The Mech Touch

6008 A Critical Voice

"Congratulations, Saint Tusa!"

"Congratulations, Gloriana!"

Hundreds of Larkinsons spread across human space ctogether to celebrate the double breakthroughs.

The logistics of this celebratory banquet had been difficult to arrange. Many Larkinsons located in different star systems all had to enter a Hyper Chamber or other augmented reality setting in order to enjoy the illusion of entering a shared semi-virtual space.

On top of that, the invited guests also needed to be served with excellent dishes, each of which needed to be consistent in order to reduce the illusion of separation during the party.

Fortunately, the Larkinson Clan had plenty of planners and organizers on hand. They had ctogether and arranged everything within a couple of days.

Both Gloriana and Tusa felt honored and pleased to be able to show off and boast about their accomplishments.

"Chip! Chip!"

A much larger and stronger companion spirit was flying leisurely before a gathering of children.

"Wow! You've grown so much bigger, Blackwing." Andraste said as she reached out to touch the companion spirit's wing. "Is this how big a companion spirit can grow when you becan ace pilot? Can you make yourself any larger?"

Blackwing briefly concentrated and amplified in size. The shadowy bird briefly becas large as a shuttle before quickly returning to a more comfortable hound-sized form.

"Chip chip chip!"

"That is so cool!"

As Blackwing playfully began to show off a few other tricks, Saint Tusa stood before a gathering of admiring and ambivalent expert pilots.

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Each of them were happy for Tusa's change in fortune, but they were also incredibly jealous that he got to be the first to realize this particular dream!

"It is fitting that you managed to break through sooner than everyone else." The physical projection of Venerable Joshua spoke. "You are the first to pilot a living expert mech. You have always been the fastest of us all. You have always challenged yourself more than the rest of us by throwing your expert light skirmisher into one enemy fleet of warships after another. I can hardly think of a more deserving pilot to break through than yours."

Another physical projection approached and casually slapped Tusa on the back!

"We won't let you keep your head-start for long!" Venerable Orfan exclaimed after she drained her glass of wine. "Our clan has becmuch safer now that you have managed to break through, but your Dark Zephyr doesn't have the staying power to fend off every powerful enemy. We will work hard and break through so that we can reinforce you soon enough. There is a tier 3 Destroyer spear waiting for my Riot, so you can bet that I will not keep you waiting. By the way, you can borrow my spear and make use of it in the meantime. It will definitely chandy in our next operation."

The junior ace pilot immediately rejected the suggestion. "That spear is too thick and heavy for my Dark Zephyr. I don't think I can keep that aggressive spear under control at all times. I am not even sure whether my mech can safely handle it. It is better to keep it here in Diandi Base and wait for a proper wielder to arrive."

Whether that wielder was Venerable Rosa Orfan or another pilot remained to be seen. The Destroyer spear was only fit to be wielded by a powerful ace pilot and a sturdy ace mech that had been designed to resist the destructive potency of the volatile weapon.

It was not that Saint Tusa was indifferent to the amazing destructive potential of the mech spear.

When Ves had invited Tusa to the vault where the dangerous weapon was stored inside its own protective container, the two explored whether it was possible for the Dark Zephyr to make use of the spear for the tbeing.

Alas, Tusa immediately concluded that it was a bad idea. The story might be different if he was presented with a pair of Destroyer knives, but the spear was way too unwieldy to be handled by a light skirmisher. He also did not have any foundation in spearmanship. His decision to specialize very early in his career had deprived him of the opportunity to develop proficiencies in other weapon types.

Of course, ace pilots had improved so much that they could easily master the use of other weapon types. This was actually quite common as ace pilots received the privilege of piloting much costlier ace mechs that gained access to a much greater variety of high-end weapon systems.

For example, the Dark Wind Module could be regarded as a very specialized weapon system that could only be installed on a high-ranking mech.

The problem was that Saint Tusa was not the sort of mech pilot who was as eager to explore and adopt new weapon systems like Venerable Joshua.

The ace pilot may have opened up a vast new world of mech combat, but he still insisted on sticking to his original specialization and mech type!

As far as Tusa was concerned, the only weapons his Dark Zephyr needed to carve up phase whales and wreck alien battleships was a good pair of knives!

The Dark Wind Module may technically constitute a separate weapon system, but Tusa preferred to treat it as a functional upgrade to his mech. The Ultimate Module simply weaponized the amazing speed of his battle partner.

In any case, Tusa had no demand for other weapon systems. Even if that left the Dark Zephyr vulnerable against powerful ranged opponents, the ace pilot had no desire to follow the footsteps of first-raters and demand his machine be equipped with all kinds of integrated weapon systems.

The most recent practice bout against the RA mech squad only reinforced this notion.

Multipurpose mechs were not absolutely superior. They merely performed well in most situations.

Tusa had personally confirmed that the RA's vaunted first-

class multipurpose mechs were generalists that could maintain a uniform degree of combat effectiveness, but fared poorly when confronted by a single foe that surpassed them in strength by a large enough margin.

Rather than piloting these clumsy machines that seemed to possess hundreds of solutions to different problems yet excelled at none of them, the former third-rater preferred to commit to using a pair of short blades.

As long as he continued to train and develop his knife fighting skills, he could develop powerful new techniques that should allow his Dark Zephyr to launch energy attacks that could strike at targets that were located further away. Perhaps he should approach Venerable Dise and Ketis and ask for advice.

Tusa continued to chat with his former peers. As he did, he noticed to a regret that a barrier had already formed between himself and his former peers.

Ace pilots stood above expert pilots. This was an ironclad custom in the mech community.

Just his ascendant willpower alone made it a lot less comfortable for the expert pilots to maintain their own composure.

Every expert pilot possessed a force of will that sought to claim the surrounding space for their own. The effect was not too strong as the pilots lacked the support of true resonance, but it was still a representation of their strong egos and confidence in themselves.

If Tusa continued to stay close to other expert pilots, then the latter's confidence in themselves would becshakier as the much more superior domain of an ace pilot continued to suppress their willpower.

In other words, there was nothing they could do to stop a hierarchy from forming. Tusa might look as human as the other Larkinsons, but he had transcended his mortality by at least two major steps. His life level had already risen much higher compared to the rest of the clan.

This made the other Larkinson expert pilots both depressed but also eager.

They lamented their inability to break through as quickly as Tusa, but looked forward to the day where they could finally wield this kind of power for themselves!

After a bit more chatting, Tusa finally found himself face to face with General Ark Larkinson.

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The leader of the Davute Branch looked a lot less impressive to Tusa today. Their positions had switched so abruptly that neither of the two had fully adjusted to the new status quo.

For a long time, every trueblood Larkinson looked up to Ark Larkinson. The son of Benjamin Larkinson was by far the most successful Larkinson expert pilot of his generation. Many people treated him as an idol and only thought they could follow in his footsteps at most.

Tusa was no exception to this. He had always assumed that with the talent and ability that Ark had always displayed, the older man would manage to break through sooner than every other Larkinson.

Yet the reality was different. Breakthroughs did not necessarily happen in a logical order. For Tusa to break through sooner than Ark sounded as absurd as the former graduating from the mech academy earlier than the latter!

Although Tusa felt happy that he had managed to surpass the expert pilot that he once idolized, he did not miss the obvious fact that Ark's self-esteem had just taken a huge blow.

"Ark."

"Yes, Tusa?"

"If there is one piece of advice that I can give you… it is that you worry too much." The ace pilot solemnly spoke to his former idol. "You are a great expert pilot, but that does not necessarily mean you have what it takes to becan ace pilot. In my opinion, one of the issues that may be holding you back is that you assway too much responsibility over stuff."

That caused Ark to feel a bit defensive. "Assuming responsibility has always been a part of my identity. I am a branch leader, a mech general and an important military asset of the Larkinson Clan. Each day, my actions directly affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I cannot divorce myself from my duties."

"I am not saying that you should drop every responsibility." Tusa clarified. "I just think that you may have gone too far in this direction. You have becso swamped with responsibilities that I think your dedication to serving as a simple mech pilot may have fallen in priority. How often do you train in your Lionheart compared to the other expert pilots in your command? How many times have you been forced to set aside your practice sessions in order to handle administration or take care of unexpected issues?"

"The work is time-consuming, but rewarding. The more I lead my people, the more they bestow their strength to me. I never fight by myself."

"I am not criticizing your combat approach, Ark. In fact, I think it is strong in its own right. I just think that Saints and Divines do not waste their ton trivial affairs. The closer you reach the level of a god, the more you need to set aside the parts that make you human. I am not sure how far you need to go with this or whether this is the only way for mech pilots to break through. I am merely thinking that this rule applies particularly well in your case."

Ark frowned deeper. Tusa's analysis and advice did not sound groundless.

Perhaps Ark was truly being held back by his human behavior. Now that he thought about it, Tusa made a lot of sense.

His good friend Reginald Cross managed to becan ace pilot. Despite holding the position of patriarch, the man never really cared too much about carrying out the duties of a clan leader.

In fact, Reginald was outright negligent in this aspect! If not for the fact that Master Benedict Cortez effectively filled in for this role, the Cross Clan would have deteriorated a long tago!

Perhaps… power and responsibility did not mix together as well as Ark thought.

He began to look back at his life with a much more critical perspective after he internalized Tusa's advice.