The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6093

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The base regeneration speed of the Elegant Rage was too slow.

Ves and Alexa conducted further examinations on the unusual third order living mech.

The plasma cutter created a bunch more shallow grooves on different portions of the mech's exterior.

They managed to discover a few rules.

"The Elegant Rage's metallic components have gained regenerative properties, but the effects are so weak that they can be ignored over the course of a single engagement. The reason why the metallic components can restore themselves at all is probably due to the infusion of wood energy. However, the elemental properties are in conflict with each other. According to the RA's internal database on E energy attribute interactions, wood energy has an antagonistic relationship with metal energy. The common saying is that metal cuts wood. It is not a surprise that they are unable to get along."

"The wooden parts of the Elegant Rage are able to restore themselves much faster. Our current working theory is that they are highly compatible with wood energy. The nurturing and healing qualities of wood energy synergize extremely well with the organic wood originally produced by the Emperor Tree. The only issue is that the restoration rate is still too slow to be of significant use in battle. It takes days to repair any significant battle damage."

"The thorns that have spontaneously grown out of the exterior of the Elegant Rage are very special. Their regenerative properties alone are far superior compared to the rest of the mech frame. When they are damaged or cut off, the mutated mech is already able to channel a lot of wood energy to restore the thorn to its original state. According to the living mech herself, she instinctively channels the wood energy without conscious direction, suggesting that her thorns have become an enhanced focus of her metaphysical power."

"When we cut off one of the smallest wooden thorns, it takes about half a day for it to regenerate in full."

"When we cut off one of the smallest metallic thorns, it will probably take multiple days for it to regenerate. This is much slower compared to the wooden thorns, but it is much faster compared to other metallic components."

"Why is there such a massive difference in the regeneration rate between the thorns and the other parts of the mech frame?"

"One of my theories is that the thorns are a pure manifestation of Venerable Lanie and her companion spirit's extraordinary power. Although Lanie has already left the cockpit for several weeks, remnants of her power still reside in the mech and particularly the thorns."

"Another theory is that the Elegant Rage's spiritual foundation has been warped and distorted to the point where her thorns have become her most important parts. Their importance has surpassed that of the power reactor, the mech engine, the flight system, the armaments and so on. Numerous interviews with the Elegant Rage herself support this theory."

"Is it possible to replicate this 'thorn effect'?" Alexa curiously asked as she continued to work alongside Ves to uncover the mutated mech's secrets.

Ves smiled. "I think so. The speed of transformation won't be as fast and the effects probably won't be as exaggerated without the support of an expert pilot, but I think it is doable for me to develop a lesser variant that can be mass produced."

"Truly?! How?!"

"The data we have gathered and the conclusions that we have drawn from them have opened up my eyes." He said in an inspired tone. "I have realized that metaphysical energy has more potential than I thought. Even modest quantities of E energy can produce more drastic and illogical changes."

"You will have to elaborate further. I do not understand, sir."

Ves smirked. He was not surprised.

"Your companion spirit Maia has observed the interaction between the Elegant Rage and E energy all of this time, correct?"

Alexa nodded. "Yes. She is observing the mech from a different perspective just as Blinky."

"Then you should have a good grasp on how much wood Energy the Elegant Rage is absorbing from the environment. Right now, her mech frame is covered by dozens of wounds. She is working hard to repair the damage. Some of the damaged sections are regenerating slowly, but the thorns are repairing a lot faster. Regardless, do you think the throughput of wood E energy is proportional to the regeneration processes?"

The former Terran mech designer hadn't paid attention to this, but now that Ves pointed it out, she quickly deduced what he was trying to convey.

Her eyes widened in realization. "I have grown much more familiar with hyper technology in the past year. I have witnessed many mech systems that absorb similar quantities of E energy, but produce much weaker effects. This is a ceiling that is difficult to break because the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy is positioned hundreds of thousands of light-years away from Messier 87. The exotic radiation that has reached our coordinates has been diluted so many times that the concentration is just a fraction of the concentration at the source."

In other words, the Red Ocean was just a medium-energy environment. Any hyper tech that operated in this dwarf galaxy was only a fraction as powerful as in a high-energy environment like Messier 87!

Ves always assumed that this was a hard limitation that could not be overcome, but the evidence he gathered from the Elegant Rage subverted his views!

"What you have said is largely correct, Alexa, but I believe that it is easier to break this ceiling than I thought. The Elegant Rage possesses a special quality that allows her to drastically increase the utilization of E energy. What is strange is that it is only effective on her thorns. Yet this is already a crucial observation because we can observe the differences with our own eyes! Do you realize what this means? We have hard empirical data that the ceiling can be broken, and if my suspicions are correct, this result is much easier to reproduce than you think!"

"How?!"

"Let's ask the living mech herself." Ves grinned before turning to face the large machine. "You have heard my explanation. Have you formed an idea on what the special quality may be? What allows you to restore your thorns a lot faster than everything else?"

This was a crucial question. The data gathered by the pair of mech designers revealed that even if the Elegant Rage channeled a lot more wood energy to her damaged thorns in order to speed up their regeneration processes, the numbers did add up! The yield was far higher than it should!

It was as if Ves previously needed to spend 100 MTA credits to produce a single mech in the past, but suddenly gained the capability to produce 10 mechs with the same amount of money!

Those were 10 mechs with the same quality and performance parameters as the original machine!

Where did the other 9 mechs come from? How was it possible for 100 MTA credits to achieve results that were an order of magnitude better?

This was exactly the sort of phenomenon that Ves managed to uncover from the Elegant Rage!

It didn't make any sense to him at first.

Nothing came for free! Everything had a cost!

What kind of heavy and hellish price did the Elegant Rage pay in order to gain this reality-defying power? Was Venerable Lanie entirely responsible for this effect, or did her living mech gain a mysterious upgrade that somehow allowed her to utilize wood energy a lot more effectively on a conditional basis?

It was fortunate that Ves had multiple minds to draw upon to increase his thinking capacity. After considering a lot of different clues and variables, he believed he managed to dial in the answer.

"Let's refresh the basics. What are the defining properties of E energy?"

"It is intangible. It possesses both energy and matter characteristics. It is psychoactive and psychoreactive."

"Focus on your third sentence! Think, Alexa. What does it actually mean for E energy to be psychoreactive?"

"E energy reacts to the conscious thought of an intelligent individual. Depending on the strength and purity of thought, E energy can become stronger and produce much more specific effects than usual. Hyper materials already do this to a degree, but since they are lifeless objects, the reactions are mostly static and unchanging in isolation. It is only when there is a conscious mind that greater variance has been observed. Oh…"

Ves grinned wider. "Have you realized it, Alexa?"

"Are you suggesting that… it is the Elegant Rage's own cognition that is responsible for boosting the regeneration of her own thorns?"

"Exactly! It makes too much sense! Let Maia take a deep look at the Elegant Rage's spiritual foundation. The essence of thorns has already taken root in the very spirit of the living mech! That is a clear indication that she is somehow improving the interaction between wood energy and her thorns to a drastic degree."

Although this explanation made a lot of sense, Alexa still felt there were a lot of gaps in this radical theory.

"Each of your living mechs practice the cultivation method that you have devised for them if I recall. That cultivation method is largely centered around the absorption of metal energy. Even if the Elegant Rage ceased to practice it because she has developed a loathing for the metal element, how is the living mech able to produce drastically better results with wood energy?"

The difference in effectiveness was too great!

"The answer is quite simple, Alexa. Let's ask the mech herself. Elegant Rage, have you suspended your practice of the Greater Larkinson Metal Guardian Mantra?"

"YES."

"Have you decided to practice a modified version of the cultivation method or any other cultivation method as a substitute?"

"NO."

"Why not?"

"I ALREADY FEEL COMFORTABLE IN MY CURRENT STATE. I AM GROWING EVEN FASTER THAN WHEN I WAS PRACTICING YOUR CULTIVATION METHOD IN THE PAST. I SEE NO REASON TO MAKE ANY FURTHER CHANGES. MY THORNS ARE GROWING SHARPER AND TOUGHER WITH EACH PASSING DAY."

Alexa looked shocked when she heard this. How was the Elegant Rage able to improve at such a notable rate without practicing any cultivation method?

This defied her limited understanding!

"What do you think about thorns?"

"THORNS ARE MY WEAPONS AND ARMOR. THEY CAN NOT ONLY PROTECT LANIE'S LIFE, BUT ALLOWS HER TO RETALIATE WITH THE POWER OF HER ENEMIES. THE HARDER I GET HIT, THE MORE HARMFUL MY THORNS BECOME. THE THORNS COVERING MY EXTERIOR IS AN OBVIOUS WARNING TO ALL THAT THEY MUST PAY A PAINFUL PRICE IF THEY DARE LAY A HAND ON ME OR LANIE AGAIN. MY THORNS HAVE BECOME THE EMBODIMENT OF MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE!"

Alexa flinched as the living mech spoke that last sentence with a much higher volume than normal!

Ves turned to face his direct disciple. "Have you finally figured out the answer?"

"I believe so." Alexa said as she rapidly put all of the facts together. "The Elegant Rage doesn't need to practice a cultivation method because… her distorted cognition already produces the same effect. If you think about it, a cultivation method is nothing more than a highly focused form of self- hypnosis. The goal is to artificially impose a radically different state of mind in your head for the purpose of producing specific reactions with specific E energy attributes. The Elegant Rage… does not need to do that, because the changes produced by Venerable Lanie's breakthrough has automatically reshaped the living mech's mind state into one that is inherently focused and obsessed with thorns."

"Correct! That is the theory that I have devised! For you to come to the same conclusion after noticing the same clues shows that it is likely correct. Strong cognition produces stronger E energy reactions! The Elegant Rage has grown by a large extent all of a sudden as she was able to leech a portion of Lanie's breakthrough energies. Her greater quantity of Ascension Runes is proof of that. Now, I believe that we have discovered a very important means of strengthening the hyper technology and E technology of all of our living mechs! I need to conduct a bunch of follow up experiments in order to be sure, but if my suspicions are correct, we should be able to drastically strengthen all of our existing and future products!"