The Mech Touch

Since Plan A, Plan B and Plan C no longer kept Master Willix at bay, Ves decided to enact Plan D.

He wasn't out of options yet! Even though he was forced to step aboard the Ubiquitous Force and enter Master Willix's lab, he did not believe he had reached a dead end.

Certainly, the easiest option he could take was to confess almost everything. While speaking about the System and his involvement with the Five Scrolls Compact was out of the question, he still had to explain how his task force produced so many high-ranking mech pilots.

Yet Ves still did not want to tell everything to her. He wanted to keep as many cards to himself as possible, but he also couldn't get away with substituting the truth with nonsense like before.

The solution he came up with was to mix a little more truth with falsehood.

When Ves looked back on his previous conversations with Master Willix, one topic stood out to him. One of the lies he uttered to her might have played a substantial role in how she treated him.

Even to him, she acted unusually generous to him. While she treated Gloriana in the same way, Ves was suspicious about that. If not for him, a mech designer like Gloriana wasn't remarkable enough to justify how much time Master Willix was willing to spend on them. Masters weren't known for being idle. Every decision they made furthered their goals in some fashion.

What could make Master Willix pay so much attention to him? He could think of only one reason.

"Master Willix." He began. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but you will put me in a different position if you force me to reveal certain matters. I am not entirely in control of what I know. I originally set out on this path after receiving the guidance of someone wise, old and benevolent. I cannot betray the trust of someone who has meant so much much to me. He literally transformed my life for the better."

"You are referring to Mr. S."

Ves inwardly smirked. "Yes."

He didn't say anything else, leaving Master Willix to wonder how much he was actually allowed to say. This uncertainty made it difficult for her to judge how far she could actually push him without turning him hostile.

"Mr. Larkinson, what do you know about Mr. S?"

"Not much. He taught me a bit and conveyed some unique concepts to me. After that, he fell silent and remained out of contact for long stretches of time. I'm pretty much doing fine by myself."

Ves had grown less dependent on the System. Ever since it cut off his easy supply of DP, the System hadn't really interacted much with him either. It was as if it was patiently waiting for him to complete its Supply Missions before doing anything further.

"I see. Can you tell me anything else about Mr. S. as an individual?" She carefully asked. "Our Association has only observed scant traces of his presence. We know precious little about him. His origins, ideology and goals remain unknown. You are the first 'disciple' of sorts that can design a mech that echoes his work. You must know more about him, surely."

"I'm afraid I truly can't tell you much. He only contacts me through electronic interfaces and projected screens."

The System wasn't user-friendly enough to adopt some sort of avatar. It would have made a much better impression on people if it adopted the guise of a human or animal.

After asking a few more questions, she became dissatisfied with what little she learned. Ves mixed truth and deception by describing Mr. S. as he truly was instead of the mysterious mech designer that Willix constructed in her mind.

Seeing that she expressed so much interest in the fake mech designer that Ves invented to explain his rapid rise, he couldn't hold his curiosity.

He coughed. "I actually don't know much about Mr. S. either. In fact, he barely counts as a teacher. Can you tell me why he's so special? I doubt he would matter to you if he was not exceptional in some way."

"You don't know?"

"Do I look like I know something like that? I barely know what's going on outside this star sector!" Ves genuinely told the truth this time.

She peered very closely at Ves and seemed to judge that he was being sincere. "It's surprising that you don't know the importance of Mr. S. I just told you the main reason why he has become a person of interest to our Association."

"You mean.. the Ouroboros? I've heard how powerful the mech has become, but shouldn't you be able to design something just as capable?"

"You don't understand!" Master Willix raised her voice this time! "The MTA is not impressed by the power of the Ouroboros. As an ace mech, it is truly a pinnacle of Terran mech design, but that does not mean our own ace mechs are inferior. There is something else about the Ouroboros that is very unique and incredibly valuable. In fact, if the Ouroboros is not an iconic Terran mech, we would have taken possession of it. The Terrans are unworthy to own this great work!"

Ves looked stunned. He really couldn't imagine how the sloppy competition mech he designed with the help of an auto designer could attract so much praise from an MTA Master. Even though the first-class hero mech received continuous upgrades from a string of mech designers, its base was just a mech with a comparatively weak X-Factor compared to his modern products.

Back when he entered Axelar Streon's mind, he didn't have any access to any design spirits. He resorted to using images to breathe life into the Ouroboros.

"Why is it a great work if the mech isn't exceptionally powerful?"

"It's true value to the galactic mech community has never rested on its power." She spoke with a steady voice. "Rather, it is how it is able to grow its characteristics that are of interest to us. You are doubtlessly aware that General Axelar Streon is currently an ace pilot, correct?"

Ves nodded.

"Ace pilots are exceedingly rare in the galaxy, Mr. Larkinson. No matter whether you are looking at the galactic rim or the galactic center, the amount of ace pilots emerging from a given number of expert pilots is disappointingly small."

"Are you saying that someone like the general only managed to advance to expert pilot and ace pilot because he received help from the Ouroboros?"

Damn. Was it his fault that this former drug addict and wastrel turned into one of the most influential Terran heroes of today? Maybe he shouldn't have pushed Axelar into the Trial of Tears training program!

"You're on the right track. This is indeed what we have speculated." She told him. "It is a great pity that the mech is too attuned to General Streon. Any other mech pilot who attempts to pilot it will.. not meet a good end."

"Is it.. the explosive kind of end?" Ves cautiously asked.

Her gaze grew sharper. "How did you know?!"

"Ah, I was just guessing, haha!"

"In our previous discussion, you mentioned that your experiments on pirates yielded some fatal results, did you not?" She raised.

"Now that you tell me, it's truly a coincidence that the results are identical, haha! I think that should prove that my innovations are extremely dangerous. Some of my mechs pose a serious threat to their own mech pilots!"

If the Ouroboros was anything like the Quint, then the former must have grown and enhanced its spiritual foundation to a scary degree. Ves wondered how much Ves its enhancement had reached. How much spiritual feedback was an ace mech pilot capable of supplying to a mech? 500 Ves? 1,000 Ves? 10,000 Ves?

It should be far higher than the 150 Ves of the Quint! The first-class hero mech was around a century old by now. The mech and its pilot already experienced a lifetime of growth!

Rather than eliciting disapproval, his admission instead caused Master Willix to nod!

"The connection between you and Mr. S. is undeniable, then. It is understandable that progress as great as this is not without its own risks. The two of you are tampering with aspects that are beyond our comprehension."

"Uhmm.. what are you talking about, ma'am?"

While Ves enjoyed being flattered by a Master Mech Designer of all people, the praise she was showering on mechs like the Ouroboros was a little excessive!

"It seems you still don't know. Perhaps I should refrain from telling you. If Mr. S. did not see fit to inform you of this crucial aspect, then I don't want to encroach on his decision."

What?! How could she do that to him! She teased him so much that Ves simply couldn't let go at this point!

"Mr. S. doesn't care! He's never around and I barely know anything! Can't you do me a favor?"

Seeing that he was pleading so much, Master Willix decided to relent.

"Very well. What I am about to tell you is very delicate. For your own good, you should not speak to anyone about this, not even your future wife. Do you understand?"

"I get it! I'm already keeping her in the dark about plenty of matters."

"Good, because what I am about to tell you can change your life drastically, and not necessarily for the better. The truth is that.. when I had the opportunity to observe the Ouroboros and meet with General Streon, I did so in the company of a Star Designer."

WHAT?!

"A Star Designer." Ves gasped with utter reverence. "Which one?"

While he didn't believe in gods, the closest ones he was willing to worship were definitely the mech designers who stood at the top of the mech industry!

"That's not important." She brushed aside his query. "The point is that once the Star Designer took a good look at the ace mech and ace pilot, she made an astonishing remark. Do you know what she said? General Streon's growth as an ace pilot hasn't stagnated. Despite reaching the latter stages of senior ace pilot, he is still making progress. This may mean that our civilization may welcome another god pilot in the future."

Ves completely froze. He never imagined that the sloppy hero mech he designed with the help of an auto designer program could have grown to the point where it was able to nurture a god pilot!

A god pilot!

Only 100 known god pilots existed throughout human space, and each of them were so powerful that they could have probably slapped the Unending One to death!

As the ultimate mech pilots, these immensely powerful individuals completely transcended their humanity. James even described them as manifestations of pure willpower!

"This.. I can't believe.."

"You see now why this is a matter of great interest to the MTA and to a select few people who know more." She told him. "The Star Designer concluded that the mech has definitely played a key role in General Streon's development. If he is forced to pilot another mech, then we may be depriving the galaxy of a god pilot. This is the actual reason why we haven't taken it away."

"Has this Star Designer ever attempted to replicate the Ouroboros?"

"Oh, she tried, more times than you can count. Sadly, the properties of the Ouroboros are so unique, strong and unfathomable that it cannot be copied. While it is not the strongest mech by far, it is truly a work that deserves to be considered as one of the greatest mechs that humanity has ever produced."

That was incredibly high praise! Ves grew numb at the fact that Master Willix thought that his sloppy little hero mech that he designed in a couple of days with the help of an auto designer outranked some of the best mechs in the galaxy.

The entire situation was surreal!

"Wow." He shakingly uttered. "Mr. S. must be the best, most handsome, and greatest mech designer of all time if that's the case."

"He might.. even be a Star Designer." Master Willix whispered.

Ves couldn't take any more surprises. His entire mind crashed.