The Mech Touch

That was the first time since he received the B-Man that he truly felt he was living up to his potential in a fight.

"That battle against the Titania doesn't count."

His B-Man made a poor showing during that fight. To be fair, there was little that Vincent and his custom hybrid mech could do against such a large and meaty astral beast. The gauss rounds fired by his mech's integrated weapon systems were lighter than pinpricks when it came to attacking enemies of this scale!

Since that time, Vincent occasionally entertained doubts about his combat effectiveness. It wasn't until he fought against the horde of fish-whales that he fully regained his confidence.

Not only did he blast and kill a lot of fish-whales during that glorious if frantic engagement, he also got to witness a more impressive hybrid mech take action!

Vincent had always known that Patriarch Reginald Cross was a powerful force on the battlefield, but the battle against the fish-whales truly opened his eyes to what his own future might lead towards.

After all, both of them piloted the same mech type!

The Bolvos Rage's raw power had earned him admiration and more. To Vincent, the mech was thick and masculine in both its shape and its stupendous combat power.

Being able to cast off hundreds of attacks from the fish-whales while at the same time killing droves of the monsters with its abundant weapon systems was one of the most glorious sights he had witnessed up close!

"And to think that the Cross Clan are already moving to replace the Bolvos Rage."

It was such a shame. Though its aesthetics did not fully line up with Vincent's tastes, he still dreamt of taking it over and piloting it for himself.

Even if it wasn't a living mech and even if he wasn't fully proficient in all of its weapon systems, he still wanted to replicate the awesome might that Patriarch Reginald had effortlessly displayed!

It was a pity that it was not to be. Even if Vincent broke through on the spot, he still wouldn't be strong enough to pilot high-tier expert mech with any degree of control! His resonance strength wouldn't be strong enough to resonate with any essential part or system.

There was also the small detail that the Bolvos Rage was completely customized for Patriarch Reginald and no one else.

Even if Vincent reached the same level of strength as the Cross Patriarch, he would only be able to display 10 or 20 percent of the potential of the Bolvos Rage. His chances of being able to resonate with the key exotics of the high-tier expert mech was practically miniscule!

The Cross Clan would probably dismantle the Bolvos Rage and recycle its strongest and most precious materials for the successor machine.

"Such a shame!"

That did not stop Vincent from admiring the powerful expert hybrid mech to the point where he rewatched the footage of it in action dozens of times. The outburst of power and the complete dominance it displayed in battle was such an amazing moment that he wanted to dominate the battlefield in this manner as well!

"When will I have my chance, though?" He sighed.

Unlike his bosom buddy Imon Ingvar, Vincent had failed to achieve his breakthrough. There were few moments where he could pilot his B-Man and feel heated enough to loosen his bottleneck.

He thought that maybe the battle against the fish-whales might be big enough for him to achieve his wish, but even slaying scores of the rabid monsters hadn't been enough for him to reach the next level.

"These fish-whales are not challenging enough!"

Though their numbers made it troublesome to defeat them all, most of them consisted of stupid, feral beasts who only knew how to bite their nearest targets. There was no challenge in defeating any one of them in single combat.

The sergeant fishes and the assassin fishes were a lot more challenging to defeat, but the B-Man failed to attract any of their attention during the previous engagement.

Did Vincent have to seek them out in order to make actual progress? He was already beginning to think about applying for one of the reconnaissance missions that might lead to bumping into groups of fish-whales.

"I'll do that after my meeting."

Vincent strode down the hastily-paved road and entered the district of Fort Fishblood that was under the control of the Cross Clan.

The differences were great. The colors, the insignia and the attitudes of the soldiers were substantially different. The Crossers also didn't play around with glows, so Vincent did not sense the obvious presence of mechs such as the Bright Warrior and the Valkyrie Redeemer.

The Crosser mechs weren't weak, though. The older ones already deserved a reputation for solidness while the newer ones displayed significantly better performance.

It was too bad that the Crossers were having difficulty finding room for all of their new mechs like the Larkinson Clan. Only when the expeditionary forces suffered substantial losses like now would the factory ships be able to fill in the void with recently-designed machines.

After a few more turns, Vincent reached a guarded mech workshop where he submitted himself to a security check before being allowed inside.

The large prefab structure had only been built in less than a day but it was already being put to use. Multiple teams of mech technicians were working on the Bolvos Rage's numerous powerful integrated weapon systems.

In the previous battle, Patriarch Reginald had used them above their rated capacities because it had been crucially important for him to destroy as many fish-whales as possible. All of that added stress strained the integrated energy weapon systems and dealt permanent damage to their more vulnerable and worn subcomponents.

Normally, Patriarch Reginald would have been reluctant to engage in such reckless actions, but he had fewer scruples about wearing down his expert mech now that a replacement was on the way.

Since the Bolvos Rage would only stay in service for a year at most, he might as well squeeze everything he could out of it before the Cross Clan sent it to the recyclers.

"Mr. Ricklin." Patriarch Reginald turned and beckoned the younger pilot over. "You are here. Good. Come closer and take a look at my mech."

The man was in a decent mood at the moment. Just like Vincent, he wore a piloting suit with the helmet closed due to the unsafe environment.

Of course, the Cross Patriarch's piloting suit looked a lot more expensive and impressive. It could double as a ceremonial uniform if there was nothing better at hand.

To Vincent, Patriarch Reginald exemplified a sense of masculinity that completely came natural to the powerful man.

Despite the initial downfall of the Cross Clan, Reginald heavily leaned on his personal strength and his powerful personality to lead his people to a new future!

Such leadership and dominance during times of crisis drew a lot of admiration from Vincent.

The sole Larkinson in the workshop stepped forward and reached the clan leader's side.

Vincent could see the marks of age and battle on the mech. While the mech technicians did a good job of fixing up its appearance after every major fight, they still couldn't fully address the impression that this was a workhorse that had entered its sunset years.

To Vincent, these marks were one of the ultimate expressions of manliness!

"This is a mech that has earned a lot of stripes in battle, sir." He said without much reserve towards the powerful expert pilot. "I cannot imagine all of the struggles you have been through to win over so many enemies and lead your clan to victory over and over again."

Patriarch Reginald crossed his arms. "It is a good and dependable mech, but all things must come to an end. I have outgrown this mech for a time now. While I could have chosen to upgrade it so that it can accompany me further, I have a better opportunity now that we have allied with your clan."

"Our mechs are the best." Vincent shamelessly boasted.

"They are certainly unique." Reginald grinned. "I did not call you here to talk about my mech situation. I called you here to talk about your own condition."

"My own condition? What do you mean by that, sir?"

The Cross Patriarch turned to his guest and directed a focused stare at Vincent.

Immediately, a powerful and oppressive presence descended upon the expert candidate. The two were way too far apart in strength, so Vincent could not help but buckle under the pressure!

Reginald eventually eased up after he shook his head in disappointment.

"You are still short of what I expect from a strong mech pilot. Don't be offended. Weakness is weakness no matter how you try to dress it up. You are still in your prime and have plenty of years to figure yourself out. I was not that much stronger back when I was your age."

A part of Vincent felt a bit offended at being addressed in such a patronizing fashion, but the more sensible part of him fully recognized that Reginald was more than powerful enough to speak this way!

"I hope to do better during this campaign. The previous battle has already helped me figure stuff out and I hope that other battles will help me more."

"Be that as it may, I believe it wouldn't hurt if you accompany me on my sorties." Reginald responded. "As a fellow hybrid mech pilot, there is much I can teach you. I have already studied the footage of your previous battle performances and I have spotted many shortcomings and bad habits that will hinder your attempt to reach a higher level."

Vincent winced. He was not completely unaware of his sloppy piloting skills. Even advancing to expert candidate didn't help that much as he was too far behind in his practice.

"Are you offering to tutor me?" He hesitantly asked. "I would love to receive your help, but is it appropropriate for you to do so when we belong to different clans?"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. We are all part of the same fleet and alliance. Our clans will only collaborate further in the future. At most, your Larkinson Clan will owe a favor to me. With the credibility of your leader, I know that he will make it up to me in one way or another. I would be glad if he puts in extra effort whenever he is working on our upcoming Mars Project."

"I see. If everything is okay, then I would be glad to fight at your side! How will we do this, exactly?"

The Larkinsons might not have any experience with this, but Patriarch Reginald and the Cross Clan already utilized this method of nurturing mech pilots with potential many times. He explained the basics to Vincent so that the expert candidate could quickly understand how he would benefit from this arrangement.

"You mean you intend to bring me with you and have me fight the fish-whales of your choosing?"

"Correct, and I will be critiquing your performance while you display your skills." Reginald said in a gruff tone. "I expect you to take my advice seriously. You can stand up to me when you have become an expert pilot and are ready to develop your own piloting style, but until then you must do your best to correct your bad foundation. When you fight a battle of life and death, you cannot allow yourself to get defeated because you were too lazy in your practice!"

Vincent began to have an inkling that he might not enjoy his time under Patriarch Reginald's tutelage.

However, this might be the only opportunity he could get to catch up with his buddy Imon and restore his wounded pride!

"I'm in, goddamnit. Don't make me regret my choice!"