If Ves was in Saint Orfan's shoes, he would be awfully tempted to select Kaminsky Alloy as the resonating material of her ace mech.
What it lacked in power, it made up for it with versatility.
In fact, Ves that Kaminsky Alloy should be much more suitable for the Everchanger, who happened to live and breathe versatility.
However, the Riot Mark III had to fulfill multiple roles at once as well.
It did not shock Ves all that much that Saint Orfan happened to be compatible with the newly developed superdimensional resonating material.
Yet just because she was compatible with Kaminsky Alloy did not necessarily mean it was the right choice.
At the very least, the immense learning curve meant that it would take far too long for Saint Orfan to become proficient in its use.
There was no way for her to gain anything immediately useful from the use of this resonating material. Integrating it into the Riot Mark III effectively meant that Saint Orfan would forgo any immediate power-up in the upcoming battle.
While Ves did not want to pressure the ace pilot into making a decision based on short-term merits, the thought still lingered in his mind.
He and the others patiently waited for Saint Orfan to evaluate this choice and voice her sentiments about the resonating material.
After a bit of thinking, the ace pilot issued a preliminary verdict.
"KAMINSKY ALLOY SOUNDS POWERFUL, BUT... ONLY IN THE RIGHT HANDS. I AM NOT SURE I AM THE RIGHT PERSON FOR IT. I WILL TRY TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT IF I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE, BUT... IT SOUNDS TOO FIDDLY TO ME. I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE. ALL OF THIS STUFF ABOUT ACCESSING MANY DIFFERENT HIGHER-DIMENSIONAL ENERGIES SOUNDS WAY TOO COMPLICATED. UNLIKE CASELLA INGVAR, I DON'T LIKE TO THINK SO MUCH WHEN I FIGHT. PILOTING AN ACE MECH WITH THIS RESONATING MATERIAL WILL FORCE ME TO BECOME A DIFFERENT KIND OF WARRIOR, ONE THAT I DO NOT NECESSARILY WANT TO BECOME."
Her analysis and opinion sounded surprisingly coherent and logical. Ves couldn't help but nod in agreement. His assessment concurred with her own. Kaminsky Alloy was undoubtedly strong, but its properties did not necessarily conform to her preferences.
"It is a powerful option." Gloriana mentioned. "I advise you not to dismiss it in haste. The Riot Mark III is a powerful spearman mech, but that does not change the fact that it is sorely lacking in versatility. We originally designed it to serve as a powerful counter against both human ace mechs and alien phase leaders. We never anticipated that it would be deployed against an enemy as overwhelming as the mutated voribugs. Ace pilot or not, the restrictive configuration of your ace mech will heavily constrain your combat effectiveness against these swarming enemies. In cases such as these, introducing a large degree of versatility by integrating Kaminsky Alloy is an effective remedy to this problem, though admittedly in the future."
Her logic was sound as well, or else she wouldn't have insisted on introducing this resonating material to Rosa Orfan.
As a Senior Mech Designer and an important contributor to the Riot Mark III, she understood the strengths and weaknesses of the Riot Mark III extremely well.
She also possessed a good understanding of Saint Orfan's personality, fighting habits and even her future development trajectory.
In her opinion, Saint Orfan relied too much on spearmanship without excelling in it. This was different from Saint Dise who truly lived and breathed swordsmanship in each and every day.
Rosa Orfan was simply not the kind of soldier who could dedicate her entire passion to mastering spearmanship to the extreme.
To her, the spear was a handy weapon that she just happened to be familiar with the most.
There was nothing with that, but high-ranking mech pilots were defined by their obsessions.
The stronger they became, the more she was able to warp the fabric of reality by strengthening her extraordinary willpower!
Gloriana assumed that since Rosa Orfan was not able to derive a strong obsession from her spearmanship, the saint urgently needed to diversify her combat solutions.
So long as she gained access to the right features, she could accelerate her progression and turn into a much more fearsome presence on the battlefield!
This was the foresight of a Senior Mech Designer.
Unfortunately, the ace pilot who had become permanently wedded to her mech did not appreciate Gloriana's thoughtfulness.
The ace pilot clearly remained dismissive about the endless potential of Kaminsky Alloy.
Saint Orfan did not even care that the Resonance Smith personally developed this coveted experimental product!
After conveying the first choice of resonating material, Gloriana presented the next option.
"If... you are unwilling to consider Kaminsky Alloy, then you may choose a different product called Terran Destroyer Amplification Material, otherwise known as TDAM."
It was clear that this was a Terran product as opposed to a mecher one.
In effect, choosing to integrate TDAM into the Riot Mark III meant that Saint Orfan would remain wedded to Terran Destroyer weapons for a very long time.
While the Riot Mark III could still wield other weapons that lacked Destroyer particles, it would be a considerable waste of its potential. An ace mech was defined by its resonating abilities. If Saint Orfan was unable to employ them due to the absence of a critical weapon, then that would set her back for a long time!
The choice before her became clear. Was she willing to bind her future as a champion to an exclusive Terran weapon system?
Was she willing to forgo other options in favor of specializing in the use of Destroyer weapons?
"You do not have to pair Destroyer weapons with TDAM, Rosa." Gloriana said. "There are many Terran mech pilots who favor the versatility of a multipurpose mech. Wielding a Destroyer weapon is only one tool in their diverse arsenal. It is more reasonable for them to make use of more universal resonating materials that can boost their machines regardless of their weapon choices. The same may apply to you as well. TDAM will not give you any form of strengthening if your Riot Mark III wields a plasma halberd or a superior superdimensional polearm."
That was a severe disadvantage. Many Terran mech pilots had to make a difficult choice on this matter.
TDAM truly brought a lot of benefits to an ace mech equipped with a Destroyer weapon, but it turned worthless in any other situation.
Ves also couldn't guarantee whether the Riot Mark III could be supplied with other Destroyer weapons.
The physical trade between the two galaxies had only just begun. Ves was also uncertain whether his mother was able to establish a strong enough connection with the Greater Terran United Confederation to persuade it to exchange a much more valuable tier 2 or tier 1 Destroyer weapon.
Such weapons did not grow on trees. They were exceptional arms that stuffed so many Destroyer particles that they should have long blown into pieces if not for the application of super-grade materials and highly sophisticated production methods.
If the members of the Oblivion Gate Consortium could not facilitate this trade, then Veronica would have to go out of her way and approach the Terrans of the Milky Way for a deal.
Fortunately, there was no need to accomplish this right away. A tier 3 Destroyer spear should be more than sufficient for Saint Orfan for the coming years. Ves still had plenty of time to solve her future needs.
"Do you have any more questions, or are you ready to make a decision?" Gloriana politely asked. "If you are dissatisfied with the selection of Kaminsky Alloy and TDAM, we can select other ace mech-grade resonating materials that possess properties that are more to your liking. However, we do not have them on hand, and we must spend several days planning the upgrade of your volatile machine. Choose carefully." Saint Orfan did not intend to drag out her decision. She had already thought it over.
"I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT WIELDING THE TIER 3 DESTROYER SPEAR FOR A LONG TIME. NOW THAT IT IS WITHIN MY GRASP, I WILL GO ALL THE WAY. I PICK TDAM. I SHALL BECOME THE SPEARHEAD OF DESTRUCTION! I WILL BREAK ALL ATTACKS BY HARNESSING THE POWER OF CHAOS! MY RIOT SHALL BECOME A FORCE OF PAIN AND MAYHEM TO OUR FOES! THROW ME ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD AND LET ME MAKE YOUR
ENEMIES SUFFER HELL!"

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