The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6170

The transformation of the Dark Zephyr from a quasi-first-class expert mech to a first-class ace mech represented a huge and profound opportunity.

Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson had become more powerful than ever before. How he fought as an ace pilot was already radically different because he was no longer afraid of getting overturned if his enemies targeted his weaknesses.

The existence of a Saint Kingdom was the most profound gain of becoming an ace pilot!

As long as Tusa paired up with a good enough mech, he could resonate with the machine so well to the point where his domain field could be amplified by several orders of magnitude, turning it into one of his strongest weapons and armor at the same time!

Master Benedict could not stress the importance of these changes often enough.

"Expert pilots and ace pilots are two completely different species. The former is weaker and possesses more vulnerabilities that can instantly spell their defeat. The latter is stronger but also more rounded. So long as your Saint Kingdom remains strong and intact, it can already make up for the relatively weak defenses of your Dark Zephyr. This means that your mech is not limited to his old configuration anymore. Your machine has already transcended the definition of a light skirmisher. This is especially the case when your battle partner will also gain the benefits of becoming a first-class mech. What you need to decide is the direction of the evolution of your future ace mech."

Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson fell into thought. Any significant decisions related to his Dark Zephyr had massive implications. Each choice produced a lot of ripple effects.

Ace pilots were usually regarded as decisive people, but Tusa did not dare to make any impulsive choices on this matter!

Master Benedict observed the ace pilot carefully. He liked what he saw.

Patriarch Reginald Cross often gave him headaches because of his lack of inhibitions.

Saint Tusa was much younger and less experienced than the ace pilot of the Cross Clan, but he was much more willing to remain patient and adopt a rational perspective to his problems.

That made Tusa far easier to deal with than other ace pilots!

Of course, Benedict believed that Patriarch Reginald also had his good points. His passion and his desire to earn glory allowed him to make faster progress on the battlefield than many of his peers.

Even though Reginald was no longer a part of the expeditionary fleet, he was making so much progress over the past few years that it was not impossible for him to catch up to Saint Kalasandra Boojay within a few decades!

The only reason why Saint Kalandra was the strongest ace pilot of the Golden Skull Alliance was because she was twice as old as Reginald. Her steady personality allowed her to make slow but steady progress. She was unlikely to falter, but Master Benedict believed that her development speed was too slow to keep up with the rapidly changing era.

This was why the former Skull Architect still had great hopes that Patriarch Reginald would be the first to attempt a breakthrough to god pilot!

The leader of the Cross Clan was not afraid of taking risks!

Whenever Master Benedict gained the opportunity to apply new upgrades to the Mars, Patriarch Reginald never bothered to think too much before he made his choices.

Saint Tusa possessed a different and more cautious personality. He could be decisive when he wanted to be, but he understood the value of being patient. This was because he cared about his responsibilities.

Master Benedict could respect this attitude.

"The decisions I make about the Dark Zephyr will not only affect my future, but also the future of the Larkinson Clan, am I right?"

"That is correct, Tusa. As the first ace pilot of the Larkinson Clan, you bear a heavy responsibility to the people you serve. You have your own wants and needs, but you need to think strategically as well. How can you best defeat your enemies? How can you best protect the clan against catastrophic losses? A solution cannot always fulfill multiple goals at once. By choosing the configuration of the ace mech version of the Dark Zephyr, you are defining your role in the Larkinson Clan. With Saint Isobel Kotin indisposed for at least half a decade, you are expected to bear the burden of protecting your clansmen by yourself. This means that you must make sure you can fulfill your most essential duties by yourself."

All of these considerations put greater pressure on Tusa's shoulders. He was not exactly ecstatic about assuming much of the burden of protecting the Larkinson Clan, but that was the price of becoming an ace pilot.

From the moment he broke past the limits of an expert pilot so early, Tusa already understood that he needed to set an example and become a leader. It was impossible for him to ignore the repercussions of his decisions. He had become so powerful that each change related to him or his living mech could directly affect the lives of over a million Larkinsons!

Saint Tusa continued to look at the projection of the ace mech banishing different targets with the help of Ermelin.

He could imagine how the Dark Zephyr would become a more useful mech to the Larkinson Clan with the help of this resonating alloy.

However, was this truly how he wanted to fight?

"How do you think I should make my decisions?" Tusa asked.

"Hm." Master Benedict paused for a moment. "Instead of making your selection by focusing on the properties of specific resonating materials, it may be better if you take a step back and decide your future role and combat system first. Once you have fixated on a specific approach towards combat, I can give you a selection of several key resonating materials that fits your chosen style."

Tusa liked that plan much better. "Please offer me your guidance."

The Master Mech Designer reset the projection and began to display several different variations of the ace mech version of the Dark Zephyr.

Each of them were draft designs that Benedict hastily put together in order to visualize the different ways he could upgrade the Dark Zephyr.

"I have drafted several possible development routes for your living mech. Each of them possess their own strengths and weaknesses. I do not consider any of them to be superior to the others. They can all shine in the right circumstances. Let us start with the most familiar variant. The Base Edition of the Dark Zephyr is a straightforward evolution by substituting Perfidious Steel and Bissonat with Turbulenta and B-30 Shattersteel. You do not need to make too many changes to your combat approach and there is no need for you to learn entirely different skills either. However, your ranged options are limited, and you will lack the versatility to deal with many different complex combat scenarios."

In other words, this was the version of the Dark Zephyr that stayed true to Ves' original mech concept.

Tusa knew if he committed to this option, he would fully embrace the light skirmisher archetype and maximize its advantages at the cost of remaining shackled to many of its weaknesses.

"This is not a bad mech." Tusa said. "This configuration has always worked in the past. I see no reason why it would become less effective at the ace mech level. Turbulenta will not only make my Dark Zephyr virtually untouchable, but I can also distract powerful enemies without needing to confront them directly. B-30 Shattersteel synergizes well with it as it allows me to defeat any opponent over time as long as I never get hit in return. With the addition of my Saint Kingdom, I no longer have to fear the risk of getting hit by weapons of mass destruction or huge saturation attacks."

"The Base Edition can fulfill the roles of a duelist and a saboteur quite well." The Master Mech Designer shared his own opinion. "Your Dark Zephyr in this case is best employed against powerful individual threats. Neither Turbulenta nor B-30 Shattersteel are hungry resonating materials, so you can entangle enemies for an extended period of time. However, the Base Edition does not have the ability to stop a truly powerful enemy from targeting other friendlies."

Aside from the obvious inability to launch strong ranged attacks, the Base Edition was quite rounded.

The combination between the resonating abilities associated with Turbulenta and B-30 Shattersteel, the Leap of True Freedom ability, the Dark Wind Passage Ultimate Ability and a couple of old prime abilities allowed the Dark Zephyr to fight or distract a lot of possible enemies at close range!

It should not be impossible for Tusa to deal with a much more powerful phase lord than the Eminence of Torment without any outside help!

However, Tusa did not entirely favor this option. It was so simple that it seemed as if he was too afraid to ascend from his third-class roots.

He did not forget that the Larkinson Clan had gained the qualifications to field first-class mechs now. A huge range of high technologies became available. The vastly stronger first-class power reactor alone was a gamechanger to the Dark Zephyr!

"If I don't think much about the other options, then I have no qualms about choosing the Base Edition." Tusa said.

Master Benedict smiled. "There are many more exciting options available. The second variant here is the Banisher Edition of the Dark Zephyr. As you can already guess, it is based on the integration of Erlemin. Combined with other adaptations such as outfitting your ace mech with a much faster flight system, this is a configuration that fulfills the role of a saboteur much better. There are many ways you can use the resonating ability associated with Erlemin to disrupt the plans of your enemies and produce large gaps in their defenses. It is still possible for the Banisher Edition to fight directly against powerful opponents, but it is best to leave this job for other ace mechs."

Tusa pressed his lips. He was not attracted by the Banisher Edition, as it pushed his Dark Zephyr into a support role.

This reminded him of the recent past when he was still an expert pilot. The Dark Zephyr had become severely outdated, preventing Tusa from accomplishing too much on the battlefield. He could only helplessly target weaker alien warships because his expert mech took too long to take out stronger vessels.

It was only when he managed to develop the Leap of True Freedom that his performance on the battlefield improved to a more satisfactory level.

Tusa did not want to go back to the days where his pitiful Dark Zephyr would get outshined by other and more impressive living mechs.

"The Banisher Edition sounds like it could be really useful if our clan has grown up to the point where it can field multiple ace mechs." The ace pilot guessed.

"Correct. If the other high-tier expert pilots of your clan have broken through, then it will gain at least one powerful offensive melee duelist in the form of an upgraded Riot or First Sword. The Dark Zephyr may have become an ace mech earlier, but if you ask most people who they prefer to send out in a single duel against a phase lord, they will overwhelmingly favor the other two ace mechs over yours. Since that is the case, you may as well give way to Orfan or Dise and specialize in a role that they cannot fulfill."

An ugly expression appeared on Tusa's face. He did not like the thought of giving way to others! He had never considered himself to be a weak duelist.

Yet… both Orfan and Dise lived for duels. They specialized in them, the latter more than the former. Tusa could not deny that an ace mech based on the light skirmisher archetype was not the ideal machine for dueling.

Ace mechs based on the medium spearman mech and medium swordsman mech archetypes excelled at single combat!