The Mech Touch

As Hopecrest Mech Academy continued to embrace their War Squires, its mech cadets started to make a name for themselves.

Whenever they competed against each other in both formal and informal competitions in a virtual practice setting, the Hopecrest cadets quickly started to win more battles.

The improvement was not that obvious at first. Even though Mickey and the rest mainly relied on the MSTS to conduct their simulation training, they could not use it to connect to conventional virtual training environments.

The cadets were all forced to hop inside their old and shabby simulator pods in order to compete in the periodic virtual exchange sessions.

It was only after a couple of months had passed that the Unicum Group finally spent a portion of its limited budget on acquiring a batch of newer simulator pods.

The group was able to save a lot of money because it no longer had to invest in new training mechs.

Once the mech cadets of Hopecrest Mech Academy were no longer handicapped in terms of technology, they started to show off their newly-acquired skills properly whenever they competed against their peers from the other mech academies!

Although most colonists on Maylard II considered these inter-academy exchanges and competitions to be playful distractions, the leaders of the L9 Alliance paid closer attention to the results.

They did not forget the fact that the Red Ocean was a dangerous frontier. Although the alliance had tried its best to hide from all of these troubles by colonizing a remote and relatively resource-poor star system, trouble might knock on its doors eventually.

If not for the fact that it took a lot of time and funding to build up their colony settlements, they would have invested even more in building up their armed forces!

While the L9 Alliance was unable to strengthen its defenses at this early stage, it did not lose perspective of the future.

The mech academies played a vital role in training strong and qualified mech cadets to serve as loyal soldiers in the future.

Previously, the alliance treated the students of Hopecrest Mech Academy as a lost cause, but the changes that recently took place caused everyone on Maylard II to change their prior impressions.

Among the nine local mech academies, Hopecrest started to rise from the bottom!

This became especially galling to the cadets who attended larger mech academies that were much better funded and equipped!

The opponents that the cadets of Hopecrest wanted to beat the most were the smug students of Clear River Mech Academy.

Unlike Centire Hill, Ulmerton was large and prosperous. The group behind this colony settlement managed to reach the Maylard System without losing any ships and cargo, so the colonists did not suffer from any critical shortages when they built up their frontier city.

Clear River enrolled almost three times more mech cadets as Hopecrest and also possessed much more comprehensive training systems, at least initially. The mech cadets from Ulmerton were able to train and polish their skills with decent training mechs and modern simulator pods for a longer time.

Yet no matter how much cadets who attended Clear River practiced with their ordinary training mechs, they found it progressively harder to beat their rivals from Hopecrest.

Many people found this to be difficult to accept! Ulmerton was the second-largest settlement on Maylard II while Centire Hill was smaller and poorer!

Two years after Hopecrest received a donation from the Larkinson Veteran Foundation, Mickey Lankos and many of his fellow cadets had undergone drastic changes.

As Mickey became 15 years old, he grew taller and heavier. He also carried himself with a lot more confidence due to his consistently high performance during his practical lessons.

As he and his fellow Hopecrest cadets hopped into the recently-acquired simulator pods, he showed no fear or hesitation when he was assigned to duel against a Clear River cadet.

Two different virtual mechs appeared onto a simple grassy plain.

The virtual mech that Mickey had chosen to pilot for this duel was a generic second-class rifleman mech.

"I really wish I could pilot a War Squire or at least another LMC mech."

Unfortunately, he and the other mech cadets could only choose from a limited selection of basic machines that were suitable for beginner pilots. While the available choices were more powerful than training mechs, they were far behind in terms of power and comfort.

Despite these differences, Mickey did not find it troublesome to control his machine.

The sensor system of his rifleman mech already spotted his opponent.

An identical rifleman mech had already started to open fire several kilometers away!

None of the incoming laser beams struck their mark as Mickey's mech hastily bowed and hid behind a low hill.

By using the existing terrain features as cover, Mickey was able to fire back while keeping him mostly safe.

Not much happened after the initial exchange of fire. The problem was that both sides adopted the same conservative tactic, thereby achieving little else but burning and heating up a lot of dirt.

Both Mickey and the cadet from Clear River knew that they had to move closer and gain a favorable angle in order to make more progress.

That required them to expose their mechs, however! If any of them got caught in the open, then they would likely invite hits without being able to retaliate!

Usually, a standoff like this turned into a waiting game. The opposing ranged mechs should ordinarily continue to take potshots at each other while hiding behind until their energy reserves or the time limit compelled them to take risks.

Mickey did not abide by this convention.

As soon as he noticed that they had fallen into this pattern, he took the initiative to break it first by commanding his virtual mech to jump out of cover and sprint forward as fast as possible!

"What!"

The cadet from Clear River was initially surprised, then elated when his opponent's mech appeared in the open!

The Clear River mech fired its laser rifle at the exposed target, only for most of its shots to miss or only land glancing blows!

"Hold still, damnit! How are you able to juke so much while still remaining upright?!"

At their ages, the mech cadets had all become decent shots if they focused on marksmanship training, but they were not yet proficient in hitting mechs that were performing evasive maneuvers.

What frustrated the Clear River cadet the most was that Mickey's rifleman mech was making use of numerous advanced movement skills than normal.

While this made it so that the approaching rifleman mech was constantly on the verge of losing its balance and falling flat on its stomach, its pilot just so happened to make the right moves to keep it balanced!

What was even more amazing was that Mickey managed to maintain the balance of his virtual mech on rough and uneven terrain!

"I refuse to believe I can't take you down before you get close!" The opposing mech pilot roared!

Yet try as he might, he continually misjudged and missed his shots. The few hits he managed to land were mostly lucky accidents that he wasn't able to repeat on a consistent basis.

This wouldn't have happened if he was older and more practiced, but at this time his frequent misses caused him to become less stable in his attacks.

He became so consumed by his struggle to hit the mobile rifleman mech that he did not notice that the opposing machine had already come close enough to circle around the hill his rifleman mech was hiding behind!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Laser beams seared through the air and struck the rifleman mech that was hastily lifting itself up on its feet.

Unlike the shaky and inconsistent attacks from the Clear River mech, the rifleman mech controlled by Mickey consistently struck the same target!

Three laser beams seared through the protective plating covering the left knee joint of the Clear River mech.

While the cadet in control of the distressed machine at least managed to react quickly enough by turning its frame and using its undamaged leg as a shield, that only prompted Mickey to aim his mech's rifle at the other joint!

Both virtual mechs struck each other with laser beams. Though they tried their best to remain as elusive as possible, the pilot of the Clear River mech was not only behind in movement skills, but also lost his cool due to the setbacks he suffered.

Although Mickey's rifleman mech eventually suffered a breach in its armor as a couple of laser beams penetrated a section that had already been damaged during the approach, the machine was at least able to remain standing.

The same could not be said for the Clear River mech. The machine helplessly tipped over and fell onto its back after laser beams literally melted through both of its knees.

It was not difficult to determine who had won this duel after that.

"Mickey Lankos has won. That is one additional point for Hopecrest!"

Mickey's classmates cheered but did not exhibit much surprise when they heard this result. They had long known that Mickey was fiendishly difficult to beat in ranged combat!

In the end, Hopecrest won the friendly exchange yet again when its cadets won over two-thirds of the simulated duels.

When all of the cadets emerged from the simulator pods and patted each other on their backs, Mickey was only mildly satisfied with his victory.

"This is just a game to us. There's no meaning in these fights." He muttered and shook his head.

He dreamed of participating in real battles where his life and the lives of his comrades were at stake. He continued to think fondly of how he 'fought' alongside the Larkinsons and destroyed many dwarven mechs during the Battle of Fordilla Zentra.

That was a real battle!

Even the AI-controlled opponents in the MSTS were more challenging and stimulating to fight against than the kids from the other mach academies. To Mickey, the differences in skill and effective performance became greater and greater with each passing month.

When Mickey attended Hopecrest the next day and finally received an opportunity to train with the MSTS again, he eagerly hopped inside Rabarber and initiated a connection right away.

Unlike before, the cadet did not enter a simulated room where he could choose his training scenario.

Instead, he ended up in a strange gallery that not only looked incredibly expensive but also featured rows of mechs and statues.

Each of them exuded a sensation that Mickey was quite familiar with. Their glows seemed to turn the gallery into a sacred temple that must never be profaned!

"Good morning, Cadet Mickey." Little Five's familiar electronic voice sounded.

The tiny golden mech appeared on the cadet's shoulder and sat on it like a bench.

"Hello, Little Five. What is this all about?"

"I have good news for you. Ever since you started to train with Rabarber and our MSTS, we have constantly tracked your performance and rate of improvement. While your starting point was rather low, we have personally witnessed how quickly you mastered the skills necessary to become a proficient ranged mech pilot."

"All of that is thanks to you and the other Little Spirits." Mickey gratefully stated. "I wouldn't have improved so quickly without your lessons and advice."

"You don't need to act modest, cadet. We have instructed many mech cadets since the War Squire went on sale, but your diligence and persistence is notable even when we compare you to the students who attend better mech academies. This is also why I pulled you into this gallery. You see, your overall performance has reached a threshold that makes you qualified to receive a new and promising opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

Little Five grinned as he jumped from Mickey's shoulder and floated towards the statue of the giant golden cat.

"The Larkinson Clan formally wishes to offer a special scholarship to you, Cadet Mickey. If you choose to accept our scholarship, we will bring you over to the Davute System and enroll you into our exclusive mech academy on Davute VII, the First Star Mech Academy. There, we will cover all of the expenses associated with attending it until you graduate. How is that an opportunity?"

Mickey completely froze.