The Mech Touch

The pilot matching process did not last a long time. Once all 94 competition mechs received their respective pilots, a short break ensued in order to prepare for the next phase of the tournament.

This gave the mech pilots at least half an hour of time to familiarize themselves with the machines that had won their favor.

During this time, the Journeymen were allowed to meet with the pilots in order to explain how their mechs worked and how to maximize their advantages.

After all, it wouldn't do for the mechs to trip on their feet or misfire their weapons in mid-battle.

As Ves moved to the backstage area where all of the mechs and mech pilots were temporarily placed, he briefly studied the profile of the fellow who picked his lancer mech over the three other ones.

The difference in strength between all of the mech pilots wasn't that big, but Ves already took a liking for Gregory Haloscar.

The man was 37 years old. Though he was younger than many other strong mech pilots, he possessed a sufficient amount of experience and training to propel him to the forefront among his colleagues in the tournament.

The man originally grew up from the galactic heartland and lived there for most of his life. After graduating from his mech academy, he immediately got accepted into one of the security companies that operated under the umbrella of Hysphalin Industries.

After years of loyal service, he was randomly invited to become a part of the huge migration wave to the Red Ocean. That was how he ended up in the new frontier.

Though Gregory Haloscar was merely a company grunt, he was still a diligent mech pilot who took his training seriously and kept polishing his skills every day. Though lancer mech specialists like him didn't have many opportunities to put their abilities to use in actual battles, he had volunteered to take part in numerous mech duels and competitive events like these. He recognized that it was important for him to confront real mechs piloted by actual humans in order to keep his fighting instincts sharp!

This was especially important to lancer mech pilots who were expected to charge straight into the enemy! If they became more hesitant or grew rusty, then they were no good anymore with lancer mechs!

Once Ves understood the background of Gregory Haloscar, he floated upwards and approached the cockpit of his newly-made mech.

Like any enthusiastic mech pilot, Gregory had immediately entered the cockpit of his chosen mech at the first possible opportunity.

"Hello, Mr. Haloscar."

"Ah, Mr. Larkinson. You've built a fine mech." The man generously praised. "I have to admit that I originally had my eye on a lancer mech developed by another tournament participant, but this lancer mech… now that I've come close to it, I was glad I listened to my instincts. Why is this mech making me feel so strange and welcome?!"

"That's what I call a glow. It's one of the auxiliary features of my living mechs."

"Pardon? What did you just say?"

It figured that Gregory would respond like this. There was no reason for a random stranger from the galactic heartland to know anything about glows and living mechs.

Ves proceeded to give the bewildered mech pilot a crash course on living mechs and glows. He tried to condense his explanations as much as possible, but Gregory still had a lot of questions.

"I still don't know why an object like a mech could be alive as you and I." The man scratched his head. "And what do glows have to do with this, anyway?"

The continued lack of understanding prompted Ves to smack his palm against his face.

"Just interface with your mech and feel it for yourself. I designed the Pontifical Lance with newcomers to living mechs like you in mind. I've added numerous accommodations to this mech that should help you get up to speed on its most important features. Remember that you must treat your mech with respect and that you should be open to its message. I can promise you that you'll be able to show much greater strength in battle as long as you are in sync with your mech."

"Is that truly the case?"

Ves grinned. "Just trust me on this. My design specialization is metaphysical man-machine symbiosis. I know more than any other mech designer in this tournament on how to bring mech pilots closer to their mechs."

Despite Gregory's obvious skepticism, he was willing to give it a shot. In any case, he settled for this specific mech over alternatives because he felt good about it in some indescribable way. A part of him just felt that this machine could give him the recognition that he craved.

Company personnel like him generally lived stable and boring lives. Compared to going mercenary or entering into the military, working for the security department of a normal company was a low-risk career.

While the probability of dying was much lower to Gregory, the lack of combat and the long days of boring training and guard duty could grind down any mech pilot. It took a great amount of effort for company mech pilots to stay motivated and push their strength further.

If they stopped improving after a point, they would probably retire without accomplishing anything significant in their careers!

This was why Ves did not have to worry that Gregory would only do a perfunctory job. Every mech pilot in this event wanted to do their best to stand out and receive greater attention from their superiors!

Soon enough, the Pontifical Lance came online. The company mech pilot began to receive his first proper introduction to living mechs.

This was an incredibly magical experience to someone who had never been exposed to Ves' work before.

"Wow. I couldn't imagine how a mech can be alive when it isn't a biomech, but now I'm convinced!"

Ves floated backwards as he sensed his mech reaching out to Gregory Haloscar. The two made tentative contact. The lancer mech did not overwhelm its mech pilot with everything right away, but instead conveyed its distinctive features one step at a time.

This was a fitting approach for a mech designed with the theme of Prophetic Guidance in mind. The Pontifical Lance was developed with the need to provide active assistance to the mech pilot.

"So far, so good."

Ves could sense that Gregory Haloscar did not reject the entreaties of his own mech. Even though everything he experienced was all new and unexpected, he did not exhibit any serious rejection.

"Good."

As long as there was an opening, any living mech could build a rapport with its own mech pilot! This was a pattern that Ves had witnessed too many times to count.

Out of all of his living mechs, the Pontifical Lance was the best at winning over strangers!

Ves originally wanted to call his competition mech the Friendly Reminder, but he rejected it because it sounded too cuddly unrelated to battle.

If he wanted to attract a strong mech pilot and put him in the right mindset, he needed to give his mech a more ostentatious name that conveyed a certain degree of power.

Though Ves was sure he could have come up with something better than 'Pontifical Lance', it met all of his requirements. Not only did it sound stately and powerful, it also alluded to its religious undertones.

As Gregory and many other mech pilots quickly learned what their chosen mechs were capable of, the High Tide Tournament finally entered its most exciting phase!

The first mechs were being called to enter the transformed arena that had been especially prepared to host multiple matches at the same time.

In order to make sure that the High Tide Tournament ended in a single day, it was necessary to hold multiple matches at once.

One of the consequences of this decision was that the effective space for each duel was a lot less than it could have been. This explained why only four of the competition entries were lancer mechs. The relatively cramped arena spaces were just too limiting towards this mech type.

Ves and his other competitors all moved to a special elevated spectating platform in order to see all of the competition mechs in action.

Four different duels started at the same time. At first glance, most of the competition mechs were fairly good in their own way. Ves was not sure if his lancer mech was able to come out on top against three of them. One was another lancer mech that possessed thicker armor while the other one was a powerful kinetic gunner that was able to fire strong, obstructive nets.

Only one of them caused Ves to feel so much dread that he knew his lancer mech couldn't stand a chance against this monster.

[Just look at the Phazeon dance! This light marauder mech is making a complete mockery of the opposing light skirmisher! Although the Zima Fang does possess a surprising amount of mobility for its weight class, the Phazeon is just a bit faster and more agile.]

[That's not the strongest aspect of the Phazeon. Have you noticed how the Zima Fang has attempted to perform risky maneuvers in order to trade blow for blow? While I admire the guts of its mech pilot, each time the Zima Fang's daggers strike against the surface of the Phazeon, the weapons just sink halfway into the surprisingly flexible armor plating before going no further!]

[As expected of a machine designed by Katien Tievos. Although it might not be obvious due to her decision to develop a light mech, she is actually a defensive specialist. Her expertise in designing semi-fluid armor systems is being put to good use here. While ordinary light mechs are vulnerable against any form of attacks from mechs, the Phazeon is a clear exception! Against any opposing machine without a strong form of attack, this resilient light marauder mech is practically assured of victory!]

Ves and many other mech designers threw a glance at one of the six mech designers standing at the front of this spectating platform.

As a centrist, Katien Tievos possessed a lot more advantages than many of the other Journeymen. Ves could already see from the Phazeon that its design was simply more refined than his own work.

However, he was glad to see that its construction was actually rather unremarkable. Though Miss Tievos certainly possessed a great amount of skill in fabrication, she was not as abnormal as Ves when it came to producing a high-quality mech.

"Does it actually matter?"

A better design conveyed a lot more obvious strengths to a mech than a good construction. At this level of competition, it was impossible for someone like Katien Tievos to produce an awful mech. As long as it worked as intended, that was already enough!

The first round of matches ended fairly quickly. As expected, there was no suspense in the outcome between the Phazeon and the Zima Fang.

Ves sympathized with the designer of the latter. The Zima Fang not only had the bad luck to match against a mech designed by a centrist, but also happened to fight against another light mech!

Confrontations between light mechs often devolved into a contest between speed and other performance parameters. There were very few ways the Zima Fang could have come out on top against such an excellent opponent.

If the mech pilot of the Zima Fang was a lot better than the mech pilot of the Phazeon, then the match might have ended differently.

It was too bad that the opposite was the case. The stronger competition mechs were generally paired with the stronger mech pilots! This resulted in a clearer division between the weak and the strong.

The High Tide Tournament was set up in a way that made it less likely for the former to overcome the latter!

This was definitely concerning to Ves. He deeply hoped his Pontifical Lance wouldn't get matched up against another strong opponent.

Once the partitioned arenas were cleaned up, the next round of matches were announced.

Ves suddenly jerked when he heard the name of his own mech.

[In the third arena, Ves Larkinson's Pontifical Lance shall duel against Ereben Seinlin's Dominant!]

"Noo!"