The Mech Touch

The exchange between President Oscar Tarich and Captain Gheri of the Swordmaidens made it clear that piloting the Monster Slayer came with elevated risks.

Hunting was not a risk-free activity to begin with. Those who treated it as a casual hobby often suffered when they entered the hunting trips without proper guidance and supervision.

However, the controversy surrounding the Monster Slayer model was that it had led to plenty of deaths among the more experienced and professional hunters!

This was a serious issue. Mech pilots normally shouldn't die in such frequent numbers. If the 'death rate' of a specific mech model became noticeably higher than the other products sold in the local market, then that definitely threatened to harm the reputation of the Monster Slayer model as well as its original designer!

There was no way that Ves could remain unmoved after learning about this issue.

The Monster Slayer was the first true commercial swordsman mech designed by Ketis.

She had deliberately set out to design it from beginning to end by herself. She wanted to prove to Ves and everyone else that she had become good enough to design a viable and popular mech model by relying on her own merits, and she succeeded in her venture.

Due to Ves' lack of involvement, the Monster Slayer was not a traditional living mech per se, and lacked many of the distinctive advantages of his own products.

Still, as Ves looked up at the proud display copy of the greatsword-wielding mech, he could sense a seed of life buried within its well-designed frame.

If he had to describe it, Ketis had learned just enough about living mechs to ensure that her products would at least end up as first order living mechs.

It was unlikely for her works to improve in a qualitative fashion by themselves. Ves saw no way they could evolve into second order or third order living mechs.

The problem was similar to the one that had plagued the Ouroboros all of the time. The scope of life applied to the design was simply too limited to know how to reach greater heights.

Ketis also did not attach a design spirit to the Monster Slayer.

This was the limit that Ketis was able to accomplish without developing an actual specialization in living mechs.

This was fine.

Instead of copying her former mentor, she added her own charm to the machine.

The main reason why she made her mech alive was so that she could load it with her swordsmanship.

The main role of the living mech was to instruct its mech pilot on how to learn and execute the sword styles she imbued in her designs!

The Monster Slayers effectively turned into a swordsmanship instructor for their pilots. Many of these people had quickly learned the basics of the relatively simple but solid Foundational Greatsword Style that Ketis had especially composed for beginner swordsmen.

This alone made it worthwhile for melee mech specialists to pilot the Monster Slayer!

There was no other mech like it. While there were mech designers that equipped their products with advanced AIs that could instruct their pilots in a similar manner, it lacked the intimacy and the personal touch of the Monster Slayer model.

More importantly, Ketis was able to imbue her swordsman mech designs with a touch of Sharpie's extraordinary willpower.

This enabled every pilot to come into contact with a will that was equivalent to that of an expert pilot!

The more they mastered the Foundational Greatsword Style, the greater their ability to execute the more remarkable techniques that already started to touch the threshold where sword techniques started to gain extraordinary traits!

Such an exhilarating mech model most definitely changed the mentality of its pilots. Had Ketis sufficiently considered the consequences of her own work? Did she implement enough safeguards to prevent her own customers from thinking they were champion swordsman mech pilots when their actual combat literacy was much further behind?

"Give me the statistics." Ves requested.

Both leaders transferred the relevant files to his comm.

He spent a few minutes analyzing the data himself. The data patterns and anecdotal testimonies matched their claims.

"I think I understand the underlying issue." Ves spoke again. "If you think about it, the Monster Slayer is a two-in-one mech. Ketis designed with two different roles in mind. Its first role is to function as a teaching mech. The target audience are mech pilots that are not accustomed to wielding greatswords or melee combat in general. These people tend to be less experienced and capable in general. The Monster Slayer's second role is to function as an advanced combat platform that can enable skilled and experienced mech pilots to challenge much more powerful opponents with comparably weaker machines."

There was an inherent contradiction between the two roles. The risk was that the mech pilots who originally piloted the Monster Slayer in order to learn how to fight effectively with a sword decided to put their new skills to use in actual battle.

That was not a problem on the surface, but it was different if the mech pilots overestimated their capabilities and deliberately sought to challenge themselves by tackling stronger enemies!

The LMC could not escape fault in these cases if the Monster Slayer actively pushed its own mech pilots to push their limits when they were not actually fit enough to undertake these dangerous fights!

President Tarich of the Hunting Association looked skeptical. "You may be correct, Professor Larkinson, but the pilots of Ocanon VI know better. The ones that attempted to challenge themselves and bring the Monster Slayers deep into the Chasseur Continent were not rookie mech pilots and hunters. They already completed enough hunts in both the Shamon and Chasseur Continents. In my opinion, the real issue is that strong hunters who have proven their skill and craft in many hunts have died in unusually high numbers since they piloted this dangerous machine of yours."

"Ketis told me once that the Monster Slayer is only supposed to be used in battle by really good mech pilots." Andraste said as she admired all of the mounted exobeast heads on the walls. "She also said that it is a mech that only allows the very best to become much stronger. It does not make much sense to stick to her Monster Slayer if the pilot isn't good enough to its full potential."

Ves nodded in agreement. He believed he understood the fundamental issue after he studied the data bit more.

"President Tarich, I do not believe you have missed your notice that the hunting teams of these overconfident hunters are always smaller. There are logs that show that the Monster Slayers among these teams have actually separated from the rest of their teammates and ventured into the depths of a dangerous hunting ground in duos or even by themselves. It is no surprise that they mostly failed to complete their hunts. If they piloted any other mech from any other company, their odds of defeating the powerful prey they had eyes upon would be just as poor."

"That is indeed the case." Oscar Tarich crossed his arms. "The difference here is that our hunters are able to keep their heads cool when they pilot the mechs produced by any other company. It is well-known that LMC mechs are able to exert different degrees of mental influence onto the pilots who interface with them. Although your living mechs have earned a high degree of acceptance among our community, there are skeptics who have begun to question whether we have all been underestimating the dark side of your products."

"There is no dark side to our living mechs." Ves frowned. "At the very least, the problem should be specific to the Monster Slayer model. Has the Huntmaster and the other products in our mech catalog generated any complaints?"

"Not yet, but that can change in the future."

"We will tackle that problem when it arises. For now, the conversation should be confined to the Monster Slayer model. That is what your branch is concerned about, right?"

Tarich shook his head in disappointment. "I do not wish to accuse you and your company of anything, but if the Monster Slayers sold by your company keep driving more and more of our hunters into reckless actions, then this will force the hand of our Hunting Association. Your product may end up joining your Ferocious Piranha and the Pacifier on the list of banned mech models."

Captain Gheri had done a good job at controlling her anger. Though she was not able to hide her increasing irritation, she at least knew better than to unleash an unhinged tirade.

That did not mean she wanted to remain silent!

"Do not listen to this guy. This is nonsense, sir." The Swordmaiden insisted. "What is really going on is that these arrogant hunters think they could beat our records. If I was able to hunt down a Barrugan Acid Spitter with a single Monster Slayer, those fools thought they could hunt other prey by themselves. I do not need to tell you the consequences of their actions. What is troublesome is what happens next. All of those people who have lost their friends and family need someone or something to blame. Instead of admitting that the dead hunters made a stupid decision that got themselves killed, they would rather shift the blame to Ketis' work and claim that our company has been negligent."

That caused Ves to frown. This was a very human response to the death of a loved one.

It was difficult to prove that the Monster Slayer had directly led to the deaths of those promising hunters.

However, it was also difficult to prove that the Monster Slayer had no involvement at all with the high death rates.

The hard numbers did not lie. The mech pilots of Ocanon VI had a much lower chance of dying if they entered the hunting grounds with any other mech!

Ves scratched his head. "I really do not want to deal with this matter. I am supposed to be on vacation right now. As far as I am concerned, the Monster Slayer should not be blamed for the failures of these mech pilots. I know that Ketis had tried to put a lot of effort into simplifying the Monster Slayer, but it is really only a mech model that the Swordmaidens can utilize to its full potential. I am not surprised that our elite Swordmaiden mech pilots can complete group hunts by themselves. They have gone through punishment training and mastered the greatsword to a much higher degree than those who have picked it up in just a couple of months. Other mech pilots simply cannot match this level of dedication in a relatively short amount of time."

The Monster Slayer provided a shortcut to mech pilots, but there were many more factors that made the Swordmaidens so absurdly strong in melee combat.

It was not without reason that his Larkinson Clan invested a lot of resources into this mech legion!

The indomitable spirit of these disciplined warriors along with their excellent combat acumen that was honed through numerous life-threatening challenges caused them to become fearless destroyers in battle.

As long as they were on the offensive, the Swordmaidens could chop anything apart!

The other hunters on Ocanon VI simply could not compare against these qualities! They had never put much emphasis on preparing themselves for fighting in the middle of a serious battlefield. Their ability to adapt to unexpected setbacks and cope with heavy disadvantages were much poorer!

"The Monster Slayer is not a forgiving mech in battle." Captain Gheri reiterated. "It packs a powerful punch and it can dodge nearly any attack as long as the pilot knows when to do so. However, its armor and defenses are not as great. It cannot take a lot of hits. Only a single mistake can be enough to cripple the machine, thereby turning it into a doomed machine when locked in combat with any powerful exobeast."

While she had explained this truth to the customers who bought copies of the Monster Slayer, her cautious advice always seemed to fall on deaf ears.