a single charge or will Marik Esophe's Lighthouse Keeper be able to hold its ground?]

Ves widened his eyes.

The Lighthouse Keeper was another knight mech!

However, unlike the Dominant, the Lighthouse Keeper adopted a radically different battle approach.

Part of it was because Marik Esophe wasn't as good as Ereben Seinlin.

There was only so much Marik could put into his Lighthouse Keeper, so he made a difficult choice to forgo integrating a flight system in the design.

By skipping this demanding element, the Lighthouse Keeper was actually considerably more resilient than the Dominant. Even if its design wasn't as sophisticated, all of that extra capacity went into strengthening its defenses even further.

In order to make sure that the Lighthouse Keeper was able to defeat opponents that could easily evade its sword, Marik Esophe opted to pair his knight mech with deployable turrets.

"Is that even allowed?" Ves briefly wondered.

If Mr. Esophe broke the rules, then the Lighthouse Keeper would have never been allowed to fight in the first round. Evidently there was no problem with pairing a knight mech with detachable systems.

Still, it was not as if these turrets came without a cost. Their existence ate into the design budget of the Lighthouse Keeper, making it so that Esophe could not stuff the frame of the mech with as much high-quality goodies.

In order to compensate for this shortcoming, Esophe chose to cover his Lighthouse Keeper with thicker and heavier layers of more affordable armor plating.

The downside was that the Lighthouse Keeper was so fat and heavy that it could barely jog on the ground! Its mobility was so terrible that it could not win any matches without relying on its turrets to force the enemy into action!

Ves couldn't hold in his grin. One knight mech was different from another knight mech. While the Dominant was so advanced that it broke the conventional rules, the Lighthouse Keeper embraced its archetype to an even greater degree!

Sure, it performed well when it was matched up against an opponent that couldn't handle its strategy.

He recalled that the Lighthouse Keeper fought against a rifleman mech in the first round.

Even though the ranged mech was much faster and possessed serious firepower, its powerful kinetic rifle experienced considerable difficulties in penetrating the shield and armor of the Lighthouse Keeper.

Meanwhile, Arnos Gullivan took over manual control over the 3 anchored ground turrets. While his marksmanship was not fantastic, he was still able to wear down the rifleman mech a lot faster!

"In short, the Lighthouse Keeper fares best against ranged mechs and lighter mechs."

Unfortunately, a lancer mech loved to attack large and relatively immobile targets! The Lighthouse Keeper definitely qualified!

"I've finally received compensation for my earlier matchup!" Ves sighed.

He couldn't relax completely though. As the Pontifical Lance and the Lighthouse Keeper took their places, Ves analyzed the ways in which the latter could hold its own against the current threat.

"The Lighthouse Keeper is as slow as a turtle but also as tough as one. It's not an offensive knight mech like the Dominant, so it should be able to endure a charge attack fairly well depending on where the lance strikes the mech."

The gun turrets were another source of concern. While their caliber weren't especially great, the two kinetic turrets and single energy turret were able to spit out constant attacks that could damage the Pontifical Lance's numerous systems.

Although Ves made sure to reinforce the frontal armor of the Pontifical Lance as much as he could get away with, its side and rear protection were quite inadequate!

"My lancer mech has to take out its target in a single strike!"

If the Pontifical Lance only managed to strike a glancing blow, then the turrets could easily capitalize on the situation by firing its guns at the unprotected rear of the retreating lancer mech.

Due to the Pontifical Lance's remaining momentum from its charge, it would definitely experience a lot of difficulty in turning itself around. As long as it exposed its vulnerable rear to turrets for a significant amount of time, its large flight system could easily suffer serious damage!

The only way to prevent this potential disaster was to finish off the Lighthouse Keeper in a single charge.

"Trust in your mech." Ves whispered.

As the countdown almost reached zero, Gregory Haloscar had adopted a different attitude towards his mech.

He knew a bit better on what to expect from the Pontifical Lance. Although it still made him feel strange in several ways, he was more willing to accept its oddities despite his initial reluctance to do so. His trust in it had already been rewarded once, so he saw little harm in doing it again.

"Please work with me. Help me find a way to nail this knight mech."

A subtle form of communication ensued. Gregory's willingness to open himself up to his mech caused the latter to reciprocate.

The relationship between the two deepened, especially when Gregory also opened himself up to the attitudes of the Ylvainan Faith.

The matches finally commenced, the Pontifical Lance surged forth with even greater certainty and decisiveness than before!

Immediately, the advancing lancer mech endured a torrent of fire. The Lighthouse Keeperh ad already deployed its three turrets. Though their calibers weren't particularly great, they still hit hard enough for the Pontifical Lance's frontal armor to endure moderate pressure.

Ves knew it was a dream to expect his lancer mech to go down that easily!

Gregory did not sway his flight that much, partially because he accelerated too fast for him to perform any true evasive maneuvers but mostly because it was unnecessary to defend himself in this way.

With the speed of the Pontifical Lance, the turrets could never down it before it completed its attack run!

"Almost there!"

As the lancer mech rapidly closed in on the bracing Lighthouse Keeper, it faintly adjusted its course a second before impact.

Though Gregory thought he didn't need to rely on any guidance to hit a stationary knight mech that was rooted to the floor, he accepted the suggestions from his mech anyway and did so without displaying any reticence.

As a consequence, his lance struck the center of the Lighthouse Keeper's angled shield!

Even though this was the strongest and most solid portion of the knight mech's defensive equipment, the momentum of the Pontifical Lance was just too great!

Not only did its lance pierce right through this thick barrier like a hot knife through butter, it also went on to pierce through the arm holding the shield before driving straight into the abdomen that was just below the upper chest!

The lance just happened to avoid the thickest chest armor of the Lighthouse Keeper and instead drove through a relatively thinner and lighter portion of the knight mech's frontal armor. It continued to spear through until it smashed through numerous important systems, the most serious of which were the energy conduits that provided power to the mech engine!

Not only did the charge attack manage to sever the main energy channel, it also inflicted enough damage to both of the backup channels, thereby negating the redundancy that Marik Esophe had added to his hefty knight mech!

Once the lance finally broke off and the Pontifical Lance rapidly drifted past, the heavily-damaged Lighthouse Keeper stepped backwards due to the enormous force it endured before it began to trip as its legs no longer received any power!

The arena's safety systems soon engaged in order to prevent the Lighthouse Keeper and Arnos Gullivan, its shaken mech pilot, from suffering any further damage.

As for the Pontifical Lance, the mech only suffered a single volley of attacks on its vulnerable rear before the turrets were forcibly shut down before they could fire again.

The match had already concluded at that time!

[Victory for Ves Larkinson and the Pontifical Lance! This time, its weapon has struck true!]