The Mech Touch

Chapter 6821 What High-Ranking Mech Pilots Fear

"So this is superdimensional matter."

"It's a sample of the most basic variation of it." Ves said. "Structure-grade superdimensional matter is actually not that special aside from its most obvious trait. It is little different from ordinary dirt and rock in the Blue Dimension. There are stronger versions of superdimensional matter available, but they are much harder to find in the limited period that the gateway to the 365th dimension remains open."

Saint Commander Casella Ingvar received an invitation to visit the design lab for multiple reasons.

Not only did Ves and Gloriana give her a tour in order to understand what was taking place in the Design Department, but they also took deep and precise measurements in order to better tailor her upcoming ace mech to her current state.

Since she was here, Ves thought he might as well widen her horizons further by putting her in contact with superdimensional matter.

He also wanted to find out whether Casella would have any special interactions with this special material.

Right now, she carefully held a small bar of structure-grade superdimensional matter in her palm. The Saint Commander never handled anything like it. Whether it was by touch or through her Command Field, the sample threw her off due to its weirdness. "Is it safe to hold it in my hands? What if it shreds my body due to spatial fluctuations?"

"I wouldn't have let you come into contact with it if there is a serious risk." Ves said with a smile. "However, you are not wrong to make that assumption. According to many studies that have come out recently, phasewater is a liquid form of superdimensional matter. What makes them different aside from the obvious is that solid superdimensional matter is often stable in rest form. They don't produce unstable spatial activity because their form is inherently rigid and static. If you produce a lot of superdimensional pellets, put them in a bag and shake it hard, you may be able to reproduce a fraction of the unstable spatial turbulence produced by phasewater, but there are ways to prevent that from happening."

"How?"

"It turns out that it is much easier to develop all kinds of useful and interesting superdimensional alloys." Ves responded with a smile, "One of the simplest ways to make superdimensional matter safer and more stable is to dilute it. The lower the proportion of superdimensional matter, the lower the chance of accidents.""

"I suppose that will also weaken the improved defenses and hardness that superdimensional matter is known for." Saint Commander Casella guessed. "I can

faintly feel through my Command Field that this block of matter is actually a lot larger and heavier than it appears on the surface. I can imagine that much of that will be gone if you dilute it by blending it with other materials."

"There are tradeoffs in everything." Ves confirmed. "Pure superdimensional matter already possesses a lot of powerful properties, but it is not perfect. Parameters such as spatial stability and electrical conductivity are also important. Speaking of this, have you tried to resonate with this material?"

Even if Casella was not piloting a mech at the moment, she still possessed the basic ability to resonate with anything she held in her hand, though she would never be good at it as a swordmaster.

The ace commander frowned as her willpower tried to grasp and impose itself onto the small bar.

In the end, she was only slightly able to resonate with it. "I can resonate with this block of superdimensional matter, but it is a lot harder than I thought. It is not a resonating material. However, compared to other non-resonating materials, it is much harder for me to get a grip on this deceptively small bar. It feels much 'denser' to my willpower. Maybe all of that extra mass that exists in the other dimensions is making it so that I am actually trying to resonate with a solid block of matter that can fill up half a room."

"That aligns with the latest research as well as my own theories." Ves said. "Superdimensional matter is nothing more than stuff that exists in many more dimensions at the same time. I am not sure whether it is necessary for you to resonate with all of the extradimensional mass in order to resonate properly. That is a debate that is better left for scientists. What matters is there may be limits to how much superdimensional matter a high-ranking mech can pile up at a time. The resonance strength of expert pilots and ace pilots will limit how much they can resonate and amplify the properties of superdimensional alloys integrated into their mechs." That caused the Saint Commander to frown. "The Saint Kingdoms of ace pilots is pretty huge. I do not think there will be much of a problem for any ace pilot to resonate with a full superdimensional mech. Expert pilots are much weaker. Their domains only come in the form of resonance shields, which are much smaller and weaker. I fear that you can only apply a limited amount of superdimensional matter to expert mechs."

"That is not precisely true, Casella. It is still possible to make a superdimensional expert mech. The problem is that the willpower of an expert pilot simply won't be strong enough to fully resonate with such a machine. That will leave large parts of the machine devoid of the reality-defying amplification generated by true resonance." "That... sounds strange."

"It can theoretically work." Ves said with a smile. "For example, I can design a ranged

expert mech that is clad with armor-grade superdimensional alloy plating. The expert pilot of this machine only has to resonate with the internals as well as the rifle of the machine. As for the armor system, he doesn't need to resonate with it at all. Even without the blessing of true resonance, armor-grade superdimensional matter is already tough enough to partially resist Saint Piercer attacks. In fact, if the expert pilot can predict an incoming attack in advance, he can spare a bit of true resonance to empower the parts of the superdimensional armor that will soon receive a hefty

blow""

This sounded far too unrealistic to Casella.

"I do not see that happening anytime soon, Ves. If high-grade superdimensional matter is powerful enough that even god mechs find it useful, then only the best and most powerful machines should benefit from it. There are still multiple god mechs and many more senior ace mechs that deserve this upgrade. It should not be the turn of expert mechs to receive this gift"

"That is where you are wrong, Saint Commander. I have already reserved a batch of armor-grade superdimensional matter for the Riot Mark III."

Ves proceeded to summarize his reasoning for his unusual choice.

Unlike Gloriana, the Saint Commander showed greater understanding.

"Your decision makes sense. It is good that you have paid attention to the character of Venerable Orfan and the combat inclinations of the Riot. I am uneasy about the bet you have made. Turning the Riot Mark III into a superdimensional mech when Venerable Orfan has not even broken through is a heavy commitment. You will put Rosa Orfan under enormous pressure to perform and break through. If she doesn't succeed within a few years... her fighting will may collapse."

"So be it." Ves said with steel in his voice. "We cannot make safe decisions at this point. Not when our civilization cannot even protect its own borders anymore. I have great. confidence in Venerable Orfan. She might not be as smart and thoughtful as you, but she is a fighter through and through. I believe that she will demonstrate far greater grit and perseverance than any other expert pilot. Only Venerable Jannzi may be better in this regard."

"I already paid a brief visit to her." Casella said. "We had a good talk. Venerable Orfan proudly announced her decision to turn the Riot Mark III into a Carmine mech. She has truly committed to 'marrying' the Riot. Maybe this is why she chose to refer to him

as a male."

Ves never thought about that. His original assumption was that Rosa Orfan simply wanted to be different from her peers.

"Choosing to convert one's machine into a Carmine mech is a privilege to all

Larkinson mech pilots." He carefully said. "There are many pros and cons to piloting Carmine mechs, and I don't need to give you all a lecture on that. Venerable Orfan

knows what she is getting into, and that is good enough for me. In her pursuit for greater strength, she is willing to make a great sacrifice. She is quite decisive in this regard. Many other expert pilots and ace pilots are still in doubt." Casella crossed her arms. "That is not a surprise to me. No mech pilot can ignore the consequences of forming a Blood Pact with a single mech. To be honest, I have been pushing this decision back as well. We all fear the consequences of making the wrong mistake. I am sure that being able to form a permanent bond with a mech will allow us to perform better. However, if our enemies succeed in breaking our machines, we would be living in regret for the rest of our lives."

Many people claimed that high-ranking mech pilots no longer experienced fear,

Ves became increasingly convinced that this was a lie.

It was true that high-ranking mech pilots no longer experienced fear when faced with powerful enemies. Their courage was usually so strong that it pushed aside all other

emotions.

However, there were still sources of fear that high-ranking mech pilots could not quell by resorting to false or genuine courage.

One of the greatest sources of fear was the act of stepping on the road to no return.

This was the greatest terror of peak ace pilots, those that had reached the limit of what their mortality allowed.

This brutal test was so fatal that many ace pilots that previously demonstrated a lot of

valor on the battlefield always chickened out before they could initiate the Mech Body Merger Process!

That may be a reason to embrace Carmine mechs. Ves had long speculated that the Blood Pact already initiated a few steps of the Mech Body Merger Process in advance.

If Ves was able to collect convincing proof that Carmine mechs directly increased the success rate of this sacred process, then every ace pilot would be happy to pilot a Carmine ace mech!

Unfortunately, proof was lacking. It was not as if Ves could knock on the doors of General Axelar Streon of the Mace of Retaliation just so that he could offer to convert their personal machines into Carmine ace mechs.

Many highly professional Master Mech Designers and numerous different Star

Designers had already 'laid claim' to the ace mechs that served as the personal steed

of powerful god pilot candidates.

If Ves wanted to get in on those projects, he must take the place of other powerful

mech designers.

This was incredibly unfair!

Ves could only bury this idea for the time being. Perhaps the only way for him to fulfill

the mech needs of peak ace pilots was to wait until they came to him. He needed to advertise his services and show proof that his work could make a crucial difference. Fortunately, his existing roster of high-ranking mechs had already spread a lot of propaganda!

The local and regional news portals all reported the perceived superiority of

Larkinson mechs.

Whether it was the Dark Zephyr Mark III or the Amaranto Mark III, the two machines currently represented the pinnacle of what the Larkinson Clan could deliver.

Ves intended to break his last record quite soon!

"The Minerva Mark II will be truly breathtaking"

With the inclusion of a whole Mentalist Crystal and paired with a large owl-shaped

living fey, Ves and Gloriana carefully designed the Minerva Mark II to emphasize command capabilities as opposed to direct combat options!