The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1846

Chapter 1846 Accelerated Expansion

His tense and vague meeting with Calabast was just a brief interruption of his current routine.

With nothing requiring his attention for the foreseeable time, Ves freely immersed himself on working on his mechs.

He felt a lot of relief at being able to finalize to the refit of the Shield of Samar. The mech started off as a airly eccentric third-class super-medium space knight. Now, its vastly-improved armor system paired with upgrades to a couple of key systems turned it into a veritable bastion in space!

The moment Merrill and the rest put the final pieces into place, they subjected the mech to an extensive amount of examinations. Nothing seemed amiss, which wasn't surprising considering how closely Ves and Gloriana paid attention to every detail.

Technically, the mech still needed to undergo a raft of testing. This wasn't strictly necessary, but highly recommended. A mech that experienced so many changes almost certainly experienced a lot of shifts in many areas.

While the Shield of Samar was still an Aurora Titan mech, its specs and configuration differed so much that Jannzi basically had to relearn how to pilot her personal mech!

As she was about to board the transport that had already been loaded with the upgraded Shield of Samar, Ves stopped by the Avatar base to see her off.

"You've certainly changed." He said after he patted her shoulder. "You're a far cry from the young woman who bewilderingly managed to become an expert candidate all those years ago. You've grown into a fine expert pilot in the making. The way you carry yourself and the air you radiate is already affecting the people around you like a real expert pilot!"

She smiled briefly at him. "I'm a far cry from an actual expert pilot like Venerable Brutus Wodin. He is a true example to look up to. I'm satisfied with my mech, but not myself."

"What's the problem?"

"I don't know. I feel as if there is something missing in me." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm luckier than most of my fellow mech pilots for becoming an expert candidate, but.. I never felt as if I deserve this honor. Being chosen is not the same as being worthy."

"Is that the reason for your lack of progress lately?"

"I'm not in a hurry to advance." She said. "In my current state, I would never allow myself to become an expert pilot. I have to be absolutely certain of who I am and what I am fighting for. Being a Larkinson is not enough."

"Are you confused?"

"Don't worry, Ves. Everything is fine. I've received lots of advice and words of wisdom from the other Larkinsons."

There was nothing Ves could do to ease her promotion. She needed to find her own way to break past this crucial point.

He didn't really understand what was necessary for expert candidates to advance to expert pilots. There was a world of difference between their respective force of wills. Whereas it was largely formless and powerless to expert candidates, they gained real power once they became expert pilots!

The differences between the two were both subtle and profound. Both of them possessed the same abilities but at vastly different strengths. There was something about expert pilots that made them special!

Journeymen like Ves relied on design seeds. Expert pilots like Ghanso and Brutus put most of their spiritual strength in their force of wills.

The evolution of force of will was therefore key to the advancement of mech pilots!

If Ves followed this line of reasoning, then willpower was likely the key to Jannzi's promotion. As long as she developed enough will, she would certainly prove herself worthy one day! He just hoped this day wouldn't come too far in the future.

Once Jannzi and the Shield of Samar flew off into orbit, Ves considered this side project to be done.

With how much care and effort he put into the upgrade project, Ves did not anticipate any major deviations. It was always easier to anticipate the performance of a variation of an existing mech.

Since he was already at the Avatar base, Ves decided that he might as well look around.

With Lucky exploring him and Nitaa and a handful of bodyguards trailing behind him, his arrival immediately caught the attention of the Avatars.

Ves had to wave them down several times in order to force them to resume their duties.

Overall, he was very happy with what he saw. The Avatars hadn't grown any weaker since their forced departure from Cloudy Curtain. If anything, his Avatars grew stronger!

There were several reasons why he thought so. For one, the cohesion between the Avatars increased. The circumstances that led to their departure did not cause them to lose heart. Instead, they became more emboldened! Siding with Ves meant agreeing to abandon the Bright Republic.

Though this was a harsh choice for many of his subordinates, the Avatars largely committed to their boss! They were willing to leave everything behind in order to take part in a risky but promising venture!

Second, the formation of the Larkinson Clan invigorated everyone related to the Larkinsons! This not only included the members of the clan, but also the people around them! Since the Avatars were completely dedicated to Ves, they also became affected by the significant shift in purpose!

He was gratified to see that every Avatar, particularly the mech pilots, became more and more invested in their new identities. Being an Avatar meant something now. It wasn't just a job anymore!

Part of the growth in the Avatars was reflected by the addition of new members. Ever since they settled down on Kesseling VIII, Commander Melkor cautiously started to recruit a select number of Ylvainans.

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