The Mech Touch

For as long as mechs existed, it had always been the rule that mech pilots could only rely on themselves and their mechs to grow stronger.

There were no easy shortcuts to greater power. Unless a pilot had an exceptionally high genetic aptitude such as the frankly ridiculous Chosen Human who raced his way to his current rank at the age of 75, it took a lot longer for every other mech pilot to grow their resonance strength to their limits and beyond.

"Time is a luxury that we do not have." The Mace of Retaliation wistfully said as he stared down at the three dormant Carmine mechs. "I wish that we did not have to rely on this measure. Pilots such as myself have earned our way to our current levels by putting in an unimaginable amount of blood, sweat and tears into our service. We sought out dangerous challenges and subjected ourselves to unreasonable dangers just so that we can stimulate our potential again and again. To think that our future mech pilots can attain many of the same benefits by swallowing a single vial of liquid is... frustrating."

Ves could understand the feeling. No one wanted their hard work to become so devalued due to technological advancements.

Yet... jealousy was not a sufficient justification to rule out the use of these newfangled elixirs.

"You already said it yourself, sir. We don\'t have enough time to allow our high-ranking mech pilots to take their time. Back in the Milky Way, everything was so damn stable that everyone could afford for mech pilots to take decades or centuries to grow into their power. Here in the Red Ocean, there is a real chance that we will all go extinct half a century later. The growth rate of mech pilots is simply too slow. What we need the most are god pilots, lots of them. If that means we must lower the threshold to triggering apotheosis and provide all kinds of conveniences that can drastically shrink the growth rate, then so be it. At least we\'ll have enough powerful protectors to survive the coming decades."

The Mace still assumed a complex expression. "You do not need to reiterate the arguments to me. We have made a long and careful consideration before we have agreed to implement these measures. The elixirs are here to stay. For now, we plan to reserve them for warlords and warfighters as long as they are eligible. This is one of our greatest incentives to persuade high-ranking mech pilots to participate in deep strike operations."

Limiting the availability to warlords and warfighters had massive implications. This policy would ultimately lead to a drastic disparity in strength and numbers between the offensive New Elites and the people who contributed much less to the war effort.

Ves realized that this was an important component to the Fist of Defiance\'s ambitious societal reforms.

Military power was one of the most straightforward factors that decided the hierarchy in a society.

If warlords grew so quickly that they could overpower those who remained at home, then it was inevitable for the former to supplant the latter!

At this moment, the Mace of Retaliation offered Ves a head-start on this exciting new development. 500 vials was more than enough to rapidly accelerate the growth of all of his expert pilots!

Important and strategic figures such as Venerable Joshua Larkinson, Commander Casella Ingvar and Venerable Zimro Belson would no longer have to wait for many years to reach the threshold to advance to ace pilot and gain a chance to make a real difference in the great war!

The differences between expert pilots and ace pilots were simply too great.

The former was effectively a single step removed from cannon fodder.

The latter could challenge alien warships head-on and win!

"Is this elixir effective for standard pilots and expert candidates?"

"No." The Mace shook his head. "The results are not pleasant if anyone else ingests the A7-KE1 elixir in any quantity or concentration. Our researchers are working on a weaker formula that can safely provide enough of a boost to weaker mech pilots, but it is questionable whether it is even possible in theory. The ultimate requirement for a soldier to become more effective is to transform his willpower and form the right conviction. This is why the elixirs cannot induce any breakthroughs by themselves. There is research that suggests that any expert pilots who rely on them for rapid growth will find it much more difficult to advance to ace pilot."

"That is only if every other variable remains the same, right? If all of those other measures go into force as well, then you can easily compensate for this disadvantage."

"That is true, professor, but that leaves us with consequences that we cannot easily wave away. I truly fear for the mentalities of the cruder and less refined warlords that will inevitably rise up in this changed climate."

Ves decided to ask another question.

"Are these elixirs effective for ace pilots as well?"

"They work." The Mace of Retaliation freely answered. "The problem is that the proportional gains are too low. It is not difficult for ace pilots to grow their resonance strengths by a couple of laveres in a week. It is wasteful for them to ingest expensive elixirs that produce comparable gains. I am told that our researchers are working hard to develop much more potent formulas, with little progress. Their main hindrance is the lack of availability of exceptionally strong reagents. It takes a special energy-dense environment to even make their growth possible."

Ves suddenly recalled that he had made a promise to exchange special hyper materials for other valuable goods.

Perhaps the main reason why that Master Mech Designer asked for powerful sympathetic materials was to facilitate the growth of powerful but demanding raw ingredients!

In any case, it sounded as if developing elixirs that possessed the right potency for ace pilot was a struggle. It may take years for the Red Association to produce a successful result.

Everything would probably change once again once the mechers produced a breakthrough in their research!

There was no need for Ves to think so far ahead. He needed to consider his more immediate priorities. He desperately needed to strengthen his forces so that he could defend himself against both human and alien threats.

His biggest concern was that his actions had accelerated his entry into first-class society. The rules were different at this height, and so were the power levels.

It would take a lot of time for Ves to amass a proper force of first-class multipurpose mechs. Reliable and trustworthy manpower would be severely limited for a long time.

If he could speed up the transformation of his favored expert pilots into ace pilots, they could offer him ample protection against all but the greatest threats of the Red Ocean!

What Ves needed to consider whether it was the right choice to forgo 100 billion MTA merits in order to receive 500 exclusive vials of A7-KE1 years in advance.

The Red Association was most certainly iterating on the elixirs, so a newer and more effective version might come out a few years later.

The rapid expansion of the emerging elixir industry would also make it a lot cheaper to acquire the elixirs. A single vial of A7-KE1 may very well become 10 times cheaper, which meant that Ves had paid an excessive premium just to gain early access to this product.

He was quite familiar with the pros and cons of engaging in early generation products. It was inevitable for subsequent developments to outshine earlier efforts.

What Ves ultimately had to consider was whether it was worth making his most important champions a lot stronger in the next couple of hours.

If these elixirs were as crazy as the Red Association claimed, then he may very well be able to turn all of his expert pilots into ace pilot candidates by the time the Larkinson Clan was ready and able to participate in its first deep strike operation!

It ultimately came down to time. Was Ves willing to forgo other rewards just so that he could gain these elixirs in advance?

"You do not have to settle for this reward, Professor Larkinson." The Mace of Retaliation said when he noticed the other man\'s internal struggle. "We can provide you with other rewards such as upgrading your flagship into a well-equipped first-class factory ship, giving you access to our libraries that explain our most restricted high technologies or receive the most advanced and cutting-edge augmentations that we are able to provide to an individual with your abnormal physique."

Ves was actually the least interested in the last reward. He had already improved more than enough as of late. There was no need for him to replace his cranial implant or gain any other fancy gene treatments.

He was a lot more tempted to upgrade his Spirit of Bentheim even though she had already completed a refit a short time ago. Gaining extensive access to a lot of high-level knowledge also sounded yummy.

He also thought about asking for top materials such as the ones demanded by the Mech Designer System, but he did not feel much urgency to complete his neglected Supply Missions.

Ever since he saw how the Polymath ended up, Ves had gained a lot of wariness towards his own fragment of the Metal Scroll, especially now that it had \'reunited\' with the Iron Resonant Crucifix Crown! Perhaps it might not be a bad idea to keep it in a half-starved state.

Then again... perhaps the benefits offered by the System upgrades surpassed the value of those vials.

Ves decided to trust the Mace of Retaliation. He composed a short list of materials and transmitted it to the ace pilot.

"Can I ask whether the Association has these materials in stock?"

The Mace of Retaliation had encountered a lot of different materials over the centuries, but the ones requested by Ves sounded especially odd.

"Orphedeian Glow Glass? Yondu Milk? I never heard of them. Our database contains no entry to them either. They may be registered under different names, but I doubt it. Even if we are familiar with these materials, the chances are great that they are only available in the Milky Way. We did not transfer enough material reserves to the Red Ocean before the Great Severing occurred."

Ves knew better than to get his hopes up. "So your Association can\'t supply any of the listed materials?"

"The only hit in our database is EE-343F-00334R. We have definitely come in touch with it before. That makes sense as it is clearly an artificial alloy that is developed in an advanced materials lab."

Wait, what?!

Ves immediately became more excited. "Do you happen to have a few kilograms of this alloy in stock?!"

"I hate to disappoint you, but we do not have this material in supply. Our database tells me that the alloy was originally developed by the Common Fleet Alliance. The Red Fleet likely doesn\'t have this experimental material in stock, but it may be possible for you to exchange the formula or make another arrangement. We can intercede on your behalf if you wish, though we cannot guarantee success."

"Ah. That\'s okay. 1 will figure this out myself." Ves quickly waved.

He would rather settle this problem himself than to rely on a third party. Besides, he had already gained a huge amount of progress by finding out the source of one of these critical and elusive materials!

With that option ruled out, Ves couldn\'t help but go back to those 500 vials of elixirs. They did not help him directly, but they could provide a massive boost to his clan and make sure that his strongest and most trusted protectors would be able to keep up with his rapid ascension.

The Larkinson Clan needed this fast power boost. This was especially the case when there were much stronger threats on the horizon.

Perhaps Ves might be able to spend too billion MTA merits on a variety of powerful tools and armaments, but these measures were far from enough to shake a powerful enough threat!

When he thought of how much more powerful his future ace mechs might become five to ten years in the future, Ves could no longer resist the temptation.

"I think... 1 will settle for the offer of 500 elixirs." Ves eventually decided. "I have several powerful pilots who depend on me and vice versa. It doesn\'t sit well with me to keep most of my gains for myself. I have already received enough benefits. It will be a lot more lonely for me if I can\'t keep the same company."

The Mace of Retaliation looked inordinately pleased.

"I knew you would make the right choice. I admire your loyalty and commitment to your troops. As expected of the person who reminded us all that mech designers exist to serve mech pilots. Keep up the good work. I expect greater results from you in the future."