The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6142

The initial strikes of a basic multi-modal lightning tribulation did not really amount to anything impressive.

The tribulation storm may have converted the straightforward lightning bolts from above into

more complicated tribulation manifestations, but their power level was not that impressive at first.

That slowly changed as the Elegant Rage under the control of Major Simon Jankowski defeated one lightning manifestation after another.

Though the Elegant Rage was able to maintain the upper hand each time, there was no way for the mech armed with thorns, tonfas and a special rifle to avoid damage.

This was particularly the case when the defeated manifestations exploded and showered the nearby mech with the power of destruction and creation!

Fortunately, the Elegant Rage possessed inherent regeneration capabilities that were not entirely dependent on Venerable Lanie. The forest environment provided just enough additional wood energy for the Woodsap mech to regenerate many damaged parts by herself.

The components made out of improved ebony wood recovered fairly easily, but even the metallic parts began to show signs of gradual restoration!

Ves paid close attention to the telemetry of the Elegant Rage. When he observed plenty of indications that the living mech was actually able to repair simple battle damage to her metallic components, he became pleasantly surprised at this phenomenon.

The performance was better than he expected!

Was this the benefit of converting the Elegant Rage into a Woodsap mech?

Compared to her previous condition when she had just mutated into a thorn-covered form, the integration of Emperor Tree Wood seemed harmonious, but also incomplete. It was as if the Elegant Rage acquired an entirely new set of internal architecture, yet barely utilized it for anything aside from using wood as emergency replacement materials.

Now that Ves had made a pass at the recovered mech, he had picked up where the mutations left off and bound everything more tightly together by grouping them into a Carmine System linked with Emperor Tree Sap.

The practical and symbolic meaning of the changes were significant. The Elegant Rage was no longer a freak of accident anymore. It had turned into a more proper wood-based hyper mech.

The regeneration factor of the Elegant Rage could probably become a lot better if Ves converted her entirely into a mech made out of improved ebony wood.

However, Ves lacked the desire and the expertise to do so. He also felt that the Elegant Rage was better off if she maintained her half-metallic, half-wooden state. The living mech was able to make use of the advantages of both biotechnology and conventional technology. She might not excel in either areas, but she became a lot more versatile than before.

"These lighting creatures aren't as bad as the ones I fought before." Major Jankowski freely commented. "I don't have to fight too many of them either. This lightning tribulation only ends after 9 attempts to take down this mech, right?"

"That is correct, but don't underestimate it." Ves warned. "The tribulation is weak, but the next challenger is always around 30 percent stronger. This means that the final opponents will definitely test your piloting capabilities to the limit."

The expert candidate's expression turned a little more serious. "Understood. I am trying my best to minimize the damage to the mech, buy more time for the damaged systems to recover and familiarize myself with all of the quirks of this strange machine. I have very little experience with piloting cybernetic mechs, and I have never piloted one that is partially based on wood. It is not a great concern for the time being. The complexity of the Elegant Rage is much lower than that of a first-class multipurpose mech."

"How is your experience with the Elegant Rage so far?"

"This is a reassuring mech to pilot." He said after the storm sent out a dolphin-like creature made out of tribulation lightning. "It doesn't look too strong on the surface, but it is able to regenerate any damage it takes. This is a luxury that I have never seen in a second-class mech like this. Self-repair systems are more common in more premium first-class mechs, but their capabilities are often limited. I have the impression that the Elegant Rage is even able to repair her core systems as long as she is granted enough time."

Ves nodded with a smile. "No matter their specific circumstances, each Woodsap mech functions as a more advanced and pronounced version of a wood hyper mech. The wood element has always been strong at restoration. Although you are the wrong pilot to maximize the Elegant Rage's regenerative properties, you can just let the living mech take care of this chore. Your job is to maximize her combat capabilities and win every bout with as much grace as possible."

"Grace, huh? Now that you mention it, the Elegant Rage makes it surprisingly easy for me to pilot her with a certain degree of feminine flair."

This became obvious as the mech continued to tangle with the flying dolphin creature.

The current alien creature was quite fast, but could only launch attacks up close, which gave the Elegant Rage room to evade and maneuver around the flying beast.

The living mech did not straightforwardly dodge the dolphin's charges with the most efficient movements possible. The Elegant Rage spontaneously made a few unnecessary but relatively minor movements that caused her movements to flow more smoothly after another.

It was not quite a dance, but it looked rather close to it. The dolphin would have felt increasingly angry and frustrated by the Elegant Rage's repeated flourishes. It was as if the mech was intentionally mocking the tribulation manifestation's lack of grace!

"Careful!"

The aquatic creature finally couldn't take it any longer! A horn extended from its forehead that crackled with lightning.

The dolphin's tail violently exploded, allowing the creature to charge forward at a much greater speed than before!

Major Jankowski did not even have time to consider whether he should attempt to block or evade the incoming charge.

He chose to evade!

As an expert candidate, his reflexes were already better than his already augmented physique could allow.

The Elegant Rage evaded to the left in accordance with his instinctual response. The living machine only deviated from the command by inducing a rapid spin.

Bang!

In the end, the Woodsap mech barely but 'elegantly' managed to evade the sharp and threatening horn!

The Elegant Rage only got pushed back when the body of the charging dolphin managed to clip the living mech in the side.

Even when the Woodsap mech briefly lost control over her flight, the mech still took measures to maintain a dignified posture!

Ves felt rather bemused by the effects of the Lobis Fragment. The description of the archegem produced by Lucky did not mention any concrete performance boosts, but it was clear that its effects were not negligible or useless!

He initially thought that the Lobis Fragment would only make the Elegant Rage appear more coquettish in her movements, but there were serious battle applications to her dancing motions.

At this time, the alien aquatic creature had lost a lot of strength. Detonating its own tail was a desperation move. The creature had no way out aside from trying to impale its adversary.

So long as it managed to bury its horn deep inside the Elegant Rage, the mech would have suffered crippling damage!

It was a pity that the dolphin's gambit failed. The creature had become half-crippled. Its mobility was not as great as before, and its horn only served as useless decoration.

The pilot understood the importance of giving the Elegant Rage as much time to recover as possible. Starting the next fight too soon was counterproductive.

Major Jankowski was not in a hurry to finish off his weakened opponent. The Elegant Rage maintained a healthy distance while firing small but fast-moving ebony wood seeds at the partially crippled aquatic opponent.

The pilot understood the importance of giving the Elegant Rage as much time to recover as possible. Starting the next fight too soon was counterproductive.

Of course, lightning tribulations were not that easy to exploit. Plenty of challengers in the past tried to take advantage of excessive delays to buy more time to recover.

As the bout dragged on, the half-crippled dolphin seemed to gain an instant boost of power. The tribulation manifestation already started to fall apart, but before it disappeared entirely, it became determined to go out with a bang!

This happened completely without warning, causing Major Jankowski to react a little later than he wished.

As the disintegrating dolphin charged at the Elegant Rage without any visible sign of buildup, the Woodsap mech instantly made a backflip in the air!

By lurching herself backwards, the Elegant Rage barely managed to evade the deadly horn!

However, the mech still endured an electrifying collision that not only dented her chest plating, but also injected a powerful surge of tribulation lightning throughout her mech frame.

Immediately afterwards, the alien aquatic creature was no longer able to maintain its integrity anymore and exploded, causing it to release a lot of creation and destruction energies!

The Elegant Rage endured this 'reward' with considerable difficulty. Much of her exterior sustained damage as the mech struggled to resist the momentary wave of pain.

However, the restoration effect of the accompanying creation energy was much better than usual. The Woodsap mech's responsiveness to the power of pure creation was so high that much of the damage disappeared in a matter of seconds!

Ves observed this interaction with great curiosity. Woodsap mechs may not be the toughest machines that he could make, but their ability to regenerate damage was unparalleled!

"Five down, four more to go. The next one is only going to get more difficult."

"I know, but the Elegant Rage should have grown stronger than before. I can already feel that the mech is running smoother than before. All of that exposure to tribulation lightning so far has definitely had an effect."

He was right. Five successive tribulation lightning baptisms caused a lot of small imperfections to smooth over.

Of course, the tribulation lightning was not too strong due to consisting of just 9 strikes in total, so the boost in strength was not that noticeable.

However, it was impossible for a mech designer like Ves to miss the subtle changes to his own work. His work on converting the Elegant Rage into a Woodsap mech had been rather crude and hasty.

His lack of familiarity with organic mechs, the untested nature of the Woodsap Carmine System and the notable time constraint had forced him to finish his work in a relatively rough state.

Ves was not exactly proud of that, but his only intention had been to complete a functional Woodsap mech as opposed to creating another work of art.

Yet now, the lighting tribulation seemed to compensate for all of the sloppiness in Ves' latest work. It was as if a vastly superior craftsman was making a pass at the Elegant Rage with every lightning baptism.

The only regret was that the lightning baptisms were too weak to be of any interest to Ves. he had siphoned the energies of much more powerful lightning strikes during the legendary tribulation of the Dominion of Man.

While Ves could have decided to go ahead and embezzle a modest portion of the Elegant Rage's reward, he held off on this decision.

There was not much he could do with so little tribulation energy. As long as he allowed the living mech to claim as much creation energy as possible, there may be a chance for the Elegant Rage to evolve into a masterwork mech!

There was no guarantee that the Elegant Rage would become a masterwork mech as soon as the Red Association took possession of her. Not all Master Mech Designers possessed this capability to do so, and even if they did, they might not possess the motivation to do their best.

Since Gloriana was not involved in the refit process, the Elegant Rage did not come with a god body solution. It was therefore very significant if the Woodsap mech was able to become a masterwork mech at the end of this ordeal.

One of the benefits of having the Elegant Rage turn into a masterwork mech was that Ves gained absolute assurance that her Woodsap Carmine System would definitely work as intended!

The chance that such a high-quality mech would botch her attempt at forming an experimental Woodsap Pact was extremely low!