The Mech Touch

Upon fabricating the Adonis Colossus, Ves and Gloriana moved it into space.

On one of the light carriers of the Living Sentinels, everyone waited for the first activation.

Due to the importance of this event, Ves and Gloriana did not leave anything to chance. They thoroughly inspected the mech to make sure that nothing would malfunction.

Their close proximity to the mech exposed them to the glow of the mech. When Ves designed the mech, he deliberately attempted to maximize its aura.

While the Devil Tiger was a mech that completely locked its extraordinary quality within its frame, the Adonis Colossus followed the opposite direction!

The mech was like a god shaped in the form of a metal humanoid!

Its glow and its visual design completely complimented each other. Bravo, the spiritual product that inhabited the design, embraced the Adonis Colossus as if they were two sides of the same coin!

The fit between design spirit and mech had reached such an unprecedentedly close degree that Ves had no idea what kind of power this mech possessed!

"And it's still not complete." He whispered.

He thought back on his original theory of the X-Factor. He theorized that it was the power gained from aligning three different entities together.

The mech, the mech designer and the mech pilot.

By pooling the strength of three entities together, Ves believed that the combination would be able to exert a level of strength that was far in excess to the sum of its parts!

Now, Ves had come closer to aligning these three elements together than ever before!

The starting point was Vincent Ricklin. The commission compelled Ves and Gloriana to design a mech that completely fit a single mech pilot.

They did so. If its spiritual components were left out, the Adonis Colossus already conformed to Vincent's requirements. The mech completely fit his personality and piloting style. From a technical and visual standpoint, the mech would only be able to exert its full strength in the hands of its destined mech pilot!

This was the essence of a custom mech. A mech designed from the ground up for a single mech pilot was much more compatible than a variant customized from a standard mech design.

Ves completely understood now why Gloriana showed disdain towards the Resentful Soldier.

They may have done a lot to customize the Resentful Soldier for Silent William, but its basic DNA couldn't be changed!

Ves acknowledged that there was a gap between the two. However, now that Ves completed the Adonis Colossus, he realized he underestimated the difference!

There was no comparison!

He realized what Gloriana aimed to perfect! Designing custom mechs like the Adonis Colossus brought her closer to an ideal where her works were elevated to gods!

Of course, the mech and the mech pilot were only two legs of a three-legged stool.

The design spirit acted like the glue that fit them together. It animated the mech and empowered the mech pilot. While its role was the most obscure, its existence transcended both the mech and mech pilot.

A new trinity formed in his mind. Aligning the mech, mech pilot and design spirit as one might result in something unprecedented in mech design!

Ves wasn't sure why he gained this impression. While he intended to design an impressively masculine mech, he hadn't fully taken into account what might happen if those three elements were closely aligned!

None of his mass market mechs could meet this standard. Mech models such as the Desolate Soldier were designed to be compatible with a wide variety of mech pilots. It was impossible for any single mech pilot to fit the Desolate Soldier perfectly.

So this strange form of spiritual trinity could only be achieved by custom mechs.

Not every custom mech would do, though.

The Transcendent Messenger was an entirely different type of custom mech. Calabast commissioned Ves to design a mech for six mech pilots.

While the elite Kronon mech pilots possessed a lot of similarities, they were ultimately different mech designers.

Back then, he also lacked Gloriana's assistance and expertise, so the Transcendent Messenger was very lacking in this area.

As for the Resentful Soldier, aside from being a variant, its design spirit was a combination of the Solemn Guardian mixed with Nyxie's mote of spirituality.

This meant that the design spirit was out of step with the mech pilot. After Ves performed spiritual surgery on William Urbesh's mind, the man from another star sector experienced a huge personality change.

No matter what had changed, Ves was very sure that his new personality was still very much different from the Resentful Soldier's design spirit!

Therefore, from a spiritual standpoint, the Resentful Soldier was an awful custom mech. Ves hadn't worked hard enough to create a good fit between the mech, mech pilot and design spirit.

"It was just that I was ignorant of this defect until now! Only when I have come face to face with something better do I realize how awful my previous works turned out!"

He was aware that Gloriana strongly impacted his views on custom mechs.

Just like her, Ves felt tempted to abandon mass market mechs in order to completely dedicate himself to designing custom mechs.

The Adonis Colossus he designed opened an entirely different path! As long as he pursued this option, he would doubtlessly be able to design an epoch-shattering custom mech!

"This mech is already potent despite being paired with a normal mech pilot. What if my subsequent products are paired with expert mechs? What if I eventually get to the point where I can design a god mech?"

A shudder ran through his spine.

Ves believed he could design the most powerful mech in reality as long as he continued to explore this direction!

However, he quickly shook his head in order to clear his mind. The insights he gained from finishing the Adonis Colossus had momentarily overwhelmed his composure.

"I have to remember who I am! I have my own ambition!"

He wanted to design mechs that came to life. Whether those mechs were standard mechs or custom mechs didn't matter. He didn't want to exclude certain types of mechs from his range.

Both types of mechs had their own charm. Ves was someone who was very adventurous and easily got bored if he worked on the same types of mechs all the time. Alternating between standard mechs and custom mechs was a good way to keep his passion alive.

As for the direction he just identified, Gloriana already followed a similar path. Ves did not intend to usurp her ambition.

If their design philosophies converged, they wouldn't be able to complement each other as well anymore. The point of collaboration was to cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths.

Gloriana was good in perfecting the physical design of a mech while Ves excelled in breathing life to machines.

As long as both of them stuck to their domains, they would continue to reap the benefits from their specialization.

Once he realized this, he no longer felt any urge to dedicate himself to designing custom mechs.

After half an hour of checks, the Adonis Colossus was finally ready to be activated for the very first time.

Vincent stepped up in a tight piloting suit that stretched so tightly over his body that his muscles were clear to see! His pants even showed a subtle bulge that stretched the rules of decency!

"How vulgar." Gloriana frowned and turned away.

Even Ves couldn't stand the sight. Vincent and the Adonis Colossus were two peas in a pod! Both of them wanted to show off their 'manhoods'!

Before he entered the cockpit, Vincent made a big show out of it. He held a boastful speech in front of his mech with his buddies clapping his back.

Ves wasn't sure how many people actually followed Vincent. Due to the intensifying war, few people had the time and leisure to indulge in watching entertainment.

"I've waited so long for this moment! Let my legend begin from this day!"

Like a hero mounting a great steed, Vincent hovered up to the chest and entered the cockpit.

Once Vincent disappeared from view, Ves activated a projection that streamed the interior of the cockpit.

Vincent didn't activate the mech immediately. He first took in its luxurious interior.

Just like with his other mechs, Ves had made a habit of decorating the interior of the cockpit with the theme of the mech.

The strength of his products depended significantly on how a mech pilot approached the mech.

Decorating the cockpit was a way of priming the mech pilot into adopting the right mindset.

Of course, not a lot was needed to align Vincent with the Adonis Colossus. The custom mech was already tailored for him, so strictly speaking Ves didn't need to decorate the cockpit.

He did so anyway. To boost Vincent's mood, Ves added many reliefs to the free space of the interior. He depicted all kinds of ancient mythical men such as Zeus, Heracles, Ares, Achilles and so on. All of these men exemplified a distinct aspect of masculinity.

Vincent became enamored by the sights. While he was never educated in the ancient classics, he had consumed enough entertainment to identify these timeless ancient gods and heroes.

"These are true men!" He grinned and gripped his fists. "As long as I have this mech, I'll be able to join their ranks one day!"

He no longer wanted to delay his satisfaction. The thought of becoming a hero was so tempting to Vincent that he interfaced with his mech without any further delay!

As a wireless connection formed between his head and the antenna built into the ceiling of the cockpit, his mind suddenly blanked out as he opened up an intimate connection.

Outside, Ves no longer observed the projection of the interior of the cockpit.

Instead, his senses and his vision had switched to an entirely different mode. He no longer perceived reality from his mundane senses.

Instead, he observed the spiritual interaction between Vincent, Bravo and the spiritual foundation of the Adonis Colossus.

Three different spiritual sources connected together. Immediately, Ves sensed some sort of strength emanating from the combination!

A spiritual pulse swept over the entire light carrier!

Everyone paused for a moment. No one knew what made them pause all of a sudden. Only certain people such as Gloriana and Nitaa suspected the truth.

She looked at him. "This is our first true custom mech. The Adonis Colossus is incomparable to any custom mech we have designed before. None of the custom mechs I've designed in the past has ever equaled this machine!"

That was a very high evaluation! In her entire career, she designed more than a dozen custom mechs for Hexers! All of those machines were incredibly expensive and a lot more powerful than the Adonis Colossus!

Yet the inexplicable charm of the Adonis Colossus forced her to acknowledge that all of her prior works were far too lacking!

The spiritual component customized for a single mech pilot was incredibly potent!

Even now, the glow of the Adonis Colossus seemed to amplify, as if it was resonating with Vincent!

The close alignment between all three elements had no other outlet than amplifying the mech's already-potent X-Factor!

"A god." One of Vincent's buddies whispered. "This mech is practically a god!"

Ves felt very mixed when he heard that. He never intended to create a god, but somehow his collaboration with Gloriana brought him one step closer to making one.

Of course, even if the Adonis Colossus gained an unexpected level of strength, it was still a mech in his eyes. True gods didn't exist in his opinion.

Now that the Adonis Colossus came online, Vincent soon gained control.

"Open the hatch!" Vincent broadcasted. "I want to experience the power of my new machine!"

As soon as the cargo bay hatch opened, the Adonis Colossus passed through the energy screen and flew out into space!

A majestic red cape made out of glowing vapor formed behind its back!