The Mech Touch

What was a lightning tribulation?

Ves had been wondering about this mysterious phenomenon for years on an intermittent basis.

He had two vivid memories about his experiences with this powerful force. Both of them had a profound influence over his life, his work and his views on how reality worked.

Frankly speaking, Ves lacked a thorough understanding of this powerful and far-reaching phenomenon. He knew that it popped up in times when a cultivator was about to make an amazing breakthrough. It also appeared to pop up when a creator attempted to make an exceptional product.

Ves had done both over his career, so he had at least a bit of personal experience of what it was like to trigger a lightning tribulation.

The first time he caused a lightning tribulation was when he attempted to make the Superior Mother.

With the knowledge that he possessed today, he understood that the ritual that he had devised around the birth of the Superior Mother was not that big of a deal.

What truly caused her birth to go to the next level was the use of extraordinary ingredients and the ambitious scope of her creation!

However, witnessing a lightning tribulation from afar paled in comparison to becoming subjected to it himself!

Ves could never forget the moment where his attempt to create Veronica caused a lightning tribulation to barge into the System Space like it was nothing and directly rain down lightning bolts onto his body!

Strangely enough, the punishment he induced due to his excessively negative karma turned out to be a lot more manageable than he thought.

The quantity of lightning bolts was unimaginably high, but even if they ramped up over time, their individual power never exceeded his body tolerance and the defensive properties of his Unending Regalia.

It was at that time that he personally experienced the other side of the coin.

The power of heaven's punishment was not only a force of destruction, but could also serve as a force of creation!

The premise was that the target of heaven's wrath possessed the strength to weather the storm and survive long enough to allow the creation force to do its job!

Having benefited enormously from the accidental circumstances that led him to sublimate his entire being to a higher level, Ves understood that lightning tribulations represented both danger and opportunity.

Ves initially thought that his new five elements mech had a good chance of resisting this lightning tribulations.

Based on his previous experiences, he thought that they were quite tame. It was as if the heavens were just going through the motions and never truly showed that much animosity to their targets.

He quickly had to change that impression at this time when he saw and felt the size and scope of this lightning storm exceed anything he had ever experienced in the past!

This was not the weak tribulation lightning that seemed to do Cynthia a massive favor by strengthening and transforming the Superior Mother's foundation for the better.

It was also not the relatively tame and 'friendly' sequence of lightning bolts that not only healed him and strengthened his foundation to the point where he developed a glow, but also gave him a freebie and turned him into a phase lord!

Ves did not forget about the weird hallucinations either. Not only did several ghosts of the past, present and the future confront him about his alleged deeds and misdeeds, he also became introduced to what truly passed as the heavenly authorities of the Milky Way and Red Ocean!

According to the theory that he devised back then, the two galaxies could actually be regarded as living entities on an unprecedented scale!

Just the notion that the two galaxies were alive and sentient would cause almost every human to call him nuts before forcing him to undergo mental health treatment!

Though Ves only had vague impressions of what it was like to get into contact with those powerful sentient galaxies, he remembered that they had shown a considerable amount of goodwill towards him. He was unclear as to the reason why, but he wasn't in the habit of looking at a gift horse in the mouth.

However, at this time, Ves did not sense any of that goodwill or benevolence from the current lightning storm!

CRACK!

A golden bolt of lightning struck the exterior of the five elements mech, causing its surface components to look a little fried!

The mech had never been rated to withstand so much electrical violence, particularly when it was also empowered by E energy and other mysterious forces!

Although lightning tribulations were unfathomably deep to the likes of Ves, he instinctively felt that this storm was not trying to go easy on Ves and his work this time.

Ves could sense an overwhelming amount of ruthlessness and malice from the dark and surging clouds that were blackening the skies!

It was as if the authority responsible for dispatching this storm was hellbent on destroying an abomination that should not exist!

This was incredibly bad for Ves. He never designed his modified Fey Project to resist such an inexplicable force. How could he have known that the product of his inspiration would violate a rule that he was not aware of and provoke heavy punishment upon its creation?

Ves was not prepared, and neither was his work!

If his five elements mech wanted to have any chance of surviving this unavoidable tribulation, then it needed to be piloted right away!

"We need a pilot inside that cockpit now!" Ves urged.

"Are you certain you wish to do so, sir?" Alexa asked with obvious concern. "If this lightning storm continues to grow stronger, the risks to both the mech and its occupant will become considerable."

"We have to try!"

Ves did not want to give up on his product! He was willing to take the chance and let his mech fight for its right to exist, even if it risked the life of a mech pilot!

However, the next difficult decision he had to make was who he should put inside the cockpit of his new work.

When Ves moved to the Premier Branch, he had only brought a small amount of personnel from the expeditionary fleet.

He had dispensed with bringing any Larkinson mech pilots because they were completely useless in a first-class environment. It was better to rely on other specialists to man the powerful turrets and other defensive installations of Diandi Base.

The only mechs assigned to defend Diandi Base were the units dispatched from the 306th Bluejay Fleet.

A constant rotation of at least two mech squads descended from orbit and patrolled the base.

Additional mechs also shadowed his children whenever they traveled to school and back.

Though Ves had been depending on the protection of the mechers assigned as his security detail for months, he never really put too much effort into befriending them. He hardly knew them on a personal level and pretty much treated them as background elements.

Right now, he was regretting the fact that he had neglected to bring any reliable mech pilots to his side.

He even sent away Saintess Ulrika Vraken by requesting her to escort Gloriana to the planet where his wife was about to receive her new cranial implant!

Ves wished that he had brought a trustworthy champion such as Venerable Joshua to his side. His favorite expert pilot would undoubtedly be able to get along well with his new living mech!

Still, the mech pilots of the Red Association were highly competent in their own right. They were used to piloting much more complex and difficult machines.

A drone mech such as his modified Fey Project shouldn't be too difficult for them to control. The only major challenge that was outside of their realm of experience was the usage and combinations of the five elements.

However, that was what the living mech was for. Ves believed that the combination between a highly trained mech pilot and a living mech that possessed an inherent talent in manipulating the five elements might be just enough to survive this violent storm!

"Jovy!" He transmitted over a spotty communication channel. "I know this is a difficult request, but can I ask you to volunteer one of your pilots to take charge of my new Fey Project?"

"The pilot is already on his way. I have already anticipated your demand. Trust me, we are just as invested in seeing your work prevail against this force."

A first-class multipurpose mech was already approaching from a distance at high speed.

From the trajectory of the incoming mech, Ves deduced that it had launched from the Orden Hammer.

"I am at your service, Professor Larkinson." A reassuring male voice transmitted over another channel.

Ves' eyes lit up when he recognized the newcomer. "Major Jankowski! I did not expect you to be the volunteer."

"This is an anomalous incident that is of great interest to the mech designers and researchers of the Red Association. We have received direct orders to send in our best. My piloting qualifications are the highest out of our entire mech company. I have a moderate experience in handling exotic or alien technologies, though my exposure to E energy phenomena is admittedly shallow." Major Jankowski factually explained.

That sounded good enough for Ves. That was exactly the kind of pilot profile that could complement his five elements mech.

"Alright, 1 will transmit a very short instructional manual to you. There is a lot of depth to using its fey in combination. This will be the key to resist the forces of destruction. Can you teleport directly inside the cockpit of my new mech or do I have to open up an entrance?"

"Stable teleportation has become untenable in this hostile environment. Once my first-class multipurpose mech has arrived beside your work, I will need you to open up an entrance to the cockpit at the right time. We will need to time this transfer between the lightning strikes to avoid any accidents."

"Understood! We have it under control. The frequency of lightning strikes is not that high, fortunately."

CRACK!

The bolts did not come down as quickly as expected, but their power was definitely escalating at a rate where they did more than minor surface and electrical damage to a quasi-first-class mech!

What was worse was that the storm clouds showed no signs of abating. They were growing stronger with each passing minute, making it seem as if it was trying to gather more power in order to rule out any chance that his five elements mech would make it past this event!

As Major Jankowski's mech was closing in at rapid speed, Ves stared back at his unique work.

Was this enough to save his machine from destruction?

He was not so sure about that. He still had an awful feeling about this lightning tribulation. Its character was too hostile.

Nonetheless, the greater the danger, the greater the reward.

The power of a lightning tribulation was split into two opposing forces. The force of destruction wa the most obvious one, but the force of creation was equally as strong!

When Ves stared up into the violent storm again, he did not only regard it as a threat this time.

In his eyes, the huge and expansive storm clouds also served as a resource!

An immense amount of creation power was hiding in those dark and ominous clouds. If Ves could leech just a fraction of it, he could use the potent creation energy for all kinds of high-end purposes!

His eyes sparked all of a sudden as a crazy idea came to mind.

Desire welled up inside his mind as he recognized what an amazing opportunity this lightning tribulation had brought! He would be a fool if he did not try to take advantage of the circumstances!

"Sir, where are you going?!"

"I am going on a trip!" Ves dismissively waved his hand as he turned around and summoned his Unending Regalia on the spot. "You should stay and coordinate with the mechers. Make sure you are ready to command the new Fey Project to open up its cockpit when the time has come."

He did not even care about exposing the fact that he was able to hide his relic armor inside his own exclusive pocket space. As soon as his Unending Regalia appeared, it opened up and wrapped around his body, cladding him in armor that had already resisted a lighting tribulation in the past!

Alexa Streon was not stupid. She quickly deduced his radical plan!

"Professor Larkinson, do not do this! You are about to take an unacceptably high risk! Your life is not worth endangering!"

"Hahahaha! You are wrong, Alexa! This is exactly the time where a mech designer like myself needs to stick up for his own work! I have faith in my own work!"

To Ves, the lightning tribulation was not just about taking advantage of its power, but also a moment where he needed to prove with his actions that he was willing to stand by his own works.

He would not be able to take pride in his craftsmanship if he abandoned his works to their lot!