The Mech Touch

Commander Melkor Larkinson waited as the scattered mechs of the Larkinson Army withdrew from their forward positions and arrived at the rallying point that he had set. Dozens of mechs trickled in over the course of half an hour. He expected around a thousand mechs to arrive by the time he was ready to commence his plan.

This was not a large amount of mechs compared to all of the small craft that had been committed in this star system alone.

Melkor along with many other mech pilots had become more and more accustomed to fighting battles involving tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of mechs.

The native aliens fielded even more phasefighters so long as they were able to transport them all to the frontlines!

All of these battles tested Melkor in ways he had never been challenged. He had to maintain a clear head, pay attention to the strategic disposition of both the defenders and the attackers, predict the next actions of the enemy forces and figure out what he and his Avatars could do to attain a better outcome.

The battles were exhilarating and terrifying. Even quasi-first-class mechs such as his customized and upgraded Larkinson Edition of the Fey Fianna turned into nothing more than slightly better cannon fodder!

There were many times where he felt that he felt so utterly small and weak on the battlefield that his presence or absence ultimately wouldn't make a difference.

There were plenty of other Larkinsons that could do so much more to influence the course of a major battle.

There were the expert pilots and ace pilots who could defeat powerful enemy champions or wipe out hundreds of weaker units with their high-ranking mechs alone! There were much more brilliant mech commanders who could inspire greater courage and duty among their men, or possessed excellent tactical acumen that enabled them to defeat enemy forces that were thrice or quadruple the number of mechs under their command!

There were also visionaries like Ves whose works and ideas changed red humanity for the better without needing to step foot on the battlefield!

Melkor was none of those Larkinsons.

He was... pretty average, to say the least.

The only reasons why he was still held in high esteem was because he was a trueblood Larkinson and supported Ves since the beginning. The fact that his leadership also did not cause the Avatars of Myth to go downhill also helped a lot.

Even so, Melkor still felt unfulfilled. He was being outshone by many others, and his efforts to break through had consistently failed.

Practicing an auxiliary qi cultivation method had caused him to become better and smarter, but it was not as if other mech pilots ignored systematic cultivation.

When everyone improved with the help of systematic cultivation, Melkor ultimately ended up in the same relative position as before.

He had been struggling for a long time on what to do with his future. He had ultimately decided to give up on becoming an expert pilot and try his hand at becoming a qi cultivator instead, but just when he was about to switch from the Commanding Controller Auxiliary Qi Cultivation Method to a more serious qi cultivation method that would permanently transform his spirit.

Doing this was a serious matter as the Red Collective had warned that once a human began to practice qi cultivation in earnest, he would no longer be eligible to become an expert pilot anymore.

"Well, there is an exception for companion spirits, you are already practicing a method of your own, right, Jonas?"

Melkor's companion spirit briefly poked his head out and nodded.

The companion spirit that spawned from his companion spirit seed ended up as a fairly mundane-looking gray short-haired cat.

Jonas was still fairly young, but he had already begun to develop his power as a spotter and detector by practising the Perceptive Assistant Qi Cultivation Method of the Assistant Series.

The Cultivation Method Department of the Red Collective originally developed the Assistant Series for qi cultivators that sought to provide greater help in less direct ways.

Even though the Assistant Series lacked any direct combat enhancements, the extreme specialization in specific kinds of utility made it easy to become very powerful in a single capability over time.

The different variations of qi cultivation methods of the Assistant Series ranged from turning the human brain into an organic supercomputer to operating multiple high-tech instruments with great proficiency at the same time!

People eventually discovered that the Assistant Series also happened to be highly compatible with companion spirits.

Most of the people who gained companion spirits did not harbor any crazy ambitions to pursue two different main careers at once.

People like Ketis pursued two careers with relatively little overlap at the same time were the exception rather than the rule!

Many people who obtained companion spirits would rather have them complement their existing strengths. That way, they would be able to achieve much more success in their chosen careers.

Melkor was still determined to be a mech pilot, and he would also like to retain a

Leadership role.

Having Jonas practice the Perceptive Assistant Qi Cultivation Method seemed like an excellent idea.

For now, Jonas was not able to detect the approach of massed alien phasefighters due to his shallow cultivation, but he would probably be able to extend his detection range by numerous kilometers once he had more time to grow and cultivate.

In any case, ever since he saw how well Jonas was able to begin his practice in his qi cultivation method, Melkor came close to pulling the trigger himself.

The only reason why he held off on trying to become a double qi cultivator was because he had yet to make up his mind on which method he wanted to practice.

The Larkinson Clan offered a few good ones, but the selection was rather limited. The premium offerings available in the Repository were not necessarily worse, and their catalog was much larger and more varied.

He had just begun to narrow his choices to 5 different qi cultivation methods when Ketis suddenly published her Manual of Reformed Swordsmanship.

Melkor had no interest in swordsmanship. He specialized in piloting rifleman mechs, so why did he need to read a book on how to wield a sword?

It turned out that the new publication contained a lot of profound theories about the nature of willpower cultivators, of which mech pilots were included as well!

"Heaven, Earth, Man." The visored legion commander whispered. "Interesting. It has a ring of mysticism to it. Does it apply to everyone, or is it only valid for willpower cultivators?"

He was more inclined to believe in the former. If a person wanted to become stronger as

A qi cultivator, he could not do so by relying on 'heaven' alone. Many qi cultivation methods emphasize the importance of developing a specific mindset, constructing an elaborate artistic conception in one's head or becoming more disciplined in behavior.

These were all rules and instructions meant to raise the Man score of a qi cultivator. Those with talent probably possessed inherently high scores when came to practicing certain cultivation methods, but Melkor did not think he was blessed in that way. The Earth score became a lot more important for that reason. Aside from talents that could make a huge amount of progress, others needed to rely on cultivation aids such as elixirs, pills and in a few cases specific kinds of artifacts.

Each of these resources were produced from planets, asteroids and such, so they all fell under the category of 'Earth' to keep everything simple and organized.

As the Avatar Commander, Melkor should not be weak in this aspect. He used to pilot the Golden Beacon but had switched over to the much more powerful and much more suitable Fey Fianna.

However, just like many other mech pilots, having a good mech did not necessarily increase his chances to break through as a mech pilot.

Unlike before, Melkor not possessed a more detailed understanding why he had

Remained stuck as a standard mech pilot all of this time.

According to theory espoused by Ketis, if his Earth score was more than sufficient, then

His Heaven and Man scores were too deficient.

The answer should be simple, right? He just needed to raise his Heaven and Man scores.

He had already been doing the former by practising an auxiliary qi cultivation method while Jonas practiced a more serious qi cultivation method.

It was his Man score that was dragging him down. He did not think he could obtain a convenient elixir or artifact that would help him pierce the extraordinary threshold as a

Mech pilot.

He had performed enough evaluations on himself to conclude that he was not expert.

Pilot material.

He was also growing older, if not in body then in mind. Responsibility had a way of making him more thoughtful and less impulsive. Granted, he had always been rather reserved in the past, so his changes only reinforced his existing

Tendencies.

Try as he might, he just couldn't replicate the stupidly confident or irrationally driven mindsets that characterized the expert pilots that he had met in person.

Each of them were defined by their overpoweringly strong personalities. It was as if they

Were humans dialed up to eleven or even higher!

Melkor could never imagine himself undergoing such a change. He might not even welcome it if he had to become a different person like Jannzi.

"Maybe I should stop thinking about a future that will never come to pass." He sighed.

At his age, Melkor found it increasingly less realistic and rational to continue to pine for a breakthrough that would most likely never come.

Rather than waste any further years on chasing after an illusionary dream, he could do himself a much greater favor by pursuing the much steadier path to becoming a qi

Cultivating mech pilot. Examples of that had already started to show up across human space.

They were particularly loved by older mech pilots who had already grown old and

Weaker. Since they were no longer in peak condition, their breakthrough chances were

Minimal.

They might as well turn to qi cultivation instead, which was much more systematic and transparent.

The mech pilots all appreciated that they not only received clear instructions on what

They should do to reach the next cultivation stage, but that they could also sense their progress in real-time by sensing the growth and development of their qi cultivation! Melkor was twice as young as the average age of mech pilots who went down the path of qi cultivation, but he was already thinking about starting ahead of time. The Larkinson Clan constantly faced greater threats. The Avatars of Myth also deserved

To be led by a stronger and more capable leader.

"I am not going to spend the next 40 years flailing around while trying to test my

Courage in stupid challenges or whatever."

The Manual of Reformed Swordsmanship briefly revived his hopes of a better future, but

It was ultimately a mirage in his opinion.

Melkor did not think he was destined to become a powerful expert pilot, let alone an ace

Pilot or god pilot!

All of this willpower business frustrated him.

Never gave him a clear indication of how

Much progress he made or what he needed to do to trigger a breakthrough. Perhaps that was the point. The uncertainty surrounding willpower cultivation made it so that only the most confident, disciplined, strong-willed and resilient of warriors would be rewarded for their superhuman efforts!

Melkor most definitely did not think any of those words could be attributed to himself.

This was why he reluctantly set aside any further thoughts about pursuing willpower cultivation and reaffirmed his decision to become a qi cultivator. "The only question is what cultivation method I should practice." This was an important choice, because if he wanted to get started on a few of them, he would have to perform a 'ritual' on the battlefield!

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