The Mech Touch

Ves continued to explain the configuration of the Jupiter Project to its intended beneficiary.

The more details he conveyed, the more General Ark Larkinson fell in love with the machine that would determine his future for the coming decades.

If possible, the Jupiter Project may become the machine that would accompany him throughout his life and define his career as a mech pilot and mech commander!

Ark was fully aware that not every mech pilot enjoyed this privilege.

He had grown a lot more jaded and depressed ever since he left the Bright Republic and tried to build a new future in the Garlen Empire.

Though the powerful Garleners respected his combat prowess and his ability to command a lot of troops on a chaotic battlefield, their callousness, warlust and endless pursuit of vainglory had thoroughly alienated him from the powerful second-rate state.

This was one of the reasons why he cherished the opportunity to serve the Colonial Federation of Davute.

The people of Davute came from many different parts of human civilization, but they had all become earnest and upright colonists after settling into their new homes.

Ark wanted to protect the honest lives and livelihoods of all of these people. He could do his job quite well with a decent expert mech like the Travon Exine, but in a cosmos were the power of the fist determined everything, a much more amazing machine like the Jupiter Project would definitely help him realize many of his ambitions!

His heart stirred with hope and expectation as he beheld the bright and glowing projection of the Jupiter Project in all of its glory.

Even though he could not fully comprehend the more technical explanations, it was enough for him to know that his nephew had done the utmost to make his new machine as powerful and fitting as possible.

After Ves had explained the properties of the armor system, flight system and combat drive of the Jupiter Project, he finally moved on to highlight the weapon loadout of the Jupiter Project.

"We have equipped your upcoming expert mech with three weapon systems as its initial configuration. This is based on your past usage of weapons as well as your preferences. However, there is always room for more. Once you get used to your new mech and begin to employ it against challenging alien opponents, you may feel that your arsenal is not enough to fight against particularly troublesome opponents. If you need a strong cannon that can overcome the defenses of an alien battleship through brute force or a shield that can help you resist the heat that comes with being the bright presence on the battlefield, you only need to ask."

Ark responded with an appreciative look. "Thank you, Ves. I will keep your words in mind. I will try not to strain your resources. Three weapons should be more than enough to deal with most enemies. I am not like those first-class mech pilots who cannot adequately fight unless their mechs come with at least 20 different weapon systems that are only useful in very particular combat scenarios."

That provoked a reaction from the only first-class mech designer in the design lab!

"You do not understand the benefits of carrying a diverse array of weapons into a fight." Alexa said. "There are good reasons why all of the first-raters have embraced the multipurpose mech as the ultimate form. That is not to say that other mech archetypes are completely useless. My own grandfather has always adhered to his hero mech and achieved great success despite all of the limitations. However, carrying many more weapons can grant mech pilots unparalleled flexibility on the battlefield, ensuring that they can never be truly countered."

Gloriana cleared her throat. "Let us not get into this discussion. Neither of the two expert mech designs are multipurpose in nature, so let us focus on what is in front of us. Aside from the integrated luminar crystal cannon system that we have already mentioned before, the Jupiter Project comes with two melee weapons. The spear is suitable for charging and for sustained combat, while the plasma sword is a high-intensity weapon that is suitable for breaking through hard defenses and finishing off difficult opponents."

A new projection appeared that highlighted the two weapons.

Both of them displayed a sense of weight and majesty. Ves had put a lot of effort into turning these white-coated weapons into artworks in their own right.

The female mech designer pointed to the spear. "This is a quasi-first-class transphasic hyper spear that is partially designed by Dulo Voiken. It is relatively simple and plain, but that also makes it solid and reliable. It is suitable for both charging attacks and more direct forms of combat. In order to ensure that it can withstand the rigors of high-level combat, we have decided against making it extendable. We do not want the weapon to break because you have attempted to block a powerful attack."

Ark showed no objections to this design choice. "I am well-versed in all manner of spears. I can handle a single length."

"That is good to hear, general. The only special trait about this spear is that it is incorporated with a hyper material that is attributed towards water. This will amplify the armor-breaking properties of your spear, making it exceptionally suitable to pierce through hard obstacles. It performs decently well against transphasic energy shields, but it is not the most efficient weapon to deal with these sorts of defenses."

Ves grinned as he took over the explanation of the second melee weapon. "That is what the Cleansing Light is for. This is a special plasma sword that is designed in cooperation with Ketis as well as a Terran development company. While the Terrans are known for their excellent Destroyer weapons, their plasma swords have not fallen behind. It is easy for them to customize a version that is specifically tailored to your circumstances."

The projection zoomed in on the plasma sword. When Ves tipped his finger, the weapon became active, extending a powerful blade of white-hot plasma that looked dangerous enough to burn through anything!

"The energy consumption of the Cleansing Light is massive, but the Jupiter Project should be able to handle its demands for a decent period of time. It is not a transphasic weapon, but it is a hyper weapon that is attributed towards light. This has multiple implications. First, the Cleansing Light will glow brighter than other plasma weapons. Second, it will deal more damage if it is filled in an environment that is filled with light. This means that the Cleansing Light synergizes extremely well with the dominant theme of your mech."

Ark nodded in understanding. The brighter his mech, the stronger the plasma sword. That was easy enough to understand.

Ves grinned as he triggered a special function that caused the plasma sword to extend and thicken by multiple times, making it look as if it had entered a turbo-charged mode!

"What is interesting about this Terran tech is that the plasma sword can also be overloaded to briefly increase the damage and reach of this weapon. It will also shine brighter, which means that the hyper weapon will become even more potent as a result. We specifically requested to add this function to give you a means to break through the most intractable defenses and allow you to deal an effective killing blow against monstrous enemies such as phase lords and phase whales. The consequence of activating this Giantslayer Mode is that the weapon's internals will almost certainly sustain heavy damage, causing it to shut down shortly afterwards. Do not use it unless you have no other choice."

The general's expression looked serious. He fully understand the value of this powerful weapon mode. He did not think it was inappropriate that it could only last for a short amount of time.

"If you have advanced to an ace pilot, then the Giantslayer Mode should impose a significantly lower burden on the structure of the weapon." Gloriana helpfully added. "A powerful Saint Kingdom can reinforce the internals to a much greater extent, thereby allowing the plasma sword to withstand more abuse without breaking down."

In other words, the plasma sword was too powerful of a weapon for an expert pilot. Just like the Scarlet Ember of the Everchanger, the Cleansing Light could only truly showcase its potential when wielded by an ace pilot.

It was up to Ark to work towards earning the qualifications to unlock the true power of this mighty plasma sword.

So long as he advanced to ace pilot, the Jupiter Project would definitely be able to pose a threat against the Mars right away!

After Ves explained a few more ins and outs concerning this powerful plasma weapon, he completed his explanation by briefly touching upon another subject of importance.

"One of the common features of a powerful living mech are Ascension Runes. While your Jupiter Project is not a classical living mech, as long as it becomes comparable to a third order living mech, it can bear Ascension Runes. Considering the dominant themes of your Jupiter Project, it only needs to develop along a single trajectory. The Path of the Illuminator is the most suitable one as it strengthens the foundation that your machine depends upon the most to display greater strength in battle."

Both Ark and Benjamin were familiar with the overall concepts of Ascension Runes and Ascension Paths. Many other Larkinson expert mechs already make use of them to great effect.

"I have heard descriptions about the Path of the Illuminator from Venerable Davia Stark." Ark spoke. "As far as I know, this Ascension Path is only responsible for increasing the damage output of the Amaranto's energy weapons."

"The Path of the Illuminator can certainly do that, but it encompasses more than making your energy beams more potent. This Ascension Path encapsulates the wide range of powers of the Illustrious One. Depending on how you develop along this branching path, you can amplify the brightness of every light source, increase the conversion of light into heat or even make your light more blinding and disruptive to both organic sight and artificial sensor systems."

That interested Ark a lot. His Jupiter Project may come armed with integrated ranged weapons, but he believed that they were only suitable for wiping out cannon fodder. It did not make too much sense to strengthen them if they could only pressure stronger opponents at most.

What he needed was to shape the power of light in a way that granted him greater advantages when he squared off against phase lords or particularly strong alien battleships.

He definitely liked what he heard!

"If the Path of the Illuminator can do all of that, then it is enough. I will make excellent use of its properties."

Ves smiled. "That leaves me with the final element that is important to the growth of your expert mech. Aside from the second generation god body method that my wife has mentioned earlier, your living mech also comes with the Lesser and Greater Larkinson Metal Guardian Mantra. This is basically a means for your Jupiter Project to absorb the ambient E energy attributed towards light in order to make it stronger. Since your mech has no independent personality, it cannot cultivate at full efficiency. Whenever you are away from the cockpit, it will automatically cultivate the Lesser version of the mantra. When you are actively piloting it, you can manually command it to cultivate the Greater version, which is not only a lot more effective, but can even grant you certain advantages when you use it in battle."

His uncle did not fully understand the significance of this cultivation method for mechs, but that was okay. He would understand its value soon enough once he piloted his new expert mech.

Ark asked another question.

"Once I receive this mech, what will happen if I advance to ace pilot? Can I pilot it right away, or do I need to bring it back so that you can upgrade it again?"

"The latter." Gloriana said. "We have already designed the Jupiter Project as a half-step ace mech of sorts, so you can still make use of it if there is no other choice. However, there are still major differences between ace mechs and expert mechs, so it is best to properly adjust and upgrade your machine as soon as possible. If you cannot bring it to us for whatever reason, then you can bring it to Master Benedict Cortez. He should be able to apply the necessary upgrades in our stead."

"Understood."