The Mech Touch

Chapter 6565 Extravagant Proposal

After a month of cooperation with the Master Mech Designers of the Mech Supremacist. Faction, Ketis clearly became influenced by their ideas.

After exploring the possibilities for collaboration, she had outlined two different visions for the First Sword Mark III.

The pure version pursued extremely solid dueling capabilities above other concerns. The ace mech would become a straightforward evolution of the swordsman mech archetype. This choice had great implications for Saint Dise's future trajectory. This template would most likely remain a constant and permanent fixture of her approach towards combat. She would remain wedded to the strengths and limitations of a pure swordsman mech archetype.

If she ever managed to become a god pilot in the future, then she would likely become the ultimate swordsman mech specialist among her kind!

Ves could clearly tell why Ketis felt so enamoured about this approach. There was beauty in its simplicity. Saint Dise was a great fit for this machine as she had remained committed to piloting pure swordsman mechs for her entire career. She knew how to leverage the strength of this mech archetype while also mitigating its weaknesses.

However, as much as Ves felt attracted by this concept, he clearly held a stronger preference for the sword fey version, and it was not just because he would retain his ownership in the model.

"Of the two versions that you have presented, there is a clear distinction between risks and rewards." Ves spoke to Ketis' projection. "The pure version is a known quantity. The mech archetype is straightforward and Saint Dise doesn't have to branch out and split her training into developing new proficiencies. In order to use the pure version to its full potential, it is already enough for her to polish her swordsmanship and develop her amazing affinity towards the metal element towards augmenting and reinforcing her machine. That said, this approach is so simple that it lacks a lot of depth. The First Sword can only approach every fight the same way. This will make the ace mech predictable, which means that enemies can easily prepare countermeasures."

The swordmaster's eyes grew strained. "That is true, but ace mechs are so powerful that their weaknesses have become much more relative than before. As long as Saint Dise has developed her strengths to an extreme, she can overcome any opposition by force. This configuration is mainly oriented towards strengthening her ability to break all laws with just her sword."

Ves had taken the time to view the footage of Saint Dise's breakthrough event and became suitably impressed by her final move. The Muscular Swordsman ultimately did not stand a chance, especially considering that the earth element was weak towards the metal element.

"I am not trying to imply that the pure version is a bad development trajectory." Ves patiently clarified. "I am just observing that it is a known quantity. A simple mech concept comes with lower risks. Saint. Dise is unlikely to get lost and go astray in her progression. However, her ceiling will essentially be determined in advance, and it will be incredibly difficult to raise it. The lack of complications means that the ace pilot has less options to turn an adverse situation around."

In other words, the pure version was a relatively low risk configuration that provided medium rewards at best.

Ketis had worked on fleshing out the mech concept for a month. She understood his train of thought.

"The sword fey version is a more experimental concept." She said in line with his explanation. "It lacks the guaranteed utility of Master Clisner's Long Distance Space Suppression Module and Master Mossclover's Phasewater Super Energy Cells. This makes it inherently weaker unless it can use the combination of your sword fey and Master Thornquist's Spur Linking Drone Mechs to outperform the pure version. The question is whether that is possible. We have no data or prior references to refer to. The high-level drone mechs designed by Master Thornquist are admittedly impressive in their own right, but their spurs have always been a little lacking, especially if they are oriented towards melee attacks rather than ranged attacks."

Ranged spurs were much more convenient to use as they just had to hang back and launch attacks at distant targets. The biggest difficulty with using them was to aim and control them all with precision, but high-ranking mech pilots along with advanced hardware and software usually made this doable.

Melee spurs were much harder to use. Unless they possessed energy blades or whatever, they needed to exert enough force to inflict enough damage, which was difficult to accomplish due to their much lower mass and momentum.

This problem was much less of a concern for ace mechs as their Saint Kingdoms could usually amplify the power of melee spurs by an enormous extent. However, this strength boost only remained effective within the range of the domain field, which was not all that big.

"I think the sword fey version is worth investing in despite its greater risks." Ves argued. "Sure, the floor is much lower due to inferior space suppression capabilities and lower energy reserves, but as long as you can pair the First Sword Mark III with a lot of sword fey, the living mech can dominate the battlefield with them. There is no rule that states that spurs have to be physically mounted onto the mech frame, so you can do away with that. Instead, you can design them as permanent detached semi-autonomous combat. units and make them a little larger and more powerful. They can be integrated with their own power source and miniaturized space suppressors to make up for the aforementioned shortcomings."

The plan that Ves presented was one that Ketis had already considered.

"Your suggestion has much promise, but the difficulty lies in its execution." She said. "Not only must this version be able to field at least 32 sword fey in order to produce strong enough support link synergies, Saint Dise must also be able to control them effectively in the field. She will have to divert time away from training her swordsmanship and learning how to strengthen her mech with the metal element to learn how to best draw out the strength of all of the sword fey under her command."

"There lies the promise." Ves enthusiastically said. "Those sword fey are all alive, and destroying their physical shells won't kill off the subordinate spirits. This means that the latter will constantly grow and develop over time. One day, they will become so strong that the First Sword Mark III can probably defeat a phase lord by relying on the sword

fey alone!"

As wonderful as it sounded, Ketis still maintained sober attitude towards this mech

concept.

"All of that growth alone is not enough if Saint Dise is unable to use them smoothly and with precision. I have asked her about what she thinks about using so many sword fey in combat. She is receptive enough to give it a try, but she does not have total confidence that she can split her attention enough to make good use of the sword fey. We are asking her to make a drastic change to her approach towards mech piloting. She also has to develop an entirely new set of skills and techniques related to the sword fey."

As Ves and Ketis continued to talk, it was clear that the swordmaster was clear about the strengths and weaknesses of both versions, but was unable to make up her mind.

Both concepts were far too tempting to Ketis!

One represented the classic swordsman mech!

The other opened up new ground!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing that Ketis remained far too attached to the two diverging development

trajectories, Ves suddenly came up with a crazy idea.

"Ketis. Since you clearly like both versions, why not realize them both?"

The swordmaster did not understand what he just said. She blinked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"It's just as I said. You like the pure version, so just go ahead and develop it. You also like the sword fey version, so do not give up on it and develop it as well. Once you have completed the two upgrade projects, try and figure out if you and Dise are able to make a choice on which one you want to use to upgrade the First Sword Mark III.

"Isn't that... a waste of time and resources?"

"It isn't." Ves insisted. "Our clan is wealthy and we are not short of social capital and war merits. This is the time where we must decisively use our resources instead of keeping them in reserve. Do not worry about the costs and just do it. Even if half of your work will end unused, you still exercised your design skills and gained a lot of practical lessons and insights. Besides, who says Saint Dise only ever has to remain attached to a

single ace mech?"

Ketis' eyes widened at his implication. "You mean..."

Ves grinned back at her. "There is nothing stopping Saint Dise from piloting a second ace mech! Neither versions include the Carmine System, so she is not bound to a single mech for the rest of her life. I know this practice is highly unusual at the ace mech level due to resource and proficiency concerns, but that does not mean we have to blindly follow this long-standing industry custom."

"But... but... is this not a betrayal to the First Sword?"

"Living mechs have feelings, but we do not have an obligation to spoil them and treat them like princesses, Ketis. They must know their place. If one ace swordsman mech is not enough to do the job, then we will make use of two. I suppose you can use the pure version as the upgrade path for the First Sword Mark II. As for the sword fey version, it is better to flesh it out into an original mech design that possesses its own identity. Think of it as giving Saint Dise additional options. Not only will she be able to employ the best ace mech for the right mission, but she will also be able to switch to a fresh and undamaged machine if her current one has incurred heavy damage." This practice was not unheard of among other powerful mech forces.

However, this was only ever done by keeping the previous mech used by the high-ranking mech pilot in reserve since it was already there. As long as there was enough space available on a carrier, it was worthwhile to keep the old expert mech or ace mech around even if it was weak and outdated by modern standards. The situation with Saint Linda Cross was a typical example of this. She may have switched over to piloting the Amphis Extremis, but if her ace mech ever got wrecked, she could always jump into the cockpit of her old Amphis in an emergency. The suggestion made by Ves was much different from this expedient solution. He was actually talking about designing and fabricating two modern ace mechs for a single ace

pilot!

This was an unexpectedly extravagant plan!

As attractive as it sounded, Ketis did not allow herself to get swayed by her former

mentor.

"No. I don't think it is a good idea to waste so much resources on building two ace mechs and split Venerable Dise's attention. I believe in her capabilities. She will not have to make use of two ace mechs to handle most situations. One is enough. I will not waste

my time or the time of the RA Master Mech Designers just because I cannot make up my mind. I will make a choice."

Seeing that Ketis had her own thoughts on the matter, Ves did not press his suggestion

any further.

"If you have to pick between the two, then I personally suggest you take a gamble and go for the sword fey version. I am favoring it not just because it has much greater

promise than the pure version. I think it would be genuinely good for you to expand your repertoire and start making more original variations of swordsman mechs. As long as the sword fey version of the First Sword Mark III succeeds, you can develop simplified versions of the same concept and develop a whole line of mass production models that possesses a part of the charm. Think of how fantastic they will be if many more mech pilots can leverage lots of disposable sword fey in combat. It will be like designing a melee version of my Fey Fianna mech line!"