The Mech Touch

Ves patiently demonstrated a bunch of equipment that he had created for the express purpose of demonstrating the power and versatility of blessed gear.

One of the strong points of phasewater was that there were many possible ways to leverage its powerful properties.

Most exotics only possessed narrow applications. There were materials that could enhance the firepower of a weapon and there were other materials that could make a solid metal plate more resistant to damage.

Phasewater escaped these narrow use cases because it could be utilized to enhance almost every technological product!

It could be used to enhance the penetration power of weapons.

It could be used to strengthen the defenses of protective systems, particularly against transphasic attacks.

It could be used to make mechs and starships move faster by enabling warp travel.

It could even be used to enable scanning systems to peer deeper through solid obstacles.

Humanity had only scratched the surface of how phasewater could be utilized to amplify the performance of different pieces of tech that had little in common with each other.

This special quality of phasewater easily allowed Ves to create a lot of different gear on short notice that all gained a boost in performance through design spirit channeling.

Of course, much of the reason why all of these tools were able to outperform their regular counterparts was because the Phase King had mastered the art of phasewater manipulation to an incredible degree!

Even if his death and subsequent conversion into a design spirit caused him to lose chunks of himself, what he had left was more than enough to fill up an entire library with spatial manipulation techniques!

With the help of this enormous accumulation and legacy, the Phase King was practically the perfect complement to high-quality transphasic gear!

Ves even harbored doubts whether a typical phase whale possessed as much depth and understanding of phasewater as the fish-whale king.

In any case, by the time that Ves was done with showing off his toys, the two mech designers he invited in his lab became thoroughly shocked and numb at the wonders that he had introduced.

It took a bit of time for the two women to come to their senses and hold a serious discussion with Ves about his dramatic innovation.

Their question focused on both the strengths and limitations of his new tech. They soon found out that the greatest limitation to the spread of blessed weapons was that the Phase King only had a finite pool of resources to support their active usage.

"That makes sense." Gloriana said. "I was wondering where all of the power came from. It is impossible to produce such dramatic results by relying on electrical energy alone. Just the sword alone would never be able to release spatial blades unless it integrated advanced phasewater technology that is beyond our current means."

Ketis grew concerned as well. "All of this gear is powerful, and they are remarkably easy to use to good effect. I won't deny these advantages. However… I don't like it that the power doesn't come from a source that we have mastered. A typical mech or expert mech derives their power from factors that we can touch and manipulate such as technology, materials and mech pilots. This is no longer the case for these 'blessed equipment' because their strongest source of power is an inscrutable existence to us that hides in a part of reality that we can't even access, let alone observe."

This was a massive weakness that could bite the users of blessed equipment in the rear one day. Even Ves couldn't deny the danger of developing a reliance on borrowed power.

"I don't disagree with you, Ketis." He said. "This is why I want your help and that of others to formulate a thorough framework and set of rules on how we should design, make and use blessed weapons and equipment. We need to show moderation in how many of them we make and end up getting used, but we shouldn't cut off our access to a tool that can allow our mech pilots to burst with incredible power in the battles that matter the most."

"We shall help you, Ves." Gloriana responded. "Who knows what you will end up making if you are left to your own devices. We will have to formulate a thorough and detailed set of rules and guidelines that applies to both mech designers and mech pilots."

The three mech designers proceeded to do just that for the rest of the day. Ves, Gloriana and Ketis all possessed substantially different perspectives that allowed them to come up with different solutions to problems.

While that also meant that they frequently argued against each other, they were already accustomed to finding compromises.

Once they were finally done, they not only set a framework that would dictate how the Larkinson Clan would utilize blessed equipment in the far future, but also told them how they should explore this tech in the short term.

"I am incredibly impressed at what you have managed to do with all of those weapons and equipment, but that doesn't mean your new design application is ready to be utilized on a wider scale." Gloriana explained to Ves. "I am sure you are in a hurry to equip all of our expert mechs with impressive gear, but we do not have enough reliable data and results to conclude that we are better off with adopting your new tech."

"What do you propose, then?"

"My suggestion is that we should cautiously test out this new tech by developing new weapons for our existing expert mechs one by one. Start by giving a mech like the Amaranto an upgraded version of its existing rifle. Let's see what Venerable Stark can do with the new blessed mech weapon. As long as the new transphasic luminar crystal rifle doesn't explode or malfunction, we can proceed with testing a different blessed weapon such as a sword. Ketis, are you up for developing a new weapon for the First Sword?"

The swordmaster paused for a moment. "The First Sword and the Decapitator are made for each other. Venerable Dise is able to exert her strength through the latter so well that giving her expert mech another sword is not entirely necessary."

The Decapitator was designed to be extremely sharp. It already possessed a lot of inherent penetration power.

Venerable Dise also developed a form of swordsmanship that maximized this quality, enabling her expert mech to cut through stronger materials!

However, that did not mean that the Decapitator was good in every situation.

"Don't forget what kind of opposition we are facing as of late." Ves tried to remind his former student. "We have fought against fish-whales that managed to pull off lots of tricks with phasewater. We also fought against a powerful human military organization that has already implemented transphasic parts and systems onto expert mechs on a wide scale. This means that defenses boosted by phasewater have already become common enough to give us a lot of trouble. Transphasic weapons make it a lot easier for our mechs to deal effective damage to powerful opponents."

He was right. Times had chances and everyone needed to keep up with the latest developments.

The problem was that while the rational side of Ketis agreed with this argument, her emotional side remained stubbornly attached to her original vision.

It had always been her belief that the human factor trumped the power of technology. It was the basis of her ability as a swordmaster and it also defined her views regarding the use of swordsman mechs.

Ordinary mech pilots might not be skilled or powerful enough to do anything special, so their mechs still had to rely heavily on powerful technology to gain advantages on the battlefield.

Expert pilots such as Venerable Dise were different because they could produce powerful results with relatively ordinary tools.

The Decapitator was not an ordinary tool, though. It was a masterwork mech sword that primarily consisted of Unending alloy. These factors gave it qualities that allowed Venerable Dise to channel her powerful sword style to an even greater degree than with any other weapon.

Ketis could already foresee that a transphasic sword and one that derived a part of its power from an external source would change the way that Venerable Dise practiced her swordsmanship.

"Just do it, Ketis." Ves spoke up. "I think Venerable Dise would welcome the option. She can still use the Decapitator against most enemies, but it is always handy to have an appropriate alternative at her disposal in case she needs to fight against an opponent comparable to the Shockshell. There is no harm in using the right tools for the job. I think it is stupid to stick to a mech and configuration that no longer fits the circumstances of a battle when we clearly have access to better options."

"I agree with you, but… it is not so easy for me to accept your words…"

In the end, the reason why Ketis hesitated so much was because her values as a mech designer conflicted with her values as a swordmaster.

Mech designers were accustomed to keeping up with the latest trends in the mech industry.

As soon as a new technological development such as phasewater technology came out, then people like Ves and Gloriana eagerly wanted to gain access to it so that they could apply it to all of their upcoming mech designs.

Swordsmen and especially those that adhered to its traditional customs despised the habit of developing an overreliance on technology.

The strength of a sword wielder must always be based on the person rather than the blade.

Traditional swordsmen weren't opposed to employing modern technology to forge stronger and more optimized weapons, but as long as they started to carry the fights by themselves, then that was a direct contradiction of the beliefs of every authentic sword practitioner!

Right now, Ketis behaved as if her mind had gotten stuck in an infinite loop error. No matter how much she tried to twist her thinking, she could not come up with a way out unless she violated one of the principles she held dear to her heart.

Both Ves and Gloriana shared a glance with each other. They understood that Ketis might not be able to cooperate as much as they hoped.

"Don't worry too much about this issue, Ketis." Ves eventually told her as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I suggest you have a good talk with Venerable Dise and find out what she thinks. Maybe the problem isn't as big as you think. If it turns out that Dise doesn't want to make use of a blessed sword, then we'll just focus on upgrading the weapons of another expert mech."

The swordmaster slowly nodded. "I suppose that is for the best. I'm sorry, Ves. It wasn't my intention to stand in your way."

"You don't have to apologize for your beliefs. You are your own person and there is no reason why you must support my vision. If you think your design solutions will make Venerable Dise and her First Sword better off, then you need to prove that with your actions. Just know that phasewater technology in human society is continuing to improve at a rapid rate. If your own technological applications fall too far behind, then there is a point where you need to put your ego aside in order to properly serve your mech pilots."

He hoped that Ketis would be able to find a satisfactory solution to her dilemma.

This was the downside to becoming both a mech designer and a swordmaster. The former required a person to be flexible and versatile in their thinking, but the latter made a person far more rigid and intractable in their thought processes.

Even though it was technically Sharpie that possessed the power of a swordmaster, the companion spirit was still a part of Ketis so the woman wasn't able to turn her back on her values and principles so easily.

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